I want Justice for my family, says 9 yr-old whose mother was shot dead by cop

Mrs. Comfort Indongesit Udoh looked forward with great expectation to the first birthday of her fourth child, Elijah Udoh.  This is because Elijah’s birthday fell on same day with the country’s Independence anniversary, October 1.   Infact, preparation towards the ceremony was reportedly first discussed with her husband two months ago where a conclusion was reached to mark it in a low key with families and friends.
Unfortunately, the D-day came last Thursday but she never lived to witness it, no thanks to a bullet from a Police Corporal attached to the Isheri Osun division which shattered her skull.
The deceased, Mrs Udoh, in the company of her  husband , Mr Godwin Sunday Udoh and their four children:  Mary (12) , Blessing (9), Abraham (7) and Elijah who was then 11 months old, reportedly left their Idimu abode in a tricycle driven by Mr Udoh, on September   16, 2015.
Tricycle operator
Destination was the Gospel of Faith Church  situated in Ijegun to attend a vigil. Time was 11pm.  However , they were accosted by a Police Corporal  along Ijegun Road who allegedly demanded for N2000 from the supposed tricycle operator for driving late.
Explanation by Udoh that the people  in the tricycle were members of his family and not passengers as claimed by the policeman fell on deaf ears.
At that moment, his wife, Idongesit Comfort, who was carrying  their youngest child , Elijah, reportedly alighted  from the tricycle and showed the policeman her Bible, with an explanation that she was not a passenger as assumed , but the operator’s wife.
But the Police Corporal, Musefiu Aremu,  was said to have insisted on getting his money. Apparently angry at his defiance, Udoh reportedly entered  his tricycle, with his wife following behind. But to the shock of all , Corporal Aremu said to have  earlier threatened to shoot if Udoh attempted to move the tricycle from the spot, made true his threat as he released two bullets  from his AK 47 rifle.
One of the bullets reportedly hit Mrs Udoh , who fell off the tricycle with Elijah on her bosom. The bullet was said to have pierced her skull and hit Udoh in the jaw.
While Udoh lived to tell the tale, that unfortunately was not the case with his wife,  as she reportedly died moments before reaching the hospital.
When Vanguard Metro  visited their Idimu residence on October 1, everyone at the birthday party  wore long faces. Rather than celebrating with little Elijah who was apparently oblivious of the tragedy that had befallen his family, guests were seen consoling his father.
Elijah on his part, only allowed fair-skinned women to carry him. This was because his mother was light-skinned. His siblings were withdrawn , still finding it difficult to shake off the incident from their memory.
We want justice: When approached,  nine-
year-old Blessing said: “All we want is justice for my family. I want  government to take care of my family. My father is not working anymore since the incident,as  he is  still undergoing treatment at the  Lagos State University Teaching Hospital”.
Narrating how her mother was shot, she said amidst tears: “ We were all in the    Keke Marwa when we heard the gunshot. Immediately, my mummy fell down; she fell on Elijah. She could not move. Blood was all over her . Elijah was crying from where he was trapped under her. My daddy was shouting: ‘They have killed me ooo’. But no body came to help us. Everybody ran away .
“My elder sister, Mary,  was screaming, calling for help. I was the only one that went and held one of the policemen by the trouser. I was shouting at the top of my voice that ‘you people have killed my mummy. Come and take my mummy to the hospital’. Later some policemen came and brought Elijah out of my mummy’s grip. His body was covered with blood.
Police woman
“My Daddy was taken away while a police woman took us to her house and gave us food and water. She told us to sleep that we would see our mummy and daddy next day. But up till now, we have not seen our mummy”.
Call for huge compensation, speedy trial for perpetrator: Her narration triggered
gusts of emotion as some of them burst into tears. The chair person of Women Arise, a non-governmental  organisation, Dr Joe Odumakin, who organised the birthday party for young Elijah, said in an emotion-laden tone :   “There is no one that  can replace Elijah’s mother but we will do our best to see that justice is done.
The deceased was a mother to four kids.  She was a wife. She was deeply committed to family values. She is not here to celebrate her child today but I am sure that she is here in spirit. She was a great woman who  clutched her son to her bosom while she was dying.
We are calling on  the attention of our Police to know that they are supposed to secure lives and property. The death of Elijah’s mother is grave and nothing can bring her back to life and that is why Women Arise is pleading that they should be our friends. Those who err should be punished. Justice must be done.
The killer of Elijah’s mother has been arrested, tried, arraigned and he is now remanded. On October 19, my team,  the victim’s family and well wishers are going to march in black to the Magistrate Court, Ebute Metta to make sure justice is given to the dead 35-year-old Comfort Idongesit Udoh. The last assignment she did was cuddling her baby and urging her other three children to be calm.
There must be a huge compensation for the family even though we know that no amount of money can buy life. She is still in the mortuary and she deserves a befitting burial. We ask for speedy trial for justice to be done. The Inspector-General of Police, IGP   has promised that the children would  be trained in school by the Force but we want it documented so that when a new IGP comes in,  the agreement can still continue.
“Mr Udoh needs to be adequately treated and given a proper business. The  Marwa must be replaced too because he got  it on hire purchase.  We do not want this to happen again. We want a surveillance team that will be monitoring the police.
We are writing and pleading that the government takes care of the family’s accommodation. Also, a trust fund should be set up for the children and  there should also  be health insurance, especially for Mr Udoh who is still undergoing treatment in Lagos state University Teaching Hospital, LUTH”.
Widower’s lamentation: On his part, 45-year-old              Godwin Sunday Udoh who is still recuperating from the bullet that hit his jaw said with tears in his eyes that his wife’s death had created a vacuum in his heart.
According to him: “Today is a special day in the life of my son. My wife said we were going to celebrate him on this day, October 1, but unfortunately she is no more on this earth to celebrate with us. I want  the Lagos State governor to know that what happened is very painful to my children and I.

Treatment in hospital

My wife played the role of a mother to me  since my biological parents died. I am pleading with Lagos and Akwa-Ibom states government to come and  help my family and also ensure that justice prevails.  I want them to put my life back in shape. At the moment , I  am in pains. I cannot chew with my teeth.
I cannot use my right hand to do anything now. I am still undergoing  treatment in the hospital. We need a total package to sustain my family.  I cannot even go back to my former business because my right hand is not functioning well again and I  need to take care of my family.
My youngest son, Elijah, was ill for a while and was taken to the  hospital yesterday ( last Wednesday). He was on exclusive breast feeding before my wife died. My sister has been trying her best but Elijah still feels the absence of his mother. He always cries at night for his mother’s touch.”
He paused at this point, bent his head and burst into tears.

For Ayobo residents, a day of hope, requests as Ambode visits

IT was a rare opportunity to interact with their governor one-on-one, and residents of Ayobo-Ipaja community in Lagos enthusiastically took advantage of it by coming out in their numbers to express their feelings and desires to the state’s chief executive. And not surprisingly the people had so much to say, both in appreciation of their governor’s kind gesture in coming to meet them and what they expected him to do for them.
For Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, the occasion was right and indeed auspicious to demonstrate commitment to one of his electoral promises of running a government based on bottom-up budget plan.
This is because prior to the April 11 governorship election in Lagos State, not many Lagos residents understood what Ambode, who was the standard-bearer of the All Progressives Congress, APC, at that poll, meant at the time.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (m); his Deputy, Dr (Mrs) Idiat Adebule (right) taking notes during Ambode’s First Quarterly Town Hall Meeting, themed, “Community Inclusion in Governance,” held at the Abesan Mini Stadium, Ayobo-Ipaja, Lagos on Tuesday, October 6, 2015

But on Tuesday, October 6, 2015, when he stormed the Ayobo-Ipaja community to render account of his stewardship at the maiden edition of his quarterly Town Hall Meeting, themed, “Community Inclusion in Governance,” it was an opportunity to explain it all.
Bottom-up budget
Governor Ambode, who addressed thousands of residents, party chieftains, traditional rulers and top government officials at the Abesan Mini Stadium, Ayobo-Ipaja, explained that a bottom-up budget means meeting first-hand with residents to ascertain what their priority needs are and how his administration can accommodate them in the budget as well as execute them effectively.
Responding to several critical questions of governance posed to him by residents, Ambode pointed out that one of his first key tasks on assumption of office was to stabilise the finances of the state.
According to him, over the last four months that his administration came on board, he had embarked on financial re-engineering and reviewed the revenue and expenditure frameworks of the state, adding that these efforts coupled with the realignment of Ministries, Departments and Agencies have saved the government almost N3 billion every month.
“This has provided us with more funds to inject into capital projects and the initial funds to establish the Employment Trust Fund which we promised our youths,” he said.
Governor Ambode who reiterated his vision to make the state globally competitive in all sectors, said that his administration has mapped out long-term plans and programmes that will lead Lagos on the path to becoming a truly competitive city-state.
Highlighting some of his administration’s strides in the last four months, the Governor said that aside using the period to set up an institutional framework to pilot the programmes and policies of government, remarkable interventions and reforms have been made in the areas of road rehabilitation, health care, security, service delivery, transportation and education.
Speaking specifically on road rehabilitation, Governor Ambode said about N1.3 billion has been earmarked towards the construction and rehabilitation of over 190 roads across the state, most of which were not catered for in the 2015 budget.
He listed some of the roads to include Agege Motor Road, Herbert Macauley Way, Yaba, Murtala Mohammed Way, Isolo, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Dopemu Road, Agege, Akowonjo Road, Akowonjo, Obalende Bridge, Obalende, Isaac John Road, GRA and Apapa Road, Ebute Meta.
Other roads he mentioned include the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Toyota-Charity Axis, Olufemi Street, Shomolu, Billy Street, Epe, Aswani Road, Isolo, Yekini Street, Shogunle, Oshodi, Isawo Road, Ikorodu, some of which he said are federal roads.
“As I speak, work has commenced on the Ago Palace Way-Okota Road. The State, in conjunction with your local governments and local council development area, is coming to your neighbourhood soon.
“The Ejigbo–Ikotun Road, Okota-Cele Road, Metalbox Road and Acme Road in Ikeja are currently being rehabilitated, while work has started on Brown Street, Oshodi, Ladipo Street as well as Mushin Road.
“Till date, we have committed N1.386 billion to road construction and rehabilitation. We will pump more funds into road infrastructure in this present quarter,” the Governor said.
Our needs: Meanwhile, speaking to Vanguard Metro, the Chairman, Oke-Isagun Community Development Area, CDA, Mr. Adebisola Adewole, expressed confidence that Ambode’s visit to the area is a sign of good things to come.
Adewole, who however outlined some of the major challenges of his CDA, said: “We quite appreciate him (Ambode) for demonstrating to us that for progress to be achieved in our communities, he needed to meet with the people to feel their pulse, to know their problems with a view to providing solutions.
“Again, most of the things that our people have told the governor is a statement of fact of what we are facing here. In the area of roads, we are facing serious problems of traffic congestion, not to talk of Ipaja or Dopemu Bridge. There are two roads that are of major concern to us. If government can fix them for us the perennial traffic gridlock faced around Ipaja, Ayobo, Abesan, Abulegba will be reduced. Those two roads are Oke-Isagun Road and Iyana Ipaja Road.
Housing project
“The major road is off Command Road, and we have two estates there. Government has already tarred Diamond Estate and presently, they are embarking on the construction of low and medium-cost housing projects in the other estate, that is the Sunrise Estate. That road is in-between that estate. There are also two schools sited in the Oke-Isagun community. So, we would appreciate that government fixes the bad roads, especially now that its institutions are sited there. The road should be opened up to Aboru and to Iyana-Ipaja. We have the strong belief that Ambode is a listening Governor, who will always come to our aid whenever we call on him.”
Question and answer session: The question and session of the meeting was indeed a lively and interesting affair. It was an opportunity for the residents to make known their requests to the governor.
For instance, Pastor Boniface Adeyemi, a resident of Abaranje-Okerube, in Ikotun area of the state, appealed to the governor to assist them construct a secondary school in their community.
Responding, Ambode assured that the appeal will be captured in the state’s budget next year.
Noise pollution
Similarly, Alhaji Adeleke Ogunowo from Oku-Oba Central Mosque, asked the governor on the state government’s stand on noise pollution, particularly as it affects religious organisations.
Responding, Ambode clarified that the state has an existing law that prohibits noise pollution, adding that the activities of security agencies to ensure residents abide by this law should not be seen as punishment against religious organisations.
He however, urged the residents to curb noise pollution in their various areas, so as not to disturb others.
Also, Mr. Gift Ikpe from Mosan-Okunola community appealed to the governor to empower residents of the community, particularly the youths, by establishing fish farming centres.
Responding, Ambode promised to direct the state’s Ministry of Agriculture to partner with the community to set-up fish farming centres in the community.

Alleged breach of trust: Land donors seek N100m restitution

The cordial relationship existing between the people of Umuokparaku kindred, Umuokpara-Nsu in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, owners of Ala Uzo Ikpa land and the management of Mbara Ozioma Foundation, MOF, may degenerate into an irreconcilable proportion, unless the stakeholders meet and take urgent steps to redeem the situation.
This followed the issuance of a quit notice and demand for damages to the Board of Trustees, BOT of MOF by the donors over an alleged breach of contractual agreement. The alleged breach arose from the alleged lack of implementation of the cardinal covenants contained in the document releasing the landed property to the MOF.
The Umuokparaku land owners had in the year 2000 donated a parcel of land measuring approximately 1.204 hectres to MOF whose Chairman is a Roman Catholic Priest, Rev. Dr. Jude Ozioma Nwachukwu, for building  a skills acquisition centre to be run under the auspices of the Catholic Church.
The cordial relationship between the parties degenerated in December 2013 when the community discovered that the land which they donated to the Foundation has allegedly been turned into a private family enterprises by Rev Fr. Ozioma Nwachukwu and his elder brother, Anthony Nwachukwu. The Nwachukwus, according to the community, claimed in an online publication that the land was sold outright to them.
Breach of agreement
What added fuel to the alreading burning flame in this predominantly Catholic community was the reconstitution of MOF’s BOT. An Anglican Bishop, David Onuoha was allegedly appointed a member of the BOT without the knowledge, consent or authority of the Catholic Bishop of Okigwe Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Solomon Amatu.
The alleged infractions forced the community to write to the MOF through their lawyer, Chris Ajugwe, a legal practitioner based in Onitsha, Anambra State, demanding restitution and payment of N100 million for breach of contract.
In the letter, addressed to Rev. Fr. Nwachukwu, President/Chairman BOT of MOF, the land donors claimed that he deceived them by claiming that the land was being acquired for the purpose of building a skills acquisition center by MOF which he presented as a charitable institution exclusively within the Catholic Church.
The donors said they initially refused to donate their land until the donee presented Rev. Fr. Iheanyi Enwerem, another Catholic priest and a member of the donors’ kindred. According to them, it was at this juncture that they were finally persuaded to part with the land.
The donors further claimed that being devout Catholics, they thought they were doing a religious duty by donating their landed property to a Catholic Foundation. To be sure that the Foundation would actually be run by the Roman Catholic Church, the community stated that certain conditions were spelt outin the Power of Attorney .
Some of these requirements included that the  BOT of MOF shall be constituted to include a nomination by St. Columbus Catholic Parish Priest, Nsu; St. Charles Catholic Parish Priest, Umunumo; three representatives from MOF and two representatives of Umuokparaku community.
They explained that these stipulations were embodied in the agreement dated January 15, 2014 between the two parties and their representatives.
“Regrettably, each time we demanded from you the implementation of the land deal agreements, you would plead with us to be patient as you were either on one sabbatical leave or one
religious retreat or the other. To add salt to injury, you published or caused to be published in May, 2014 on the internet, a false statement that our land was sold to you outright. We were outraged by the latest development because on or about October, 2014, you held a meeting with us at the kindred hall at Umuokparaku where you were confronted with your online claims”.
As the meeting was inconclusive, it was mutually rescheduled for a few weeks time, only for us to learn that you have once again proceeded on your endless sabbatical leave in Austria and now your hide-and-seek game and that of your Foundation with respect to our landed property is up. It is obvious from the proceedings that you and your Foundation are in flagrant and contemptuous breach of contract with respect to our landed property,” the community said.
MOF which was incorporated on February 13, 2011 has Messrs Anthony Nwachukwu, Mahakwe H. Obi, Young Nwaohiri and Mr. Benjamin Onyeji as its trustees. But the community is not comfortable with this composition because “from all intents and purposes, this is contrary to the intentment and spirit of your contract with us with respect to the said land”.
Community’s demands
“It is unfortunate that this has remained so till date in ungodly disregard to the agreement of January 15, 2004. This is the sort of injustice that cries to heaven for vengeance as it at once negates your priestly calling. We therefore demand that you pay us the sum of N100 million being damages for breach of contract,” the community demanded.
“We also demand that you should within two months from the date of getting this letter vacate our landed property by removing all your Foundation’s moveable properties thereon as the land, the building and all other improvements thereon on the land have automatically reverted to us by operation of the law,” they claimed. They warned that failure to comply with the demand, the community will “not hesitate to report to the security agencies to investigate the criminal aspect of your breach of trust and fraudulent misrepresentation and this we shall do without further reference to you”.
The donors contended that even though they signed receipts for N20,000 per plot of land being Ihe Nkutu Aka N’obi (a  token for our economic trees), it does not amount to outright alienation of the landed property and cannot detract from the Power of Attorney of 2000 and the addendum thereto of 2004.
MOF’s counsel disputes claims
Counsel to the donee, Mahakwe Obi in a tacit reply, stated that the letter portrayed the chairman of the BOT of the Foundation, Rev. Dr. Ozioma Nwachukwu as an organisation or person who could not keep to the terms of agreement with the Umuokparaku people. “This is complete misrepresentation of the true position. Although the Chairman of theBOT has been coordinating the activities of the body, he has never failed in his meetings and other commitments concerning the Umuokparaku community,” he declared.
Insisting that there was no time the BOT did not reflect the interest of all, especially the Catholics, he claimed that it is not only Umuokparaku that granted irrevocable Power of Attorney to the Foundation for building of its projects. “It is important for you to note that the Foundation acquired every piece of land in the site through Irrevocable Power of Attorney, coupled with valuable consideration and therefore erroneous for you to be informed that you granted the lease with receipts and relevant documents which we can furnish you with when necessary,” he said.
The Foundation further noted that it has never engaged any other religious congregation to manage its day-to-day activities, as alleged, adding that its programmes are presently being formulated to give it strong footing.
It noted that it was Rev. Fr. Iheanyi Enwerem who advised that the BOT of the Foundation should reflect the interest of the different groups that are to benefit from the projects. According to him, it was based on this advice that the current BOT members were selected to reflect the following: Howels League Association, Catholic Diocese of Okigwe, Anglican Diocese of Okigwe South, Nsu Villages, Umunumo, Nzerem and Agbaja Villages.
The Foundation’s lawyer said: “It is unfortunate that the land donors made reference to only a portion of the purported agreement of January 15, 2014 without referring to the addendum to the agreement. The Foundation insisted that the alleged claim by the donors of internet publication that they sold their land to the foundation is completely embarrassing to the Foundation. He wants a meeting to be convened to clarify most of the unfounded claims and falsehood contained in the letter.
Name of our village delected from signpost
But when contacted, a representative of the land owners, Mr. Celestine Iwundu stated that they would have no option than head to court if all avenues for peaceful resolution of the impasse fail.
“As I am talking to you now, the Nwachukwus had deleted the name of our community, Umuokparaku – Umuokpara Nsu from the sign post of the skills acquisition centre and replaced it with Umuokiri – Umunomu which is the Rev. Fr. Ozioma Nwachukwu’s kindred. “How can you site a project in our land in Nsu autonomous community and claim the land belongs to another community”? he asked rhetorically.

Ibeshe community, miners on war path over royalties

NEGLIGENCE or outright complicity and greed on the part of federal agents in the dispute over a leased mining title at Isashi-Ibeshe in Ikorodu, Lagos State, is fast giving way to restiveness in the once serene and beautiful community, which now demands the Federal Government’s urgent intervention.
At the centre of the quarrel is Glossands Limited, a major dredging company which the indigenes accused of having operated in the community for over two decades without any meaningful benefit to the people or their environment, and a recent entrant, Eva & Kings. The others include Badewa and Bima dredging firms.
During their protest on Monday, some Ibeshe youths, led by their chiefs, urged Glossands Limited to move its dredging equipment from the other dredgers’ waterfront. The  Otun Asashi  of Isashi Community, Rafiu Aregbesola, told newsmen that Glossands started courting trouble when it ran its dredger across Eva & Kings’ waterfront and has snubbed all interventions to move its equipment.
According to Aregbesola, after the Ibeshe traditional authority’s several efforts failed to persuade Glossands to shift ground and allow the other legal firms some space to operate alongside, the Olubeshe-in-Council, exercising the community’s right under Section 100 of the federal mining law, demanded that Glossands moved its equipment as a matter of urgency.
In their letter of September 28, 2015 to Glossands, entitled, “Urgent Demand For Compliance,” which was signed by over seven Ibeshe chiefs and copied the Director of Mines, Inspectorate Department, MMSD; Mines Officer, Mines Inspectorate Department, Lagos; MD, Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA); Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Lagos, and the Inspector General of Police, among others, the community sought understanding and cooperation among the dredgers.
Fatherly responsibility

Ibeshe

“As host community of the mineral title in Isashi-Ibeshe, Ikorodu area, you would appreciate the critical role we are to play for peace and orderliness,” the letter read in part. “We feel slighted if our fatherly responsibility is snubbed by any of our guests and we would react appropriately.
“Recently, our traditional ruling council, upon a complaint by Eva & Kings Nigeria Limited, delegated four of our chiefs to inspect the coastline. They confirmed to us that your company placed its dredger and other equipment on the waterfront of Eva & Kings. In our investigation, we found out that Eva & Kings has authentic approval for the coordinates in the same place you positioned your dredger (Quarry Lease No: 021189).
“Since we want peace in our community, we therefore demand the immediate repositioning of your dredger to your own area so as not to disturb the operations of Eva & Kings. We do not take kindly to your disturbing other people’s operations or interfering in their activities in our community.
“If you have any issue with them, direct such to the government, which would take necessary steps. Don’t be an enforcer in our community and its environs because that can lead to a breakdown of law and order. Please, if our demand is not respected, we might be forced to stop all dredging activities.”
Nevertheless, the community leaders complained that Glossands was not impacting the community and its people positively in any way, adding that it had employed only one indigene in its over two decades of operation. In view of this, they said, they would provide equal opportunity to competitors and would not allow them to be stifled out of business.
Dredging firms
Similarly, an Isashi youth leader, Ogundeji Abideen, accused Glossands of trying to frustrate other operators out of the community, adding that the community wants all dredging firms to co-exist peacefully. Also, a youth leader from Ibeshe community, Adeshina Jamiu, urged Glossands to move its equipment from others waterfronts and allow peace to reign according to the wishes of the people.
Eva & Kings, by available documents, was granted QLS21189 with three cadastral units of 0.6km area in Ikorodu vie a letter signed by the Director General of Mining Cadastre Office of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, O S Nkom, upon acknowledging that it had earlier been erroneously granted to be on Victoria Island, contrary to the application.
His notification letter of September 7, 2015, with reference No MCO/CONC/QLS/21189, stated: “I am directed to convey the Director General’s approval on your application for Quarry Lease No: 21189QLS.
“Licenses/Leases will be issued subject to full payment of the annual service fee of N60,000 only. Failure to pay this fee within 14 days from the date of receipt of this letter will lead to the withdrawal of the grant in line with the provisions of Nigerian Minerals and Mining Regulations, 2011.”
This requirement the companied complied with. Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Eva and Kings, Ukah Emmanuel Onyewuchi, alleged that the documents being paraded by Glossands over the lease title were forged and that whatever recent agreement it signed with the community was not with the appropriate authorities.
He further claimed that Glossands masterminded his elder brother’s death.
However, a senior official of Glossands argued that the other dredgers were operating illegally, and that Eva & Kings had always encroached on Glossands’ licensed cadastral units without restraint.
The source, pleading anonymity, said: “We are the licensed miners for that area and have been operating in that coastline for over 20 years. Before now, we have been paying all royalties to the community.

I wonder why PDP is losing sleep over Amaechi — Princewill on November 04, 2015

Tonye Princewill, Labour Party governorship candidate for Rivers State at the 2015 general election, in this interview, among others, shares his views on the Election Petitions Tribunal judgment nullifying the election of Nyesom Wike as governor of the state.
By Ayo Onikoyi
What is your reaction to the judgment of the tribunal on the Rivers State governorship election?
Any lover of true democracy and justice, who witnessed what happened will not be surprised with the judgment. I belong to that group. The elections were neither free nor fair nor credible, so they can’t stand honest scrutiny. The APC won the case for all of Rivers State, kudos to them. In 2007, I fought PDP to a standstill and the same people in the APC today were the beneficiaries of my fight. It is not about persons or political parties. It is about the state. I did not say I am celebrating the judgment. I said I am not surprised by it. But in Rivers politics, the analog politicians cannot understand the difference.
But you confused people by not contesting the results that declared Wike as winner, so won’t your support of the judgment raise questions?
Why? In my post-election statement in April, I clearly highlighted my displeasure in the outcome of the elections. I said, it is no longer in doubt that the election in Rivers State was neither free nor fair nor credible. I added that rather than the jubilation of a victory or the recriminations of a defeat, I and my team prefer to keep searching for peace. I lamented on the bloodshed and just wanted it to stop. No matter how much we find justice, if so many people in Rivers State are killed, who will be left to lead? This did not only show my disappointment in the conduct of the election but also my concern over peace in my state. It is not about taking sides with PDP or APC, it is about the truth.
But the Labour Party in the State has disassociated itself from your statement praising the tribunal’s judgment, on the premise that you are on suspension?
To the best of my knowledge we have freedom of speech and right of opinion in Nigeria. My statements have always been my opinion and until recently, my party has always fallen in line with my thinking.
Do you see yourself doing better than you did earlier should you partake in the anticipated re-run as LP candidate?
I am yet to take a position on the role to play in the rerun; but even if I do partake, it’s really not about me. It’s about the decision of the people. They all know the political players in the state. They all know the possible after effect of a PDP or an APC victory.
Peaceful Rivers State
Politics is not war. There must be a winner and a loser. I am comfortable with either, because I am not desperate to be Governor; PDP and APC are. How that will produce a peaceful Rivers State, I am yet to find out. If Rivers People want unity, peace, a Government they can reach and believe that their votes will count, I believe my style of politics will have a better chance.
What can you say about the controversy surrounding the Senate screening and confirmation Hon Rotimi Amaechi for ministerial appointment?

Tonye Princewill

We’ve waited so long for this, and are eager to see the difference it will make. And like I always say, President Buhari is the president, whether his administration is moving the nation fast or slow, we should focus more on helping him, than pulling him down. I know Amaechi; and I know his abilities. He worked seriously for the APC and if he missed the VP slot and the SGF slot, why should PDP lose sleep if he becomes a minister?
I was praying we don’t disgrace ourselves before the world. I am glad we did not totally disgrace ourselves. I am not sure his inclusion did the President any huge favours in perception ratings, but perception is subject to the individual and so we will leave each to their own. PDP gave us Wike.
APC has given us Amaechi. Rivers people are watching. I believe though that with the right motivation, cross party support and a little prayer, he can be a useful tool in Buhari’s cabinet.
Do you regret not defecting to the APC way before the 2015 elections?
Why should I? The ideology of the APC at that time was, “Bring down Jonathan”, and I was on a totally different wavelength. So, regretting is not a possibility. I am also happy I left the PDP.
You can’t mistreat a man with a mandate and expect him to stay silent and clap for you. Not me. I have supporters. I have a caucus and I do not act alone. We listen and we learn. Of course we make mistakes. That’s why pencils have erasers.
What is your take on the ongoing anti-corruption campaign?
The anti-corruption campaign was the foundation of the Buhari campaign, so it is expected that a lot would be happening in that area. So far, so good, but it is yet to enjoy the confidence of all sides. The reason for this is obvious. Not a lot of APC people are in the dock. I suggest we stay tuned, there is still plenty time for that.
No man who is just settling in will fight on too many fronts. Besides it is for the agencies charged with these responsibilities to do their work, unless there is evidence to show, the Presidency is interfering, let us await the results.

Blatter effigy to be burnt in British bonfire party on November 04, 2015

A giant effigy of suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter will be torched this weekend as part of a British town’s Bonfire Night celebrations, organisers revealed Wednesday. The 36-foot (11-metre) tall effigy of the outgoing Swiss head of world football’s governing body will go up in flames on Saturday in Edenbridge, south of London.
Scandal-plagued FIFA has been mired in allegations of bribery and corruption this year. The effigy is of a sharp-suited Blatter carrying wads of cash, the World Cup and a football. It will be stuffed with oil-soaked newspapers, packed with fireworks and set ablaze.
“Blatter was the obvious choice,” said Edenbridge Bonfire Society co-ordinator Charles Laver. “We did put some thought into who else it could be but… we went for him. “We started building it two weeks ago, and we are pleased with the result.” It was erected in a field on Wednesday with the help of a tractor.
Guy Fawkes Night, or Bonfire Night, is an annual event marking the foiling of a plot by Catholic conspirators to blow up Protestant king James I and the Houses of Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder on November 5, 1605. It is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks displays either on November 5 or the nearest weekend, with effigies of plotter Fawkes burned.
Edenbridge has been poking fun at famous figures for 20 years, torching effigies of them alongside the traditional Guy Fawkes. Other well-known figures whose effigy has been torched in recent years include former prime minister Tony Blair’s wife Cherie and Blair’s successor Gordon Brown.

Biafra not Nigeria’s problem on November 02, 2015

BIAFRA  is not one of the problems besetting Nigeria. Those unable to appreciate this fact may require a dose of creative thinking. Nigeria’s stubborn thorn in the flesh is its adamant repudiation of the self-evident concept of the changelessness of change, upon which sits a crippling unwillingness to engage that same constancy of change. There are two random but famous declarations – one little remembered today, the other something of a mantra – that neatly wrap up the national antiparty to inexorable change and its management.
On January 15, 1970, there was a ceremony at Dodan Barracks, Lagos, the then seat of political power. Biafran acting Head of State, General Philip Effiong, Colonel David Ogunewe, Colonel Patrick Anwunah, Colonel Patrick Amadi and Police Commissioner Patrick Okeke had gone to submit Biafra’s document of surrender, which officially marked the end of the civil war. “The so-called rising sun of Biafra has set forever,” declared Head of State General Yakubu Gowon, on that occasion. In the leaps and dips of Nigeria’s turbulence, it is common to hear politicians of varying persuasions declaring, as a way of “helping” to stabilise the listing ship of state, that “Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable.”
Between Gowon’s presumption of Biafra’s finality, which rode on the crest of triumphalism and was hailed as prescient by many, including Gowon’s biographer Professor Isawa Elaigwu, and the incessantly voiced exclusion of terms on Nigeria’s oneness, lies the country’s problematic. General Gowon is alive and bouncing. Were he to honestly comment on his 45-year old declaration today, he would readily admit to not having thoroughly considered all sides of everything. For it is clearly outside the bounds of political authority to decree the irreversible amputation of human predilection and proclivity. The current hoopla around Biafra lends credence to the assertion.
Now, there is something baffling in the oft-repeated statement on Nigeria’s unity not being negotiable. The statement does not mean that Nigeria’s unity is a fait accompli. It simply insists on a spiteful denunciation of any thought of mapping out a sustainable road on which the assumed or anticipated national unity must travel, free from iniquity and cataclysms; a method for mastering the imperatives of national unity which is, anywhere in the world, a particularly daunting proposition. It is because Nigeria has kept its back obdurately turned to change that even the littlest molehill on its uncharted road invariably becomes a precipitous mountain.
Why is Nigeria incapable of learning from history? When Biafra came in 1967, it was way ahead of its time. Since January 15, 1970, the world’s political map has continued to be redrawn. Emperor Haile Selassie would have started, and branded any dream in which Eritrea was mentioned a nightmare. Eritrea gained international recognition as an independent state in 1993. South Sudan was only a fictional construct in 1970; it became an independent nation in 2011. Bangladesh was non-existent in 1970; it declared its independence from Pakistan a year later. The Soviet Union dissolved into 12 independent states in 1991. By 1992 Yugoslavia had fractured into about seven independent countries. On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia split into Czech and Slovak Republics. Scotland held an Independence referendum early this year that failed. There is a powerful Catalan movement pushing secession from Spain. Separatist tendencies are not on the wane in Cabinda.
What to bear in mind is that most of the secessions or agitations for secession in the world are along ethnic lines. For an ethnically composite country like Nigeria, the way to avoid potential split props is not by precluding discussion on contentious issues, and it is not by expeditionary repression of peaceful dissent. After all, dissent is not and should never be construed as a crime in a democracy. A country of disparate peoples can only be held together in peace and harmony by the glues of visionary leadership indexed on tried and tested political structures of equity, fairness, justice, innovation and practicality. This cannot be said of Nigeria.
Look at neighbouring Ghana, which, like Nigeria, is multi-ethnic. Who ever heard of secessionist agitation in that country? Here is a point made in a June 28, 2012 Memorandum submitted to the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo: “In our socio-political and economic intercourse all groups (big or small) must be allowed free-play and equitable access to our country’s resources and strategic political command posts, including particularly the presidency. Sustained imbalance in sharing responsibilities and the ‘national cake’ could conceivably induce in those units aggrieved a rethink of the value to them of our much vaunted national unity.”
One possible way of checking skepticism on Nigerian unity is the implementation of the report of last year’s National Conference. Unfortunately, chameleons, who throughout their dubious political careers had hoisted the National Conference placard, turned up on the eve of the last presidential ballot to execrate the idea.
Chuks Iloegbunam

How Jeff won 2015 MTN Project Fame on September 28, 2015

Budding singer, Jeffrey Ufedo Akor  weekend emerged winner of the MTN Project Fame West Africa Season 8, smiling home with star prize of N5million, a brand new, fully loaded SUV and a recording contract worth millions of Naira. It has been a completely exciting season with weeks of hard-work and dedication.

Jeff

It started with auditions in several cities in West Africa, and translated into eight weeks of fun, tension and scintillating performances for the 16 contestants that made it into the Academy.
For the six finalists that made it to the finals (Ada, Arewa, Anderson, Deinde, Jeff, and Pearl), things will never be the same again as they have indeed gone through a beneficial and life-altering eight weeks in the Academy.
Grand Finale nights like this have birthed the likes of Iyanya, Mike, Chidinma, Monica, Ayoola, Olawale and Geoffrey. And with only one of these six to join the league of extraordinary superstars, the question on everyone’s mind was, who will it be?
But before it got to that, the show kicked off on a  promising note as the six finalists stepped onto the stage in their monochrome outfits and delivered a melodious, yet emotional group song titled ‘Pray For Me’ by Dare Art Alade.
The rest of the night turned out to be an exciting journey with great entertainment lined up in form of collabos. Yes, the six finalists had been paired up with some A-list artistes to produce amazing remixed versions of their songs, and so each team stepped on stage and brought nothing but pure joy as they sang, danced and glowed.
First to perform were Jeff and energetic Yemi Alade doing ‘K.I.S.S.I.N.G’ remix. Followed by Pearl and Chidinma who gracefully performed ‘Kedike’ remix. Deinde and Iyanya got everyone dancing with ‘Mr Oreo’ remix.  Anderson and Praiz with their vocal dexterities delivered ‘Rich and Famous’ remix. While Arewa and 9ice paired up for the remix of the evergreen ‘Gongo Aso’.
Ada and Sound Sultan closed this round of entertainment with their creative rendition of ‘MotherLand’ remix. Amazingly, these collaborations are now available as caller ring back tunes. It was then time to get down to the business of the day. The moment of truth as many calls it, often characterized by a pin-drop silence.
With the audience eyes wide open, gasping heartbeats and trembling feet, the hosts of the show –Joseph Benjamin and Bolanle Olukanni took turns to announce the winner and runners-up of season eight.  Ada Tosanwumi, third runner-up. She went home with a cash prize of two million naira while   Anderson Amos emerged second runner-up.
He walked away with two million naira and a brand new saloon car. Pearl Awa-Agwu, first runner-up. She earned three million naira and a brand new saloon car.
With scores of spectacular performances and several millions of votes; the winner of MTN Project Fame Season eight is Jeffrey Ufedo Akor. He carted away five million naira, a brand new, fully loaded SUV and a recording contract worth millions of Naira. The sixth and fifth positions will also be rewarded with five hundred thousand naira and one million naira respectively.

The Move For Aviation National Carrier on September 29, 2015

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari’s interest in establishing a new aviation national carrier became evident when, early in August 2015, he directed visiting top ministry of aviation officials led by the Permanent Secretary, Hajiya Binta Bello, to take steps towards actualising the project which was strongly recommended by the Ahmed Joda transition committee.
Proponents of a new national carrier play up the benefits, which include national pride and the opportunities it will afford Nigeria to enjoy the fuller benefits of the Bilateral Aviation Services Agreements (BASA).
Nigeria has made several attempts at owning national carriers but came out with our fingers burnt. The first was the ugly experiences of operating the defunct Nigerian Airways between 1958 and 2005. This exposed the crass inability of government employees to run businesses, especially airlines. The federal government sank billions of dollars in acquiring planes of all types. At a point, the Nigerian Airways could boast of dozens of aircraft plying most important routes at home and internationally but by 2005 the Airways had to be liquidated.
A second attempt involved a government partnership with Virgin Atlantic owned by British billionaire, Richard Branson. The Virgin Nigeria that resulted from that effort soon collapsed. There were other attempts to float national carriers known variously as “Air Nigeria” and “Nigerian Global”. The nation only spent huge resources and yet nothing came of the effort.
Beyond national pride and providing a lucrative avenue to provide jobs and political patronage to highly connected individuals, what grand national agenda does Nigeria truly intend to achieve? To get the credible answer to this question the federal government must consult not just professionals and civil servants in the sector. The airline owners should also be brought on board so that if the national carrier is eventually floated, the interests of all parties will be protected for the overall good of the nation.
We are calling for a pause to ponder on this policy move. It looks very much like another white elephant project. Nigeria is not financially in shape to cough out the $5 billion, which experts believe, is the least amount it will take to float a new national carrier. Besides, the defunct Nigerian Airways owed heavily to international creditors, who are waiting to collect their money as soon as government goes into another aviation venture.
We call on the Federal Government to focus more energy on ensuring that existing airlines operate in a more conducive environment devoid of multiple taxation, expensive aviation fuel and the lot. We should rather empower our indigenous airlines to grow to a point where we can comfortably promote the viable ones among them to emerge as national carriers.

Bail-out: I won’t pay pension arrears, gratuities – Fayose on September 29, 2015

Ado-Ekiti—Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, yesterday confirmed that he had no intention to pay outstanding pensions and gratuities from the states bail-out fund of N9.6 billion.
According to him his government only got N9.6 billion out of the over N29 billion it applied for.
Retirees in the state had  last week alleged that the governor  had excluded the payment of their pension arrears and gratuities from the Federal Government’s bail-out.
Fayose made the clarification yesterday at Ikogosi-Ekiti during the opening ceremony of a two-day retreat for commissioners, permanent secretaries and heads of agencies.
He also stated that out of the N5.6 billion applied for by the 16 local governments in the state, the FG only approved N991 million, adding that pension arrears and gratuities were also not approved.
In a statement in Ado-Ekiti by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, the governor said the clarification became necessary following insinuations that the state government did not want to pay pensions arrears and gratuities of retirees.
Governor Fayose said, “You people know that I don’t hide anything from you when allocations come. We applied for N29 billion from the bail-out fund. It is to cover the August and September 2014 salary arrears left by the Fayemi government, leave bonus, pensions, gratuities and others. But for reasons we don’t know yet, the FG only approved N9.6 billion for salaries leaving other issues.
“The 16 local governments applied for N5.6 billion and we did all the necessary papers and presented them to the appropriate authorities, but only N991 million was approved. We were later told by the Central Bank of Nigeria that about 14 states had similar problems with the small amount approved for local governments.

Fitch Ratings has declared that reducing reserve requirements to 25 per cent will not add liquidity to the Nigerian banking system because the reduction will not lead to additional Foreign Currency (FC). Counterfeit nairaFitch noted that substantial government-related FC deposits are exempt from reserve requirements and have already been withdrawn from the system after the government ordered all public-sector deposits to be moved from commercial banks into the centralised Treasury Single Account (TSA) earlier this month. Nigeria’s Monetary Committee reduced mandatory reserve requirements on all local-currency (LC) deposits to 25 per cent from 31 per cent last week in the hope that this might ease liquidity pressure, stimulate new lending and boost economic growth. According to Fitch, “This should provide some additional LC liquidity into the banking system but around N1.3trillion (USD6.5billion) of deposits were sucked out of the banks in September, reflecting transfers to the TSA. Public-sector deposits traditionally account for around 10 per cent of total banking sector deposits. Lower reserve requirements will not offset the tighter FC liquidity at Nigeria’s banks. A currency split of public-sector deposits is not disclosed but in our opinion, FC deposits are substantial, held up by oil-related deposits.” “ The centralising of public-sector and government-related FC deposits at the TSA has made it increasingly difficult for commercial banks to meet customer demand for FC. FC availability was already strained in 2015 due to falling oil revenues, central bank action to defend naira depreciation and heightened negative investor sentiment towards emerging markets. “Warnings throughout the year that JP Morgan intended to remove Nigeria from its Emerging Markets index, which occurred in mid-September, also triggered heavy FC outflows as investors sold Nigerian securities. Nigerian securities Viability Ratings assigned to Nigeria’s banks, all in the ‘b’ category, already reflect a wide range of weaknesses, including the increasingly strained FC liquidity position. Our sector outlook for Nigerian banks remains negative. Key financial metrics reported by Nigerian banks are likely to continue to weaken in the closing months of 2015. Impaired loans have been rising over the past 12 months” Fitch stated. We expect them to rise above the central bank’s informal 5 per cent of total loans cap but to remain below 10 per cent at year-end. Pressure is mounting on regulatory capital ratios and we expect Tier 1 capital ratios at many banks to fall below 15 per cent, which is low by recent Nigerian standards. Loan growth is slowing under the strain of lower oil prices. Our expectations for loan growth are muted – a nominal 5 per cent increase in 2015, which is low by Nigerian standards – due to the much deteriorated operating environment.

Fitch Ratings has declared that reducing reserve requirements to 25 per cent will not add liquidity to the Nigerian banking system because the reduction will not lead to additional Foreign Currency (FC).
Fitch noted that substantial government-related FC deposits are exempt from reserve requirements and have already been withdrawn from the system after the government ordered all public-sector deposits to be moved from commercial banks into the centralised Treasury Single Account (TSA) earlier this month.
Nigeria’s Monetary Committee reduced mandatory reserve requirements on all local-currency (LC) deposits to 25 per cent from 31 per cent last week in the hope that this might ease liquidity pressure, stimulate new lending and boost economic growth.
According to Fitch, “This should provide some additional LC liquidity into the banking system but around N1.3trillion (USD6.5billion) of deposits were sucked out of the banks in September, reflecting transfers to the TSA. Public-sector deposits traditionally account for around 10 per cent of total banking sector deposits. Lower reserve requirements will not offset the tighter FC liquidity at Nigeria’s banks. A currency split of public-sector deposits is not disclosed but in our opinion, FC deposits are substantial, held up by oil-related deposits.”
“ The centralising of public-sector and government-related FC deposits at the TSA has made it increasingly difficult for commercial banks to meet customer demand for FC. FC availability was already strained in 2015 due to falling oil revenues, central bank action to defend naira depreciation and heightened negative investor sentiment towards emerging markets.
“Warnings throughout the year that JP Morgan intended to remove Nigeria from its Emerging Markets index, which occurred in mid-September, also triggered heavy FC outflows as investors sold Nigerian securities.
Nigerian securities
Viability Ratings assigned to Nigeria’s banks, all in the ‘b’ category, already reflect a wide range of weaknesses, including the increasingly strained FC liquidity position. Our sector outlook for Nigerian banks remains negative. Key financial metrics reported by Nigerian banks are likely to continue to weaken in the closing months of 2015. Impaired loans have been rising over the past 12 months” Fitch stated.
We expect them to rise above the central bank’s informal 5 per cent of total loans cap but to remain below 10 per cent at year-end. Pressure is mounting on regulatory capital ratios and we expect Tier 1 capital ratios at many banks to fall below 15 per cent, which is low by recent Nigerian standards. Loan growth is slowing under the strain of lower oil prices. Our expectations for loan growth are muted – a nominal 5 per cent increase in 2015, which is low by Nigerian standards – due to the much deteriorated operating environment.

Akure youths protest Falae ’s kidnap on September 29, 2015

Akure—YOUTHS under the aegis of Akure Youth Coalition, AYC,  in Akure, the Ondo State capital yesterday protested the abduction of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Chief Olu Falae
They demanded that the activities of Fulani herdsmen in the metropolis be stopped forthwith.
The protesters marched to the Deji’s palace and Ondo State House of Assembly displaying various placards.
Findings showed that the youths who were from Akure South, Akure North, Ifedore and Idanre Local Government Areas assembled at the town hall as early as 8a.m.
Placards displayed by the protesters read: “Nomadic grazing must stop,” “Olu Falae is an elder statesman; Respect our elders!” “Stop nomadic herding now, give us a cattle ranch in the state for cattle rearers,” and “Do not turn Akure into a tearful fiefdom, respect our land,”
Their President, Adekanbi Oluwatuyi, said: ‘’As peace loving youths of Akure Kingdom, it was pertinent for them to express their dissatisfaction over the threats and acrimony perpetuated by Fulani herds- men in the metropolis.
“The herdsmen had continued to harass and intimidate our people on their farmland with their cattle forcibly entering into farms, they descend on anyone who dares challenge or query their actions.”

Bayelsa APC Primary: Alaibe alleges plot to sponsor protests against him on September 29, 2015

Yenagoa—AHEAD of the rescheduled primary by All Progressives Congress, APC, to pick its flagbearer for the December 5, governorship election in Bayelsa State, the battle to clinch the ticket is assuming a dangerous dimension, as one of the contenders, Timi Alaibe, yesterday, raised alarm over alleged plots to smear his name.
This came as Chairman of APC in the state, Chief Tiwei Orunimighe, insisted that it stood by alleged victory of former Governor Timipre Sylva, at the disputed primary Tuesday.
Alaibe, speaking through the Timi Alaibe Campaign Organisation, claimed that some faceless groups planned to sponsor violent protests in Yenagoa and Abuja to discredit him.
Spokesman of the campaign organisation, Patterson Ogon, in a statement in Yenagoa, said: “The faceless groups have perfected plans to print T-shirts and vests in the name of Alaibe and are planning to stage violent protests in Yenagoa and the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja.”
Ogon alleged that the politically motivated plot to rubbish Alaibe’s name was part of plans to frustrate him ahead of the rescheduled primary for the APC governorship ticket.
The statement read in part: “It has come to the notice of the Timi Alaibe Campaign Organisation that some faceless groups have printed T-shirts and vests in the name of Alaibe and have hired thugs to stage violent protests in Yenagoa and at the National Secretariat of the APC in Abuja. Their plan is to cause havoc and transfer the blame to Alaibe.”
But APC Chairman in the state, Chief Orunimighe, insisted that the primary had been won and lost, arguing that reported cancellation of the election was baseless and unfounded.
“As Chairman of Bayelsa APC, I am not aware of any cancellation of the primary. With all due respect to the National Chairman of our party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, he said nobody should make an announcement except they cleared with him. I want to believe that people who made statements from the national secretariat did not have clearance with him.
“So, I believe the cancellation rumour does not stand. For now, election has been held and I think that is how it stands. Chief Timipre Sylva won the primary conducted last Tuesday,” he said.

Policeman killed my wife, shot me because of N2,000 bribe —TRICYCLE OPERATOR on September 29, 2015

Lagos—Godwin Ekpo, the tricycle operator whose wife was shot dead by  Corporal Muse Aremu,  attached to the Isheri Oshun division, two weeks ago,  in Ijegun area of Lagos, has been discharged from the hospital, after undergoing surgery in his jaw.

Ekpo and family

This is just as he has revealed that life was snuffed out of his wife by Aremu’s bullet, following his refusal to give the killer cop  N2,000.
Ekpo, who is yet to come to terms with  reality of the demise of his wife, Comfort Idongesit,  described the incident as the worst tragedy that had befallen him.
Speaking with Vanguard, Ekpo said: “I don’t know what I did to the policeman to warrant such calamity. I have never had any issue with the police all my life. I was returning from church that fateful night in the company of my wife and four children;   Mary, 12; Blessing, 9; Abraham, 7; and 11-month-old Elijah. On reaching  Obalagbe, along Ijegun road,  some policemen stopped me. One of them came  and demanded for N2,000. I told him the passengers were my family members and that I was returning from church.  My wife who was with this baby (pointing to 11 months old Elijah), came down and was even explaining to the policeman. But he  refused to listen. Before we knew it, he fired a shot which hit my wife on the head. She died right on the spot. The bullet pierced through her head, hit me in the jaw and right arm. That was all I could remember until I found my self in the hospital.
“Oh! The wife of my youth is gone. She was a friend, a sister, a wife and a mother to me. Where do I begin from? How do I take care of these children alone, especially Elijah?
“Although the Police tried their best in paying for the treatment but that cannot bring back my Comfort Idongesit. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police visited me in the hospital, where I was told that my children’s education would be taken care of. But they have not started school. We are still waiting for the next move.
“I am appealing to the Federal Government, the governors of Lagos and  Akwa-Ibom states, as   well as well  meaning Nigerians, to come to my aid. My life has been shattered by that singular incident of September 16, 2015,” he lamented.
Killer cop arraigned in court
Meanwhile, it would be recalled that the  killer cop and members of his team have since been arrested on the order of the Commissioner of Police, with the Isheri Oshun Divisional Police Officer queried.
The killer cop, 28-year-old Aremu was arraigned before an Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrate’s Court on September 18, 2015,  on a two- count charge of murder and causing grievous bodily harm. Consequently, Magistrate Afolashade Botoku ordered that the defendant be remanded in prison custody for the next 30 days, and adjourned the matter till October 19, 2015.

Help return stolen money, Buhari tells World leaders on September 29, 2015

President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in New York called on the international community to urgently redouble its efforts to strengthen mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption.
Addressing world leaders at the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations, President Buhari reaffirmed his administration’s determination to frontally confront the twin evils of corruption and illicit financial outflows as he also urged his counterparts to do more to return stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin.
“Let me reaffirm the Nigerian government’s unwavering commitment to fight corruption and illicit financial flows. By any consideration, corruption and cross border financial crimes are impediments to development, economic growth, and the realization of the well-being of citizens across the globe.
“Nigeria is ready and willing to partner with international agencies and individual countries on a bilateral basis to confront crimes and corruption.

President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari addresses the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly September 28, 2015 at the United Nations in New York. AFP

Buhari also call upon the global community to urgently redouble efforts towards strengthening the mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption and ensuring the return of stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin while proposing the adoption of peace as a seventh essential element of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted last Friday by world leaders in New York.
“The Secretary General has grouped the SDGs into what he calls six “essential elements” namely: Dignity, Prosperity, Justice, Partnership, Planet and People.
“As a prerequisite to these and as we look at history and remember the terrible events that gave rise to the birth of the United Nations in 1945, I would like to propose a seventh: PEACE.
“Peace is close to the hearts of Nigerians, as we are in the front line in the war on terror. Boko Haram’s war against the people of Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon may not attract as much worldwide attention as the wars in the Middle East but the suffering is just as great and the human cost is equally high.
“This is a war between progress and chaos; between democracy and the rule of law. Boko Haram celebrates violence against the weak and the innocent and deplorably, they hide behind their perverted interpretation of Islam. Boko Haram is as far away from Islam as anyone can think of,” President Buhari declared.
The President assured the global community that his administration was doing all within its powers to quickly overcome the challenge of terrorism and insecurity.
“The new Nigerian Government which I have the honour to head, moved with dispatch to put in a bold and robust strategy to defeat Boko Haram. Nigeria and her neighbours Cameroon, Chad and Niger plus Benin are working together to face this common threat within the regional framework of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
“We have established a multinational joint task force to confront, degrade and defeat Boko Haram. We have driven them away from many of their strongholds, killed or captured many of their operatives or commanders and freed several hundreds of hostages,” President Buhari told the General Assembly.
The President reassured the international community that rescuing the Chibok girls remains one of the major objectives of his administration.
“We are working round the clock to ensure their safety and eventual reunion with their families. The girls are constantly on our minds and in our plans,” he said.
President Buhari condemned the new and dangerous dimension which human trafficking has assumed in the world.
“We in Africa are grieved to see hundreds of our able bodied men and women dying in the desert or drowning in the Mediterranean.
“We condemn in the strongest terms these people traffickers and will support any measures to apprehend and bring them to justice,” the President said.
Noting that the world was witnessing a dreadful increase in conflicts fuelled by availability of small arms and light weapons, President Buhari called on the international community to work towards the effective implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty to ensure that small arms and light weapons can only be legally transferred.
Reminding the global assembly that peaceful co-existence and self-determination were among the key principles that led to the establishment of the United Nations, President Buhari called for the urgent resolution of the question of self determination for the people of Palestine and Western Sahara.
“The international community has come to pin its hopes on resolving the Palestinian issue through the two – states solution which recognizes the legitimate right of each state to exist in peace and security.
“The world has no more excuses or reasons to delay the implementation of the long list of Security Council resolutions on this question. Neither do we have the moral right to deny any people their freedom or condemn them indefinitely to occupation and blockade,” the President said.
In his remark, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon commended President Buhari for his determination to tackle the challenges currently facing Nigeria as he welcomed the commitment of President Buhari to the Sustainable Development Goals and to preventing the spread of violent extremism.
The Secretary-General reiterated his condemnation of the continuing terrorist attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram as the two leaders discussed the security situation in the Lake Chad Basin region, as well as efforts to ensure the rapid operationalisation of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).
He also expressed the UN’s readiness to support the Nigerian government’s efforts in its fight against Boko Haram, in full respect of human rights, international humanitarian and refugee law.

Nigeria needs to learn to speak the language of standards’ on September 29, 2015

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Omotara Awobokun, has said that the slump in oil prices at the global market is a sharp awakening to Nigeria that it needs to readjust its economic programmes.
Mrs Omotara Awobokun made this assertion at the presentation of four “New Logos in Defence of Quality’’ presented by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to stakeholders in Lagos recently.
Awobokun said: “Globalisation has changed the game the world over. The slump in oil prices at the global market is a sharp awakening to many oil-rich nations.
“Nigeria, especially, needs to readjust her economic programmes and creatively exploit other resources for the improvement of foreign exchange earnings.
She disclosed that her ministry, being in the frontline in driving of Nigeria’s economic engine, has identified standards as a major variable in the country revolution plan.
“As a matter of urgency, Nigeria needs to learn to speak the language of standards because it is the world’s common language.
“Any country that is not speaking the language cannot play the table of global trade,’’ she said.
Awobokun, however, called on all stakeholders and trade associations to fully key into these initiatives in order to secure genuine business from being overtaken by inferior products.
“We will also be saving thousands of jobs, increase the quality of life of Nigerians, protect life and environment and produce products and services that the world will jostle for.
“We will improve our chances to compete in the global market,’’ she said.
Also speaking, Dr Joseph Odumodu, the Director-General of SON, said, “The war against adulterated, counterfeited and sub-standard products across the length and breadth of the country is actually getting complex.’’
“ Even as we are recording results and huge successes, SON must go the whole hog to stop fakers and counterfeiters.
“The four logos we present are part of our efforts to provide comfortable cover to all members of the nation’s business community.
“The new logos on Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP), SON’s Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP), Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS), are marks of quality and Nigeria Quality awards.’’
Odumodu said that the new innovation would help to checkmate unscrupulous activities of economic saboteurs, who went to the extent of adulterating and printing fake SON’s logo on their products.
“With the new MANCAP logo, locally produced goods must not only meet minimum requirements of NIS, but also carry the new MANCAP logo.
“MANCAP certificate is compulsory for every product produced in the country.
“For imported products, we need to reiterate that the new SONCAP logo must be identified and carried on all imports into the country with the automation of our services electronically.
“We are calling on all to join this campaign to work quality and protect ourselves and the environment from injurious products.
“We must always resist and reject substandard products,’’ he said.

Battle for Enugu-East senatorial zone: Tribunal to deliver judgment before Oct 13 on September 29, 2015

ENUGU—The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu,headed by Justice M.O Adewara yesterday, adjourned for judgment,on the petition brought before it by former governor Chimaroke Nnamani,candidate of the Peoples Democratic Change,PDC,for the Enugu-East senatorial district election, conducted last  March 28.
Nnamani is challenging the declaration by the Independent National Election Commission,INEC,of Senator Gil Nnaji,of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP,as winner at the poll.
The declaration by INEC had elicited protest  from supporters of Nnamani in Enugu metropolis.
While adopting his final written address,Counsel to Nnamani, Mr. O. Jolaawo        told the court that,”two issues are distilled at page 3 of our address. We adopt the said address in its entirety and urge the court to grant the prayers sought in this petition per page 18 of our petition.
“The sustenance of grounds one and two or any of them or even of  the second part of ground two thereof which is disjunctive is enough for your lordships to grant, at the very least, the relief of nullification.
“Respondents are making heavy weather of the fact that we did not bring evidence of place where we won the election or where INEC declared us as winner. This argument is extremely disconcerting and incredulous. The purpose of a petition is to challenge our loss at the election. Paragraph 15 of the first schedule to the Electoral Act also supports our position.
“Petitioner was able to prove through the respondents, witnesses, RW1 to RW7, that substantial irregularities occurred in Isi-Uzo through RW1, through RW2 for Nkanu East, RW3 cross examination for Enugu South. RW4 was senatorial collation but under cross examination, gave evidence with respect to Enugu East and presidential election irregularities vis a vis senatorial accreditation. RW5 conceded to numerous and   substantial irregularities and non-compliance with the electoral act in Isi-Uzo where she served as Electoral Officer.
“Also  RW6 did so too with respect to Nkanu East, which substantially affected the results of the election and RW7 also did same for Enugu North.”

Soludo, Fayemi visit Buhari’s CoS ahead of ministerial appointments on September 22, 2015

ABUJA—Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Charles Soludo, and former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, were yesterday sighted at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, filling visitors’ forms on their way to the office of Alhaji Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Prof Soludo

Soludo entered the Chief of Staff’s office around 5:30p.m., followed by Fayemi about 30 minutes later.
They were visiting the Villa when expectations were high that President Buhari would soon make his ministerial list public.
It will recalled that the President had repeatedly assured Nigerians that he will form his cabinet before the end of this month.
Soludo, who was the CBN governor during the administrations of Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and late Umar Yar’Adua, was critical of the immediate past government of former President, Goodluck Jonathan, on the financial management and the handling of the economy, which he said was brutally raped.
Fayemi was the Director of Policy, Research and Strategy in All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential campaign organization.
I’m not available for
public service—SOLUDO
Many believed that Soludo’s critical outbursts on the eve of the presidential election in March helped to sway sympathy and votes for President Buhari even as the former CBN governor, in an interview with an online media, Premium Times, on June 7, said he was not prepared to work for the government, saying he was preoccupied with other engagements
He had said: “Nigerians and their rumours! I am glad you said they are rumours and such rumours are normal.
“For sure, I wish the new government success and for the sake of Nigeria, everyone must contribute to assist President Buhari succeed.
“I will contribute in whatever way I can. However, everyone cannot sit in government in order to serve: some will be there on full time basis, while others can contribute from outside.
“For me at this point in time, I am not disposed or available for full time public service. Perhaps in the future it could happen, but not now.

Incoherent policies stall gas development plans — NAPE on September 22, 2015

The Nigerian Association By Sebastine Obasi & Michael Ebohof Petroleum Explorationists, NAPE, said that incoherent policies on gas to power have hindered the much talked about gas development plan.
The President of NAPE, Mr. Chikwendu Edoziem, who said this at an interaction with journalists in Lagos last week, also attributed insecurity and pipeline vandalism to poor government policies and governance.
According to Edoziem, “Lack of coherent policies on gas to power have significantly hindered the integration and long-term investments required to ensure the supply of gas to the power plants.
“This, together with pipeline vandalism, non-cost reflective tariff, lack of adequate capacity to process gas and transport to gas plants are directly responsible for the low power generation in the country.”
He blamed the government for the loss of more than N200 billion to vandalism, saying: “Insecurity and pipeline vandalism are due, in the main, to poor government policies and governance. It is estimated that N200 billion has been lost to this menace in addition to loss of assets to fire outbreaks, impact on the environment, loss of lives and reputation of Nigeria as a mature oil and gas producing country.”
Edoziem urged government to accelerate the funding and completion of new gas projects in the Western axis of the Niger Delta, to add about 2000 million standard cubic feet per day, MMscf/d of gas production.
He attributed the lull in oil projects to rising costs of exploration, while advocating the provision of an enabling environment and incentives to increase exploration opportunities especially in high-risk frontier basins and under-explored deep high pressure high temperature plays.

Chibok girls, Boko haram and the wait on September 22, 2015

IT is over five hundred days since the news of the abducted Chibok girls came to the spotlight. To some people then, it was unthinkable, even much so now. Imagine the scenario; over two hundred secondary school students, let us say at most twenty of them per truck, that will be over ten trucks. Then imagine their accommodation and feeding.
How it is possible for the girls to remain out of the intelligence radar for so long or is it another case of Malaysian airline flight MH370 aircraft that is still a mystery till date?
A British diplomat once said that their satellite spotted a group of women at some point in the search for the girls. Could these  be the wives and harems of the Boko Haram fighters? Of course, in any conquered territory, there are prisoners of war and these include women but some of these women choose to follow the fighters voluntarily and it is from this group, that women and child suicide bombers are produced.
Senator Shehu Sani again raised the hope of rescuing the Chibok girls alive in the interview he granted Sunday Vanguard in the edition of 13th September 2015.
The question is, how would the rescue mission be made possible? Only last week, the Nigerian military came out with a statement to the that they have flushed out Boko Haram insurgents from all of their known hide outs. With all of our neighbours now in full support of Buhari in the fight against Boko Haram, where will they be hiding the girls?
If all known Boko Haram hide outs have been captured, where could these girls be? Unless they are getting the support of a foreign government that is in cahoot with the insurgents, which to me is a farfetched option? Or, is it that people like Shehu Sani and others who are so confident of finding these girls know something that the rest of us do not know? It is not a question of a southerner and Christian that is at the helm of the nation’s affairs now.
We have Muhammadu Buhari, a top notch Hausa fulani and one preferred by them to rule the country, so why is the information about the girls’ whereabouts taking so long to be released? Why is information about the girls so difficult to obtain? We have over ran all of their strongholds and captured thousands of their soldiers, not one of them has volunteered information about the girls, or, is it that those in authority have more information than they ready to disclose to the public? Some have posited that the girls could have been dispersed in different directions. But, how is it possible for over two hundred persons to be distributed round, in different directions without a single trace of their movements.
Let us assume again that they are given out in marriage, out of two hundred girls, none is wise enough to reach out to their families? Or is there a possibility that they have all been killed and secretly buried without a trace? This viewpoint again is doubtful because if it is true, of all of the hundreds of Boko Haram commanders that have been captured both in Nigeria and neighbouring countries, at least a few will be in position to volunteer information on the missing Chibok girls.
It will be a big deal if the international community that includes the USA and Britain, is misled on the true position of the Chibok girls. More disappointing is the fact that their intelligence network and sophisticated equipment could not find the girls. Has Nigeria become Afghanistan, of treacherous mountains and inhospitable climate conditions that make it possible for people to disappear without trace? Even in Afghanistan, with the number of people involved, they will find traces? So, who is fooling who in this instance?
People have used the Chibok girls issue to feather their nests and gain recognition. They collected donations from concerned Nigerians and even get appointed to public offices but where are the girls? Let us all sit down and think and if we cannot think, as we say in Warri ‘let us leave everything to God’.
It is clear that even our military have not learnt any lesson in information disseminate with regards to the fight against the insurgents, because as it was under Goodluck Jonathan, so it is now. You do not speak with absolute certainty unless you are very sure about your facts on the position and condition of the opposition in all ramifications. The Boko Haram is a very mobile force, having been pushed to the wall; they have now resorted to suicide bombings and attacking soft targets in towns and cities.
We are facing a very brutal, determined and demon possessed force. The only way to silence them is with a more equal and efficient brutality, you do not use the pacifist approach, otherwise they will remain cancerous, defying all cures. Saddam Hussein applied this method when he was in charge of Iraq but the whole world brought him to condemnation, look at Iraq today, are they better off? The ISIL of today is the product of the Iraq renegade forces and opposition groups.
We need new intelligence strategies, as well as of forces that will consist of bold and determined men, ever ready to stick out their necks on the line of duty, to infiltrate the enemy lines and give accurate feedbacks, not guess work. We must no longer underestimate the Boko Haram forces or fall into the fallacy of underestimating the opposition, many great generals have fallen in battle by not according respect to the opposition.
With the sophisticated weapons and superior intelligence available to the USA and its European allies, they have not won the battle in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, etc. The solution is to adapt to the changing times, of today’s war.
Meanwhile, we wait for the Chibok girls and we wait for the December deadline to rout the insurgents.
Mr. Sunny Ikhioya, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.