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Pukkah:
Igbo summit: Police lock out Ojukwu, Ekwueme, Soludo, Ngige, others •This will not guarantee free, fair elections -Atiku

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Written by Joe Nwachukwu, Taiwo Adisa and Idowu Samuel
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
THE Igbo Nation political summit scheduled to be held on Monday in Owerri, the Imo State capital, suffered a setback as the venue was invaded by law enforcement agents acting on “orders from above.”

The participants thus decided to hold the meeting in the open, outside the hotel.
Before the arrival of prominent Igbo politicians to the Samobanko Hall, in the Concorde Hotel, where the meeting was expected to hold, the management of the hotel had locked it.

Conveners of the meeting, including Chief Jim Nwobodo, Senator Ben Obi, Chief Dubem Onyia and others expressed disappointment over the development and said such meeting had been held in Kaduna, Ibadan and Akwa Ibom, without any disturbance.

According to them, “why must the Igbo nation be treated like this? We had already arrived in Owerri for the meeting only to discover that the hotel had been sealed off. Whether under the sun or in the rain, we will hold this meeting.”

According to them, they said they did not have the intention to endorse any candidate at the meeting, adding that they were convening the meeting to discuss issues relating to Igbo affairs and generations yet unborn.

Answering questions from reporters, they said the Igbo should be allowed to present a candidate that would become president of Nigeria in 2015.

The crowd which gathered in front of Concorde Hotel by 1:00 p.m was brainstorming on the next line of action on whether to force their way into the hotel or steer clear of the venue in order to hold the meeting.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that conveners of the meeting had paid for the use of the hotel facility a fortnight ago only to reach the venue and discover the place was locked.

An attempt at the last minute to pay for another venue at All Season Hotel was not successful as the management of the hotel equally refused to allow them use the place.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the prominent Igbo leaders that were in attendance for the meeting included Dr Alex Ekwueme, Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, Professor ABC Nwosu, Senator Ike Nwachukwu, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, Dr Chris Ngige and other bigwig politicians in Igboland, cutting across all political parties.

Meanwhile, former vice-president and presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has warned that the much touted free and fair elections in 2011 are at risk if the emerging tactics of intimidation of political opponents is allowed to prevail.

Atiku gave the warning on Monday when reacting to the reported attempt to disrupt the legitimately organised Igbo political stakeholders conference in Owerri.

He condemned the shabby treatment meted out to the Igbo patriots that compelled them to hold their conference in the sun.

The former vice-president, who condemned the action in the strongest terms, said the harassment of dissenting voices was inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and the PDP Constitution, which guaranteed freedom of association and assembly.

“This certainly is not the road to free, fair and credible elections in 2011, but a familiar road travelled.

This may lead to increasing doubts about the commitment of the present administration to conduct elections that would command respect and acceptance.

“The 1999 Constitution as amended and the constitution of our great party, the PDP, have enshrined the rights of Nigerians to freely meet, associate and exchange ideas. Under no circumstance must that right be compromised,” he said.

He said it was incredible that respected and law-abiding public figures like former Vice-President Ekwueme should be subjected to public humiliation and denied their freedom to meet and associate.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/11664-igbo-summit-police-lock-out-ojukwu-ekwueme-soludo-ngige-others-this-will-not-guarantee-free-fair-elections-atiku

Obiagu1:
The #4 resolution should be activated immediately to sensitize the people of the need to achieve resolution #3

3. The conveners of the conference have also resolved that the Igbo 2015 presidency project is nonnegotiable

4. The conveners of the conference also resolved that Political Action Committees be set up in all Igbo states, local governments and wards that will educate our people, popularize Igbo political emancipation and survival ideas and drive the key agendas captured in resolution 3 above.

Obiagu1:
You didn't answer my question, does Ohakim have power over SSS to do something that'll hurt his boss, GEJ? If he used thugs, then it will make sense.

Obiagu1:
Then what will Ohakim benefit personally from disrupting it and to use SSS as well, does he have the power?

Obiagu1:
Who does Ohakim support? I think Ohakim needs to save his a.s.s so he has to support the incumbent.

If GEJ was around, he could have focused on the summit and find a way to manipulate it but it coincided with the UN assembly, so he had to focus on the UN instead. So the only option he had was to disrupt it till he returns. This is what I feel.

excanny:
If Ohakim was truly involved in all of this, then this makes his second faux pas, having been linked to a previous shameful act of beating up a cleric.

I'm really begining to lose the respect I have for him as the best performing SE governor. It's sad!

Obiagu1:
He’s in New York and my understanding is that he wanted to halt the summit from holding since he’s not around and to prevent the attendees from conspiring against him since he banked so much on SE vote, then return home and appease them through any means.

Unfortunately for him, with the caliber of people there, security operatives could not entirely prevent them from holding the meeting which was held in the open. So I see it as a move turned sour.

Obiagu1:
chyz, are you a f.ool? When OBJ used Chris Uba to burn down Awka government house, who didn’t know it was OBJ? Even market women knew and urged everyone not to react to avoid declaration of state of emergency in Anambra state which was the aim. Open your eyes!

[size=15pt]Emergency order in Nigerian state[/size]
Impeached governor of Ekiti State, Nigeria

https://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42205000/jpg/_42205608_nigeria_ekiti.jpg
Mr Fayose says he is still in Ekiti State


Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has declared a state of emergency in Ekiti State, following the impeachment of the local governor for corruption.

Mr Obasanjo said he was taking action because the governor's sacking had been unconstitutional, and to prevent Ekiti descending into chaos.

Both the chief justice and the attorney-general have said Ayo Fayose's sacking was illegal.

Political tension is rising in Nigeria, ahead of elections next year.

Mr Fayose has denied reports that he had fled the country, saying he was in hiding because he feared for his life but remained governor.

His deputy Biodun Olujimi, who was also impeached, says she is now acting governor, although the state assembly has installed former speaker Friday Aderemi.

'Ridiculous'

President Obasanjo told national television that the governor's impeachment was "a clear case of usurpation of power."

"We have come to a sad, ridiculous and unacceptable situation in Ekiti where we have three governors."

Map
"It is dangerous for our democracy to allow this flagrant violation."

Brigadier General Tunji Olorun (rtd), a former military state governor during military rule, has been appointed for six months has been sworn in in the capital, Abuja.

Ekiti State is only the second state to witness a state of emergency in Nigeria since President Obasanjo came to power in 1999.

Plateau State was placed under a state of emergency for nine months in 2004 after ethnic violence.

Governors under fire

On Monday, Ekiti State House of Assembly voted to remove Mr Fayose from power but several senior officials have condemned the impeachment.

The Nigerian Bar Association called for a boycott of Ekiti State courts until the matter was resolved.

Nigeria's remaining 35 governors met President Obasanjo and informed him that they would not accept Mr Aderemi at their Governors' Forum.

If the Ekiti State matter is not resolved, it could turn into a major crisis for the whole country, says the BBC's Mannir Dan Ali in Abuja.

Some senior Nigerian lawyers, however, say the impeachment reflected the "beauty of democracy".

Mr Fayose is the third governor to be impeached since Nigeria returned to multiparty democracy in 1999.

Two other governors are currently facing impeachment proceedings from their local legislatures over allegations of corruption.

Nigeria's anti-corruption agency says it is investigating two-thirds of the country's governors.

While Mr Fayose was being sacked, MPs in Anambra State began impeachment proceedings against Governor Peter Obi.

Early last week, Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye was served with an impeachment notice in controversial circumstances that sparked riots in the central state.

Critics of President Obasanjo say his anti-corruption drive is a cover for a political witch-hunt.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6065188.stm

Mariory:
It's also on the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11426565

truly:
So why accept a criminal into the party you lead after the man has decamped to APGA
Must PDP win Abia at all costs?
And if you must win Abia, must it through a tainted person
Why can PDP not set an example
Daniel is GJ's campaign co-ordinator
Akala is the one that christened GJ JEGA
Show me yoiur friend and I will tell you some thing
PDP is an election result-winning machine
No human feeling at all

Beaf:
What can be expected from a man like this?


@topic
It is not an easy process to declare a state of emergency and its a process strewn with traps and potholes. I election season, it might be really delicate to declare a state of emergency, especially with the current set of desperate candidates that have threatened to throw the country into turmoil.

snowdrops:
Sickening. Whats so funny when someone says they might use children for money rituals?

Youngichou:
they are not  bastards but  IGBO GUYS desperately looking for Money.

henryhemon:
And same sily governor is comin out 4 2nd tenure.And goodluck jonathan is supporting him.pathetic.Nigeria is in trouble!

oludashmi:
In Aba.

I dont know but cant you imagine that people kidnapped everyday are kept some where in that same Aba and no one, not even the police have been able to locate it, yet they live day and night in that same Aba. The journalists that were kidnapped few months ago said the same thing. They said the kidnappers are well informed by colleagues in the country and even outside the country, so they knew when the police were moving closer to their zone and kept moving them from one place to the other.

The journalists (and other released victims) also mentioned how they saw corpses on the way as they were being moved from place to place and come corpses were without some parts of their body.

believing or not, pple fall victim every hour and day and they havent be awarded limousines or national honourary awards for lying instead we even hear more terrible ones that are being told by the day.

oludashmi:
Very annoying in a state where a governor exists!

An igbo friend said long time ago (when NDeltans started kidnapping expatriates and citizens for their rights) that we should watch out cos when Igbo guys will hijack this kidnapping stuff, it will be a tip-of-an-ice-bag compared to those who started it. Indeed, it is happening.

A woman called Star FM (Lagos) this morning and narrated hw someone she knows was kidnapped in Aba and on getting to the kidnappers zone, there were over 60 pple tied down and being negotiated with their families. She said right in their presence, they killed 2 people whose families did not respond to their ransom because some ritualists were always ready to pay for their body parts.

A state of emergency should be declared in that state.

[size=15pt]Police stop Igbo Political Forum’s meeting[/size]
Tuesday, 28 September 2010 00:00 Johnkennedy Uzoma, Owerri


Tension prevailed in Owerri, the capital of Imo State yesterday when security agents blocked former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, former Senate President Senator Ken Nnamani, former state governor Chief Achike Udenwa, former Central Bank governor Prof Charles Soludo and former Ebonyi governor Dr. Sam Egwu from using the Concord Hotel to hold a meeting of the Igbo Political Forum. Among other Igbo dignitaries present for the event were former Governor Chris Ngige, Prof ABC Nwosu, Chief Jim Nwobodo, Sen. Ben Obi, Prof. Chinwe Obaji, and retired Air Vice Marshall Luck Ochulo.

The gates of two other leading hotels in Owerri, All Seasons Hotel and Modotels Owerri owned by the former Vice President were equally locked by agents of the State Security Service (SSS) to prevent the organizers of the forum from holding their summit.

A large number of heavily armed Mobile Policemen stationed at the premises of the three hotels to prevent the group from holding the meeting. However, the event was held outside the hotel’s hall. The large number of delegates sweated profusely as they stood in the hot sun to hold the meeting.

Chief Alex Ekuweme, in his speech, said that the purpose of the forum was to chart a new course for the Igbo nation. He denied insinuations that the forum was called to endorse a candidate, adding that the meeting would rather afford Igbos the opportunity to discuss issues affecting them, especially in the present political situation in Nigeria. Ekwueme assured that at the end of their discussion the forum would recommend a consensus candidate that would have the interest of the Igbo nation at heart.

In his welcome address, Chairman of the Igbo Political Forum Dr. Sam Okeke said the summit was called so that Igbos will talk to themselves and out of free will chart a cause for their realization of their destiny.

He said rumours that the forum was going to endorse a candidate for the 2011 presidency was false. He also said an Igbo presidency in 2015 is irrevocable, adding that Igbos are ready to collaborate with whoever will make that possible.

He said that while the Igbos have had the offer from the North, they are yet to have one single approach from the South-South zone, describing it as “unwise.”

Former Governor of old Anambra State Chief Jim Nwobodo expressed dismay over the refusal by the hotel to allow the summit to hold in their hall, saying payment for the hall had already been made and they have the receipt.

Former Vice President and PDP presidential aspirant Atiku Abubakar condemned yesterday’s events in Owerri, saying the much touted free and fair elections in 2011 is at risk if the emerging tactics of intimidation of political opponents is allowed to prevail.

He condemned “the shabby treatment meted out to Igbo patriots including former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, former Senate President Ken Nnamani, former Governors Chief Achike Udenwa and

Dr. Sam Egwu, Prof ABC Nwosu, Chief Dubem Onyia and Senator Ben Obi, among others that compelled them to hold their conference in the open air under the sweltering sun.” he said

the harassment of dissenting voices is inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution. He said it is incredible that respected and law abiding public figures like former Vice President Ekwueme should be subjected to this level of public humiliation and denied their freedom to meet and associate.

http://www.dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3572:police-stop-igbo-political-forums-meeting&catid=2:lead-stories&Itemid=8

Echidime:
If the people that were refuse usage of the hotel they paid for are really angry about it,let them do the needful,as we all know ONLY IGBO's can rain down fire on the unity of nigeria, every other tribe are just noise makers

OgidiBoy:
^^^ I'm not very good at reading Igbo, but are you even sure that's Igbo ?

MShittu:
Goodluck isnt reaaaaaally creating much of an impression on me at the moment.
I mean he's sposed 2 be for democracy
This kinda meeting IS democracy in action

mikeansy:
Freedom of choice is part of democracy.

All should be allowed to air their views!!!

Reference:
Good move. We must never, never, never return to 1985. The future belongs to civilians, the future belongs to those who have not been there before. The future belongs to the youth. The future of leadership belongs to the educated and enlightened. The future belongs to pluralism. The future belongs to leaders who have an iota of respect for the aspirations of the led. The endorsement is an internal PDP affair, for delegates only. It does not say you and I have to vote for Jonathan but it is a clear signal to those we donot want that the time is up.

bonnyface210:
Hello fellow nairalanders I need your advice on this issue which has been bothering me for sometime now. I fell in love with this lady who also shows a sign of wanting me to approach her. I approach her immediately I saw the sign in her face and decided to ask her out in which she immediately agreed without disagreement. We dated for about three weeks without any sex or romance as my intention was to get married to her and I wouldn’t like to rush into her so that she will not be thinking that I am just after sex and nothing else.  Unfortunately I later discovered from one of her friend in a boarding school that she is a lesbian. To my greatest surprise she called me on phone one faithful that we can no longer continue. I am very convinced that this recent development came as a result of her lesbianism act because I know she is in love with me by her wanting to always be with me whenever I am around. Fellows, I love this lady so much that I will want to get married to her, but first I need your advice on what to do to change her lesbianism nature if it is possible. Please good advice and no insult as we all are here to learn.