Pan-Ijaw groups have blamed All Progressives Congress (APC) of scaring former Governor of Bayelsa State, Dieprieye Alamieyeseigha to his early grave yesterday, with the report of his expected extradition to the U.K to face money laundering charges.

In their separate statements made available to the media today, the groups said that the recent extradition notice purportedly issued by Britain on the former governor aggravated his health condition and his eventual death.

The Ijaw Heritage and Cultural Club based in the United States, in its statement said that it was shocked beyond words by the news of the sudden death of Alamieyeseigha and regretted the circumstances surrounding it.

It noted in the statement signed by Professor Julius Eteli that Alamieyeseigha’s death was curious given the fact that he regularly received medical treatment abroad, adding he had actually just returned from such medical trip in Dubai believed to have been facilitated by the Bayelsa State Government.

“From available reports, the Bayelsa State Government has always been of assistance to him, taking care of his medical bills and upkeep. The question is: how can a man who had just returned from Dubai having been attended to by experts die so suddenly? Clearly, it must have been the report of his extradition to the U.K that must have triggered his health condition for the worse and the sudden death.”

It said that APC government should be held responsible for the death of Alamieyeseigha even as it claimed that the alleged extradition notice was targeted at witch-hunting the late former governor.

The group asked: “Why wait all these years until now to issue such a notice?”

Another pan-Ijaw group based in Ireland, Izon Diaspora Association, in its statement also condemned the demise of Alamieyeseigha, which it said was caused by the APC government for political reasons.

The group said the sad development was a calculated move by the ruling APC government to silence the Ijaw movement, knowing fully well that Alamieyeseigha represented the soul and moving spirit of the Ijaw movement.

“Now that he has been taken out, we Ijaws must fight against this injustice. Now is the time to unite, come together and fight against this calculated and very deadly plot by the APC government to deplete our ranks,” the Convener and leader of the group, Comrade George Magbisa, stated.

Magbisa was full of praises for the Bayelsa State Government for standing by the late Ijaw leader all through, saying that only a committed Ijaw governor like Seriake Dickson, himself a leading figure in the Ijaw struggle, could have been so supportive as he did to the former governor.

The group extended its condolences to the governor, the government and people of Bayelsa State over the death of the respected governor-general of the Ijaw nation. [myad]

The Senate has risen to save the necks of the like of the former Rivers state governor, Chief Rotimi Amaechi and other ministerial nominees from Senators in their constituencies, as it has indicated that the earlier condition that at least two senators from the state of each nominee must endorse him or her would no longer be strictly considered for senate approval.

This is coming against the background of the determination by the three Senators from Rivers state, all of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop former governor Amaechi from becoming a minister following alleged petitions they presented before the senate.

In its Twitter handle @NGRSenate today, the Senate said that the traditional rule where two Senators must endorse a ministerial nominee may be waived if a nominee passes other criteria of the screening hurdles.

“The tradition of two Senators having to endorse a ministerial nominee is not sacrosanct and can be waived if a nominee passes other criteria.”

The Senate called on Nigerians who have questions they would like Senators to ask during the screening on Tuesday, to send them on Twitter to the Senate handle, @NGRSenate using the hashtag #MinisterialScreening.

Amaechi and Amina Mohammed, a former special assistant on Millennium Development Goals, whose membership in Buhari’s ministerial list has been fraught with petitions from their respective states, including their Senators, may now heave sighs of relief.

For Amaechi, his membership on the Buhari list renewed his legendary cat and mouse relationship with his former Chief of Staff, who is now Rivers state governor, Chief Nyesom Wike.

A PDP Senator from Rivers State, Senator George Sekibo (Rivers East) had last week said that the Senate Rules reduces Amaechi’s chances and that the petition by a group called Integrity Group, was weighty on allegations of misappropriation of funds to the tune of N70 billion against the former governor.

In an interaction with journalists in Abuja, Sekibo disclosed that “now that the Senate has received the petition, I have laid it on the floor; it has been referred to public petition and I know the Committee will come out with appropriate recommendations.”

For Amina Mohammed, her petitioners,  a Kaduna-based non-governmental organization, Centrum Initiative for Development and Fundamental Rights Initiative, including Senator Danuma La’ah, hinged their opposition on the fact that her state of birth is Gombe and not Kaduna where she was said to have been nominated from.

Senator La’ah contended that since Amina hails from Gombe State, but married to a Kaduna husband, her appointment infringes on section 147 of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that a ministerial nominee must be an indigene of the state presenting him/her.

As the Senate Committee investigating the petitions against the nominees is expected to submit its report before the screening starts on Tuesday, political observers have kept their fingers crossed, on how this one would pass.

This is happening even as Senators from Rivers State have insisted that they would oppose the nomination of Rotimi Amaechi. Senator George Sekibo, representing Rivers-East Senatorial District, Senator said that the petition against the ex-governor was “supported by the three senators from the state.”

He said that they would insist on the report of the Senate committee on public petitions currently investigating allegations against Amaechi before he could be cleared by the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

This was as Amaechi, has challenged governor Nyesom Wike, to go to court over the recommendations of the Justice George Omereji-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the sales of valued assets belonging to the state by the last administration.

Amaechi said in a statement issued from his Media Office yesterday that rather than engage in theatrics and ‘childish’ tantrums, Wike should prosecute him if there was any case of corruption against him.

The state government had on Friday, while briefing journalists, declared that the commission of inquiry had indicted Amaechi and asked the ex-governor and others to return the sum of N97bn belonging to the state.

The government also directed its Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Chinwe Aguma (SAN) to begin a process of prosecuting Amaechi and others indicted by the panel should they fail to return the said sum.

But Amaechi specifically stated that from the way the panel conducted its probe, it was obvious that Wike established it (panel) with a mission to indict him, maintaining that the outcome of the Omereji commission was not surprising to him.

“Indeed, the Wike panel was an inquisition against Amaechi. Wike should go to court if he has any case of alleged corrupt activities against Amaechi. His panel is not and can never be a law court.

“Wike’s regular childish tantrums, theatrics, comedy and drama of screaming huge bogus and phantom figures of missing or stolen or misappropriated billions of naira by the Amaechi-led administration have become a silly and sickening distraction.” [myad]

The Nigerian Airforce has made it clear that the crash of its F7-Ni fighter aircraft which crashed in Yola yesterday killing the pilot was not as a result of attack by Boko Haram insurgents.

A statement detailing the development signed by Air Commodore Dele Alonge, Director, Airforce Public Relations attributed the crash to bad weather and not enemy attack, saying that already, the Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar has instituted an investigation panel to unravel the remote and immediate cause of the crash.

“A Nigerian Air Force (NAF801) F7-Ni fighter jet returning to the base from an interdicted mission crashed due to bad weather and not under enemy fire around Hong, Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State at about 16.23hrs (4.23 pm).

“There was no survival as the pilot of the aircraft lost his life in the unfortunate incident”.

“Meanwhile, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal SB Abubakar has set up an investigation panel to unravel the remote and immediate causers) of the accident. Further details will be communicated to the media in due course.”

The Air Force fighter jet which was returning from a mission to its base in Yola, capital of northeast Adamawa state, crashed yesterday, killing its pilot.

The jet “returning to the base from an interdicted mission crashed due to bad weather and not under enemy fire around Hong, Adamawa State at about 1623hrs (1523 GMT). There was no survival as the pilot of the aircraft lost his life in the unfortunate incident,” the statement said.

The statement neither said how many passengers were aboard the jet nor its precise mission in Adamawa, one of the three states in the region where Boko Haram militants have launched deadly attacks that have killed hundreds over its six-year insurgency. [myad]

Nigeria Presidency is obviously angry with and has sent curses after two or three newspapers in the country that have been trying to create frictions between it and the national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The Presidency which debunked insinuations by the said newspapers that Asiwaju Tinubu is under security watch over alleged plot against President Muhammadu Buhari said that such reports would lead the newspapers into hell.

A statement by senior special assistant to President Buhari on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu today called on Nigerians to ignore what he described as sensational story because it is false and baseless.
“We wish to confirm without any equivocation that the Asiwaju is not of any particular interest to any arm of the security services. The relationship between him and the President cannot be better than it is at the moment.”
He regretted that the newspapers in their perverted logic linked Asiwaju to a plot against the leader of the country, saying that the presidency is unaware of any such plots against the President.
“I got on the phone a short while ago with General Babagana Munguno, (Rtd), the National Security Adviser and the Director General of the SSS, Lawal Daura who both dismissed the published reports as acts of pure mischief. They are not aware of the Asiwaju being on any kind of watch.
“It would appear that a competition is on between two or three newspaper establishments on how best to breach the excellent relationship between the pillars of our party and government. So far, they have not made headway and there is no indication that they will succeed in the future. It suffices to say that such reports, written without fairness and balance can only take away from whatever is left of the credibility of these newspapers. The general public is hereby advised to ignore them on these reports.” [myad]

The controversial former governor of Bayelsa state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha is dead. His death was announced this evening after he was said to have slipped into a coma since Thursday and placed on life support.
The former governor was said to have died at the age of 63 after a sudden cardiac arrest at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.
Alamieyeseigha was born on 16 November 1952 in Amassoma, Ogboin North Local Government area in Bayelsa state. He attended the Bishop Dimeari Grammar School, Yenegoa.
He joined the Nigerian Defence Academy as a Cadet Officer in 1974, then joined the Nigerian Air Force, where he served in the department of Logistics and Supply.
He held various air force positions in Makurdi, Lagos and Enugu. Alamieyeseigha retired from the air force in 1992 as a Squadron Leader.
After leaving the air force, he became the Sole Administrator of Pabod Supplies Port Harcourt. Later he became Head of Budget, Planning, Research and Development of the National Fertiliser Company (NAFCON).
Alamieyeseigha was elected Governor of Bayelsa State in May 1999 as a member of the then ruling (PDP). He was re-elected in 2003. He was impeached on allegations of corruption on 9 December 2005.
Alamieyeseigha was detained in London on charges of money laundering in September 2005. At the time of his arrest, Metropolitan police found about £1 million in cash in his London home. Later they found a total of £1.8 million ($3.2 million) in cash and bank accounts. He jumped bail in December 2005 from the United Kingdom.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the UK has reopened the case before his sudden death today. [myad]