Bayelsa APC factionalism worries PDP

Abuja - The ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) urged the leadership of All Progressive Congress (APC) to desist from factionalism saying such would further disrupt the existing peace and progress in the Bayelsa State.

The PDP in the state, through a statement signed by its regional Chairman, Sam Inokoba, noted with serious concern the rising tensions among the three factions of the APC in the state, led by Ebikibina Miriki, Richard Kpodo and Tiwei Orunimighe.

They are all claiming leadership of the party in the region.

Inokoba commended the State Government on its commitment to the protection of lives and property in the region.

He said the ruling party was lending its voice to that of the State Government to urge the APC national leadership to, as a matter of urgency, resolve the “brewing imbroglio” and announce its authentic leadership in the state.

He argued the state could not afford to be thrown into undue chaos and crisis as a result of APC's alleged failure to put its house in order. 

Inokoba also reminded the leadership of the APC at the National level that, two of its factional leaders (Richard Kpodo and Tiwei Orunimighe) were on the police’s wanted list for various offences and alleged both men have since been on the run. 

“We are therefore calling on the national leadership of the APC to be mindful of the type of characters they may be considering as party leaders in the State, since it has been duly established that they are on the wanted list of the police. Similarly, we call on the national leadership of the APC to hid the advice of the State Government on the use of Kpodo's personal house as the party's office in the State, knowing fully well that the same building along with several others in the Etegwe/Edepie area of Yenagoa, have been earmarked for demolition over six months ago by the State Government in order to make way for the second flyover bridge,” said Inokoba. 

– CAJ News

Death toll rises to 29 as suspected terrorists plant car bomb in Maiduguri

Maiduguri - A car bomb killed at least 29 people on Tuesday in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri, the epicentre of an Islamist revolt, witnesses said.

No one claimed responsibility for the blast. But militant sect Boko Haram, founded in the city, has repeatedly attacked schools, churches and government and military targets in its four-year-old campaign.

The attack will be a setback for President Goodluck Jonathan's military crackdown, which had temporarily succeeded in pushing Boko Haram's assaults into rural areas.

Boko Haram gunmen stormed the air force base and military barracks around Maiduguri's airport on Dec. 2, ending six months of relative calm in the city.

The bomb, planted in a three-wheel rickshaw taxi, exploded outside the state television offices at around 1.30 pm (1230 GMT), witnesses told Reuters.

"The attack happened just behind the fence of my office. I counted 29 bodies, including two kids and a mother. Lots of others seriously injured," said Abba Kankami, a journalist working at the state television office.

Another witness, Baba Shiek, said he counted 30 bodies.

Military Spokesman Muhammad Dole said in a statement soldiers had arrested one person suspected of being behind what he called "heinous and dastardly acts".

Borno State Police Commissioner Lawan Tanko said 17 people were confirmed dead but the final death toll could be higher.

"TOO MUCH BLOOD"

"I saw two boys on the ground and their bodies cut into pieces, two other cars immediately caught fire and I ran away because there was too much blood," city resident Aisha Hassan told Reuters.

Soldiers fired shots into the air to disperse crowds before cordoning off roads around the scene, witnesses said.

Dozens of youths, some armed with machetes, protested on the street after the attack, accusing politicians of failing to curb Boko Haram.

The violence killed thousands last year. Boko Haram fighters continue to target military outposts and raid villages in remote regions near borders with Cameroon and Chad.

The radical Islamist sect says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in a country of nearly 170 million, split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.

Maiduguri is the capital of Borno State, where Boko Haram first launched its uprising in 2009, beginning with drive-by shootings of policeman and quickly developing the scale and sophistication of its attacks.

Tuesday is a public holiday in Nigeria, as millions of Muslims mark the Prophet Mohammad's birthday.

Boko Haram and splinter Islamist groups are viewed as the biggest security threat in Africa's second largest economy and biggest oil producer.

The United States and its allies are increasingly concerned that Islamist groups in Nigeria will strengthen ties with al Qaeda's north African wing.

A Boko Haram suicide attack on the United Nations building in 2011 in the capital Abuja killed at least 25 people. 

- Reuters

- Reuters

Gunmen shoot NAN photojournalist

Abuja - Gunmen have shot Callistus Ewelike, a photojournalist working in the State House in Abuja for the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The shooting took place on Monday in front of his residence in Nyanya, Abuja, between 10 pm and 11pm.

Two men were said to have alighted from motorcycle when the victim was coming out from his car. One of the assailants reportedly confronted him and shot him in the neck at close range. The assailants reportedly sped off the scene when the gunshot attracted residents of the area.

Nothing was stolen from the victim.

Ewelike was taken to a nearby hospital by his neighbours and later transferred to the National Hospital, Abuja where medical doctors are currently preparing him for surgery.

He is said to be in a stable condition. The Police Public Relations Officer, FCT Command, DSP Altine Daniel, confirmed the incident.

She said the Commissioner of Police, Femi Ogunbayide, had directed full scale investigation into the shooting and had given order for the manhunt and arrest of the assailants.

It will be recalled that armed men had also visited Ewelike's residence late last year.

They had forced themselves into the house and robbed him of his work tools including camera, laptop computer and other personal effects. 

- NAN

PDP Chairman Bamanga Tukur Resigns?

A former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode took to his twitter account to reveal that the embattled PDP chairman, Bamanga Tukur has resigned.

See his tweet:

The National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamangar Tukur, has resigned. This is a step in the right direction. PDP clap for yourselves.

— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) January 14, 2014

In due time, we will know if this is for real.

Ogoni Youths Protest Alleged Police Shooting Of Sen Abe

one of the cars damaged in the protest

The violence that erupted  last Sunday  in Port Harcourt, Rivers State following the shooting of Senator Magnus Abe, spread to his constituency in the Ogoni part of the state, yesterday morning. His kinsmen Ogoni youths yesterday took  to the streets in protest against the shooting of their kinsman Senator Magnus Abe, who was allegedly shot by policemen.

The angry youths damaged vehicles and disrupted traffic as they made their displeasure over turn of events in the state known.

Senator Abe, was on Sunday, wounded by alleged rubber bullet the state government said was fired by members of the Nigeria Police, who had gone to disperse supporters of  Governor Rotimi Amaechi in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state from holding a rally.

The protesters made up of Ogoni youths, in Eleme, Port Harcourt suburb, claimed that the shooting of senator Abe was an attempt to stop the Ogoni people from producing a governor for the state in 2015.

Meanwhile, Senator Abe has arrived in London for further treatment. His Media aide, Mr Honour Sirawoo told Vanguard that Senator Abe arrived London safely, and had been admitted in a hospital, declining to give further information.

The protesters gathered under the aegis of Ogoni Youth Council, yesterday, blocked Elelenwo Junction, the Petrochemical and Refinery axis of the East West Road in protest over the shooting of Sen. Abe.

A contract staff of Eleme Petrochemicals, resident in neighbouring Akpajo, said: “The youths gathered as early as 5am. I thought their intention was to take over the East West Road and walk to the heart of Port Harcourt, to register their anger over the threat to the Senator’s life.

“Somehow, their kinsmen in Akpajo blocked them at the Slaughter Bridge, insisting that the protest must not get to their community. In anger, they went on rampage and a lot of motorists were caught in the unrest and had their vehicles damaged before the police came to disperse them.”

Mr Friday Needam, who spoke on the protest, said: “We want people to pray that nothing happens to Abe because Ogoni people will no longer allow any Ogoni man to be slaughtered like Saro-Wiwa and others killed by Federal Government and their agents.”

Another protester, Joseph Barinedam, said that the Police arrested about eight of the protesters and many got injured while running for safety.

“They should be ready to shoot us the way they did to Senator Abe if anything happens to him (Abe),” he added.

The peaceful protest later became violent when Police mobilised to clear the protesters from the road. Some of the youths, who resisted the action of the police hurled stones and other objects at the policemen as they fled.

Windscreens of vehicles caught in between the Police and the youths were smashed.

When contacted for comment, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Ahmad Muhammad, who spokefrom Abuja, said he was at the airport on his way to Abuja when he got a call that some miscreants were smashing vehicles on the road in the name of protesting. He blamed miscreants among the protesters for the damage done to vehicles.

According to him, the Police only moved in to clear the road for road users.

The state Police command had denied allegation of firing any rubber bullet to disperse the rally, as accused by Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s aides.

The Police had claimed that the pro-Amaechi group did not apply for approval before embarking on the rally, hence, it had to disperse them with tear gas.

However, Save Rivers Movement, SRM, the group behind the Sunday rally where Senator Magnus Abe, was allegedly shot by the Police has dismissed as untrue allegations by the Police that it did not notify the Police of the rally.

Chairman of the group, Mr Wolu Charles, who spoke yesterday, said they notified the Police of the rally in a letter dated January 7, adding that the Police duly acknowledged receipt of the said letter.

“I want to debunk the statement by the Commissioner of Police that there was no communication between the Police and the Save Rivers Movement.

“The Police stamped our letter written on January 7, for our rally in Obio Akpor and Khana local government areas.”

He added that what made them to notify the Police of its planned event, was for them to provide security and not to secure a police permit to hold a legitimate function.

According to him, Section 1 of the Public Orders Act which the Police relies on to insist on Police permit had been quashed by the Court Appeal in a well celebrated judgement, adding that it was inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution.

He said further that it had become evident that the state was clearly under siege by the Police, adding that what the Police did on Sunday was barbaric and an attempt to replace democracy with autocracy.

According to him, five members of the forum were missing as a result of the action of the Police on Sunday.

Asked for the names of the members, he said they would still conceal them from the press in the meantime.

“Some of our members are still missing as a result of the rascality of the Police. We want to state without fear that the SRM shall be available to defend the Rivers man”.

As the crisis in the state deepens, the leadership of Senate, worried by the recent happenings, yesterday, ordered the IG to immediately arrest the situation and bring to book those behind the violence.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, in a statement in Abuja, said that the Senate was disturbed that what should have been a peaceful gathering turned violent, resulting to injuries.

The Senate said it associated itself with the admonition of President Goodluck Jonathan on his pronouncements to mark the armed forces remembrance day, where he warned that no Nigerian blood was worth spilling in the name of politics.

“Consequently, the Senate urges the Inspector General of Police to investigate the latest incident and ensure that it never recurs. In the same vein, the Senate advises politicians and their supporters to exercise greater restraint and avoid acts that will not only overheat the system but also harm the country’s democracy,” Abaribe said.

Rivers Crisis: Police Now Strong-Arm Division Of Presidency – Tinubu

A leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu yesterday appealed to the National Assembly to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from dragging the country back to the dictatorial era of the military junta.

Reacting to the reported shootings by the police at the rally organized by the Save Rivers Movement in Rivers State on Sunday which left a serving senator in critical condition, Tinubu lamented that the Jonathan-led government, which had sworn to an oath to uphold the public order, now constitutes a menace to the very people it made the pledge to uphold.

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Sunday Dare, the former Lagos State governor described the brutal disruption of the rally organized by the Save Rivers Movement in Rivers State on Sunday by the police as another dimension to the dangerous course the present government has charted.

He said, “Instead of assuring liberty and democracy. The Jonathan administration now wars against human rights and the democratic freedom of the people to select their own leaders. This represents a sad rush backwards into a past best left behind. President Jonathan seeks to forfeit our democratic future to reclaim a dictatorial past”, he stated.

Tinubu also said that, the people of Rivers State and of the Save Rivers Movement did not break any known law that would warrant the CP Mbu led police force to unleash such mayhem “under the directive of the Goodluck Jonathan led administration.

“What the police did was criminal. The violent and direct attack on Senator Magnus Abe is a frontal assault against democracy. The Jonathan government, which is supposed to protect the public order, now constitutes threats against the very thing they have pledged to uphold. The Police have been unleashed against the people and the voice of dissent like bloodhounds against a defenseless, stationary prey”, he added.

He, however, assured that no matter the obstacles the country’s “would be emperors may erect”, Nigerians will have their democracy with their rights and freedom fully intact.

Tinubu also alleged accused the federal government of using public funds to perpetrate anti-democratic activities, adding that it was the depth of political immorality.

He said, “This government doles out money from the public treasury not the private pockets of the Abuja despots to service hired mercenaries and political thugs. It is a deep tragedy that the public’s money is being used to employ people and weapons to shoot at the public. This is the depths of political immorality.

“What so incensed them that they felt compelled to shoot and beat unarmed fellow citizens whose only defense was their voice and whose only offense was their political affiliation was not of the federal government’s choosing.

“We are now returning to a time where having an independent mind or voice is a criminal offense. So disdainful of the law and its rule, the police no longer arrest. They are primed to shoot first ask questions later. We are supposed to live in a constitutional democracy but we are burdened with a Police Force that has now become an agent provocateur and a tool of political repression.

“They are the partisan, strong-arm division of the Jonathan Presidency. The Police are no longer a neutral law enforcement body. The people’s rights to freedom of association, expression and liberty are constitutionally guaranteed but have been effectively curtailed by the Jonathan led government. The people have the inalienable right to choose or associate with any political party of their choice. Sadly, a Presidency that was a major beneficiary of constitutional democracy conspires in Abuja to desecrate our political rights and mortgages our democracy”.

Calling on the National Assembly to rise to the occasion by intervening, Tinubu said, “Our party and our people will employ every lawful means to protect the lives and rights of every Nigerian in the lawful exercise of their political rights. Spurred by the fact that one of its own members was shot, the National Assembly must rise to their statutory responsibility in defence of the people’s rights and to exercise legislative oversight of an executive branch, through the police and a Presidency that has lost all sense of democratic balance and fair play.

“If the Assembly does not rise at this junction, things will only worsen and at some point they will be forced to confront the violent misbehavior of a government intent on perpetuating itself. Better that the assembly act now before so much harm is done that it becomes irreversible. Let the National Assembly be seen as coming to the rescue of those who elected them that they may prove heroic and patriotic at a time such as this.

“All Nigerians need to set themselves in vocal and sure opposition to the authoritarian evolution of the Jonathan administration”.

The statement further noted: “If published reports of the incident are true, the attack on Sen. Magnus Abe and brutal confrontation with the people who are first and foremost bonafide citizens of Nigeria and members of our party, APC is condemnable. It is a harrowing sign of even more brutal repression that is to come and thus must be denounced.

“The Jonathan Presidency is willing to sacrifice the lives of countless Nigerians so that it can continue to lord it over Nigerians. If they could shoot a current Senator in broad daylight on a Sunday imagine the mayhem they will set upon the average citizen seeking to advance his political rights. This is a premeditated act to squash public dissent and frighten the rank and file of the political opposition.

“Their purpose is not to govern Nigeria but to break down the rule of law and our democratic institutions so that they may own Nigeria. We have seen this show before. The illegal conduct of the Police in Rivers should be called what it is. It is uniformed gangsters, a coup against democracy. The rights and protection guaranteed to the Nigerian people should never be a function of the party they are affiliated with. Under the current Jonathan government, we move toward fascism.

“The international community should note of these developments and counsel this government against the belief that it can continually push the people against the wall and not expect the people to react. Nigeria is a democracy and those who would make it something else fight not only against the will of the people, they fight against the march of our history. Nigeria’s destiny is the rule of law, justice, fairness and freedom.

“No wonder the Jonathan administration is so committed to marking the amalgamation’s centennial; they want to take the place of our former overlords. It will not happen. History may sometimes repeat itself but never does it allow us to make a fool of it”, the former governor said.

2015: My Loyalty Lies With President Jonathan, Says Gbenga Daniel

Immediate past governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD) yesterday said the protracted crisis in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has vindicated his earlier call for the party to be salvaged before it is too late.

Daniel, who is now a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP) in Ogun state, however, stressed that despite the crisis in the party and his membership of a rival party, he remains loyal to President Goodluck Jonathan and his aspiration to re-contest in 2015.

The former governor, who was fielding questions from newsmen in Sagamu said: “When I was crying out over this imminent crisis, they say I don’t know what I am saying. I warned, but, what has happened now?”

While affirming that the PDP has a lot of challenges, OGD as he is fondly referred to, said the mega opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC) also has its own challenges.

On his romance with the president, Daniel, who was the South West coordinator of the Jonathan-Sambo presidential campaign in 2011, emphatically declared that, “I have said it times without number, that wherever people may be thinking I am, my loyalty is still there for President Goodluck Jonathan. Any other thing for now I will prefer to remain silent”.

On his mission in Labour Party, the former governor said his concern is to make the party strong, declaring: “What we want to do is to first build a strong party with good ideology and strong manifesto. I can assure you there would be no crisis among the aspirants because it is not about their individual interest, but how to rescue people of Ogun state. So who ever emerges would be supported by others”.

Amaechi Should Stop Blaming Me For Rivers Political Crisis… I’ve Better Things To Do, Says Wike

Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, has denied allegations that he influenced the Rivers State Police to abort a rally of the Save Rivers Movement (SRM) in Port Harcourt on Sunday, which resulted in the alleged shooting of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe with rubber bullets.

Wike, who is locked in an intense political battle for the soul of the oil-rich state with the governor, Chibuike Amaechi, described the allegations as lame and urged the public to ignore those trying to soil his name.

He said: “I influenced the police? They were there when I influenced the police to disrupt them. Have they not done their rally before at the stadium and I didn’t use the police; did they not hold their rally at Eleme Local Government and I didn’t use the police. What’s my business with them? What kind of talk is that? If they don’t have anything to say, they should better go and sleep. What’s my business with it if police stopped their rally? That is if at all police stopped their rally. If something happened they’ll say it’s me. They should find something good to do please.

“I have not influenced anybody. What am I stopping them for? Of what purpose? I have nothing to do with all those their things. I’m just coming from Ahoada. I’m at the airport now to receive the wife of the president who is travelling to Bayelsa. People just say all sorts of rubbish”.

The minister, who enjoys the support of President Goodluck Jonathan and the First Lady, Dame Patience, advised the governor’s supporters to count him out of their travails and stop trivializing issues.

“Tell them to focus on what they are doing and stop trivializing issues if they don’t know what to do.  So if I stop them today, nobody will hold rallies again in Obio/Akpor? You should ask them what is their problem with the police. What is my business with it? I’m not interested in their rally because I know they don’t have anything to offer”, Wike said.

Nigeria Sliding Back To Dark Days Of Abacha Era – Lamido Gov Lamido

he escalating levels of religious bigotry, imperial tendencies of government and nepotism in Nigeria which have become the order of the day, are reminiscent of the dark days of the late General Sani Abacha military junta, the governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido has said.

Lamido, who made this known through the secretary of the Jigawa chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Ali Gantsa, while speaking with reporters in Kano, noted with dismay how Nigeria’s economic and political spectrums are being messed-up, thereby threatening the very foundation of the corporate existence of the country.

The state PDP scribe explained that Lamido refused to follow the five governors that defected in frustration to the All Progressives Congress, APC, because the fundamental issue has nothing to do with either of the political parties but what he termed the survival of the nation, which is what the governor is after.

Ali Gantsa noted that the greatest trouble facing the nation is how the chairman of the ruling party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur is leading the party, which has adversely affected the governance of the nation, a development that has made many of the leaders in the likes of Lamido, unhappy.

He said, “We brought Bamanga Tukur thinking he is an old man, an experienced person and his knowledge in the business world would be brought to bear, but unfortunately the reverse is the case; the man is today the greatest misdeed of the Nigerian project and we are going to ensure that he is removed as the chairman of the party”.

While stressing that he and Governor Lamido were not in any way opposed to the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, Gantsa said they are opposed to how things have been left to deteriorate specifically with Bamanga as the chairman of PDP.

He also maintained that former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has been in the news recently for his series of controversial letters, remains the saviour of Nigeria because of his excellent track records of good governance, which he said was evident in his handing over power unilaterally in 1979, 2007 and his critical stance against injustice and bad governance in the country.

Senate Condemns Shooting Of Rivers Senator, Calls For Probe

The Leadership of the Senate has condemned in “strong terms” the alleged shooting of Senator Magnus Abe by the police in Rivers State.

In a statement yesterday by its spokesperson, Sentaor Eyinnaya Abaribe in Abuja, the upper chamber of the National Assembly also “deplored the escalating political violence in Rivers State”.

The senate, according to the statement, called on the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar to immediately probe the incident and ensure that it does not reoccur in the future.

It also warned politicians against engaging in acts capable of overheating the polity and derail the nation’s democracy.

“The Senate particularly condemns the Sunday violence which resulted to injuries on a serving Senator, Magnus Abe”, Abaribe stated.

Senator Abe, representing Rivers South East and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), was allegedly shot with rubber bullets and teargas by the police in an attempt to disperse a pro-Governor Rotimi Amaechi rally put together by the Save Rivers Movement in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Sunday.

The senator has reportedly been flown to London for urgent medical attention as a result of the shooting which a doctor, who performed first aid on him, said caused internal bleeding.

Abaribe said the “Senate is disturbed that what should have been a peaceful gathering turned violent resulting in injuries”.

He added: “On this score, the Senate associates itself with the admonition of President Goodluck Jonathan on his pronouncements to mark the Armed Forces Remembrance Day, wherein he warned that no Nigerian blood is worth spilling in the name of politics.

“Consequently, the Senate urges the Inspector General of Police to investigate the latest incident and ensure that it never recurs.

“In the same vein, the Senate advises politicians and their supporters to exercise greater restraint and avoid acts that will not only overheat the system but may harm the country’s democracy”.

CNPP Vows To Hold Jonathan Responsible Over ‘Do-Or-Die’ Politics In Rivers

The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has promised to hold President Goodluck Jonathan accountable for the “do-or-die” political crisis currently playing out in Rivers State if he does not intervene.

The umbrella body of opposition parties in the country, in its reaction to the police’s disruption of a rally organized by the Save Rivers Movement on Sunday which culminated in the alleged shooting of the Senator representing Rivers South East Senatorial District, Magnus Abe, said the president should as a matter of urgency order the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar to transfer the police commissioner, Joseph Mbu out of Rivers State.

A statement in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu, said: “Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) calls on President Goodluck Jonathan to as a matter of urgent national importance to save our democracy by nipping in the bud the gathering storm in Rivers State. The first step is to post out of Rivers State Commissioner of Police Joseph Mbu, before it is too late.

“For us, this is against police professional ethics and best practices, which means that CP Mbu had taken side, and, unfortunately, descended partially into the political arena; thereby breaching the law and enforcing a non-existing Police Permit Order.

“CNPP wishes to remind the Nigeria Police Force that the Police Permit Order had been repealed by the Appeal Court, as an obnoxious colonial order, following a suit filed by the CNPP.

“Accordingly, groups, associations and political parties are under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guaranteed freedom of association and assemblage; hence the duty of the police is to protect all and not to side any group.

“We challenge President Jonathan to direct the Inspector General of the Police to post CP Joseph Mbu out of Rivers State; failing which we shall hold Mr President responsible for the do-or-die politics unfolding in Rivers State”.