obynzo: Oga let us stop trying to be smart here. I worked on this research and i know what i am saying what you got was from NCC i have seen that document before stop trying to deceive people that you got this from telecom companies
Ok, let's see the data from this research you speak of. You're the one trying to play smart but you aren't. Abi are we just supposed to take your word for it because you said so?? Abeg who you be? If you reject a report from the NCC, Telecoms companies, and NBS, then the onus is on you to supply superior and verifiable data to counter theirs, else you are just an ego-driven noisemaker, sorry.
obynzo: The poster is yet again another mischievous fellow. I have done a research with an Infrastructure company and they stated that MTN has 1,560 Masts in that state. That apart from Lagos the next state with the highest density of Masts is Anambra. Again it calls to question how the south east that in the past 7 years has been ravaged by war will have more internet users than south east that one is another very big fat lie. Only Anambra has a higher internet penetration that Borno and Yobe.
Please all this malicious lies and games has to stop. I really dunno why Seun allows this to happen as at 2007/2008 Nairaland was a good place where one can discuss about things and get real advice, but now we have unrepentant tribalist who are jobless depending on stipends to become e-rats ruining this forum.
Stop allowing your ego to get the best of you. The stats for the report were gotten directly from the Telecom companies themselves. You can't know better than the Telcos in this regard. But if you claim to, then you have to show us superior data to counter theirs. No need calling Seun. You can view a more exhaustive/comprehensive report of the data/stats here (I hope you have data because the following link contains an 18mb PDF file that breaks down the data):
South Eastern region of Nigeria comprising of Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo states has been ranked poorly in internet penetration. The region’s internet penetration rating is even poorer than the troubled North East of the country where insurgency has refused to abate for over a decade.
The ranking which is contained in the Bureau of statistics, NBS report for the last quarter of 2021 has jolted many technology enthusiasts who reeled out several factors possibly fuelling such a debasing rating.
According to NBS, internet usage in Nigeria in quarter 04, 2021 South Eastern Nigeria recorded 13.7 million users, which is the lowest among the states, except North East.
NBS data shows that in the quarter under review, South West region has the highest online users with 41.7 million followed by North Central with 26.6, North West has 25.4 users.
Others are South-South which has 20.8 million internet users and troubled North East which has 13.8 million.
Many experts have said that the data is not unconnected with lack of infrastructure, low broadband connectivity, and population size among others.
Founder and Executive Vice Chairman of Signal Alliance, Mr Collins Onuegbu, regrets that South East lacks infrastructure while describing the report as sad.
He said: “One of the factors against fast internet penetration in the south East is inadequate infrastructure. Of particular concern is little or no broadband connection in the region.
“I remember I worked with one of the governments in South East and one of the things recommended was the focus on broadband connectivity and that we should collaborate with telecommunications companies to bring broadband connectivity. So until the region improves on that it’s going to remain a problem.
“Sometimes it’s also about Right of Way. The South East is very difficult to do business.
Sometimes, telecom companies struggle to put the infrastructure that will provide connectivity. So, to boost penetration, governments at all levels there should make the environment business friendly. I think the telecom companies should have to get support from the local governments to make sure that infrastructure are easily deployed there” he advised.
A woman tech expert, Ms Ugochi Igbojekwe who is the country Lead for UzorTech, a consulting company, also echoed Onuegbu’s position that inadequate infrastructure was the major problem.
She said: “For instance, if there is no power supply for two days, your internet would not run. If you have a modem, it could have died because you didn’t charge it.
“So, I will say it’s about infrastructure and which also bothers on what government can do. If the government can provide enabling environment that can allow technology thrive I think that would go a long way”.
Co-founder & CEO of mobility Tech Company, Metro Africa Xpress, MAX, Mr. Adetayo Bamiduro, thinks the problem could be as a result of low income levels.
He said: “For you to have access to the internet you need to have data and if people are not earning enough money to afford data that presents a lot of challenges.
“So, it’s not just an infrastructure challenge, it also has to do with access to finance or income level challenge.
“The more we enable our people to earn more money and create economic opportunities for them, the more they can afford constant access to the internet.
Also, CEO, Autocheck Africa, Mr. Etop Ikpe, also attributed the problem to lack of compliance to National Identification Number, NIN.
He said: “What it means basically is that most individuals or subscribers over there were not captured and could not provide their NIN registration.
“The essence of the exercise was to ensure that every internet user can be identified as an individual. And there are users for instance who don’t want to be identified. I think it’s a compliance issue, we need to follow compliance and rules.”
A septuagenarian, Ohalete Njoku, who allegedly murdered his younger brother, Austin Njoku, yesterday, over a land tussle in Umumbasi, Amaraku, Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, has been handed over to the police.
It was gathered that the youths of the area, who carried out the arrest, strapped the suspect with palm fronds, as they forced him to carry the victim on his laps while conveying him in a wheelbarrow out of the community.
The suspect was later taken to a police station by the youths.
When interrogated, the suspect claimed he killed his brother, a truck pusher, while asleep for allegedly taking over the only piece of land belonging to the family.
He said he was angered by his younger brother’s action, which he submitted should have been his own by being the first son of the family.
A youth leader in the area, Bethran Uwandu, said they decided to take the suspect to the police to avoid taking laws into their hands.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Michael Abattam, was yet to respond to an inquiry made over the incident at press time.
Donald Trump praised the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, as a “brave man” for his handling of the Russian invasion – nearly three years after he tried to extort him for political dirt on Joe Biden.
The revelation that the then-president was secretly linking military aid to opening an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden, his son, led to Mr Trump’s first impeachment by the House of Representatives.
He told the annual conservative conference, held in Orlando, Florida: “The Russian attack on Ukraine is appalling. It's an outrage, and an atrocity that should never have been allowed to occur,” he said. “We are praying for the proud people of Ukraine, God bless them all.”
But Mr Trump quickly shifted to his lie that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. He also noted how during George W Bush’s administration, Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Georgia and during Barack Obama’s administration, he annexed Crimea.
“Under Biden, Russia invaded Ukraine. I stand as the only president of the 21st century on whose watch Russia did not invade another country,” he said, for which received thunderous applause.
Mr Trump mentioned Javelin anti-tank missiles that Ukrainians are using to push back against Russian forces. But when Mr Zelensky famously spoke with Mr Trump in 2019, the then-newly elected Ukrainian president brought up the purchase of Javelins. In response, Mr Trump asked for Mr Zelensky to find dirt on Mr Biden’s son Hunter.
“I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it,” he said according to a transcript at the time and asked him to look into a conspiracy theory about the 2016 election and said he would like his then-Attorney General William Barr to call Mr Zelensky.
“The other thing, there's a lot of talk about Biden's son,” he said.
Mr Trump was later impeached by the House of Representatives, with all House Republicans voting against impeachment, which the former president touted at CPAC.
“When did you ever hear Republicans do that? But this was truly a scam,” he said and claimed that Mr Zelensky said Mr Trump did nothing wrong.
“We’re dealing with some people that are truly evil,” he said.
But the Senate voted to acquit him, with every Republican Senator except Mitt Romney of Utah clearing Mr Trump. At the time, Mr Romney criticised Mr Trump’s actions.
“The president withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so,” he said.
Kremlin 'sends more than 400 mercenaries from private militia into Kyiv to assassinate President Zelensky and his government' - with group told peace talks are 'smoke and mirrors'
*Private militia known as the Wagner Group 'flown in from Africa five weeks ago' *It is run by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of the Russian president *Highly trained operatives have a 23-strong kill list including the PM and cabinet
By LAURENCE DOLLIMORE FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 02:31 GMT, 28 February 2022
More than 400 Russian mercenaries have been flown in from Africa to assassinate Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, it was revealed last night.
A private militia known as the Wagner Group allegedly has orders from Vladimir Putin to take out Zelensky - and 23 other government figures - to allow Moscow to take over its eastern European neighbour.
According to the Times, the army-for-hire, run by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin - a close ally of the Russian president who is often dubbed 'Putin's chef' - was flown in five weeks ago and is being offered a huge sum for the mission.
The highly-trained operatives are said to be waiting for the green light from the Kremlin to pounce, with their hit list also including Ukraine's prime minister, the entire cabinet, mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir - both boxing champions who have become iconic figures on the front lines of the capital.
However the plans were rumbled after they reached the upper echelons of the Ukrainian government on Saturday morning.
It prompted Kyiv to declare a 36-hour 'hard' curfew, ordering everyone indoors so that soldiers could sweep the streets for Russian saboteurs.
Citizens were warned that they risked being 'liquidated' if they were spotted outside during the curfew hours, as they may be assumed to be the enemy.
A source with knowledge of the Wagner Group's activities told the Times that between 2,000 and 4,000 mercenaries had actually arrived in Ukraine in January, but with different missions.
Some were sent to the rebel-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east of the country - while the 400 tasked with taking out Zelensky headed to Kyiv from Belarus.
The group are said to be tracking Zelesnky and his colleagues via their mobile phones - claiming to know where they are at all times.
Another source claimed the killers-for-hire have been told to put on the brakes while Putin holds 'peace talks' with Zelensky this week.
But they have allegedly been informed that the Russian leader has no desire to reach a deal, branding the meeting on the Belarus border as 'smoke and mirrors.'
News of their assassination plans has not seemed to faze Zelensky, who admitted he was 'target number one' during an address to the nation, telling them Russian special forces were hunting him.
When the US offered to extract him, he told President Joe Biden: 'I need ammunition, not a ride.'
Wagner has conducted covert operations across Africa and the Middle East, including in Syria, and they have most recently been on the ground in Ukraine to guide Russian tanks to the capital.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a former commander of Joint Forces Command, said: 'They are very effective because they are hard to pin down.
'They can appear from the shadows, do very violent things and then disappear again, without it being obvious who was responsible. They are not directly linked to the Russian government and therefore they are plausibly deniable.'
Sources told the Times the militia were briefed about Putin's plans on Ukraine back in December, long before the Russian army was told.
Soldiers and generals were feared to oppose the invasion plans, and several have been executed for doing so, claimed the mercenaries.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared Mr Alademayokun Olarewaju of the All Progressives Congress as winner of Saturday’s by-election for the Akure North/Akure South Federal Constituency.
Declaring the result in Akure, the Returning Officer, Prof. Deji Ogunseni, said Olarewaju polled 26,370 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Olumuyiwa Adu of the Peoples Democratic Party, who scored 24,201 votes.
Ogunseni said Mr Olawale Oyekanmi of the Accord Party scored 41 votes; Mrs Oluwawemimo Fadekemi of ADP scored 465 votes; Joseph Ajayi of APP polled 125 votes; Johnson Olawusi of NRM scored 76 votes, while Opawole Tajudeen of SDP scored 68 votes.
The bye-election was conducted to fill the vacant seat, following the death of the member representing the constituency, Mr Adedayo Omolafe, in August, 2021.
The anointing of Pastor Umo Eno as Governor Udom Emmanuel’s successor is generating negative reactions capable of affecting the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the state if not well managed, writes Patrick Odey.
THE story of a governor anointing a successor is not new in Akwa Ibom State, as the incumbents had during the twilight of their days in office picked those they believed could keep the flag flying without necessarily rocking the boat or via away from the status quo.
While former governor and now Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, succeeded in bringing the current State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, his (Akpabio) predecessor, Obong Victor Attah, was not that lucky as he tried in vain to install his son-in-law, Bob Ekarika, as the governor.
Governor Emmanuel on Sunday, January 30, 2022, put to rest several months of speculations and permutations about his likely successor with the announcement of Pastor Umo Eno as his preferred candidate for the 2023 governorship elections in the state. Eno, the state Commissioner for Lands, was unveiled by stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party and religious leaders at a meeting held in Uyo, the state capital.
Attah made the formal presentation of Eno to the stakeholders comprising leading political chieftains of the PDP from the three senatorial districts, who applauded the choice and collectively pledged to work towards his emergence as the next governor of the state.
But for the generality of the people of the state, the choice of the governor’s preferred successor has left a sour taste in their mouth. The endorsement has generated ripples from a broad spectrum of people and groups who also believe the governor is toeing a familiar path that has never worked for his predecessors and colleague governors in other parts of the country.
In 2007 for instance, ex-governor Attah attempted to circumvent the wheel by imposing his son-in-law as his preferred candidate. It never worked. Ekarika was later defeated during the People’s Democratic Party primaries by Godswill Akpabio who was a commissioner in Attah’s cabinet.
The succession crisis that rocked Imo State during the regime of former governor Rochas Okorocha is still fresh in the mind of keen observers. Like Attah, Okorocha also attempted to foist his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, on the people of Imo State, but that undesirable contrivance also failed woefully.
Nevertheless, Akpabio broke the jinx when he single-handedly installed his successor, Emmanuel, in 2015. But, that marriage of convenience never lasted as Akpabio broke the relationship, defecting to the All Progressives Congress. Till date, Emmanuel and Akpabio, the governor’s political godfather, are still not best of friends.
Pundits believe however, that the way and manner Emmanuel handled the succession issue in the state may turn against him as he has completely neglected the principles of zoning and relied on prophesies to choose his successor. To many of them, the governor’s endorsement of Eno as his preferred candidate for the 2023 governorship election in the state amounts to imposition and a negation of the principles of democracy.
According to Akwa Ibom Council of Ministers, the endorsement does not only smack of imposition and direct affront on the political will of the majority of Akwa Ibom people, it is also a clear violation of the long standing and immutable zoning arrangement in the state.
At a media briefing in Uyo recently, the President and Secretary of the Council of Ministers, Mr Joseph Nyong and Apostle Elijah Usoh, respectively, lamented that the endorsement of Eno had negated the principles of zoning which had been a long standing criteria for sharing of political offices in the state.
They stated, “There is no gainsaying the fact that it is only Itu/Ibiono Federal Constituency that has yet to produce the governor of all the federal constituencies in Uyo Senatorial District. It is therefore fair that it should be micro-zoned to the federal constituency.”
They wondered why Attah who was a governor and a product of zoning in the state should be part of the endorsement of the pastor.
A former speaker of the state House of Assembly, and member representing Nsit-Ibom/Nsit-Ubium/Etinan Federal Constituency, Onofiok Luke, who was one of those invited to the endorsement meeting, told journalists that he was not aware of the agenda of the meeting but had to attend to honour the governor who extended the invitation to him.
Luke, who hails from the same Nsit-Ubium with Eno, said, “I’m not against their endorsement; I’m not against the elders of the state. But I’m saying the endorsement could only have happened after proper consultation. I went to Obong Attah and told him ‘‘why didn’t you talk to all of us who are in this race? Why didn’t you talk to Senator Bassey Albert? Why didn’t you talk to Akan Udofia? Why didn’t you talk to Akan Okon? Why didn’t you talk to James Iniama’’? This is because it was Obong Attah who made the presentation, not the governor.
“We would have loved their endorsement but that would have been after due consultation. We would love the endorsement by the elders of the state. But whoever they would endorse should be the choice of the majority of people in the state. So, for me as Onofiok Akpan Luke, I am in the race for the governorship. I am going to stand in the election on the platform of my party, the PDP. I am not part of that endorsement at all.
“But I respect their views; I respect the opinion and choice of the governor. I respect Obong Victor Attah and the opinion of the elders of the state. It is their choice. I only respect their opinion; but I am not in support of what they are doing. I was ambushed. I didn’t know the agenda of the meeting but I had to respect the governor and attend the meeting at the lodge on his invitation. For three good times, I had raised my hand, seeking to be allowed to speak but I was ignored,” Luke lamented.
In the same vein, the Civil Society Organisations in the state had countered the governor’s claim that he meant well for state and had waited patiently for God to reveal his preferred candidate.
Expressing the civil society’s position while speaking on the issue, the Chairman of Civil Society Organisations in the state, Dr. Harry Udoh, said though he was not against Eno’s endorsement as the preferred candidate, the governor’s claim that he waited patiently on God to reveal his preferred candidate is tantamount to reducing God to a politician.
He said, “That’s the governor’s choice and it is within the governor’s power to support whoever he wants but that’s not the choice of Akwa Ibom people. There’s still the primary election and general elections to be won. Anybody can choose anybody. It is left for the people to decide. I think that’s what democracy is all about.
“The governor can go ahead and dream the dreams he wants and see visions he wants but that is not the dream and vision of the people. The people have to decide at the end on who should be the next governor. We can’t argue with the governor, I have my dreams and visions too, likewise every other person.
“Things are changing; societies are evolving all the way. People are being more conscious, there is a heightened interest in what is happening in the polity. There used to be imposition but now, I see a strong battle for that position. Even in the time past, there were upheavals.
“The governor is not saying I chose this one based on his antecedent or what he can do but based on what God told him; in this 21st century? That is the fallacy to ‘appeal to authority’, that is just reducing God to a politician. I don’t have any problem with the Umo Eno choice, but the governor’s posturing is unpalatable.”
Speaking further, the President of Akwa Ibom Council of Ministers, Apostle Nyong, further described Emmanuel’s posturing about God’s revelation as barefaced lies. According to Nyong, God is not an author of confusion and therefore, his name should not be used by people to seek validation of an obviously unpopular and unacceptable choice.
He said, “The governor’s claim that God revealed his choice of successor to him and few individuals lent credence to a barefaced lie. The God we worship is neither an author of confusion nor purveyor of crisis and disunity,” he said
Nyong believed that except the right thing was done, “the imposition of a preferred candidate on the majority of the people of Akwa Ibom State by a few persons may lead to unnecessary crisis in the state”.
Also, the Akwa Ibom Youths have roundly criticised the governor’s action, adding that it is unfair and undemocratic for the governor to singlehandedly nominate a successor for more than six million people going by the current population of the state.
The youths under the auspices of Akwa Ibom Youths Mandate, in a resolutions signed by one Victor Thompson on behalf of the stakeholders of the group, said, “Now, we take a stand and we believe this resonates with the majority of young people in Akwa Ibom State, we have assessed and examined the process of leadership recruitment in Akwa Ibom State, we have examined and assessed every aspirant that is seeking to occupy the office of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State and we have come to a conclusion that it is only one person that meets our criteria.”
He listed the criteria of one that would lead them in the next dispensation to include one with proven track records of selfless service and one with experience in public service among others.
The state coordinator of the Akwa Ibom Human Rights Community, Clifford Thomas, said, however, that the governor had the right to choose his preferred candidate, adding that it depended on whether the people actually wanted the person. He called on those who did not want the governor’s preferred candidate to come out and expressed their dislike by voting out the person.
“The governor has the right to choose a preferred candidate to succeed him; it also depends on whether the people actually want the person. The people also have the right to choose whoever they deemed fit. It is not a big deal actually. The people have the right to reject the successor the governor chooses and the only way they can do this is by voting out the person,” Thomas emphasised.
However, there are disturbing signals from Itu/Ibiono Ibom Federal Constituency as the stakeholders have met, insisting that the governor’s successor should come from the constituency because it is the only constituency in Uyo district yet to produce a governor in the state. Matter affecting the constituency were discussed at the meeting which held at the palace of the Paramount Ruler of Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area on Friday, February 4, 2022, were resolved as follows:
That the meeting convened at the instance of the stakeholders of Itu/Ibiono Ibom Federal Constituency at the palace of the Paramount Ruler of Ibiono Ibom was to review recent political developments in the state; that it was affirmed that Akwa Ibom State was founded on six divisions of Abak, Eket, Ikot Ekpene, Itu, Opobo (Ikot Abasi), and Uyo, and that on account of political expediency, two of the divisions were merged to form a senatorial district, namely Abak and Ikot Ekpene in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District; Eket and Opobo (Ikot Abasi) in Eket Senatorial District; and Uyo and Itu in Uyo Senatorial District.
“That Uyo Senatorial District has three Federal Constituencies of Etinan, Itu and Uyo; That Akwa Ibom State started the rotation principle of governorship office in 1992, with Etinan Federal Constituency that produced candidates for the two political parties, the National Republican Convention and the Social Democratic Party. This arrangement produced His Excellency, Obong Akpan Isemin as the first civilian governor of Akwa Ibom State. The rotation principle was sustained and in 1999, Obong Victor Attah of Uyo Federal Constituency in Uyo Senatorial District emerged as the governor of the state.
“That with the position of the governor returning to Uyo Senatorial District in 2023, the stakeholders demand that all political parties in Akwa Ibom State should pick their candidates from Itu/Ibiono Ibom Federal Constituency, which has never occupied the position before; and that the people of Itu/Ibiono Ibom Federal Constituency have resolved to unite to sensitise the people of Akwa Ibom State on the need to uphold the principle of rotation in order to ensure equity, justice, and good conscience.”
Many in the state are of the view that the disapproval of the choice of the governor as a successor is a pointer to the fact that the situation can reduce the enviable rating of the PDP in the state if those involved fail to toe the line of fairness to the masses.
Election: Four Ebonyi Governorship aspirants will not win in 2023 — Primate Ayodele
February 19, 2022
…you have to be sure of names you saw in your revelation – Usulor
Peter Okutu, Abakaliki
A gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ebonyi state chapter, Chief Chris Usulor has tackled the leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele over what he described as a wrong prophecy bordering on his Governorship ambition.
Usulor, a third-term lawmaker, representing Ezza South constituency of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, declared his interest to run for the governorship position in the 2023 general election.
Reacting to a comment credited to Primate Elijah Ayodele, wherein he (Ayodele) was quoted to have allegedly prophesied that Usulor and three (3) other governorship aspirants in Ebonyi would not make it in 2023, Usulor tasked the leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Ayodele, to be sure of the names he saw in his revelation as he rejected being among those listed by the Spiritual leader.
The INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Ayodele had in a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, stated that the politicians mentioned should not waste money on electioneering campaigns because God has not anointed them to lead the state.
According to Ayodele: “some politicians who will not be Governors of their states in 2023, despite having ambitions to succeed their Governors.
“In Ebonyi state, PDP’s Engr Fidelis Nwakwo, Mr Chris Uzulor, and APC’s Edward Nkwoagu were listed as politicians who won’t become Governor in the state in 2023” the statement noted.
Responding, Usulor in a statement said: “Our attention has been drawn to Primate Ayodele’s prophecy. The name of our candidate is Hon. Chris Usulor and not Uzulor as Primate Ayodele saw in his prophecy.
“When God ministers to his true and chosen prophets, the prophecy is always clear without any ambiguity or confusion and God is not a God of an attention seeker.
“True men of God are judged and respected by their past proven prophetic records. Hon. Chris Usulor candidacy is divine as exemplified by the number of respected clergymen that are supporting him, coupled with overwhelming support by the people of Ebonyi state.
“The second commandment states” thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain” and the 9th commandment says” thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
“Hon. Chris Usulor is ready and focused to answer the clarion call of Ebonyi people who are aiding him to lead them as their Governor come 2023.
“We advise Primate Ayodele not to fall, a victim of desperate political contenders in the state, that might have offered him money knowing full well, they don’t stand any chance with Hon. Chris Usulor” the statement noted.
... it's instructive for Atiku Abubaker to be reminded that his latest position is in stark contrast to the position he took when it concerned Goodluck Jonathan succeeding the late Yaradua in 2011.
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is of the view that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot move forward until it admits the wrong it committed in 2011, when it gave its presidential ticket to President Goodluck Jonathan in alleged contradiction to its zoning policy.
Reacting to the declaration by the party leadership, last week, that it will stick to its zoning policy for the 2015 elections, Atiku told The Nation that “If the leadership is serious about making amends for the injustice of the past, it has to first admit that a wrong had been done and then take appropriate steps to do the right thing.”
Atiku, one of the PDP presidential aspirants that lost out in 2011, following the abandonment of the party’s zoning policy said: “It is a fact that the issue of zoning is still enshrined in the constitution as amended. However, recall that in the run up to the 2011 election, the principle of zoning as enshrined in the party was implemented in breach. If the current leadership wants to right the wrongs of the past, it has to match its intent with action. It cannot be that zoning is right for some people and it is abandoned when it comes to others.”
National Secretary of PDP, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, had told newsmen that the party will stick to its zoning policy in picking its presidential candidate for the 2015 election.
He explained that the party’s leadership’s decision was informed by the realisation that, “What has endeared the PDP to Nigerians is the zoning arrangement, which has given minority groups the hope of realising their political aspirations in the country.”
Asked if that declaration would put paid to the long drawn controversy, Atiku retorted, “You cannot eat your cake and have it. If the leadership is serious about making amends for the injustice of the past, it has to first admit that a wrong had been done and then take appropriate steps to do the right thing.
There cannot be atonement without confession. The admission of error is the first step to rectification.”
Other Nigerians, including other PDP stalwarts expressed a similar sentiment. One of them is Mike Okorie, a Lagos- based lawyer and former PDP House of Representatives aspirant in Abia State.
Responding to the PDP statement Okorie said “For more reasons than one, the statement is not conclusive of the matter. Besides, the Party is noted for policy shifts, somersault and double standard. Let us not forget in a hurry the events leading up to 2011 Presidential elections and even thereafter, when zoning was observed in the breach, if not jettisoned. Now the trillion naira question is whose turn is it for at least to produce the next Speaker, House of Representatives, not to talk of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
It was cheering news for the Presidential ambition of former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki as former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida throws his weight and support for him as the rightful man to take over from President Muhamadu Buhari come 2023.
General Babangida was responding to request from a delegation of the Abubakar Bukola Saraki, ABS, National Campaign Advocacy Council led by its Chairman, Prof Hagher Iorwuese and Director- General, Chief Osaro Onaiwu who were at the Minna Hill top residence of the former military strongman to seek support for Saraki.
Babangida who did not hide his admiration for Saraki did not mince words, but equate Saraki to a Self Propelled(SP) artillery gun, an abbreviation for Senate President, whose credentials and personality speaks for him.
According to him, many aspirants have come and will come here. But a young man of his( Saraki) status who knows the country well should lead the country for maximum results.
"Am glad to have found people who have defined who a true Nigerian leader should be. This definition was lacking. Am happy you have identified someone who can do the job. The narrative has to change. I know your client very well. I am part of him. His father was very close to me.
"You have zeroed on a good candidate. I call him SP. In the artillery we have a Self Propelled gun called SP with strategic responsibility and functions. That is who he is”.
Babangida, popularly referred to as IBB, commended Saraki’s patriotic efforts as President of the 8th Senate saying,” It was Saraki’s efforts that saved the nation from imminent crisis that ensued. Remember if he was not able to nip the crisis, only God knows what would have happened. It was his intelligence at play that saved the nation. He is the best for Nigeria.
“But a lot of work must be done to convince colleagues and Nigerians to this. You have identified the right person for the leadership of this country. We need a leader that can utilise our rich diversities to our advantage. We have abuse our diversity and are not able to use it well to our advantage. I believe that the young Saraki has the capacity to bring back this glory to our nation. He has my prayers, he has my absolute support”.
The leader of the large delegation, Prof Hagher had asked for IBB’s blessings and support for Saraki, who is within the youthful age canvassed by IBB himself for the leadership of Nigeria.
Hagher said,” Your Excellency Sir, we are here to present to you your son, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki. The country has not fared well under the present system and if nothing is done, the situation will be worst. We remember how you provided concrete leadership for this country. We recall with great sense of pride your intelligence, how you were able to assemble the best brains, to built strategic network of contacts, connections and lasting relationships which are still standing strong today. You don’t forget your friends neither do you forget your relationships built over the years.
Your son Saraki has your DNA and is following these beautiful footsteps of yours. He has all that it takes to provide the kind of leadership you bestowed on this country.
He is intelligent, cosmopolitan, patriotic, determined, energetic and strategic to do the job”.
Making a case for the North Central zone, Hagher added that while the South West, South South and North West have produced Presidents for Nigeria, and the North East and South East have produced Vice Presidents, the North Central, full of capable and competent human resources is yet to express its leadership potentials for the country. We respectfully aver that the North should produce the next President, the North Central.
In the delegation were former Governor Shaaba Lafiagi from Kwara State, former Senators Solomon Ewuga, Suleiman Adokwe, former national and state assembly members and critical stakeholders across the country.
Al-Makura candidacy is dicey because he has an EFCC case pending. That's why the likes of OUK, Tinubu and some other chieftains dumped him for Sani Musa.
All this headache would have been avoided by PDP if only they had allowed another Northerner to succeed the late Yaradua after his untimely death, instead of GEJ. A southerner (most likely Igbo) PDP candidate would have been gearing up to take over from him by now. That was a missed opportunity for the party.
Ahead of the 2023 general election, a pressure group affiliated with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the Action 2023, has warned against giving the party’s ticket to a man in his 70s, as that may cost the party victory at the poll.
Instead, the group advised PDP to beam its search light at aspirants in their 50s, who are in their numbers within the party.
The pressure group said this in a statement yesterday by its national chairman, Hon. Rufus Omeire in reaction to the views expressed by Segun Sowunmi, former spokesperson to former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in his recent letter to PDP governors asking them to reject a “kindergarten President and Commander in Chief” for PDP.
The Action 2023, in the statement signed by Omeire, pointed out that apart from Atiku, who is 75, others are mostly in their 50s, who seem to have better solid private sector experience as Chief Executives.
The group made case for Senators Anyim Pius Anyim, and Bukola Saraki and former Speaker, House of Representatives and governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwal who headed the two Houses of the National Assembly at different times.
The statement read: “Apart from Atiku who is 75, others are mostly in their 50s. Is Sowunmi saying that only those in their 70s are preferred Presidential candidates rather than the relatively younger ones he described as kindergarten candidates (sic).
“With respect to relevant experience for the top job, let us x-ray the candidates (sic). Atiku Abubakar’s public sector experience consists of Deputy Director of Customs, a subordinate position. He never became Chief Executive of Customs and Excise Department.
“The buck never, for one day, stopped on his table in the Customs Service. He became Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a highly exalted office, but he was never a chief Executive. He only carried out instructions of his boss, President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“He never had the experience of a Chief Executive. The buck never stopped at his table. The President could accept or reject his recommendations. He didn’t have relevant direct experience of the top job. So wherein lies the famed experience of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar?
“He clearly doesn’t have the requisite public sector experience. Does he have private sector experience? Atiku is not Dangote, Otedola or Jim Ovia or Tony Elumelu or Mike Adenuga. “He is not a known manufacturer of goods and services. His well – known company INTELS, which he set up with others; is hardly a recommendation for Presidential office.
“One thing he has done very well is run a winning primaries campaign in defunct political party Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and the PDP. Is this enough experience for President?
“Other candidates seem to have better public sector experience, some have solid private sector experience as Chief Executives. Tambuwal, Saraki and Anyim headed Houses of the Legislature at the Federal level as chief executives. The buck stopped on their tables as Speaker and Presidents of the Senate.
“Talking about experience on the job, maybe Sowunmi should have also talked about his boss’s attitude on abandoning ship mid sea, the way he did to PDP after the 2019 Presidential election, in which the PDP invested its ticket and hopes in him which he waisted partly because of the argument of experience and inevitability.
“He even lost four out the six states in the North-East, winning his home State of Adamawa with only 30,000 votes. Tambuwal, Bala Mohammed, Wike and Saraki have relevant executive experience as governors. They have seen it all from the executive point of view.
“They took decisions at the executive level in their states and have direct and first – hand experience in formulation and execution of government policies.
“Ohuabunwa (Chief Sam Ohuabunwa) was Chief Executive of a publicly quoted company NEIMETH and helmsman at Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria.
“Sowunmi should find other grounds to market Atiku, his boss, rather than flouting his old age and questionable relevant experience.
“He should further desist from this unnecessary insults on other aspirants whom Atiku might have to support after the primaries”, the group said.
Where is the lie? No matter how accomplished they are, Nigerian coaches are constantly made to have to keep proving themselves. Nigerians (and Africans by extension) just don't believe in their own capabilities. We tend to be too hard on ourselves while giving foreigners a pass and making excuses for their failures.
The Indigenous People of Biafra has again confirmed Tuesday as a day for sit-at-home in the South-East.
The group said it gave the order following its leader, Nnamdi Kanu’s court proceedings coming up on January 18, 19 and 20, 2022 at the Umuahia High Court.
It said the sit-at-home was for only January 18, while people are free to go about their normal activities on January 19 and 20.
Confirming its stand on the order, the group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, on Sunday, said, “Following our leader’s upcoming court proceedings on January 18, 19 and 20, 2022, we wish to remind Biafrans that there will be only sit-at-home on January 18 and not 19 and 20.
“In keeping with our avowed solidarity with our leader, the entire South-East will be on lock down only on January 18 for obvious reasons.”
He said anyone found enforcing sit-at-home on January 17 is a criminal and must be treated as such, saying that IPOB leadership had already cancelled it and it must be obeyed.
The Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr C-Don Adinuba, told our correspondent on Sunday that the government is not aware of any sit-at-home and that people should ignore it.
Adinuba said despite government’s assurance to the people of adequate security, they have continued to observe the outlawed sit-at-home, saying that there is nothing the government can do as it cannot force the people out.
He said, “Our position and the position of every government in the South-East is that people have to be law-abiding and comply with the law. The government has provided adequate security needed and it is now left for them to go about their normal business but whereby they have refused, the government cannot force them to come out.”
An Onitsha resident, Mrs Comfort Nnachi, a civil servant, expressed her excitement, saying that the exercise would enable her rest very well and carry out some house chores.
Travellers have besieged various motor parks in Anambra in a bid to escape being trapped on those days.
The Onitsha River Niger bridge head was on a total standstill on Sunday as a result of heavy vehicular movements and high volume of passengers.
Before Sunday, transport operators charged between N12, 000 to N15, 000 for a trip to Lagos, but on Sunday, they were charging as much as N25, 000 for a trip to Lagos.
Presidential hopeful and national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, has arrived Ogbomoso.
Apart from others, he was accompanied by AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, governor of Kwara State.
OYOINSIGHT.COM learnt that his private chopper landed in the ancient town around noon.
This newspaper understands that the former Lagos governor is also in town to condole families and people of Ogbomoso over the demise of Oba Jimob Oyewumi, Soun of Ogbomosoland and Adebayo Alao-Akala, former governor of Oyo State.
On Tinubu’s entourage are notable politicians and those who have gone to receive him. They included Akin Oke, Ayo Adeseun, Akeem Adeyemi who is representing Oyo federal constituency and others.
OYOINSIGHT.COM had reported Saturday morning that Tinubu would also be visiting the palace of Oba Saliu Adetunji, late Olubadan of Ibadanland who died on January 2nd, 2022.
While Oba Oyewumi and Oba Adetunji died on December 12, 2021 and January 2, 2022 respectively, Alao-Akala died on January 12, 2022.
Oba Oyewumi was aged 95, Olubadan 93 and Alao-Akala 71.
The 2023 presidential ambition of Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, gained momentum yesterday, as former Senate President and Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Board of Trustees, BoT, Dr. Adolphus Wabara, has thrown his support behind the project.
Similarly, the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has also canvassed support for the former Secretary to Government of the Federation, SGF, saying he is eminently qualified and intellectually endowed to fix Nigeria.
The duo who spoke at a grand civic reception for Senator Abaribe at Obingwa in Abia State where Anyim was a special guest, called on Ndigbo and Nigerians of all race and political divide to throw their lot with the former Senate President.
This is as the PDP candidate in the just-concluded governorship election in Anambra State, Val Ozigbo, has called for the inclusion of electronic voting in the Electoral Act.
Ozigbo who spoke with Vanguard during the reception, expressed disappointment over President Muhamnadu Buhari’s refusal to assent to the New Electoral Act.
He said that the hidden reason for the President’s action was the electronic transmission of election results included in the document and not the direct primaries as being cited by the Presidency.
Ozigbo who said electronic transmission of election results would drastically reduce falsification of election results, strongly advocated inclusion of electronic voting as a panacea to electoral fraud.
He argued that “if money could be electronically wired in Nigeria, why can’t we go beyond manual voting and adopt electronic voting as other democracies in the world?.
” The deployment of 34,000 police personnel to Anambra because of governoship election would not have been necessary if we adopt electronic voting”, he said.
Senator Wabara said Anyim had garnered the capacity, the requisite knowledge and national appeal to deliver as President.
According to Wabara, Anyim’s political antecedents and the prevailing peace and tremendous achievements that characterised his tenures both as the Senate President and SGF “leave no one in doubt that Nigeria needs a true and competent patriot like him to move forward”.
Senator Wabara urged Nigerians to give Anyim a chance to return Nigeria to the path of greatness.
Similarly, Senator Abaribe who extolled Anyim’s leadership qualities, his candor, political maturity and wealth of experience, described him as one of Igbo’s first eleven that has all it takes to rescue and calibrate Nigeria.
He solicited the support of all progressive Nigerians irrespective of their political leanings for Senator Anyim who he said is divinely endowed and strategically prepared to give Nigeria a new hope.
The event almost turned into a political carnival for Anyim and Abaribe as various speakers rooted for them to the admiration of the mammoth crowd.
Senator Anyim had during a remark commended the Ngwa nation for honouring Abaribe with the chieftaincy title of “Maduforo Nde Ngwa”, describing him as an irrepressible voice at the senate.
He said that Abaribe could be trusted with any higher responsibility while appluading him for standing firm for justice and equity.
Senator Anyim has since declared interest in the 2023 presidential race, saying he could be trusted for the political and multi-sectoral salvation of Nigeria.
Panic griped landlords and residents of highbrow Magodo area of Lagos metropolis as stern-looking policemen took over the area this afternoon to execute a Supreme Court judgment, which mandated Lagos State government to give back 549 plots to the original owners of the area, before it was “fraudulently acquired over 38 year ago”.
As the anti-riot policemen were on strategic area within the highbrow area, more than 1,000 youths, apparently recruited by the Shangisha Landlords Association, were moving from house to house making known the possession.
The inscription on each houses indicated that the court had given them possession of the land on which the houses were built.
It could be recalled that the military government of the state then acquired the area for public use.
But later it was sold to government officials and their associates, which made the original owners through Shangisha Landlords Association approach the high court for redress.
The court then ruled that both parties should maintain the status quo in the area; that is both parties should vacate the land until final determination of the case.
But in disregard of the court order, the state government continued to sell the land.
The high court eventually, in its final judgment, ordered the state government to give the Association and its members 549 plot of land as a matter of first priority.
Dissatisfied with the high court judgment, the government approached the Appeal Court which affirmed the judgment of the lower court on the matter.
It ordered that Lagos state should, as a matter of first priority, give back 549 plots of land to the original land owners in the Association of Shangisha landlords.
The matter went on to the Supreme Court, which also affirmed the judgment of lower courts.
The Supreme Court judgment was handed down six years ago, but Lagos State government refused to execute the judgment.
The police storm the area at about 2.30p.m. on Tuesday, to maintain law and order while marking of the houses by a court bailiff was ongoing.
As at the time of filing this report, confusion and panic pervaded the whole area.
Many of the landlords said they bought their land from Lagos State government, adding that they were not aware of litigation on the land when they bought the land for which they were given certificate of occupancy.
Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Bode George, on Thursday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to assent the Electoral Act bill (amended) saying it will remove power from the back-room leaders and hand true power to the people.
George said this when he received convener of the Lagos4Lagos movement, Mr. Olajide Adediran fondly called Jandor and his supporters in Lagos.
He said: “At this juncture, as we will be entering a new season of campaign in the next few months, I will be remissed if I fail to mention the very pivotal new bill presently on the President’s table. The direct primary bill which was overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate will not only deepen our democratic process, it will basically remove power from the back-room leaders and hand true power to the people. It is a great opportunity for President Muhammodu Buhari to ensure a great place for himself in the pantheon of our democratic heroes. He should sign this bill and the electronic transfer of result bill.”
INEC has already assured Nigerians that they are willing and capable to adopt these innovations. Mr. President must never lose this opportunity to reclaim the moral high ground in the history of our nation.
“Democracy is about the People’s will, the People’s voice, the collective participation in the guidance of the state. It is never about a privileged few determining the fate of the nation in some secret conclave. It is always about open, equitable involvement in governance.
“This may be our last opportunity to rebuild a genuine, fair and just nation that generations yet unborn will be proud of. Let Mr. President begin that process now. Let him lead this cause. History will be kind to him if he stands with the people. May the good Lord bless our nation and set us on the right path.”
On Jandor’s entry to the PDP, he said: “Here in Lagos, our party, the People’s Democratic Party, is welcoming a new infusion of massive decampees from the crumbling APC led by Mr. Abdulazeez Olajide Adediran popularly called Jandor.
“We welcome Mr. Adediran and his followers who have decided to abandon the sinking and the blighted ship of the APC for a renewed, energized, invigorated, forward looking PDP.
“Let it be known by all and sundry that the strength of all political parties reside precisely in their population.
“The more the merrier. A good political party does not turn people away. It embraces everyone who can contribute to the progress of the party.
“For those of us who are already in the People’s Democratic Party in Lagos, let us welcome the new entrants with warm, open embrace. They are coming to add values to our party.
“We know who the enemy is. We know those who are despoiling the riches of our state. We know the man who is carting away 9 billion naira every 30 days from our collective coffers.
“There is no need for unnecessary enmity. There is no need to feel threatened about our new members. We must work together to achieve victory. Everyone will be given a level playing ground to achieve their aspirations. Politics is always a game of number.
“We can only strengthen ourselves when we embrace and encourage those who are joining our team and sincerely work with them to take our state back from the prodigal mis-managers.
“I believe our people will troop out in their thousands to welcome Mr. Adediran and his followers when they make their official declaration in January.
“No one should feel threatened about the people who are joining us. The umbrella is big enough to give us all effective protection and salvaging refuge.”
In his remarks, Jandor promised to abide by the rules and regulations of the Lagos PDP.
Outgoing national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, called on Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State to speak up on allegations that the party collected money from him in the build up to his emergence as the PDP governorship candidate in the 2020 Edo governorship election.
At a valedictory session held in honour of the Prince Uche Secondus-led leadership at the party’s secretariat, yesterday, PDP denied demanding or collecting financial gratification before handing Obaseki the ticket of the party in September 2020 governorship election.
Speaking at the event, outgoing National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, said: “Let me state without mincing words that Governor Obaseki owes members of this National Working Committee, NWC, the responsibility of clearing our names before the public.
“I will like to place on record that this NWC did not demand any form of gratification from Obaseki before he got the ticket of our party.
“It is also important to restate that this NWC did not demand any form of ‘tax’ from Governor Obaseki neither did we collect same. He, therefore, owes it a duty to clear our names.”
Ologbondiyan’s demand is not unconnected with allegations made against the Secondus-led NWC by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, when a few months ago, he labeled them as tax collectors.
Ologbondiyan said: “Before the 2019 elections, we had already added three governors from Sokoto, Kwara, and Benue states. The Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives led a good number of their colleagues to team up with the party. The All Progressives Congress, APC, adopted a reckless maximum rigging to snatch Ekiti and Osun.
“We rebuilt the party in content and character and this made it an attraction. We came out of the election with 17 governors, the APC stole Imo State, while three governors later left the party to pursue personal endeavours which was not NWC’s fault.
“The 2018 elective national convention which produced our Presidential candidate was adjudged the best. It was keenly contested and not by consensus. At the end, none of the aspirants left the party.
“The NWC carried out reforms that stopped the use of Ghana Must Go to win nominations or tickets, restructured the workforce and adopted a smart approach. For many years, the party was unable to conduct online registration of its members. Today, we have our members registering online and our party has become digitally prepared ahead of any other party in our country.“
The valedictory session was attended by prominent party chieftains including incoming national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, national secretary-elect, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Tanimu Turaki, among others.
...How Kalu's name entered the visitor's list - IPOB
December 4, 2021
By Chinonso Alozie – Owerri
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, lead counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, on Saturday alleged that the operatives of the Director of Security Services, DSS, delayed the IPOB’s lawyers from seeing the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu just for the former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, to have suspected private meeting with him (IPOB leader).
The IPOB’s lawyer disclosed this in a statement obtained by Vanguard in Owerri.
He said it was the genesis of the war of words that has been on between the former governor and the IPOB’s legal team.
On how the name of the former governor entered into the visitor’s list to DSS headquarters, he told Vanguard; “On or about 11 am on the 29th of November, 2021, I received a phone call from a reliable source. The latter informed me that a certain Orji Uzor Kalu expressed a desire to see my client, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“The intended visit was ostensibly in further pursuit of the political solution to the unconditional release of my client. As I had before then resolved not to constitute myself an impediment to the exploration of any such political solution, I welcomed the idea.
“Consequently, I was constrained to substitute the name of one of the persons already scheduled for the visit for the name of Orji Uzor Kalu. I then proceeded to submit a fresh list containing the name of the latter to the relevant authorities on or about noon of the aforementioned date.
“When the team of lawyers who were scheduled to visit my client arrived at the Reception Hall of the headquarters of the Department of State Security, DSS, on or about 1.55 pm of the aforementioned date, they were informed that Orji Uzor Kalu, whose name appeared on the list at the 11th hour, would not be allowed to see Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“The reason for this decision was clear. As the name of Orji Uzor Kalu was merely submitted on the day of the intended visit, and not earlier as was the practice, he could not, without permission and or clearance from superior authority, be granted access to visit my client in the detention facility of the DSS.
“Orji Kalu’s hypocritical pretensions was worsened by the fact that he is a politician(and a wily one at that) and is not related to Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu either by affinity or consanguinity.
This position taken by the Detaining Authority did not come as a surprise. So I thought.”
How the trouble started Ejiofor said: “Long before the 29th of November, 2021, it consistently and variously denied certain persons of sundry political persuasions, and proven elder statesmen, access to Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in DSS custody. A case in point is that of Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former Governor of Anambra State.
The inclusion of the name of Orji Uzor Kalu at the 11th hour in the fresh list submitted to the DSS on the day of the intended visit had the effect of temporarily stultifying the access operatives of the DSS could easily have afforded the lawyers.
“So I thought honestly. But there was more to it. The lawyers were kept waiting till on or about 3.20 pm of that day when they were finally cleared to ingress the detention facility. At first, I thought this delay to be inexplicable and unreasonable, but, with hindsight, I concluded that the delay was deliberate.
“It was occasioned by the fact that Orji Uzor Kalu had earlier arrived at the DSS facility and had gone to visit Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu at the time the lawyers were forced to wait for a pretended reason.
“I then became convinced that the objection that was taken at the inclusion of the name of Orji Uzor Kalu at the 11th hour in the list of persons scheduled for the visit was a ruse, a smokescreen, and a deceptive ploy, ingeniously but mischievously contrived to hoodwink us. It had that temporary effect.”
“The pretended reason was designed to keep us waiting while Orji Uzor Kalu had his interaction with Onyendu. The delay of about two hours was unjustified. Orji Uzor Kalu, whose name was on the list of visitors that were submitted and whose name was deceptively objected to by operatives of the DSS, had earlier arrived at the DSS facility and had, in an extremely surreptitious manner, gained access to Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in custody! Lawyers that congregated for the visit stared with open mouths when they gained access to Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and were informed by him that Orji Uzor Kalu had earlier visited him that day.”
He also alleged that the “DSS operatives at the Reception Hall were not let in on the surreptitious access that was granted to Orji Uzor Kalu. They did not know when the latter arrived at the facility and when he stole in to see Onyendu. It is for Orji Uzor Kalu to explain honestly how he gained access to Onyendu.
“If Orji Kalu did not go through the proper channel, which starts from the reception, upon the submission of a list containing the names of already scheduled visitors, how then did he gain access to Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu? Why were the extant protocols not followed?
“We hereby invite the relevant authorities of the Department of State Security to investigate this. Further, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was not informed beforehand that Orji Uzor Kalu was at the facility to see him. The information that was given to him, which he conveyed to me, was to the effect that an important personality was at the facility to see him. The identity of the so-called important personality was not disclosed to him.”
Phones › Re: Internet Penetration: Why South East Remains Lowest At 13.7 Million Users by afroniger(op): 3:20pm On Mar 02, 2022
