Ghanaian President John Mahama (R) waves to the crowd as he arrives accompanied by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to attend the funeral service for writer Chinua Achebe at Ogidi, Anambra State.AFP PHOTO.

Achebe’s burial attracted President Goodluck Jonathan, Ghanaian counterpart, John Mahama, former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former Secretary General of Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, Governors Roachas Okorocha of Imo, Martin Elechi of Ebonyi, Liyel Imoke of Cross River, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta and the host, Peter Obi of Anambra State

Other prominent Nigerians present include labour minister, Emeka Wogu, Minister of state for foreign affairs, Prof Viola Onwuliri, Prof. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Power minister, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, Senator Chris Ngige representing Anambra Centsral, Senator Andy Uba representing Anambra South, former governor, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former MAMSER Director General, Prof Elochukwu Amaucheazi, Prof Laz Ekwueme, among others.

All through his very eventful life, Achebe lived the life of a writer and scholar.

Though not overtly stated, however, the parading of some uniform-wearing political party members became something of concern that the burial of such an intellectual has been politicized.

With the presence of many governorship aspirants, including Mr. Ifeanyi Uba, Uche Ekwunife, Senator Andy Uba, Senator Chris Ngige, among others, the atmosphere of St. Philip’s Church was politically charged as their supporters danced round the area in various uniforms with photographs of their candidates.

Notable Absence

Achebe’s burial also attracted members of the clergy, the diplomatic corps from Canada, Germany, America and Ghana. It was also noticed that Professor Wole Soyinka and Prof John Pepper Clark did not attend the burial.

The absence of Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka and Prof John Pepper Clark at the occasion, to many was worrisome. The quartet of Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Clark and Chris Okigbo shaped the character and direction of modern African literature.

While Achebe and Okigbo are now late, Soyinka and Clark were the faces highly sought after by many at the event.

Death and Forgiveness

In his sermon, Most Reverend Dr. Ikechi Nwosu, the Archbishop of Aba Diocese, who represented the Primate of Anglican Church in Nigeria, Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh, commended President Jonathan for what he described as his large heartedness bothering on spirit of forgiveness.
Apparently referring to the late Achebe’s rejection of the national honours, Okoh noted that it showed forgiveness of heart that the President would still be present to honour the burial of the late icon.

While thanking the number one citizen for his unmatched gesture, the bishop also enjoined other Nigerians to show love and emulate the spirit of forgiveness as a way of moving the country foreword.

Nwosu said Igbo must give special thanks to God for making Achebe come from this part of the world.
He said: “Many of us gained so much from his knowledge. He was a Christian to the core and a man of great social standing.
Dwelling on the theme, “Chinua Achebe, a parable to the Nigerian nation,” Archbishop Nwosu observed that the late writer used so many parables in his books and could have fitted properly as a pastor.

According to him, Achebe had a foundation of the Bible flowing in him which was why he was actually inspired in his writings.
He said further: “We may narrate all our woes as a nation, but with determination, we will excel. Achebe was determined and that was why he excelled and so shall it be for Nigeria .

“He also proved that there is no end to one’s exploits in life. Whatever God has designed that we will be in life, that we will surely become. Achebe worked so hard to encourage so many people. He was a husband, a father and above all, a practical man.

He said further: “Achebe loved Nigeria so much and wanted things to works well. Please do not count anything against him. He meant well for our country.”

The cleric said though Achebe was not a politician and did not aspire for anything, he was appreciated more than most political leaders.

Jonathan speaks

In his speech, President Jonathan said the late literary icon, abhorred bad leadership and observed that the greatest honour Nigerians could do for him was to change from their bad behaviour.

The president said though there had been so much comment on Achebe’s last book, ‘There was a country’, part of which he read at the church, he asked, Have we changed from what Achebe complained about?

He said: ”Those of us who are political, business and religious leaders must work hard to change our behavious. Our 2011 elections showed that we can change. If we can conduct free and fair election and change politicians for the better, our country will be better.
The president, who said he read Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ as a secondary school student in 1972, described him as a great philosopher who used his books to tell stories that make great impact on the lives of the people.

To the Ghanaian president, John Mahama who also attended the burial ceremony, Achebe was a great inspiration to him. He said: “Though we never met physically, we were speaking on phone. Achebe was to deliver a lecture in Ghana, but could not do it before his death.

“I am grateful to God for the life of Achebe and the way he chose to live his life. He was much more than a writer and we thank Achebe for showing us that we can be ourselves.”
Both President Jonathan and President Mahama of Ghana, promised to rebuild the Akpakaogwe Primary School, Ogidi which Achebe attended.

Obi commends
Jonathan

Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi, said by personally attending the burial and attracting another president, Jonathan had shown a rare sense of leadership, which no other president would have done.

Obi said: “The love you are showing to Igbo is a life line which we will never forget. For what you are doing for us, we will continue to be behind you.”
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Professor Viola Onwuliri, presented all the condolence registers signed for Achebe in all the Nigerian missions abroad to the eldest son of Achebe, Dr. Ikechukwu Achebe.

There was, however, an uproar when the minister, apparently out of excitement, said the registers were so many that they could not even be contained in a ‘Ghana Must Go’, which sent the whole congregation, into laughter including the Ghanaian President, John Mahama, who was in the church with his aides from his country.

Realizing the slip, Mrs. Onwuliri quickly apologized, saying she did not mean to be disrespectful to the president of Ghana.
The President’s aircraft touched down at 11.05am, heralding the ringing of the church bell for the commencement of the church service. The brown casket bearing the body of Achebe was carried by eight young men in suits with purple shirts to match.

The service started at 11.30am with Achebe’s elder sister, Ezinne Zinobia Ikpeze on wheel chair leading other members of the family. Their dress was different from what they wore at the Ekwueme square in Awka, when the body arrived from Enugu on Wednesday.

Achebe’s eldest son, Ikechukwu, read the only lesson at the church service taken from the Book of Revelation, Chapter 7 Verse 9 –end.
Achebe’s widow, Christy rendered a special song in honour of her husband which according to her she sang last when she renewed her marriage vow with Chinua Achebe.

His remains were later buried after the Church service at the Mousoleum built in his compound.

Source: Vanguard

The legislators stated that Rivers State remained the real owner of the B700 Global Express Aircraft with Registration Number N565RS with a valid insurance cover that will expire in 2015.

The representatives also found there was no truth to the claim by Nigeria’s aviation agencies that the aircraft belongs to a foreign country and has no valid papers.

These were some of the conclusions contained in a report by the House committee on Justice and Aviation. The committee investigated the circumstances that led to the controversial grounding of the aircraft.

The 11-page report was jointly signed by the House Committee Chairman on Justice, Ali Ahmad, and his Aviation counterpart, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha. The House had composed the committee on April 30, 2013 to probe the grounding of the aircraft by the NCAA.

The committee sat on May 14, 2013 and took testimonies from officials of the NCAA, the Nigeria Aviation Management Authority (NAMA), Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, as well as officials of Caverton Helicopters and the Rivers State Government.

The report stated, “The level of ineptitude of NCAA is glaring in many respects: failure to appreciate from a trust agreement that an aircraft belongs to a trustor-beneficiary even after their attention is drawn to it and even as other aircraft are registered in the name of the same trustee; non-detection of an expired flight clearance 24 days after the fact and the detection was triggered by an incident rather than as a matter of course; even if the fact of falsification of documents were true.”

The report added: “It was unacceptable that NCAA did not detect this fact for over six months; indeed NCAA boasted in a letter of 29th April, 2013 that following the incident it undertook a due diligence of the status of the aircraft, but even then it failed to determine the issue of ownership and several others.

“Operational and other navigational charges were received by NAMA and FAAN and other agencies while operating the aircraft and receipts issued without raising alarm as to ownership of the aircraft by Rivers State Government.

Part of the report also stated: “Perusal of the Trust Agreement between Rivers State Trustor and Bank of Utah Trustee would have shown this fact of ownership; it is distressing that NCAA and the Ministry still fail or refuse to appreciate this simple fact; but since the authorities did not raise ownership issue with several other aircraft having the name of Bank of Utah Trustees, this allegation is in bad faith and grossly unprofessional, as the owner, Rivers State Government elected to register the aircraft in the U.S. to save money for the State and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy.

“Rivers State Government, through Caverton, applied to the Hon. Minister of Aviation to import and operate the aircraft in Nigeria but the application was not consummated, and so it is being operated in Nigeria as a foreign aircraft for private use.

“As from 27 August, 2012 when it applied on behalf of Rivers State Government to import the aircraft, Caverton maintained agency relationship with the Government; although that relationship was abated shortly thereafter with regard to importation of the aircraft, other aspects of the agency relationship continued especially relating to applications for flight clearance; however, all relationships between the parties was brought to an end by Caverton’s letter of denunciated to NCAA dated 26 April, 2013.

“As owner and operator of the aircraft, neither Rivers State Government nor its officials forged or falsified any document toward securing flight clearances or any other license. Should top management of Caverton deny transacting business with Rivers State Government despite its acquiescence of transactions between its member of staff and the Government, then its behavior smacks of administrative laxity or negligence; alternatively, its behavior lends credence to the assertion that it was pressured to deny the relationship.

“Caverton should be held accountable for providing information that led NCAA to ground the aircraft, contrary to provision of the law;

“Rivers State Government operated its aircraft with expired clearance between 2nd and 26th April, 2013; but several other aircraft are suspected to be in similar situation; isolation of Rivers State Government for reprimand becomes difficult to deny.

“Justifications for both the delayed start-up in Akure and the continued grounding of the aircraft in Port Harcourt amount to taking an action and later shopping for reasons: the faulty declaration of manifest and failure to file flight plan ceased to be a reason immediately the Director-General of NAMA waived the infringement and permitted the aircraft to depart Akure, otherwise continuous citing manifest and flight plan violations as additional reasons for grounding the aircraft has serious implications for the Director-General; alleged fabrication of documents by Rivers State Government was unsubstantiated.

“Having overlooked the Akure violation, the only justification known to law to warrant regulatory action against the aircraft is its operation with expired clearance between 2nd and 26th April, 2013; however, NCAA botched the opportunity to legally impose the sanction as it failed to give a written notice to Rivers State Government as required by Section 35(5) Civil Aviation Act, Cap. C13 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004;

“The handling by NAMA and NCAA of this violation and their response actions further confirm the previous findings of the Joint Senate and House Committee on Aviation on the crash of Dana Aircraft that the Ministry of Aviation exerts undue interference on routine operations of these agencies.”

The report suggested that the House Committee on Aviation be mandated to scrutinize the reason for rampant foreign registration of aircraft by their owners and to further investigate all private-use aircraft operating in the country in order to sanitize their operation and ensure enforcement of the law.

Source: Sahara Reporters

Both Adebolajo and his partner-in-crime, who are being treated in separate hospitals while under arrest, are British citizens “who have converted to a radical form of Islam,” said a report in Britain’s Daily Mail.

Even so, the paper said that “they are not thought to have links to terror groups based in Nigeria, such as the jihadist militant organisation Boko Haram.”

Police have raided a £365,000 detached house in a Lincolnshire village where Adebolajo is listed as having lived in the past.

“There was no answer at the address believed to be that of Adebolajo’s father, named by neighbours as Anthony Adebolajo,” according to the report.

“Mr. Adebolajo, 56, is believed to be a trained nurse now working in a managerial capacity within the NHS,” report said, adding:

“The modern property was being monitored by two police patrol cars stationed outside.

Later in the morning, plain clothes officers, thought to be from the Metropolitan Police, arrived at the modern estate and the house and driveway was sealed off with police tape. An officer at the scene described the property as a ‘crime scene’.

“Mr Adebolajo bought the property in 2002. At one time a woman who wore a burka was thought to live with him.

“They believed he had up to four grown up children, although few if any are thought to have stayed at the house for any period of time.

“Michael Adebolajo was listed as being a resident there in 2004, shortly after the family moved in.”

Reporting on the murder that has shocked the world, Daily Mail said: “The serviceman was murdered yards from the barracks in Woolwich, south-east London, yesterday.

“In broad daylight, an attacker and an accomplice repeatedly stabbed and tried to behead the young serviceman in front of dozens of passers-by.

“The attacker, speaking in a clear south London accent, declared in the rant: ‘You people will never be safe. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’

“Throughout the frenzied attack the two killers shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ – Arabic for ‘God is great’ – then demanded horrified witnesses film them as they ranted over the crumpled body.

“The two attackers in their 20s, waited calmly for armed police to arrive before charging at officers brandishing a rusty revolver, knives and meat cleavers.

“When the old pistol was shot towards police it backfired and blew the thumb off one of the men.

“Moments later they were cut down in a hail of bullets believed to be fired by a woman marksman. Last night both men were being treated in hospital for their wounds.

“Before police arrived the man identified as Adebolajo, said: ‘We swear by Almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reasons we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day.”

The slaughter took place 200 yards from The Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich and close to a primary school at 2:20pm.

Witnesses told how the men drove a dark blue Vauxhall Tigra on to the pavement and knocked down the soldier.

Source: News Extra

Sources said though Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State had also indicated interest in the job, he would be asked to withdraw in favour of Yuguda at the end of the day.

It was also gathered that the Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko and his Anambra State counterpart, Mr Peter Obi, have also endorsed the choice of Yuguda.

Further details, however, emerged on Thursday as to the reasons behind the decision of Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) to reject the position of the NGF on the declaration of state of emergency in parts of the North.

It was also revealed that the same reasons had been adduced by members of the NGSF for their decision to withdraw their backing for the outgoing chairman of the NGF, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, in his bid to secure a second term in office.

It was gathered in Abuja, on Thursday, that the statement issued by the NGF warning against the declaration of state of emergency by the Federal Government was without the input of the NSGF members and that many of them were angered by the development.

Some of the governors, especially from the North, felt that they were not consulted before the statement was issued and they were angry that their name was being dragged into an unnecessary war.

According to another source, the NSGF members felt that the statement on such a critical issue as security should have taken into account their direct inputs, since the formation of NGF did not mean that each governor had lost his independence.

Sources close to the NGF also told the Nigerian Tribune that the NSGF decided to show its anger at the earlier statement by the NGF, by issuing another statement last week, welcoming the state of emergency.

“Members of the NSGF issued that statement welcoming the declaration of a state of emergency in the three states to show their anger at the statement by the NGF, which incidentally coincides with the opinion of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on the matter.

“They felt they were not carried along and that it could be a sign of more things to come,” a source said.

The source further stated that the statement by NGF was the main issue that drove northern governors away from Amaechi’s second term ambition as NGF chairman.

Source: Tribune

They include former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Governor of Lagos state, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) , Governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, former Governor of Kano state, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, Senator George Akume, Senator Mohammed Saleh and former EFCC boss, Malam Nuhu Ribadu.

Also expected were former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Malam Nasir El-Rufa’i and Governor Abdulazeez of Zamfara state.

Speaking to newsmen, Secretary of Conference of Opposition Political Parties in Kaduna state, Mr Francis Kozah said the rally would mark a significant shift and higher attainment in their search for alternative leadership in Kaduna state.

“ We have been looking for ways and means for alternative government in this state since the last two years. The idea of the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is what we the opposition in Kaduna state strongly indentify with. We believe that tomorrow’s rally will give our people the strong sense of our commitment for a new government come 2015, with the calibre of people that will be coming to address them,” he said.

According to him, “we have done what is expected. We have written the Commissioner of Police and all the Divisional Police Officers in Southern Kaduna with their counterparts in the SSS, asking for security during the rally. We are very sure they will comply, because this is a constitutional right.

“We heard from many people that the PDP in the state is very jittery. We are told, but we cannot confirm it independently, that all the local government chairmen of the PDP in Southern Kaduna have contributed money to the police to influence them to stop the rally, based on perceived insecurity.

“But, even from the words of the state government, Kaduna state is secure and peaceful. So there will be no basis for that,” he said.

However, Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olufemi Adenaike, in a text message denied that the Conference of Opposition Political Parties in Kaduna State wrote to ask for security.

Source: Tribune

Marcus Deyerin (DayERin), a spokesman for the Northwest Washington Incident Management team, said there were no fatalities or suspected fatalities. He said three people were rescued from the water and sent to area hospitals. He didn’t know the extent of their injuries.

A search of the river continues and a dive team was on scene as well as several rescue boats still on the river.

It was not known what caused the collapse of the bridge, which is about 60 miles north of Seattle, in Skagit County, and stretches from the North Cascades National Park to a cluster of islands off the Washington coast.

Xavier Grospe, 62, who lives near the river, said he could see three cars with what appeared to be one person per vehicle. The vehicles were sitting still in the water, partially submerged and partly above the waterline, and the apparent drivers were sitting either on top of the vehicles or on the edge of open windows.

“It doesn’t look like anybody’s in danger right now,” Grospe said.

Helicopter footage aired by KOMO-TV in Seattle showed several rescue boats at the bridge collapse scene with several ambulances waiting on the shore. One rescue boat left the scene with one person strapped into a stretcher.

A damaged red car and a damaged pickup truck were visible in the water, which appeared so shallow it barely reached the top of the car’s hood.

Crowds of people lined the river to watch the scene unfold.

“It’s not something you see every day,” said Jimmy O’Connor, the owner of two local pizza restaurants who was driving on another bridge parallel to the one that collapsed. “People were starting to crawl out of their cars.”

He said he and his girlfriend were about 400 yards away on the Burlington Bridge when they heard “just a loud bang.”

“Then we looked over and saw the bridge was down in the water,” he said.

He pulled over and saw three vehicles in the water, including a camping trailer that landed upside-down, he said.

The bridge is not considered structurally deficient but is listed as being “functionally obsolete” – a category meaning that their design is outdated, such as having narrow shoulders are low clearance underneath, according to a database compiled by the Federal Highway Administration.

The bridge was built in 1955 and has a sufficiency rating of 57.4 out of 100, according to federal records. That is well below the statewide average rating of 80, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data, but 759 bridges in the state have a lower sufficiency score.

According to a 2012 Skagit County Public Works Department, 42 of the county’s 108 bridges that are 50 years or older. The document says eight of the bridges are more than 70 years old and two are over 80.

Washington state was given a C in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2013 infrastructure report card and a C- when it came to the state’s bridges. The group said more than a quarter of Washington’s 7,840 bridges are considered structurally deficient of functionally obsolete.

Source: Yahoo

El-Rufai said this while delivering a lecture at the Sixth Annual Alao Aka-Bashorun Lecture, organised by the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch.

The former minister, whose lecture was entitled Impunity, Injustice and Insecurity: What Role for the Law,’ said Nigeria needed to create three million jobs yearly to tackle its employment problem.

He said, “Forty-two per cent of Nigerian youths are unemployed.

“I have two daughters with Masters Degrees and they are unemployed. They have been at home for more than a year and I cannot get a job for them.

“We are sitting on a demographic time bomb and unless we have visionary leaders that are able to plan for the future, we will have a huge problem.”

According to him, the Nigerian government is spending N2bn daily on security, instead of investing in infrastructure and human capital development.

El-Rufai queried the N100bn Amnesty Programme of the Federal Government, saying it had not solved the problem of pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

He said, “Our oil production output is at its lowest since 2009 as a result of oil theft and closure of facilities by oil companies.

“That is why the government is borrowing more than ever and dipping into the nation’s foreign reserves.”

The former FCT minister added that granting amnesty to people who take up arms against the state would not solve the problem of insecurity in Nigeria.

“Even if you grant amnesty to Boko Haram, without addressing the fundamental issues such as lack of opportunities, poverty and social injustice, it will not solve the problem,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Prof. Akin Oyebode, advocated life imprisonment for corrupt public officials as a way of reducing the high incidence of corruption in the country.

His lecture was entitled, ‘Corruption and Insecurity in the Society: What Role for the Law?’

Source: Punch

This is coming as the governors of 19 northern states were unable to take a decision on who they should support among those jostling for the position.

The inability of the governors to reach a compromise was said to have been responsible for the failure of the northern governors, under the aegis of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, to meet in Abuja on Thursday.

Our correspondent learnt that the governors would now meet on Friday before the election to see if they would be able to find some common ground.

While some were said to be rooting for the incumbent, who is also the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, some others were said to be supporting the Governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema, or the latest entrant to the race, Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State.

It was however learnt that the governors from the zone who do not belong to the Peoples Democratic Party were said to have made their position known that they would support Amaechi for the job.

A northern governor, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “We are at a crossroads. This is a trying period for us in the region.

“Some of our colleagues are saying we should not allow anyone to dictate to us while the others are saying we should support one of our own for the job.

“Those in the opposition parties are saying that the Forum does not belong to the Peoples Democratic Party alone.

“Even in the PDP, we could not agree on who to support. That was why we did not meet, but we hope to meet on Friday.”

The governor said a majority of his colleagues from the region believed that both Shema and Yuguda were being foisted on the Forum by external forces.

In the meantime, investigations by our correspondent in Abuja on Thursday indicated that there might be more chairmanship aspirants than expected.

Sources at the secretariat of the Forum said there might be more aspirants for the position of the chairman.

A source said that some governors had called to say that they were on their way to file their nomination papers for the office.

The source said, “The race for the chairmanship of the Forum is interesting, because this is the first time the office is attracting so much attention.

“Already, both Amaechi and Shema have filed their papers, and some have called to say that they are on their way. We are waiting for them.

“Before now, there was no much publicity and acrimony on who would lead the Forum. But now that has changed.”

The source, who declined to name those “on their way” to file nomination forms, however said there would be no rancour after the election.

It was not clear if the Governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore Orji, was able to file his papers.

Orji was a candidate in the earlier botched attempt to elect Amaechi’s successor.

The coming to the race by Yuguda was said to have been at the instance of President Goodluck Jonathan who was said to have been shocked that Shema was not too keen about the position.

Shema’s opponents, it was learnt, were said to be spreading the information that the governor was being used by the Presidency to fight Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

They alleged that Shema might be used to replace the Vice-President in the 2015 election as Jonathan’s running mate.

Also, the anti-Amaechi group was said to be meeting at an undisclosed venue in Abuja on Thursday night.

Sources close to the group said members were planning to either boycott the election or call for its postponement if it was clear that the election would not go in their favour.

If this plan fails, it was learnt that they might as well ask that a caretaker committee be put in place to conduct the election.

“But if that is done, it would fail because there is no such provision in the Forum’s constitution,” another source in the NGF secretariat told our correspondent.

Meanwhile, a petition has been written to the Chairman of Northern States Governors Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, by the Northern Reconnaissance Group.

In the petition, which was signed by its President, Alhaji Idris Ahmed, the group asked the governors to follow their conscience while electing the chairman of the NGF.

The letter reads, “A majority of you have become victims of a vested interest and manipulative forces within the Presidency.

“You all have a choice to be your own men like you have always been in the North or you become puppets and little dumb kids like the lamb meant for the slaughter.

“In fact, retaining Amaechi is the only way our northern governors can retain their credibility as voting for Jonathan’s candidate will amount to a precipitous descent down the grease pole into the lonely crowd of yesterday’s men – in case you do not know.

“When we reach a sticky point such as this, it makes a strong case for the persistent calls for true federalism in which the centre does not wield overbearing power over the federating units.

“Would President Barak Obama of the United States interfere with the election of a forum like this in America?

“Even as the most powerful man on earth today, he cannot dream of doing anything remotely close to it. He and his aides know his limits and the laws do not allow him to overstep them.”

Ahmed said the alleged directive asking the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to go after any of the governors that would vote for Amaechi as chairman was in bad faith.

He said, “President Goodluck Jonathan is exerting absolute power by allegedly directing the EFCC to intimidate any member of the governors’ forum that does not vote against Governor Amaechi in the forum election.

“On this, we strongly believe that in a democratic society, people should be allowed to vote according to their conscience and freely.

“Not necessarily as they are instructed by the President because they are under a seeming oath of loyalty or fear of the EFCC. Indeed, these acts provide solid grounds for the public outcry about the future of Nigeria’s democracy.”

Source: The Punch

RAUF, THE MAN OF THE PEOPLE

Tagged ‘Oodu’a World Children Day, the state government said the event would celebrate regional integration, team spirit and children.

Chairman, Oodua World Children’s Day, Mr. Oguntola Toogun, who addressed a news conference in Osogbo on Thursday, said the invitation of the royal fathers was in furtherance of the cultural rebirth and integration being championed by the Rauf Aregbesola administration.

Toogun, who is also an Assistant Chief of Staff to Aregbesola, said 2, 000 students would participate in calisthenics display next Monday, adding that a lecture would be delivered by a Professor of Yoruba Literature, Akinwunmi Ishola, on Sunday.

He said, “The Children’s Day is a three-prong event. We are celebrating our children and also using the occasion to teach our children the essence of cooperation and selfless service through participation in calisthenics. The invitation of the traditional rulers will not cost Osun anything because we cannot afford to pay them.”

“The Aregbesola administration is passionate about round development of our children. This is why his administration is embarking on this initiative. The invitation of the traditional rulers is to promote regional integration and rejuvenation of Yoruba ethos.

“Aside from active participation of royal fathers from within Yoruba speaking states, the event will also attract about 30 royal fathers from outside the country, precisely Republic of Benin.

“Also, children from Yoruba speaking states, including Kogi, Kwara, Edo and Delta states, have been invited to take part in the celebration.”

Source: Punch

Northern Elders Thursday spurned the benevolence of President Goodluck Jonathan in ordering the
release of terror suspects from prisons across the region, saying that he would one day made to account for the woman and children seized by security agents based on unverified terrorism charges.

The group also condemned the recent threat by ex-militant leader, Dokubo Asari to match
the opposition bullet by bullet if Jonathan was not re-elected in 2015.

The northern elders are miffed that the Federal Government under President Jonathan allowed innocent
women and children, who should be spared even in times of war, to be taken captive and incarcerated in dehumanising conditions for many months without trial.

The elders, who spoke to Vanguard through their spokesman, Prof Ango Abdullahi, noted with dismay that the administration had allowed innocent women and children to suffer untold hardship for offences they did not commit.

“Let me tell you that what the government did by ordering the release of suspected terrorists was
borne out of shame and guilt being suffered by it for clamping innocent women and children into detention camps or what you may call Nigeria’s ‘Guantanamo Bay’, which are scattered all over the place,” Adbullahi said.

“We note with delight that at last common sense has prevailed and the embattled families have
regained their freedom. But we hasten to add that this government must account for the women and children from the north, who they took into unwarranted detention. As far as we are concerned, the release of the so-called terror suspects should have been done long ago.”

The NEF took very serious exception to the latest threat by militant leader, Dokubo Asari to match
the opposition bullet by bullet if Jonathan was not re-elected in 2015, saying that it was a threat to national security.

“From the antecedents of Asari Dokubo, we believe that he is making these empty boasts apparently
because of the filthy lucre he is getting from pipeline contracts and the promise of more. But we can bet Nigerians that he would be the first person to flee to the creeks if the war he is threatening breaks out”, the group note

Source: Vanguard