₦airaland Forum

Justice Ambrose Alagoa of the Federal High Court in Jos strikes out case against Amaju Pinnick-led board of NFF, after the Chris Giwa-led group withdraws case.

Mogidi:
They were fighting over food, just imagine them fighting over the national cake.

A fight broke out among Abia delegates at the special convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja on Wednesday
The mini convention is being held to amend parts of the party’s constitution, particularly to allow for the choice of a consensus presidential candidate for the 2015 election.
The violence at the Old Parade Ground was precipitated by two factions of delegates from Abia state.

Reports reaching Daily Trust indicate that all the security details attached to Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Waziri Tambuwal have been withdrawn by the Federal Government.

Tambuwal formally announced his defection from the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) last Tuesday.

A source told daily Trust: "Early this morning, few minutes after midnight to be precise, top level security report informed the Speaker that orders have been given for the withdrawal of his security details.”

The withdrawal of his security details may not be unconnected with his defection from the PDP which didn't go down well with the party and the presidency.

The PDP had on Tuesday called on Mr. Tambuwal to resign his position as Speaker having left the party that brought him to the House of Representatives in 2011.

Tambuwal received a warm welcome on Wednesday, a day after his formal defection at the extraordinary national convention of the APC in Abuja when he showed up at the convention ground accompanied by 160 of his APC colleagues.

He later addressed the convention expressing his delight in joining the APC and said he has embraced the APC platform as an instrument for genuine change and enduring national development.

As the number four citizen of the country in the hierarchy of protocol, the Speaker is entitled to a round the clock security made up of men from the Police, Civil Defence Corps and the Department of State Security (DSS).

Our source said Tambuwal was told that “a verdict will be entered against him by a Court in Abuja on Thursday. The thing here is that why not wait for the verdict before any action is taken? "

Efforts to reach the Speaker have so far proved unsuccessful. Calls and SMS sent to his spokesman Malam Imam Imam, have so far remained unanswered.
Details coming….

chukwudi44:
HE IS ONLY POSTPHONING THE DOOMSDAY.I SEE ANARCHY IN THE HOUSE ONCE SITTING RESUMES UNLESS HE DECODES TO DO THE NEEDFUL.A MINIORITY CAN NEVER PRESIDE OVER THE HOUSE.

WE WILL BE SEEING MORE OF THE CHIDI LYODS IN THE HOR IN THE DAYS TO COME

southsouthman:
Ops you forgot the part of the constitution that says a member of the national assembly stand to lose his/her seat if the person decamp away from the party for which he is voted into the house where there are no factions. So is it honourable for Tambuwal to resign knowing what the constitution says about decamping. Ops it is wrong for you to mislead the public by referring to only a section of the constitution

“Based on the provision of the 1999 Constitution and having regards to the development of PDP in my own state, Sokoto State, I hereby announce my membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“

Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said it is dangerous for any party or a politician to toy with the idea of fielding either a muslim-muslim or christian-christian ticket, given the current happenings in the polity.

He said this on Sunday, in a statement issued in Abeokuta, Ogun State, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent.
He called for sensitivity and vigilance on the part of the leadership.

He said, “It will be insensitive to the point of absurdity for any leader or any political party to be toying with Muslim- muslim or Christian-christian ticket at this juncture.

“Nigeria cannot at this stage raise the spectre and fear of Islamisation or Christianisation.

“The idea of proselytisation in any form is a grave danger that must not be contemplated by any serious-minded politician at this delicate situation in Nigeria, as this time is different from any other time.”

According to him, sensitivity is a necessary ingredient for enhancement of peace, security and stability at this point in the political discourse and arrangement for Nigeria and for encouraging confidence and trust.

He explained that disregarding the fact that there were fears that needed to be allayed at this point would amount not only to insensitivity of the highest order but would also amount to very bad politics indeed.

Two members of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon. Olugbenga Edema(Ilaje Constituency 2) and Hon. Folajimi Olaseinde-Vincent(Ose Constituency) on Thursday formally defected from the Labour Party to the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmakers made their declaration at a ceremony hosted by the Ondo State branch of the APC in Akure.

Hon. Edema, who was the only lawmaker who did not dump the Labour Party for the People’s Democratic Party along with other members of the House on the 8th of October 2014, said he was leaving the party because the LP no longer exists in the state.
He said he delayed his decision to move from the LP party because he decided to make some consultations with his people and the result of the consultation was his decision to move to the APC.

“I considered the option of going to the PDP like my colleagues but I soon discovered that the PDP in Ondo State is even more fragmented than the Labour Party from which I was coming.

“Apart from the presence of two separate state secretariats which is symptomatic of internal wrangling within the party, series of litigations, open condemnations in the media have now become the order of the day.

“Would it not be jumping from frying pan into fire? Certainly, you will agree with me that it is going to he a Herculean task for any Labour Party member migrating into the PDP to accomplish any political success in the PDP as it is presently constituted,” he said.
Hon. Olaseinde-Vincent on her part, said she was walking to freedom in her political experience as a member of the Ondo State House of Assembly.

Although she had earlier signed to decamp to the PDP with her colleagues, she had found it necessary to free herself of the problems and travails that had trailed her since she was elected as member representing Ose at the house.

She recounted her ordeal of suspension and said she was no longer intimidated or afraid having been pushed to the limits.
She said, “I did not leave Labour Party, Labour Party has left my consciousness. I am now free.”

Asked if she was not worried if she would be victimized for her action by the majority party in the house, she replied that she had suffered persecutions already and she was familiar with such intimidation.

“I will not be intimidated, I will not be bullied. I will not be pushed to the wall. Already I have been pushed to the wall, but today, I am free,” she said.

Chairman of Ondo APC, Isaac Kekemeke, who received the defecting members, said more members would soon abandon PDP for the APC.
He said, “More people would soon be joining to effect the needed change in the state.”

DONLEKAN:
OBITUARY - NAIRALAND.

A Kede iku Nairaland.

In i lai, wai na i lai, ra jiuna - A fi tedun tedun kede iku Nairaland. Eni ti o ku ni ojo kokanle logun osu kewa odun 2014. Okunfa iku Nairaland ni partisanship.

Lara awon CEO ti o kehin Nairaland ni jobless Seun Osewa.

It is not like Africans have never been successful people. The problem with African is that of managing success.

Here is a classical example of someone trying to destroy himself.

The handing over ceremony by the former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, was on Monday disrupted by angry staff who protested non-payment of their allowances.

The protesters also accused the minister and other top officials of mismanaging SURE-P funds meant for the ministry.

The workers under the aegis of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Information chapter, blocked the gates to the Radio House for hours and prevented people from entering or coming out of the building.

The infuriated staff chanted solidarity songs and carried placards with inscriptions such as: “Is SURE-P money released for the pockets of a set of people?”, “Is there no budget released for the Ministry for Information for 2014?”

Other placards read, “Enough is Enough: Management sensitivity to staff welfare is zero,” “Perm Sec. Must Go,” “Non Payment of Repatriation allowance.”

Speaking to journalists, the Chairman of the association, Adam Ogwola, said the ministry’s management has been insensitive to staff welfare.

Mr. Ogwola pointed out that staff of the ministry have not been paid their repatriation allowance, noting that with Mr. Maku’s resignation, it might not be possible to recover the funds.

The association also accused Mr. Maku of sharing a part of the SURE-P funds with top management of the ministry without recourse to staff.

Continuing, Mr. Ogwola said staff welfare had been at the lowest ebb since Mr. Maku became minister, adding that under him, the ministry could not pay statutory allowances to staff.

He questioned the budget released for the ministry under the 2014 budget and called for the immediate removal of the Permanent Secretary, Folasade Yemi-Esan.

Shortly after the protest, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the former minister said he was willing to meet with 10 representatives each from Radio Nigeria, Voice of Nigeria, VON, Ministry of Information and the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, over dinner to resolve the issues at stake.

Mr. Maku’s spokesperson, Joseph Mutuah, told PREMIUM TIMES, “There is a dialogue and everything is being resolved.”
The former minister had last Wednesday resigned his appointment to pursue his governorship ambition in Nasarawa State.

Other ministers who resigned included, Samuel Ortom of the Ministry of Trade and Investment; Nyesom Wike of the Ministry of Education and Musiliu Obanikoro of the Ministry of Defence.
The Ministers of Labour, Emeka Wogu; Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu and Minister of State for Niger Delta, Dairus Ishaku, also left their posts to run for elective offices.

raumdeuter:
The Ibo population anywhere has never made a difference. In Lagos and Kano where they are concentrated, they have never won even a councillor seat

InyinyaAgbaOku:
in other words all Lagos votes were from yorubas?

FreeGlobe:
fyi, yorubas votes is more or less inconsequential. Yorubas votes has not made anybody president. Check your history. If you like field Awolowo and Fashola as VP together, GEJ till 2019.

TribalEAST:
Why is vanguard the only new outlet spreading anti-fashola VP news? Well, they're PDP's.

egift:
Wowww!!! Am glad. Thanks for sharing and the Reference. All hands must be on deck to save Nigeria from the Claws of Corruption. God bless Nigeria!

Nigeria did not move up the ladder in latest rating by the Airport Council International (ACI) as it is number six among the top 10 African airports in 2013.
This was disclosed by the Director General of ACI world, Ms Angela Gittens who nevertheless, acknowledged that many airports in the continent have recorded growth.

The highest ranking Nigerian airport in Africa is the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and it comes behind the OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, the Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Cape Town airport, South Africa and King Chaka International Airport, Durban, South Africa.

Nigeria processed about 13 million passengers in 2013 and six million of these passengers travelled on international destinations, but the country is relatively the most underdeveloped airports among major countries in Africa.
THISDAY learnt that the major cause of setback in airport development in Nigeria was the failure of government to give the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) the free hand and target to operate.

A senior official of FAAN told THISDAY that there is too much politics in Nigeria’s aviation industry, so highly placed government officials try to influence things in the sector. This he said, explained why the nation’s airports were left to decay for years and “even when effort was made to rehabilitate them, the effort was politicised”.

The Steve Oronsaye report on how to streamline government parastatals and make them more productive, had recommended that FAAN should be made autonomous by severing it from government interferences so that it would be able to build, modernise, maintain and manage its airports as it is done in other parts of the world.

According to the rating by ACI, three of South Africa airports are the first three airports in the continent and these include the Johannesburg airport, Cape Town and that of Durban.

The former Managing Director of the FAAN, George Uriesi, told THISDAY in Durban that the secret of the success of South Africa airports is that government gave its airport management company, Airport Company, South Africa, the free hand to operate.

“I have always said that concession is the right thing to do. That is why South African airports are the way they are. They are partly privatised and government lets them operate independently. Government is a shareholder but it does not intervene. It is inactive shareholder. That is one thing that South Africa did that is very good,” Uriesi said.

He reasoned that “as long as the Managing Director of FAAN is invited every day to Abuja by the Minister of Aviation and others, there is never going to be any improvement in Nigeria’s airports because the management of FAAN needs the freedom to plan and execute programmes that will improve the airports, build new infrastructure and also provide other facilities.”

This is why many people are canvassing for the transparent concession of Nigeria’s airports, as they see it as the only option in which government could regulate instead of interfering in the management of these airports.

Some FAAN officials told THISDAY that instead of concession, government should make FAAN autonomous, give it yearly target on the standards the airports should be.

“Today, Nigeria needs all hands on deck to deal with our
pressing problems of security including the issue of Chibok
girls, widening inequality, infrastructure, impunity, corruption,
poverty and youth education, skill-acquisition, empowerment
and employment.
“These are issues of concern to most Nigerians. We all need to
join hands to move Nigeria forward. I don’t need to be begged
for that,”.

“Today, Nigeria needs all hands on deck to deal with our pressing problems of security including the issue of Chibok girls, widening inequality, infrastructure, impunity, corruption, poverty and youth education, skill-acquisition, empowerment and employment.
“These are issues of concern to most Nigerians. We all need to join hands to move Nigeria forward. I don’t need to be begged for that.

pro01:
Kindly refer us to the relevant section/sub-section in the constitution. Thanks in advance.

LMAyedun:
Maybe after the inauguration. Lol!