Igbo should play opposition for 10 years —Igbokwe

The Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, Joe Igbokwe, on Tuesday advised Igbo politicians to take the path of honour by helping the Peoples Democratic Party to build a formidable opposition rather than defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress because of their business interest.

Igbokwe said by doing this, the world would take them seriously.

The APC chieftain, in an article entitled, ‘Can the Igbo play opposition for the next 10 years’, published on Sahara Reporters, said the Igbo would not die if they are not in the APC or part of the government.

“After all, the Yoruba have been in the opposition for a long time—since the 1960s, and they have not perished. Let the Igbo work with other PDP leaders across Nigeria to start strategising to reposition, rebrand, and rebuild the PDP. This is the way to political rebirth and redemption. If you have bushes to clear, you have to sharpen your cutlass very well,” he said.

Igbokwe noted that it was shameful that many Igbo politicians, who claimed they were right to have voted for former President Goodluck Jonathan at the last poll, were regretting their decision and looking for ways to join the APC.

He said shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari defeated Jonathan on March 28, panic gripped Igbo politicians, businessmen, women and the traders.

He said, “I remember a night in the house of a very successful Igbo trader in Ikoyi shortly after the presidential election, when it became obvious that President Buhari had carried the day. They gathered to contribute money to support the APC. Even those who travelled home for the Easter holiday donated money from the East just to belong. I felt ashamed that my people couldn’t defend their honour and integrity even in the time of trouble.

“After the 2015 election, when the Igbo lost their resources by putting all their eggs in one basket, many Igbo leaders claimed that the Igbo made the right political choices given the circumstances on the ground then. Yes, the Igbo have said they voted right, but in action and in deed, they have been busy looking for ways to sneak into the APC.

“On Saturday, July 25, 2015, a group that worked against the APC in Lagos called Igbo United Political Forum organised a programme to honor Governor Rochas Okorocha. Behind the smokescreen was an attempt to sneak through the back door to the APC, having missed the front door on March 28 and April 11, 2015. The organisers reaped what they sowed, as all the APC leaders they invited stayed away.

“They licked their wounds and went home to cry. Time and space will not permit me to recall various moves our people have made to find their way to the APC. Those who are still very angry about the colossal loss have pitched their tent with the Biafra mantra. When we lose out in national politics as a result of myopic and timid political thinking and calculation, the next move is to resort to ethnic politics. Nobody is deceived.”

Credit: PUNCH

Senate confirms CDS, service chiefs

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the appointments of the service chiefs after over four hours of rigorous screening behind closed doors.

The closed-session which started at about 11:25am, ended around 3:45pm.

The officers who answered various questions from the senators are Major General Abayomi Olonishakin, Chief of Defence Staff; Major General Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff; and Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, Chief of Naval Staff.

Others are Air Vice-Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff; Air Vice-Marshal Monday Morgan, Chief of Defence Intelligence, and retired Major General Babagana Monguno, National Security Adviser.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who presided over the session, explained after the screening that issues of insurgency, oil theft and procurement process of military equipment and hardware were throughly addressed.

The senators unanimously gave a resounding approval through voice votes when Saraki put the question of whether the senate would confirm or reject the appointments after the screening.

Saraki after the approval said, “It is clear that the appointment is based on merit. Their appointment as we all see is coming at a very crucial time with a lot of challenges, particularly the insurgents in the North-East and some of the other security issues.

“For example, the issue of oil theft that we talked about when they came before us. We hope that during their period of time, they will take up the responsibility required. We are all keen to restore the image and reputation of the Armed Forces.

“I believe that what we are starting today with their confirmation is the beginning of that journey to restore the glory of the Armed Forces of our great country.”

Credit: PUNCH

Contractor sues FG over Jonathan’s N9.2bn stoves

The contractor handling the N9.2billion worth of clean cook stoves and wonder bags awarded by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan has dragged the Federal Government to court.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Fatima Mede, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Tuesday shortly after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari of the ministry’s activities inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Mede said the contractor approached the court to order the government not to terminate the contract following the emergence of the present administration.

The Jonathan-led Federal Executive Council had on November 26, 2014 approved N9.2billion inclusive of Value Added Tax for the procurement of 750,000 units of clean cook stoves and 18,000 wonder bags.

The contract was awarded in favour of Messrs Integra Renewable Energy Services Limited.

There have been calls on the present administration to terminate the contract.

Confirming the legal action, Mede said the ministry had briefed the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation on the development.

She said the government would appear before the court to argue its case.

She however did not say if there were plans to terminate the contract.

She said, “The matter is in court right now, so there is a limit to how I can talk about the issue of cooking stoves.

“The contractor took government to court asking the court to grant an injunction for government not to terminate the contract.

“We will go there and argue our case, the government will go, we have briefed the Attorney General’s office.

“We will present our case on the issue that led to the contractor taking us to court, it will be explained and the court will decide.”

Mede said during her team’s meeting with Buhari, the President raised concerns over environmental degradation in the country.

She said the President was aware that the sustainability of the country would depend on how well the environment was managed.

She added that the rate of desertification and afforestation in the country was alarming.

She said over 43 per cent of Nigerians were affected by the effect of desertification.

The Permanent Secretary also pointed to the conflict between the herdsmen and farmers because of forced migration.

She said the President had directed that to reduce the rate at which wood was being cut down for cooking, the ministry should consider promoting the use of LPG especially in the cities.

Credit: PUNCH

Landlord, wife kill tenant over quit notice

Delta State Police Command is currently investigating circumstances surrounding the alleged killing of one Iriguvwedo Joshua by his landlord, Mr. Blessing Omasehe.

The victim, who until his death, was a driver and machine operator at a private water factory located by Aziza Junction, along Warri-Sapele Road, was alleged to have died from wounds sustained from the attack at his Chinkelly Street residence, Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.

Recounting the incident that led to the death of the victim, his elder brother, Abraham Iriguvwedo, yesterday told newsmen that his brother was killed with a cutlass on Friday by his landlord over a fracas relating to a quit notice served on him by the landlord, although Joshua’s rent was yet to expire.

Abraham explained that he was called at about 11:30pm on Friday by the victim’s girlfriend, informing him that his brother bled to death at the scene of the incident.

According to Abraham, his brother had, earlier in the day, had a fight with his landlord over an extension attached to his one-bedroom apartment, which was resolved when the late Joshua fled the house, only to be attacked in the evening when he returned home to pick some of his clothings.

Confirming the arrest of the landlord and his wife, a source in Ekpan Police Station stated that the suspect and his wife were in police custody and would soon be transferred to the state police headquarters for further investigation.

Credit: Vanguard

Lagos lawyer sues Buhari over inadequate fuel supply

A lawyer and rights activist, Kabir Akingbolu has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos over his failure to make adequate provision for the production and supply of petroleum products to all citizens at regulated prices.

Akingbolu, in the suit, has the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, as the second defendant.
The lawyer is contending that considering the nature and extent of inconveniences which the citizens of the country were being subjected to by the lack of petroleum products, especially the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), the failure of Buhari, as the Chief Executive Officer of the country, to act by making the products sufficiently available, was capable of causing breach of peace and serious discomfiture for the citizenry.

He is praying the court to determine whether the failure of the president to address the scarcity by the President was a breach of the oath of office he took on May 29, 2015 and a violation of the clear and unambiguous provisions of Section 130 (1) & (2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Akingbolu is asking the court to declare that the failure of the defendants (Buhari and AGF) to make available petroleum products as a breach of oath of office, and that the failure to fix the refineries in the country was equally a breach of the constitutional obligation of the president.

Credit: Vanguard

Rise of police brutality: 8-month pregnant lady beaten, loses baby

Starring vacantly as if in a daze, she beckoned with a wave from her hospital bed. The gesture was directed at Vanguard Features, VF, reporter, who stood a few metres away in the middle of the hospital’s expansive ward.

Her fixed attention soon gave way to consternation when it became obvious that the writer was being denied access to her by the hospital staff because he is a journalist. ‘’Sir, we are sorry you can’t see her.

You have to be taken to a senior person who may give you the needed clearance to see her,’’ a staff in the ward told VF. On that note, VF was led out by a female employee, while the patient he had come to see, looked downcast.

After consultation with several officers of the hospital, VF  was politely informed that he cannot see the patient.

‘’We understand your interest, but we don’t allow media interview with our patients. You can talk to her when she is discharged. You are free to visit during visiting hours but not to interview her,’’ a senior official of the hospital said. The obviously disappointed patient later called VF on phone and it was then  that an appointment was fixed for another day.

A few days later, VF paid a visit to her home in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State. It was not easy for the downcast mother of two, who gave her name as Chika Elekwachi to give an update of her ordeal as she muttered in Igbo language, ‘’ke kwanu ihem nga ako ozo,’’ meaning ‘’what do I say again?’’

At that point, some visitors entered the living room, apparently to sympathise with her. While they commiserated with her in Igbo, they spoke disappointedly about the Police. Some of them  shared ugly encounters they had in the past with law enforcement agents.

VF later engaged her in a conversation in Igbo language. This is the traumatising and horrible narrative as told by Elekwachi. “On July 19, 2015 at about 7 pm, I was driving along Old Ojo Road to my house in my Infinity QX35 Sports Utility Vehicle with registration number MUS157DG.

Park or I fire you: “In the vehicle with me were two friends of mine. On getting to Pako Bus-stop, a mini-bus with four occupants double-crossed us in a gestapo manner. This made me to suddenly apply the brake. At that point, occupants of the mini-bus, who were dressed in civil attire,  jumped out of the bus. One of the gun-wielding men had a black branded police T-shirt.

I was ordered out of the car by the police who yelled, ‘’Park or I fire you’’. Another one spoke in pidgin English, ‘’Oga na pregnant woman o.’’ In response, the first policeman said: ‘’If na pregnant woman nko, I will kill her  if she is not careful.’’ Before I could move, my front doors were flung open and I was pulled out of the vehicle.

All my pleadings that I was eight months pregnant fell on deaf ears, as they continued to beat me. I was dragged on the floor and eventually stripped naked.

The incident  attracted a sympathetic crowd, whose pleadings were  ignored because the men insisted that I would follow them to the station,” she recalled.

Continuing, Mrs Elekwachi said: “While I sat on the floor to cover my nakedness, having been stripped naked, the police men began to drag me; while  struggling with them, I fell and hit my stomach on the floor.

Maternal trauma and placenta abruption

“The men were not deterred as they carried me to the station where I was dragged out of the vehicle. It was there that I got a phone from a passer-by and called my family to intimate them about my ordeal. It was at this stage that the Divisional Crime Officer, DCO, came out to know what caused the pandemonium outside, because I had lost consciousness.

I was then taken to Safe Hands Medical Centre, where I was diagnosed of maternal trauma and placenta abruption. As a result of that, a caesarean operation was carried out on me to bring out the baby, who died after four days in an incubator at Outreach Medical Centre, Satellite Town”.

Thereafter, the brutalised lady, who was not immediately informed about her baby’s demise, was taken to a government hospital in the area for further medical attention. It was at this hospital, that VF visited her for the first time.

Police stopped picking my calls

According to Elekwachi, her journey to the health facility was facilitated by the Police. She explained that the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of the station was sending police officers on daily basis to inquire about her welfare and also to offset some of her medical bills.

‘’The Police brought me to the hospital. The DPO was sending people everyday but the visit stopped after a few days. I needed to buy drugs that were prescribed for me but I did not see them.

I also needed to scan my stomach and chest but did not do so because the Police stopped coming to the hospital. My calls to them were also ignored. I didn’t see them until I was discharged,’’ she noted.

‘’The policemen who visited me at the hospital were concerned about my condition. One of them even informed me that those who brutalised me were sent to a place where a commercial motorcyclist died in a motor accident. They were sent there to ensure that the truck that killed the motorcyclist was not set ablaze. It was on their way to the scene that they assaulted me,’’ she said.

Orderly room trial

Continuing, she said: ‘’Since I was discharged the DPO has not called me. However, my relatives went to the station to collect the death certificate of my baby but it was not given to them. Rather a letter was given to them requesting me to come to their office in Ikeja on August 3, 2015.’’

The letter titled “RE: Orderly Room Trial”, dated July 31, 2015 has 4161/LS/SAT/VOL 3/369, Chika Elekwachi ‘F’ as its reference number. The invitation which emanated from the DPO’s office read: “I refer to the incident of 19/7/2015 along Old Ojo Road involving you and three Policemen.

You are requested to report on 3/8/2015 at 10:00 am to the Provost, Nigeria Police, State Headquarters Ikeja to give evidence on the matter. Accept my assurances of the Police Commissioner’s highest regards.” The invitation was signed by the DPO, Mr. Felix Ofili, a Superintendent of Police.

The orderly room trial seems to be sequel to the confirmation of the incident by the Lagos State Police Command and its promise to investigate the matter.

It also noted that the three policemen had been arrested, a development that was confirmed by the victim, who told VF that her friends who were with her at the time of the incident acknowledged seeing the offending men in detention.Not minding the concern displayed by  the DPO, some of those who got wind of the incident are demanding a proper investigation and prosecution of the suspects according to the laws guiding the force.

One of such people is Elekwachi’s lawyer, Mrs. Franca Okafor of Akin Kajewa and Company. She has already written a seven-page petition to the Inspector General of Police and the State Police Commissioner.

Violation of fundamentalist rights:

In the letter  titled: “Protest Letter and Demand for Damages  for Breach of Fundamental Rights by Members of Nigeria Police Force, the lawyer corroborated  Elekwachi’s narrative of what transpired.

The petition read in parts: ‘’It is not in doubt that the fundamental rights of our client had been flagrantly and violently breached by men of the Nigeria Police and our instruction is to demand from you the sum of N2, 500,000 (Two billion five hundred million) for general exemplary and aggravated damages coupled with a public apology”.

It also warned that ‘’unless our demand in paragraph 10 is met within seven days from the date of this letter, we shall have no alternative than to enforce the rights of our client by the due process of law without further reference to you.’’ Also copied were: The Human Rights Commission, Area Commander, Area E Police Command, Festac Town and the Divisional Police Officer, Agboju Police Station, Lagos.

Some non-governmental organisations,NGOs, have also indicated interest in assisting Mrs. Elekwachi to get justice, should the police fail to do the needful. The Joint Action Against Gender-Based Violence, JAGBV, being led by Mrs. Jemima Abdulkarim is one of them.

Police brutality

She told VF that: ‘’Every necessary thing within the ambit of the law would be done to ensure that the lady gets justice. Police brutality in every sense must stop. We are not in this because she is a woman, anyone can be brutalised.’’ VF gathered that Elekwachi’s car and other possessions at the time of the incident are still in the custody of the police at Agboju Police station.

Credit: Vanguard

N26bn debt: DISCOs disconnect police, military barracks, others

The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, ANED, comprising of the 11 Distribution Companies, DISCOs, has threatened to commence the disconnection of power supply to military and police barracks as well as ministries, departments and agencies across the country, over accumulated N26billion.

The group however, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari for a bail-out to cushion the effects of the debt on their operations, saying it could no longer bear the huge debt.
The ANED Director, Research and Advocacy, Sunday Oduntan, disclosed that more than N10 billion out of the total debt of N26 billion is owed by Military formations in Kaduna, Lagos, Oyo, Kwara and Ogun states.

Oduntan hinted that the Nigerian military, para-military and MDAs all over the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja are currently indebted to the 11 DISCOs nationwide.

He said the huge debt owed the DISCOs was now hampering their operations.

Giving a breakdown of the debt, Oduntan claimed that the Military and MDAs at both the Federal and state levels are owing N6.7 billion to the Kaduna DISCO; N7 billion to the Abuja DISCO; N5.2 billion to Ibadan DISCO; N2.3 billion to the Eko DISCO; N3.8 billion to the Benin DISCO and; N860m to the Kano DISCO, just as the debts owed other DISCOs run to several billions of Naira.

He said: “We need to understand that there are three layers in the value chain of electricity. We have the GENCOs, which generate electricity and sell to the Federal Government through the Transmission Company of Nigeria who will then sell to us, DISCOs, 11 distribution companies across the country.”

“Which means all the money we are collecting from distributing electricity to the public, we only retain less than 25% of all money as our own. The remaining goes to the other stakeholders. When you buy electricity, you supply out and the Military, the MDAs and people are either not paying their debts or stealing energy, you now have commercial and collection losses.”

Credit: Vanguard