₦airaland Forum

Ekiti Speaker accuses Fayose of freezing Assembly’s accounts

NOVEMBER 13, 2014 BY KAMARUDEEN OGUNDELE
19 Comments

Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin | credits: nationalmirroronline.net
The Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, has accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of freezing the bank accounts of the state House of Assembly.

He also expressed worry over alleged “incessant blackmail and intimidation” of the Assembly by the governor over the refusal of the 19 All Progressives Congress members to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party. The PDP has seven members in the Assembly.

He alleged that the action of the governor ran contrary to the dictates of democracy.

But Fayose has described the allegations as “untrue,” saying that Omirin was only playing politics.

He also denied asking anybody to either insult or assault the Speaker.

The Speaker, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Wole Olujobi, described the latest allegation that the Assembly demanded N135m for the screening of commissioner nominees “as a propaganda taken too far.”

Omirin, who said he would not have reacted if not for the public that could be deceived by the allegations, expressed worry over reports portraying the legislature as working against the governor’s bid to constitute his cabinet.

Describing some media reports (not The PUNCH) on the nominees as misleading, Omirin explained that, “The standard practice is to present the list of the nominees in the plenary while the nominees will follow with the submission of their credentials. They will be screened before confirmation.

“The governor sent three nominees on Monday and the list was read in the Parliament that day. Since it is a public document, we read the letter on the second day in the plenary. Nobody submitted any credential. We don’t know the nominees.

“They have not submitted their credentials for the appropriate committees to screen them. It is surprising that the governor expects the House to confirm the nominees as sent. This is strange in parliamentary conduct.”

Omirin regretted that the governor responded by freezing the bank accounts of the House of Assembly, saying one arm of government cannot close down the activities of the other.

He said, “How can you elevate intimidation and blackmail to an art of governance? The Chief Judge was blackmailed that he took a bribe of N20m to stall hearing on local council development areas case and another N200m to reassign the E-Eleven’s perjury case to Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi to return a guilty verdict on the governor.

“After the judiciary had been blackmailed to submission, it is now the turn of the parliament to be brought to its knees by blackmailing members and freezing the accounts of the House as if the House is a department in the Governor’s Office.”

According to him, PDP thugs in the wee hours of Tuesday stormed and ransacked the homes of members of the legislature, who included Kayode Fasakin, Kehinde Boluwade and Olasehinnde Ogunrinde, after the Assembly pointed out to the governor that the subsisting case on the local government was responsible for the Assembly’s refusal to treat his request for the reconstitution of the LGAs.

Omirin threatened Fayose that the legislators mentioned in the bribery allegation would seek redress in court.

He added that the Ekiti State broadcasting radio and television stations would be sued for libel over their broadcasts.

But Fayose, in a reaction by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, said, “The allegations are very untrue. Governor Fayose has not ordered the freezing of the account of the State House of Assembly. And neither has the governor asked anybody to either insult or assault the Speaker.

“The Speaker is only playing politics and maligning the governor. The Speaker should understand that today Fayose is his governor, and the office is sacred, he is the symbol of Ekiti people.

“If he, in the name of politics, continues to denigrate that office, he is denigrating Ekiti people. Also, if the Omirin-led House has refused to screen the nominees sent to them, it is a disservice to Ekiti people.

“They should know that they have not bruised Fayose by their actions but Ekiti people, who earnestly demand for progress and good governance by voting for Fayose. Ekiti people are watching them and their dirty politics. If anybody has assaulted him, the police are there to report the matter to instead of accusing the governor of threat.”
http://www.punchng.com/news/ekiti-speaker-accuses-fayose-of-freezing-assemblys-accounts/

Walahi, i put all effort to read the story, but its too long. Any story that is too long on NL, i dont always read

BENIN—Following the protest last week by casual workers at Benin Central Hospital, Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday, ordered the suspension of the Managing Director of the hospital, Dr. Kayode Iyasere, and the demotion and compulsory retirement of the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Health, Dr. Ofure Eboreme.

Comrade Adams Oshomole
Casual workers in the hospital protested last week over unpaid salaries after they accused the state government of alleged failure to pay their wages.
But it was gathered that the governor who gave orders six months ago that all casual workers should be regularized, was embarrassed by the protest and decided to deal with the officers for alleged failure to carry out government’s directive.
The crisis was said to have started after government’s directive that all revenues accrued in the hospital should be paid into the government’s account.
This directive, Vanguard was informed, made it impossible for the hospital to pay the casual workers since they no longer controlled the revenues.
A source at the hospital said: “These casual workers have been very helpful because government has not employed workers for a long time now, and as a result, there is paucity of staff. These casuals help as security, generator operatives, and ward orderlies. They sometimes help nurses and doctors in the wards. In fact, the Permanent Secretary, who is a surgeon, has been managing the situation to ensure that the place moves forward.
“Unfortunately for them, they could no longer pay the casual workers because of the new government policy that all revenues be paid into the government account. So they owed the workers and that led to the protest. It is unfortunate that the Permanent Secretary was affected in this shake up but the man is the one that has been trying to make this hospital work.”
However, Commissioner for Labour and Establishment, Comrade Didi Adodo, said the protest was embarrassing to government since “the governor, six months ago, ordered that all casual workers should be regularized. The management of the hospital, including the Permanent Secretary, are supposed to implement government policies but they failed to do that. The worst of it all, is the issue of monthly payment of N10,000 to the casual workers when the minimum wage is N18,000.”
Adodo added that the governor had already directed that all casual workers in the state should be regularized, while the retired ones should be paid off and “the money to pay them had been released by the state government. That is why government felt embarrassed by the protest.”

Kaduna State governor, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, has dismissed the assertion of APC governorship hopeful Nasir El-Rufai that the future of the state is bleak because of underdevelopment as “outright lies” and a display of a huge disconnect with the people he aspires to govern. Gov. Mukhtar Ramalan Yero

The remarks are contained in a statement by Yero’s spokesman, Ahmed Abdullahi Maiyaki, who said that the administration of Governor Yero remains very popular in throughout the State and is working tirelessly to improve the overall living conditions of the people.

“Our advice is while on this sojourn as an ‘accidental politician’, El-Rufa’i should respect the sensibilities of the people of Kaduna State, who are much better informed on the true state of affairs in Kaduna State,” he said, adding that the former minister cannot deceive the people, “many of whom he once chased out of Abuja and dissociated with.”

He said that Kaduna, under Yero, has seen improvements in security, and that the people have shown genuine willingness to live peacefully with one another.

“It is an incontrovertible fact that Kaduna State witnessed improved security and peaceful atmosphere since the emergence of Governor Yero in December 2012,” he said. “There has been reduction in crime rates as well as increased mutual understanding among the diverse ethnic groups in the State. Kaduna

In the area of education, the spokesman gave the example of the West Africa Examinations Council SSC examinations this year, where he said that Kaduna State came third in overall national standing.

Citing other achievements, Maiyaki said, “The construction/rehabilitation of over 187 schools, recruitment of additional 1800 teachers and training of teachers in core subjects at secondary school level has yielded positive result. In the Health Sector, Kaduna State has emerged as the first State in the North-West to be free from polio in the last 24 months. This is verifiable if the former minister cared to check.

“It is also on record that the Yero administration has conducted capitalization of 457 health facilities including; 29 secondary health facilities, 352 Primary Health Centres, 5 Faith based secondary health facilities and 18 PHCs faith based facilities. The administration also initiated construction of 36 Primary Health Centres across the State. The projects are presently at various stages of completion.”

Other achievements attributed to Yero in the statement include:

Civil Servants are paid their salaries and allowances as and when due; Kaduna is one of the few States in the country where workers are not owed salaries, allowances and other benefits.

The Yero administration consistently provides support to farmers in all 255 wards in the State with over 10,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer per annum; assorted fertilizers shared to farmers free.

Kaduna state Government and the Bank of Industry/Bank of Agriculture have provided N2 billion for disbursement as loans to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and farmers respectively. Government has also procured and distributed tractors to both small and large scale farmers.

In the last 23 months, the Yero administration has successfully completed over 50 percent of all projects initiated by past administrations.

Governor Yero completed rural electrification projects in over 31 communities, and also completed several rural feeder roads.

The Yero administration has trained over 7,650 youths and women in various vocations, each beneficiary receiving a starter pack and start-up capital at the end of their training with which to establish their own businesses.

In the 23 months of the Yero administration, Kaduna State has maintained positive rating by the Fitch Rating agency.

Yero is providing the people of Kaduna with stable democratic leadership that adheres strictly to Rule of Law and respect for human dignity.
Source:
http://saharareporters.com/2014/11/05/kaduna-state’s-future-not-bleak-yero-warns-el-rufai

Jonathan’s critics need psychiatric test – Okupe

President Goodluck Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, said on Tuesday that critics of the President needed to be examined by psychiatrists.

Okupe said this while reacting to the statement by a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, in which the ex-VP raised the alarm over the activities of the members of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in the North-East.

Atiku had alleged that if the activities of the insurgents were not quickly curtailed, they could overrun the entire region.

He also berated the leadership of the country, wondering what it had been doing to curtail the criminal activities of the members of the sect.

But Okupe said such statements were not expected from Atiku, who the presidential aide said had been part of the system.

He said, “Those people saying that this government is clueless need psychiatric test. From now on, anybody who says this government is clueless should be referred to a psychiatrist.

“It is obvious that people are also trying to make mileage of insurgency. On Monday, a very notable member of the Nigerian leadership institution, in particular Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, took a swipe at the Federal Government and at the President.

“You know, it’s difficult to comment publicly about people who have held very important and highly dignified position in our polity, but when people go to the extent of trying to make political gains out of national tragedy, it is difficult not to say something because this is part of the misinformation which the Nigerian public has been subjected to.

“Atiku said that we have problems with leadership, both political leadership and military leadership. For a former Vice President, I believe the comments passed by Atiku Abubakar, I don’t want to use the word ‘irresponsible’, but I will say it is a little bit out of place.

“It is not something you expect from an elder statesman, somebody who has been in the system and who understands how government works.”

Okupe, who said he was angry with the statement of Atiku, said it was wrong for someone aspiring to lead the country to speak ill of the armed forces because he would command the same military if elected.

He alleged that it was statements from people like Atiku that emboldened the insurgents to take up arms against the state.

“I remember very well that before the 2011 elections, it was the people like Atiku Abubakar who said that those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable.

“That was his statement and that was what poured out some of these young people who have been brainwashed to take up armed against their state,” he said.

He insisted that the government of Jonathan was doing everything possible to contain insurgency, adding that there was hardly any country not currently battling with insurgency.

Okupe said insurgency remained the problem facing the country and that government had been battling it and would overcome it, especially with the calibre of people serving in the government.

He also added that the present government remained the best since independence in 1960.

He said, “We have capable people who have made name running this economy; people like (Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun) Aganga; (Minster of Finance, Ngozi) Okonjo-Iweala and others and people are saying this government is clueless.

“How can these capable people be running an economy where the government is clueless. Is this possible?

“But I want to say here that Jonathan administration is the most successful since 1960.”
Source : http://www.punchng.com/news/jonathans-critics-need-psychiatric-test-okupe/

Source: http://saharareporters.com/2014/11/04/el-rufai-formally-declares-buhari-says-his-governorship-will-solve-kaduna-problems

General Muhammadu Buhari this afternoon in Kaduna declared total support for Mallam Nasir El-Rufai’s governorship ambition in Kaduna state in 2015 elections.

Muhammadu Buhari and Nasir El Rufai in Kaduna


Speaking at the El-Rufai’s public declaration, Buhari, who addressed the audience said the people of the state needs El-Rufai to rescue the state from bad leadership and decay,.

Buhari said “I am here to ask deliberately for your support for El-Rufai, he is the right man to fix Kaduna right. He is courageous and has what it takes to perform. He is the solution to your problems; you need sincere and competent leaders like him.”

El-Rufai in his address said, “I consulted widely with people –from traditional rulers, respected elders and public officials that can speak out, as well as ordinary people who have no voice but rely on someone to speak for them. My purpose was to listen to the people and understand what they wanted from the state government and how the government and the people can work together to develop our state.
“To say that I was shocked by the level of neglect is an understatement.

Our road networks have fallen into disrepair; our schools have no basic teaching and learning tools; our teachers are not motivated; our hospitals and clinics lack essential resources to mitigate the challenges of healthcare and our civil servants are not being sufficiently motivated.

Poverty has become worse; unemployment has become more pervasive; agricultural productivity has declined; internally generated revenues are too low to even pay salaries. The picture is indeed very bleak.”



Below is his full speech:



Kaduna Will Be Great Again

Speech delivered by Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai on November 3rd, 2014 at his Formal Declaration to Run for Governor of Kaduna State



Protocols:

My Dear People of Kaduna State,

Over the last few months, I have traversed all the 23 local government areas in Kaduna State and visited tens of communities. Some of the places I visited were so remote, isolated and cut off from government that it would have been difficult to believe that they were part of Kaduna State.

I consulted widely with people –from traditional rulers, respected elders and public officials that can speak out, as well as ordinary people who have no voice but rely on someone to speak for them. My purpose was to listen to the people and understand what they wanted from the state government and how the government and the people can work together to develop our state.

To say that I was shocked by the level of neglect is an understatement. Our road networks have fallen into disrepair; our schools have no basic teaching and learning tools; our teachers are not motivated; our hospitals and clinics lack essential resources to mitigate the challenges of healthcare and our civil servants are not being sufficiently motivated. Poverty has become worse; unemployment has become more pervasive; agricultural productivity has declined; internally generated revenues are too low to even pay salaries. The picture is indeed very bleak.

Kaduna State, which used to be known for its industries, now barely has flourishing or profitable factories.. Even basic sanitation is absent because Kaduna and most of our local government area headquarters are being overtaken by garbage.

What I saw in the course of my visits and consultations and what both leading politicians and the people told me further reaffirmed my commitment to the decision I made to devote the rest of my life to public service as a way of giving back to the community; to working with my brothers and sisters across Kaduna State and beyond to uplift our state; to building a united state; driving out poverty and making Kaduna the first among equals in Nigeria.

Ladies and gentleman, we must move Kaduna State from a state where people live in mutual suspicion; where few people feel safe or secure and where nothing gets done. It is disheartening that Kaduna State which used to be a melting pot of religions, cultures and industry has become a battlefield of ethnic and religious divisions due to incessant conflicts, denial of opportunities and relentless narrowing of the space for political freedom and expression. We now have a state where a small self-centered clique controls the state’s resources while the generality of Kaduna people are excluded from political and economic opportunities.

Today, our state is littered with uncompleted projects, discarded plans and broken promises.

But we are too good for that; the people of Kaduna state are too educated, too talented and too crucial to Nigeria to remain under the current state of poor leadership and lack of direction. We need to come together, overcome the politics of division and harness our energies around a cause that would lift us out of the quagmire of political division and economic inertia.

As we are today, who can tell me what has been done with the hundreds of billions of naira that Kaduna State has received from the federation account in the last seven years or so? What old projects have been completed? What new ones have been initiated? What plans are in place for the future? Indeed, do we even have a future in Kaduna State under the current administration?

Evidently, the answer is NO!

Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot deny that the stagnation in Kaduna State at present is mainly because the goodwill of the people and our resources are being mismanaged.

However, we will not, and must not allow the incompetence of the current PDP government to drag us down. The reign of underdevelopment and incompetence must be ended immediately. Kaduna State is more important than one small clique that seeks to hold us to ransom and stunt our prospects. We must rise to the challenge, come together and take our destiny in our hands.

That means we must first make conscious efforts by ourselves. My dear people of Kaduna State, what can we do to improve our circumstances? Can we continue to watch nonchalantly as a few individuals destroy our state and mortgage the future of our children?

The people of Kaduna state have the power to bring about meaningful change. We have the power to free our state from corruption, greed, nepotism and incompetence. That power is guaranteed in your right to vote. And that power must be used judiciously to throw out the gross incompetence being demonstrated by those in authority today. That power is what we must use in 2015 to elect leaders that have the desire and will to move Kaduna State to the path of unity, peace, progress and prosperity.

Today, I stand before you to offer a hand of brotherhood and partnership in the mission to make Kaduna State great again. Let’s work together, man, woman, child, old and young; in the journey to knock down ethnic and religious divisions. I ask you to join me to chase out poverty forever; I ask you to join to build our state and make Kaduna great again.

The question is, what does Nasir El-Rufai have to offer Kaduna State?

As I told my brothers in FadanKagoma a few weeks ago, my vision for Kaduna State is to provide true public service with fairness, equity and justice, and on responsive and sensitive leadership to take the state to another level. I am deeply committed to the peace, development and unity of Kaduna State, and our APC administration will show equal concern for the interest of every person that is resident in our state.

Kaduna state is dear to me. I was educated in this state, from primary school to university. After graduation, I practiced my profession here in Kaduna for 15 years before I accepted responsibility to serve in the public sector. I appreciate our problems and together with our party leaders at ward, local government and state levels, we will run a responsible and participatory government.

Ladies and gentlemen, whether you are a Muslim or Christian; whether you are Hausa, Adara, Fulani, Bajju, Atyap, Ggagyi, Jaba or any of the numerous ethnic groups in the mini-Nigeria that is Kaduna State, I urge every one of our nearly eight million people to join me in the mission to make Kaduna State first among equals.

One thing that I promise to bring to the office of the Governor of Kaduna State is experience, both from the private and public sectors. In all my different engagements in the public and private sectors, I have always successfully carried out any task assigned to me. When I was given the task of restoring order to the chaos that was creeping into Abuja, not many people gave me the chance of succeeding, yet with the support of committed civil servants and political appointees, we did. Our record in Abuja shows teamwork can lead to phenomenal results.

In Abuja we constructed needed infrastructure, promoted transparency and due process. More than 27,000 Nigerians became landowners without having to bribe or lobby any official. All they did was to have complied with the land-application process. Many more - over 30,000 Nigerians - were able to buy homes by similarly complying with the rules for the purchase of government houses in Abuja.

We all can agree that Kaduna State must change for the better. If we really want change in the state, we must recognize agents of change and appreciate their vision, mission and courage to deliver. I urge you all to look at the current disorder in Kaduna State, and ask yourselves: Who has the courage, capacity and competence to clean up the mess?

I believe the APC can and will deliver that change. I am confident that our APC Kaduna Team represented here, and backed by our ideological leader, General MuhammaduBuhari, can provide the leadership to lift Kaduna State out of the debt, despair and despondency that the ruling party has thrown us into.

We will not shy away from taking difficult decisions as long as the people of Kaduna State agree that it is for the good of all. For us in Kaduna State therefore, 2015 will be a defining moment. For those worrying about the demolitions that took place in Abuja, let me assure our people that Kaduna and Abuja are completely different in history, growth and priorities. We did what needed to be done in Abuja to make it a true national capital. In contrast, what Kaduna needs are better schools, health facilities and productive farms in an atmosphere of improved peace and security. That will be the focus of APC's efforts not the scaremongering of impending demolitions!

We shall foster an environment of security of lives and property by tackling the roots of intolerance and communal violence. We shall make a priority of Transparent Governance and Improved Service Delivery by reenergizing and empowering the public service. We shall rebuild and expand water supply, rural electrification, and roads infrastructure. Our government will invest in our people by improving capacity and delivery in Health, Education and Social Welfare. We shall energetically promote Agriculture and Food Security, while implementing Land Reform as a basis for wealth creation and capital formation.

The APC Kaduna Team will implement reforms that will create a transparent and responsible local government system, that is properly funded, autonomous and technically-strengthened to be responsive and capable of delivering services at the grassroots. We are poised to take advantage of our state’s proximity to Abuja by developing new towns in locations neighboring the federal capital territory.

We are at a crossroads of risks and opportunities in our nation and our state. The choice we make in 2015 will determine whether our nation succeeds or fails. We believe that we can make Kaduna great again. I ask for your support so that we can make it happen together. We conclude with a prayer.

We pray that God chooses for Nigeria the leadership that will bring peace, prosperity and progress to our nation. We believe that General Muhammadu Buhari is that leader. We pray that God chooses for Kaduna State a governor that will usher in peace, prosperity and development in our state. We believe our team is the best placed to do this. However, the Almighty God knows best, and in the event that another aspirant for governorship is better, we pray that He chooses him or her. All our team cares about is peaceful coexistence and progress in Kaduna State. So help us God!

Thank you for honoring us with your presence. God Bless you.

jeje123:
He's more than star.

abi ooohe is a moon because osupa means moon, yeye people, den go dey give themselves titles like no mans business,,,,,osupa, doctor, professor master, oganla, saridon,,,oga oo

Lordwheez:
Well....you can start by posting cvs in social sites .....maybe you would find the son of your fada to marry......

but why this comment, u need not involve her father now

End time parents

nep2ra:
Hungry mofos

abi oo, u are right bro they are hungry ans desperate tax collectors

kolomax: I did not even understand anything

why? Are u a slow learner? Sorry

stinggy: My boss is from Hell, half-day work

Pele oo, God will reward u, by d way give me his phone no let me help u put sense in his brain for denying u your right

Lillee: Na wa oh. School don suffer.

why? Is it because of Ebola or the Eid holiday?

adebrave1: I swear, I don't know what to write

stop swearing, ok?

O0XYGEN: Ask your useless mother. Idiot.

ode ni man yi sha, he is so rude and no respect, do u have elders in your family at all, how can u just call someones mum useless, you are a douchebag

kmcutez: Mr Man, why callest me useless.

no mind him, but he didnt type useless, but senseless, check again

mikeansy: Victory for democracy At least they voted Whether yes or no. But they voted and that's what matters

abiio, they evewn voted without rigging

CharlieMaria: Y?

X

iheanyi40: bro y r u hating na

he is always booking space

iheanyi40: .

oya kill this guy

Land of ghosts

. Even though i hate space booking

Kcdojoto: First timer.......






Need some hugs

welcome boy,,,,,,

Jayne2014: blushing...

it is d frontyard that is serious oo

Idrismusty97: Your sons are on molesting spree! How long would you blame every single act they committed on the Ijaws or Muslims?

no mind dat Alfaseltzer, he is a douchebag

AlfaSeltzer: We need to get the facts of the case first.

Anyway he looks more Ijaw than Igbo. Looks like dokubo's younger cousin if you as me. Probably a muslim too.

some people make shaaa, do they have their brains in their trousers? Like this one,,,,,,,,,

Ipledge: it was 11:17pm, almost sleeping, and if u were sensible enough, you would have known its typo error.

douchebag you are, putting blame on typu error

tayoxx: why u put am inside cloth na....u for leave am outside make those two things dey jump around for your chest

haba Tayo, onisokuse ni e oo, wetin be d 2 things for her chest? Shey mangoro?