A High Court sitting in Enugu State on Friday sacked the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Chief Victor Umeh from office.
The court presided over by the Enugu Chief Judge, Justice Innocent Umezulike said Umeh’s tenure elapsed in December, 2010.
It could be re-called that an aggrieved member of the Party, Mr. Jude Okolie had approached the court in June 2012 asking it to declare Umeh’s stay in office beyond December 2010 unconstitutional.

Okolie asked the court to determine “whether going by article 18 of the APGA constitution, the defendant, (Umeh) can be re-elected other than through a secret ballot system in an election organized by the National Executive Committee, NEC of the party.

“Whether the defendant can legitimately remain in office after 2010 without any valid national convention in line with the constitution of APGA”, adding that in line with the provisions of the party, Umeh was also supposed to have vacated office at least two months to a fresh election.

In challenging the suit, Umeh through his counsel, Patrick Ikwueto raised preliminary objections, which bordered on the jurisdiction of the court as well as the locu standi of the plaintiff.
According to him, the non-joinder of the APGA in the suit would lead to injustice. He also claimed that the plaintiff had since been expelled from the party, and as such lacked the locu standi to pursue the suit.

He also told the court that the suit was a domestic and internal matter of the party, insisting that the court had no right to dabble into such issues.
However, in his judgment, Justice Umezulike who dealt with all the issues raised by the defendant said although it may be desirable to bring in APGA, “failure in my view cannot affect the action in any way”.

The court held that independent of APGA as a party to the suit, it can interpret section 18 of its constitution.
“The provisions of APGA constitution which is before me is very clear, it is written in English and not in any strange language; so the position of this court is APGA as a political party is not indispensable in exercising the interpretative powers of this court”.

On the issue of locu standi, the court also ruled in favour of the plaintiff, holding that the expulsion of the plaintiff from the party does not exist to the knowledge of the court.
“If the said 3-man panel that recommended his expulsion really existed, where is the notice of proceedings, when was the plaintiff invited and was he given fair hearing? In the absence of all this, no sane court can hold that the plaintiff was expelled. It is a nullity; it was contrived for the essence of this suit”.

Umezulike also faulted the defendant’s opinion that the matter was not within the jurisdiction of the court. He noted that it was the constitutional responsibility of courts to interpret statutes, documents, agreements and constitutions binding individuals, or associations together.

“Accordingly, the court shall not run away from this suit in terror at the slightest mention of the word ‘domestic affair’. The court has a duty to insist that rule of law and constitutional provisions prevail in political milieu”, he averred.

The court, therefore, declared that the convention of APGA, which took place in February 2011 was unconstitutional, null and void and that Umeh’s tenure came to a legitimate end on the 2nd day of December, 2010.

The defendant’s claim that he was re-elected during a national congress of the party held in Awka, Anambra State in February, 2011 did also not change the mind of the court. The court observed that section 18 of APGA constitution was violated in the said election, as Umeh and other members of the national exco of the party were only presented through a voice vote, other than a secret ballot, as provided by the party’s constitution.

“By law, he has since 2nd Day of December, 2010 seized to be the APGA national chairman. I have not said that the defendant is barred from presenting himself for election, he may as well win, but the court insist that such election must comply strictly with the provisions of the party’s constitution.

“He is not and has not been the party’s national chairman since December 2, 2010”, the court further held.

It said following from the above, the NEC of APGA is bound to meet and fix a date for election, stressing that “the defendant cannot be re-elected other than by a secret ballot system in such election fixed by the NEC.

“His occupation of office after 2010 is illegal, ultra vires the constitution of APGA. He is thereby restrained from parading himself as the national Chairman of APGA”.

The Edo State Government has begun the process of establishing mobile courts to try environmental sanitation offenders.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Public Utilities, Maj. Lawrence Loye (retd.), who stated this at the inauguration of the state Technical Committee on Environmental Sanitation in Benin on Wednesday, said the state would no longer tolerate shoddy handling of environmental matters.

He said, “We are working on the introduction of mobile courts to address issues of environmental sanitation offences, where offenders will be tried in accordance with the law.

“The magistrate will be in the mobile court, we will move from street to street. We look forward to bringing environmental standard in the state to an acceptable level comparable with what is obtainable in other parts of the world. We want to see the cities neat and I promise all that it is not going to be business as usual.

“My advice is to encourage all to work as a team, build the structure of enforcement and address illegality associated with enforcement.

“No enforcement team will be allowed in any local government area without the supervision of the technical committee, to avoid cases of extortion and other untoward acts.

“For environmental sanitation, its either you are part of the team or outside of it. If you’re not part of the technical committee, you cannot enforce.”

The Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, expressed dismay at residents’ attitude towards environmental sanitation, “despite government’s huge investment” in the sector.

He said, “We have taken environmental issues very lightly in the state, and even during environmental sanitation, people just stay back at home and wait for time to elapse.”

 



The race for the successor of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), after the expiration of his tenure in 2015 has begun as politicians serving in different capacities at the federal and state levels have started showing interest.

Prominent among the aspirants are Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Senator Ganiyu Solomon, representing Lagos West Senatorial District; Senator Gbenga Ashafa, representing Lagos East Senatorial District; the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji; and ex-Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire.

Other aspirants eyeing the seat include Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives; former Governor Bola Tinubu’s aide-de-camp, Mr. Gbolahan Lawal; past Accountant-General of the state, Mr. Akin Ambode and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeola Ipaye.

It was however gathered that the governorship position might be zoned to the Lagos East Senatorial Zone, bearing in mind that the incumbent governor hails from Lagos Central while his predecessor, Bola Tinubu is from Lagos West.

If the governorship slot is eventually zoned to Lagos East, as is being canvassed, the move will put paid to the governorship ambitions of Hamzat (Lagos West), Gbajabiamila (Lagos Central), Lawal (Lagos Central), Banire (Lagos West), and Solomon (Lagos West) as possible contenders, leaving Ashafa, Ambode and Ikuforiji, who is currently facing graft charges, in the race.

But in response to enquiries on contenders for the race, the state’s Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr. Oladele Ajomale, said the party’s leaders “are not talking about the governorship election yet,” stating that the party was yet to deliberate on such issue.”

The chairman, however, expressed strong opposition to the principle of zoning, noting that the principle “is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) formula and not ACN’s. We do not believe in such ideas. We believe in picking the best.”

He said the next governor of the state could come from any part of the state, adding, “Our responsibility is to get the best and only the best will be good for the state.”

“Wherever the candidate comes from, it does not matter. It is only those that can perform that will emerge eventually.”

“It is not about zoning. Someone who cannot perform cannot govern the state. The state is too discriminatory for that. We always want the best. The only thing the state deserves is a quality candidate.”

“We cannot choose someone who will drag the party backwards. The next governor of the state must be someone who will shatter the records of the incumbent governor.”

“When the time comes, the right candidate will emerge. I have not seen anyone who is interested yet.”

On Solomon’s declaration to contest for the position, Ajomale explained that all qualified candidates “have the right to say what he or she want. But I am in the best position to tell the truth. The party is yet to decide who will be the next governor of the state. But when the time comes, we will do that.”

Enugu residents who waited anxiously Thursday for the return of Governor Sullivan Chime were disappointed as he failed to return to the State.

Also, journalists and government loyalists who had kept vigil at the Enugu International Airport left disappointed after waiting till 6 p.m in vain.

An airport source who spoke under anonymity said no other flight was being expected for the day.

Earlier in the day, it was celebration galore at many parts of the state, especially at Udi, hometown of the Governor.

However, both the Save Enugu Group, SEG, and the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, have issued statements thanking God for the Governor’s return.

The SEG said it was happy that Chime finally returned to the country after it issued ultimatum. The group said it was still demanding apology from government over the manner Chime’s absence was handled.

Chime reportedly arrived Abuja on Thursday morning after spending more than four months abroad.

 

200 indigent widows drawn from all the 33 LGAs of Oyo State were on Tuesday empowered by the Oyo State Government under the leadership of governor Abiola Ajimobi.

The state government also distributed over 200 grinding machines, cassava grinders and N20,000 each to 200 indigent widows under the state Widowhood Support Scheme.

The State First Lady, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi distributed the materials to the widows at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex in Ibadan, the state capital.

In her address, Mrs Ajimobi said the kind gesture was in keeping with the state government’s promise to empower widows by the state Ministry of Women Affairs, Community Development, Social Welfare and Poverty Alleviation in the cause of making womenfolk self-reliant and positive contributors to the socio-economic development of the state.

She said: “It is worthy of note that the state government has been rendering assistance to widows before the advent of this administration, especially in form of loan, which was never repaid. Such money was spent on feeding and other domestic needs because the loan was insufficient to invest in any meaningful business.

“In an effort to assist the widows, the present administration changed the assistance to giving succour to the widows as one of the vulnerable groups in the state.”

She added that the state government decided to assist them through the Widowhood Support Scheme considering their helpless state and the psychological and emotional trauma that they experienced at the demise of their respective husbands and breadwinners.

Commissioner for Women Affairs in Oyo state, Mrs. Atinuke Osunkoya said; “The scheme is aimed at making women self-reliant. The beneficiaries were drawn from the 33 local government areas.”

 

National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bamanga Tukur on Wednesday reacted to the merger by opposition parties in the country, saying the PDP will defeat the newly formed party come 2015.

Parties including the All Nigeria Peoples Party, Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change, and the All Progressive Grand Alliance, yesterday announced that they have come under one roof to be known as All Progressive Congress, APC.

Speaking shortly after the inauguration, Tom Ikimi, who heads ACN’s merger committee said “At no time in our national life has radical change become more urgent”

“And to meet the challenge, we, the following political parties, namely ACN, ANPP, APGA and CPC have resolved to merge forthwith and become All Progressive Congress and offer to our beleaguered people a recipe for peace and prosperity.

“We resolve to form a political party committed to the principles of internal democracy, focused on serious issues of concern to our people, determined to bring corruption and insecurity to an end, determined to grow our economy and create jobs in their millions through education, housing, agriculture, industrial growth etc, and stop the increasing mood of despair and hopelessness among our people.”

“The resolution of these issues, the restoration of hope, the enthronement of true democratic values for peace, democracy and justice are those concerns which propel us.

“We believe that by these measures only shall we restore our dignity and position of pre-eminence in the comity of nations. This is our pledge.”

The other parties were represented by Annie Okonkwo (APGA), Garba Sadi (CPC), and Ibrahim Shekarau (ANPP).

But in his remark, Tukur said the ruling party would apply the talent of Argentine soccer superstar, Lionel Messi, in dealing with the new coalition.

His words: “If you go for a contest, you have the striker. You know Lionel Messi?,” he asked.

“PDP is Messi in that contest. We will dribble them like Messi. Tell them chairman said PDP is the Messi”

 

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has vowed never to stop doing good until God calls him to glory.

The retired military general in an interview with the newly established international television station, Arise TV, called on the need for international community to mobilise support the international coalition forces in Mali.

He stressed that the intervention was launched for the benefit of the global community.

The interview we learnt was recorded in London where the Ota farmer recently arrived for the launch of his Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation scheduled for tomorrow, February 8.

Asked when he would retire from the international stage, the former president averred: “There is no retirement in doing good in life and so long as you have breadth, you should continue to do good.”

Obasanjo while commending the efforts of the international coalition forces in Mali, said the Malian troops must be boosted through increased training to be able to handle the critical situation.

“The point is that if we have a situation anywhere in the world that affects the whole world, the world must be able to raise the needed money in order to deal with the situation,” adding “if the will is there, it would be done.”

According to him, his efforts in good works, which he said, were also being channeled through his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, were in the line of American presidents established the presidential libraries after leaving office.

 

There was jubilation in many parts of Enugu State Thursday morning following the return of the State Governor, Barr. Sullivan Chime.

Governor Chime has been away since September last year on medical trip, a situation that created much tension in the Coal City State.

However, the mood changed in the State Thursday morning as soon as news filtered in that Chime has returned to the country.

At different state ministries and parastatals, as well as market places, the issue was being freely discussed, with many expressing joy and surprise.

While many residents went into wild jubilation, it was a mixed feelings in the government circles. Although, the commissioners and other aides of the Governor were happy over his return, DailyPost learnt that there was serious fear of uncertainty among them following the alleged plan by the Governor to shake up his cabinet as well as carry out a far reaching reorganization exercise in upper echelon of the state ministries and parastatals immediately he returns to office.

It was learnt that the Governor unhappy over the manner his health situation has been managed.

A source told DailyPost that already, some key government functionaries have started packing out of their official quarters as they would not like to be caught napping if eventually the governor comes back to implement his new agenda.

Apart from some of the commissioners who have been acting with impunity since Chime traveled, our source also gathered that other aides of the Governor would likely lose their job over reckless spending and looting of state allocation while the Governor was away.

A Government House source alleged that the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo may not retain her position.

According to the source, the Governor has been infuriated with the alleged in-fighting between the Chief of Staff and the Acting Governor, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi.

“The Chief of Staff has been in charge of government activities instead of Onyebuchi. This also created a lot of confusion as both of them were locked up in a battle over who controls the commissioners and other aides of the Governor.

“Some commissioners also lost focus within this period and started acting with impunity. I can tell you of a particular commissioner that slapped another government functionary at a public function. His case is just one in many such absurdities we have witnessed since ‘Oga’ left us. So, he is likely to remove many people for contributing to the confusion we had within this period”, he further alleged.

In any case, for other elated residents of the state who spoke to DailyPost, it is a time of celebration.

A civil servant in the state, Mr. Anoyo Onwuka said he was happy that after several months of ‘hide and seek’, Governor Chime had returned.

“For us it is a thing of joy; it is a moment of relief and happiness for us. We were fed with a lot of deceit for the past five months. You recall that the aides of the Governor never really told us that he was sick; they fed us with tissues of lies for five months.

“But when we got to know about the Governor’s sickness, we started praying for his recovery. We were happy this morning to hear that he is back in the country”, he said.

 

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has debunked rumors that its petition at the Ondo State Governorship Election Tribunal has been defeated, saying it was intact.

The party also urged the public to ignore posts in the social media that ACN’s petition had been dismissed.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Agbede, yesterday, ACN said: “Our attention has been drawn to the deluge of lies and propaganda being bandied about and posted on the social media network. LP supporters are lying that ACN’s petition at the tribunal has been struck out with that of Accord. For the avoidance of doubt, our petition at the tribunal is intact and will be heard in due course.”

The party reiterated its confidence in its legal team and urged its supporters to be optimistic on the outcome of the tribunal.

On Monday, the tribunal said it has jurisdiction to hear the ACN’s petition challenging the declaration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko as the winner of last October’s governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mimiko had defeated Rotimi Akeredolu of the Action Congress of Nigeria and Olusola Oke of the Peoples Democratic Party, to retain his seat after a keenly contested election on October 20, 2012.

 



Former vice president Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the content of a book, “The Accidental Public Servant”, authored by former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-rufai.

Reacting via his Facebook page, the Turakin Adamawa said it was unfortunate that El-rufai could say a number of untrue things about him.

Atiku in the message said: “It amazes me that el-Rufai can pass off fiction for self-gratification at the expense of truth as a book.

“El-Rufai’s attack on my person is to say the least not surprising considering that this is the same man who has notoriety for disparaging religions and their icons, including lately Jesus Christ.

“If he could go to such irreverent extent to disparage religious icons, who is an ordinary mortal like me? It is my belief that any man that can cross the boundary of reason and decency deserves prayers rather than anger.

“I wish to state that the book is as a collection of fiction, half-truths, exaggeration and reflection of selective memory.

He said he was particularly piqued by the claim of el-Rufai that he had almost resigned as the former Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) because of alleged persistent pressure and interference by me as Chairman of the National Council on Privatization.

Atiku noted that the former FCT Minister forgot so soon what he said at the Senate Public Hearing on BPE August 8-13, 2011. That committee, which did an amazing work, was headed by Senator Ahmed Lawan.

Speaking further, he said “We need to recall el-Rufai as saying he had special relationship with former President Obasanjo, which gave him direct access and the discretion to bypass the Council on Privatization then headed by me in order to get the approval of the President.

He wonder how el-Rufai could reconcile his threat of resignation with the accounts he told the Senate about the latitude of freedom he enjoyed at BPE because of his closeness to former President Obasanjo.

In that testimony, el-Rufai told the Senate that, and I quote: “Thank you very much Distinguished Senator. Mr. Chairman, as a matter of principle Mr. Chairman, I am reluctant to judge my successors. So, whenever I do a job, I move on; I don’t comment on what my successors have done. All I can say is this. Mr. Chairman, if you go through my tenure in BPE, you will see that we try to do everything by the rules, by the book. And we resisted every attempt at political interference. There is a process; step by step. Privatization is a mechanical process. Once you have the process published, every step should not be missed. And there was never a time that we deviated from that process.

“We took everything we did to the privatization council. That’s how we ran the place. And I swear to God, I am under oath. Except for one time that the vice president called me and said; look I’ve got calls from A and B to help this guy win this, I said Mr. Vice president you know the rules, tell him to bid the highest price because the highest price wins and he said yes I know, I am just telling you in case they contact you. And I don’t want them to say I didn’t pass on their requests. That was the only time. But no one tried to interfere with my work. There were attempts to block it. President Obasanjo blocked the privatization of Nigeria airways practically. Okay because Kema Chikwe will go and tell him stories. And what is the result today. The company is dead.”

“The claim by el-Rufai that former President Obasanjo went on bended knees before me to seek his cooperation for second term bid in 2003, is a figment of his own wild imagination.

“Such claim lacks any credibility because Obasanjo and I were alone together behind closed doors.

“I wonder whether el-Rufai was a fly on the wall to discuss the details of a private meeting between the two of us.

Atiku concluded by saying that he believes that rather than el-Rufai feeding the public with such fabrications, the former Minister should have provided or quoted the authority for such claim since he was not at the private meeting between former President Obasanjo and me.

 



The Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, has congratulated the major opposition parties in the country for successfully forming a new platform, All Progressive Congress, APC).
A statement issued on Thursday by Rotimi Fashakin, spokesman of CPC said the new party will rescue “Nigeria from the ruinous hold of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP.”
The party said: “Paradoxically, the new Party so formed shares the same acronym with Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), which is a vehicle for transporting Soldiers for combat.”

“Indeed, the new Party (APC) shall be open to all Nigerian Patriots that are ready to fight against the free-fall-slide-to-the-abyss of the Nigerian state by the PDP’s precipitous rule in the last 13 years.”

“As a Party, we endorse the entry of the All Progressive Congress into Nigeria’s politics as an ideologically based political association that is intrinsically structured to providing an alternative platform for the Nigerian people,” Fashakin said.
Meanwhile, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, has expressed satisfaction over the coming together of the Action Congress of Nigeria {ACN}, All Nigeria Peoples Party {ANPP}, All Progressive Grand Alliance {APGA} and Congress for Progressive Change {CPC} to form a new alliance.
A statement by Osita Okechukwu, spokesman of CNPP while praising the parties for putting aside their difference for the purpose of a new beginning said: “When news filtered in that the governors of the merger political parties met in Lagos few days ago, we said is this real life or is it true that the leaders of the merger political parties can forego their mini-kingdoms in the interest of our dear country.”
“For us the consummation of the merger is a milestone in our march towards true democracy and we salute those who made it possible. History books in liberal democracies throughout history underscore the import of two major political parties.”

“CNPP is therefore, relieved that the birth of APC will no doubt return Nigeria to true democracy, put paid to the inordinate ambition of the leaderless Peoples Democratic Party {PDP} to foist a one party state in our political landscape and rule Nigeria for 60 years, without commensurate performance and fresh ideas, benched only on Do-or-Die tactics.”

“It is our considered view that the stage for 2015 elections is now set, on one hand the conservative PDP with anti-peoples programmes and on the other hand; the APC anchored on the ideological spectrum of center of the left, pro-peoples programmes.”

“We call on other progressive political parties to join the APC in their resolve to halt the dangerous drift of Nigeria into a failed state.”

“Finally, we challenges the Professor Attahiru Jega led Independent National Electoral Commission to set forth at dawn, by jump starting concrete preparations for the 2015 general election; for we will frown at cancellation of elections for the inability of the printer to submit election materials as was the case in the 2011 National Assembly election.”

 



Newly-formed mega party, the All Progressive Congress, APC, will any moment from now announce the composition of its national executive members, Dailypost has learnt.

The four political parties that make up the new alliance are: Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change, All Nigeria Peoples Party and All Progressive Grand Alliance.

It was gathered that the stakeholders of the new party met at a closed door meeting Thursday night, February 7, 2013 to discuss the issue.

Also on the agenda was sharing of principal offices between the four political parties. The four principal offices discussed were said to be: the office of the President, Vice President, Chairman of the new party and the Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

On the issue of Governorship elections, it was resolved to be handled State by State. The gubernatorial candidate will emerge from the party that is the most popular among the four units that formulate the new party.

For instance, where the ACN party is considered more dominant amongst the other parties in the State – the gubernatorial candidate will emerge from the ACN – and then the deputy governor would emerge from the other three less popular parties.
The stakeholders are expected to make a public announcement on which unit will produce the presidential candidate ahead of the 2015 general elections.

 



As controversy continues to trail the birth of the All Progressive Congress (APC), the deputy Chairman of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Uche Ejike Friday affirmed that the ‘new bride’ would collapse in less than six months.

The party chieftain while addressing newsmen Friday said: ”Let me clear one issue here, you see that mega party, I wish those behind it luck. But I tell you that the mega party is made up of strange bed fellows.”

“Yes, there are strong personalities there but I give the party six months . It will fall apart soon, it can only be together between now and the next six months.

On why APGA is not in support of the alliance, Ejika said: “I have to say unequivocally as the deputy national chairman of the party that APGA is not part of the so called merger.

“I need to let all Nigerians know , I need to let our followers, all the people who are interested in our party to know that APGA is not part of the group called mega party.

“There was no point in time when the National Working Committee (NWC) deliberated on it as to drag APGA into it.

“There is no meeting whatsoever of that . And I know that the only competent body, virtue of the constitution of APGA, that can decide where the party will go if not the NWC,” he added

 

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has lambasted governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha for participating in the merger talks that produced the All Progressives Congress (APC), it described his involvement in the alliance as ‘ridiculous and unfortunate’.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday, the party said Governor Okorocha acted alone because “APGA is not in the merger. We were never consulted by anybody before such statement of our involvement was issued.”

A member of APGA’s Board of Trustees (BoT) and former Minister of Health, Dr. Tim Menakaya, while addressing the media, said, “The merger of political parties, where the parties are expected to lose their identities, cannot be an ad-hoc arrangement or decision of one person,” adding, “We have nothing against the formation of any mega opposition party.”

Menekaya said that the decision to initiate such a discussion was vested in the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the merging parties “and shall be ratified by their national conventions and communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through a letter jointly signed by the national chairman, national secretary and the national treasurer of each of the merging parties.”

“The issue of merger with other political parties is not on the agenda of APGA for now. Our concern at the moment is to restructure, nurture and build a strong party capable of winning elections across the states of Nigeria.”

While calling on all party members and the general public to disregard the misleading inclusion, the party chieftain said: “of our party in the ongoing merger talks of opposition parties. It is not on the agenda of the party for now.”

Okorocha, who was elected on the platform of APGA, was at the 10 opposition governors’ who met in Lagos Tuesday to form the APC.

 

Victor Umeh, who was removed Friday as the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, has reacted to the judgement, saying he saw it coming.
Umeh was sacked alongside other members of the National Executive Council, NEC, of the party by an Enugu High Court presided over by Justice Innocent Umezulike, Chief Judge of Enugu State.
The court voided the congress which produced Umeh and other national officers of the party in 2011.
Reacting to the judgment, Umeh declared his intention to appeal the verdict, which he said did not come to him as a surprise.
“This conclusion he reached is one he actually reached before he commenced trial in this matter. Going by the orders he made it is very clear that he is confused in his judgment. He voided the convention of APGA that held on February 10, 2011 and sacked the entire executive elected with me because the election was declared a nullity.
“And he turned around to make an order that the NEC of APGA is bound to meet to elect national officers of the party; it shows that he did not read the constitution of APGA. First of all of you remove the entire NEC; he has practically left the party without any leadership; so who is going to convene the meeting that will elect officers of the party.
“There was a prayer in the originating summons which he avoided and went into rhetoric’s; the plaintiff asked for an order that congresses shall commence from the wards, local governments, state and to national convention to elect officers of the party; he did not make any pronouncements on that prayer knowing that there is no way he can validly make such order.
“Also, the national convention which he voided elected 29 national committee members of APGA; the plaintiff sued only me, who was elected national chairman; if he was challenging my election through that convention he was bound to join all those elected by the convention but he didn’t do so; that is why we have said that the suit before him was incompetent; necessary parties were not joined.
“So the orders he made cannot be sustained on appeal; it clearly shows that he is desperately on a manhunt for the national chairman of APGA without thinking of the damage his pronouncements against me will do to the party. We have no confidence in the judgment and we are not moved; we knew that was what he was going to say; in-fact for two weeks now, exactly all he read out were the orders the people at Government House Awka were telling people he was going to make”, he noted.
Continuing, Umeh who had on the course of this matter petitioned the National Judicial Commission, accusing the judge of bias said: “we are very happy to be out of his court; he has finished his business on this matter and the consolation is that there are two higher courts, the Appeal and the Supreme Court; until these courts adjudicate on this matter there is nobody who will step in as chairman of APGA. So nothing has been lost.
“At a point when he started mishandling this matter I petitioned to the National Judicial Council (NJC) who in turn queried him; he replied to the query on November 7, 2012; the CJN sent to me his reply and asked me to make further reaction; and I will tell you that we have comprehensively reviewed his reply; he completely evaded all the allegations against him.
“Remember that we even asked him to re-assign the case and also filed a motion for him to disqualify himself from the matter based on bias; he refused to say things about his actions in the judgment today; why he did not disqualify himself or re-assign the matter. So I don’t see how the matter has closed; the important thing to me is that we are out of Umezuluike’s court.
“So I will go on appeal; put a stay on the execution of this judgment until the court of appeal reviews it; I also have right of further appeal to the Supreme Court. So the sponsors of this have nothing to celebrate. I urge my members to remain calm.”
“By sacking the National Working Committee of APGA that was elected at the National Convention of 10th February 2011 which the court declared null and void, Justice Umezulike has completely decapitated APGA and left it without a leadership. This is like removing the head of a trailer and the body of the trailer can no longer move.
“By this his judgement, there is no organ of the party left to execute the orders he made, therefore the orders are in vain. Nobody including Governor Peter Obi, the sponsor of this suit can derive any benefit from the judgment until the matter is determined at the two levels of appeal available (Court of Appeal and Supreme Court).
“Umezulike’s mishandling of this case is still being handled by the National Judicial Council which forwarded to me Umezulike’s reply to my petition last month for my further reaction, which I submitted to the Chairman of NJC on February 5, 2011″.

Rivers State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi on Monday asked the Minister of Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe to resign, saying he had failed the region.

The face-off between the two has been ongoing for months and political observers see Amaechi’s outburst as the climax.

In a chat with newsmen in Houston, Texas, United States while in a meeting with Rivers State community, Amaechi queried that: “Under Orubebe, what development have we witnessed?; None.”

“It is a strategy to distract the Niger Delta people by trying to hide all his failures. I had gone through the region and no presence of his ministry was felt anywhere in the area of meaningful or people oriented projects.”

“I challenge him to a debate for every one project Orubebe can show me that he had done in the Niger Delta region. I will show him 10 of such projects in Rivers State.

“We did a 41-kilometre road to Opobo under water, yet the East-West Road on land he cannot complete. The Port Hacourt/Owerri Road is their road, yet we are doing it with Rivers State funds.”

The Governor, while responding to his rumoured presidential ambition, said: “I cannot contest against Mr. President.”

“We are from the same region. I respect him, and he is a good man. I am tired of responding to this issue of presidential ambition. It is normal to have contrary views on some topics but it doesn’t transcend to hatred.”

“It is the likes of Orubebe that fans the embers of hatred. It is unfortunate that he can accuse me of corruption, nobody has accused me before.

“If Orubebe wants us to go public any day, I am ready. I often tell them that the problem with me is that I am not an old man.”

“I am equal to the task of confronting anybody who confronts me on issues that are mundane. I advise him again to face his work, and make his presence felt in the region.”

Amaechi further stated thus, “After all, I don’t have any mansion anywhere, but I know Orubebe’s mansion. If he wants, we will show the world his mansions.”

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola has directed members of his executive council, including commissioners, political office holders and all civil servants to restrain from granting interviews to the media.

The order was contained in a statement by the State Head of Service, Mr. Adesegun Ogunlewe.

He said no public servant or political office holder in the state must henceforth grant press interviews without due approval.

The Governor added that all those affected must take permission from the Ministry of Information.

The move, it was learnt was to avoid disclosing highly confidential matters to the press .

Fashola had imposed a similar ban during his first term in office.

Members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to consider dialogue with the dreaded Islamist sect- Boko Haram and other outlawed groups causing violence in the country as the best option.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion titled “Urgent need for the Federal Government to open avenues for dialogue as a means of addressing security challenges in the country,” which was moved by Muhammed Bashir Galadanchi

Galadanchi, while moving the motion, expressed concern that the present approach of the government of “military action, random arrests and imprisonments obviously had limited effectiveness and escalated trends of insecurity, indicating that they are only short-term solutions”.

He added that, “if this approach is not reversed and more long-term solutions deployed, these incessant incidents will pose serious threats to our security, democracy, rights and freedom of our innocent citizens and ultimately destabilise the nation’s fragile stability and unity”.

He therefore called on Jonathan to “embrace dialogue to resolve the present insecurity bedevilling the nation”, while “initiating programmes that will promote rule of law, strengthen civil institutions and address the underlying factors of fuel insecurity and violent extremism”.

The reps also commiserated with the Emir of Kano and the families of those who died during the recent violent attack on the state.

 


The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that since it has not been served with court order on the removal of Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as the National Secretary of PDP, it recognizes no other person but him.

This was made known by Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, in Abuja on Tuesday.

He noted that it was impossible for the electoral umpire to strike out the name of Oyinlola without receiving a copy of court order, as INEC needed such to know the steps to take.

“There has not been any specific order with regards to the removal and if there is an order directing the commission to remove his name as national secretary, then, INEC will comply.”

He added that “The PDP as a party had not written to the commission on the removal of Oyinlola as its national secretary.”

The former Osun State Governor was sacked as the PDP national secretary by an Abuja High Court recently.

The leadership of the ruling party has been enmeshed in cold-war, with loyalists of President Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo fighting over control of affairs.

 

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) had declared on Tuesday that it would confer Citizens Responsibility Recognition (CRR) award on Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada for his preference of local treatment after he sustained a thigh fracture in a fatal accident last month.

Wada’s decision is a total contrast of the decisions of other leaders who were involved in a similar accident.

In a statement signed by NOA Director-General, Mike Omeri, the agency said the award was in line with the agency’s campaign to encourage Nigerians to patronise the country’s local health facilities.

Omeri appealed to all Nigerians to imbibe the culture of receiving treatments locally.

He noted that Wada’s action, which is worthy of emulation, was a vote of confidence on the capability of the country’s medical sector.

“We are delighted by your action, which will encourage more Nigerians to patronise our local health facilities.”

“l urge Nigerians to pray for the governor’s quick recovery after his surgery.”

The D-G also sympathized with the families of those who lost their loved ones in the unfortunate accident.