₦airaland Forum

The Department of State Security in Imo State on Tuesday said an exchange of fierce gunfire between a joint security team and the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, Eastern Security Network (ESN), on Sunday resulted in the death of seven suspected hoodlums.

The DSS authority who pleaded anonymity said with the assistance of Chinonso Mmerem (aka Network), one of the arrested ESN members, the joint security team carried out the operation in a Camp at Awo-omamma and not at a wedding as claimed by the youths.

The Department of State Security disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists while parading the suspect, at the command in Owerri, Imo State capital.

The DSS insisted that the victims killed on Sunday were members of ESN and not guests coming from a wedding ceremony as against earlier reports.

The Imo DSS, “Following the arrest of Chinonso Mmerem (aka Network), a member of IPOB militant wing, ESN, a sting operation was conducted by a joint security team on 17” July 2022, to arrest members of the criminal gang terrorizing Awo-Omama and other parts of the state.

"In course of the operation, the elements opened fire on the security forces which was consequently repelled with superior firepower leading to the neutralization of about seven (7) members of the criminal group in the hideout used as their camp.

“The elements were gathered at the above location planning for the armed enforcement of the illegal Monday sit-at-home order in Awo-Omamma and other parts of the state which informed the operation to neutralize their plan.

“At this juncture, it is pertinent to inform that the elements gathered to plan their nefarious operations and not attend a traditional marriage as being speculated by members of the outlawed group.”

While being paraded Tuesday evening Chinonso Mmerem Mmerem confessed that the victims killed on Sunday were members of ESN killed at their camp.

He said,” I led the DSS to the ESN camp at Awomama, I was caught a week ago by the security agents, on Sunday I led them to the camp where they were having meetings against Monday for the sit-at-home.

Some of the members were shot, including “One man” squad who is our leader at Awomama, although he did not die, he escaped with bullet wounds but his phone was retrieved by the DSS.

An Edo State chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, John Mayaki, has blamed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), for the party’s recent struggles and the defeat of the incumbent Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, on Saturday’s governorship poll.

He accused the President of negligent management of party activities and ‘suicidal’ tolerance of anti-party activities within the ranks.

Mayaki, who chaired the Media Council of the Edo APC in the 2020 governorship election, said the President’s non-interference through the infamous ‘federal might’ represented a good development for the country’s democracy.

He, however, said the observed abandonment of his obligations as the leader of the party who ought to be spearheading efforts to unite the ranks, enforce loyalty and expand political control, had brought the party to the point of losing an election where its candidate was the incumbent.

He warned that unless the President changed approach to party issues, it may complicate the party’s chances in the 2023 elections.

He said, “The anti-party activities of top ranking APC members, governors and ministers under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is to blame for the electoral misfortune of the party in Edo and Osun states.”

“Poor reward system of the party and that of the president, if not checked, could impact negatively on the party just as the “I don’t care attitude” of Mr. President as a party man. The president is the leader of the party and he doesn’t appear concerned if the party collapses under his watch.”

“In Edo State, we have a deformed Assembly lacking the inclusion of the majority because duly elected members are yet to be inaugurated. Mr. President has shown no serious concern about this dangerous development, despite the fact that the affected people are all members of the party he leads.”

“Under President Buhari, the APC governors worked against the party in Edo State similar to how figures in his cabinet have been fingered in the loss of Osun State. But Mr. President won’t lift a finger to either reprimand these party saboteurs, instead, he signals tolerance that further emboldens them.”

Mayaki also criticised President Buhari’s refusal to sack non-performing members of his cabinets and government who, according to him, had shown themselves incapable of bringing an end to the insecurity that plagued the country.

He urged bold management, urging the President to learn party leadership from former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He called on party members in Osun State to learn the necessary lessons from the defeat and work harder toward delivering Asiwaju Bola Tinubu next year.

He also warned the PDP not to “delude themselves into believing that taking Osun means winning the presidency as it is a different ball game entirely.”

President Muhammadu Buhari congratulates Nigeria’s Female Football team, the Super Falcons, for qualifying for the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 after their emphatic quarter-final victory at the ongoing Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.

Super Falcons, the record nine-time tile holder and defending champions of WAFCON, triumphed 1-0 over Cameroon on Thursday night.

In a statement by his special adviser Femi Adesina, the president lauded the spirited performance of the team in the tournament and for maintaining its dominant posture as undisputed champions of the round-leather game and most successful international women’s football team in the continent.

Having won the tournament twice in 2016 and 2018, under this administration, the president assured the girls and their handlers that the whole nation is strongly standing with them and will continue to cheer them on until the final whistle in Morocco.

He prayed that the Super Falcons, who have produced some of the greatest African players in the history of the women’s game, will surpass their achievement in the last Women’s World Cup in 2019, where they advanced to the Round of 16, for the first time in 15 years.

President Buhari also said he looks forward to the next generation of upcoming stars, who through hard work, discipline, resilience and determination, will one day win the World Cup for Nigeria.

At this stage in his campaign, Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, should be laying out the policy ideas and ideology that will define his government and building a team of competent managers who can run with his vision. For a man who has accumulated a growing band of self-motivated and organic following in a short period, he needs to make the best of the interest he is generating. The last thing—the very last thing—he needs at the moment is wringing his hands and apologising for the zeal of his supporters. Nothing they are doing is new. That is the nature of elections, enabled by social media, where comments, exchanges and interactions can build momentum. Besides, which Nigerian politician would mind being similarly followed by those whose bank accounts they did not have to first credit?

After observing how his supporters tore into the senior pastor of Covenant Christian Centre, Poju Oyemade, who tweeted what the online band considered a criticism of Obi’s candidature, Obi pleaded with them to take it easy. While I appreciate that Obi wants to inscribe the democratic ethos of reasonable debate and polite dissensions, he should also know that the culture of raging online precedes his presidential candidature. 10 years ago, a President’s media aide magisterially labelled the army of cybercritics the “collective children of anger.” Since then, nothing Nigeria has done has assuaged the fury of this generation who have never known good governance. Now, they are even justifiably angrier that they might pass on the trauma of living in a failed country they inherited from their parents to their children. The older they get, the more they are seized by the urgency of resolving Nigeria’s perennial dysfunction and the more intense the passion with which they will engage the issues. You cannot blame those who live in a society where the conditions of their humanity get systematically decimated by the political class for not making genteel exchanges with those who facilitate social impairment.

A rule of public conduct used to be keeping your political opinions to yourself unless you are sure you are in the company of people who share them. Politics divides people into camps and discussing it puts people in a position to justify themselves against you. That could ruin social relationships. These days, no thanks to the immediacy and interactivity of social media, some of those rules of etiquette are gone. The narcissist in all of us will not stop talking; some of us can no longer move our own arms in our own homes without feeling compelled to share it with semi-strangers online. We want to be heard, we want to be seen, and we want to be the centre of public admiration. It feels positively affirmative when getting “likes” and “loves” for expressing private thoughts until the topic at hand draws a hostile crowd. Social media interaction reminds you of the old proverb: one person can cook for a whole village to eat and they will all be satisfied. But if the village reciprocates, the overwhelming result will be unsatisfactory.

Unless accompanied by violence, no politician needs to curb the exuberance of their supporters’ energetic responses to opponents. That is tantamount to asking football players to apologise for their fan’s hooliganism. And comparatively, politics is a far more passionate game. People invest the whole of their being into it and it manifests in their impassioned exchanges online and offline.

After the hotly contested 2016 elections in the USA, families divided between the supporters of Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump had a hard time celebrating their annual Thanksgiving feast just a few weeks later. Some cancelled their scheduled trips and vowed to stay away from certain family members because of the presidential candidate they supported. Political discussions will always be that volatile, especially in an election year. To express an opinion in the agora of social media is to be exposed and have some of the intense emotions ruling the times flung in one’s direction.

From my perch, I have witnessed tensions every election season since 2007 or thereabouts. It used to be Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s supporters versus everyone else.
The social media terrain was still relatively new then, and it was the bid to understand its nature and the role that it would play in Nigerian politics that drove Jonathan’s aide to label critics “children of anger.”

By the 2011 elections, the “election mania,” sadly, did not stay online. Some supporters of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who could not manage their electoral loss, took out their anger on poor people. An estimated 800 lives were lost in that unfortunate incident. Though violence raged in some parts of the country, Buhari did not immediately call his supporters to order. For days, he maintained a defiant stance while people burned.

In another country, somebody like Buhari would have been permanently ostracised for what he did in 2011. Nobody would have touched a character like that with as much as an antiseptic-soaked glove! But look at where we are today. Some of the people who carried out the carnage in 2011, and those who supported Buhari despite his shameful history, are probably sitting down somewhere today and still labelling Obi’s supporters for being “illiberal.” Regardless of what happens in 2023, Obi’s supporters will not go away. They will either transmute into virulent defenders of his presidency or fierce critics of whoever wins the presidency. Brace yourself; our journey together is only just beginning.

When Buhari became the 2015 All Progressives Congress’ presidential candidate, he also gained an existing crowd of online supporters. Some of them fancied themselves as progressives, having developed their moral bona fides from strident criticisms of Jonathan. If you think Obi’s supporters are passionate, then you should have seen the fundamentalism and ferocity of Buhari’s followers. You dare raise your voice and they will creep out of every woodwork and wormhole to pillory you for supporting “corruption.” Even after the election, their self-righteous rage remained insufferable. Any contrarian thought was immediately chalked down to bitterness. Some of us were labelled “angry” because, according to them, our regular supply of brown envelopes ended with the corrupt Peoples Democratic Party.

They maintained their monomania, although after the 2019 elections it started to fizzle out. Who knows whether they have now exhausted their partisan energy or the rising price of foodstuffs has finally ameliorated their enthusiasm. Whatever passion they have left in their bodies after supporting a serially failed President is now being expended on moaning about Obi’s supporters. Sorry, but you too had your own time in the sun. It is turn-by-turn. Book your seats in anticipation of 2027 already.

The longer history of Nigerian political engagements during elections, especially online, has taught me that rage will be recurrent and it is unproductive to attempt to regulate other people’s passions. Who is to say how others should express themselves when we have not lived their lives to determine how badly the country has hurt them? Unless they turn violent, it is pointless curbing enthusiastic supporters even when they overreach themselves. Elections are like the death of an elephant—an event that attracts all shapes and sizes of knives. You cannot dictate how and where each should slice their own portion of the fallen beast. The internet itself is very much like the marketplace we read about in mythological tales—all kinds of creatures gather there to transact all kinds of business. Rather than trying to decree the tone and substance of conversations, it is much easier to find one’s corner of the internet where like-minded individuals gather and engage them.

There is no point contributing to the tension by wrestling people whose style of engagement is too aggressive for your finely-manicured tastes, and then complaining about their manners. In the time you have spent blaming Obi for his followers’ zeal you could also have invested the energy in modelling reasonable engagements within your own sphere. If, despite all efforts, you still attract negativity, whittle your friends’ list or restrict the crowd around your space. Social media algorithms are skewed to give you more of what you engage. Each time you click on “roforofo” fights and read as much as even one comment, the algorithms sense your interests and send you more of such. Stop engaging aggressors and they will fall off your timelines.

President Muhammadu Buhahri has reshuffled his cabinet, assigning new portfolios to ministers....

This was announced at the ongoing Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The president also swore in the seven ministers recently screened and confirmed by the Senate.

The first batch to be sworn in were Henry Ikechukwu Ikoh – Abia State, Umana Okon Umana – Akwa Ibom State, Odum Odih – Rivers State and Ademola Adewole Adegoroye – Ondo State.

The second batch included Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub – Kano State, Goodluck Nnana Opiah – Imo State and Egwumakama Joseph Nkama – Ebonyi State

Before the swearing in, a minute silence was observed in honour of Mohammed Barkindo, the 4th Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), who died at the age of 63, Tuesday night.

The portfolios of the new ministers are: Umana Okon Umana, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs; Gbemisola Saraki- Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development; Dr Olorunimbe Mamora – Minister of Science and Technology; Sharon Ikeazor, Minister of State, Niger Delta Affairs and Muazu Jaji Sambo; Minister of Transportation.

Others were Umar Ibrahim El Yakub; Minister of State, Works and Housing; Goodluck Nanah Opiah; Minister of state, Education; Ekumankama Joseph Nkama; Minister of State, Health; Ikoh Henry Ikechukwu, Minister of State, Science and Technology; Odum Udi, Minister of State, Environment and Ademola Adewole Adegoroye- Minister of State, Transportation.

In attendance physically at FEC are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; and Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari and some ministers.

The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Wednesday, said Nigeria’s affairs were being piloted by ‘vehicle drivers’ instead of professional and certified pilots.

The former Anambra governor stated this while featuring on Arise TV Morning Show.

“Nigerians have consistently hired vehicle drivers instead of hiring qualified pilots to lead the nation,” the presidential candidate said.

He added that the primitive considerations by Nigerians during the electoral cycle had led Nigeria to the current quagmire, adding that 2023 should be the time Nigerians must elect a capable candidate to pilot the country’s affairs.

Details later.

Police Arrest Suspected Killer Of APC Chieftain Gulak, Others In Imo
Eyitope Kuteyi  
Updated June 27, 2022

These suspects were paraded at the Police Command headquarters in Owerri, Imo State on June 27, 2022.
 
Police authorities in Imo State say they have arrested one of the suspected killers of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Gulak.

Mr Mike Abattam, the Public Relations Officer of the Imo State Police Command, disclosed this while briefing reporters on Monday in Owerri, the state capital.

The suspect identified as Anosike Chimobi from Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area (LGA) of the state was apprehended one year after Gulak’s death.

Gulak, a former aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, was murdered by a group of armed men on May 30, 2021, during a visit to Imo State.

He was reportedly trailed from his hotel room to the spot where he was killed around Umueze Obiangwu in Ngor-Okpala LGA, close to the Sam Mbakwe Airport Road in Owerri.


Parading the suspects alongside others, Abattam said Chimobi had been on the trail of the command since the killing of Gulak last year.

He stated that the suspect escaped during a gun battle between police personnel and his gang members at Aboh Mbaise shortly after the murder of the APC chieftain where five of the suspects were killed.

Chimobi, who also spoke with reporters, claimed to be a commercial bus driver and not a member of the criminal gang.

He said Gulak’s killers approached him to convey them in his vehicle and he attempted to resist, but later gave in after they threatened to kill him]/b].

[b]The suspect admitted that he drove the criminals to the spot and blocked Gulak’s vehicle which was on its way to the airport.

According to him, they shot the APC chieftain after he resisted the demand by the gunmen that he should come down from the vehicle.

Chimobi explained that the assailants later ran into a team of security operatives who shot repeatedly at the other vehicle conveying them until it somersaulted and caught fire.

The command’s spokesman said that the police have also arrested other suspected criminals who have been terrorising communities in Imo.

He explained that among those paraded were members of the gang who burnt the home of the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Professor George Obiozor.

Some of the items recovered from the suspects paraded by the police include guns of different calibre, assorted charms, and a live snake, among others.

Wole Olanipekun, chairman of the Body of Benchers, has disowned a lawyer in his firm over an attempt to hijack a client of Henry Ajumogobia, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Adekunbi Ogunde, a partner in Wole Olanipekun & Co, was said to have written a letter addressed to SAIPEM Contracting Nigeria Ltd — Ajumogobia’s client — soliciting for brief.

[i]The company is currently standing trial on allegations of $130 million fraud at the Rivers high court brought by the Rivers state government against Saipem SPA, Saipem Nigeria, and others[/I].

In the said letter addressed to Francesco Caio, SAIPEM CEO, Ogunde asked the company to consider hiring the law firm to handle the case.

"I believe that you need a more influential lawyer/law firm to prevent a potential huge payout to the Rivers State Government and without a doubt, I believe that my law firm, Wole Olanipekun & Co., can help in this regard,” the lawyer said.

Despite being aware that the law firm of Ajumogobia is handling the matter, Ogunde said Olanipekun & Co has more “influence” with judges across courts.

“We are aware that another law firm is currently in the matter but you will agree that highly-sensitive and political matters require more influence. We are happy to work with the current lawyers to achieve the desired results,” she said.

“Chief Olanipekun SAN, OFR,  in the matter will significantly switch things in favour of SAIPEM. Chief Olanipekun SAN, OFR is currently the chairman of the Body of Benchers, which is the highest ruling body in the Nigerian legal profession, made up of supreme court judges, presiding justices of the court of appeal and chief judges of all state high courts, including the Rivers state high court.”

Reacting to the development in a letter addressed to Olanipekun, Ajumogobia said the move “could not be more egregious in its breach of this essential mandatory rule, especially in its acknowledgement that the defendant companies had already retained counsel”.

“That I and my firm of Ajumogobia & Okeke were retained in the matter, was a matter of public record and was personally known to you and your firm, since you had asked me about the matter during our Unilag Law Faculty Alumni dinner at Harbour point in February,” he said.

In another letter dated June 24, Olanipekun apologised to Ajumogobia, adding that he did not authorise the attempt to hijack his client.

“The letter was brought to our attention by H. Odein Ajumogobia, SAN, OFR, a respected colleague of ours, and a close ally of our principal, chief Wole Olanipekun, OFR, SAN. We appreciate the candor of the learned senior advocate and his thoughtfulness in bringing the letter to our attention promptly,” the letter reads.

“First, let it be known without any equivocation that the said letter was written without the instruction, authority, mandate, approval or consent of Wole Olanipekun & Co.; it was also not brought to our attention by the writer.

“Second, it has never been the practice of our law firm to solicit for cases or clientele, and we shall never indulge ourselves in this disturbing practice and trend.

“In effect, the writer of the letter under reference was on her own, and we do wholly dissociate ourselves from the letter and its contents: while internal measures would immediately be taken to address and redress this very unfortunate situation.

“The writer never discussed her intention to write the letter or showed it to any person or counsel in the office, either before or after sending it to Mr. Caio.

“Put in other words, the letter is hereby retracted unequivocally: in spite of the fact that it was unauthorized and done without our permission, authority or consent.

“We unreservedly apologize to the highly respected H. Odein Ajumogobia, SAN, OFR, and the entire law firm of Ajumogobia & Okeke for the embarrassment which the letter might have caused them; but let it be known that the letter has also caused us a lot of embarrassment as well.”

The Ondo State Security Network Agency codenamed Amotekun Corps said it has arrested some persons involved in the attack of St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Owo local government area.

It said it also recovered some weapons and vehicle used to perpetrate the terror act.

About 40 persons were killed in the attack with 70 others injured in the attack carried out on June 5 at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo.

'Obidient' movement exists only on social media, ex-APC spokesman Nabena mocks Obi

APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena. Source: Twitter

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress, Yekini Nabena, has warned the presidential flagbearer of Labour Party, Peter Obi, not to rely on any support from his ‘Obidient’ movement ahead of the 2023 election.

Nabena disclosed that the former Anambra governor would be shocked to discover that the movement only exists on social media when the actual voting process begins.

The Bayelsa-born politician, who made the statement in Abuja on Wednesday, expressed confidence that the APC will secure nothing less than 2.1 million votes in the Niger Delta during the presidential election.

He said, “I can tell you that the so-called ‘Obedient movement’ only exists on social media and after the coming elections they will naturally turn to disobedient movement, and later obituary because the movement will naturally vamoose.

“The APC will secure nothing less than 2.1 million votes from Escravos to Forcados, Brass to Bonny, in the Niger Delta. This is because our people are massively coming out to get their PVC and they know the right party and candidate to vote for when the time comes.”

The APC chieftain also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to step up its game and make adequate protection for its server, alleging that the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party is only banking on hackers to manipulate the INEC server and change results in 2023.

Nabena’s outburst is coming on the heels of reports that Obi on Wednesday morning had a closed-door meeting with Governor Nyesom Wike in Port Harcourt.

The Labour Party presidential candidate was spotted exchanging a handshake with Wike after the meeting, which was held at Rivers State Government House.

The move has come to many Nigerians as a surprise especially as talks of a merger between Obi’s party and former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso have reached an advanced stage.

Former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, has joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), seven years after he attempted to scuttle the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari, as Nigerian leader .

LEADERSHIP learnt that Buhari is set to receive Orubebe into the ruling party in the next few days. Orubebe had in apparent loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan, on March 31st, 2015, disrupted proceedings at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collation centre in Abuja.

He acted to forestall the admission of election results from the states favourable to the emergence of Buhari as president-elect. Orubebe, was appointed a substantive minister on April 6, 2010, when Jonathan constituted his new cabinet as the acting president.

As a polling agent to Jonathan at the collation centre, he accused then INEC’s chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, of taking sides with the main opposition at that time, APC. But he later apologised to the nation over his conduct, adding that he regretted the action.

However, in a fresh twist, Orubebe on Monday dumped the PDP as a prelude to his formal defection to the ruling party. It was learnt that Orubebe’s defection was perfected by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Delta State chairman of APC, Engineer Omeni Sobotie.

LEADERSHIP gathered that an elated Omo-Agege had last week, told Buhari that he had successfully persuaded Orubebe, who was said to be angered by the emergence of a Nigerian of northern extraction, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, to join the ruling party.

Omo-Agege and Sobotie were said to be on the neck of Orubebe to join APC.  LEADERSHIP gathered that Orubebe eventually carved in to the request. It was learnt that Buhari was excited by the development and expressed readiness to personally receive the former minister into the party.

Further investigation revealed that the national chairman of APC , Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Omo-Agege, were billed to usher Orubebe into the Presidential Villa to meet with Buhari within the next few days, as  part of the process of his formal admittance into the party.

Orubebe allegedly opted for APC because the party acted in line with his conviction that power should shift to the southern part of the country after 8-year reign of a northerner.

He had acted in line with the leaders of the Niger Delta, PANDEF, Middle-Belt and South East (Ohanaeze Ndigbo) who had also rejected the emergence of Atiku as the presidential candidate.  The southern leaders, in tandem with Orubebe, maintained that power must shift to southern Nigeria.

Findings showed that Orubebe was convinced to pitch tent with APC because the ruling party picked its presidential standard bearer from the Southern part of the country. The former minister was said to have expressed readiness to spare no effort to work towards the victory of APC’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu. Orubebe said the mood of the country favoured a southern candidate, adding that Tinubu was best fitted.

The minister in the letter addressed to the national chairman of PDP, Dr. Iyiorchia Ayu, dumping the opposition party, yesterday, lamented that it was obvious that the PDP was not ready to win the 2023 presidential election because of alleged wrong choice of candidate.

He stated in the letter, “I write to formally inform you of my resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This has been communicated to the Chairman of Burutu Ward 3, Burutu LGA, Delta State, effective 20th June, 2022. Consequently, I am by this letter intimating you of my total withdrawal from all activities at the ward, local, state and national levels of PDP.

“I am highly honoured and privileged to have been part of a political party that successfully transformed a pariah nation to one that commanded respect in the comity of nations. When we lost the presidential election in the 2015 in bewildered circumstances to say the least, it was my belief that the party would use the opposition period to strategise with the  aim of taking back power at the earliest opportunity.

“However, the present situation in the party does not inspire confidence that the party is ready to regain power in 2033. Against the mood of the nation, and in complete disregard to (sic) the provision of the party’s constitution, the party, threw the zoning of the Presidency open, which created a situation that led to the emergence of a northerner as the party’s presidential flag bearer, thus making the two topmost positions in the party, after your emergence as the national chairman, to be occupied by northerners, contrary to section 7.3 (c) of the party’s constitution.”

Orubebe praised the Rivers State governor, Mr Nyenson Wike, for raising the bar in favour of the southern part of the country by trying to wrest power to the advantage of the south.

He added, “ I salute and commend the governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Nyesom Wike, for his efforts and gallantry at the primaries. Posterity will be kind to him when the history of the party is written. There are very lot to be said, but out of respect for the party, I leave some stories untold at this time.

“My belief in the sanctity of Nigeria is unshaken and I will continually work for the progress and development, even if it is through another route.”

Reports available yesterday showed that Orubebe formally submitted his resignation letter to the Wadatta Plaza headquarters of the party in Abuja in the early hours of Monday.

It was gathered that top officials of Delta State government, who were immediately contacted, made futile efforts to stop Orubebe, who rebuffed the entreaties.

The two worshippers abducted last Monday by gunmen at the Celestial Church of Christ, Oshofa, Wasimi, in the Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, have been released.

The founder of the church, Oluwatomisin Olugbebi, said the victims were released on Saturday.

PUNCH Metro had reported that gunmen, who wore masks and fez caps, invaded the church and abducted the Assistant Shepherd (assistant pastor) of the parish, Oluwaseun Ajose, and a Sunday school teacher, Dagunro Ayobami.

The gunmen had reduced their demand from N50m to N10m last Thursday.

But on Sunday, Olugbebi disclosed to our correspondent that the church leaders were released after N1m ransom was paid.

He said, “They called on Saturday morning and demanded foodstuffs (rice, beans), cigarettes and gin. They said we should pay N1m for the two of them. I pleaded with them that we didn’t even have up to that, but they said they won’t accept anything less than a million.

“When we heard this, the family of the victims sat on how to get the money and they raised a total of N221,000. Thankfully, well-wishers and other church members balanced it up.

“They did not give a specific location where we should drop the money. They asked to speak to the sister of one of the victims and told her to come to a certain location. When she got there, she called them and they told her to give the phone to the bike rider.

“They told the bike rider their location without disclosing it to her. The bike rider then took her to the location where the money and the requested foodstuffs were dropped. After like 10 minutes, they asked her to come and pick them (victims) up at the bus stop.”

The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, confirmed the release.

He said, “They regained their freedom last night (Saturday) due to sustained pressure mounted by the police on the kidnappers.”