Suspended Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central) might have won his case against the Senate at the Federal High Court, but the victory is essentially not his alone. The victory is a common patrimony of the silent minority in the Senate against whom the full weight of the gavel has been deployed by the leadership of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.
Saraki’s leadership is against the silent minority who decided to have their say after the tyrannical majority, as happens universally, had their way in the passage of the Electoral Act 2010 (Amendment Bill, 2018). For Saraki and his loyalists, the real Mccoy in the entire amendment saga was the inclusion of section 25 by which the sequence of the 2019 elections was reordered.
The big deal about the reordered sequence was the fixing of the presidential election as the last in the series. The import of that gambit to the APC leadership under President Muhammadu Buhari was not far-fetched. It was, therefore, an unacceptable ploy to deny the president the clear advantage of having his election as a precursor to the others.
Whereas, from the presidential election holding first, according to the original sequence drawn up by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is a possible bandwagon effect that Buhari’s victory is likely to precipitate for other APC candidates. Saraki and his few APC loyalists in the Senate must have their reasons for moving to reorder the sequence and fixing the presidential election as the last in the series.
That, really, is not the motivation for this piece. This piece is about the vilification of members of the minority group in the Senate who have suffered abridgment of their rights to represent their constituents for some period and whose freedom to associate in groups within the precincts of the Senate has been constrained. The thematic essence is the interrogation of the futility by the senate leadership to perpetually intimidate the minority senators.
Whereas, the minority group is blessed with an inspirational and steadfast leader; it is in this context that the leadership role of former Nasarawa state governor and ranking member of the Senate, septuagenarian Abdullahi Adamu (APC, Nasarawa West) is situated and cannot escape essential appraisal. He approximates in the Senate the de facto and strategic arrowhead in the current proxy battle for the defence of Buhari’s political and electoral advantages as well as those of the bigger APC family.
There is no doubt that the senate leadership recognises how critical Abdullahi Adamu is to the re-election effort of President Buhari as the north central coordinator of the presidential campaign. He is therefore the real scarer of the senate leadership in the moves and exertions to project and promote the president’s interest in the Senate to the discomfort of the leadership. His strategic role in the coordinated antagonism to the reordering of the sequence of election is referential.
Members of his minority group were able to strengthen the hand of Buhari to veto the Electoral Act 2010 (Amendment Bill 2018). The president’s veto was the most significant indication that he was on the same page with the silent minority over the issue. That raised tension in the polity as both sides readied to go for broke. But Buhari, at the head of a very formidable machine, appeared more daring to take risks in the executive-legislature’s supremacy battle.
Indeed, it is now very clear that the few senators who disagreed with the decision of the Senate to reorder the sequence of elections were clear-headed from the outset about the goal they wanted to achieve. Even though, they did not have the number to filibuster the process, their post-passage protest was sufficient enough to raise the red flag that all was not well in the Senate over the decision, which was not a product of unanimity or consensus.
Therefore, it goes without saying that the pocket of dissenting senators, working to promote the overarching interest of the president and the APC, drives the strategic argument that the APC family would benefit from potential bandwagon effect if the presidential election is held first and Buhari wins. But in an obvious counter move aimed at forcing a compromise towards securing their positions and future within the APC, Saraki and his loyalists resorted to the brinkmanship of reordering the election sequence to make the presidential election the last in the series.
And this is where the minority group disrupted, perhaps, the joker by Saraki-led majority group (it still enjoys the bloc support of the PDP caucus). The group stood up against the senate leadership. Credit must be given to Senator Abdullahi Adamu who has led the silent minority to run the gauntlet in the Senate with the equanimity of an elder and experienced political strategist.
Ordinarily, he should have been the one to address the press on the position of the group on the sequence of elections but he remitted the task to Omo-Agege. Despite that, the senate leadership still found a flimsy excuse to announce his removal as chairman of Northern Senators’ Forum (NSF). Adamu did not protest the charade. Those close to him quoted him to have said in some private discussions that he was not in the Senate to be chair of NSF.
But he took steps to explain the expenditure of NSF’s N70 million that some members claimed was embezzled and on which basis they reportedly announced his removal. There are feelers that he has been unfazed as he continues to represent a voice of moderation and reason in the Senate especially during executive sessions where the internal affairs of the Senate are discussed.
With his vast experience as former minister, pioneer Chairman of Governors’ Forum and one-time Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adamu is believed to have all it takes to calm frayed nerves and deflect onslaughts. His obvious positions, according to feelers, which Saraki, whom he perhaps takes as a son, does not seem to appreciate, are: why would the Senate President want to run down a government of which he is a major beneficiary and why is he, as first among equals, foisting autocratic leadership on the Senate?
There are more posers by some watchers of the Senate: If Senator David Mark, as senate president for eight years, did not suspend a single senator, why has Saraki resorted to suspending his colleagues at the slightest provocation? Why has Saraki deployed the platform of the Senate to promote local politics between senators and their governors? The supremacy of the party is a universal reality. Why is Saraki subtly pulling down the APC instead of propping it up?
Was Saraki not overreaching the position of Senate leadership by proscribing the Parliamentary Support Group (PSG), which was perhaps misconstrued to be a pressure group in support of Buhari? In fact, the PSG, according to some of its promoters, is committed to protecting and projecting the APC as well as defending it against plots by persons in the Senate to undermine it. The existence of pressure groups is not new in the Senate. There had been the G-89, Integrity Group, Unity Group, et al that served some specific purposes while they subsisted.
As Abdullahi Adamu, together with Omo-Agege, continues to run the gauntlet-in and outside the Senate respectively-their positions are enjoying judicial support, to wit: the court’s ruling against NASS over the reordering of election sequence; the ruling that Omo-Agege could not be suspended for more than fourteen days plus one day; and, finally, has the National Assembly not dropped the casus belli (that is the amendment bill) at the root of the entire saga?
Ojeifo is editor-in-chief of The Congresswatch magazine. [myad]
Medical doctors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) public health sector are believed to be diverting patients to their private clinics for treatment as members of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), today, Thursday, joined their counterparts across the nation on a sit-at-home strike.
Information reaching us revealed that mainly pregnant women who are at the verge of going into labour are being hurriedly referred by the doctors to such private clinics where they are being charged between N100,000 and N200,000, especially when it involved Caesarian Section (CS).
Our correspondents, who monitored the situation in the FCT as the other health workers formally joined in the strike today, Thursday, reported that nurses, pharmacists, record keepers, laboratory technicians and even hospital attendants and cleaners joined in the strike, leaving only doctors.
It was gathered that most of the patients on admissions in hospitals across the federal capital city were hurriedly discharged as the doctors who are on duty could not carry out the functions of the other health workers on strike.
The National Vice Chairman of JOHESU, Ogbonna Chimela, told newsmen on Monday that members would embark on indefinite strike, which is expected to paralyse activities in all health institutions across the country.
Ogbonna said: “all federal government health institutions in Nigeria including federal medical centres, specialists’ hospitals, orthopedic hospitals, psychiatric hospitals among others will be the first to shut down.
“If the government allows the strike to continue after two weeks, all the states and local government health institutions will now join,”
The members of JOHESU are hospital workers, including nurses and pharmacists, but excluding medical doctors and dentists.
Ogbonna said that the strike would commence from midnight on Tuesday.
“Before now we gave the government 21 working days as an ultimatum. Last month, we so threatened to go on strike after 30 working days, which expires on Tuesday and government did not really do anything tangible.
“They only invited us on April 5 and told us that our issues are being looked into as usual without any concrete effort on how they are planning to meet our demand.
“So our National Executive Council (NEC) met in Abuja and appraised the situation and we resolved to continue with the strike, no going back,” the union leader said.
JOHESU comprises National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives ( NANNM ), Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals ( NUAHP ) Medical and Health Workers’ Union ( MHWUN ).
Others are Senior Staff Association of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Research Institutes and Associated Institutions ( SSAUTHRIAI ) and Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria.
JOHESU members are demanding for good salary structure, payment of outstanding salary arrears as well as teaching and uniform allowances, among others.
The Federal Government had on Sept.30, 2017 entered an agreement with the unions to implement new salary structure within five weeks, which has yet to be implemented.
JOHESU leader complained: “some other health professionals demanded for the same salary structure and it was approved within 15 days.
“We discovered that the Federal Ministry of Health wanta to implement “No Work, No Pay” in order to threaten our members.
“Every member should free themselves from fear of no work, no pay and be ready to fight for it.
“We are going to all the teaching hospitals and medical centres to inform all our members correctly on why they should fight for their rights,” he said.
JOHESU appealed to members of the public to understand that they care for them, especially people who could not afford the bills of the private hospitals for treatment.
“This is the main reason we demand that Federal Government should improve the hospital by providing more equipment, infrastructure and manpower.
“We always consider our patients before embarking on any strike that is why we gave the Federal Government long time ultimatum to implement our demands. Nobody can fight for us; we can only fight for ourselves by claiming our rights.
“We noticed that the gap between the medical doctors’ salary structure and that of other health professionals is too wide, which we consider is totally unfair to health sector.” [myad]
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Coalition for Nigerian Movement (CNM) has finally transformed into a new political party known as the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
This came after CNM’s co-convener, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) today, Thursday and resigned from his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari as the chairman of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
Announcing CNM’s fusion into ADC in Abuja today, Oyinlola claimed that the structural inadequacies and failure of leadership under the current administration of APC have robbed Nigeria of greatness.
The statement announcing the formation of the new party reads: “we have said it before and we are stating it here again that the current state of despair and despondency in our dear country is an ill wind.
“It is foreboding and can only lead to a conflagration. Between January when CNM was formed and now, can we say that the story of Nigeria has changed for the better? Have things not worsened at all levels?.
“I thank all of you for being here today. You will all recall that in January this year, the Coalition for Nigeria Movement, CNM, was formed by some of us across the country as a political platform to create a new generation of leaders for our country.
“Between that time and today, a lot of grounds has been covered in achieving the set goals. One of such is what we are doing here today – the formal fusing of – our movement into the African Democratic Congress.
“Beyond what we are doing here today, we put our countrymen and women, old and young, on notice that they should expect more from us; that they should expect deepened political engagements across platforms in the coming days and weeks. In other words, this is just the first in a multi-layered action plan to give back the country to its much deprived people.
“As we stated in January during the launch of the CNM, we are taking on this task not minding the inconveniences and other expected and unexpected consequences of our efforts at reinventing the country.
“We admit that structural inadequacies and failure of leadership have robbed our country of greatness. We also note that a future of greatness for Nigeria will only be birthed by a new generation of youthful leaders with fresh ideas and knowledge of what it takes to govern a 21 st century nation.
“This gathering here today is a proof that the modest efforts at waking up the vast majority of our people to for once, take their destiny in their hands as demanded by the constitution are bearing fruits already. Our constitution guarantees all Nigerians their fundamental human rights, including freedom of association and the right to hold political views.
“The decision to move in to African Democratic Congress therefore, is an appreciation of the progressive essence of the party and its untainted existence on the terrain of our nation’s politics.
“While I on behalf of the leadership and the over three million members of the CNM congratulate ADC as the vehicle for national reinvention, I urge us to let us know that the task ahead is an arduous one that needs further strengthening of the forces of change. What I am saying is that we should be open to new engagements and alliances being forged and crystallizing across the country.” [myad]
The National Judicial Council (NJC) has recommended the sacking of the Adamawa State High Court Judge, Justice Michael Goji for refusing to be transferred to the Mubi Judicial Division of the State High Court since July, 2017.
The NJC, under the Chairmanship of the Chief Judge of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, at its 86th meeting, said that the recommendation for the compulsory retirement of Justice Goji has been communicated to Governor Bindo Umaru Jibrilla of Adamawa State after the advice of the State Judicial Service Commission which findings implicated the erring judge on the allegations of misconduct.
“The Adamawa State Judicial State Commission had conducted an investigation on the conduct of Hon. Mr. Justice Goji, following the directive of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, after receiving the complaint of his misconduct from the Adamawa State Chief Judge.
“Aside from the recommendation for compulsory retirement, Council also directed that he should refund all salaries received by him from July, 2017 till date, failing which the Adamawa State Government is to deduct the amount from any entitlement due to him and remit same to the National Judicial Council which pays salaries of all Judicial Officers in the Federation.
“In the interim, the Council in exercise of its disciplinary powers under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, has suspended Hon. Mr. Justice Goji from office pending his removal from office.”
The Council also considered the reports of various Investigation Committees and dismissed petitions written against Justice Paul AdamuGalinje of the Supreme Court, Justice Aminu Sabo Ringim, Chief Judge of Jigawa State, and Justice Peter Umeadi, Chief Judge of Enugu State.
The petition against Justice Paul AdamuGalinje of the Supreme Court was dismissed sequel to its withdrawal by Yaro Abarshi and John Yobi Yarafa and others, who alleged that he interfered in a Chieftaincy matter in Taraba State.
The petition against Justice Aminu Sabo Ringim was also dismissed because the Petitioner, Dr Jamil Gwamna who wrote to Babatunde Raji Fashola, minister of Power and Works who in turn forwarded same to the National Judicial Council, withdrew the petition. The allegation was that the Judge ordered the arrest, assault, and detention of staff of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) when they disconnected the electricity at the State High Court and the Judge’s house for non-payment of bills. The Committee that investigated the matter found that the Petitioner could not show or prove that Hon. Mr. Justice Ringim instructed or directed the arrest of KEDCO’s staff.
The Council said that it did not find any reason to further investigate Justices Paul Galinje and Aminu Ringim after the withdrawals.
The Council, at the meeting also recommended 21 Judges for appointment as Chief Judges, Grand Kadi, High Court Judges, Sharia Court Kadis, President, Customary Court of Appeal, and one member, Code of Conduct Tribunal.
The Council also received the report of the Performance Evaluation Committee of Judicial Officers of Superior Courts of Record in the Federation on 16 Judges invited by the Committee to explain their low performance in the last two to four quarters in the year 2017. [myad]
Babafemi Ojudu, one of the contestants for the governorship seat of Ekiti State under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has withdrawn from the race saying that he is not ready to step on blood of innocent people to get to power.
Ojudu, who is the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, at a press conference today, Thursday, in Ado-Ekiti, the state capita said: “I do not believe in engaging in an unfair contest and I am not ready to step on blood to get to power. l.
He accused the National Chairman of the party, John Odigie-Oyegun of collusion, alleging that he conspired with one of the aspirants in the race to unleash mayhem on others.
“From what has happened since May 5 to date, it goes without saying that this is an unfair contest where the National Working committee chairman has clearly demonstrated that he does not care what happens to our dear party now and in the nearest future,” he said.
“We saw a chairman who has conspired with one of the aspirants in the race to unleash mayhem on others, wreak havoc and violence on ordinary citizens and exposed the state to great embarrassment on national television. We saw an aspirant so unpopular to the extent that delegates called him unprintable names at the voting arena now being imposed on our people, not minding if this means we lose this state forever.
As I have reiterated at different times in the course of the campaign, this was never about me. It was not about an ambition but a mission to give a new lease of life to Ekiti State and the people. It was about safeguarding the future of our children, our grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even generations yet unborn.
“There is no doubt that we all love this land, that everyone of you had best hopes and aspiration for this beautiful state we call ours and that above all, this state should wear a new look, be adorned with a new reputation and have a new image of itself.
“All my life, I have fought injustice and sought the good of the whole. Therefore, this injustice perpetrated against Ekiti people by the NWC Chairman cannot be allowed to stand. This is why the fight will continue, not as an aspirant but as a party reformer.
“As a leader and party chieftain, I will inspire a new generation of leaders – of young professionals, businessmen and technocrats to re-enter our politics and change this state. Only then can we have men and women of honour who will take Ekiti out of the wilderness and restore her to her pride of place.
“At the national level, I will continue to support Mr. President in ensuring party reforms. I will work hard to ensure that never again is our party thrown to desperate men who feed on monetary inducements and undermine their own party. This movement continues but I would be stepping down immediately as a governorship aspirant to focus on this new mission.”
The party has fixed Saturday, May 12, for the governorship primary election in the state, as they are expected to present a flagbearer ahead of the May 14 deadline slated by the Independent National Electoral Commission. [myad]
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim K. Idris has told the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that he and the Nigerian Police Force don’t owe it any apology for the action taken against Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi State West Senatorial Area, whom he described as a criminal in the Senate’s fold.
He declared: “I and the Nigeria Police Force will not be deterred by blackmail from any individual or group no matter how highly placed from the enforcement of Law and Order and ensuring that the Rule of Law prevails. No matter whose Ox is gored.
“The Nigeria Police Force, therefore, owes no apology to any individual or groups in its effort to ensure preservation of law and order, supremacy of the law of the land, and make sure that all Nigerians are subject to the same law, no matter what their position is in the society.”
In a statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Jimoh Moshood, reacting to the Senate’s declaring him enemy of democracy, the police boss asked Nigerians to ignore the resolution of the Senate which he said is “a deliberate blackmail, witch-hunting and mischievously aimed at casting aspersions on me and the Nigerian Police Force.”
He described the action of the Senate as a deliberate mischievous motive to hand-twist him to pervert justice in a felonious and serious offences of criminal conspiracy and unlawful possession of firearms for which Dino Melaye, who was indicted by two principal suspects (Kabiru Seidu A.K.A Osama and Nuhu Salisu A.K.A Small), arrested for several cases of kidnappings and armed robberies in Kogi State, are already standing trial in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Ibrahim Idris rejected the Senate’s resolution calling him an enemy of democracy, saying that he had served meritoriously for 10 years in the United Nations Peace Keeping Operations in several countries “unblemished.”
He argued that the Nigerian Police Force is the first defender of democracy and all the democratic institutions in Nigeria “and will continue to do so.”
The police boss explained that Senator Dino Melaye was discharged and certified fit to stand trial by the National Hospital, Abuja before he was arraigned in Chief Magistrate’s Court in Wuse, Abuja and Lokoja.
The full text of the statement goes thus:
The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to the media reportage of the Senate’s resolution on Senate Order Paper of today, Wednesday, 9th May, 2018 after a closed door session that the “Senate declares theInspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim k. Idris, NPM, mni, as enemy of democracy and unfit to hold any public office within and outside the country”.
It is urgently imperative that the Nigeria Police Force respond to this resolution of the Senate which is a deliberate blackmail, witch-hunting, unfortunate and mischievous.
In accordance with the extant laws in Nigeria, the functions, duties and responsibilities of the Inspector General of Police as stated in Section 215(1a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, and the Police Act and Regulations Section 309(1) can also be carried out as mentioned in sections 7(1),312(1), 313(2) of the Police Act and Regulations by a senior officer of the Force of the Rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police or an Assistant Inspector General of Police who if permitted by the Inspector General of Police to act on his behalf or represent him in an official capacity at any official function, event or programme within and outside Nigeria can do so in consonant with the provisions of the Police Act and Regulations.
It is on the basis of the above that when on the 25thof April, 2018, the Senate invited the Inspector-General of Police to appear before it on the 26th of April 2018, in respect of the felonious offenses for which Sen. Dino Melaye was taken into Police custody, investigated and arraigned in a Court of Competent Jurisdiction in Lokoja, but because the Inspector-General of Police was on official assignment with the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria to Bauchi on same date, he delegated the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Department of Operations, Assistant Inspector-Generals of Police and some Commissioners of Police conversant with the matter to brief the Senate.
The delegated Officers went with a brief of the Inspector-General of Police on the matter to the Senate to enable the Senate appreciate the issues raised to guide their resolutions on the matter but the Senate refused to listen to the Officers delegated by the Inspector-General of Police in line with his powers recognized by both the Constitution and the Police Act and Regulations.
The Senate again on the 26th of April 2018 wrote the Inspector-General of Police re-inviting him to appear before the Senate in person on the 2nd of May, 2018 but this time around the IGP was on official assignment to Birnin-Gwari Area of Kaduna State in company of the General Officer Commanding, One Division, Nigerian Army Kaduna, Major General Mohammed Mohammed to attend to some very serious security matters of National Importance, but he promptly delegated the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Research and Planning, Assistant Inspectors General of Police and Commissioners of Police to represent him and brief the Senate on the same subject matter but the Senate again refused to accord them audience insisting that the Inspector-General of Police must appear in person.
On the 8th of May, 2018, the Inspector General of Police sent a letter to the President of the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria signed by the Commissioner of Police, Legal and Prosecution Department, explaining why he would not be appearing before the Senate on the 9th of May, 2018 due to legal restraint as a result of pending cases before the courts filed: (i) by Senator Dino Melaye against the IGP and the Nigeria Police Force in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in suit No. CV/1610/18 slated for hearing on the 11th day of May, 2018.
(ii) by the Inspector General of Police against the Senate in the Federal High Court, Abuja in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/457/2018 adjourned to 31st May, 2018 for hearing.
It is on record thatc onsequent on the confession of criminal offences indicting Senator Dino Melaye by the principal suspect KABIRU SAIDU a.k.a OSAMA “31 YRS”, The Nigeria Police Force, sent a letter of investigation activities/invitation dated 2nd March, 2018 addressed to the Senate President, Federal Republic of Nigeria informing and requesting him to release Senator Dino Melaye to report to Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command on the 7th of March, 2018 to answer to criminal offences of Conspiracy and Unlawful Possession of Prohibited Firearms levelled against him, this is to enable the Police Investigation Team carryout a discreet and thorough investigation into the case. But Senator Dino Melaye refused to honour the Police invitation.
It is pertinent that the Nigeria Police Force informs the members of the General Public that the reasons for which the Senate has summoned the Inspector General of Police is official and not personal, and the 1999 constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended and the Police Act and Regulations allowed the IGP to delegate Deputy Inspector General of Police or Assistant Inspector General of Police to represent him.
Consequently, the action of the Senate in its resolution against the IGP today is a deliberate blackmail, witch-hunting with mischievous motives to hand-twist the IGP to pervert the end of justice in afelonious and serious offenses of Criminal Conspiracy and Unlawful Possession of Prohibited Firearms for which Senator Dino Melaye who was indicted by two (2) Principal Suspects (Kabiru Seidu A.K.A OSAMA, Nuhu Salisu A.K.A SMALL) arrested for several cases of kidnappings and armed robberies in Kogi State are already standing trial in a court of competent jurisdiction.
It is important to correct the impression created in the minds of the people from the Senate’s resolution that the IGP is not and will not be an enemy to democracy. It is also of significant note to state that IGP Ibrahim K. Idris, NPM, mni, has served meritoriously for above Ten (10) years in the United Nations Peace Keeping Operations in several countries unblemished. The Nigeria Police Force is the first defender of Democracy and all democratic institutions in Nigeria and will continue to do so.
It is factual and verifiable that Senator Dino Melaye was discharged and certified fit to stand trial by the National Hospital, Abuja before he was arraigned in Chief Magistrate Courts in Wuse, Abuja and Lokoja.
The Inspector General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force will not be deterred by blackmail from any individual or group no matter how highly placed from the enforcement of Law and Order and ensuring that the Rule of Law prevails.
No matter whose Ox is gored.
The Nigeria Police Force, therefore, owes no apology to any individual or groups in its effort to ensure preservation of law and order, supremacy of the law of the land, and make sure that all Nigerians are subject to the same law, no matter what their position is in the society.
The General Public are hereby implored to disregard and discountenance the resolution of the Senate on the IGP as a deliberate blackmail, witch-hunting and mischievously aimed at casting aspersions on the hard earned integrity of the Inspector General of Police and the Nigeria Police Force.
The Nigeria Police Force as a law abiding organization will continue to hold the Senate of Federal Republic of Nigeria in high esteem but wishes to impress on the Senate not to harbour criminal elements among its fold or condone criminality. The Force will not be intimidated by any individual, groups or institution, constituent or otherwise to abdicate from its constitutional responsibilities of protection of lives and property and due enforcement of the rule of law, and law and order across the Country.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has described the FCT as one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
He said that at its current population and growing at nine percent yearly, there is no doubt that the city is truly an investor’s heaven.
The minister, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the commissioning of Fraser Suites – a Five-Star Hotel – which debuted in Abuja’s Central Business District, lauded the Royal Pacific Group, the Hotel owners, for their demonstrated faith in Abuja.
He paid growing tributes to the Nasreddin family, also owners of NASCO Foods Jos, for the nearly six decades of their investment in Nigeria.
“This is a very important project for us in Nigeria in general and Abuja in particular, especially because we are happy to be the first country and, indeed, the first city in Africa to host the prestigious Fraser Suites.”
Speaking at the occasion of the Chairman, Royal Pacific Group, Dr. Attia Nasreddin, said that the mission of the Group is to deliver world class services to its clients.
He said that the Group is dedicated to the growth and development of the African Continent and driven to transform lives of the host communities in the emerging markets for generations to come.
Dr, Nasreddin said that Nigeria is a nation of endless possibilities as far as hospitality business is concerned.[myad]
A governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has said that he cannot trust the leader of the party in the state and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to be fair in the contest with others for te seat.
Senator Abe, in a statement today, Thursday in Port Harcourt, said that Amaechi has publicly declared that he will not support his governorship aspirations.
“I am amused by some of these allegations and stories making the rounds. For the records, the disagreement between me and the Minister (Amaechi) is political. He is the leader of the party but he has said publicly on several occasions that he can never support me.
“That means the entire country knows that he cannot pretend to be neutral or an unbiased umpire in any matter in which my interest and the interests of those interested in me are concerned. Yet, as the leader it is his responsibility to provide a level playing field for us all.”
Abe, who is the senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, insisted that those who converged at the APC secretariat in Port Harcourt on Friday, May 4, were not thugs but members and supporters of the party.
‘The people he (Amaechi) is referring to as thugs and hoodlums today were the same people that were his heroes yesterday. They were the people we used to blockade the Rivers State Judiciary when his government was threatened. They were the people that slept for days outside the Rivers State House of Assembly to protect his government.
“A lot of them were members of Save Rivers Movement who risked and gave their all to birth the APC in this state, and he knows a lot of them by name, but today they are thugs and hoodlums because he is now the oppressor”.
“We are politicians, tomorrow when we need voters, who will these people now branded as thugs be? People paid for forms, they had their tellers and no one was telling them what was going on, they besieged the state secretariat for explanations.”
“Rather than the leader to come and address them they brought armed policemen to open fire on innocent party men and women. That attack led to the pandemonium at the secretariat.”
“They were there from morning and there was no violence until the police came and opened fire on APC members who were totally peaceful. Who authorised the shooting and why?” [myad]
Eight schools in Nigeria have been awarded the British Council’s prestigious International School Award in recognition of their work to bringing the world into the classroom.
The International School Award is a badge of honour for schools that showcase outstanding work in international education, such as through links with partner schools overseas.
Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British Council’s work with schools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need to live and work as global citizens.
The eight schools honoured today, Thursday in Lagos were Child of Promise School, Hallmark School, Linsy High School, Linsy Nursery & Primary School, M.D School all in Lagos; Olumawu School in Abuja, Riverside Montessori School in Ogun State and Supreme Education Foundation Schools also in Lagos.
Some of the range of international work taken on by the various schools included Creating Wealth from Waste, Cultural Diversity, Learn my Language, Life in Slums, Child Labour, Saving the Girl Child, Nature Conservation and Natural Resources and Sustaining World Peace.
Lynda Ashaolu, Project Manager, Schools Education, British Council, said: “The International School Award is a great chance for schools to demonstrate the important work they’re doing to bring the world into their classrooms.
“Adding an international dimension to children’s education ensures that they are truly global citizens and helps prepare them for successful future careers in an increasingly global economy.”
The award is now available worldwide in countries such as the United Kingdom, India, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Lebanon, Cyprus and Pakistan as part of the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme.
About 5,000 International School Awards have been presented to successful schools in the UK since the scheme began in 1999.
The International School Award encourages and supports schools to develop an international ethos embedded throughout the school; a majority of pupils within the school impacted by and involved in international work; collaborative curriculum-based work with a number of partner schools; curriculum-based work across a range of subjects; year-round international activity; and involvement of the wider community. [myad]
The Osin River or more well-known as OdoOsin, occupies a unique position in Igbomina history. Legend has it that a pretty woman angrily turned into the river after she had to endure long societal insults for barrenness. Osin flows from Ila Orangun to Ajasse-Ipo, Ilala and many other places into the River Niger practically encircle Igbominaland which makes her unique to them.
Osin provides refuge to those who seek her. You don’t weep to Osin and come back still bereaved. She will graciously give you what you ask provided you are due for it. But weeping extensively at this great river without Osin knowing what you really want will fetch one nothing!
An avid observer of the Nigerian political and social space since January this year cannot fail to notice several developments from herdsmen “killings” especially in Benue state to the kick-starting of political campaigns for the 2019 elections. All these events have their interconnectedness.
On the several killings, one will notice several commentaries especially on social media about the cause(s) of the killings, but sadly, few analysts seem to know the cause and fewer seem to have provided solutions to the problem.What one cannot but fail to notice are the continuous rantings and understandable anger. But do all these solve problems?
I recall telling someone in February that the recent killings, especially in Benue state, cannot be technically classified as the normal Herdsmen/Farmers conflict. Though, there is grand or “evil” agenda in a section of the media to promote the narrative that the killings were carried about by ‘Fulani’ herdsmen just to find a way to link President Muhammadu Buhari, a Fulani, to the killings. In doing so, promoters of the narrative want us to pretend that farmers/herdsmen conflicts in Nigeria are recent phenomena. The only solution the promoters of this narrative proffer is to “vote out Buhari.” Unfortunately, these ones are only interested in seeking electoral and other political gains from the misfortunes of others. Buhari will not be Nigerian president forever. If for any reason he stops being president today, does this mean the conflicts will just disappear into the thing air? I am sorry to disappoint you, Surely not. It will not because it is not an algebraic equation that just gets solved by simply changing one variable. In 2015, many Buhari supporters believed that voting out President Goodluck Jonathan will just automatically bring an end to Boko Haram insurgency. We all living witnesses to how easy it has been ending the insurgency indeed!
This problem has been with us for as long as anyone can remember. In my opinion, it seems we have gotten so used to it. It has become a “normal” part of us. We play with it and when it bites, we cry to the heavens not knowing what to do. Like prostitutes, they are condemned using the strongest words in the daytime, only for the same prostitutes to be used to satisfy some uncontrolled libidos by nightfall. We do not seem to want a solution to the problem because it appears to have its own “benefits”.
Things like these used to be serious problems in many West African countries, but today no more because they chose to find lasting solutions to the problem. Herdsmen and farmers are living in harmony in Ghana, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and the likes. These countries used to be the hotbed for farmers/herdsmen conflicts. In our case, we play politics with it like we do with everything else before things escalate.
The farmers/herdsmen conflict is not primarily a political problem. There are dimensions to it. There are questions of environmental (climate) change; development and food security; national security; land reforms and citizenship; and political and religious issues. On the list, the political dimension would have conveniently been the least. But this was made difficult when “vested interests” like ethno-religious people and politicians chose to make gains out of the misfortunes of others. This is why I sat down beside Osin river and wept!
OlalekanWaheed ADIGUN is the author of the fast-selling book WITNESSING THE CHANGE. He can be reached at +2348136502040, +2347081901080 or email: adgorwell@gmail.com.[myad]
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The Osin River or more well-known as OdoOsin, occupies a unique position in Igbomina history. Legend has it that a pretty woman angrily turned into the river after she had to endure long societal insults for barrenness. Osin flows from Ila Orangun to Ajasse-Ipo, Ilala and many other places into the River Niger practically encircle Igbominaland which makes her unique to them.
Running The Gauntlet In Senate, By Sufuyan Ojeifo
Suspended Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central) might have won his case against the Senate at the Federal High Court, but the victory is essentially not his alone. The victory is a common patrimony of the silent minority in the Senate against whom the full weight of the gavel has been deployed by the leadership of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.
Saraki’s leadership is against the silent minority who decided to have their say after the tyrannical majority, as happens universally, had their way in the passage of the Electoral Act 2010 (Amendment Bill, 2018). For Saraki and his loyalists, the real Mccoy in the entire amendment saga was the inclusion of section 25 by which the sequence of the 2019 elections was reordered.
The big deal about the reordered sequence was the fixing of the presidential election as the last in the series. The import of that gambit to the APC leadership under President Muhammadu Buhari was not far-fetched. It was, therefore, an unacceptable ploy to deny the president the clear advantage of having his election as a precursor to the others.
Whereas, from the presidential election holding first, according to the original sequence drawn up by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is a possible bandwagon effect that Buhari’s victory is likely to precipitate for other APC candidates. Saraki and his few APC loyalists in the Senate must have their reasons for moving to reorder the sequence and fixing the presidential election as the last in the series.
That, really, is not the motivation for this piece. This piece is about the vilification of members of the minority group in the Senate who have suffered abridgment of their rights to represent their constituents for some period and whose freedom to associate in groups within the precincts of the Senate has been constrained. The thematic essence is the interrogation of the futility by the senate leadership to perpetually intimidate the minority senators.
Whereas, the minority group is blessed with an inspirational and steadfast leader; it is in this context that the leadership role of former Nasarawa state governor and ranking member of the Senate, septuagenarian Abdullahi Adamu (APC, Nasarawa West) is situated and cannot escape essential appraisal. He approximates in the Senate the de facto and strategic arrowhead in the current proxy battle for the defence of Buhari’s political and electoral advantages as well as those of the bigger APC family.
There is no doubt that the senate leadership recognises how critical Abdullahi Adamu is to the re-election effort of President Buhari as the north central coordinator of the presidential campaign. He is therefore the real scarer of the senate leadership in the moves and exertions to project and promote the president’s interest in the Senate to the discomfort of the leadership. His strategic role in the coordinated antagonism to the reordering of the sequence of election is referential.
Members of his minority group were able to strengthen the hand of Buhari to veto the Electoral Act 2010 (Amendment Bill 2018). The president’s veto was the most significant indication that he was on the same page with the silent minority over the issue. That raised tension in the polity as both sides readied to go for broke. But Buhari, at the head of a very formidable machine, appeared more daring to take risks in the executive-legislature’s supremacy battle.
Indeed, it is now very clear that the few senators who disagreed with the decision of the Senate to reorder the sequence of elections were clear-headed from the outset about the goal they wanted to achieve. Even though, they did not have the number to filibuster the process, their post-passage protest was sufficient enough to raise the red flag that all was not well in the Senate over the decision, which was not a product of unanimity or consensus.
Therefore, it goes without saying that the pocket of dissenting senators, working to promote the overarching interest of the president and the APC, drives the strategic argument that the APC family would benefit from potential bandwagon effect if the presidential election is held first and Buhari wins. But in an obvious counter move aimed at forcing a compromise towards securing their positions and future within the APC, Saraki and his loyalists resorted to the brinkmanship of reordering the election sequence to make the presidential election the last in the series.
And this is where the minority group disrupted, perhaps, the joker by Saraki-led majority group (it still enjoys the bloc support of the PDP caucus). The group stood up against the senate leadership. Credit must be given to Senator Abdullahi Adamu who has led the silent minority to run the gauntlet in the Senate with the equanimity of an elder and experienced political strategist.
Ordinarily, he should have been the one to address the press on the position of the group on the sequence of elections but he remitted the task to Omo-Agege. Despite that, the senate leadership still found a flimsy excuse to announce his removal as chairman of Northern Senators’ Forum (NSF). Adamu did not protest the charade. Those close to him quoted him to have said in some private discussions that he was not in the Senate to be chair of NSF.
But he took steps to explain the expenditure of NSF’s N70 million that some members claimed was embezzled and on which basis they reportedly announced his removal. There are feelers that he has been unfazed as he continues to represent a voice of moderation and reason in the Senate especially during executive sessions where the internal affairs of the Senate are discussed.
With his vast experience as former minister, pioneer Chairman of Governors’ Forum and one-time Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adamu is believed to have all it takes to calm frayed nerves and deflect onslaughts. His obvious positions, according to feelers, which Saraki, whom he perhaps takes as a son, does not seem to appreciate, are: why would the Senate President want to run down a government of which he is a major beneficiary and why is he, as first among equals, foisting autocratic leadership on the Senate?
There are more posers by some watchers of the Senate: If Senator David Mark, as senate president for eight years, did not suspend a single senator, why has Saraki resorted to suspending his colleagues at the slightest provocation? Why has Saraki deployed the platform of the Senate to promote local politics between senators and their governors? The supremacy of the party is a universal reality. Why is Saraki subtly pulling down the APC instead of propping it up?
Was Saraki not overreaching the position of Senate leadership by proscribing the Parliamentary Support Group (PSG), which was perhaps misconstrued to be a pressure group in support of Buhari? In fact, the PSG, according to some of its promoters, is committed to protecting and projecting the APC as well as defending it against plots by persons in the Senate to undermine it. The existence of pressure groups is not new in the Senate. There had been the G-89, Integrity Group, Unity Group, et al that served some specific purposes while they subsisted.
As Abdullahi Adamu, together with Omo-Agege, continues to run the gauntlet-in and outside the Senate respectively-their positions are enjoying judicial support, to wit: the court’s ruling against NASS over the reordering of election sequence; the ruling that Omo-Agege could not be suspended for more than fourteen days plus one day; and, finally, has the National Assembly not dropped the casus belli (that is the amendment bill) at the root of the entire saga?
Ojeifo is editor-in-chief of The Congresswatch magazine. [myad]