Immediate past Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Hon Dele Olugbemi has disclosed how he took the embattled former Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State, Mr Temitope Aluko to Governor Ayodele Fayose on Sunday, saying; It was a lie that Governor Fayose stage-managed the reconciliatory meeting and that himself, and Aluko prostrated for Fayose three times to beg the governor to forgive him (Aluko).
Olugbemi, who said he was surprised that Aluko could address the press yesterday and deny that he willingly attended the Sunday night meeting with Governor Fayose and that he spoke to the press under duress after the meeting, disclosed that he, out of genuine concern for peace took Aluko to Eko Hotel, Lagos, venue of the meeting.”

He said; “The existing cordial relationship between Aluko and myself brought us to a discussion that eventually led to the last Sunday April 3, 2016 meeting.

The former speaker said Aluko cannot deny that he re-affirmed that Governor Fayose remained his mentor, leader and father, that all his previous actions were devils work, and that he was under spiritual attack when he was saying all those things against the Governor.

“Even when the Governor told him to sit down, he prostrated and I also prostrated along with him to beg the Governor for total forgiveness.

“The Governor asked Aluko four questions: whether he knew the implication of his coming to him; why he behaved in that manner; how old he was; and whether he wanted the reconciliation to be total or partial and he (Aluko) replied that he knew the consequence of coming to him and that if he did not want total reconciliation, he would not come to see the Governor.

“At this point, Aluko stood up again, saying my mentor, my leader, my egbon, I am your boy, you know, I am your boy. Whatever step I have taken before now, forgive me. Aluko and myself prostrated again.”

Narrating how the meeting was arranged and held, in a statement he personally signed, Olugbemi said; “Before we agreed to meet in Lagos, I first suggested that the meeting should take place in Ekiti State Government House after the wedding of the niece of Governor Fayose but Aluko said he was not too comfortable with the arrangement because of fear that he might be arrested.

“I re-assured him that the intention of the meeting was not to arrest, embarrass or humiliate him rather than to reconcile with Governor Fayose, whom he called his mentor.

“In the morning of Sunday, April 3, we agreed to meet in Lagos and I left Ekiti for Lagos. I got to Lagos at 12 noon; I lodged in a hotel at Magodo Area of Lagos.

“At 1 pm, Aluko called me to confirm my hotel room number and I gave it to him. Aluko called me back and promised to be with me within 20 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, he called me again, and I told him that I was barbing my hair at a salon in Magodo. He asked me to come out of the salon and we met. He came in a blue Ford Jeep together with his woman.

“I joined them in the car and we drove to my hotel room where Aluko stayed with me till 2 pm. He later instructed me to call the Governor to ascertain the time and place of the meeting.

“I called the Governor, he did not pick the call. I later called Chief of Staff to the Governor. The Chief of Staff told me to call either the ADC or CSO to the Governor for further directive. The CSO told us that the meeting will take place at the Governor’s House residence in Magodo at 7.30pm.

“I told Aluko but he was not too comfortable with venue of the meeting. He said if the meeting is about reconciliation, it should hold elsewhere and not the Governor’s residence. I pleaded with the Governor that the meeting should hold elsewhere as demanded by Tope Aluko, which the governor obliged.

“All these I was doing because I wanted the crisis to be totally resolved.

“Immediately we were told of a new venue for the meeting, Aluko left my hotel room for Victoria Island and promised to come back at 7pm. At 7.45pm, Aluko came back to meet me at my Magodo hotel. At 9pm, I called the Governor to inform him of Aluko’s arrival. The Governor asked if I was sure Aluko was with me and I said yes.

“The Governor told to us to come to Eko Hotel and his friend will welcome us and that he would join us later. We drove in Aluko’s car, myself, a woman, a driver and my Personal Assistant.

“We got to the Eko Hotel at 9.50pm. We were taken to the Hotel waiting room. Myself, Aluko, ADC, the Governor’s friend entered the same lift to the fourth floor of the hotel.

“Inside the hotel room, we prayed and I opened the floor for discussion as agreed by Aluko. In my submission, I pleaded with the Governor to forgive and forget about the previous comments and allegations made by Aluko against him since he is father to us all. Aluko interjected and said that I should allow him to lead the talk.

“The Governor told him to stop fooling himself at 50 and since he allowed himself to be used by the APC at 50, what legacy will he leave for his children?The Governor told him that there is going to be reactions to this meeting by the
APC and therefore advised Aluko switch-off his phones and rest for at least for two weeks to avoid counter allegations. The Governor said that the APC will fire back at Aluko because of the money he had received from the APC to malign him.

“Aluko promised the Governor to dismantle all the structure he had put in place to attack the Governor. The Governor said he had forgiven him totally and that he should go and sin no more.

“The governor told Aluko that he would call soon and that he would need to study him (Aluko) very well within two weeks because he could go out of the meeting and say something different.

“The Governor also said it was better to let the press know that he had reconciled with Aluko to which he initially disagreed and later agreed to meet the press with the Governor, and myself, which we did and the video recording is everywhere for the public to see.

“On Tuesday April 5, 2016, Aluko called me, sent a text message to me that things were falling apart as the party, and aide of the governor were attacking him. That he would renege on his promise. I advised him not to take any negative action or talk to the press if he wanted his already battered image to be rebuilt.

”Unfortunately, he did not listen to my advice and having come to deny what he willingly took part in, I have no option than to let the public know the true story.”

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Foreign diplomats fear anti-corruption war has been compromised
Commissioned report wants SGF, Chief of Staff out too



There were indications weekend that President Muhammadu Buhari is under pressure from the foreign community to sack his Aviation minister and former Rivers state governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi following his indictment for corruption by the Justice George Omeregi-led Rivers State Judicial Commission of Inquiry, set up to investigate the sale of state assets and the consequent Whitepaper issued by the state government.

On a related note, the federal administration was said to be uncomfortable with unpleasant reports about the disposition of the current Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Lawal Babachir and the President’s Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari. The President is reportedly disposed to easing them out of office.

The president is said to be under intense pressure to drop allegedly corrupt appointees from his cabinet to successfully prosecute his administration’s anti-graft war.

A Western diplomat who confided in Nigerian Pilot disclosed that “there is now increased and general erosion of confidence in the president’s ability to prosecute his administration’s anti-graft war. He added that, “about five senior diplomats have had reason to pass similar observations to the presidency after the Rivers state government Whitepaper that indicted your minister of Aviation, Amaechi over alleged corruption during his years as governor.”

“If I can recall very vividly, they told the president that until people like Amaechi in his government are excused from government to defend the telling allegations against him, the corruption fight will not be taken seriously,” he further said.
The declaration by the diplomats he said was buoyed by a letter written by Governor Nyesom Wike to foreign missions and Embassies detailing findings and related documentary evidences including the government Whitepaper of the Justice George Omeregi commission probe report on the state’s finances during the Amaechi years as governor.

Rivers state’s Commissioner of Housing, Emma Okah, who spoke on behalf of the State Government, who spoke to journalists in Port Harcourt last year on the foregoing report had disclosed that the state’s Attorney-General had been mandated to start all legal processes against Amaechi; a former military administrator of Rivers State, Brigadier Anthony Ukpo (Rtd) and some other former political office holders to refund over N97 billion allegedly misappropriated in the sale of the state’s valued assets.

SGF, Chief of Staff
According to investigations by Nigerian Pilot, alleged indictment by some foreign consultants contracted by Buhari to assess his administration six months after assuming office.

“The president being a leader desirous of returning Nigeria to the path of sanity and prosperity contracted the consultants recommended by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. But the president gave them his own terms of reference which were not envisaged by his earlier understanding with Obasanjo,” said one foreign diplomat who was privy to the matter.

He said that the report concluded that the Buhari administration was better off when the President was working with permanent secretaries adding that he should have retained some of the “good and patriotic hands among them” instead of the almost clean sweep that sent all of them away leaving a wide vacuum in positive governance. “They were effective either because they understood the workings of government very well given their experiences or they dreaded any tendency to act outside the directives of President Buhari,” he added.

The source continued: “the president contracted a firm from the U.S. to assess the performance of his government and officials. The result is far from complimentary in respect to some officials, number one of which is the SGF, Engr. Lawal.

“The SGF’s supervisory role over the MDAs was also brought to question in the report; but it is surprising that the president has allowed him to stay this long after that report. I am aware too that somebody is being considered for that position,” the source confided.
One of the instances mentioned in the consultant’s report is the sacking of heads of MDAs recently whereby other political appointees in such MDAs were left out of the action.

Said the source, “some departments and agencies’ staffers have expressed the worry that executive directors were left in office while chief executives of some agencies have been sacked by the present regime.

“The aggrieved staff argued that executive directors ought to have gone with the chief executives since they are all political appointees, stressing that the executive directors could not be excused from any impropriety that may have happened in such departments and agencies.
“The affected staff appealed to the president to as a matter of urgency sack the executive directors and probe their time in office.”
He said the case of the Chief of Staff is not different as his effectiveness as the bridge between the president and his aides alongside other federal, states and foreign governments’ officials has long been in doubt. Put together, the source alleged that the ineffectiveness of the duo has contributed largely to the steep nose-dive of government in the past months.
The two presidency officials were appointed last October by Buhari.

By Jonathan Nda-Isaiah

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire as his Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to a statement issued by his special adviser. Media, Femi Adesina, Mrs. Orelope-Adefulire served as Deputy-Governor of Lagos State in the last administration and is an accomplished politician with many years of experience in public service.

She has also served as Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in Lagos State.

Godwin Isenyo, Kaduna

The minister of state for Labour and Productivity, Mr. James Ocholi, his wife and eldest son died 57 kilometres from Kaduna, the Federal Road Safety Commission has said.

While the minister and his son died on the spot, his wife died later at Doka Government Hospital in Kaduna hours later.

The Kaduna State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Francis Udoma, explained that the accident when the rear tyre of the Sports Utility Vehicle conveying them burst and the vehicle summersaulted several times.

Udoma said, “The rear tyre bursted and the vehicle, summersaulted. The minister and his son died on the spot, the wife died in the government hospital in Doka, Kaduna.

“The driver, the chief detail, the orderly and the Personal Assistant were injured.”