Buhari Surprised Us; We Too Apologize To Him – MKO Abiola’s Daughter, Hafsat

June 12, 2018

MKO Abiola Daughter, Hafsat-Abiola-Costello

“Who would have ever believed, given the relationship that you had with Chief MKO Abiola, that you would be the instrument God will use to honour this man and to bring recognition and healing to the country.”

“You apologized to my family and it touched my heart. You know that I also lost my mother in this struggle, so that apology meant so much. Let me use this opportunity, on behalf of the Chief MKO Abiola because I know what he would have done; I use this opportunity to apologize to you; to apologize to your family, anything that he might have done to harm you and to harm your family.”

These were the moving emotional words by Hafsat, daughter of the winner of the June 12 1993 Presidential election, late Chief MKO Abiola when she spoke to news men today, Tuesday at the ceremony held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to confer the nation’s highest award to her father, and celebration of other June 12 heroes.

She said: “it is difficult to try to stand in the shoes of a giant of one of the greatest humans that the world ever had but that is the responsibility of why we are here today. And indeed, even for MKO Abiola, it was difficult for him to imagine how he would speak to Nigerians in inauguration.

“My mum told me how he would stand in the mirror he was preparing his speech because the result were coming in, he thought he was going to deliver it. And you know he use to stammer, so he will start… “dear fellow Nigerians” but he never really got passed fellow Nigerians. He would say a few words, he will say not like that and then start again and he kept struggling to say what he will say to Nigerians. Because what MKO wanted to say to the Nigerian people and all that MKO did say to the people of Nigeria is to say, I love you the people of Nigeria, I believe in you the people of Nigeria.

“He was born Yoruba but he loved Hausa people, Kanuri, Efik, Igbo people, he loved all you just needed to be a Nigerian and MKO was your man. If he could help he would do. There is so many things he already did to Show and that was why the people of Nigeria rewarded him with the mandate of June 12, 1993. But we know that he was never able to deliver that speech but in many ways, the event that transpired later revealed to Nigerians the eloquence in his heart, the fidelity of his commitment and even his own deep abiding wish that if there was anyway his own actions would in any way comprise the people of Nigeria, MKO preferred to die, he preferred to leave the earth rather than compromise on you, on your integrity as a people and your sovereignty as a nation.

“Which was why even the day before he died when he was still being pressured, he asked the question, how do you shaved the people’s heads in their absence. He knew he was present in the room he was pressured but he knew that so long as he refused to allow his own head to be shaved as a symbolic message to you the people of Nigeria that you will be saved.

“And when he died, we accepted his body and have watched in Nigeria as year after year till now the 25th year, you the people have suffered and he was not recognize at all.

“Nelson Mandela it was who said, “It always seems impossible until it is down.”

“Let me also say at this juncture that Chief MKO Abiola was so committed to us saying farewell to poverty in Nigeria and today we have more people in poverty in Nigeria than we had in 1993.

“I read the statement that you made where you said we should prepare now to wage a battle for the defence of the people of Nigeria against those who think of themselves as the landlords of Nigeria. Let me say to you that by recognizing June 12, you awaken so many heroes and heroines of Nigeria’s struggle who have shown because they stood firm on June 12 that money cannot buy them. If there is any match that we need to match, if there is any protest that we need to be present to protest, you have called up your own new own Army for the defence of this country.

“And President Muhammadu Buhari, this fight will not take you God willing as it has taken MKO but let us fight and bring about the conclusion of MKO struggle that the Nigerian people should be the ones in full control of this country. It is not for a few landlords whoever they maybe, it is for the 200 million people of Nigeria.”

Also speaking, the first son of Abiola, Kola Abiola, thanked President Buhari for the great honour he had done Abiola’s family.

“We thank you for taking the decisive measures to strengthen our democracy and guarantee our future by reconciling our past. Thank you very much sir. Generations to come will honour your for this.”

June 12 Marked Turning Point In Nigeria’s Tortuous Journey To Democracy – Prof Nwosu

Greenbarge Reporters

June 11, 2018

Chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC), Prof. Humphrey Nwosu has described June 12, 1993 Presidential election as a turning point in Nigeria’s tortuous journey towards a democratic polity.

Professor Nwosu, who presided over the polls later annulled by the Ibrahim Babangida military junta, said: “indeed, June 12, 1993 marked a turning point in Nigeria’s tortuous journey towards a democratic polity.”

In a letter he personally wrote today, Monday to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, he commended President Muhammadu Buhari for designating June 12 as Nigeria’s Democracy Day and also honouring the memory of Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the 1993 election.

According to him, the conferment of national honours on Chief Abiola and his running mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe,“will rekindle the national consciousness of all Nigerians for a better nation.

“I thank His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government of Nigeria for recognizing June 12 as Democracy Day and also honouring the winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

“It is an honour to the very hard-working men and women of the defunct National Electoral Commission under my leadership at this long awaited recognition. I humbly commend this action by the President.

“Undoubtedly the democratic system of governance is the best especially for the multi ethnic nation like ours. I thank you for building on the foundation which my team and I laboured strenuously to establish and actualize on June 12, 1993.

“It is our hope that expanding the frontiers of democracy of which all the people of Nigeria, regardless of ethnic group, will provide economic, social and developmental benefits that will certainly make Nigeria a great nation not only in Africa but across the world.”

He said that the scheduled event on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 would rekindle the national consciousness of all Nigerians for a better Nation.

He noted that he won’t be able to attend the investiture ceremony, because he was not in the country presently.

NAN.

In Morocco, Buhari Rates Nigerian Youths As Aggressive, Ambitious

Greenbarge Reporters

June 11, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari and King of Morocco Mohammed VI

President Muhammadu Buhari has rated Nigerian youths and Nigerians in general as “intellectually aggressive and economically ambitious” that always seek self-improvement and self-actualization in any part of the world.

In an audience with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Morocco, Saadeddine Othmani, at the Royal Guest Palace, President Buhari said that Nigeria’s “visionary and resilient population” works hard to always position the country for more growth, fuelled by a largely youthful group that continually wants to contribute to development.

“Nigerians are intellectually aggressive and economically ambitious. I received some of our students here yesterday and I am really impressed with the zeal and fearlessness they exuded.

“In Nigeria, we have a very young and aggressive population and we are working very hard to create the enabling and inclusive environment for their contributions to be better appreciated.” President Buhari said that his government is harnessing the human and material resources available in the country, especially in the educational and agricultural sectors, while seeking partnerships with countries that can explore the huge potentials in Nigeria.

The President noted that Nigeria is already on the verge of an agricultural revolution as the importation of rice had been cut down by 90 per cent in 18 months.

“We need to do more to improve our statistics on food production and graciously, the weather has been auspicious in the last couple of years for agricultural growth. We are happy that through partnership with you and hard work the price of fertilizer is already down by 50 per cent.”

On the three agreements signed during his visit, namely, Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline project, vocational training in agriculture and building of a chemical plant in Nigeria, the President assured the Prime Minister that they will receive appropriate attention.

“We have a huge gas reserve in Nigeria, and we should be known more for gas exploration than for crude oil. So, we are happy with the new partnership with Morocco,’’ he added.

In his remarks, the Prime Minister said his country had always been impressed by Nigeria’s intellectual zeal and strength, noting that “many Moroccans appreciate the intellectual contribution of Nigerians, especially in literary works.’’

“Your visit to our country is historic and we are looking forward to more partnerships, especially among our universities, which would further consolidate our relationship,’’ Othman said.

President Buhari also met with the head of the Moroccan legislature, Habib El Malki and the President of the Advisers on Commerce, Ben Chemmas.

The Nigerian leader ended his two-day visit to the Kingdom of Morocco with a visit to the mausoleum where he laid wreaths on the tombs of past kings.

Atiku Asks Buhari Government To Halt The Nation’s Slide To Authoritarianism

Greenbarge Reporters

June 11, 2018

Former Vice President of Nigeria and presidential hopeful of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has warned the government of President Muhammadu Buhari against what he called ‘a consistent pattern of departure from constitutional due process to tendencies of authoritarianism.’

The former Vice President said in a statement marking the 25^th anniversary of June 12 that there is a growing culture of arbitrariness in some of the institutions of government at all levels that is contradictory to the notion of inclusiveness and fairness that a democratic society guarantees.

Atiku said that the very foundation of a democratic society is the guarantee of fundamental human rights that gives the citizenry the freedom of speech, freedom of movement and the ability of the people to belong to any lawful association that they deem inclined.

He stressed that it is the exclusive responsibility of the state through the various security organizations to see to the protection of these fundamental rights of the people, saying that it an anathema in a democracy if institutions of government begin to act in negation of these noble objectives.

He recalled the recent campaign by youth across the country against the brutality of the anti-robbery unit of the Nigeria Police, even as he said that up till now, there has yet to be a fundamental reform in the operations of that unit.

“Today, across our major cities and even in the hinterlands, citizens – especially the youth – can hardly walk freely in open avenues without the police stopping them to search through the content of their mobile handsets. Civil servants now lose their jobs just because they choose to criticize politicians in government positions.

“There are even suggestions in some quarters that civil servants should be barred from signing to social media networks. Opposition politicians are regularly being hounded on wanton criminal and civil prosecutions. All of these narratives have become a consistent pattern of behavior that is antithetical to an open and democratic society.

“In many of the states across the country, there is a reign of fascism with governors who have suddenly become overlords dealing ruthlessly with anyone who dares to challenge their ruthless foothold of intimidation and oppression.

“Perhaps at this point, we need to remind ourselves that the democracy which we enjoy today did not come cheap price. It came at the cost of supreme price paid by persons that included Chief MKO Abiola, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, Maj-Gen Shehu Yar’Adua, Chief Alfred Rewane and Bagauda Kaltho, among thousands of other patriots.”

Atiku said that democracy is not just a mechanism of appointing a government, saying that its beauty is in the inherent safeguard to the citizenry to live and prosper as free people under the law.

He called on all political actors to let June 12 and all that it embodies, inspire them to promote democratic principles, especially as Nigeria is about to go to the polls again.

With Obasanjo As Moral Compass, Nigeria Is Doomed And Damned, By Simon Kolawole

Greenbarge Reporters

June 11, 2018

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo

For the life of me, I will never understand how former President Olusegun Obasanjo does it. When you think he is done, he has just begun. I have watched in utter amusement how he has, yet again, wangled his way into the front page of newspapers on a daily basis. I don’t know of any other former head of state elsewhere who has turned himself into the subject and object of national attention long after he has left power. Obasanjo is always there, always scheming, always screaming. It is his luck, I must say, but, as a mere mortal, I often wonder why some guys have all the luck.

Obasanjo, amazingly, has become a god or a saint to many Nigerians. Many politicians, commentators, journalists, activists and youths who used to criticise him are now celebrating him as our moral compass. The people he has brutalised before — such as Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi — go to Abeokuta to genuflect to him. Even Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, of all people, goes to Obasanjo’s house to pay homage. And President Goodluck Jonathan goes to Abeokuta to kowtow to him, with two respected pastors in tow.

How does Obasanjo do it? Can anyone help me out? He has a word on every issue. He expresses his opinion so forcefully, so eloquently and so mischievously that you just cannot ignore him. He loves to criticise what he is patently guilty of. He loves to vilify anyone who does not worship at his temple. There is no accusation Obasanjo throws at anyone that he himself is not double guilty of. He has launched ferocious media attacks against most of his successors — President Shehu Shagari, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Jonathan. Only Gen. Sani Abacha pre-empted him by throwing him into jail before he could open his mouth.

Obasanjo complains about corruption and Nigerians hail him. What’s his moral high ground? Can someone tell me? Has anybody never heard about the Halliburton and Siemens scandals? The damning reports are there in the attorney-general’s office. Does the name Dr. Julius Makanjuola ring a bell? Under Obasanjo, he was the permanent secretary of the ministry of defence implicated in a N421 million scandal. Mysteriously, the case was abruptly closed with Nolle Prosequi (no further prosecution) — the first in Nigeria’s history.

Well, Obasanjo went on to set up the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), headed by Malam Nuhu Ribadu, which — in fairness — did kick the backsides of many politicians. But EFCC could not tackle Obasanjo’s own corruption: from the obscene fundraiser for his private library to his shareholding in Transcorp — a company that was getting juicy stuff from a government superintended by Obasanjo. Have we all forgotten the scandalous waivers granted to all kinds of human beings, officially defrauding our treasury billions of dollars?

Does anybody remember that Obasanjo was in power for eight years and we kept importing fuel, with PDP financiers getting the contracts through local and foreign fronts? Forgotten so easily? Does anybody remember how much we spent on repairing refineries that kept “knocking” for the eight years that Obasanjo was in power? Does anybody still remember Obasanjo saying on national TV that he did not know the price of kerosene and it was “unacceptable” that it was more expensive than petrol? How does Obasanjo get away with hoodwinking Nigerians?

Do we still remember that Obasanjo did not resolve the electricity problem for eight years? Do we still remember the “$16 billion spent on power without results” for which Obasanjo arrogantly refused to appear before the House probe panel? Is it that we have forgotten that the damning report was killed? Do we still remember that Obasanjo did not add one coach to the railways throughout his tenure despite spending billions of dollars? Does anybody still remember how many federal highways were in terrible state for the eight years that Obasanjo spent in power? Have we forgotten the Benin-Shagamu road saga? Just like that?

When Obasanjo discusses insecurity, I cringe. From every available evidence, Boko Haram started right under his nose. If he had aborted the foetus, maybe we wouldn’t be engaged in fire-fighting today. I have heard many Nigerians say, perhaps innocently, that if Obasanjo had been in power he would have crushed Boko Haram by now. Really? How well did he crush the less complex militancy in the Niger Delta? Was it not under Obasanjo that the militancy started in 2004 and flourished?

To the best of my knowledge, militants were bombing oil installations and kidnapping oil workers with ease under Obasanjo. At a stage, daily crude oil production fell to about 900,000 barrels — from the height of 2.5m. In fact, we were later told that why Obasanjo picked Jonathan as the running mate to Yar’Adua was to appease the Niger Delta. Of course, nobody was appeased. The attacks continued until Yar’Adau offered an amnesty deal. How these facts conveniently escape us is beyond my understanding.

Insecurity? Abacha’s regime aside, more Nigerians were assassinated under Obasanjo’s watch than at any time in our history. The abridged roll-call: Chief Bola Ige, a serving minister; Chief Marshall Harry, co-ordinator of the Buhari presidential campaign in 2003; Chief AK Dikibo, PDP chieftain and ally of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; Chief Uche Ogbonnaya (OGB), an ANPP senatorial candidate in Imo state in 2003; and Mr. Barnabas Igwe and his wife, Amaka, in Onitsha. The assassins were never unmasked. What is insecurity?

How did Obasanjo become our moral compass? How did he become such a highly sought-after role model? Has anybody ever managed to read the affidavit Obasanjo’s own son, Gbenga, filed while seeking a divorce from his wife on the ground of incest and adultery? It doesn’t matter? Has anybody ever taken time to read the letter Iyabo wrote to her father, giving graphic details of his megalomania and duplicity? It doesn’t matter? Has anybody ever done a recap of the blatant rigging of elections under the “saint”? It doesn’t matter?

Obasanjo pontificates on impunity and we hail him. What happened to us? Dr. Chris Ngige, as governor of Anambra state, was abducted by Obasanjo’s associates. Have we forgotten the illegal impeachment of Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja as governor of Oyo state? What about the impeachment of Chief Joshua Dariye as governor of Plateau by eight out of 24 lawmakers? For three years, Obasanjo unconstitutionally withheld Lagos council allocations because of political differences. It took Yar’Adua only a few days in power to undo the impunity.

They say, ‘Oh, Obasanjo is a patriot. He has the best interest of Nigeria at heart.’ Really? Can Obasanjo look up to heavens and say, solemnly, that he had the best interest of Nigeria at heart when he was picking his successor? Such a character cannot be my own moral compass. With a moral compass like Obasanjo, though, Nigeria is doomed and damned.

Kolawole of THISDAY Newspaper wrote this piece on January 18, 2015.

My June 12 Experience, By Emmanuel Yawe

Yawe Emmanuel

June 11, 2018

Late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola, the presumed winner of June 12 Presidential election

Since 1993, June 12 has become the hottest political potato in town. The date means different things to different people. To some, it was the day of the freest and fairest election in Nigeria – the birthday of her democracy. To others, it was the day democracy was murdered with the annulment of the presidential election.

Some people stood on June 12; others sat on it. Some stood by and watched the drama, others actively participated in it. Some ate on June 12, others vomited gibberish about it. It is a day of endless contradictions in our political history.

Twenty-five years after June 12 1993, the contradictions have refused to go away. On June 6 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari issued a statement, the substance of which centered on the June 12 controversy. The proclamation which sought to right the wrongs of June 12 has kicked off a hail of dust. The spirit of June 12 was there right in the first paragraph of the statement which said the first inauguration of a president under Nigeria’s presidential system was done on 21^st October 1979. The fact is that our first executive President Alhaji Shehu Shagari was sworn in on October 1 1979. The June 12 devils spirit never dies.

As a news reporter, I had my June 12 experience in 1999, twenty years after Shehu Shagari – the President I love and whom I feel Nigeria has treated most shabbily – took office as President.

Early in 1999, I was contracted to start a new International monthly news Magazine called the Crystal. The first edition came out at the end of May 1999 with the swearing in of President Olusegun Obasanjo as cover story. It was crystal clear, all gloss with on the spot color pictures of the historic international event. As an old school reporter, I did not intend to be on the desk waiting the whole of one month for reporters to dispatch their stories. I hit the road.

By the combined accidents of my birth, education and work experience, I have a comprehensive view of Nigeria. Born of Northern Nigeria extraction, I can plot my family tree from the Kanuri ethnic group in Borno to Taraba, the state of my controversial origin, through Benue and then to Buguma in Rivers and Odi in Bayelsa states. In all these places, I have mothers, fathers, cousins, uncles – you name it. When I visit them, I am always welcome as a home boy. I started my education in Benue and picked my celebrated meal ticket which keeps me ticking from the first and best university in Nigeria at Ibadan, Oyo state. Then I came back north and worked in allof its geo political regions.

As a reporter, this exposure is a great advantage. My ear is always to the ground. I covered the first Maitatsine outbreak in Kano 1980, the second one in Bulunkutu Maiduguri 1982 and the third one in Jimeta Yola 1984. When in 1983 General Muhammadu Buhari, GOC of the 3^rdMechanised Division in Jos went on hot pursuit of Chadian renegades who invaded Nigeria, killing some civilians and soldiers, I tip toed behind the rampaging general, the only Nigerian news reporter on his trail as he marched his all-conquering fighting men close to Ndjamena. I have always remained proud of the report of that adventure which was lavishly used by the New Nigerian Newspapers and the BBC.

As we returned to democracy in 1999, I could sense that the big story would come from the Niger Delta. Any time I went home to Niger Delta, I could sense an impending violent outburst somewhere in thathorizon. The mindless exploitation of the rich resources of the region, the destruction of its environment, the extreme poverty of the people that stared you in the face wherever you went – all ingredients of violent revolution in the making.

After the successful outing of my first edition of Crystal in May 1999, I set out on June 12 to go to Warri where a ferocious ethnic war had broken out between the natives there. I took a meal at Ore and decided to drive on to Benin, spend the night there and proceed to Warri the next day. At about 8pm, I came to a place they call Okada Junction. There was a road block with heavy logs of wood, the type I have never seen the police mount before. Something within me told me this was not a police road block.

I engaged the reverse gear. The criminals who mounted the road block anticipated my reflex action so a hit man was stationed in the right place and I reversed right into his bosom. I saw him clearly with his jeans trousers, a tee shirt and lawn tennis shoes. He opened fire on me point blank. But I did not know that I was hit with a bullet right in my head. I only saw the windscreen of my car coming down in pebbles. I continued to reverse my car which was no longer going back in a straight line but wobbling all over the road.

A passenger bus coming behind me on top speed soon run into me, tumbled repeatedly and crashed in a terrible accident. That was my saving grace. The criminals had more customers to attend to in that bus and did not worry about the lone driver whom they had shot at close range in the head. They all rushed to the bus and I dashed out of my car and took a dive into the gutter. It was only then I knew I was shot in the head and was drenched in blood.

Crawling in the gutter, I saw the sign of a church. I got out and went there. By then I had lost so much blood that I thought I was going to die. It was better to die in a church and go to heaven than die in the hands of criminals who may force me to go to hell with them.

I refused to die.

The Church took me to the police. The police took me back to Okada junction and had a hot exchange of gun battle with the criminals and got me through to a local hospital. The following day they took me back to the scene of crime. There were dead bodies all over. My car was there intact. Even the windscreen which I thought was shattered was intact. The bullet in my head had given me a shattered view of the whole world.

I drove to Benin only to discover that my closest friends were from Delta and had moved to Asaba after the creation of Delta and Edo states. I drove on to Asaba. Austin Iyashere, a Kaduna old boy, was the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ibori. He gave me wonderful hospitality. Willie Bozimo my boss in the News Agency of Nigeria was the General Manger of the Delta State Newspaper. He helped a lot. There was also Chief Edwin Igbokwe, formerly of the Punchand an old family friend.They all helped.

Through Austin Iyashere, the personal physician to the Governor attended to me. He did an ex ray and there was a bullet in my head and one on my shoulder.

Incredibly, I drove back to Abuja in that condition. The doctors at the Specialist hospital Gwagwalda removed the bullet in my head. The one on my shoulder will follow me to my grave because any attempt to remove it will paralyze my left hand, the doctors say. I have kept the bullet from my head and the x ray as part of my family archival material. My children have seen it. My grandchildren will see it. My great, great, great, great, great, grandchildren will see it.

The bullet on my shoulder remains there as my epaulette. When Nigerian journalists are to be ranked, I will go there too and proudly display it. It is the insignia of myJune 12 experience.

Nigeria, Morocco Sign Regional Gas Pipeline, Chemical Plant, Agric Training Agreements

Greenbarge Reporters

June 11, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, King of Morocco, Mohammed VI look on while the representatives of both countries sign agreement.

Nigeria and the Kingdom of Morocco have signed three agreements, which includes a regional gas pipeline that will see Nigeria providing gas to countries in West Africa sub-region that extend to Morocco and Europe.

The signing of the agreements today, Monday in Rabat, Morocco, followed a meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and King of Morocco, His Majesty King Mohammed V1. They focused on strengthening economic relations in gas resource development, global investments and agricultural training and management.

A statement by the Nigerian Presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu said that the feasibility study of the agreement on the pipeline, which was signed by the Group General Manager, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Farouq Said Garba, and Mrs. Amina Benkhadra, Director General of the National Office of Hydrocarbon and Mines, will be concluded by July 2018.

The statement said that the construction of the pipeline will be phased and based on increasing needs of the countries crossed, and Europe, for the period of 25 years.

The Nigeria Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP), designed to be 5,660km long, will reduce gas flaring in Nigeria and encourage diversification of energy resources in the country, while cutting down poverty through the creation of more job opportunities.

The NMGP will further encourage utilisation of gas in the sub-region for cooking, and discourage desertification.

The statement said that at the signing ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Authority, Uche Orji and the Chief Executive Officer of the Office of the Management of Phosphate in Morocco, Mostafa Terrab signed a Memorandom of Understanding for the development of a chemical plant in Nigeria for producing ammonia and its derivatives.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh and his Moroccan counterpart, Mr Aziz Akhannouch, signed a cooperation agreement on vocational training and technical supervision, which will enhance skills on better management of agricultural outfits in Nigeria.

President Buhari, who was received by a large crowd from the airport to the Rabat Royal Palace, assured the King of Morocco of Nigeria’s full commitment to the actualization of all the agreements signed.

PDP To Buhari: Don’t Use Posthumous Award To Abiola To Show Off As Democrat

Greenbarge Reporters

June 10, 2018

PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari not to use the honour he conferred on the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, late Chief MKO Abiola to show himself off as democrat.

In a statement today, Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP rejected the inclination by President Buhari to use the award to posture as a democrat and desperately seeking to garner votes ahead of 2019 presidential election.

The party insisted that bestowing a posthumous national award on Abiola did not make Buhari a democrat.

“Chief Abiola, in his life time, stood for personal liberty of citizens, particularly the right to aspire for any position, respect for constitutional order and principle of separation of powers.

“He also stood for national cohesion as well as a free press, all of which were upheld by the PDP.”

The party said that it is a fact that the freedoms are being trampled and strangulated.

“While the PDP congratulates the family of late Chief Abiola and other martyrs of democracy, we also remember the roles of late Sen. Abraham Adesanya, Bagauda Khalto, Dan Suleiman, Raph Obiorah, Alex Ibru and others.

“We remember the Management and Staff of the Concord, Guardian, Vanguard, Punch and other media houses, who suffered undue hardships for our nation to attain this democracy.”

It called on the Presidency to save the nation international opprobrium of attempting to use the event for “political capital’’ and to posture Buhari as a democrat.

Why Obasanjo Hates My Father Even After His Death – MKO Abiloa’s Daughter, Tundun

Greenbarge Reporters

June 10, 2018

A daughter of the late Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Chief MKO Abiola, Barrister Tundun Abiola, has given reason why former President Olusegun Obasanjo hates her father even long after he was dead.

She said:“Obasanjo and my father had a relationship then; so what happened in their lifetime continued even after my father was dead. He cannot bear the idea of Moshood Abiola, so he did not do it.”

Tundun, who is a lawyer, was, in an interview on Rubin Minds on Channels Television, reacting to the declaration of June 12 as the new Democracy Day and the posthumous award of GCFR conferred late MKO Abiola by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The late politician’s daughter said that she was not surprised that Obasanjo did not recognize her late father for his contributions to the nation’s development, saying: “when you know you were not elected, you know you were selected and just appointed president by the military, it is galling for him to have acknowledged a democratic process.

“Obasanjo was appointed the President; he was not elected President. We did not have any election in 1999, we had a coronation.”

She emphasized that Obasanjo was appointed by the then military regime to compensate the people of the South-West region for the death of her father – the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Clark Begs Buhari For More Oil Blocs, Appointments For Niger Delta Oil Communities

Greenbarge Reporters

June 10, 2018

Leader of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to allocate more oil blocks and appoint more people from the Niger Delta oil producing communities as a way of saving them from the present total estrangement.
“We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to without delay, redirect a correction of the various imbalances of these very sensitive issues in the interest of equity, fairness and peace. We advocate strongly that there must be a deliberate review to involve qualified indigenes of the oil and gas host communities in top and middle level positions as well as in the allocation of oil blocsk/marginal fields in the oil and gas industry to host communities.

“As a consequence of Federal Government’s casual and lethargic approach, which some perceived as lack of commitment and seriousness to the immediate resolution of the current Niger Delta crisis, the patience of the youths and other critical stakeholders in the region was waning.

“More worrisome is the way the Federal Government has conducted appointments to positions in the management of the nation’s oil and gas sector, which is operated in our backyard. Nearly all the top and middle level positions in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and its subsidiaries are manned mostly by northerners, rather than those from the areas.

“As it stands today, the oil producing communities of the Niger Delta are completely alienated. “A ready case in point is the composition of the nine-member NNPC Board, which Mr. President constituted in 2016, where the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, who is chairman of the Board by virtue of his portfolio, and Dr. Thomas John, a former group managing director of NNPC from Cross River State, are the only members from the South-South. Six directors out of the nine, including the sitting Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, are from the Northern part of the country, which do not produce oil.

“To our utter dismay and rude shock, of the 55 top management staff of the NNPC made public in September 2017, only 19 are from the South, while over 36 are from the North, a non-oil producing zone. This was in the face of the protestations by the people of the Niger Delta over the obvious marginalization in the NNPC Board composition.

“Breakdown of another 41 top management staff positions of the NNPC made at the same time, showed that only five are from the Niger Delta region, while nine are from the other Southern divide, South West and South East zones, and the North has 27 positions. Does this depict an equal Nigeria? No. These actions are affronts on the sensibilities of the people of Niger Delta and indeed the people of southern Nigeria.

“Despite the neglect we suffer and the unnecessary provocations, the people of the Niger Delta region have remained committed to unity and oneness of Nigeria. Because we believe in the corporate existence of our great country, Nigeria, we are not asking for too much, all we are saying is that our people should maximally benefit from the resources from their land. “We had hoped and would endeavour to keep that hope alive that this administration of Mr. President is one that will do things differently in addressing the years of neglect and underdevelopment of the region.”

The Niger Delta leader asked Buhari “to give conscientious consideration to our reflections and requests, and act accordingly. If we fail to provide rational and realistic interventions, we leave room for decadents to further devise trajectories for unorthodox alterations. But if you act rightly and justly, your name would be written with golden inks not only in annals of history but also in hearts and minds of the people of Niger Delta.”

1...1,2791,2801,281...2,488 Page 1,280 of 2,488