₦airaland Forum

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Tomi Ikimi, has disclosed why Governor Adams Oshiomhole won his 2012 re-election.
He said Oshiomhole won his second term because former President Goodluck Jonathan provided a level playing field.

Chief Ikimi disclosed that the party was set to drop Governor Oshiomhole after his first term but that Oshiomhole begged him to be given a second term ticket.


Ikimi noted that Oshiomhole won the election with a landslide victory not because of his merit but because himself and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu took him to former President Jonathan to demand for a level playing field.

The former minister spoke in Benin City at the flagging-off of Pastor Ize-Iyamu governorship campaigns.

Chief Ikimi boasted elections were won in the state with personalities like Chief Gabriel Igbinedion and Chief Tony Anenih.

According to him, “Pastor Ize-Iyamu brought Oshiomhole to me. I never knew him before. I was told he was a former Labour leader. I was persuaded to accept him and we took him round the 192 wards.


“In his first four years, he betrayed us. We wanted to drop him but he knelt down to beg me. It was myself and Pastor Ize-Iyamu that took Oshiomhole to former President Jonathan to beg him to provide a level playing field.

“Jonathan supported us. Oshiomhole won not because he was brilliant, but he has paid us in band coin.”

The Chairman, Senator
Committee on the Federal
Capital Territory, FCT,
Senator Dino Melaye, has
raised an alarm over what
he called a plan by certain
individuals to doctor the
Police report on the
investigation of allegation of
forgery leveled against the
leadership of the Senate so
as to make the report to
indict Senate President,
Bukola Saraki and his
Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.
Melaye, in a statement in
Abuja on Monday, stated that
those behind the sinister plot
are scheming to forge a
police report different from
the one signed by AIG James
Caulcrick in order to justify
and prove a case of forgery
against the Senate President
and his Deputy. The federal
lawmaker representing Kogi
Central said it was
necessary for members of
the public to be aware of the
“unlawful plan”.
His words, “We have our
own sources and we have
been reliably informed that
the prosecution having
realized that there is a big
hole in their case against
Saraki and Ekweremadu who
were not mentioned in the
police report, are now trying
to doctor the report and
include the names of both
presiding officers of the
Senate. We are aware of that
development and we want
members of the public to
know the level of
desperation that these
people are ready to go to
nail the Senate President and
his deputy.
“It is because of this plan
that they refused to include
the police report in the
process they filed in court.
We have said it repeatedly
that the government and
specifically, the Attorney
General of the Federation
(AGF), Mr. Abubakar Malami
has no case against our
presiding officers. They filed
the case to distract the two
men, embarrass them, force
a change of leadership and
eventually cow the Senate, in
particular, and the National
Assembly, in general.
“The forgery case is the
height of desperation by
some elements to bring down
the legislature. Malami has a
personal agenda to achieve
an objective for which he
has been hired as a counsel
by a few aggrieved
Senators. Now, a court has
affirmed our claim that he is
abusing his office and that
there is a conflict of interest
involving him.
“The said police report is
already in the public space.
The media has published it
verbatim. We will be watching
them to see how they will
smuggle Saraki and
Ekweremadu’s names into it.
This is the height of
desperation and we will
continue to monitor
developments on it. It is
clear those who initiated this
forgery suit against the
leadership of the Senate
know that they have made a
mistake. They should cut
their losses and discontinue
the error.

Former Vice President, Atiku
Abubakar, has urged Muslims
in the country to portray
Islam positively through the
spirit of tolerance and
commitment to peaceful
coexistence in their
everyday conducts.
In a release from his media
made available to the media,
the Turaki Adamawa denied
making any statement on the
ragging rift between the
principal officers of the
National Assembly and the
federal government through
the Secretary to the
Government of the
Federation (SGF) credited to
him recently.
In his goodwill Sallah
message to Nigerian Muslims
to mark the end of the
Ramadan fasting period, the
former Vice President notes
that the lessons of this Holy
month should be taken
beyond the celebration.
According to him, “Self-
discipline and love for fellow
human beings is one of the
important virtues of the
Ramadan fasting period,
These virtues should not
desert our hearts because
the event has come to an
end.”
The Turaki Adamawa also
advises Muslims and indeed
all Nigerians to continue to
show patience with the
Muhammadu Buhari
administration, which he says
is aware of hardships they
were passing through,
adding however that their
support for the government
would ultimately yield
dividends.
He says President Buhari
should be commended for the
courageous measures he
has taken to ensure public
funds meant for the welfare
of the people and
development of the country
are not stolen and diverted
to private pockets of
individuals.
He assures Nigerians that
their patience will yield
dividends, adding that
“every change comes with
initial challenges, pains and
sacrifices for a better
tomorrow.”
While refuting the recent
statement attributed to him
over the battle of supremacy
between the Senate and the
Attorney General of the
Federation, his media
adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, said
that the former Vice
President was taken by
surprise by a purported
statement attributed to him in
the media.
“The last time Atiku
Abubakar issued a statement
on National Assembly matters
was on July 2, 2015, when
he called for an amicable
resolution of crisis of
confidence from the election
of principal officers, which
bitterly divided the party
leaders and their
supporters.
That statement was titled “It
is time to shift ground and
move to the centre”
“It was not within Atiku
Abubakar’s power to
intervene in support of
either side when his
intervention was not sought.
Although the Turaki Adamawa
didn’t welcome any row
between the executive
branch and the legislature,
which causes needless
distractions at the expense
of governance issues
demanding attention, his July
2, 2015 statement over
internal party tension should
not be twisted, reworked and
attributed to him in order to
make it look like he made a
recent comment on the NASS
vs AG crisis of confidence,”
Ibe noted.

Abiodun Agbele (a.k.a Abbey),
an aide to Governor Ayodele
Fayose of Ekiti State, has
started telling investigators
how he was used by the
governor and former
Minister of State for Defence,
Mr. Musiliu Obanikoro, to
launder huge sums of money
from of the Office of the
National Security Adviser
(ONSA) between 2014 and
2015. Agbele, who is
currently detained by the
Economic and Financial crimes
Commissions (EFCC), began
reeling out details of the
laundered cash after the
EFCC secured a court order
to keep him in detention until
the completion its
investigations.
He was arrested last
Wednesday in respect of his
alleged role in the diversion
of N4.745billion of the $2.
1billion arms funds to
Obanikoro and Fayose.
According to The Nation
Newspaper, the money was
sourced from the SAS
Imprest Account of the ONSA
under Col. Sambo Dasuki,
immediate past NSA, before
the 2014 governorship
election in Ekiti State. Of the
sum, about N1.219billion was
transferred to Fayose
through Agbele and a
company De Privateer
Limited, which is owned by
him. The ONSA allegedly
wired the N4.745billion via
Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, a
phony company run by
former Obanikoro and his
sons.
According to the report, the
N1, 219 billion, which was
flown as cash in an aircraft
air through Akure Airport,
was not deposited in any
account. It was kept in a
vault at a Zenith Bank
branch and took the bank
officials about 10 days to
count. The bankers refused
to make entry until it was
counted,
After confirming the figure,
reported The Nation, Agbele
coordinated the
disbursement of the funds.
On June 26, 2014, according
to the paper, Agbele paid
N137million into Fayose’s
account 10003126654 with
Zenith Bank through
Teller-0556814.
Fayose’s BVN on the teller is
22338867502.
"On August 22, 2014, he paid
N50million into the same
account. By the records from
the bank, Abiodun Agbele
paid another N118, 760,000
into Fayose’s account on
27/8/14. “Based on the
transfers, Fayose moved
N300million to a Fixed
Deposit Account No
9013074033 with Zenith Bank
at 15, Olusola Abiona Street,
Olorunda Estate, Alapere
Ketu. He has the same
BVN-22338867502. “After
that, Abiodun deposited
another N100million from the
N1, 219, 490,000 into
Spotless Hotel Account run
by Fayose and his wife,
Helen Olayemi Fayose with
Account No. 1010170969,
Fayose’s BVN is
223338867502 and his wife’s
BVN in the account is
22298990256. “The
governor and his wife are
the two directors and
signatories of Spotless Hotel
account,” reported The
Nation.
The EFCC also discovered De
Privateer Limited, owned by
Agbele, with Account No.
1013835889, received N219,
490,000 on June 18, 2014.
The next day, the same
account received N300million
and another N200million on
June 23, 2014. The BVN on
the account is 22235692890.
Gov. Ayodele Fayose
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The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, said on Sunday that he had yet to offer any legal opinion on the developments which followed the June 27 judgment that sacked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu. The minister, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Salihu Isah, asked parties to the case to await decisions of the court. Justice Abang had sacked Ikpeazu for allegedly disclosing false information in relation to his tax clearance details to the Independent National Electoral Commission in his form nominating him as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the last year’s governorship election in the state. The judge, also in the said judgment, ordered the governor’s foremost rival who was the first runner-up in the primary that produced Ikpeazu as the candidate of the PDP, Mr. Uche Ogah, to takeover. The judge held that Ikpeazu was not qualified to be PDP’s candidate having disclosed false information to INEC in violation of his party’s election guideliness and the Electoral Act and thereby ordered that Ogah be sworn in as governor in Ikpeazu’s stead. This elicited tension and a stalemate situation in the state when on Wednesday, the INEC, acting on the judgment, issued a certificate of return to Ogah, paving the way for him to be sworn in as governor. Malami, in the statement issued by his media aide on Sunday, denied having a hand in INEC’s decision to issue a certificate of return to Ogah. Isah said the INEC had yet to seek the minister’s opinion on the issue and that the minister had yet to offer any. He described as “crass lies” alleged insinuations “being peddled and disseminated by a cross-section of Nigerians and the various media platforms that the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation is behind the legal logjam over the Abia state governorship seat.”

Lagos based lawyer, Ebun-
Olu Adegboruwa, on
Thursday, described the
issuance of a Certificate of
Return to Uchechukwu Ogah
as the new governor of Abia
State as “worrisome,”
saying the ruling All
Progressives Congress-led
government is setting a
dangerous precedent for the
nation's democracy if it is
lying in wait and prodding the
Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC to
violate the basic tenets of
democracy, which is respect
for the rule of law and due
process.
Adegboruwa in a statement,
opined that the Abuja
Federal High Court’s decision
on Monday cannot be
enforced because Okezie
Ikpeazu, who was removed
as governor, had filed an
appeal, as well as a stay of
execution.
INEC National Commissioner
in charge of the South East,
Amb. Lawrence Nwuruku
issuing Certificate of Return
to Uchechukwu Ogah as
Governor of Abia State, on
Thursday, June 30, 2016
According to him, “There is
said to be a grand plan, now
in its well advanced stage, to
swear in Ogah, who will then
subsequently defect to the
ruling APC, on the excuse of
the fictionalization within the
PDP between Modu Sheriff
and Ahmed Markafi.
“On June 29, 2016, the
sitting governor of Abia
State, Mr. Okezie Ikpeazu,
filed an appeal against the
said judgment, together with
an application for a stay of
execution of the judgment of
court.
“The said application is yet
to be heard or determined by
the court, the consequence
of which is that the judgment
of court cannot be enforced.”
Adegboruwa stated that the
Supreme Court had held that
once an appeal has been
filed against a judgment and
the appellant has also filed
an application to stay the
execution of the said
judgment, the judgment
cannot be enforced, until the
application for a stay of
execution has been heard
and determined.
His words: “It is a
dangerous precedent that
the APC led government is
setting for our democracy, if
it is lying in wait and
prodding INEC to violate the
basic tenets of democracy,
which is respect for the rule
of law and due process.
“In times past, APC
governors and public
officers under its platform
have benefited robustly,
from this hallowed principle
of law, the latest example
being the president himself,
Major-General Muhammadu
Buhari, Retd.
“Very recently, the Federal
High Court dismissed a
preliminary objection filed by
the President, in respect of
the case challenging his
eligibility, for alleged
absence of his WAEC
certificate.
“The President promptly filed
an appeal against the said
ruling and also filed an
application for a stay of
further proceedings before
the high court. The high
court deferred to the
President and adjourned
further proceedings sine
die.”
Mr. Adegboruwa called on
political parties, public
officers, and institutions to
respect the rule of law and
due process of court.
“In one breadth we are told
that the judiciary is the
headache of this present
administration, but when it
suits the same
administration, it frustrates,
intimidates and muzzles the
judiciary, judicial officers and
even lawyers.
“I call on the good people of
Nigeria and all our allies
worldwide and all lovers of
democracy, to demand that
the ruling APC government
give respect to the laws of
the land, to avoid resort to
lawlessness.”

President Muhammadu Buhari
on Thursday condemned the
recent terrorists attacks on
Ataturk Airport in Turkey,
during which dozens of
people from around the world
lost their lives.
The President was said to
have written a letter to his
Turkish counterpart,
President Recep Tayyep
Erdogan, a day after the
incident.
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According to a statement by
his Senior Special Assistant
on Media and Publicity, Garba
Shehu, the President
commiserated with Erdogan
and all the people of Turkey
on the attack on their soil by
those he called evil forces
who have nothing to do with
Islam despite their warped
beliefs.
The President wrote, “On
behalf of the government
and people of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, I wish to
convey my heartfelt
sympathy to you and the
people of Turkey on the
shocking terrorist attack at
the Ataturk Airport
yesterday.
“Please extend my most
sincere condolences to the
families, relatives and
friends of the victims of this
tragic incident.
“We condemn in the
strongest terms these
criminal, cowardly attacks,
wherever they might occur
as an attack on all decent,
democratic and peaceful
people. Every terrorist
attack only strengthens
Nigeria’s resolve to stand
shoulder to shoulder with
Turkey and other countries
in the frontline of the war on
terror.
“Our government calls on all
peace-loving nations to
commit themselves
wholeheartedly to multi-
lateral cooperation and
collaborative actions aimed
at eradicating the scourge of
international terrorism.”
Buhari urged the people of
Turkey to unite at this time
and to strengthen their
resolve to fight terrorism.
He described Turkey as a
country that is rapidly
growing and its government
and people must not allow
this attack to take their eyes
away from the goal of
progress.
The President also stated
that Nigeria will continue to
cooperate with countries
around the world on the war
against terrorism until
victory is attained.

The Minister of Transport,
Mr Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi,
Wednesday, announced that
General Electric, GE, would
invest $2 billion in the
country’s rail projects.
The minister, who made this
disclosure while speaking
with CNBC, said the Federal
Government was in search of
Public-Private Partnership,
PPP, funding in the Nigerian
transportation sector.
According to him, “GE is
already in; we are trying to
get the government agencies
to allow us negotiate with GE.
The company is going to
bring in over $2billion in the
Nigerian railway sector, in
which they are going to
revive the Lagos-Kano
narrow gauge and revive
the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri
narrow gauge by private
investment.
“It is good that such kind of
funds will come into the
economy, it will create
employment, it will increase
business and everybody will
be part of the process.
“The government does not
need to bring all the funds.
What government is doing
here is to initiate it, there
are two things we are doing
there; we will start with the
construction of Lagos-Kano
and Lagos-Calabar.’’
Amaechi, who reiterated that
President Muhammadu Buhari
would flag off the Abuja-
Kaduna rail line early July,
stated that government
would commence work on the
Lagos-Ibadan segment of
the Lagos-Kano this year.
“We are taking a loan from
China EXIM bank, the loan is
not partnership. But one of
the requirements for which
we will take the loan is that
the contractor must come
from China, that we have
fulfilled by engaging CCECC.
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“We will be looking at about
$3.5 billion and we should be
able to employ as many
people as possible to do that
construction. Our plan is to
ensure that CCECC is able to
conclude it between two to
three years,” he said.
‘’We are going to invite as
many private investors as
possible to see how they can
assist the country achieved
its rails projects.
“If government takes the
Lagos-Kano and takes the
Lagos-Calabar, we expect
the others to be PPP funding.
“We believe that people
know how big the Nigerian
market is and that once you
invest your money, the
chances are that you will
recoup that money, whether
by freight or by passenger
transportation”, he added.
Amaechi, who gave a load
down of the amount the
country had saved from the
negotiation of the projects,
said: “Basically, the contract
from Lagos to Calabar was
awarded initially at $11.97
billion, we had to negotiate
that one and that was why
we couldn’t submit it the
same time we submitted the
Lagos-Kano.
‘’We negotiated that one
from $11.97 billion to $11.17
billion, saving the country $
800million.’’

A legal practitioner, Mr.
Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe,
has filed a notice at the
Federal High Court in Abuja
to discontinue the suit he
instituted seeking the
disqualification of President
Muhammadu Buhari for lack
of certificate.
Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe had
alleged that Buhari was not
qualified to aspire for the
office of the President of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria
because he did not sit for
the Cambridge West African
School Certificate (WASC) in
1961 as he claimed. The notice of discontinuance
dated June 27 and obtained
by THISDAY, read: “Take
note that the plaintiff in this
originating summons, Nnamdi
Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe, hereby
discontinues this action.”
THISDAY checks revealed
that following the withdrawal
of the suit from court, the
trial judge, Justice Ademola
Adeniyi will today sit and
accordingly strike out the
case.
Though Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe
did not give any reason for
withdrawing the case from
court, THISDAY gathered
that it might not be
unconnected with alleged
threats to his life and
members of his family.
In an interview with THISDAY
last month, Nwokocha-
Ahaaiwe had alleged that
there were some subtle
threats on him to withdraw
the case from court.
He had said: Of course, I am
concerned and my family and
friends are too; I am not
naïve and some subtle
threats have already been
made. For now it is small
comfort that if anything
happens to me, even if
disguised as an accident or
anything, Nigerians will know
exactly who is responsible.
“In any case, it was
Professor Wole Soyinka, I
think, who once said in one
of his books that ‘The Man
Dies in Him Who Keeps Quiet
in The Face of Tyranny’ or
something of the sort.
Speaking of which, I am
amazed at the conspiracy of
silence by Nigerians. It is
astounding is it not, that in
the light of this very
apparent rape of our
constitution, laws, indeed the
very essence of our
democracy, all of our civil
society advocates and
activists have gone deaf and
dumb in the face of tyranny.
“All those voluble persons
(and I don’t want to name
them; they know themselves
and Nigerians know them
too), who pretend they are
activists or keepers of the
moral conscience of the
nation astonishingly can’t
see or appreciate what is
happening. This country
really misses Chief Gani
Fawehinmi; he was the only
fearless, credible, true and
genuine conscience of the
nation, not the pretenders
we have today; all the
others only make noise when
it suits them and their

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja will this Thursday give its ruling on an application seeking to stop judgment on an earlier ruling dismissing the preliminary objection of President Muhammadu Buhari in a suit challenging his qualification for the 2015 presidential election.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who had earlier reserved ruling on the motion for this Wednesday, had to adjourned to Thursday to enable service to be delivered to parties in the case.

When the matter was called up, parties in the suit were not present in court.

Justice Ademola, while suggesting that the absence of the parties in the suit may be due to the possibility that they were not served on the new adjourned date, announced an adjournment to enable parties to be served on the new adjourned date.

An Abuja based legal practitioner, Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaiwe, had filed an application asking the Federal High Court to nullify the election of Buhari as President of Nigeria on the grounds that he did not possess the minimum academic requirement for the position.

The plaintiff in the suit also alleged that Buhari did not sit for the Cambridge West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1961 as he had earlier claimed.

But Buhari raised a preliminary objection to the suit on the grounds that he was not properly served.

A new militant group under the aegis of Niger
Delta Red Squad, NDRS, has emerged.
The group is threatening to attack some
government and oil facilities in Imo State.
This is coming barely few days after it hit a facility
operated by Shell Petroleum Development
Company in Awarra, Ohaji/Egbema local council
area of Imo State.
In the current threat, which was signed by one
General Don Wannie, the group fumed that oil
producing communities had nothing to show for
the many years of oil exploration and exploitation.
It warned, “Oil companies started operation in our
community since 1957, but up till date, we have
nothing to show as benefit. For Imo State
Government, we will make sure you make no
further gains from Ohaji/Egbema.
“Since God’s creation, neither Imo State
Government nor oil companies have remembered
us. We have been neglected and abandoned. No
electricity. No tarred roads. No drinking water. No
hospital. No youth employment or empowerment.
We shall destroy everything in Imo State that was
built with our oil money”.
While claiming responsibility for blowing up two
Shell pipelines, the group also promised to inflict
further damage to oil facilities, if Ohaji/Egbema
communities are not given due benefits from
their oil resource.
The group equally warned Waltersmith Petroleum
Oil Limited of an imminent attack on the
company’s facilities.
“We will let them know that the security which
they claim to have is insufficient. So, they should
go and hire more because we are coming to
launch attack on them any moment from now”,
the group said.
The group further warned that if the federal and
state governments think “we are joking, we will
shock them.”

Some residents in Lagos have decried the increasing price of kerosene, which sold for as much as N240 per litre on Tuesday in some outlets.The residents spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Lagos.Mrs Kikelomo Adubi, a resident of Ilasamaja, saidthe rising price had made it difficult for the poor to buy kerosene for cooking.“I sent my daughter to the filling station to buy kerosene, thinking it was still N180 per litre.“To my surprise, my daughter came back without the product, telling me that it is was selling for N240 per litre at the filling station.“How do we survive in this country when the last hope of common people is no longer available?“The government should not continue to watch the masses suffer, they should come up with palliative measures to save us,” she said.Mrs Bidemi Ojo, a food seller at Ojuelegba, said she had turned to using cooking gas to replace kerosene because the price had gone up.Ojo said that the increase in kerosene price had, however, also pushed up the price of cooking gas.“Even now, the price of gas has increased; before 12.5kg cylinder was sold for N2,500, but now it is N4,000 while 6kg cylinder is N2,000.“Government should help us to do something about this increase, the masses are suffering,” she said.Others who spoke with NAN called for government intervention, urging the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to supplythe product to filling stations at the approved price to drive down the price.Mr Tokunbo Korodo, South-West Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) told NAN that there had been no loading of products at Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) depots since May 31.Korodo said the situation had resulted in the increase in prices of kerosene and diesel, as oil marketers sourced for the products in private depots in Apapa, Lagos.“For more than 28 days now, there are no loading activities in PPMC depots nationwide.“Oil marketers have resorted to private depots in Apapa to load their trucks; this gives the private depot owners the opportunity to sell the products at their own price.“If there are products at PPMC depots, the price would not have gone up like this.“Most of the private depots sell a litre of diesel for N180 per litre while kerosene is sold for N200 per litre.“Now diesel and kerosene are sold between N200and N220 respectively in filling stations,” he said.Korodo appealed to NNPC management to pump petroleum products to their depots for marketers to load in order to bring down the prices.Alhaji Taofiki Lawal, the Head, Corporate Communications Unit of NIPCO Plc, also told NAN that many oil importers no longer import kerosene.Lawal said this had resulted in hike in the price because the product was limited.“Most of the oil marketers import diesel and petroleum; they are not importing kerosene now because they believe that it will not sell fast.“This is why the price is on the high side becausethe demand is now more than the supply,” he said.On Jan. 24, the Federal Government hiked the price of Household Kerosene (HHK) to N83 per litre from N50 per litre, thereby, officially ending subsidy on the product.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has raised the alarm that there is a grand conspiracy to pull down the state, wondering who will benefit from the ugly plot.
Addressing the leaders of Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Monday, Governor Wike said those plotting against the state will fail as he will confront them with the People’s Mandate.

He said that those who were working against the interest of Rivers State in the name of politics, must remember that Rivers State was critical to the development of the nation.


The governor noted that he will always work for the unity and progress of the country as a patriot, despite the distractions.

He said: “There is a grand conspiracy against Rivers State. But I don’t know in whose interest. I believe in the unity of this country, therefore I will continue to work for its development and security”.

He added that very deliberate steps had been taken to undermine the security of the state, alleging that the Headquarters of the security agencies intervened to release deadly suspects arrested by operatives on ground.

Governor Wike said that despite the challenges in the state, his administration had created an enabling environment for development to take place.


He assured PETAN that his administration will partner with them to ensure that the set up a functional national secretariat in the state for the creation of employment.

Earlier, the Chairman of PETAN, Engr Bank-Anthony Okoroafor called on the governor to further create the required enabling environment for investors to flourish in the state.

He said the association will partner with the Rivers State Government to develop the state and enhance growth in the Petroleum sector.

There are strong indications that the Defence authorities will withdraw some war-tested soldiers from the North-East and deploy them in the Niger Delta as part of efforts to curb the attacks on oil installations in the region.

It was gathered on Sunday that the troops would form part of the newly formed Operation Delta Safe, which was formed to replace the defunct Operation Pulo Shield in the oil rich region.

The source was, however, not specific on when the troops would be deployed in the Niger Delta for the intensified campaign against pipeline attacks and oil theft.

The Defence headquarters had scrapped the Operation Pulo Shield and replaced it with Operation Delta Safe, which was designed to ensure security and protection of oil installations in the Niger Delta.

The new Task Force, with its operational headquarters in Yenagoa, is designed to have three sectors and five operational bases to cover the entire Niger Delta.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, said the military authorities would ensure effective equipment for the new task force to enable it to achieve the purpose for which it was established.

Although Abubakar neither confirmed nor denied the planned deployment of troops, he explained that the “reorganisation of the task force” was in the interest of the country and would have the best arsenal and equipment.

He said, “The overhauling was meant to ensure pro-activeness of the new outfit. We will, as much as possible, continue to inject new system, new equipment and new prescriptions to ensure that what happened before will not happen now.

“And so, the Defence Headquarters came up with the reorganisation, and it meant well for the country and it meant well for the industries there. So we are doing all these things to ensure that we do our best, with the best arsenal, with the best equipment, so that we can handle the security threat.

“But injecting new men or injecting more men is not the issue. The most important is that the reorganisation has been done and it is for the goodness of country, for the good of that general area.

“And we will do everything to secure all necessary spots, human, equipment and what have you to ensure that it performs optimally.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government will soon publicise its official position as regards the conditions set out by the militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers, for peace talks on the ongoing security threat in the Niger Delta region.

The NDA had, on Saturday, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to visit the Niger Delta region to see the difficulties the dwellers were experiencing despite the huge revenue accruable to the country from the region.

Buhari had, on Friday, reportedly appealed to the group “in God’s name” to stop destroying oil installations.

On when the government would visit the region officially based on the militants’ request, officials at the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said the Federal Government was working on the issue and would make its position public very soon.

“Any official position from the government will be issued very soon on this development, but I cannot tell when precisely,” the spokesperson for the NNPC, Mr. Garba-Deen Mohammed, told one of our correspondents on Sunday in Abuja.

“It is going to come from the government. This thing is a very delicate issue and it is not something that one will just make or issue a statement about because it concerns all of us.

“So it is not just a petroleum ministry or NNPC issue. It is something that affects us all and so the government is working on the matter.”

Another official at the petroleum ministry told The PUNCH on Sunday that the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Presidency were collaborating with the ministry as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, was among key government officials involved in talks with the militants.

“As you know, the Minister of State (petroleum resources) is among those spearheading talks and, of course, we are working with other agencies of government on this issue and very soon, an official position will be made public,” the official, who spoke to one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity, said.

The Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has said dialogue remains the only solution to the crisis in the Niger Delta region.

Speaking with reporters after his conferment with a honourary Doctorate Degree in Public Administration by the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, on Saturday, Dickson, while admitting there were grievances in the region, advised parties to embrace peace in resolving the insurgence.

He received the honour alongside the Chancellor of the University and the Alara of Aramoko Ekiti, Oba Abdul Azeez Adeyemi, and the Ekiti State-born legal practitioner, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, who is also involved in banking and oil and gas industries.

Dickson said, “We are all concerned about the development; all the leaders there are concerned about the recent tough surge of insurgency. We are collaborating on the way forward.

“Those of us, who are governors in our states, are working hard with traditional leaders and opinion leaders and security agencies and also collaborating with other private and corporate bodies to ensure that we put it under control.

“The way forward is not war, war. It is jaw-jaw. The way forward is peace and dialogue, it is consensus building and that is quite what some of us are in support of.

“We are not in support of violence; we are not in support brigandage. We are not in support of destruction of strategic national assets and killings. We know there is an issue and this issue can only be addressed when all stakeholders work together for unity, peace, prosperity and stability and progress of our country.”

All is set for the arraignment of the Senate
President, Dr Bukola Saraki, and his deputy,
Senator Ike Ekweremadu, for alleged forgery of
Senate Standing Rules before Justice Yusuf Haliru
While the Senate leadership described the
charges as a breach of the principle of
separation of powers and an attempt by the
executive to sack the Senate leaders through the
backdoor, the Attorney General of the Federation,
Abubakar Malami, SAN, said he acted within the
law.
Charged along with Saraki and Ekweremadu are
Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa and Benedict Efeturi,
The charges read: “That you, Salisu Abubakar
Maikasuwa, Benedict Efeturi, Dr. Olubukola Saraki
and Ike Ekweremadu, on or about, the 9th of
June, 2015, at the National Assembly complex,
Three Arms Zone, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of
this court, conspired amongst yourselves to forge
the Senate Standing Order, 2011 (as amended)
and you thereby committed the offence of
conspiracy, punishable under Section 97 (1) of
the Penal Code Law.”
They were also accused of fraudulently forging
the Senate Standing Order 2011 (as amended),
causing it to be believed as the genuine Standing
Order, 2015 and circulated same for use during
the inauguration of the 8th Senate of the National
Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria when
they knew that the said Order was not made in
compliance with the procedure for amendment of
the Senate Order.
Further details later

Chairman , Senate Committee on
Health Dr. Lanre Tejuoso, said the poor condition
of heath sector allegedly orchestrated by the
Peoples Democratic Party made President
Muhammadu Buhari to travel to the United
Kingdom to treat an ear infection.
Tejuoso, who represents Ogun Central Senatorial
District in the National Assembly, berated the PDP
for destroying the nation's health care system.
He said this on Monday in Abeokuta at the
sideline of his empowerment programme where
he distributed many items including cars, to the
people of his constituency.
He disclosed that the President had been
attended to by his doctors in Nigeria, arguing
that because there was no improvement in his
case, he had to travel abroad.
He said, "Do you know the party of the President?
It's All Progressives Congress. Do you know the
party that ruled for 16 years? It is PDP. We have
just taken over. We inherited a rotten health
sector; our budget is just about to start.
"So we are still suffering from the PDP structure.
If in one year's time the president should go to UK
for health, then you talk about why is he going."
"In medicine, there is what they call second
opinion. The President did not leave the day he
was sick. He was in Nigeria for days, he was
seeing our Nigerian doctors and after that, there
was no improvement, he went for what we call
second opinion to confirm whatever it is that is
the problem. And thank God he's back hale and
hearty
He however, called for the removal of the
immunity clause from Constitution, arguing that,
that this will make the leaders in the executive
and legislative arms of government to behave
well.
It was reported last weekend that the lawmakers
have proposed an immunity for the principal
officers of the two arms of the National Assembly
and life pension after their tenure in office
Though he noted that other arms of government
like judiciary also enjoy such benefit, Tejuoso said
if the immunity clause was removed it would put
an end to the bickering that only certain
categories of people were being favoured.
He said, "Well all I will say is that the Senate is not
the only beneficiary of any benefit that is like
that. So, we should not just talk about the
Senate.
"We should talk about the judiciary, are they not
benefitting from the same thing? The executives,
are they not benefitting in the same thing? So let
us remove for everybody and let everybody be on
their own like ordinary Nigerians.
"So that we stop all this whether is senator,
whether is governor. Let there be no immunity for
anybody and let everybody behave and be
judged accordingly."
The Senator who said he was at home to give
dividends of democracy to his people for his one
year stewardship