Ruling party behind NGF crisis -Obi

Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State has said the Peoples Democratic Party is behind the succession crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors' Forum.

Obi, who spoke with journalists in Abuja on Friday, criticised the leadership of the party for not allowing other political parties produce the chairman of the forum.

Other governors  who were present when Obi spoke at the Governor Jonah Jang's-led faction of the forum's secretariat in Abuja were Jang, Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo State) and Liyel Imoke (Cross River).

He said the initial plan was to allow the vice -chairman of the forum succeed the chairman when his tenure expired.

He, however, said some hawks within the leadership of the party did not allow him succeed the then chairman of the forum, Senator Bukola Saraki.

He said the PDP rejected him because he belongs to All Progressive Grand Alliance and not the ruling party.

Obi said, "In 2009, when there was a little problem with the leadership of NGF, a committee was set up to look into our constitution.

"That was the draft constitution, which was modelled after the American Governors' Forum Constitution, which states that a chairman and a vice-chairman will emerge by consensus of all the governors, because it is a voluntary organisation.

"After two years, the chairman leaves and a vice-chairman, automatically takes over, while a new vice-chairman is again chosen by consensus. Up to that 2009 May, we never had a vice-chairman, there was nothing called vice-chairman.

"The debate that night was whether we would make it two years or one year, because some people thought two years was too long. That was how I emerged as vice-chairman of the NGF.

"Two of us were named, but the majority of the governors said, let Peter be (the vice-chairman). "In May 2011, when it was time for me to take over, while the vice-chairman would come from the North, I came back from United Kingdom one morning and they told me that the PDP was worried that they had 26 governors and how could they allow me from one party, to be chairman? I was the only one from my party then.

"What did they do? PDP called the four PDP governors from the South-East   and said, 'We don't want it to leave the South-East. However, it has to be a PDP governor.'

"The four PDP governors then, Theodore Orji of Abia State, Martins Elechi of Ebonyi, Sullivan Chime of Enugu and Ikedi Ohakim of Imo signed this letter, [displaying the letter to journalists ] to Governor Saraki, nominating me for the position.

"But again, PDP said no, that the NGF chair must remain in PDP.  Vice-President Namadi Sambo invited me and told me about the worries of the PDP. I now told him, 'Well, no problem.'

"Then Saraki told me he was going to have his last meeting in Kwara and of course, we all decided to go to Kwara. When I arrived Kwara, it was Governor Imoke who called me and said, 'We have decided to deal with the issue of chairmanship and we have nominated somebody.'"

Obi said the leadership of the party called the then PDP governors from the South-East and asked them to nominate another governor from the zone as Saraki's successor.

He said the governors rejected the request. Obi read a letter written to Saraki by the four governors to buttress his point.

The letter, dated May 19, 2005 read, "We, the governors of the South-East states of Nigeria wish to respectively nominate Mr. Peter Obi, Governor of Anambra State of Nigeria as a candidate for the position of chairman, Nigeria Governors' Forum.

"Our action in this regard is unanimous as a zone and is borne out of our firm conviction that he will discharge the functions of this office with credibility, dedication and due diligence.

"Kindly accept the assurances of our highest regards."

The letter was signed by Orji, Elechi, Chime and Ikedi.

Saraki however said there was no trade off, adding that the convention was that, the party with the majority governors should provide the forum's chairman.

Saraki said, "At the meeting in Ilorin, when the PDP governors insisted that the office of chairman of the NGF must go to the party with the majority, no South-East PDP governor wanted to be chairman.

"We first offered the seat to Ebonyi governor and he rejected it. Later, the meeting reluctantly asked the South-South governors to produce the chairman.

"Governors Amaechi, Imoke and Timi Sylva were asked to choose the chairman among them. They entered a room and later came out with the choice of Amaechi. So, there was no manipulation. It was the conventional rule of the majority party."


Punch

NGF saga: We backed Governor Amaechi to disgrace Jonathan and PDP – APC

As the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, continues to knock Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State following his victory at the just concluded NGF election, opposition parties said they stayed behind the embattled governor to disgrace President Goodluck Jonathan and his men.

According to spokesmen for the APC, opposition parties would continue to work against the interests of the PDP and the President.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the opposition parties were ready to back Amaechi .

He said, “If you look at the actions of the progressives, you will notice that we have been consistent for quite some time. If you will recall that at the election of the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, the PDP had already zoned the position to the South-West, because they had nominated Mulikat Akande-Adeola, who is now the Majority Leader. But because of the cooperation of the lawmakers from the progressive parties, Tambuwal got the position.

“It is exactly the same thing we are witnessing now. With the cooperation of the progressive governors, Amaechi disgraced Jonathan, by winning the NGF election despite the federal might that was against him. Let it be clear to Nigerians that what happened at the NGF election is a dress rehearsal for 2015.”



Fashakin added, “The progressive parties will always do anything that will stop Jonathan from assuming an imperial status. We will continue to oppose Jonathan’s authoritarian tendencies. We supported Amaechi because Jonathan’s intervention in the governors’ forum election was self-serving. As a progressive opposition party, our duty is to oppose that. So, we have no apologies for that.”

Asked if the opposition party was wooing Amaechi and the PDP governors in his faction of the NGF, Fashakin said some of the governors were afraid of openly opposing Jonathan.

“We saw that when the chips were down, some of the governors who were purportedly against Amaechi voted him in the secret ballot. Just wait, there are many more surprises awaiting Jonathan and the PDP,” he said.

Also, speaking, the National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Lai Mohammed, said the decision to support Amaechi was taken at the APC governors’ forum, not at the party level.

He said, “All ACN governors are in support of Amaechi but the decision was taken at the APC governors’ forum. It was not discussed at the party. You know the APC has its forum and they discuss their affairs as it concerns the merger. Remember they were all in Maiduguri and Yobe and they hold meetings regularly. So, they decided to vote for Amaechi at the NGF election. Is there anything wrong with that?”


Punch

NGF saga: We backed Governor Amaechi to disgrace Jonathan and PDP – APC

As the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, continues to knock Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State following his victory at the just concluded NGF election, opposition parties said they stayed behind the embattled governor to disgrace President Goodluck Jonathan and his men.

According to spokesmen for the APC, opposition parties would continue to work against the interests of the PDP and the President.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the opposition parties were ready to back Amaechi .

He said, “If you look at the actions of the progressives, you will notice that we have been consistent for quite some time. If you will recall that at the election of the current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, the PDP had already zoned the position to the South-West, because they had nominated Mulikat Akande-Adeola, who is now the Majority Leader. But because of the cooperation of the lawmakers from the progressive parties, Tambuwal got the position.

“It is exactly the same thing we are witnessing now. With the cooperation of the progressive governors, Amaechi disgraced Jonathan, by winning the NGF election despite the federal might that was against him. Let it be clear to Nigerians that what happened at the NGF election is a dress rehearsal for 2015.”



Fashakin added, “The progressive parties will always do anything that will stop Jonathan from assuming an imperial status. We will continue to oppose Jonathan’s authoritarian tendencies. We supported Amaechi because Jonathan’s intervention in the governors’ forum election was self-serving. As a progressive opposition party, our duty is to oppose that. So, we have no apologies for that.”

Asked if the opposition party was wooing Amaechi and the PDP governors in his faction of the NGF, Fashakin said some of the governors were afraid of openly opposing Jonathan.

“We saw that when the chips were down, some of the governors who were purportedly against Amaechi voted him in the secret ballot. Just wait, there are many more surprises awaiting Jonathan and the PDP,” he said.

Also, speaking, the National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Lai Mohammed, said the decision to support Amaechi was taken at the APC governors’ forum, not at the party level.

He said, “All ACN governors are in support of Amaechi but the decision was taken at the APC governors’ forum. It was not discussed at the party. You know the APC has its forum and they discuss their affairs as it concerns the merger. Remember they were all in Maiduguri and Yobe and they hold meetings regularly. So, they decided to vote for Amaechi at the NGF election. Is there anything wrong with that?”


Punch

Anti-Amaechi lawmakers deny impeachment plot

CONTRARY to claims in some quarters, five lawmakers believed to be against Governor Rotimi Amaechi in the current crisis rocking the state, have denied plans to impeach the governor.

The lawmakers said they were only concerned about the suspension of Obio/Akpor local government Chairman, Mr. Timothy Nsirim, the vice-chairman and 17 councillors of the area.

Spokesman for the lawmakers, Mr. Evans Bibi, who spoke with SUNDAY PUNCH in a telephone interview, maintained that they had never contemplated removing the governor.

Bibi explained that rather than impeaching Amaechi, they (five lawmakers) would advise him to do the right thing by recalling the suspended chairman of the council and others.

He said, "How can you suspend an elected chairman of a local government and go ahead to swear in a caretaker committee? The truth is that, if the chairman was not sacked, then why set up a caretaker committee.

"There is no move to impeach the governor, but he should do the right thing by ensuring that the Obio/Akpor Council chairman and others suspended are recalled. He (Amaechi) should also recognise the Felix-Obuah led executive of the state PDP."

Calling on Amaechi to prevail on the leadership of the House to pay them their outstanding allowances, Bibi pointed out that they (five lawmakers) had been deprived of their security votes, constituency project allowances and other imprests.

Responding, the Press Secretary to Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Jim Okpiki, said the money due to the five lawmakers would be paid, and attributed the delay in payment to the crisis on the ground.

"The money is there. But as it is now, Mr. Speaker cannot call them to take their allowances due to the issue of trust and security. Even the security of Mr. Speaker was at a time compromised.

"Mr. Speaker is not happy about the crisis and that is why he is calling for the speedy resolution of the matter so that everybody would collect his dues. It is not in the character of the Speaker to withhold anybody's money," Okpiki said.


Punch

2015: Pressure On Lamido To Join Presidential Race

Since former president Olusegun Obasanjo declared Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido as capable of fixing Nigeria, he has been under intense pressure to join the 2015 presidential race.

Obsanjo had at a summit organised by the state government to mark this year’s edition of Democracy Day, said, “You can help somebody to get a job but you can’t help him to do it. If somebody cannot do the job we have Sule Lamido who is competent to do the job.”

“There is general need to change Nigeria from the land of opportunity to the land of actuality Nigerians need by giving emphasis to education, infrastructure, social security and human development. Some people are saying one person cannot make a change, this is rubbish, if you have a competent person who knows where he is going to, he can make changes along with his team that would impact to the lives of Nigerians as we have seen it in Jigawa state,” Obsanjo said.

 Associates of the governor told LEADERSHIP Sunday that since Obasanjo’s declaration, politicians and various interest groups had been flooding the state to appeal to lure Lamido into the presidential race.

 Even the state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Salisu Mahmud, attested to this when he told our correspondent that, “Everyday we receive different groups of people from all over the country in Jigawa State to express their support for Governor Lamido to contest presidential election in 2015 and we are happy with this development.”

He continued, “I want to remind you that Governor Lamido has never ever told anybody that he has interest in the presidency, the future of Nigeria is in the hands of Nigerians, but if my great party agrees to field him as its candidate and he too agree to contest, we will do everything possible to actualise the dreams of having Governor Lamido as their president.”

Also, the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Adamu Ahmad Sara, has said all the lawmakers members have endorsed Governor Lamido to seek the presidency, adding that  all the senators and members of the House of the Representatives from the state have backed the governor for the higher office





Leadership

Bus driver returns N380,000 cheque, N49,000 cash to owner

A mini bus driver in Osogbo, Osun state was on Saturday commended for being a true selfless Nigerian after he returned N49,000 cash and a cheque of N380,000 to the owner who left a purse containing the money and the cheque in his bus. The owner was said to have boarded the mini-bus from Fakunle area of Osogbo to Aregbe.

The owner of the items, Mrs Olubunmi Adeleke, a teacher at Our Lady and St. Francis College, Osogbo who left the purse containing the items never thought it would be returned to her. It was only a sad moment for when she realized her mistake.

Mrs Adeleke lives at Agunbelewo area of Osogbo while the cheque was written in her favour from her co-operative society.

Speaking in Osogbo, Mrs. Adeleke said, “I was really devastated when I realised that I had misplaced the purse.

“I got the N380,000 cheque from my cooperative for a private project. I was about to give up all hope when the bus driver traced me and returned all my money and personal effects intact,” she said.



The God fearing 33-year-old driver, Bisi Oladimeji, who lives in Ikirun, but operates in Osogbo with a mini bus registered, XA 76 RGB said that although he was in need of money he could have just parted with such money which obviously was not hers, “I couldn’t have taken what is not mine.” She said

Oladimeji said he became a bus driver since he could not get a white-collar job.

In His words, “I have a Higher National Diploma,HND, in Accountancy from the Federal Polytechnic, Offa. The bus is not my own; I am just a hired driver; I do
it to keep soul and body together.”

He said he sat for the recent Osun Civil Service Commission recruitment examination and scored 199, adding that “although I don’t know whether I would
be employed, but I know that only God can bless me.

“When I saw the purse in my bus, I checked inside and found an identity card showing where the passenger works,” he said.

When asked how he locate the owner of the purse, Oladimeji said, “I traced the school in Isale Aro area of Osogbo and from there, I was directed to Mrs. Adeleke’s house and I gave her thw purse. Everything in the purse was intact when she checked inside.”


Daily post

Pipeline explosion in Lagos

A pipeline explosion occurred at Ijeododo in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, Saturday following the activities of suspected vandals.

Vanguard gathered that the explosion occurred after the downpour witnessed across the state.

The explosion sparked a huge fire still raging at press time.

Sources said that officials of the Pipelines Products Marketing Company, PPMC, who visited the site about two hours after the explosion, left due to lack of access road to the explosion point.



vanguard