₦airaland Forum

*President’s proposals endorsed without room for debate

*Sacked national exco members mull legal option

A new page was on Thursday turned in the affairs of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The tenure of Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) was terminated two years, two days after it came into office.

A Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Committee to run the affairs of the party and plan its national convention was inaugurated.

Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni is chairman of the caretaker panel with Senator John James Akpanudoede as secretary.

The members are Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola (Southwest), Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello (Northcentral), Senator Ken Nnamani (Southeast), Senator Abubakar Yusuf (Senate Rep.), Hon. Akinyemi Olaide (Reps.) and Mrs. Stella Oketete (Women Representative).

Other members are Dr. James Lalu (physically-challenged), Chief David Lyon (Southsouth), Senator Abba Ali (Northwest), Prof. Tahir Mamman (Northeast) and Mr. Ismail Ahmed (Youth).

The decisions were taken by the National Executive Committee (NEC) summoned on Thursday by feuding ex-deputy national secretary Victor Giadom, who was laying claim to the chairmanship granted him by an interim court order.

The meeting at Aso Villa, according to sources, was held without a pronounced agenda.

President Buhari merely read an address, in which he made proposals to end the impasse in the party.

There was no for a debate. They were merely robber stamped.

A source at the NEC meeting said decisions at the meeting were premeditated.

The source added that the meeting had no agenda but President Muhammadu Buhari only made some recommendations which became binding on NEC members.

“We were shocked that there was no agenda. All the decisions purportedly agreed at the NEC session were from a meeting held on Wednesday by some anti-Oshiomhole governors and others.

“The President just came in with their recommendations. We thought they were going to throw issues open for debate as expected in a democratic setting but there was nothing like that.

“The plot was already signed and sealed to the consternation of everybody.”

“It was an ambush”, one of the party leaders at the meeting said.

The caretaker’s first assignment was writing a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), notifying it of its new role and on the plan for the Ondo State primary election slated for July 20.

The President made the following proposals which were adopted without a debate.

*immediate discontinuation of all pending litigations involving the party and its members;

*ratifying the primary election conducted in Edo State;

*dissolving the current National Working Committee, and

*appointing Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning committee.

On litigations, the President said: “The directive had been issued before, unfortunately some members failed to heed the directive. Thus, at this time, it must be made a Resolution of the Party which must be effectively enforced with dire consequences for members who choose to ignore the directive.”

The President said in order to return to the “winning ways”, the APC must maintain cohesion by closing its ranks.

“We must be alive to the time and the task that is before us. As we all know, we are immediately confronted with the upcoming gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo States. Therefore, this is the time to get our acts together.”

Buhari added: “Fellow party members, this is a very crucial moment in the life of our party and it is with a deep sense of concern that I stand before you today to speak as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who has been elected on the platform of our great party – the All Progressives Congress.

“The issues currently confronting our party at this time are such that should worry every party member. At the moment, our great party is faced with internal wrangling; there are on-going litigations amongst some party members and we cannot clearly ascertain the status of certain National Working Committee (NWC) members”, he said.

The President expressed worry over the shifting loyalty within the party and inconsistency in leadership, which had opened the governing party to mockery.

“There are other associated disputes as to the legitimacy or otherwise of holders of certain National Offices of the Party. The Party is also contending with Judicial claims and counter-claims, orders and counter-orders and indeed Judgments and counter-judgments that are predominantly at cross-purposes.

“Confronted with these issues, it is obvious that the fortunes of the party are currently in jeopardy, administration of our party is becoming impossible and there is consequently an urgent need for intervention to immediately arrest further drifts and internal wrangling which may lead to total disintegration.

“What we see clearly emerging, is that we are beginning to self-destruct. This, my dear party members, is not just regrettable but utterly gut-wrenching.”

Addressing reporters after the meeting, Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu, said: “The meeting was well attended, most importantly by President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker, Deputy speaker, governors from the different APC states.

“We are indeed very grateful that the President and the NEC expressed confidence in the governors by appointing this distinguished personalities and we are happy that today, the issues bedeviling our party have been laid to rest by this momentous decisions.

“We are equally congratulating Mr President on the exercise of the mandate that has been given to him by Nigerians and today the party issues, which should not distract him, has been sorted.

“Equally, the meeting ratified all the decisions that have been taken in Edo State primaries and screening primaries and a name will be forwarded properly to INEC, the name of our candidate in the Edo gubernatorial elections.

“Equally, the schedule of activities that will commence in the Ondo state primaries, where by God’s grace, we will also be presenting a candidate, will commence under the leadership of the caretaker committee. We thank all our supporters for putting faith in our party and our party leaders for all the support they have been giving Mr President to achieve this wonderful outcome”, he said.

Buni, the caretaker chairman said: “As a former two-time national secretary, I know the party very well. It’s all about doing justice to every member of the party because without justice there won’t be peace and it is all about team play. I am a team player, I have a capable team that can work with me.

“If you don’t manage crisis, obviously crisis will manage you, so I won’t allow any crisis to fester henceforth and the process of convening this NEC, I want to tell you that it is a continuation of the last notice that was issued and we said we have adjourned and now it’s a continuation of the last adjourned NEC meeting. All the notices were issued accordingly, so in no way are we in any aberration.

“The duration of office is for six months within which we will do whatever we can as enshrined in our constitution and ensure that we strengthen the party and cap it up with the convention.

“NEC is the highest organ of the party if not convention and by our constitution, NEC can act for convention in between . Whatever that happened during the last NWC culminating in Edo primaries have already been ratified by NEC. So we are good to go. All litigations will be withdrawn.

He denied that the dissolution of the party NEC was targeted at victimising or degrading the influence of any party leader.

“You mentioned the name of one of our leaders, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,a founding father of this party. We are all together to rescue this party from all this, nobody is happy with the situation under which the party is now operating because we are in court for various problems and crisis, so this decision was taken by NEC to address some of this issues. So nobody is targeted and it is against nobody. Asiwaju is one of the leaders of this party and a founding father of the party”, Buni said.

A last-minute meeting summoned to discuss the fate of Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has failed to save the embattled chief executive as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday said that it would go ahead with June 22, 2020 governorship primary election.

The APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, fielded questions from State House reporters after a meeting with the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.

The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, as well as four members of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), including the National Vice Chairman (North West), Barr. Inuwa Abdulkadir; National Treasurer, Adamu Panda; National Welfare Officer, Ibrahim Masari; and National Publicity Secretary, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu.

Bagudu, who represented the APC governors at the meeting, did not wait while Oshiomhole was speaking with journalists after the meeting.

The meeting was believed to have discussed the fallout of the disqualification of the incumbent Governor Obaseki from participating in the state governorship primary election.

Oshiomhole, who said the APC had followed all necessary guidelines and standard practice required ahead of the primary, expressed optimism that the process would be “free, fair, and transparent” and produce a candidate that would unify the party.

crispus09:
Mean na powerful people way be that.they decide something now and next they reverse it.

crispus09:
if person say hin papa masquerade go dance and he decide say e no go dance again na crime?

Modphase:
But it is possible for foolish Igbos like you to query Tinubu over his own money he carried in bullion van ba ? Pls according to your pathetic Igbo analysis how many bullion van will. Be needed to ferry 49 billion naira ? Is just 2 like we saw in Tinubu's compound or do will need up to 200 or more of it. If we need more why do foolish Igbos insult Ganduje n Tinubu more than a Theodore Orji that is clearly a multithief that can never be rivaled by Aneinih or Shima Rambo ?!

ojikeebere12:
*All payments made in cash

*Gave N5.760b to Abia lawmakers, N7.2b to informants

*Made payments to traditional rulers, others

A former Governor of Abia State, Senator Theodore Orji has furnished the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with details of how he spent his N38.8billion security votes during his eight years in office.

Orji who was in charge of the state between 2007 and 2015 is being investigated by the anti-graft commission for corruption.

He said he collected N38.8billion as security votes during the period and not N48billion as alleged by the EFCC.

Orji who is currently representing Abia Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly said he shared much of the N38billion with members of the state House of Assembly, his security informants and traditional rulers.

He claimed to have also given part of the money to military units,the police,the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and security agencies as what he called statutory allocations.

In a tell-it-all statement to his interrogators, the former governor said he gave successive members of the State House of Assembly N5. 760billion, at N60million per month, in the eight years.

He also claimed to have paid N75million monthly to security informants in 15 of the 17 local government areas of the state within the same period.

The yet-to-be identified informants allegedly pocketed a total of N7.200billion between 2007 and 2015.

Some of the security agencies, according to him, received N2million per month.

However, he told the interrogators that he does not have a comprehensive list of all the beneficiaries of the largesse because the Government House staff who used to disburse the cash is no more.

He gave the man’s name simply as Felix.

Orji said he did not ask for the list from Felix at the expiration of his tenure as governor.

He only issued directives to Felix on how to share the security votes.

He also said he never collected cash either from the Director of Finance or the Cashier in Government House.

The EFCC insists that Orji collected N48billion in eight years.

It has retrieved five huge bags of documents from the relevant desks in Abia State on the ex-governor’s financial transactions.

Based on Orji’s confessions, the EFCC is expected to arraign him in court soon being in what a source described as “a straightforward case.”

The Nation gathered that the former governor made the revelations during a session on oath in the presence of his lawyer, who he referred to as Edmund.

It was the first time Orji would open up after many years of trying to make him respond to allegations against him.

Orji said he received N370million monthly as security votes in 2007 and N410million monthly from 2008 to 2015.

He said that from his assumption of office up to his exit the funds were distributed in cash. “There were also statutory funds to the security agencies,” he was quoted as saying.

He said the first Speaker in 2007 and the last Speaker in his second term confirmed the receipt of N60million monthly from his security votes.

He said the Majority Leader also attested to the receipt of the monthly cash although he claimed he did not know “ how they shared the money.”

He could not explain what the monthly cash to the lawmakers was meant for or remember the exact amount he was giving the traditional rulers monthly.

Orji admitted that all disbursements by the late Felix were based on his directives.

Usually, according to him, the funds were brought by the Director of Finance (DF)in batches.

The DF would then inform the ex-governor on how much had come and would then be kept in the accounts.

Orji would, in turn, issue directive to the late Felix on what to disburse and to whom.

He was quoted as saying “Felix comes to show me how disbursement is made. After disbursement, Felix keeps the list for safety. As I was leaving the Government House, I didn’t ask him for the list.”

He claimed that he never personally collected any cash from the votes whether from the Director of Finance or Government House cashier.

The funds were channelled through Felix “on my directives,” he said.

The EFCC is still working on the charges against Orji.

But a reliable source told The Nation that investigation had “reached an appreciable stage for trial.”

Continuing, the source said: “We have been on this case since March 2017. Our operatives were painstaking in cracking this case.

“We will arraign ex-governor in court any time from now because the charges are ready. The only challenge is COVID-19 but we won’t allow it to affect the arraignment.

“In the face of the law, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the court. The onus is on him to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he did not commit the financial recklessness.”

The source said the use of security votes was the first leg of the ongoing probe of Senator Theodore Orji.

The former governor has been under investigation since November 22, 2018 following a petition from a group, Fight Corruption: Save Nigeria Group

In the March 17, 2017 petition, the group alleged that Orji received and diverted various sums of monies that accrued to Abia State while in office.

The breakdown of the amounts allegedly received by him are as follows:

N383 billion revenue from federation accounts

N55 billion Excess Crude Revenue

N2.3 billion Sure – P

N1.8 billion Ecological funds

N10.5 billion loan from First Bank of Nigeria through the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Local Government Affairs.

N4 billion Loan from Diamond Bank

N12 billion Paris Club refund

*N2 billion Agricultural loan for farmers

*N55 billion ASOPADEC.

https://thenationonlineng.net/how-i-blew-n38-8b-security-votes-in-eight-years-by-ex-governor-orji/

https://thenationonlineng.net/how-i-blew-n38-8b-security-votes-in-eight-years-by-ex-governor-orji/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Facts have emerged over how the plot to oust the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was foiled yesterday by some governors of the party sympathetic to his cause.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling party was billed for today to decide on Oshiomhole’s continued stay as national chairman, but President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, sanctioned the indefinite postponement of the meeting after a parley with APC governors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

New Telegraph exclusively gathered last night that it was a near brawl at a meeting of the APC governors under the aegis of Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), which preceded their meeting with President Buhari.

The meeting, which held at the Kebbi State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, was for the APC governors to arrive at a position on Oshiomhole and the botched NEC meeting before proceeding to the Villa to meet with Buhari.

Though Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna) were conspicuously absent from the meeting, our correspondent gathered that the purpose of the PGF meeting was defeated as tempers flared, when Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, who also doubles as chairman of the PGF, came up with a post-meeting communiqué, which not only endorsed Oshiomhole’s ouster, but agreed that the NEC meeting should hold as scheduled.

The communiqué was meant to be presented to President Buhari as the position of the governors on Oshiomhole, but troubled started, when Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, challenged Bagudu on how the stand was arrived at.

A source at the meeting told our correspondent that Uzodinma not only confronted Bagudu, but demanded the he (the Kebbi State governor) explain to his colleagues, how the position to support Oshiomhole’s sack as APC national chairman was arrived at.

His words: “It was a charged atmosphere at the meeting of the Progressive Governors’ Forum held at Atiku Bagudu’s house before the APC governors later proceeded to the Villa to confer with President Buhari.

“The meeting was for the governors to take a stand on Oshiomhole as well as the NEC meeting that was supposed to hold today, but the conviviality that normally characterize such meetings was missing as Governor Bagudu’s move to have his colleagues adopt a communiqué prepared ahead of the meeting and which supported Oshiomhole’s sack, hit the rocks.

“Uzodinma, who faulted the move which would have sealed Oshiomhole’s fate, practically charged at Bagudu over the communiqué, describing it as a fraud. He was supported by his colleagues from Borno, Ogun and Gombe states; Babagana Zulum, Dapo Abiodun and Inuwa Yahaya.”

The source added that while the heated debate over Uzodinma’s observation raged, the pro-Oshiomhole governors, who indisputably outnumbered their colleagues on the other side, insisted that the party’s national chairman should not be removed.

He further revealed that the Imo State governor even went ahead to “warn Bagudu and his co-travellers to desist from using the PGF to champion their interest,” while insisting on the sack of the Director General of the Forum, Salihu Lukman, who according to him, is being used by some of the governors to attack Oshiomhole.

The pro-Oshiomhole governors threatened to remove Bagudu as chairman of APC governors. Bagudu, however, pleaded with his colleagues to allow peace to reign.

Before the governors left the Kebbi Governor’s Lodge, it was agreed that Oshiomhole must stay on while the NEC meeting must be postponed.

New Telegraph learnt that at the Villa, President Buhari told the governors that the NEC meeting would not go on. “The governors told the President that they have also agreed on the postponement of the meeting,” one of the governors said.

President Buhari also told the governors to nominate two of its members who will join the APC Reconciliation Committee headed by a former Interim National of the party, Chief Bisi Akande.

“The President also told the governors not only to support the Akande committee, but to also direct all those, who are in courts with the party to withdraw their suits,” the source added.

Meanwhile, the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting of the APC will hold today at the party’s National Secretariat.

“All members of the NWC are expected to attend as important matters concerning the party will be considered and deliberated at the meeting.

“Recall that a Court of Appeal, on Monday, stayed the execution order of a High Court restraining the APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole from further acting in that capacity,” Lanre Issa-Onilu, the party spokesman stated in a statement.

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has faulted a report by a newspaper of his purported selection to serve on a monitoring team for the forthcoming Supreme Court review of the case between Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress and Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The apex court on January 14, 2020, nullified the election of Ihedioha as the governor of the state and declared Uzodinma as the winner of the governorship election.

Ihedioha subsequently filed an appeal, urging the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment. The hearing of the appeal has been fixed for March 2, 2020.

The elder statesman, who said the online link of the newspaper’s report (not The Punch) was sent to him for perusal, noted in a statement on Tuesday night that he knew nothing of the development and was not involved in any aspect of the legal tussle.

He said, “That report claims that I have been engaged to serve on a monitoring team regarding a forthcoming Supreme Court review of that case. I know nothing of this development and I am not involved in any aspect of the tussle. I know nothing of this Third Force Democracy whatever.

“I have no intention of participating in any judicial monitoring activity and demand to be kept out of any such false attributions. Hopefully, some day in the distant future, it will be possible for the nation to regain the respect of the world in its democratic claims. That time, alas, is not immediately apparent.”

meum:
Now you believe when they say fear Mbaise people? Abeg Enjoy the judgment.

kahal29:
IMO SUPREME COURT REVIEW

After carefully reading the entire 48 page motion as filed with the Supreme Court of Nigeria, praying that the apex court declare as nullity its judgement that declared Hope Uzodimma the winner of Imo gubernatorial elections of March 9, 2019, below are my opinions.

My position is based purely on facts and not sentiments. I had told Ihedioha’s supporters that his undoing was the INEC and his Counsel.

Even with the motion for review they filed, while quoting the reason for judgement in Adegoke Motors vs Adesanya by Supreme Court Justice C. Oputa, they wrote “it is far better to admit an error than to preserve an error” whereas the correct quote is “it is far better to admit an error than to persevere in error”. I bet you his Counsel did not tell him reasons why Supreme Court may decide to review and or revise itself, they didn’t.

Let me put it in layman’s terms, the Supreme Court, may not review a case when the judgement are unanimous. That is usually the first rule. They will not accept to review his case on the basis of these motions he filed, because if they do, they will by this singular action have to resolve several layers of complex legal matters which may involve questions of electoral law and that is a no no.

To say this in other terms, the grounds for which the review is being sought are not good grounds. As the apex court of the land, his motion thus seeks to challenge the factual reasons of the judges and also evaluate if they properly applied settled matter.

Granting a review on the grounds of the motion as filed by his Counsel will be akin to deciding whether an armed robber is actually innocent and if the courts were biased in interpreting the law.

The motion as filed will not be accepted for review because it lacks merit. I will expect the supreme court of Nigeria in not too distant time to issue a “Denial for Request”.

This is because the motion as filed by his Counsel lacks merit for review. If they accept it the way it is, it will be tantamount to a full litigation. They can't do that.

By

Jeff Uzor
06/02/2020