Sunday, July 3, 2011
[size=14pt]Ministerial list: Protests, anger mount in South-West, South-East[/size]

Niyi Odebode, Fidelis Soriwei, Abuja, Emmanuel Obe, Awka, Tunde Odesola, Osogbo, Segun Olatunji, Kaduna, Olalekan Adetayo, Ibadan and Ozioma Ubabukoh, Enugu


Shock and anger continue to mount in the South-West and South-East geopolitical zones on the ministerial list President Goodluck Jonathan sent to the Senate on Monday for confirmation.






Countrywide investigations by SATURDAY PUNCH on Friday showed that members of the Peoples Democratic Party were bitter about the nominations from states in the South-West and South-East.

But as the anger rages in the South-West and South-East, a Presidency official told SATURDAY PUNCH on Friday in Abuja that nominees from the North might fill the slot of the ministries of the Federal Capital Territory, defence and education, which are considered as some of the plum ministries.

It was learnt the South-West PDP members were disturbed that many of the appointees from the zone would not be able to change the dwindling fortune of the party when the next elections are held.

A PDP chief in Lagos State said, "Our concern is that nominees from Lagos and other states in the South-West cannot redeem the party, which was defeated by the Action Congress of Nigeria in the last elections.

"We had expected that the nominees would be those who can mobilise the party to wrest power from the ACN in the next elections in four years' time."

Also in Lagos, the natives of the state are insisting that the nomination of the former Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, is illegal and he (Aganga) should therefore be dropped. It was learnt that prominent natives of the state, and the president of the Lagos Indigenes Association, Justice Isola Oluwa, had resolved to meet the President to express their reservation about Aganga's nomination.

Oluwa had, in an interview with THE PUNCH on Wednesday, stated that the former minister was from Sabongida-Ora in Edo State and should not be appointed to represent Lagos State.

The LIA had, in a petition written to the Senate President, David Mark, by its lawyers, Taiwo Abe and Co., condemned the nomination of Aganga.

The group had explained that the petition was to draw the attention of the Senate to the impending breach of the constitution through Aganga's nomination.

Quoting Section 147 (3) of the constitution, it stated, "Any appointment under subsection 2 of this section shall be in conformity with the provision of section 14 subsection 3 of this section; provided that in giving effect to the provision aforesaid, the President shall appoint at least, a minister from each state, who shall be an indigene of such state."

Reiterating its position, the group told SATURDAY PUNCH that "the President and the National Assembly would have breached the provision of Section 147 subsection (3) should (Mr. Segun Aganga) be screened and confirmed."

It threatened to seek legal advice and redress to protect the rights and interests of the natives of the state.

Investigations by SATURDAY PUNCH showed that PDP members in Lagos and other states were contemplating leaving the party for the ACN.

It was gathered that Aganga's emergence was due to the support he got from the organised private sector and some Nigerians in the Diaspora.

In Oyo, many PDP members condemned the ministerial nominations from the state on the grounds that they were not involved in the emergence of their representatives.

A top member of the party in the state, Senator Lekan Balogun, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, faulted the ministerial list.

Balogun wondered who nominated the ministers in the states where there were no party executives. He said that many of the returning former ministers were not assessed based on the tenets of democracy.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110702251981

My friend shut up! SE is not protesting at all. I think SW is payng for their ACN. They should hold Tinubu responsible for collecting all the democratic dividends meant for them.

My friend shut up! SE is not protesting at all. I think SW is payng for their ACN. They should hold Tinubu responsible for collecting all the democratic dividends meant for them

Deceptive title.

Gold-mind:

My friend shut up! SE is not protesting at all. I think SW is payng for their ACN. They should hold Tinubu responsible for collecting all the democratic dividends meant for them

You people sha !! "SW is paying for their ACN"? You wish !!!! Has anyone from the SW, aside PDP supporters, complained to you? It is no longer even clear if we should blame comprehension deficit or ethnic bigotry for some of the utterances here. Read the article again and stop making blanket statement that does not apply to the SW.

It was learnt the South-West PDP members were disturbed that many of the appointees from the zone would not be able to change the dwindling fortune of the party when the next elections are held.

How can Yorubas be complaining when they didn't vote for pdp ?

~Bluetooth:

How can Yorubas be complaining when they didn't vote for pdp ? 

Ethnic bigotry sef no go allow some see clearly. They want Yoruba folks "punished" and make patently foolish statement like "SW is paying for their ACN". How is the SW being punished or how are we "paying" for anything when we are the cause of the plight of the PDP in the region? Abeg , how are we "marginalized" when we are more interested in progress than being part of a failed and discredited center that is achieving nothing for no one but the small class of thieves who deem themselves "the owners of Nigeria"?

We are "marginalized" yet the "owners of Nigeria" (including Yoruba folks like Femi Otedola) continue to get what they want . Otedola got payback for his donation to GEJ. No privatization of refineries means his diesel importation gravy train ain't about to stop anytime soon. Some folks won't see those kind of things in their haste to wish "punishment" on the SW that can only exist in their imagination. When will some people wake up , shun ethnic sentiments, and see clearly the divide-an-conquer scam being perpetrated to enable our "owners" (from all corners of Nigeria) continue feeding fat while we are distracted with ethnic bickering?

Are Yorubas and Igbos denying that they are crying over the list?. Cry babies