N9.7bn Fraud: Police declare Bukola Saraki wanted

Dr.Bukola Saraki

• Ex-gov ready to show up

The Police yesterday declared the immediate past governor of Kwara State, Dr.Bukola Saraki wanted for alleged fraud.

The Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the police said the senator was wanted in connection with "a case of suspected fraudulent conversion of depositors’ funds through questionable waivers of loans and other facilities of about N9.76bn granted by the management of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc."
The ex-governor reacted swiftly to the police statement and said he was ready to make himself available for questioning.
The loans, according to the police, were given to "companies he (Saraki) promoted between 2004 and 2009 when he was the governor of Kwara State. Some of the facilities were allegedly used to buy choice properties."
The police said they were declaring the former governor wanted after he refused to honour their invitation to clear his name.
A warrant of arrest has been obtained against him and the police requested that anyone " with useful information regarding his whereabouts should report to the nearest Police Station or contact the Office of the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit, 13 Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos."
Reacting to the police statement through his lawyer, Mr.Rafiu Lawal-Rabana (SAN), Dr.Saraki said he would appear despite the fact that he has a pending application before a Federal High Court in Abuja. Rabana said Saraki had thought the police would respect the ongoing court process and stay action pending the determination of his application..
He said: "Now that the police have made it clear that they do not have respect for the judiciary, Dr. Saraki will now appear before the court," he said.
The counsel, who spoke with newsmen on the phone, added: "Saraki is not on the run and he has no cause to run as a distinguished person."
Although he was not forthcoming on when Saraki will appear before the police, there were indications that it might be today or Monday.
Saraki had earlier asked the police to stay further action pending the determination of the suit he filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja. The ex-governor had asked the court to determine "whether it is not a violation of the plaintiff’s right under section 34(a) and section 35 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) for the Defendant to invite the plaintiff to appear before the police without any allegations and or accusations specifically made against him.
The former governor’s media aide, Akintoba Fatigun also confirmed that he will appear at SFU on Monday.

Security Operatives Open Fresh Investigations Against Aregbesola

Fresh facts emerged on Friday as to how Osun State governor; Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, escaped some possible drastic measures from the Federal Government, following revelations that he was allegedly fueling some unconstitutional measures in the state.

A secret service report, which contents, however, got to the hands of politicians two weeks ago, had indicted Aregbesola of perpetrating acts capable of causing religious disharmony in the state, sidelining the nation’s known security operatives in his convoy and replacing them with religious activists.

Though the top hierarchy of the State Security Services(SSS) has instituted investigations into the origin and leakage of the report, it was said that the governor’s decision to visit Abuja last week and meet with top security chiefs might have procured a breather for him.

Some forces within the government were of the view that the governor has copped enough controversy and that based on the security report, his tenure should be terminated through the declaration of a state of emergency. But it was learnt that Aregbesola’s decision to visit the National Security Adviser, the Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of the SSS might have secured the needed breather for him.

“I can tell you that the governor was on the brink, following the revelations contained in the security report. He knew it and his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), also knows it. But they pretended as if it is a political fight while moving on their knees to plead with the authorities,” a source said in Abuja on Friday.

Though Aregbesola was quoted as telling a Lagos-based television station that the security report against him was a ruse following his investigations in Abuja, it was confirmed that the governor had to make frantic efforts to dissuade the authorities from moving against him.

Alleged N10bn Mansion: Edo ACN Blasts PDP

THE Edo State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has described as irresponsible journalism media reports alleging that the state governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has dipped his hands into the coffers of the state to build a N10 billion mansion in his home town, Iyambo.

The ACN, in a statement by its publicity secretary, Mr Dan Owegie, noted that the entire report was cooked up “by the desperate Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state” which he said is confronted with obvious electoral disaster in the coming July governorship election.

Describing the PDP’s allegation at a press conference where “they displayed purported aerial video clips and photographs of the said building” as spurious, the party said the “Edo PDP has gone ahead to launch a massive campaign of calumny and infamy against the person of the governor on the internet, raising spurious allegations that bear very little or no relationship with the truth.”

The party spokesman noted that the building in question was Oshiomhole’s three bedroom duplex built over 20 years ago and it was only being expanded to include three more bedrooms.

Mr Owegie, describing the PDP’s campaign as the ranting of a drowning man, said the party should go and clear its image of very many questionable circumstances surrounding its leadership in the state.

The ACN noted that the ACN governor and ACN standard bearer in the coming poll “is too disciplined to dip his hands into the tax payers’ treasury to extend his personal house as being branded by the opposition.”

The party said the mass exodus from the PDP to the ACN which the former is jittery about, boiled  down to the development initiatives  of Oshiomhole and other ACN governors in the country, adding that only recently, the PDP tried to stop its women leader, Mrs Lucy Omagbon from defecting into the ACN, but to no avail.

The statement said the defeat awaiting the PDP in the coming election would be unprecedented in the history of election in the state.

Oshiomhole Vows To Create More Jobs For Youths

Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has reiterated his resolve to improve on the economic well-being of the state, through creation of jobs and employment opportunities that would take the youth off the streets.

This is as the governor has called on the opposition in the state to dwell more on issues and policy framework that could help take the state to the next level, rather than engaging itself in campaign of calumny and blackmail.

Oshiomhole made the resolve known on Friday through the Director of Media and Publicity of the Oshiomhole Campaign Organisation, Prince Kassim Afegbua.

According to Afegbua, the governor intends to attract over half a billion dollars to the state as a response to the growing challenges in the state, adding that the projected investments would attract over 113,000 jobs for the teeming youths.

Ajimobi Fires Perm Secs, More To Go

THE Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has disengaged the services of four permanent secretaries from the employment of the state.

The affected permanent secretaries were those of the Ministries of Youth and Sport, Works and Transport, Mr Kunle Aderogba; Lands and Housing, Mr Seye Laoye; Environment, Y.K Adisa, and Justice, Mr Oladapo Oladosun and the Permanent Secretary for Oyo State Road Maintenance Agency, A.O Adeyemi.

They were said to have been asked to quit last week Thursday with more of them slated for sack.

When Saturday Tribune contacted the Permanent Secretary in the Works and Transport Ministry, Mr Kunle Aderogba, to confirm the development, he simply said, “I have no comment on that, please.”

I didn’t know my late son would be remembered –Dagrin’s dad

Two years after the death of Oladapo Olanipekun, aka Dagrin, his father seems to be overwhelmed by the outpouring of love for the rapper from music fans across the country.

In an interview with LIFE&BEAT, Mr. Olaniyi Olanipekun said that though he knew his son would make an impact on the music scene, it never occurred to him that he would continue to live in the hearts of many Nigerians even in death.

Olaniyi said, “Dapo had always loved music and tilted towards it. He loved music, just like I did. I knew he would be popular but I didn’t know he would be remembered after his death.”

He said that it was not the custom among the Yoruba for a father to immortalise his own son. But he says the best he could do was to support any initiative dedicated to the memory of the rapper.

To commemorate Dagrin’s death, his father has agreed to the release of a posthumous album in his honour. The album will be released by mobile music powerhouse, Spinlet. The content comprises new and remixed songs from Dagrin’s Rhyme Book.

LIFE&BEAT learnt that the first song to be released would be a remix of Dagrin’s controversial song titled, If I die. Many Nigerians believed the song was proof that the rapper had a premonition of his death.

But Olanipekun dismissed the speculation, saying that his son sang the song out of ignorance. Also, Dagrin’s former manager, Tunde Peters, said the song had no underlying meaning.

He said, “If I die was recorded out of Dagrin’s curiosity. The producer of the song, Frenzy, said that he was in the studio about to do collaborations with other artistes when he began do to freestyle.” It was not planned. The essence of the remix is to do it properly. The song was released to the public because Dagrin’s fans mounted pressure on the producer.”

Mode9 to quit rap music

A recent interview granted by Mode9, one of Nigeria’s leading rappers, to an American cable TV network, is currently the subject of a nationwide debate among music fans in Nigeria.

In it, Mode9 told the crew of BET that he was going to quit rap music and devote the rest of his life to discovering and grooming new talents that will step in his shoes.

The rapper’s comments has left many music fans puzzled and wondering why he wants to quit at a time the industry is flourishing.

But in a telephone interview with LIFE&BEAT, Mode9 claimed that he was quoted wrongly.

 He said, “I never said I would quit rap music. I only said I would not do it forever. A lot of people misconstrue my words. Whenever a good thing happens to me, it is never seen in the news. Only bad things are mentioned. I just finished work on a remix of my EP.

“A reporter asked why I did not do a tribute for Dagrin. I told him everybody was doing one, including those that did not know him; I said some other things, but I was misquoted. Some people are just trying to pull me down.” 

PDP basks under new-found unity in Edo

The Peoples Democratic Party in Edo seems to be resolving its crisis ahead of the July 14 governorship election in the state, JAMES AZANIA writes

Less than a year ago, the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State appeared to be on the verge of disintegration. This was so because of the polarisation of the party along the lines of two power brokers (Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia and Chief Tony Anenih). Then, the two groups appeared together at public outings under distinct leaders.

So bad was the situation that both the Ogbemudia faction, headed by Elder Sunny Uyigue, and the mainstream Anenih faction, led by Chief Dan Orbih, came separately to the airport to welcome President Goodluck Jonathan during his visit to the state in the build-up to the last presidential election.

Though Uyigue has remained adamant, the PDP got a big lift from Ogbemudia when last Saturday, he hosted an enlarged meeting of the party at his Benin residence. At the end of the meeting, a running mate to the party’s governorship candidate, Charles Airhiavbere, in the person of Johnson Abolagba, a former member of the House of Representatives, emerged.

Ogbemudia, a two-time former governor of the state, in a volte face move often witnessed in the country’s political space, admonished the party leadership on the strategies to dislodge incumbent Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress of Nigeria from Dennis Osadebey Avenue (Government House).

His tone, different from the one that came from him during a previous visit of the Edo South PDP leadership, was no doubt a source of joy to his co-travellers, including Orbih, who attributed the change to the consultation by his executive council and party elders.

Ogbemudia had during the previous visit talked in glowing terms about the ACN performance under Oshiomhole, saying it would earn the governor a second term.

He had reportedly asked his party people which road they passed when they were coming to his house. He was said to have reminded them of how Oshiomhole made his area a place where residents could, once again, be proud to live.

He was quoted to have said, “Where did you pass to get to my house? Is it not fine? Should I then mobilise against the person who has done this? I will instead mobilise for him.”

Ogbemudia, during the PDP second coming, however, changed his position and advised the Edo PDP leadership on the tactics to be adopted in effecting Oshiomhole’s removal from the Government House.

Besides advising the party on the choice of its deputy governorship candidate, Ogbemudia also made available the outcome of a vote research, which he said he undertook on behalf of the Edo PDP.

He said, “In this state, we look forward to a governor that will see things the way we see it, we look forward to a deputy governor who will bring votes, but we must not underrate the incumbent, who is very intelligent and has a very high level of intelligent quotient and is caring. So, the answer is for us to be as sharp as a razor. When you are going into a boxing contest and you begin to practise, your opponent knows it is no longer the challenger he knows.”

He said for the PDP to dislodge Oshiomhole from the Government House in the next election, it must poll 25 per cent votes in the Edo North senatorial district, 70 per cent in Edo Central and 60 per cent in Edo South. He said it was left for the leaders of those various senatorial districts to work hard on how to get the votes. “Benin people prefer the governor, not the deputy, and our hope is the Osadebey House,” he added.

An elated Orbih had said, “All those that are in doubt of our unity in Edo State PDP, all those in doubt of our resolve to win back Edo State will now know that the PDP is waxing stronger and is solidly united.”

Elsewhere, the Edo PDP has embarked on a series of rallies.In the rallies, the party showcased the defectors joining its camp ahead of the July 14 governorship election.

In an interview, Airhiavbere said, “I put in place three strategies – consultation, reconciliation and what I call the real action. I met with the political bigwigs, senators, past and present, businessmen, etc. I met Gen. Ogbemudia, Chief Oyegun, Chief Lucky Igbinedion and Prof. Osunbor. I met a host of retired and serving career officers. I discovered that they were all dissatisfied with the present administration. After more analyses, I discovered that there was a need for reconciliation in the PDP.

“After the April (general) elections, the PDP in Edo was torn. There were factions. I brought these aggrieved members together and we had a congress that members were proud of. We conducted a congress, which conducted the primaries from where I was picked as the governorship candidate. The success of the congress assisted in the conduct of the primaries. The strategy I put in place was based on the fact that I was new.

“In achieving my goals, different measures were put in place, which included visiting the leaders across the three senatorial districts. Hitherto, I spearheaded, in collaboration with my friends, a non-governmental organisation, the Community Assistance Cooperative Outreach, aimed at reaching the women, students and people at all levels. The outreach, which later metamorphosed into the Charles Osareme Campaign Organisation, gave me an opportunity to know the goings-on in the state.”

Airhiavbere’s appearance on the Edo political scene has in several quarters been credited with the revival of the state chapter of the PDP.

The retired army officer has been credited with bringing a new sense of belonging to the party.

Others have, however, said the same factors that created the latest amity in the party, at the same time, have estranged other party members, who felt alienated in the sharing of Airhiavbere’s largesse.

Other PDP leaders in the state, including a former deputy governor, Rev. Peter Obada, have continued to harp on the need for the party to present a united front if it is to get the voters’ reckoning on the election day.

Obada, who at best can be described as a sit-on-the-fence member of the party, has for some time stayed away from party activities, even though he has not openly declared a preference for any other party. He is, however, suspected to have sympathy for Oshiomhole, whose performance he has on several occasions painted in superlative terms.

Obada, while suing for peace in the state, was quoted as saying, “The Action Congress of Nigeria we have in the state today is a creation of the PDP as we lost some of our good foot soldiers, who left when they could no longer stomach the larger-than-life figure of some of us, who ordain candidates before elections.”

Some observers of PDP internal matters have, however, expressed doubts about the efficacy of the new rapprochement in Edo PDP to result in an electoral victory, saying several of their key players remain active pro-Oshiomhole advocates.

Whether or not members are committed to the PDP cause of reclaiming power in Edo State, time alone will tell, as the election draws near.

A word of caution, however, came for the Edo PDP from Ogbemudia, who, at the end of the meeting in his house, said, “It is not compulsory that the PDP wins the (governorship) election.”

Scores strategising to unseat Mimiko

Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko

The multiplicity of aspirants for the October 20 governorship poll in Ondo State is causing confusion in political circles in the state, writes SUNDAY ABORISADE

Residents of Akure, the Ondo State capital, have been subjected to a serious stress on the Oyemekun Road in the last two months by various aspirants of the Action Congress of Nigeria, who have been organising political rallies to formally declare their governorship ambition, almost on a weekly basis.

A majority of the aspirants have their campaign offices on the road and usually arrange prominent musicians to perform on the day of their declaration, obviously to attract a large crowd. The crowd of supporters invariably takes over a lane of the dual-carriage way, forcing motorists to make use of a single lane.

A cab driver, Mr. Joseph Jolayemi, who was caught up in a traffic congestion during one of such rallies recently, wondered why the leadership of the party had not drawn up a framework for the aspirants to reduce their number.

Jolayemi is among the numerous residents of the state, who are now concerned about the number of politicians in the fold of the Ondo State chapter of the ACN, who wish to become the governor. The question on the lips of many, however, is why the leadership of the party had to wait for this long before picking its candidate.

Aspirants who had openly declared their ambition under the umbrella of the party are: a human rights activist, Dr. Tunji Abayomi; a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN; Chief Jamiu Ekungba; Senator Olorunnimbe Farunkanmi; Mr. Saka Lawal; Dr. Olu Agunloye; Chief Tayo Alasoadura; and a serving senator, Prof. Ajayi Boroffice.

Others include a daughter of the late former Governor Adekunle Ajasin, who recently resigned as chairman of the party, Mrs. Jumoke Anifowose; two-term House of Representatives member, Mr. Jaiyeola Ajatta; Mr. Adefope Ajayi; Mr. Festus Oluwole; Mr. Rawa Felix; a former commissioner in the state, Mr. Wale Akinterinwa; Chief Sola Iji; Senator Omololu Meroyi;  a serving House of Representatives member from the state, Mr. Ifedayo Abegunde; Chief Segun Ojo; Mr. Segun Abraham; and an industrialist, Mr. Olayato Aribo, among others.

The senatorial candidate of the party in the Ondo South Senatorial District in the April 2011 elections, Dr. Pius Akintelure, had earlier raised the alarm over the growing list of the aspirants and expressed the fear that opposition parties could sponsor candidates to join the ACN and contest the governorship seat.

Akintelure, in an interview with our correspondent, then had noted that the rate at which notable politicians from other parties were defecting to the ACN and seeking the ticket to contest the 2012 governorship election, called for caution.

The ACN chief advised the leadership of the party at both the national and state levels to be wary of the development and act on time.

He had said, “As far as I am concerned, I don’t have any inordinate ambition. I’m not desperate for power. I’m only desperate to make my people get out of their poverty line. My people will choose for me the role they want me to play when the ACN government is in place come 2013 in the state.

“It is possible for the opposition to be using some aspirants, who will be parading themselves as governorship aspirants within our party right now. We are counselling our people to be mindful of these infiltrators.”

Two prominent aspirants told our correspondent in separate interviews in the last two weeks that the choice of the party’s candidate and the process adopted for their emergence would either mar or make the party in the forthcoming election.

While one of the aspirants suggested the use of primaries to pick the best candidate, the other urged the leadership of the party to subject the profile of all the aspirants to a serious scrutiny and pick the best.

The latter stated that adopting the primaries method could make a moneybag, who did not have the required qualification or experience, to pick the ticket, while the former expressed the fear that hand-picking a candidate might throw the party into serious crisis that might jeopardise its chances at the poll.

But a frontline entrepreneur in the state, Aribo, who declared his intention to contest the governorship election under the umbrella of the party, had allayed the fear of his colleagues on a possible crisis over the choice of a candidate.

Aribo gave an assurance that the choice of the party’s candidate for the poll would not degenerate into any form of rancour.

He said, “We have a large number of governorship aspirants under the umbrella of the ACN in the state because of the party’s acceptability and popularity among the people.

“The development will not manifest into any form of rancour during and after the emergence of our candidate because our party is a disciplined political party that is genuinely committed to all-round development of our state.”

The decision of Anifowose to resign her appointment as chairman of the party and join the governorship race was viewed by many as an invitation to chaos.

A leader of the party confided in our correspondent during the week that the executive of the party might want to favour her and that the action could boomerang except the national leadership of the party handled the situation with  caution.

However, the ACN treasurer and chairman, Contact and Mobilisation, Mr. Ade Adetimehin, insisted that the high number of the aspirants would not constitute any problem to the party.

Adetimehin said the party leaders would definitely meet and decide on the modality for the emergence of the party’s candidate because the party was operating as a large family.

The decision of a former Defence Minister, Mr. Tokunbo Kayode, SAN, to contest under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party, has also increased the number of governorship aspirants to nine.

Those who had earlier indicated their intention to contest included: a former Head of Service in the state, Chief Alaba Isijola; billionaire politician, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim; Mr. Joseph Adeusi; Mr. Ayo Olorunfemi; a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Victor Olabimtan; Mr. Moyosola Niran-Oladunni and a former National Legal Adviser of the party, Chief Olusola Oke among others.

Although the internal crisis rocking the PDP over the outcome of the congress of the party in the state, which led to the emergence of parallel executives, has become a subject of litigation, most of the aspirants believe that the development will not affect their campaigns.

Niran-Oladunni, Isijola and Olabimtan, in separate interviews, argued that the so-called crisis notwithstanding, they would intensify efforts at convincing the electorate that they were the candidates to beat.

They pledged to accept the outcome of the primaries that would be conducted by the leadership of the PDP to pick the candidate for the election.

The elected chairman of the party in the state, Mr. Ebenezer Alabi, told our correspondent that the PDP candidate would be the best in the forthcoming election because the process that would lead to his emergence would be transparent, free and fair.

Alabi said leaders and members of the party had been meeting at the senatorial level to fine-tune the arrangement for the election. The chairman said the candidate of the party could come from any of the three senatorial districts of the state since all the zones had had their shots at the governorship.

He said what looked like a faction in the party was nothing but a demonstration of the anger by some aggrieved members. He expressed the hope that the matter would soon be resolved amicably.

“We have been doing everything possible to reconcile and if truly they are for the interest of the party, they will agree with us. We cannot afford to quarrel now. We had it once and we resolved it; so, we will resolve this one also,” he said.

The factional chairman of the party, Dr. Akin Olowookere, believes that the crisis may deny the party an opportunity to field a candidate because it may linger beyond Oct 20 and may prevent the party from producing a candidate.

The incumbent governor of the state, Olusegun Mimiko, and a relatively unknown politician in the state, Mr. Francis Ogunejumelo, have so far signified their intention to contest the election under the umbrella of the Labour Party.

The leadership of the party in the state, elected politicians under the umbrella of the party, and the political appointees have, however, sealed Ogunejumelo’s fate as they recently adopted Mimiko as the LP candidate for a second term.

Boko Haram: National Security Adviser blames PDP

Gen. Azazi

 

The contribution of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the escalation of the Boko Haram insurgency was exposed yesterday by an unlikely source.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Owoeye Azazi, said the party’s brand of politics, especially the way it picks its candidates for elections, is partly responsible for the menace now being visited on Nigeria and Nigerians by the Islamic sect.

“A situation where a political party insists on fielding a particular candidate over another to get a massive win, and that if they get that massive win the party has arrived, is the source of the problem,” Azazi said at the second South-South Economic Summit in Asaba.

Azazi, who himself has been widely criticised for the inability of the security agencies to put Boko Haram in check, added: ”How come the extent of violence did not increase in Nigeria until the public declaration of the people that were going to contest election by the PDP? And I would also like to say this, though the PDP people will not agree with me, they would like to attack me, but I hope they do it in private:   PDP got it wrong from the beginning by saying Mr A can go and Mr B cannot go, and these decisions were made without looking at the constitution.

“Is it possible that somebody was thinking that only Mr. A could win and that if he could not win, there would be problems in this society?

“Let’s examine all those issues to see whether the level of violence in the North East just escalated because Boko Haram suddenly became better trained, better equipped and better funded or something else was responsible.

“And in any case, how did they get it all done? It takes very long for somebody to be a sniper. But I can assure you that Boko Haram can garner that level of sophistication over time, if it has not got it already.

“There are a lot we know that they are doing and there are a lot that could be done to address the problem. But then, I must also be quick to point out that today, even if all the leaders that we know in Boko Haram are arrested, I don’t think the problem would end, because there are tentacles.

“I don’t think that people would be satisfied because the situation that created the problems are not just about the religion, poverty or the desire to rule Nigeria. “I think it’s a combination of everything.

“Except you address all those things comprehensively, it would not work.

“It is not enough for us to have a problem in 2009 and you send soldiers to stop the situation, then tomorrow you drive everybody underground.

“You must look at what structures you need to put in place to address the problem holistically.

“There are economic problems in the North, which are not the exclusive prerogative of Northerners.

Ekiti leads Zone 8 on security rating

A Security rating of the three states under Zone 8 yesterday said Ekiti is peaceful.

The state is grouped with Kwara and Kogi in the zone. “Assistant Inspector General of Police for Zone 8, Mr. Uzoh Amakulor said the state is “peaceful and good”.

The AIG spoke with reporters after visiting Governor Kayode Fayemi. He said the visit was to review security situation in Zone 8.

According to him, the review has shown that Ekiti seems most peaceful among the states under the zone. He added that the state does not have common challenges like vandalism and terrorism as in other states.

“You don’t have the challenges that Kogi has for instance. Kogi has a bunch of challenges ranging from terrorism to vandalism, to all forms of serious crimes. You don’t have that here in Ekiti and we pray you wont have it,” he said.

The Police boss said though there are not enough men of the Police in the zone, plans are on-going to ensure that more men are recruited to enable the security agency live up to expectation.

He, however, urged men of the Police in Ekiti State not to relent in their efforts in maintaining the existing relative peace in the State.

The Dr. Kayode Fayemi-led administration last year purchased two Armoured Personnel Carriers, Patrol vehicles, Bullet proof vests as well as established a Crime Prevention Centre as part of its commitment in making Ekiti State a haven and a choice destination for investors

Osun PDP accuses Aregbesola of plot to arrest Omisore

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has accused the state governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, of plotting to witch-hunt PDP leaders in the state, especially the former chairman of Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Iyiola Omisore, by fabricating lies against him.
The party also alerted the public to the plan to influence the state Commissioner of Police, Mrs Kalafite Adeyemi, to have Omisore arrested.
The party, through a statement released in Osogbo, the state capital, on Thursday, by its director of media and strategy, Diran Odeyemi, said Aregbesola’s latest plot to cook lies against Omisore and induce the police to arrest him has been exposed.
The party spokesman said “we are not unaware of the latest plot by Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) government in our state to cook unfounded lies against Senator Omisore and some other notable leaders of PDP in this state,” adding that “it is our decision to caution Mrs Adeyemi not to allow herself to be used by the state government and live above the board like his predecessor, Mr Solomon Olusegun.”
The party lamented that its chieftains, especially commissioners who served under Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led administration, were languishing in prisons in the state, while some were being quizzed or detained by the police over trumped-up charges fabricated by the state government.
“Unfortunately, Aregbe-sola is using a section of the media to deceive members of the public and give PDP a bad name. We only take solace in the fact that citizens of this country are not myopic and they are not oblivious of the propaganda strategy of ACN. So, we hope Nigerians will be able to separate the truth from the lies,” the statement added.

Mourinho keen to remain at Madrid

Jose Mourinho claims he will stay at Real Madrid – providing the Spanish side wish him to remain at the club next season.

Mourinho led Madrid to victory in the Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday to close in on the Liga title, but saw their Champions League hopes dashed as they went out on penalties to Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

But after that disappointment, the Portuguese boosted fans of the Spanish side with a positive message on Wednesday.

“I will continue if the club thinks that I can still give something and if the players think so as well. I know that the club have faith in me, and I think the players do so as well. I feel like the empathy is increasing,” he told reporters after the game.

“If I have anything in my mind, it is to try to win with these players. Winning the Copa del Rey last year was important and if we win the league this year that will be important too. Two Champions League semi-finals is also not bad but we want more.

“My feeling is that we still have the ability to grow as a team and the club has room to grow too. Clubs have to adapt to the evolution of time and to changing mentalities.”

Excitment as more dump PDP for ACN in Oyo

Obviously, the people of Oyo State are now breathing a sigh of relief after the tortuous years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government that was totalitarian and tyrannical.

After a clean-up effort by transitional rulers, well meaning individuals and groups, who paid dearly the price for democratic straggle, the prized civil and good governance is returning to the state.
Recently, about 4,000 former members of both the PDP and the Accord Party (AP) in the Oyo East Local Government called the bluff of their leaders and defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
They took a bold step by freeing themselves from the dead-end of their political past and denounced their former leaders for lack of focus.
They affirmed the fact that legitimacy comes from the people and what is legitimate is determined by the extent to which the people themselves in their various communities and constituencies are involved in shaping and approving decision or programmes of government.
Prominent among their grievances were the deceptive mechanism adopted by former leaders supported by their godfathers to under develop and cheat the people.
They pointed out that they decided to join the ACN, after exhaustive and rigorous deliberations because the party is not only cultured in tolerance but allows for participatory and transparent democracy.
The elated defectors in joyous mood, dressed in colourful attire remarked that since the qualities of good leaders include intelligence, impartiality the current leadership was very on course. This has been demonstrated by the incumbent caretaker chairman, Oyo East Local Government, Hon. Muthar Adegboye Adekunle where the defectors joined the progressives.
ACN leaders are known to be men with infinite courage, self-control, sense of justice, good at planning and decision-making as well as possess pleasing personalities.
State chairman of the party, Chief Akin Oke and House of Assembly Speaker Alhaja Monsurat Sunmonu, were among party chieftains who graced the occasion held at the open field of Apaara Methodist Primary School.
The defectors appealed to the ACN leadership to grant the council caretaker chairman ticket in order to contest the forthcoming local government election in the state.
This is because Hon. Adekunle is among the few who is not overwhelmed by the lust of office or other economic gains leaving the masses to suffer. He does not take to cheap flattery but always focus in the discharge of his duty.

Mimiko brought misery, poverty to Ondo

•Abraham

 

Chief Segun Abraham, an accomplished businessman, is one of the aspirants plotting the electoral defeat of Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko in the election slated for October 20. In this interview with Group Political Editor BOLADE OMONIJO, he shares his vision and thoughts on the development of the state.

I have heard people say the ACN is very good at propaganda, and they are not on ground; that the party only exists in the media and its performance at the 2011 general elections was an indication that the Labour Party owns the land. How would you react to this?

At the time that ,the first election was conducted before the INEC postponed it, the ACN was leading, but when INEC postponed the National Assembly election, we heard that they brought money out and called all their elders threatening them. We heard that the election results consequently released were not the true position of the people’s choice because if it is a true reflection of the acceptability and popularity of the Labour Party, why did the chairman, deputy chairman, and other key officials of the Labour Party subsequently defected to ACN? People are trooping in to join ACN, so if we are not popular, why are people coming to join us? Don’t forget that our party has been restructured, and members can be found in all the nooks and crannies of the local government areas of the state. Can you imagine that people are decamping from the government in power? Why are they not decamping in Lagos and Ekiti? Why are they not decamping in Edo and Osun? So, if this government is popular, will it be losing its members to the party that is not in government, especially in a state where there are no industries and people depend on government. Despite that these people have no money, yet they are convinced that Labour has failed. They leave their bread and butter with the hope that they will be on the side of integrity, on the side of the people that will sustain democracy. So, it is an indication to everybody that they are not popular. Nobody will come and contest against an incumbent government that wants to run for a second term if it is popular. If they are popular, why are they losing their senator? It is a party without ideology and philosophy. It is a party for what is called "chop chop, not even chop I chop". It is a party of hard labour and poverty. So, people want to leave labour and poverty and come to prosperity, peace and justice.

Will you agree with people who say Mimiko is a General and nobody can dare him?

In his party, may be, but there is no general in politics but in the military and when they say he is a General, I want to believe because if you look at his administration, this is the first time in the history of Ondo state that we do not have government at the local level which is the pattern of military administration. I also heard that he served under the military and he copied that experience, so he brought military experience into democratic setting. A man who won an election on a democratic platform now dissolves the local government councils and then introduced administrators to take over the local governments. So, I don’t know the General they are talking about.

Are you afraid that ACN may be its own enemy at the end of the day; that it is a divided House that may not stand after the election?

I normally use history for what is happening, to guide us. From past experience; we have never had a divided house in the ACN. In Lagos we did election there without a divided house. In Osun, there was no divided house. In Ekiti, there was no divided house. In Edo, there was no divided house in Oyo and Ogun states. As democrats, our members believe in the supremacy of the party; if the party leaders say these are the people that we choose to deliver democracy, we will all support them.

Are you saying that the contest is unlikely to lead to exodus from the party? How would you personally react if another aspirant gets the nod of the party elders?

You don’t have to leave the party, and when you do that, it means you are not a democrat, that means you are just there as a gold digger, that means you are just there because of office. You don’t join a party because of office but because you believe in its ideology and the philosophy. So, those who have gone, we thank God we gave everybody a kind of level playing ground because we want everybody, at the same time. If you now leave because you were not given the position, that means you are not a member of the party. Suppose someone is eyeing the post of a commissioner and he does not get appointed as a commissioner tomorrow, does that mean that he is going to leave the party? Someone wants a post of chairman of board and he does not get the post, he leaves, that shows that he is more concerned about his pocket. Whoever leaves is not loyal to the party. I have been serving the party with my resources for many years and I did not leave. The leaders of the party know me for that.

Are you saying irrespective of the process that may throw up the candidate, you will stick to the party?

Our process is very democratic. What the people refuse to understand in the country is that we have brought innovation to the process of the emergence of candidates in ACN so that we can produce the best candidate. Will you say the process that produced Fashola, Aregbesola, Fayemi, Amosun, Oshiomhole and Ajimobi is bad? Is the process employed in choosing the people who are arraigned for stealing billions a true process? That is not a kind of process we are using in ACN. That they will say someone stole N58 billion in Abuja. Is that a process? There are so many criteria that we put forward before we will eventually pick a candidate. It is not a process of making mouth around the street. No, there are processes that you must pass through before you can be finally picked as the candidate, especially this time that the party is ready to deliver, to work and not ready for any godfatherism.

How, why and when did you get involved politics?

I have been involved in partisan politics for more than 15 years. I have been a politician. Once I identify somebody that he has the potential to deliver, I’ll try and support him. I did that in 1999 with the late Chief Adebayo Adefarati. I was among the people who contributed to the success of that election. I even campaigned with them during the election. I left my business and campaigned with them. After the election, the governor offered me commissionership and I declined the appointment because I couldn’t afford to leave my business. However, the governor appealed to me to make my services available to assist the state and he appointed me as chairman of Owena Hotels. Although I was reluctant, I, however, took it and promised that I’ll not take any salaries or allowance from government, that I would do it free of charge, and for the four years, I was the chairman of that Hotel and I did not take any kobo.

You took it, and how did that impact on the fortunes of the hotel?

When I took charge, I discovered that Owena Hotel was indebted to the tune of more than N50 million and within six months, we were able to make more profit. As a matter of fact, when I got there, I brought managers from Sheraton Hotel in Lagos and asked them to come there and manage it. They came there and trained the people. We even doubled the salaries twice before I left. That was why people started rushing to buy the Hotel because they never knew it could be profitable; it became very profitable because we were making a lot of money. I think Odua Investment took it over during Agagu’s regime to manage because they discovered that they could make good profit. It became an eye opener for people because that led to hotels springing up in Akure. You can see the effect because today you can see about ten good and standard hotels. That time, you could not get any.

How will you response to the people who think that you don’t have sufficient political and administrative experience to manage the affairs of a state. I mean public sector experience?

When they say public sector experience, all my business was done with government, as a contractor. Secondly, I have been advising politicians over the years. However, public administration experience in Nigeria has been a colossal failure and even if you have that kind of experience, it is the experience of failure. They do not have what we call relevant and developmental experience. For somebody like me, a technocrat bringing experience from the private sector that is called innovation, I have the kind of experience that Chief Awolowo brought to the defunct Western Region. He was not in public administration before he became the Leader of Government Business in the region in 1952. Fashola was not in public administration before. T Tinubu was not in the public sector before he joined politics. I was not also in the public sector before. Those who are arguing about public sector experience are people who are content with failure, people who have been part and parcel of the system and that system has been failing. Somebody like me will not be able to tolerate failure because I am coming from the private sector where we can measure performance, where we know our success depend on performance and this is what I am bringing. I am bringing innovation into governance, not a system where people just wait to collect salary. These people who have public experience, are just there to collect salary. That is why a country like Malaysia overtook us and Singapore overtook us, because those with public sector experience are used to the failure of successive administrations; they are tolerant of failure, they are not resistant to it. As a matter of fact, under normal condition in a civilised society, those people we are refer to as having public experience should not raise their heads because they should be asked what success they attain with the opportunity they had. If we don’t have electricity, we don’t have roads, our school system has gone bad, everything has gone worse, what experience can somebody now refer to? As an employer of labour, I’ll never employ that kind of a person in my system.

One major challenge that almost all Nigerian states are facing is that they are fully dependent on allocation from the Federation Account.

How do you intend to increase internal generated revenue in Ondo State?

The people in government are used to taking money every month. So, they don’t think how they can generate money. But, for somebody like me who knows very well that we cannot and should not solely depend on income from the federal government because it shows that we are all idle, we are going to turn around the state. First and foremost, we are going to train our people, our youth, our professionals to the relevant need of our environment because the first thing is that you must be able to conquer your environment to be able to survive very well. We shall not allow our environment to dictate to us. We must be able to dictate to our environment, therefore we have plans to turn the resources we have in the environment to economic activities. When we do so and generate employment, then you have development and less dependence on the federal government.

Look at Ondo State, in the last ten years, you cannot see industry that we established. Our education has no relevance again because we are not contributing to the development of our environment. All everybody wants is money.

It is not enough to say what you intend doing, we also need to know how…

We have cow. What is stopping us from developing our cow and give people fresh milk which is even better than the pasteurised milk? We can also get our milk from soya beans because it is healthier than cow milk. Coconut is another source of milk which is also very healthy; we have all these things in abundance. That is in the area of food. Some of the foods we have are good to produce others. For instance, our local Amala can be fortified with vitamin; our pounded yam can also be mixed in such a way that we reduce the starch content for consumption. There are a lot of things we are going to do. We are going to make sure that our foods have value added. When the British came, they took cocoa and coffee as cash crops, why can’t we develop them? By the time we develop our food, you discover that the income we generate on food will be higher than the one form oil that we are making noise about because everybody must eat but not everybody will use oil, not everybody will use gas. The cost of food in the last two years worldwide has increased by 56 per cent and it is soaring every day. Though they are now fighting against the trend worldwide and we can also join them by using the food we produce. In the developed countries, they are moving away from what they call processed food to organic food. It’s only in Africa that the major organic food can be grown because our environment is natural. So, Nigeria can be an organic food supplier to the world and that is a lot of money for us.

One major problem confronting our society is corruption. It has become endemic. Recently, a former chairman of OSOPADEC was arrested by the EFCC for alleged corrupt practices. How do you intend to plug the leakage points?

When the leader is good, the followers will tend to be good. That is the law of goodness. If the head is bad, the whole of the body will be bad. And if the head is good, then most part of the body will be good. So, the little part of the body that remains will be able to trust them. The people I am going to appoint will be people of integrity and those who have the interest of the people in mind. I will not pick those who are just going into the office to line their pockets with ill-gotten wealth. These people will not be poor, because there is a law that once you render service, there is no way you are going to be poor. They will not squander the state’s resources. And when you look at the situation where you have N58 billion taken from one parastatal alone in a small state like Ondo that is poor, it shows that people are just callous and wicked. Do they remember that the money is meant for the poor people? You can imagine the number of children that will be deprived of education, imagine the number of people that will be deprived of good healthcare. Today, we should be ranking higher than Dubai when it comes to the question of sophistication, in terms of equipment and technology to take care of our people because we have more resources here. I believe that evil has overtaken these people, because if not, what do they want to use all the money for?

One of your opponents (not in ACN) said you are an Akoko foreigner, how will you respond to this?

I don’t know what the person means by Akoko foreigner, because I have a house there, my parents’ houses are there, my brothers’ houses are there, my family house is there. I give scholarship to the people of Akoko every year and I have done that in the last 10 years. So, can this person who says I am a foreigner tell me what he or his family has done for Akoko? I set up businesses in Akoko. So, I don’t know how he is going to define Akoko foreigner, I don’t understand what he is saying. He should let me understand what it means to be an Akoko foreigner. My grandfather’s house is very close to those owned by other families. Who then is an Akoko foreigner? The only thing I can say is that the person must be a very local person who has never travelled out. Most of Akoko people are not local most of them have travelled out. Or maybe because I had travelled out, that now makes me a foreigner. I want to know the section of the constitution that makes me a foreigner here in Nigeria especially in my place of, where I have contributed meaningfully, where they have given me awards.