One time Nigeria information minister during the regime of military President Ibrahim Babangida and current Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Senator Uche Chukwumerije is dead. He died today at the age of 75 at a Turkish hospital in Abuja.
Chukwumerije was elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in April 2003, representing Abia North Senatorial District.
According to a statement by a family representative, Chidi, the Senator died on Sunday after a long but gallant battle with lung cancer.
“On the evening of Sunday, the 19th of April, 2015, surrounded by his family, Comrade Uche Chukwumerije passed into the open arms of history, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, after a long but gallant battle with lung cancer,” the statement said.
“His life is many volumes, which can only be told with care and time, of dedication and focus, integrity and discipline, and an unbroken love for the highest ideals of our shared humanity.
“Details of burial arrangements will be announced in due course. We ask only for your prayers and good wishes.”
In the Fourth Republic, Chukwumerije was elected to the Senate on the PDP’s platform, but he fell out of favor with the party’s leadership when he opposed the 3rd term agenda Chukwumerije eventually decamped to the PPA in 2006, and was reelected to the Senate on April 28, 2007.
Last December the rumour of his death went viral with the politician coming out days later to describe the rumour as the handiwork of “a few ungodly and irresponsible individuals.”
Chukwumerije, who was divorced with seven children, studied Economics at the University of Ibadan. [myad]
The Nigerian Presidency has denied allegation in some quarters that it spent public funds amounting to N2 Trillion for the recently concluded nation-wide campaign, especially for President Goodluck Jonathan to be elected for a se3cond-term in office.
A statement from the special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati described a front-page story in a national daily of April 19 alleging that the Presidency spent a whopping N2 trillion on the 2015 General elections as malicious.
The statement also referred to the publication to the fact that a Committee of Five has been set up by President Jonathan to conduct an audit of how the funds were disbursed by party members and state officials as mischievous, false and embarrassing.
Dr. Abati made it clear that the President has not set up any committee as alleged in that story and that it is not true that the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) used state funds, or spent N2 trillion during the campaigns. The innuendoes are wrong-headed; the motives behind the story are suspicious.
“The story alleges, for example, that the Presidency spent N2trillion on elections and embarked on a money-sharing spree to party members, support groups and state officials. The authors of the story and their self-appointed megaphones further insinuate that public funds were deployed in this regard. Their allegation of a theft of public funds is extremely malicious.
“How much is the budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria? The annual budget of the Federal Government is a little over N4 trillion. The story is practically suggesting that half of the federal budget was spent on elections. This kind of reckless insinuation is meant to incite the public and instigate national crisis.
“With FAAC having to do everything possible every month to ensure disbursements and with the Federal Government heavily committed to the war against terror in the North East, where is the alleged N2 trillion from the Federal purse? President Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party conducted the 2015 elections in strict accordance with the rule of law. The suggestion of any unlawful conduct cannot be sustained under any circumstances.
“President Jonathan has done his best to protect and strengthen democracy and promote peace. He justly deserves all the accolades that he has received from both Nigerians and the international community for this. Certain persons and interest groups may not be happy that his profile has further risen and that his legacy is assured; but they do their country gross disservice when they act so unpatriotically.
“Anyone who is engaged in imposing a crisis on the country by any means is not being fair to Nigeria. We can only appeal to the public to be wary of such reckless tactics now on display, which form the substance of an odd, malicious campaign after the elections.
“We are particularly worried that since the March 28 and April 11 elections, some persons have continued to work very hard to diminish the Jonathan Presidency. They need to be reminded that the time for politics is over; it is now time to focus on the in-coming government, with emphasis on national development and moving the country forward.” [myad]
A community leader, the Oyewoga of Ode Irele in Ondo State, Moses Enimade, has confirmed that the “mystery” behind a strange and unknown killer disease that has ravaged a town in Ondo state, killing at least 14 people, is a punishment for the “sacrilege” committed against Molokun, the local deity in the area.
Mr. Enimade, who is next in command to the Oba, Cornelius Olanrewaju-Lebi, said yesterday in Irele that some stubborn youths broke into the inner room of the Molokun shrine on April 15, adding that Molokun is a deity of the land.
“Only the Chief Priest and High Chief Gboguron are qualified to enter the shrine.”
The chief said that the youths entered the shrine and made away with traditional items in a bid to acquire extra-ordinary powers and engage in money ritual.
“They were not qualified to enter the (shrine). They had to face the death penalty.”
The Oyewoga said he could not remember the last time Molokun or any other gods had to strike like this in the area.
According to him, there is no community or town without its own culture and tradition, saying that what happened in Irele was the judgment of the gods on the youths.
“Even the Kabiesi himself is not permitted to enter the Molokun Shrine’s inner room except the Chief Priest and High Chief Gboguron. Sacrifice must be performed before they can enter.
“Because these youths want to be rich at all costs, they entered the sacred place and made away with traditional items and 20 of them have died as a result of their desperate acts,” he said. “We have to appease the gods or else many will still die and we have to bury them according to tradition. Their corpses belong to the gods and will be exhumed if buried by their families.”
No fewer than 14 people have died of severe headaches and blindness in the town recently. He victims have tested negative to Ebola, the deadly and incurable virus that killed thousands across West Africa, including Nigeria.
Mr. Enimade debunked the rumour that the deaths were caused by strange disease or Ebola virus quoting from Proverbs 29:1 in the Bible which say: “He that had been reproved and hardened his neck shall suddenly be destroyed without remedy; so youths of nowadays must be careful.”
Some residents appealed to the chief priest to make the necessary atonement to avert calamity in the town. They said news of the deaths had given the town and state a bad name. [myad]
Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on public matters, Dr. Doyin Okupe has said that the over 200 missing Chibok Schoolgirls were deliberately kidnapped to make outgoing President Jonathan led government look incompetent and ultimately fail at the polls.
Okupe who is opening up for the second time after a sustained silence owing to PDP’s defeat at the March 28th Presidential Polls said on his facebook timeline Saturday morning: “One of the reasons the Chibok girls were kidnapped was to present Jonathan’s administration as incompetent and hold it to ransom against 2015 elections.
“One of the reasons the BBOG was formed was to sustain and internationalise the embarrassment. One of the reasons President Jonathan lost the election was a national and international conspiracy predicated on this carefully choreographed and assiduously sustained perception.
“One of the issues that will be in the hand over notes will be the missing girls. What is reasonable and expedient for well-meaning men and women of good conscience is to dialogue with the incoming administration on what best new approach to employ to find and rescue the Chibok girls.
”Not much can be achieved, except mischief, by continuing to flog this administration on this matter.” [myad]
There is excitement in the polity over the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 28 presidential election, which has produced the General Muhammadu Buhari and Professor Yemi Osinbajo presidency. To consolidate the victory, the APC posted majority seats-64 out of 109- in the Senate. It also clinched the majority seats in the House of Representatives. So, Buhari’s party men and women in the National Assembly will be able to watch his back, so to speak. The fear of impeachment should therefore be non-existent. But this is not a sure banker. Validation: Ghali Umar Na’Abba was speaker of the House of Representatives on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when there was friction in their relationship with the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, also of the PDP. The same thing happened in the Senate under Anyim Pius Anyim as senate president when he (Anyim) was the opposite number of Na’Abba in the Upper House. Obasanjo was the rabble-rouser, the troublemaker, the agent provocateur who forced the Legislature to consider the impeachment option.
Nigerians have been treated to so much political drama in the ecology of the Executive-Legislature interactions in the largely-dominated PDP government: the show of presidential might; the high turn-over rate in the leadership of the senate between 1999 and 2003 occasioned by Executive interference and sponsorship; the attempts to coerce the Legislature into genuflecting at the table of the Executive for handouts; the culture of impunity nurtured and promoted by Obasanjo and all. Now, one is compelled by the outcome of the 2015 general elections to believe that change has come. It is expected that the APC, with its change mantra, will take the driver’s seat on May 29, this year, to offer different approaches and perspectives to governance and Executive-Legislature relationship; which is why there is the need for the APC to get its rhythm right from the outset, otherwise, it will unwittingly be viewed by Nigerians from the same prism with which they viewed government, governance and Executive-Legislature interactions when the PDP was in the saddle.
Has the APC got it right with its Buhari-Osinbajo presidency? Good question, but time will tell the rightness or wrongness of the decision to couple Buhari and Osinbajo into, and for an APC presidency. Second, will the APC get it right with the Presidency of the Senate, which I understand now engages the attention of its National Caucus? Time again will tell. But whether or not time will resolve it in favour of the Nigerian people is moot. This is because, the choice of a senate president lies with the leadership of the APC, not with the Nigerian people. It is the man, the fait accompli choice that is packaged and delivered on the floor of the Senate on June 2 or thereabouts as the senate president that Nigerians will live with. That is how it works. Being the majority party, the APC will use the strength of its number to choose the first among equals in the Senate.
Who WILL the first among equals be? Again, only time will tell. But who SHOULD the first among equals be? I certainly have some ideas and suggestions about who SHOULD emerge from the gallimaufry of elements and tendencies, which are coming in to shape the 8th Senate, to steer the leadership of the Upper Chamber as Senate President. From media reports, two geo-political zones are jostling for the plum position: North Central and Northeast. Both can justify their demand for the position. And either of them can, in the long run, get it. The zone which gets it is not much of an issue to me. What is critical is who steps in as Senate President in June, this year. Should the APC decide to cede the position to the North Central, there can be no question as to the preeminence of Senator George Akume in the race for the coveted seat. I will explain why in a short-while.
First, in the pack of APC senators from the North Central zone, he is the first two-term governors (1999 to 2007) to win election into the Senate. He crossed over from the Benue Government House to the Red Chamber in Abuja. And he made the ambitious, if not courageous move, to be the senate president. He, as a PDP senator, contested against the incumbent, Senator David Mark in the 2007 witty and gritty election, despite the gambit by the other camp to deploy the ranking rule against him. The rule was jettisoned on the floor on the day of the election to allow his participation in the exercise, which he lost, understandably, to Mark, who effortlessly won again, in 2011, this time unopposed. By this time, Akume had left the PDP for the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on which platform he won re-election and emerged as the Minority Leader in the Upper Chamber.
Second, he is perhaps the only former governor from the North Central zone in the Senate, who is not carrying the baggage of money laundering or corruption prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). His candidature is therefore in apple-pie order within the context of the capacity to fight corruption which is seemingly manifestly located in a Buhari presidency and which the senate presidency is expected to complement.
Third, he is much more experienced in terms of ranking among his colleagues from the zone. The fact that he has been the Minority Leader since 2011 gives him a strategic edge. Having performed creditably especially from the mid-term of his minority leadership, it will only be appropriate to reward a loyal and committed leadership by elevating rather than downgrading him by bringing one of the senators he has been leading to now lead him as senate president. The best move in the circumstance is to push him up to continue his leadership, this time, of the entire senate. After all, he has had his eyes on the senate presidency ball since 2007; and by that token, he is assumed to be well prepared for the rigours of the office.
Fourth, and this has to do with his individuality, is the aura of camaraderie which he exudes. Akume, a northern Christian, is a jolly good fellow, a fact to which many of his colleagues have, over the years, attested; he is humble, unassuming, respectful and generous. He does take anybody for granted and he is always touched by the plight of others, which is the reason he is extremely loved by his people who have continued to vote for him regardless of the political party he belongs. In the last senatorial election, a Tiv friend of mine, Lovetty Mackyur, told me that Akume did not print a single poster for his election as he has become a poster in the minds of his people.
One thing that a Buhari presidency can rest assured of is the unflinching loyalty and complementarities of an Akume senate presidency. Unlike some of his former governor colleagues from the zone who cannot be trusted with power, who can betray their own people, this Tiv son is a rare breed with a very large heart which predisposes him to quickly and easily forgive his traducers and forget the past. As far as the North Central is concerned, the cap fits him. Providence, and nothing else, would have fully manifested and borne its name if another Benue man on the platform of another party takes over from Mark, who is also from Benue. Like Mark, Akume will deliver if he is given the chance to preside over the affairs of the Upper Chamber.
As I round off, in case the APC leadership decides to cede the position to the Northeast zone instead, my vote will go to no other person than Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (Yobe North). He will come to the job with a background of public office that is devoid of corruption. A very cerebral legislator (with a Ph.D in Remote Sensing) and consummate contributor to debates on the floor of the Senate, Lawan has proved to his constituents to be dependable and trustworthy; and this perhaps explains why they have continued to vote for him since 1999. He was in the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007 and he has been in the Senate from 2007 till date. He has just been re-elected for another four years. Like Akume, he has an edge in terms of credibility and absence of corruption baggage, over some former governors from the zone who may be interested in the position of senate president.
I only hope that the APC leadership, guided by Buhari as to how he plans to fight the corruption scourge, will consider very well all the options and settle for the best from either North Central or Northeast zone.
Mr Ojeifo is the Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch magazine in Abuja. [myad]
The dreaded Nigeria’s Boko Haram has given South African government 24 hours within which to make the Xenophobic attacks come to an end or face an extinction of its citizens living and doing businesses in Nigeria.
In a video tape released today via www.mzansidaily.co.za, the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau said: “If South African government does not contain the situation we will execute all South Africans living in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and other surrounding countries, even the South African Embassies in the African countries.”
Boko Haram spoke against the background of the continued attacks against foreigners in the Capital city of South Africa, Johannesburg, which is gradually extending to Durban. [myad]
Zimbabweans are set to start attacking all citizens of South Africa living in Zimbabwe in retaliation for the indiscriminate attacks currently being waged on immigrants by South Africans in South Africa.
The president of Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu), Gilbert Mutubuki has already made a call to Zimbabwean youths to start revenging xenophobic violent attacks by attacking individual South Africans operating in Zimbabwe as well as their businesses.
Zinasu is Zimbabwe’s largest students’ body which represents thousands of students at all universities and colleges across the country.
At least, five people have been killed – including a teenager – and 46 people have been arrested since the violence flared in Isipingo, outside Durban on Friday in South Africa. About 7 000 people of different nationalities are living in tents provided by the provincial government for those displaced by the violence.
Addressing journalists in Harare after an anti-xenophobia demonstration organised by Zimbabwe civic society groups at the South African Embassy, Mutubuki said it was high time the country’s youths retaliated by attacking South African businesses operating in Zimbabwe such as Pick n Pay and others.
“Right now we have South African businesses such as Pick n Pay operating freely here, but our brothers are being butchered in South Africa. Today in the morning, South African students at the University of Zimbabwe were having breakfast freely in the dining hall, but our sisters and brothers are getting killed. It’s high time we should do the same to all South African businesses here until they stop all this nonsense,” said an angry Mutubuki.
Mutubuki’s call came after over 300 Zimbabwe human rights and civic society activists demonstrated at the South African embassy located in the Belgravia area in Harare this morning.
The protesters were denouncing King Goodwill Zwelithini and President Jacob Zuma son Edward, accusing the two of sparking the xenophobic violence in South Africa. There were also waving placards inscribed with messages like “South Africa is not island and should stop this nonsense” and “Stop it, South Africa”, “Africa is home to all” among others.
The demonstrators also handed over a petition to South African Embassy officials.
The protesters were later dispersed by heavily armed Zimbabwe police.
Some of the South African businesses operating in Zimbabwe include Pick n Pay, Edgars and Standard Bank among others.
South Africa, with a population of about 50 million, is home to an estimated five million immigrants. Over one million Zimbabweans are believed to be living in South Africa as economic or political refugees. [myad]
File photo: Ekiti state Governor, Ayodele Fayose standing at the court premises in Ekiti state
Embattled Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has begged the 19 All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers that are hell bent on impeaching him to enter into peaceful dialogue with him towards resolving the lingering crisis between the executive and the legislature.
Fayose who spoke today at a special prayer session organized for him by the Ansarudeen Mosque, Odo-Ado, Atikankan in Ado-Ekiti to celebrate his recent electoral victory at the Supreme Court said that he is not opposed to whatever political solution that could end the imbroglio as long as the warring APC lawmakers also embraced such idea.
He pleaded and apologized to anyone he might have offended in the performance of his duties as governor of the state to forgive him and forget the past, saying only God is perfect.
Fayose said he was waving the olive branch in the overall interest of Ekiti State people as well as restoration of peace in the state, adding that several calls and appeals for amicable solution to the lingering crisis by eminent leaders, religious leaders as well as traditional rulers informed his latest stance.
He regretted that the activities of the 19 APC lawmakers had taken its toll on legitimate businesses of innocent people of the state, with one life lost in the process.
Fayose’s move to stop his impeachment was earlier frustrated by the Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Ahmed Mohammed who refused to stop the current impeachment proceedings.
Filling a case before the court, the governor and his deputy, Kolapo Olusola, prayed the court for an interim order to stop the impeachment notice served on them.
However, justice Ahmed denied the plea and only permitted their application to serve court documents on the legislators, who are defendants in the case.
Mohammed also ordered the defendants, including the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, to appear in the court on Thursday, April 16, 2015.
Other defendants in the suit are the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The impeachment plot, which Fayose initially dismissed as a joke, has led to chaos in Ekiti after a riot broke out leaving one person dead.
The lawmakers are presently determined to impeach the governor over allegations bordering on impunity and breach of the constitution. [myad]
It has been confirmed that the citizens of South Africa have so far looted shops and businesses belonging to Nigerian living in Durban and Johannesburg even as some other shops have been burnt. The information said that goods worth 400,000 Rand were lost in the process.
The President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, Ikechukwu Anyene, who made this known in an interview from Pretoria, South Africa today said: “in Jeppes Town, near Johannesburg, five shops were looted and one burnt while the estimated loss is put at One million Rand.
“The incidents have been reported to the police and we are still taking stock of attacks on Nigerians,’’ he said.
Ikechukwu said that the union has concluded arrangements to resettle 50 Nigerians affected by the xenophobic attacks, adding that many Nigerians were displaced at Jeppes Town near Johannesburg.
“We met about 300 Nigerians in Jeppes town, near Johannesburg, who fled for their safety and about 50 of them do not have any place to stay.
“We are making arrangements with the Nigerian mission in South Africa to get them a place to stay for their safety.
“The Nigerian union has also presented relief materials to those affected by the attacks and we are in touch with various branch chapters of the union in the provinces on their safety and security,’’ he said.
He called on te Nigerian Federal Government to put more pressure on the South African government to halt the attacks.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian foreign minister, Ambassador Aminu Bashir Wali has assured on Thursday that Nigerians had so far not been attacked, saying it would only evacuate Nigerians only if the situation gets worse.
“With the discussions I have been having with Nigeria’s Head of Mission in Pretoria, no Nigerian has so far been affected. They informed me that they have called the Nigerian community and addressed them and told them to close their shops, stay home and keep out of trouble and obey the laws of South Africa.
“They have also confirmed that the South African authority has moved in to take actions that would forestall any further disturbance in South Africa.”
Aminu Wali said that it will move to evacuate Nigerian citizens if the xenophobic attacks get worse.
“If it gets worse it is the duty of our country to make sure our people are brought back, and we are taking that duty serious.
”We are not prepared to allow any of our nationals to be subjected to such inhuman treatment.
“We are monitoring the situation and will now take action according to the situation that develops,” he said. Xenophobia in South Africa dates back to 1994 and are mainly targeted at citizens of other African Countries.
In May 2008 a series of xenophobic attack left 62 people dead.
In the current attack, at least five people have been killed and hundreds forced to flee their homes in one of South Africa’s worst outbreaks of xenophobic violence in years. [myad]
The President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed full support for the steps taken by the Federal Government, led by President Goodluck Jonathan, to protect Nigerians from xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
This was contained in a statement by the Director, Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, in Abuja.
“Nigeria’s Head of Mission in Pretoria had taken the right steps by advising the Nigerian community in South Africa to close their shops, stay at home and keep out of trouble.
“Nigerians in South Africa should obey the laws of their host country,’’ the statement quoted Buhari as saying, adding: “we equally understand that the South African government is making efforts to bring an end to this unfortunate situation.
“In the meantime, Nigerians in South Africa should abide by the words of caution extended to them by their government’s representative in Pretoria.
“I am happy to see that the Nigerian government is very well aware of its responsibilities to its citizens in South Africa.”
General Buhari, in the statement, commended the Federal Government for its decision to monitor the situation in South Africa and evacuate its citizens at any sign of escalation.
The President-elect however expressed sadness at the unfolding events in South Africa, even as he recalled Nigeria’s friendly relations with the country since the end of apartheid. [myad]
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