Playing Opposition Politics In Nigeria Is Not Easy says Ngige

Still basking in  the euphoria of the victory of All Progressives Congress, APC, in the March 28, 2015 presidential election, the former governor of Anambra State and the senator representing Anambra Central, Dr. Chris Ngige, observed, weekend, that it had not been easy playing politics of opposition in Nigeria, in view of the domineering attitude by those in government.

Ngige, who received a hero’s welcome organised by members of APC in Anambra State on his return from Abuja, said he played opposition politics for 10 years and, therefore, knew how the shoe pinched.
He said: “I must thank all those who remained steadfast in APC because playing opposition can be frustrating and tempting.
‘’Though I was receiving overtures from the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, I rejected them because the principles on which we formed that party were jettisoned and bastardised.
“At the amalgamation of some political parties to form APC, I decided to run for governor but many notable politicians told me that though I am a good candidate, it was better for me not to run because I must never be allowed to win as the forces against me were numerous
“However, I insisted on running because God had told me that APC would form the next Federal Government. Though I did not win the governorship, I was consistently telling our people that APC was the best bet for Igbo in Nigerian politics.
“But many Igbo people, who are benefiting from Federal Government contracts, decided to sacrifice the future of their children and children’s children. I know many of these Igbo contractors cannot play opposition politics and their next move may be to move into APC.
“Let me assure consistent members of APC that we are going to screen those who may wish to join us in APC. While our doors will remain open to welcome new members, we will only admit those who are good, as we will not make it an all comers’ affair.”

Terrorists Attacked Kenyan university, kill 147 people

Survivors of the attack  credit:AFP

No fewer than 147 people have been killed after an Islamic group stormed a university in eastern Kenya, the country’s interior minister said.

This is just as the President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan condemned the attack and commiserated with the families of the victims.

Sky News reports that two police officers are among the dead following heavy gunfire and explosions in a campus building at Garissa University.

At least 79 others have been wounded.

Interior minister Joseph Nkaissery claimed the siege was almost over.

“We are mopping up the area,” he told reporters.

Somalia’s al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn attack.

“We sorted people out and released the Muslims,” said spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab.

“There are many dead bodies of Christians inside the building. We are also holding many Christians alive. Fighting still goes on inside the college,” he added.

Two of the militants have been killed and one arrested as he tried to flee, according to Kenya’s interior ministry.

The Red Cross counted 50 students that had been safely freed, while the interior ministry said 500 of 815 students had been accounted for.

Student Michael Bwana, who managed to flee, said most of the hostages were girls.

Kenya Police Chief Joseph Boinet told reporters that gunmen forced their way into the university at 5.30am by shooting at the guards manning the main gate.

“The gunmen shot indiscriminately while inside the university compound,” he said.

“Police… engaged the gunmen in a fierce shootout; however, the attackers retreated and gained entry into one of the hostels.”

A gunfight between security services and the perpetrators lasted several hours, according to the Red Cross.

The area has been sealed off and the army called in to try and “flush out” the attackers.

Students reported seeing five masked gunmen.

The authorities have offered a $215,000 (£145,000) reward for a man called Mohamed Mohamud, who has been linked to the attack.

Collins Wetangula, the vice chairman of the student union, said he was preparing to take a shower when he heard gunshots coming from a dorm.

“All I could hear were footsteps and gunshots; nobody was screaming because they thought this would lead the gunmen to know where they are,” he said.

“The gunmen were saying sisi ni al-Shabab (Swahili for we are al-Shabab).

“If you were a Christian you were shot on the spot. With each blast of the gun I thought I was going to die.”

Grace Kai, a student at a neighbouring college, said there had been warnings of an imminent attack.

“Some strangers had been spotted in Garissa town and were suspected to be terrorists,” she said.

“Then on Monday our college principal told us… that strangers had been spotted in our college. On Tuesday we were released to go home, and our college closed, but the campus remained in session, and now they have been attacked.”

Kenya’s northern and eastern regions, which border Somalia, have been most affected by attacks blamed on al Shabaab Islamists from Somalia.

The militants, who have links to al Qaeda, have vowed to take retribution against Kenya for sending its troops to Somalia.

Al Shabaab was responsible for the deadly attack in 2013 on the Westgate shopping mall. At least 67 people were killed when a group of gunmen rampaged through the centre in Nairobi.

On the latest raid, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said: “I extend condolences to the families of those who have perished in this attack. We continue to pray for the quick recovery of the injured, and the safe rescue of those held hostage.”

He added that 10,000 police recruits would be fast-tracked following the attack.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday commiserated with the government and people of Kenya as well the families of those who died in the terrorist attack.

In a statement by his spokesman, Reuben Abati, the President condemned what he called deliberate targeting of innocent persons, schools and other soft targets by terrorists.

He said such barbaric acts of violence ought to have no place in any civilised society.

The statement added, “The President assures President Uhuru Kenyatta and the brotherly people of Kenya that Nigeria stands in full solidarity with them as they come to grips once again with the aftermath of another heinous terrorist attack on their country.

“Nigeria, President Jonathan affirms, will continue to work with Kenya, other African countries and the international community to rid the world of all terrorist groups.

“The President believes that the attack on the Kenyan University and other similar atrocities across the world must strengthen and solidify the resolve of the global community to take more urgent and co-ordinated actions to speedily defeat the agents of global terror.”

Bode George denied going on "exile" if APC wins

The leader of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State, Chief Bode George, says the loss his party suffered in the presidential election has strengthened his resolve to ensure victory for his party in Lagos.

He, therefore, said that he would strategise and lead a massive campaign against the All Progressives Congress, which has been in power in Lagos for the past 16 years.

George told Punch correspondent during a telephone interview on Wednesday that he would lead the campaign of the PDP governorship candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, like an army general.

He said, “I am here and I will be at the centre of operation. The people of Lagos also want a change and we are going to be here to lead the battle. The battle is on and the people of Lagos want a change and we will ensure that we get it right.

“Lagos people know that this administration has mismanaged their resources. We are not leaving anything undone. We will reach out to the people during the campaigns.”

George said he would never defect to another party. “I will remain a member of the PDP till I leave this world,” he said.

The PDP leader denied reports that he said he would go on exile following the victory of Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential polls.

He said he would rather travel outside the country for a while in order to finish writing his autobiography, saying he had been unable to finish the book because of his busy schedule.

He said, “I have been travelling long before now and now I need a long rest. I am 70 and I need to tidy up my memoirs and if you want to do that, you need a lot of time away from all of the hassles. But it does not mean I will no longer be a Nigerian. I have no personal grudge against Buhari or all the other people.

“We are in two different parties with different ideologies and if he is the President, I have no objection and I wish him the best of luck. The break will give me time. Rather than running up and down to Abuja, I will be there (abroad) writing my memoirs and doing other things for myself. Of course I will come back, my mother is still alive. I am not scampering out of Nigeria.”

Source:Punch

Aregbesola Floors Omisore again

The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure has upheld the decision of the lower tribunal, dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the August 9, 2014 governorship election in Osun State, Iyiola Omisore.

The court, on Thursday, accepted the defence of Governor Rauf Aregebsola of the All Progressives Congress that Omisore’s petition ought to have been dismissed as an abandoned petition in the first instance by the State Election Petition Tribunal before hearing by the Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime-led tribunal.

The Justice Gana Mshelia-led Appeal Court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed Omisore’s appeal for incompetence, stressing that the grounds of the appeal did not arise from the judgment of the tribunal.

In determining the appeal, the court adopted the seven issues raised by the appellants and upheld the preliminary objections by Aregbesola and the APC’s counsel, while resolving the issues against the appellant.

Referring to the Tribunal’s judgment, the Appeal Court noted that the decision of the tribunal was that Aregbesola’s counsel did not make any admission, and held that Omisore failed to appeal this specific decision of the tribunal.

The Court of Appeal further held that the evidential burden on the appellant to prove his case would only shift to the respondent, if the appellant had put forward cogent, credible and reliable evidence of non- compliance, which the appellant had failed to do in the appeal.

It also resolved that contrary to the complaint of the appellants, the tribunal applied standard of proof on preponderance of evidence in relation to allegation of non-compliance and malpractices.

The court also upheld the cross-appeal filed by Aregbesola when he dismissed the PDP and Omisore’s petition as having been abandoned for failure to comply with the requirement of filing pre-hearing notice within the stipulated time under paragraph 18 of First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended.

It however stated that the tribunal was wrong to have saved the petition relying on paragraph 53(1) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act “because Paragraph 53(1) only applies where the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act does not provide for the consequences of non-compliance with the rules.”

The Court of Appeal was convinced that paragraph 18(4) expressly provided for consequences of failure to issue application for pre-hearing notice.

Omisore has, however, vowed to appeal the dismissal.

Omisore, who spoke to one of our correspondents on the telephone through his media aide, Mr. Victor Oriola, said he was not going to let the alleged manipulation of the August 9, 2014 governorship election go without fighting it to the very end.

He said, “We will go through the whole gamut of the legal process. We believe we have a good case and we will pursue it to the end.

“All the areas overlooked at the tribunal and the Appeal Court will be visited by the Supreme Court.”

Reacting to the Court of Appeal’s verdict, the APC in Osun State hailed the judgment, describing it as a confirmation of the rejection of Omisore by the majority of the people of the state.

The Director of Publicity of the APC in Osun State, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, said this in a statement in Osogbo on Thursday.

The statement read, “Even if Omisore decides to go as far as the Supreme Court to plead his phantom victory at that election, he will also fail, because the people’s will not to elect him as the governor of the Osun State is emphatic.”

It will be recalled that Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime- led Election Petitions Tribunal had on February 6th dismissed Omisore’s petition against Aregbesola.

Not satisfied with the verdict of the lower tribunal, the petitioner had filed an appeal against it to the Appeal Court in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

But the appellate court also dismissed the PDP candidate’s appeal.

Police shut Ekiti Assembly as 19 APC lawmakers resume

There was tension in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday as the 19 All Progressives Congress lawmakers stormed the Ekiti State House of Assembly to resume legislative duties.

Their return caught workers and the seven Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers loyal to Governor Ayodele Fayose unawares and created tension as officials of the Assembly hurriedly vacated their offices.

The return of the lawmakers followed Tuesday’s directive by the state secretariat of the APC asking them to resume legislative duties.

But over 100 soldiers and police operatives promptly took over the Assembly to maintain peace while the Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, ordered its immediate closure.

The 19 APC lawmakers had been on self-exile since November 20, 2014 when the seven PDP lawmakers impeached the Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin and his deputy, Tunji Orisalade.

Mr. Dele Olugbemi, an ally of the governor was installed as the Speaker by the faction and had been presiding over the Assembly.

Those that returned to the Assembly on Wednesday with Omirin include Orisalade, Mrs. Wunmi Ogunlola, Mr. Ade Ajayi and Gbenga Odebunmi.

The Omirin-led lawmakers arrived at the Assembly in a convoy of 14 vehicles at around 12noon and hurriedly went into parliamentary session which started with praise and worship, as well as prayer said by Mr. Folorunso Ogundele, representing Efon constituency.

The session lasted for 10 minutes and the lawmakers emerged from the Assembly and briefed the pressmen, who had patiently been waiting outside.

Omirin, who spoke on behalf of members, said that they were in the assembly to begin their legislative duty.

As they emerged from the Assembly, some of them chanted ‘Sai Buhari Sai Baba’ – the political slogan of the president-elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Omirin described Olugbemi as an impostor, saying he had come to take his rightful place.

“Why are you surprised that we are here? I don’t expect you to express surprise that we are in our offices because we were duly elected as members of the state House of Assembly.

“This is my office and I shouldn’t be asked why I am here. Though we have instituted a case against the seven lawmakers for the fake impeachment against me, but that would not prevent us from doing what we are supposed to do,” Omirin stated.

When asked whether Buhari’s victory prompted their action, Omirin said “No, that is not true. It is just a mere coincidence. Don’t forget, the fact that I have not been here since November does not mean I have not been performing my duties. So, whether Buhari is declared winner or not, we have to do our work.

“I have been attending Speakers’ meetings in Abuja and attending to my people in my constituency, so we haven’t abdicated our duties.”

Efforts made by Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations in Ekiti State to pacify the APC lawmakers not to reconvene fell on deaf ears, as the lawmakers engaged him in a verbal war and told him that they needed not to take any permission from the police before holding their session.

When the factional speaker, Olugbemi emerged from the Assembly, he criticised the Police Commissioner for closing down the Assembly.

“Mr. CP, I don’t think it was right to have closed down the Assembly. We have the capacity to contain the APC lawmakers. We are ready to meet them fire for fire.”

But the CP said he took the action to prevent violence in the state, saying the police must be proactive to prevent Ekiti from being plunged into crisis.

Court grants Tinubu interlocutory injunction against AIT on "Lion of Bourdilion" documentary

A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has restrained the African Independent Television (AIT) from further airing a documentary on All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Justice Olamide Akinkugbe granted the applicant’s request for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining AIT from airing the documentary on Asiwaju Tinubu. The judge granted the order while ruling on an application brought before the court by Tinubu’s counsel Chief Wole Olanipekun. Justice Akinkugbe had earlier on March 16, 2015, granted an interim order against AIT after hearing an ex parte motion filed by the applicant. Ruling on the matter yesterday, Justice Akinkugbe said the interlocutory injunction was pending the determination of the substantive N150 billion libel suit filed by the former Lagos State governor against Daar Communications Plc, owners of AIT.
Justice Akinkugbe held that the continued airing of the documentary titled: “Lion of Bourdilion”, would affect the res of the suit, which was the reputation of the applicant. The judge also held that if the court allowed the station to continue with the broadcast of the documentary, which it started on March 1, 2015, the applicant cannot be adequately compensated. “I hereby order an interlocutory injunction in this suit, restraining the defendant from further airing, publishing, disseminating and broadcasting the documentary, ‘Lion of Bourdilion’, which it started broadcasting on March 1, pending the determination of the substantive suit,” the judge said. Justice Akinkugbe adjourned the matter till April 16, 2015 for further hearing. Asiwaju Tinubu had filed the suit against Daar Communications Plc, for defamation of character, following the airing of the documentary, which depicted him as a corrupt politician.
According to him, the documentary was politically sponsored to tarnish his reputation in the eyes of the public He had subsequently asked the court for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining AIT whether by itself, agents, privies and or other persons from producing or continuing to broadcast the documentary. Chief Olanipekun, while moving the application at the hearing, had asked the court to restrain the defendant from airing the documentary, pending the determination of the substantive suit. He disagreed with the submission of AIT that most of the contents in the said documentary were already on various online publications, saying it was not an excuse to continue to broadcast the document. But AIT’s counsel Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) had submitted before the court that the said documentary was last aired on March 6, 2015. Ozekhome said the station had since stopped the broadcast of the documentary following the earlier order of the court.
The defendant had maintained that the content of the documentary were facts, which had been in the public domain for over two decades and published independently prior to the broadcast. He exhibited other previous articles written about Asiwaju Tinubu, which he claimed were not challenged by the applicant till date.
He contended that Tinubu was a former senator, two-time governor of Nigeria’s most populous state and the leader of the APC, which claims to be an anti-corruption political party. He argued that the station has a responsibility to its audience to scrutinise public officers, adding that Tinubu had not shown how the said documentary had damaged his reputation. He, therefore, asked the court to dismiss the application, emphasising that Tinubu had failed to show that he could not be adequately compensated for the damages if the broadcast of the documentary was allowed to continue.

Former President Obasanjo Congratulates Buhari

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has asked President-Elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to pay more attention to institutional reforms and be magnanimous in victory.
He also urged him to start healing the wounds and bitterness across the land occasioned by the campaigns and those he called evil disciples.
In a letter of congratulation dated March 31, 2015 addressed to the Gen. Buhari, Obasanjo reminded the President Elect that a lot of damage has been done to various institutions in the country which need urgent attention, pointing out that he must immediately assemble a crack team of Nigerians who will assist him in putting the country on the right part again.
The letter reads: “I hasten to congratulate you on your success and victory in the Presidential election of March 28, 2015. Your success and victory after three previous unsuccessful attempts must be great object lessons for you and for all politicians particularly in Nigeria.
“For me, the totality of the 2015 election holds many lessons for our democracy and democratization process which are both maturing. On this occasion, the system has been unnecessarily overheated before and particularly during the campaign when emphasis was more in trivialities and hate, divisive, in dignifying and disrespectful statements and comments rather than on pressing issues requiring attention.
“I know that in victory, you will be magnanimous to start binding the wounds and bitterness occasioned by the campaign and the evil disciples.
“With so much harm already done to many national institutions, in lauding the military which proudly nurtured you and me, you will have a lot to do on institution reform, education, healthcare, economy, infrastructure, power, youth employment, agribusiness, oil and gas, external affairs, cohesiveness of our nation and ridding our land of corruption. Your varied and wide experience will undoubtedly stand you in good stead.
“I am also sure that there are men and women of goodwill, character and virtue across the board that you can mobilise to join hands with you in the reform, repairs and redirection that will be imperative to put Nigeria back on the fast lane of good governance, unity, cohesiveness, development and progress. Once again, I felicitate with you and wish you well” Obasanjo stated.
In its own letter of congratulation, the Nigeria Labour Congress said the election has opened a new and important chapter in the socio-political development of the nation.
President of the Congress, Dr. Ayuba Wabba said: “We at the Nigeria Labour Congress join millions of our compatriots in congratulating you on your victory in perhaps the most keenly contested presidential election in the history of our country.
“We strongly believe that your election has undoubtedly opened a new and important chapter in the socio-political development of our nation as we have finally broken the jinx of transiting from one democratically elected civilian government controlled by a ruling party to one contributed by an opposition party.
“Your victory is a lesson in perseverance and commitment, made possible by the patience, zeal, resolve, resilience and determination of Nigerians many of whom have undying belief in you.
“We believe this special trust reposed in you is a sacred bond between you and the Nigerian people as well as a call to an uncommon duty at a special period in the history of our nation.
“The times are challenging and will draw from you every grain of wisdom and courage, justice and equity, urgency and necessity.
“We at the Nigeria Labour Congress, like other compatriots not only look up to you with great expectations, we look forward to working with and engaging your government.  We stand ready to work with you in defining as well as charting a new agenda for Nigeria. As we await your response, please accept the assurances of our highest esteem”.