Tuesday 31 May 2011

My Response To Aregbesola’s Lies By Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola

By Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola
I have read the 12 page “litany of lies” released on Wednesday 25th May, 2011 by my successor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which he set up some months ago with Justice Samson Uwaifo as its chairman. He was allowed by his “Truth” Commission to read that piece and say all manners of things against my person despite the fact that
he filed no petition against me before the panel.  Several newspapers, television and radio stations also helped him to carry the manifest falsehood he read out at the session.
I found it quite unnerving that Mr. Aregbesola while reeling out what he called his “travails” could forget that he was no longer the noise maker from Lagos but the governor of a state peopled by rational minds who would ask questions before coming to conclusions on matters of morality such as this. I intend to respond to the rather serious issues he raised, ignoring the ridiculous ones like accusing me of calling his Oranmiyan group, Oranmiran.

DEPLOYMENT OF SOLDIERS IN ILESA, OSOGBO IN 2007

Following the loss of the governorship election of Osun State on April 14, 2007, by Rauf Aregbesola, his supporters went on rampage in Osogbo, the state capital and Ilesa, Mr. Aregbesola’s hometown, maiming people and burning houses. By the 16th April, 2007 when it was clearly apparent that the police were unable to curtail the crisis, the President and Commander-in-Chief called ordered the military to take control. The primary objective of the soldiers deployment was to restore calm and peace and this was achieved. They professionally brought the situation under control by fishing out and arresting the culprits. Those arrested were thereafter handed over to the police for prosecution.

Shortly after, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola went on air using some television stations in Lagos to claim that I deployed soldiers in his hometown and that the soldiers killed hundreds of people. And I asked then: Who were those killed and did they not have relations who would tell the world about their fate? Is it possible to kill even a fowl without its owner looking for it? However, the matter got to a head from Monday 17th to Thursday 20th  December 2007 when Galaxy Television helped Aregbesola use a false news package with the caption: “Oyinlola kills his people.”  In the report, Galaxy Television showed a footage of some political thugs arrested in Ilesa by soldiers and made to lie face up. The television station claimed that what it showed were corpses of people killed by Oyinlola.

I promptly reported the matter to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) with a video tape showing when those people got up and were led into a truck that took them to the police headquarters in Osogbo. A copy of that tape is in the archives of the NBC. After a very thorough investigation, the NBC discovered that the report was false in its entirety and sanctioned the television station.

The NBC, in a letter dated 31st January, 2008 informed my office that it had taken measures against the television station that carried the report and that it had directed it to give me a right of reply “besides other measures” taken against it in other to “correct some opinions and unsubstantiated allegations against the personality of the governor in the news broadcasts.” The letter was signed by its Ibadan zonal director, Olufemi Ayeni, for NBC’s Director General.
   
It was exactly this same footage that Mr Aregbesola played, deliberately at the very last sitting of the Truth Commission, on Wednesday 25th May, 2011.

The recent post-election violence in parts of the North also witnessed deployment of soldiers. It will be nice to know Rauf’s opinion on the deployment of soldiers in April this year to quell the post election riots in those Northern states. Will Aregbesola say those soldiers in Bauchi, Kano and Kaduna were deployed by the governors of those states? Very ridiculous! I say again just as I told Aregbesola’sTruth Commission, rational minds know that those soldiers in Osogbo and Ilesa were deployed by the President and Commander in Chief and not by Oyinlola.


 THE KILLING OF HASSAN OLAJOKUN

I was informed in the afternoon of Sunday May 15, 2005 by one of my media aides, Mr Bamidele Salam that Mr Aregbesola had that day addressed a press conference where he claimed that his “major financier” had just been gunned down at Gbongan junction along Ibadan- Ile-Ife road. I promptly got in touch with the Commissioner of Police (now a DIG) who later briefed me on the incident. The police took written statements from the man’s wife and daughter who were with the deceased when he was killed. They also took the statement of the then Majority leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Jide Omoworare (now a Senator elect) who also ran into the robbery, witnessed the killings and became a victim too. I was informed that the deceased and members of his family stopped at Gbongan junction to buy fruits and that it was while they were purchasing the fruits that some men accosted Olajokun’s driver demanding the key to his jeep. The deceased reportedly resisted the robbers and despite pleadings from his wife to let the robbers have the vehicle, he snatched a gun from one of the robbers and killed the robber, wounding another. Other members of the gang, according to the statements, swooped on Olajokun and also shot and killed him. The robbers made away with his jeep and Omoworare’s car. They, in addition took away the corpse of their shot gang member and abducted Omoworare who was eventually pushed out of his car later near Oyo town in Oyo state.

That is the story of Olajokun’s death. Indeed, the fact that the man snatched a gun from one of the robbers, shot and killed one and wounded another of the robbers was confirmed in a television interview on Monday 16th May, 2005 by the then state Chairman of the Alliance for Democracy, (Aregbesola’s party) who is now his Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Moshood Adeoti.
I have the video tape of that interview.

Just like I said that time when I told The Punch that I was waiving my immunity to be investigated on the matter and be tried if found culpable, I am challenging Rauf to use his current position to get the matter prosecuted.      

 THE RAPE OF ONE TOSIN AJAKAYE

When this case of alleged rape was brought to my attention, I directed all appropriate security agencies to investigate and punish the culprits, if any. Those arrested were ordered prosecuted based on the legal advice from the state ministry of Justice. The case is still on, the suspects were never shielded by me despite the fact that they were members of my party. Their defence of self help over the burning of their houses by some hoodlums (among whom they claimed the victim was) did not assist them. It has always been my belief that if any one runs foul of the law, he faces the music. I never for once, departed from this policy throughout my years in office. I sincerely hope that Rauf can do same to the ACN members who killed one Taiwo Abimbola in Irojo, Ilesa and made his wife lick his blood in January this year. I hope the ACN governor will do same to those who murdered Bolarinwa Taiwo, a former PDP councillor in Osu, Atakumasa West local government during the last general elections, and Mayowa Alonge, a PDP ward leader in Atakumasa East killed on April 1, this year. I sincerely look forward to the day Rauf will wake up and seek the prosecution of all his men who beat up several traditional rulers in Ijesaland and maimed PDP members across the state following his coming to office in November last year.

 OROKI DAY 2006
 I am not going to waste my time on this incident, the story of which is known already to the public. I will only say that I was happy that Aregbesola’s own video footage at the Truth Commission showed how an event that had already gone peacefully underway for 90 minutes was violently disrupted by Mr Aregbesola and his hoodlums when he arrived ringing bells. I must say that it was interesting to note that the chairman of the Commission, Justice Uwaifo was shown on television mistaking the event for Aregbesola’s campaign rally. Even Aregbesola’s boss, Bola Tinubu agreed with me at the burial of Engineer Funsho Williams in Lagos that his boy was wrong to have invaded, with hoodlums, an event where the governor of a state was seated. Bola told me he had let Rauf know that.

THE JUNE 14, 2007 BOMB BLAST

A bomb blast occurred near my office exactly a month after the governorship election of that year. Aregbesola and Bola Tinubu’s initial reaction was that I planted the bomb to kill myself. Later they described it as an explosion caused by rock blasting materials because it occurred near the ministry of water resources forgetting that the ministry does not blast rocks in  borehole sinking. One wounded suspect, Richard Adesanmi was arrested at the scene, one died, others escaped. The arrested suspect, Adesanmi made statements to the police and even swore to an affidavit disclosing how the operation was planned by their sponsors in Lagos. It is a police case which has nothing to do with the office of the governor. It is nice to know that one of the very first decisions taken by Rauf as governor was getting the case scuttled at the high court.


 SURPRISE  
 I want to say that it was a big surprise that Aregbesola who remembered all sorts of ridiculous things at the Truth Commission on Wednesday could forget to mention that he was also arrested for alleged forgery of a police report and taken to Abuja for trial. It is on record that as a sitting governor, when armed robbers killed Alhaji Hassan Olajokun at Gbongan junction in 2005 and Aregbesola said it was a political killing, I offered to waive my immunity for the case to be properly tried. Even The Punch used that as its lead story that time. But Aregbesola, three days after he was sworn in as governor pleaded immunity before the FCT High Court in Abuja when the forgery case was to commence against him. I am urging Aregbesola to also waive his own immunity NOW so that the forgery case in Abuja can be properly tried and dispensed with.


MEMBERSHIP OF THE TRUTH COMMISSION

I advise Rauf that next time he wants to set up a fact finding panel, the proper thing to do is to empanel people whose neutrality is not in doubt. What he has done with the membership of his Truth Commission easily gave his motive away. Why for instance would Rauf choose as Truth Commission members  Mrs. Funmi Falana, wife of Mr. Femi Falana who was Rauf Aregbesola’s lawyer in the forgery case; Chairman of the Labour Party in Osun State, Mr. Rufus Oyatoro whose party contested elections with my party and lost. There were also Messrs Bamidele Aturu and Nurudeen Ogbara who are not just Mr. Femi Falana’s friends but are also allies of Rauf Aregbesola and supporters of his party. So, I simply laughed when my party chairman informed me that the Commission heard, before winding up, over 200 petitions filed by Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) supporters while it heard ONLY SEVEN (7) out of the 79 petitions filed by supporters of our party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP). Truth and reconciliation indeed!


 CONCLUSION

I am seasoned enough and well trained to know why all these dramas are going on. I remain focused and unmoved. I am always ready to defend every decision I took as governor because while there, I was always conscious of the fact that every masquerade would one day become man. I hope Rauf, the new masquerade, knows this too. Again, he needs to know on time that governance is a serious business. It is not the same as rabble rousing. When a leader is convinced that a crime has been committed, the rational thing to do is prosecution of the offender, not playing to the gallery, rousing the rabble. Aregbesola is today the governor of our state, I urge him to get all the cases he mentioned in his statement prosecuted forthwith if he is sure of his facts. Any leader who wants to be called an Omoluabi must fear God and live above board. He must not tell lies to hoodwink the gullible. An Omoluabi is one who says the right thing the right way. The name is reserved for a gentleman not a noisemaker.

Jonathan Signs Freedom Of Information Law

Nigeria's leader, Goodluck Jonathan, on Saturday signed into law the Freedom of Information Act as passed by the National Assembly.  That was one day after a copy of the bill was delivered to him by the Clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa.

In theory, the 18 -page document has now become the official freedom of information law by which Nigerian citizens can seek access to official information, but it remains to be tested.

The bill, which first made an appearance in the National Assembly in 1999, languished there in the years that followed as legislators squabbled over it and President Olusegun Obasanjo expressed open hostility to it.  It made some progress early in 2007 and was passed by both chambers, but it was then vetoed by President Obasanjo.

After Obasanjo’s departure, the bill finally achieved some traction despite many other hurdles, and was finally passed by the National Assembly last week by the lawmakers who had watered it down considerably.   Among other things, they claimed it would compromise national security. 

In a joint statement today in Abuja, the Right to Know initiative, Media Rights Agenda and Open Society Foundations celebrated the FOI law as a victory for democracy, transparency, justice and development.

"With the new law, Nigerians finally have vital tools to uncover facts, fight corruption and hold officials and institutions accountable," said Ms Ene Enonche, Coordinator of the Right to Know initiative.
Her enthusiasm was shared by Maxwell Kadiri of the Open Society Justice Initiative.  "The new law will profoundly change how government works in Nigeria,” he said.  “Now we can use the oxygen of information and knowledge to breathe life into governance. It will no longer be business as usual."
The new law is a testament to the staying power of civil society, demonstrating how committed groups can work together to ensure laws which support the rights of the people.

Jonathan’s quick assent to the bill follows earlier indications he had given that he would sign it once it came to him.  In a statement in Abuja today, O.J. Abuah, who is of the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said that while the objective of the Act is to make public records and information more freely available, it is also “to also protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal privacy.”

He pointed out that the new law would protect serving public officers from any adverse consequences of disclosing certain kinds of official information without authorization.

Section 4 of the law provides that when a public institution receives an application for information, it shall make such information available to the applicant within seven days.  If such an institution feels that such information cannot be granted, it is to inform the applicant in writing stating the reasons for such a decision and the section of the law under which the refusal is made.

By SaharaReporters, New York

Monday 30 May 2011

13 killed, 40 Injured in Bauchi Bomb Tragedy

About 13 persons have been confirmed killed,  while 40 others received various degrees of injuries in  a Sunday night  triple explosion  that occurred at the Mammy Market, Shadawanka, 33 ArmyBrigade Barracks in Bauchi.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Azubuike  Ihejirika who disclosed this in Bauchi Monday during a visit to the scene of the bomb blast said the corpses of the victims  have been deposited in the mortuary. He said that   those who sustained   injuries  as a result of the blast have been admitted at the Military Hospital in the barracks and Abubakar Tafawa BalewaTeaching Hospital(ABUTH), Bauchi.

According to him, “ I can confirm to you that 14 persons died, 40 injured,  some were treated and discharged, there is no soldier among the people that lost their lives, there are some policemen, relatives of the soldiers and other civilians”

Describing  Barracks as  a place where soldiers and civilians interact, he   reiterated the commitment of the Nigerian Army to tackle all terrorist threat in the country.

”We have come out with new security measures,  we have established an outfit called the Dog section of the military police,  these are all aimed to enhance our capacity to deal with terrorist act in the country.  So far,  we have established one in Abuja, in addition to the one we have, because of the last incident,  and we are going to established one in all Army barracks, and we are also enhancing our engineers in order to detect terrorism act”

He  called on officers and men of the 33 Artillery Brigade to ensure that terrorism was defeated in all its facets. saying that those affected by the blast included civilians and   policemen who were relaxing after the official swearing-in of Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State.

General Ihejirika  expressed his sympathy to  the army  and their wives and relatives over the losses,  and assured    that the army was determined    to fight terrorism.

He described   the incident as a challenge to the military, and called on the army  to    take their training with apt seriousness to ensure that terrorism was wiped out. He  stressed that the military must always maintain the security of the nation in spite of all odds, directing  that roadblocks and checkpoints  should be maintained with all seriousness.

The Chief of Army Staff urged  soldiers  to watch out for strange faces and people with suspected characters as well as movements under their areas of coverage, warning  them to be more alert at all times.

THISDAY investigations revealed that the incident which occurred around 8.13pm sending people in the area scampering for safety now has led to the closure of the market     by the military authorities indefinitely pending  completion of full investigation into the unfortunate incident

Security has equally been beefed up in and around the barracks while the area of the incident has been cordoned off.

The General Officer Commanding 3rd Armoured Division, Jos, Major General Sunday Idoko, who described the incident as unfortunate , however said  that security should be everybody’s concern. He   lamented that the Army Barracks under his command do not  have perimeter fences.

Earlier,  in his reaction to the incident after conducting newsmen  round the scene of the incident last Sunday night before the arrival of the Chief of Army Staff, the Brigade commanderof the 33 Artillery Brigade, Brigadier General Agbo Robinson said “three bomb blast occurred around eight o’clock in the evening when officers and men of the brigade and other civilians were relaxing".

 The Brigade commander said the Army has now sealed the market to enable soldiers to investigate the remote cause of the incident. He  reiterated the commitment of his officers to fish out the culprits,  adding that “Army and the Police have unveiled new security measures to arrest the suspects and ensure security of the citizens in the state”.

 Also reacting to the incident, the Chairman,  Operations of the State Emergency Management Agency Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Bello said “from what I confirmed from our officers at theAbubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi presently,  there are 14 dead bodies in the mortuary, and out of the29 injured people admitted in the hospital,  eight were treated and discharged,  while 21 people are currently in the hospital”

An eye witness told newsmen that the devices exploded simultaneously around 8 o’clock in the evening,  “yesterday was Sunday,  many people went to the mammy market to ease and relax, we were about to start eating when we heard a loud bang about three times one after the other, several people were crying in pains because they sustained in juries no one can tell you the number of people that were affected because it was in the night and very soon the place was cordoned off by the military they took the injured people to the Hospital”

Source:This Day

‘Speakership slot must remain in S-West’

By Abdulwahab Abdulah
A legislative advocacy group, Nigerian Peoples Centre for Legislative Advocacy, NCLEA, has appealed to all members of the House of Representatives not to compromise integrity and reputation on whoever would be considered for the office of the speaker.

NCLEA said the position of the speaker should also be retained in the South-West “to prevent a political  backslash fueled by ill feelings and a sense of complete isolation from governance by the people of the South-West.”

At a briefing jointly addressed by the group’s President and Secretary, Hyacinth Chinweuba, and Mrs Sade Ajetumobi, respectively, the asked for a leader who “must represent a serious attempt at rekindling the previously  dashed hope of the Nigerian people; who must posses indisputable sense of dignity and strong moral reputation.”

Talking about the zoning formula of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,

Therefore they pitched their tent behind the candidate selected by the region, Muraina Ajibola, arguing that they believed he met the local and international standards expected of the Speaker of the House of Representative.

They lamented that currently the House is “squelching with great difficulty to get out of the mess occasioned by the allegations of gross misconduct leveled against the leadership pf the house”, adding, which is why they are calling for somebody with deep sense of responsibility and discipline.

‘Bauchi, Abuja bombings, plot to derail Jonathan’s inauguration’

By KINGSLEY OMONOBI

ABUJA -  Military authorities disclosed to Vanguard in Abuja , Monday, that the explosion that occurred at about 8. 30pm at the Zuba International Electronics Market on Sunday, on the Kaduna/Suleija road, killing one person and injuring 3 persons, was indeed a bomb blast and may have been one of the several bombing plots planned to embarrass the nation during the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan at Eagle Square in the presence of over 40 foreign leaders.

 Vanguard was also informed that the successful detonation of the bomb in a relaxation spot may have been made possible following the decision of security agencies to un-block communication facilities which had earlier been jammed from 11am to 8pm for security reasons in the federal capital territory.

Aside the jamming of telephone networks in Abuja, all entry points in to Abuja like the Giri junction for those coming from Lokoja and Gwagwalada, Dei-Dei for those coming from Kaduna and Niger states and Mararaba for those coming from Nasarawa and Plateau states were cordoned off until about 7pm on Sunday before the roads were opened for people to enter the FCT.

Contacted on the development, FCT Police Spokesman, Superintendent of Police Jimoh Moshood said men of the Anti-terrorists squad and the Police bomb disposal unit have cordoned off the entire Zuba Market and were combing the surroundings to ensure that more explosives were not left behind. He added that arrests were yet to be made.

Prior to the inauguration of President Jonathan Vanguard had reported, that intelligence reports available to security agencies, have shown that some groups of dissatisfied Nigerians, particularly from the North are hell bent on causing crisis on inauguration day by bomb attacks on politicians who worked tirelessly for the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan and candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party in core northern states.

“The explosion of the bombs in Bauchi Mammy market which killed about 12 persons and injured about 25, may be a kind of revenge on the military for foiling all attempts by these groups to successfully execute their plots of causing mayhem at the inauguration in the state”, a security source said.
Vanguard.

One dead, 10 injured in fresh NURTW factions clash in Ibadan

By OLA AJAYI, IBADAN (Vanguard)
FEW hours after the newly-sworn in Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi vowed not allow  lawlessness in the crisis-ridden National Union of Road Transport Workers, factions in the union Monday clashed leaving one dead and 10 others injured.

The bloody clash which has become a recurring decimal in the state sacked the ever-busy Iwo road end of Ibadan also led to the vandalism of over 60 vehicles belonging to members of the union and other unidentified people. Most of the vehicles destroyed were commercial buses.

According to state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Baba Adisa Bolanta while briefing newsmen on the bloody clash that lasted over three hours, said 15 suspects had been arrested in connection with the melee.

He explained further that the dead member of the union was shot dead when he allegedly attempted to attack the policemen sent to quell the riot with machete.

Bolanta gave the names of those arrested as Saheed Adekunle, Wasiu Muibi, Opeyemi Ogunjinmi (33), Olatunji Lawal (24), Sunday Omilani (20), Wale Ajayi (22) and Olayemi Omoolouwa (22).
Others were Rilwan Muritala (19), Taofeek babalola (35), Adam Rasheed (32), Olatunbosun Mufutau (45), Muniru Oladejo (40), Abass Ganiyu (27), Dauda Kolawole (28) and Bashiru Ibraheem (32).

Vanguard gathered that trouble erupted when some loyalists of the reinstated Chairman of the union, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola aka Tokyo allegedly stormed the Iwo road park and tried to send the other faction led by Mukaila Lamidi aka Auxiliary away.

According to the information gathered, when they first clashed, Tokyo boys overpowered his rival and the latter went for reinforcement. It was gathered that they came with some men in military uniforms.

The Police Public Officer, SP Olatunji Ajimuda said  a faction of the union narrated how they allegedly saw some men in uniform trying to help the Auxiliary faction.

Their intervention was said to have prevented the other faction from gaining control of the garage. Expectedly, the Iwo road interchange where the clash happened soon turned to a ghost town as many motorists and traders abandoned their wares and fled the troubled spot.

It was also gathered that some of the boys who ignited the clash were in the same uniform used by the union to mark the inauguration of the new governor on Sunday.

Police said they recovered dangerous weapons like cutlasses, axe, charms and other dangerous weapons and two Nissan cars and a commercial bus.

They gave the number plate of the vehicles as XY260 NRK (Oyo), XG 494 BDJ (Oyo) and XB 861 DDA (Oyo) were impounded from the hoodlums.

Reacting to the allegation that his men started the crisis, Tokyo denied that the deceased was killed by the police, he insisted that the man whose name was given as Ayegbo was allegedly shot by Auxiliary.

He accused the CP of bias saying he had been witchhunting his loyalists owing to the past frictions between him and the CP. Tokyo added that the CP was doing this to paint him as the mastermind of the crisis.

He said: “Those NURTW members arrested by the police whom the CP alleged belonged to my faction were picked up outside the parks, even with some nabbed in their residences. In doing this, the Bolanta-led police never picked up any union member seen to be Auxiliary supporter. Needless repeating the obvious that Bolanta’s motive is to continue to support the Mukaila Lamidi a.k.a. Auxiliaty-led faction as he has been doing over the last one year.”

Group berates Mimiko over N30bn bonds

HAKEEM GBADAMOSI
A political group in Ondo State, Sunshine Liberation Forum (SLF), at the weekend called on the state Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko to explain the justification behind the decision of the state government in raising N30 billion bonds from the financial market.

The coordinator of the group, Mr. Victor Ojo, who stated this while addressing journalists in Akure said the state governor failed to update the people of the state the motive behind the bonds and the specific projects the money would be expended on. Ojo said the state government and the state House of Assembly failed to consider the effect of the bonds on the people of the state before the state Assembly “hurriedly” passed the bill. According to him, the state has nothing to do with borrowing based on the quantum of fund coming to it from the Federation Account and the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

The group expressed dissatisfaction of the state government in performing the functions of a local government, which he said, had rendered the local government executives useless. He said: “I can’t imagine a situation in Ondo State, our state government has gone back and fallen below standard of a state government, what we have today is a situation where our state government has taken over and functioning under the fourth schedule of our Constitution that provides for the functions of local government. “The sections in the schedule provide that the main function of local government is to build markets and motor parks, what the state government is doing today is the building of market stalls and making the people of the state believe that that is the best thing that can happen to our state. “The Sunshine Liberation Forum has come to place as a result of the identified degeneration, that before this state further degenerates, we should stop them and make them realize that these functions the state government is celebrating are suppose to be performed by local governments. “We are into a rescue mission, to rescue this our generation and the government after this because if this state government met N34 billion as they claimed, monthly allocation and IGR has not stopped, then why are we borrowing again?” The group which made its readiness of fusing with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) known added that the state should have utilized the monthly allocation and the N38 billion left in state’s purse by the former governor of the state Dr. Olusegun Agagu for the development of the state.
Source: National Mirror

Sunday 29 May 2011

Ondo Council Boss Unveils Empowerment Agenda For 136 Youths, Sponsors Indigenes For Training

THE CARETAKER Chairman of Ondo west Local Government in Ondo state, Otunba Ade Adeniyi has reiterated his administration’s commitment towards tackling the problem of youth unemployment in the council area.
To this end, the council boss has unveiled what he called his empowerment agenda which he said was geared towards making  youths in the local government to become job providers rather than seekers.
Adeniyi stated this recently, at the council secretariat in Ondo town during  a ceremony held  for the presentation of cheques amounting to N1, 180,000 to six indigenes of the local government to enable  them pursue a one- month  practical training programme in Fashion Design  at a Lagos-based institution.
The Ondo West Council boss noted that the “train the trainer” initiative introduced by his administration was targeted at creating employment opportunities for youths in the council area. He further disclosed the plan of his administration to expand the scope of the empowerment programme   by offering similar gestures to other 136 indigenes of the local government to enable them pursue training in various technical and vocational skills which include screen printing / heat transfer: shoemaking as well as soap preparation.
He further stated that the gesture was aimed at complementing other empowerment initiatives earlier introduced by him shortly after assuming the leadership of the local government in the area of empowerment of widows and elderly which were meant towards improving their welfare.
While assuring  the beneficiaries  of the commitment  of his administration towards their welfare during  and after the period of their training, the Ondo west Council boss admonished  them to be good ambassador by making judicious use of their training adding that plans are on the way to establish an empowerment / Skill acquisition centre  in the council  area where they would be absorbed to transfer  the knowledge acquired  by them to other  trainees who would be placed under  their supervision at  the centre.
In his short remark, the Director of Local Government Administration, Ondo west Local Government, Dr. Akin Fagunloye admonished  the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the opportunities provided  for them in order  for the purpose to which  the programme was initiated  to achieve  the desired goals and objectives.

KSA: Father Of Juju Music

King Sunny Adé was born in 1946 in Oshogbo, Osun State, Nigeria.  He and his 20-piece African Beats hypnotize audiences with juju -deeply layered, percussive groove music. Juju started in the ‘20s as local bar music and developed over the years, absorbing new technologies and influences. In the ‘50s, amplification made it possible to combine acoustic elements, such as guitar melodies and solo singing frm the older palm wine music, with full-force ensemble Yoruba drumming to create the rich, dense sound of modern juju. The top ambassador of juju, King Sunny Adé sparked an international Afropop invasion with his sensational tours in the early 1980s. KSA, as Nigerians know him, was just 17 when he eluded the expectations of his courtly family to pursue music playing in Lagos highlife bands. Soon, he latched on to the juju craze, forming his first band, The Green Spots in ‘67. The group emulated the style of juju elder statesman, I.K. Dairo and his Blue Spots, but by the time KSA launched the African Beats in ‘74, he had overshadowed Dairo and gone head-to-head with Chief Commander, Ebenezer Obey.



Adé, with his percussive “synchro system,” and Ebenezer, with his melodious “miliki” system, drove juju music to unprecedented heights as they competed to update the sound. Ebenezer introduced the three-guitar lineup and the trap drums; KSA overlaid a pedal steel guitar, and later synthesizers. But juju’s core rested in percussion topped by eloquent talking drums, and in harmonized call-and-response vocals mixing Yoruba proverbs and Christian themes. Adé has a gentle, silky voice and diving, birdlike dance moves, which his four backup singers follow as part of the group’s masterful stage choreography. With a tilt of his guitar, Adé damps his musicians down to a tap and a whisper, only to have them surge on cue with a rally of drums, shakers, bells and tangling guitars.

Returning to the USA in 2000, Adé recalled the legendary 1982 tour when he first introduced his expansive music to large American audiences. “Then, I was a stranger,” he said, “but now, it’s like we are all part of a family.”

Adé’s triumphant air is all the more impressive when you stop to consider the broken dreams African musicians have left behind over those years. Many of Adé’s contemporary band leAdérs- Fela Anikulapo Kuti on Nigeria, Franco of Congo, Mahlathini of South Africa---are now dead. Others like Papa Wemba, Youssou N’Dour, and Salif Keita have transformed their music radically to conform with international pop standards. Still others have refused to do that and wound up back in Africa, forgotten by the world, or else at the mercy of independent promoters and small record labels. Adé has played his hand shrewdly and kept both his music and his global audience.

Born Sunday Adéniyi, the son of a Methodist minister, Adé left the religious path to pursue a musical career early on. He played highlife music at first, but switched to juju in 1964, shortly before the juju craze swept the country in the aftermath of the Biafran war. In that war, Yorubas, more associated with juju, triumphed over Ibos, more associated with highlife. Following in the footsteps of his musical hero, the late I. K. Dairo, Adé formed his own band in 1974. But he couldn’t just imitate Dairo’s sound. “That’s how juju music is,” he told Afropop Worldwide in a 1996 interview. “I had to modernize the music. Instead of using the same instruments as I. K. Dairo, I used other instruments, but the same sound; like he used accordion. I couldn’t get that particular accordion, so I used keyboard.” Adé’s biggest competitor in those days was Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, and the ranks of both bands swelled as the two leaders vied to add more to their respective sounds. Obey swelled the guitar section three guitars and bass, and then Adé added the sound that would mark his band forever, a pedal steel guitar that could ride sweet, singing lines over the mosaic of percussive melodies and rhythms.

Few know this, but Adé actually played in the U.S. in 1974. “It was more or less cultural exchange,” he explained in 2000, “We played for Nigerians.” What Americans remember is the fully mature version of Adé’s band that tore up U.S. concert halls in 1982. By then, Island Records, in search of a new Bob Marley, had signed Adé and with the help of French producer Martin Messonnier, produced his first international album, Juju Music. The album’s lead track, “Jafunmi,” became an instant classic, a juju anthem that Adé still plays in every show, despite having over 100 albums to select frm. Messonnier didn’t change Adé’s sound, but he did encourage him to break his customary long strings of compositions into individual songs. As Adé explained in 1996, he never had a problem with that.

“In Nigeria, we got used to non-stop recording, about 18 to 20 minutes of music. But over here, the music should be track-by-track for the radio and the dance floor. It’s like making a dress. One by one, the different pieces are joined together, but you can still see the lines where they meet. So to record non-stop is very simple. To record tracks is also easy.”

Two more Island albums appeared, Synchro System (1983) and Aura (1984). On Aura, Adé lengthened the songs some and pushed the grooves harder, enlisting ex-Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen, and featuring an overdubbed harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder. That track, “Ase” hit the spot for many fledgling Afropop fans, myself included, but it failed to produce the sales Island was looking for. When Island then wanted to make more drastic changes to Adé’s sound, he balked. He gave the label some tracks to rework so they could show him what they had in mind. “But when they brought them back to me,” he recalls, “I couldn’t find my music. So we shook hands and we went our separate ways.”

The pressures of international success took its toll on Adé’s band as well. As in so many African pop success stories, Adé’s musicians wanted more money, and shortly before the Island deal fell apart, much of Adé’s band members jumped ship,  forcing him to regroup. At first, you could hear the difference, but within a few years, Adé once again staged a crack team of musicians. For the next decade, Adé kept touring, but recorded no new music for the international market. Two live releases appeared, notably Live Live Juju (Rykodisc 1988), a Seattle concert recording featuring Adé’s boisterous, celebratory “Africa and America.” As satisfying as these live sessions were, American juju fans began to wonder if they’d ever hear new studio work frm the African Beats again.

Around this time, Adé announced back in Nigeria that he would do less stage shows and concentrate on records and films. As he explained in 1996, he faced furious public reaction. “The whole world turned it upside down and said that I was going to retire,” Adé explains. “I was being mobbed everywhere I went. I got more than 200,000 letters. Even school children marched to my house to protest.”

In 1995, Adé found a sympathetic American manager, Andrew Frankel of Graviton. Adé signed with Mesa, and produced three excellent recordings, including the new Seven Degrees North, due out on June 6. The first of the Mesa records, E Dide/Get Up, mAdé it clear that Adé was going to play pure juju music, without any electronic gimmicks or hip-hop ambiance. Frm the rapturous sensuality of “Orisun Lye” (“The Creator”) to the driving fortitude in the melodious “Enia L’Asho Mi” (“People Are My Garments”), the release matched the cool composure and rhythmic power of Adé’s Island releases. The new songs celebrated mothers, marriage, friendship, fidelity and God through Yoruba language proverbs and allegories, all delivered in Adé’s silky tenor voice backed warmly by a male vocal chorus.

The followup, Odu (1998) recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Lousianna, was equally strong, and with Seven Degrees North, recorded at Blue Jay Studio in Carlyle, Massachusetts, it is abundantly clear that Adé’s career, music, and band are now on solid footing. These ten tracks sound as good as anything in Adé’s enormous catalogue. The signature talking drums crack and tumble, especially, on the percussion-rich “Ariya”; the five guitars tangle and blend like the flavors in a savory stew on “Solution-96,” and that trAdémark pedal steel adds just the right tang on “Ogidan O Ni Se Barber.” Adé’s own chattering Telecaster riffs, and his dry, whispery vocals filled out by a supporting chorus are undiminished.

By sticking to his guns and sitting out the world beat fusion trend, Adé has ended up on top in the difficult international pop game. More impressive still, back in Nigeria, he’s survived and even managed to play a constructive role throughout one of the most tumultuous periods in modern Africa. “We are in transition now,” Adé said in 2000, referring to his country’s first democratically elected government in decAdés. “We were ruled for 35 years by the military. We were almost thinking militantly in our heads. Along the line, we are still having problems, border clashes, ethnic clashes, religious clashes.”

Adé has generally avoided politics throughout his career, but he has always provided a strong moral voice through his often religious lyrics. In 1997, Adé brought together 32 Nigerian musicians to record a record against ethnic violence called “The Way Forward.”

“We sang it in different languages,” said Adé. “We have over 220 languages in Nigeria, so we synthesized the English and surrounded it with Hausa frm the north, Yoruba frm the west, Ibo frm the east, and other languages. We said, ‘This Nigeria belongs to us. We need to salvage it together. It’s me and you who fought this independence. So why are we now fighting each other?’”

Adé has also taken the lead in a struggle that affects his country’s musicians in particular, rampant music piracy and the complete failure of radio and television entities to pay mechanical royalties to artists. As the new head of Nigeria’s musicians’ union, Adé has been leading the charge to educate politicians and the public, and to pass legislation codifying the rights of the nation’s musicians. “Three years back, we had almost 100% piracy on music in Nigeria,” Adé explained in 2000. “Today it has been reduced, but still we have a long way to go.” As the owner of three record labels, Adé has dogs in this fight. His optimism that musicians will win might seem nave coming frm someone else. But watching Adé onstage at SOB’s in the spring of 2000, hunching into his trademark bird posture to cradle his guitar and shimmy amid that majestic frontline of Afropop survivors, just as he did twenty years earlier, you realize that this is not a man to under estimate. In his quiet, sure-footed way, Adé does just about anything he likes.

Source: wikipedia

Ministerial Nominees And 35 Per cent Affirmative Action

Ambassador, Lady Folake Akinjoko, A Ministerial female nominee from Ondo State.
The list of ministerial nominees forwarded by States to President Goodluck Jonathan for appointment in the next cabinet has in each of them, at least, one woman. But will Jonathan consider the most canvassed 35 pe cent affirmative action for women in the appointments? Otei Oham writes

At several fora and right from the beginning of this administration, President Goodluck Jonathan has always pledged to back the 35 per cent affirmative action for women in terms of political appointments into high political offices such as ministerial, boards and committees, and elevation into top civil service positions.
Jonathan’s commitment flowed from the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) in Beijing, China, which was held about 16 years ago to discuss and adopt the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Nigeria was signatory to this document titled the Affirmative Action (AA) during the FWCW, precisely, between September 4 and 15, 1995 and promised to domesticate it, yet it appears the country is yet to meet the percentage in the consideration of women for offices.
In all, the conference witnessed plenary statements and commitments from member states regarding the actions they would take to promote equality, development and peace for and with the women of the world.
Ahead of the April, 2011 general elections, the president had declared that he would give women 35 per cent of all appointments if re-elected following the massive support he enjoyed during the campaigns.  His wife, Dame Patience also mobilized women on the dais of Women for Change Initiative to re-elect the President based on the same agenda. She specifically told women involved in the contests, and the electorate that if they complied, they would be the nucleus for driving the next administration.
The Affirmative Action stipulates 30 per cent representation of women in government, but the First Lady pegged it at 35 per cent, being part of her advocacy campaign fall-out which she took round the country.
But will Jonathan keep his words by naming the percentage of women into his next cabinet? The proportion requires that a minimum of 15 ministerial appointments be given to women in the next administration. In the entire new list, only Cross River State forwarded three female names. They are Martina Odom, Catherine Uyok Okon and Margaret Ebokpo.
Other women considered in the list are Fidelia Njeze (Enugu), Elizabeth Uvoh-Gardner (Delta), Sarah Adetugbogboh (Edo), Titilayo Owolabi (Ekiti), Esther Audu (FCT), Hadiza Abdulwahab (Jigawa), Bilkisu Kaikai (Katsina), Salamatu Suleiman (Kebbi), Ayitogo Sadaatu (Nasarawa), Jummai Mohammed Agwai (Niger), Henrietta Luke Fuba (Ogun), Patricia Etteh (Osun), Kadirat Omotanwa (Lagos), Adisa Nureni (Oyo), Aisha Aliyu Laraz (Zamfara), Amina Al-Zubair (Gombe), Dorcas Onuminya (Kogi) and Mary Paninga (Taraba)
A chieftain of the PDP and former Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), Chief Harry Akande, has also reminded President of his promise to fulfill his electoral promises to women by implementing the 35 per cent affirmative action for women in the formation of his cabinet and other federal appointments.
Akande said it was important for him to honour Nigerian women who voted for him massively during last month’s presidential polls by addressing their alleged marginalisation in the country’s democratisation process.
The insistence by women follows the recent retreat by Jonathan with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership at Obudu Cattle Ranch over zoning of offices and the new federal cabinet.
The participating women who spoke under the auspices of Gender Affirmative Action and the 100 Group Platforms added that they were dismayed at the recent composition of the 22-man probe election violence panel which had only three women.
The President had inaugurated a 22-man panel to probe various cases of election violence across the country. However, the women in a statement said the fraction in the panel was a clear departure from the President’s promise to ensure 35 per cent representation in his administration.
The statement was signed by representatives of women groups including: Saudatu Mahdi , Head of Secretariat, Gender Affirmative Action (GAA) Issue Based Project (IBP); Hajiya Ramatu H. B. Usman; National President, National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) Nigeria and Otive Igbuzor, Executive Director, Centre for Leadership Strategy and Development(LSD).
Others were: Bisi Olateru-Olagbegi; Executive Director, Women Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON); Ezinwa Okoroafor; Country Vice President, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria ; Asabe Baba Nahaya, National President, National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ )and Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre(CISLAC)
They were also miffed that women were shortchanged in the zoning arrangement being put in place in the next administration.
The consideration for Hon. Mulikat Adeola  Akande Jokodolu, a PDP member in the House of Representatives representing Ogbomoso North, South and Orire federal constituency as the next Speaker is still shrouded in controversies. Her colleagues are reportedly pushing for the election of a member from outside the South-West as possible successor of outgoing Speaker, Dimeji Bankole.
In the last general elections, only seven women reportedly made it to the Senate, 12 to the House of Representatives and one deputy governor was considered among the 36 states of the federation. This situation, the women said can only normalize to achieve gender balance in the country if 35 per cent positions of appointments in the new government are conceded to them.
Statistics also show that 88 women contested for Senate and 218 vied for the House of Representatives seats in this year’s elections. Only five women were on the ballot for governorship race across the country in the elections and many male gubernatorial aspirants had women as running mates. There were 495 female candidates in the 36 State Houses of Assembly.
Comparatively, these statistics further show declining success for women since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999. 631 women surmounted the challenge of party primaries to contest the roughly 1,900 positions in the 1999 elections. Only 181 actually made it into office.
The number and percentage of women who were successful at the polls in 2011 was less than the figures in 2007 and 2003. In the 2007 elections, 660 women made it through party primaries, but only 93 gained offices nationwide.
Following the 2007 elections, Patricia Olubunmi Etteh was named as Speaker of the House, the highest political post achieved in recent times by a woman in Nigeria, but her recklessness in the handling of finances shove her off the exalted seat.
Mrs Sarah Jubril, who contested the PDP primaries with Jonathan and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in this year’s elections, got only one vote. Political analysts say she was probably the one who voted for herself.
In the just-concluded elections, there was only one female presidential candidate in the person of Mrs. Ebiti Ndok of the United National Party for Development (UNPD). At the poll, she got paltry votes that when mentioned, could humidify the zeal of women in aspiring for the country’s number one seat in 2015. But in all, will the President keep his words? Let’s watch and see.

Stella Damasus Gets Another Lover?

Naomi Adamu, Abuja

It is no more news that delectable actress Stella Damasus has parted ways with Emeka Nzeribe, whom she got married to some months ago. What has sent tongues wagging is the fact that she has cast off the toga of a married woman to be single again. This time, her new beau is Mofe Duncan and their affair is far from clandestine. It is open knowledge, and as much as her fans will be grieved, it’s her life (or so they say)!



Sources close to Emeka, her second  husband, who married her after the death of Jaiye Aboderin, her first husband, are insinuating that what caused her second marriage to hit the rocks was because “Emeka suspected her of looking outside”.

The actress has been alleged to have had affairs with a couple of men in the past,most notable of whom are; Gospel musician Sammy Okposo, shipping magnateTaiwo Afolabi, actor Richard Mofe-Damijo, Xtreem Crew’s Tim Godfrey and an Owerri high chief  . She got married to Emeka Nzeribe, whom she has now left for Mofe Duncan.

So much for the Americanisation of Nollywood, but as true as this may sound, and all, it is really difficult to be believe. She can’t be serious . . . right? What’s really behind all the break-ups (don’t say that word . . .jinx)?

Source:Leaderrship

Faces of pioneer VCs of new federal varsities

By Oyeniran Apata Correspondent,  Lagos (Daily Independent)


The announcement in March, of nine prominent academicians as pioneer Vice-Chancellors (VCs) for the newly created Federal universities put to rest insinuations on who would head the various universities.
 Three out of the nine new VCs are from the Diasporas. The reasons for their appointment are obvious and considered well thought out, given the clime they are coming from and their pedigree as teachers in globally acclaimed universities.
Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai, who gave insights on the reasons behind the choice of the VCs and Registrars for the new universities, had said, “The appointment of the Vice-Chancellors and Registrars was done to avoid the localisation of the new universities and to ensure that they take off as national and international centres of knowledge.”
It is with regards to this that the pioneers were painstakingly chosen from the ranks of former Vice-Chancellors, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Provosts of Colleges of Medicine as well as distinguished Nigerian professors in the Diaspora.
 Their credentials as chronicled below are intimidating and speak volume of the character and attitude of the eggheads who have proven to be successful administrators in previous responsibilities assigned to them. 


Professor Jibrila Dahiru Amin - Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa

 Professor Jibrila Dahiru Amin was born in Song, Adamawa State, on October 15, 1958. He completed his primary education at Uba Central Primary School, Borno State, in 1970. From there he attended Yelwa Government Secondary School, Yola, now Aliyu Mustapha College from January 1971 to June 1975. He was a student of the then North East College of Arts and Science, Maiduguri, 1975 and 1977. He was later admitted into the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to read Veterinary Medicine in 1977. He graduated in June 1982 with the DVM degree.

He did his NYSC as an Assistant Lecturer and Resident Veterinarian in the Department of Animal Science, Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RUST), Port Harcourt.

After national service, he was appointed as an Assistant Lecturer at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, in September 1983. He won a scholarship for his postgraduate studies at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London, where he bagged a Masters degree in Animal Health in 1985. He became Lecturer II and subsequently sought and obtained a Commonwealth Scholarship which enabled him return to the Royal Veterinary College for a Ph.D degree programme.

 His love for his fatherland brought him home to Maiduguri and was promoted to the rank of Lecturer I and Senior Lecturer, both in 1993.

He became Head of Department of Veterinary Surgery and Reproduction and later Coordinator of the Remedial Science Programme. He was a Rockefeller 3 Biotechnology Fellow between 1993 and 1995. He obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from University of Maiduguri, and a Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management.

He was promoted to the substantive rank of Professor of Veterinary Theriogenology in 1998.  In March 1999 he was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Central Administration, and in May 2003 was appointed the Vice-Chancellor by the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He completed his tenure in May 2008 and is now a Visiting Professor at the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Professor Amin is the Chairman of the National Universities Commission Standing Committee on Private Universities (SCOPU) and currently Vice-Chancellor, Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, while Alhaji Yusuf Adamu will function as his Registrar.



Prof. Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe - Fed. University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi

    Professor Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, the pioneer Vice-Chancellor Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State, was born on July 5 1949 at Ilesa, Osun State. He attended Ilesa Grammar School and Obokun High School between 1962 and 1966. He also attended Igbobi College, Lagos, 1967-1968 for the Higher School. He was awarded a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. Hons) degree in Mathematics, First Class Division by the University of Lagos, Nigeria, in 1971; a Master of Mathematics (M. Maths) degree in Applied Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science in 1973 and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Civil Engineering with specialisation in Applied Mechanics/Systems in 1976 both from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Professor Ibidapo-Obe was a Western Nigeria Government Scholar at the University of Lagos, 1968-1971, and was the overall best graduating student of the university in 1971.

He served University of Lagos from October 1, 1972, as a Graduate Assistant through 1976 as Lecturer Grade II till 1983 as Professor.

After serving his alma matter in several other capacities, subsequently he became the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in April 2000 and acted as Vice-Chancellor between September 2000 and April 2002.  He was appointed substantive Vice-Chancellor on May 1, 2002 and successfully served until April 30, 2007. He was the Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities. He was twice awarded the Best Vice-Chancellor’s Prize (2004,2005) for the Nigerian University System (NUS). He served as an International Scholar-in-Residence at The Pennsylvania State University and a Visiting Research Professor at Texas Southern University.


Professor Geoffrey Okogbaa - Fed. University, Wukari, Taraba

 Dr. O. Geoffrey Okogbaa, one of the three VCs from the Diaspora, is a professor of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering. Until his appointment as the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, he taught engineering designs, statistics, quality, reliability and safety critical systems at the University of Southern Florida, United States of America.

He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE), the highest level of achievement in the engineering profession in Nigeria.

A registered Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of Florida, US, Okogbaa is also a Fellow of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE). He has conducted more than $8 million worth researches for various organisations, governments and private entities in the areas of process control, macro and nano-reliability and engineering design as well as human reliability and performance.

Professor Okogbaa received his doctorate from the University of Cincinnati and is currently co-authoring a book, Structural Issue in the Design and Analysis of Six Sigma. He previously served as interim Associate Dean of the Graduate School at University of Southern Florida.


Professor Ekanem Ikpi Braide - Fed University, Lafia, Nasarawa

Eka Ikpi Braide is the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of Cross River University of Technology, Nigeria. A graduate of the University of Ife, Nigeria and Cornell University, Ithaca, New York City. Prof. Eka, as she fondly called, joined the University of Calabar in 1979 and became a Professor of Parasitology in 1991. She has served as Chairman of the Technical Consultative Committee of African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC), and a member of the Nigerian National Committee on Neglected Tropical Diseases. She coordinates the Anglophone teams involved in an APOC/WHO multi-site study on the impact of onchocerciasis (river blindness) control in Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo.

A Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science and The Nigerian Society for Parasitology, Braide was in 1994 honoured by Global 2000 of The Carter Centre with the Jimmy and Roselynn Carter Award for outstanding dedication and achievement as South East Zonal Facilitator in The Nigeria Guinea Worm Eradication Programme. Professor Ekanem is the current pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State.


Professor Abdulmumini Hassan Rafindadi, Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi

Professor Abdulmumini Hassan Rafindadi, Chief Medical Director, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, was born January 15, 1957 in K. atsina, Katsina.

He began his educational career at the Rafindadi Primary School, Katsina, and St Peter’s Primary School, Kaduna between 1963 and 1970. He was later enrolled at Barewa College, Zaria, and School of Basic Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, between 1970 and 1974. He made Grade 1 with distinction in 1974.

He obtained a Bachelor of Medicine, and Bachelor of Surgery (MB, BS) from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, 1980. Rafindadi has vast experience in his field of study having rotated through the Departments of Paediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Katsina General Hospital from January 1981 to June 1981 and the Departments of Surgery and Medicine.

He had his postgraduate training at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria: Residency training in Pathology from January 1986 to May 1990.  He also had training in Haematology, Microbiology and Chemical Pathology from January 1987 to September 1987.  The rest of the period of training in the UCH was spent in the Department of Pathology acquiring higher specialist training.

He was a member of the international team of pathologists who investigated the death of MKO Abiola in 1998 and Chairman, Committee on the Solution to the Year 2000 Computer Time Bomb in the ABUTH, 1998 among other notable appointments.

He is a Fellowship of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (FMCPath) in 1990.


 Professor Mobolaji E. Aluko, Fed University, Otuoke, Bayelsa

He was born on April 2, 1955. He is a professor of Chemical Engineering at Howard University, Washington, DC, and was chair of its department, 1994-2002.

He graduated from University of Ife now Obafemi Awolowo University with a B.Sc degree in Chemical Engineering in 1976.

He also attended Imperial College, University of London; University of California, Santa Barbara; and State University of New York, Buffalo, for graduate and post-doctoral studies. He had sabbatical teaching and research stints at the University of Washington, Seattle (Materials Science Department); the University of Maryland (College Park; Chemical Engineering), and the University of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria, (Mechanical Engineering Department).

He is presently International Coordinator of the LEAD Program at the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Nigeria. The Linkage with Experts and Academics in the Diaspora (LEAD) programme of the National Universities commission (NUC) in Nigeria is designed as part of government’s efforts at transforming the education sector through collaboration with Nigerians in the Diaspora.  He is an activist and frequent commentator on Nigerian and African affairs.


Professor James Ortese Ayatse, Fed University, Dutsin’Ma-Katsina, Katsina

Professor James Ortese Ayatse, a professor of Biochemistry was born in 1959. He had his secondary education at Government College, Keffi, Nasarawa State. He later enrolled at the University of Ibadan and University of Calabar for his first and second degrees respectively.

The search for greater challenges and thirst for academic excellence took him to the University of Surrey, Guilford, United Kingdom, 1987.

Ayatse began his working career as Graduate Assistant lecturer at the University of Calabar. Ayatse was a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State. He is the pioneer VC of Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State.


Mohammed Kabiru Farouk

Mohammed Kabiru Farouk is Associate Professor of Social Studies/ Global Education and Director of the Global Awareness Programme at Florida International University.

Dr. Farouk earned his doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction/Social Studies Education in 1990 from West Virginia University. Earlier, he received his baccalaureate in Education and History and master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction/Social Studies Education from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. Prior to coming to Florida International University, Dr. Farouk taught social science in Nigerian schools and served on the faculties at West Virginia University and Bayero University, Kano.

Dr. Farouk has done research and published articles on social science education, global education, and multicultural education. He has been involved in programme development and teacher training

He has graduated 10 doctoral students and continues to supervise doctoral dissertations in Curriculum and Instruction as well as serve on dissertation committees. Farouk has also served in leadership positions in professional and community organisations at the local, national, and international levels. He served as a Department Chair, Associate Dean, and Coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction doctoral programmes and the Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education. He is currently the

Director of FIU’s MS in Curriculum and Instruction programme in Jamaica and the Global Awareness Programme.

Dr. Mohammed K. Farouk is an Associate Professor of Social Studies Education and Curriculum Studies and an affiliated. He has been at Florida International University since August 1991.

He served as a Department Chair, Associate Dean, and Coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction doctoral programmes and the Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education. He is currently the

Director of FIU’s MS in Curriculum and Instruction programme in Jamaica and the Global Awareness Programme.

Nigeria on the way to steady democratic progress --Tinubu....Congratulates President, govs and legislators

By Emmanuel Oladesu (The Nation)

ACTION Congress of Nigeria (ACN) national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has congratulated Nigerians on the occasion of the 12 years of uninterrupted civil rule, saying that the country has made a steady progress towards democratic practice.
He hailed the resilience, commitment, determination and patriotism of citizens, remarking that they were substantially responsible for the progress made in this political dispensation.
Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, felicitated with President Goodluck Jonathan, newly elected governors and state and federal legislators who won at the recent general elections, praying to God to endow them with the wisdom to utilize their sacred mandates to pursue the greatest good for the greatest number of the citizens of our beloved country.
The ACN national leader observed in a statement yesterday that elections were "reasonably fair, free and credible", adding that there was a improvement on the 2003 and 2007 polls.
Tinubu said: "I congratulate the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, for the widely acknowledged success of the exercise. However, the INEC Chairman must not waste any time in beginning to address some internal systemic weaknesses exploited by some unscrupulous political actors to manipulate the elections in some areas.
"It is of critical importance for all those Chief Executives taking their oaths of office to realize that this is another opportunity to utilize democracy as a vehicle for aggressively combating poverty and promoting rapid socio-economic development of the country. This is the best way to endear democracy to the generality of Nigerians and ensure that it becomes irreversible as a system of government in the polity.
"Even as we continually strengthen the institutions of democracy in the country, it is also imperative that all stakeholders in the political process adopt attitudes and exhibit behaviour capable of sustaining stable democratic governance. We must, for instance, learn to accept the result of a free and fair election even when it does not favor us as it is only then that we can deserve the joy of electoral victory when we win.
"All those who feel aggrieved at the outcome of the polls can take solace in the fact that the judiciary has consistently demonstrated the courage to redress electoral injustices and restore stolen mandates. This is another cardinal feature of Nigeria’s democratic consolidation and a source of confidence that the self-correcting mechanisms of Nigeria’s constitutional process are functioning effectively. I enjoin all Nigerians to look to the future with hope, confidence and gratitude to God Almighty that democracy is making steady progress in Africa’s most populous country."

Oyo: Politics of minimum wage and other matters

The outgoing governor of Oyo State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, yesterday approved the release of N4.2billion from the state coffers to pay the new wage bill for workers in the state. The new wage bill is based on the new N18, 000 new minimum wage which the governor vowed to pay before leaving office in another three days. The average wage bill of the state before the new one was N2.3billion.

The governor had insisted on paying the new minimum wage despite pleadings from the newly elected governor of the state, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi, who expressed the wish that the out-going governor should leave such decisions to his government.

The new N4.2billion wage bill is N600 million more than the monthly revenue accruing to the state. The state receives an average federally allocated monthly revenue of N 2.5billion.

Last week when he opened the new office of the state internal revenue agency, Governor Alao-Akala disclosed that his administration had increased the monthly internally generated revenue from N850m to N1.1 billion.

This puts the state total monthly revenue to an average of N3.6 billion. With the new wage bill approved by the PDP government, Oyo State will need to borrow N600 Million monthly to pay the new wage bill.

The approval for the payment of new wage bill came on the heels of the appointment of a new Accountant General by Governor Alao-Akala. There were different accounts for the replacement of the Accountant General three working days to the end of Governor Alao-Akala’s tenure.

An account claims that the former Accountant General, Alhaji Olaitan, was removed because of his reluctance to keep pace with the government over the disbursement of funds in the last few weeks. Another account however, claims that the Accountant General was due for retirement in February this year and had been persuaded by the Governor to wait for the end of his first term this month.

The appointment is the second major appointment by Otunba Akala in a fortnight. Two weeks ago, he replaced the former Head of Service, Alhaja Nike Adeleke with Alhaji Tunde Aremu, igniting a controversy over the propriety of a departing governor appointing a Head of Service in the twilight of his administration.

The outgoing governor had also taken some administrative decisions that had tested his relationship with the in-coming governor. Among this was the removal of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi as the Permanent Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs and the enactment of a law that now makes the office rotational between the Alaafin, the Olubadan of Ibadanland and the Soun of Ogbomosholand. Akala has also coroneted a couple of obas in the state whose appointments by his government are being challenged in court.

Also, Otunba Akala gazetted the sole ownership of the Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho by Oyo State even when the state has been embroiled in ownership tussle with sister Osun State over the institution.

The decision of Otunba Akala to gazette the sole ownership has been interpreted as a ploy to forestall the exploitation of ACN fraternity by Ajimobi and Governor Aregbesola of Osun State to upturn the decision of Akala on the institution.


Tade Famakinwa

•Famakinwa writes from Kudeti, Ibadan.

High Chief Akinsade Begins Installation Ceremonies As The New Jomu Of Ondo Kingdom -Final Installation Holds on 13 June, 2011.



THE JOMU-elect of Ondo Kingdom, High Chief Ambrose Boluwaji Akinsade has started the traditional rites which will culminate in his final installation as an Ondo high chief on 13 June, 2011.
According to the official programme of events released by High Chief Akinsade, on behalf of himself and the entire Jomu Family of Ondo Kingdom, the installation ceremonies will hold between Saturday 28 May and 26 June 2011.
The Installation Ceremonies commences at Igbindo Town from Saturday 28 May to 5 June, 2011, while the Pre Installation Service holds at St. Mathew’s Catholic Church, Ondo on 13th June 2011 by 11:00 am.
After the Pre Installation Service, the Installation Ceremony, to be performed by His Royal Majesty, Oba Victor Adesimbo Kiladejo, Jilo 111, the Osemawe and Paramount Ruler of Ondo Kingdom, will take place at Oba’s Palace (Ugha) at exactly 4:00pm.    
Reception and dance will follow, at High Chief Jomu’s Quarters (The Historic Odojomu Street, Ondo) beginning from 9:00pm.      
From Tuesday 14 June to Monday 20th 2011, the Traditional Procession (Uperuku) to Osemawe’s Palace will hold every morning and evening (Twice daily) from 8:00pm.      
The installation ceremonies will continue on Tuesday 21, June 2011 with the Traditional (Isan Oye) Thanksgiving Dance Round Ondo Town, and it would be rounded up with a Thanksgiving Service at St. Mathew’s Catholic Church, Ondo on Sunday 26, June 2011 by10:00am.   

"I owe Nigerians good governance", says Jonathan


By Elizabeth Archibong

May 29, 2011 12:32PM


President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to provide good governance for Nigeria, saying it is what he owes Nigerians to atone for the loss of lives and properties in the post-election crisis which followed his overwhelming victory in the April presidential poll.

Mr. Jonathan made the pledge at the National Christian Centre, Abuja as part of activities for today's inauguration for a fresh term in office.

"We and the government I would lead owe Nigerians good governance based on the fear of God," he said.

"That is the only thing we can do to atone for the great loss this country witnessed. I therefore appeal to our religious leaders to continue to pray for us because no matter how committed you are as an individual if God does not touch all of us who are to run the affairs of the country then we cannot go anywhere."

He said his election was in answer to the prayers some of the people at the venue of the thanksgiving.
He said the elections had solidified democracy in the country, and expressed hope that the country was already on its way to transformation.

"That everything is working is a clear indication that transformation has started. Let us use this opportunity to ask ourselves what we should do as individuals, as Nigerians for this transformation to be consolidated," he said.

"I believe one thing is for us to reflect on our value system, the fear of God, respect for our elders, respect for our clergy men and women, hard work, honesty and to love our neighbours. With love, peace and unity Nigeria's greatness is assured."

President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ayo Oristejafor, chastised politicians for resorting to diabolical power in their bid to capture political positions.

The CAN President noted that the cost of running the country was too high and appealed to members of the National Assembly to do something about it, even as he observed that the controversy over N18, 000 minimum was unnecessary as the amount was meagre.

"Some leaders depend on men others depend on God. That is the difference between leaders. Any God fearing leader at any level, God is with you. When you face challenges, the Lord is with you. When you are surrounded by evil men, the Lord is with you. When your friends become your enemy, the Lord is with you," he said.
Source:Next234

Nigeria Newsday Exclusive: Dora Akunyili & Gov. Peter Obi Are Hypocrites– Dr. Chris Ngige

Nigeria Newsday

In his first post-election interview, senator-elect and former Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chris Ngige described the negative campaign waged against him by the trio of Gov. Peter Obi, Mrs. Dora Akunyili and APGA chairman, Mr. Victor Umeh as vicious and hypocritical. Dr. Ngige took exception at the attempt by Gov. Obi and Dora Akunyili to paint his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) as a Yoruba party.

 “That was the level of pettiness the APGA people descended to,” Dr. Ngige said in an exclusive interview with www.Nigerianewsday.com. “Can you imagine a former Minister for Information who claimed to have “rebranded” Nigeria as a country of “good people and great nation” engaging in tribal politics? They fanned the embers of tribal and religious politics thinking that the people would be taken in by these sentiments. APGA, which they call Igbo party, has no structure in the neighboring Enugu, Ebonyi and Abia states.”

Dr. Ngige went on to say that, “They have no single seat in the out-going Houses of Assembly in those states, but ACN, which they tag “Yoruba Party,” has members in the Houses of Assembly in Plateau, Adamawa, Edo and even Jigawa states. So how could Peter Obi and Dora Akunyili (a Minister in charge of “rebranding” Nigeria) tag ACN a “Yoruba party”? Don’t forget that the ACN that is in power in Lagos State appointed an Igbo man from Anambra State (Ben Akabueze) as its Commissioner for Economic Development.  Peter Obi, who is in the forefront of this cheap campaign, has 95% of his businesses located in Lagos and made all his money as a “Lagos-based” business tycoon. The billions of naira he claimed to have made as a businessman were substantially made in Lagos, the heartland of Yorubaland. So to answer your question, ACN is not a Yoruba party.  It is a party for “doers” and “performers.” Today, the party has secured more seats in Anambra, Imo, Akwa-Ibom, Benue, Taraba, Jigawa and Cross River States in the legislative elections.”

Dr. Ngige described the senatorial contest experience as that of a lone wrester fighting three opponents at once. According to Dr. Ngige, Mrs. Akunyili was backed by Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra State and APGA Chairman Mr. Victor Umeh both of whom hailed from the same town as Mrs. Akunyili.

“The senatorial contest was like a wrestling match where one wrestler was facing a tag team of three other wrestlers,” Dr. Ngige told Nigeria Newsday. “As one of the three got tired, another was tagged to come into the ring and continue the fight, while the others rested, and it went on like that.  As the fight progressed the three were simultaneously fighting the lone opponent who stood like a rock of Gibraltar unscathed. That was the scenario in the senatorial contest. It was by the Grace of God and the wisdom of our people, that I, the lone wrestler, got the energy and strength to withstand the rampaging and vicious tag team of Peter Obi, Dora Akunyili and Victor Umeh.”

Dr. Ngige accused Gov. Peter Obi of engaging in negative campaign. He particularly frowned at Gov. Obi’s attempt to label Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, as a Yoruba party.

The sudden pumping in of money into the race by Gov. Peter Obi received the greatest condemnation of Dr. Ngige. “The amount of money the Anambra State government deployed in the Anambra central senatorial race just to humiliate me in the election was enough to settle the salary and wages of judiciary and health workers whose industrial actions had led to the closure of Anambra state courts and the state’s hospitals and maternities for more than three months.”

Dr. Ngige described his legislative interest as in the areas of “war against corruption, electoral reforms, administration of justice and job creation.” For his constituency, he hoped to ensure that long taunted federal projects like the Oji River power station, second Niger Bridge, the rehabilitation of Enugu-Onitsha Expressway amongst others, finally received the funding needed to accomplish them. He also wants to work on the creation of another state in the South-East zone to achieve equity and justice and the inclusion of Anambra State on the list of oil producing states on account of the large oil deposits in the Omambala River basin of Anambra State.

In all, Dr. Ngige gave the election an average mark. “I will rate the election as 50% successful. There is still lots of work to be done to reform the electoral process. The rigging structure of the previous regime in INEC is still in place, and as long as the undesirable elements of that regime remain in the system, the mission of the present management to enthrone free and fair election in Nigeria will remain a pipe dream.”

For the full interview, please visit: http://nigerianewsday.com/menu/columns/guest-of-the-week/169-obi-and-dor...

ACN AS THE NEW FACE OF OPPOSITION: Tinubu as Opposition leader No.1

By Jide Ajani

The story of how ACN emerged and the role of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State.  It is the story of how to remain focused in the face of competing interests and odds.

With over 80 per cent of elective offices in the South-West geo-political zone (and a few more in other zones) in its grip, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, is Nigeria’s second dominant political party and the party is not about to be cajoled into working with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

In fact, the leadership of ACN has warned its members that “if they want to remain relevant politicians and if they want to last longer on the stage, we have told our members to stay the course and remain steadfast. They should not jump ship”.  That was Lai Mohammed, National Publicity Secretary of ACN, speaking.

You may say Tinubu is lucky.  But he made his luck – just as Obasanjo made his strategic miscalculation.

How did ACN come to this profitable and interesting pass?

Tinubu out-thought and outmanoeuvred those he saw as possible obstacles. And, he saw them quite early enough.  Playing a bit of the ying and yang of politics, some times flip-flopping, too, he kept faith with his agenda: That is taking charge.

For a politician who played a key role in the struggle for democracy – and going through the hell he went through in exile – he could be forgiven for wanting to take charge.  His politics of subterfuge appears to have paid off – this end, ACN’s primacy as the number one opposition in the country, has justified whatever was done to achieve it.

But the opposition today is not just about Tinubu alone.

It is about a spirit that has waxed incremental in content, context and in shape.

There are views which insist that if Nigeria’s First Republic had not been cut short via the intervention of the military, proper democratic culture would have taken root and, by extension, governance would have become more productive. Concomitantly, the spirit of building a viable opposition in the polity would also have germinated and taken root.

However, opposition cannot take root under a climatic condition which has conditioned people to see opposition as recklessly obtuse.  From both sides of the divide – the masses, on whose behalf the politicians are playing the role of opposition, and the politicians too, who are supposed to play the role of opposition to the government of the day – there appeared to have been a conspiracy of the privileged such that the uniting factor in the business of opposition had almost always been no more than a contestation for power, privilege and opportunities.

And, this explains why after almost every election at the federal level, the supposed winner talks about an all-inclusive government, one that would carry everyone along or a government of national unity.

This bait, thrown at and caught by the supposed opposition politicians, becomes an object of scramble. This was what led to the atrophying of the initial opposition party immediately after the 1999 elections, the All Peoples Party, APP.  Its members were poached by Olusegun Obasanjo just as some leaders of the Alliance for Democracy, AD, and the pan-Yoruba socio-economic and political organisation, Afenifere, were also co-opted into his administration.

The intrigues leading to the demise of APP which became the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP and AD have their roots in the cohabitation platform provided by Obasanjo in his administration.

Worse, ANPP was to lose its soul with its participation in the Yar’Adua administration’s national government.

Therefore, having a politician stand out in the face of buccaneering political realities is a big deal in these parts.

ACN may have employed some underhanded tactics even in its own procedures and processes of party politics but in an environment where the rule of law is just being instituted, all is fair in political war.

Today, Tinubu and ACN’s perseverance have paid off.  Some fell by the way side.  Talk of political stamina.

Anyaoku seeks 6-yr term for president, 5 for govs

By Emmanuel Edukugho

Nigeria still bears the paradoxical and ugly reputation of a country with abundant resources, but where the wealth from this abundance fuelled corruption and spawned privileged elites that engaged in internecine struggles for the control of the wealth.

That was the contention of Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary-General, Commonwealth, while delivering Bells University of Technology, Ota, 3rd Eminent Persons’ Lecture, titled “Nigeria In A Globalising World.” And if he has his way, Nigeria will undergo a constitution amendment that will see the president running a single term of six  years and the governors five.

According to him, “this internecine struggle also extends to the control of political power in the country, which was why the countdown to the 2011 April elections was completely mired in tension, mutual recrimination and political desperation rather than a reasoned discussion of the ways and means of resolving various problems facing the nation.”

He submitted that globalisation has become an inexorable reality that cannot be wished away. Hence, Nigeria must retool to confront the challenges posed by globalisation in all their ramifications.

“We must begin to take the South-South cooperation more seriously because it provides us with an effective platform to engage and negotiate with the North in the relevant international fora.”

He said that although unequal international economic relations have always existed, the intensification of the globalisation process has tended to further aggravate the economic squeezing of developing countries like Nigeria.
Source: Vanguard

Presidential Inauguration: Security forces foil planned disruption

The efforts of the  personnel of one of the intelligence agencies in the country may have paid off as the financial assistance sought by a group of northern youths to carry out protests with a view to disrupting the  inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan didn’t materialise, as the nation is set for the event today.


Also, Sunday Vanguard learnt  that the clearing of the perimetres of the Eagle Square, venue of  the  inauguration and its adjourning areas, 48 hours ago, was “with a view to ensuring that no stone was left unturned”.

Facts emerging at the weekend and which we have been able to piece together further suggest  that “an earlier request had been made by a youth group in the northern part of the country to a political party for funds.”

“The funds”, according to dependable sources, “were meant to create or facilitate some form of logistical support for the group that had planned to embark on a series of protests purely for the purpose of the inauguration of Sunday (today)”.

The sources said  that, at a meeting of some political parties on Monday, May,  16, 2011, the issue was raised and discussed.

Sunday Vanguard has now been made to understand that, that meeting explored different options ranging from the possibility of mass demonstrations in the country on the presidential inauguration day (today), using the subterfuge of ethnicity and religion.

The  sources, very conversant with the plan, disclosed that part of the agenda was to create an air of insecurity in the country just so “the emerging President Goodluck Jonathan presidency would be seen as incapable of uniting the country or keeping the peace”.

In addition, on the cards was the option of mass publicity with the possibility of sensitizing some of the foreign dignitaries and heads of state attending the presidential inauguration, “to the claim that the April elections were massively rigged in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and, therefore, rendering the general elections of April not to meet the globally accepted and acceptable standards of being free, fair and credible a nullity”.

Last week, Sunday Vanguard had published that some opposition politicians met in Abuja to explore the possibility of inflicting “maximum publicity damage to today’s inauguration ceremony”.

However, following the searchlight beamed on leaders of the political party, especially with the discovery that a northern youth group had approached it for funding, the leaders of the party panicked and resisted the temptation to fund the mass protest.

“In fact, because of the feeling that they are being monitored, the response the leaders of the party gave to the northern youth group was such that the entire idea fizzled out,” one of  security sources said on   Friday night.

Continuing, the source made it clear that “all these do not suggest that we would be resting on our oars as the nation’s security and stability is very important. Even, the people we are talking about, on their own- turned down the offer to sponsor any form of  protests”.

According to a document, one of the leaders of the party had said: “we have actually been contacted by some northern youths for sponsorship to carry out anti-government protests in parts of the north and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

But we informed the youths that the party has no such money;….the Federal Government is looking for one way or the other to ‘hang’ (us) and because of this, the party has told the youths that it does not want any link whatsoever with them”.