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The National
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Okwesilieze Nwodo
yesterday warned officials involved in the on-going electoral process
in the party not to flout the guidelines spelt out for the process.

Mr Nwodo gave this
warning while reacting to issues raised by various aggrieved party
members, especially aspirants alleging irregularities in the process.

The party had,
during its National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting two weeks ago,
approved the fresh guidelines for its State Assembly, National
Assembly, gubernatorial and presidential primaries. It also approved
panels to screen the aspirants and later raised appeal panels to handle
complaints arising from the process.

Mr Nwodo said that
the National Working Committee (NWC) will not tolerate situations where
officials or members violate the guidelines which the party had made
efforts to draw up in order to ensure a credible process.

He said that he has
dedicated a special telephone line (08060095007) to welcome views and
complaints arising from the intra party process across the country.

The party boss
added that barely 24 hours after installing the telephone line, he had
read and reacted to over 25 text messages (SMS) on the election across
the country.

Problem states

He listed the sates
from which complaints came to include Plataeu, Abia, Bayelsa, Oyo,
Anambra and Enugu. Others include Osun, Lagos, Delta, Kwara and Ebonyi.

Mr Nwodo added that
most of the complaints alleged manipulations by some party leaders to
thwart the will of the party members and some deliberate attempts to
exclude majority from participating and picking leaders of their choice.

According to him,
he has referred some of the issues raised by the complainants to the
relevant panels for attention and necessary action.

Mr Nwodo also
reiterated his determination to ensure that internal democracy is
allowed to prevail in the party just as he vowed to provide a level
playing ground to all aspirants.

President Goodluck
Jonathan has accepted to engage his main opponent for the presidential
ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, in a
political debate.

Though he said this
must be done at the instance of the party, he said he expected that the
party’s flag bearer and other candidates will debate on issues based on
manifestos rather than challenging each other as if to a wrestling
competition.

Mr. Jonathan’s 2011
political ambition took a step forward when he was yesterday
unanimously endorsed by South-South delegates to the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) national convention during a meeting between the president
and the south-south delegates in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

The delegates from
the six states of the region openly endorsed the Jonathan/Sambo ticket
as the best ticket. While thanking delegates for their support, Mr.
Jonathan said he was ready to take up the challenge of his main
opponent whenever the party deems it fit for them to meet.

“I am waiting for the party to invite me for presidential debate,” he said.

The president also
assured the people of the region that he will do his best not to let
them down, noting that whatever he does while in office will rub off
positively or negatively on the people from the south-south region.

He further noted
that he will ensure that he does nothing that will jeorpardise the
chances of others from the region in the nearest future.

“If I mess up, the
people will reject us (zone) completely, and this is why I have to do
everything possible to ensure that we do well as a government,” he said.

Working for progress

He reassured the
people that come March next year, the country will enjoy relative power
stability, as all the efforts put in by the administration should have
yielded tons of fruits.

The president said
after considering the other aspirants from the party, he is convinced
that he and his vice president present the best that will lead the
nation out of the woods.

“That is why our
administration is assuring Nigerians that if given another four years,
we would try and make the country better,” he said.

Mr. Jonathan, who
had earlier met with the chairman of Rivers State traditional ruler,
King TJT Princewill JP Amachree, Amanyanbo of Kalabari Kingdom, also
reiterated his plan to send to the National Assembly a bill that will
recognise the traditional institutions in the country.

This he said he
will do early next year. He asked the traditional rulers to contribute
towards the bill when the National Assembly commences public debate on
the it.

The president, who
also reacted on the Jos killings, said the situation is a national
embarrassment, adding that terrorism has become a global plague which
the government is working hard to tackle and make a thing of the past.

The Socio-Economic
Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President
Goodluck Jonathan to arrest and repatriate suspected perpetrators of
the violence in Jos, Plateau State to the International Criminal Court
(ICC) in The Hague for prosecution.

It, however,
attached the salvation of Jos to the government’s readiness to fight
against impunity in Jos by ensuring that no offender is shielded by
security agencies.

“President Jonathan
should meet this challenge head on and exercise the required political
will to make the arrest and transfer of perpetrators to the ICC
happen,” SERAP Executive Director,

Adetokunbo Mumuni
said. “It is now time for this government to show that it is truly
committed to putting an end to impunity for the crimes in Jos by
immediately arresting and surrendering suspected perpetrators to the
ICC.” The group called on Mr Jonathan to “show strong leadership in the
face of increasing violence in Jos, and the killings of innocent
citizens, by urgently arresting and surrendering suspected
perpetrators.” It stated that the court is already investigating the
international crimes being committed in Jos.

Doing little

No fewer than 80
persons have been confirmed killed and 109 wounded in the bombing and
reprisal attacks which took place in Jos from Christmas eve to date.

“It is on record that successive governments have failed to
implement the country’s international legal obligations to respect,
protect, and fulfil the human rights of the people of Jos by
persistently failing to deter and prevent recurring outbreaks of
violence, and by failing to effectively investigate and prosecute
suspected perpetrators,” SERAP says. “This in turn has fostered chronic
impunity for perpetrators, and total defenselessness of victims and
their relatives. The surest and most effective way to restore and
maintain peace and security in Jos is for this government to allow and
facilitate the investigation and analysis of Jos by the ICC by sharing
with the court important information that will lead to the transfer of
perpetrators to the court for trial.” The International Court had, in
November, promised to investigate and analyse the situation in Jos with
a view to prosecuting the relevant crimes. This followed a petition
sent by SERAP’s solicitor, Femi Falana to the ICC Chief Prosecutor,
Luis Moreno Ocampo.

The crisis in Enugu
State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party may have been settled
following the intervention, on Tuesday night, of President Goodluck
Jonathan, who reportedly ordered that the two factions of the party in
the state be harmonised.

The factions are
headed by the state governor, Sullivan Chime and the national chairman
of the party, Okwesilieze Nwodo, who is a former governor of the state.

Mr Jonathan was
said to have given the order at a meeting held at Presidential Villa
and which was attended by the vice president, Namadi Sambo, as well as
Messrs Chime and Nwodo.

Others at the
meeting were all PDP members of the National Assembly from Enugu State
led by the Aviation Minister, Fidelia Njeze. Allison Madueke, husband
of the Petroleum Resources minister, Diezani, was also in attendance.

Sources at the
meeting said it agreed that both factions should nominate members into
the party executive committee in the state to ensure balance of power.
It was not clear, however, if the chairman of the dissolved committee,
Vitalis Abba was retained in that position.

It was further
gathered that following the agreement to harmonise the executive
committee, the fresh congress ordered by the national working committee
(NWC) of the party in the state on Monday, was shelved.

Screening of candidates and court cases

The meeting also
agreed that the screening of all aspirants to the elective positions
for the 2011 general elections should be moved back to Enugu State.

The National
Working Committee had on Monday, through the national organising
secretary, Uche Secondus, instructed all the aspirants to come to Abuja
for the screening following reports of poor security situation in the
state arising from the aborted exercise.

The Aso Rock
meeting, our sources added, ordered individuals and groups which
instituted cases in courts on the crisis, to withdraw such cases with
immediate effect to ensure total reconciliation. It was also resolved
that since the Chime-led administration is a “winning team”, it should
be allowed to continue.

The national
publicity secretary of the PDP, Ahmed Alkali, could not be reached
yesterday as he was said to have travelled to Gombe State where he is
running for the governorship election.

Working on resolution

After the meeting,
Mr Chime and the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu were at the
PDP national secretariat yesterday where they met with Mr Nwodo and
members of the NWC.

Although,
discussions at the meeting were not disclosed to journalists, it was
learnt that they came to brief the NWC officially on the resolutions of
the meeting with Messrs Jonathan and Sambo.

Mr Nwodo had in
late October, ordered the dissolution of the Enugu State chapter of the
party following a letter from the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) saying that the congresses in the state and seven
others were inconclusive.

However, the
governor and his group resisted the dissolution, insisting that the
national chairman acted unilaterally. As the governor’s groups
challenged the chairman’s action in court.

There were,
however, reports that Mr Nwodo took the action because he was not
allowed to have a say in the running of the party in the state. The
chairman was also said to have opposed moves by Mr Chime to give
automatic ticket to elected lawmakers, saying it was undemocratic. The
issue allegedly led to the order to shift the screening of the
aspirants in the state to Abuja; that has now been reversed.

The stand-off between the governor and the chairman got to feverish
pitch when both reportedly clashed at a recent meeting of the national
executive committee of the party. Mr Nwodo has since denied the report.

The wait for the
burial of Fuji maestro, Sikiru Ayinde Balogun, popularly known as
Ayinde Barrister at his Isolo residence in Lagos had all the feel of a
royal funeral.

Frenzy atmosphere

His corpse was to be brought in from the United Kingdom, yesterday, for his burial which is now expected to take place today.

With each passing
hour, the residence got rowdier and noisier, as hundreds of fans and
well wishers continued to throng the scene; some taking time to dance
to his music which did not stop blaring from large speakers stationed
around.

Interestingly, his
other residence at Okota, some distance away, maintained a quietness
contrasting the venue of the burial where there was a lot of pushing
and shoving with more and more people showing up to eulogise the late
musician.

Rain of praises

His wife of 25
years, Yetunde Balogun, described her late husband as very loving and
humble and added that it will take some time to get over the loss.

“I’d miss
everything about him; his love for people and his humility, because he
was very humble to the core,” she said. “I’m yet to get over everything
and everything is not the same; when somebody you’ve known for over 25
years suddenly departs; it can’t be the same, even in the music
industry, he will be missed because he has made landmark which nobody
will be able to fill.” Dayo Odeyemi, the media and Information director
for Barrister Organisation, described his former boss as a “comedian”
and “prophesier.” He said, “He is more or less a comedian. He will joke
and laugh with us; even when he’s on stage and one of the members
introduces a friend to him, he will eat and drink with that person and
in 30 minutes, you will think that they have known each other for a
long time. He also doesn’t keep malice and if you do something wrong
and apologise, everything will be fine again. He even predicted that he
would die in London and that his death would create controversy between
Ibadan and Lagos people, and that happened too, because people in
Ibadan wanted him to be buried there since he is an indigene of the
place.” Mr Odeyemi also assured that the musician’s “music composition”
and “lyrical idioms” will be missed in the music industry.

The love for the
late musician’s songs was one generally shared among fans and well
wishers who have come to show their last respect.

A fan, Adeola Amolegbe, said he could recite all the songs of the late musician.

“I love him and I
love his songs because they always have a lot of meaning; there is no
song of Alhaji (Barrister) that you won’t take a message away from,” he
said.

Business all the way

The large crowd
also presented traders with an opportunity which was quickly exploited
by traders for business. Branded handkerchiefs, caps, calendars,
shirts, and CDs of the late musician, ranging from N50 to N250, were
hawked about the premises for the fans.

Fatima Olanrewaju
who has been visiting the residence since the beginning of the week,
said she sells over 300 CDs of ‘Ayinde Barrister’ each day.

She said, “The 300
CDs I brought today remains only six; people have been buying
seriously.” Another hawker selling caps branded with the face of the
late musician, Kehinde Adeniji, said he came from Ibadan, a
neighbouring city to “make sales”.

‘Ayinde Barrister’ died in a London hospital earlier this month, at the age of 62 after a protracted illness.

There were mixed reactions yesterday over accounts of Tuesday’s explosion in Barkin Ladi, which injured a man.

Initial reports had
said a bomb had exploded in the town killing the bearer. However, the
Commissioner of Police for the Plateau State Command, Abdulramman
Akano, yesterday refuted the report. According to him, a teacher of
chemistry at the Islamic Orientation Secondary School, Barkin Ladi,
identified as Abubakar Musa was carrying out an experiment when some
chemicals he was mixing exploded.

Mr Akano said what
has happened in Barkin Ladi was just an explosion and not a bomb,
adding that the teacher was already undergoing treatment at a hospital.

However, many are wondering what experiment Mr Musa was conducting when the school is actually on break.

The commissioner
added that the teacher was conducting an experiment with some students
during an extra-mural class in the laboratory when it resulted in a
fire outbreak, which immediately engulfed the laboratory leaving him
with burnt hands.

The school is
situated near a market along Hospital Road in Barkin Ladi, sources said
it was when the students saw the speed of the spread of the fire that
they ran out yelling, before sympathizers assisted in putting out the
fire.

A source within the military intelligence, who spoke on condition of
anonymity dismissed the chemical experiment story as a cover up,
arguing that the school is on holidays and there is no examination
immediately ahead.

Leader of the
opposition coalition within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo
State, Lekan Balogun, has called on the state governor, Adebayo
Alao-Akala to apologise to the people of the state for using the
state-owned media to peddle falsehood on situation of the PDP in the
state.

Mr Balogun, who
commented on the PDP congresses which took off in the state yesterday,
said it was the governor who used the media to hide the truth about the
party.

“It was a
confirmation of my group’s position that people of the state still love
the PDP, but were only tired of governor Akala who needs to apologise
to the people of the state for his maladministration, by using the
state owned electronic media to mislead the masses of the state about
the true position of things,” he said.

The coalition and
the group loyal to the governor hold different viewpoints on the
legality of the state executive council of the party in the state.
While the coalition had insisted that the party exco was illegal, as
the election that brought it into place had been restrained by an High
Court order, the other faction thought otherwise.

The National
Working Committee of the party finally waded in last Monday to dissolve
the exco and ordered fresh congresses to produce officers of the party
in the wards, local government and the state.

Mr Balogun
expressed satisfaction on the ward congress held yesterday which
witnessed large turn-out. The former senator also berated former
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Richard
Akinjide, for opposing the order of the party’s NWC on the state exco.

Support for NWC

Mr Akinjide had
declared the order illegal, unconstitutional and contemptuous, arguing
that an High Court had granted the exco a leave against any
interference from any body.

But, Mr Balogun noted that the exco was not known to the law in the first place.

“You don’t build
something on nothing, hence the purported certified true copy of court
order said to have proclaimed that nobody should interfere with the
executive council of the party in Oyo State had no basis on the ground
that there was no executive council for the party known to law in the
state ab initio,” he said.

He praised the
national leadership of the party for giving the order, insisting that
it was timely and capable of correcting the alleged maladministration
of the current government in the state.

The special
delegation of West African Leaders sent to dialogue with Laurent Gbagbo
on the crisis in Cote D’Ivoire will be heading back to the crisis torn
country next Monday, following Mr Gagbo’s refusal to heed the ultimatum
given him by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to
cede power, President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday in Abuja.

Mr Jonathan, who as
ECOWAS chairman met with Presidents Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone
and Pedro Pires of Cape Verde, who were part of the special delegation
that met Mr Gbagbo, described the talks as positive.

He said he would not want to preempt the outcome of the discussions in the light of the fact that negotiations were still on.

He further stated
that conclusive decisions will not be taken until the delegation
returns from another negotiations meeting on the 3rd of January with Mr
Gbabo.

The Heads of states
and government of ECOWAS, at its emergency meeting held on December
24th, had expressed concern over the deteriorating political and
security environment in Cote d’ Ivoire The African leaders had
reiterated their position of 7th December 2010 that Alsassane Ouattara
is the legitimate president of the country and insisted it is
non-negotiable.

They also described
as unacceptable the high number of lives lost following the crisis
since its last meeting of December 7th, 2010 and warned all those
responsible that they will face international trial for human rights
violation at the earliest opportunity.

Threat of punishment

They leaders
further demanded the immediate and peaceful handover of power by Mr
Gbagbo to Mr Ouattara in accordance with the expressed wishes of the
Ivorien people.

The leaders had
also expressed their support for the travel ban, freeze of financial
access and all other forms of targeted actions imposed by regional
institutions and the international community on the out-going president
and his associates and said they will support any future addition and
all measures that may be taken in this direction.

They also expressed
regret that the message sent by the ECOWAS chairman on behalf of the
authority on December 17th was not taken serious by Mr Gbagbo in this
season of peace, hence the dispatch of the special high level
delegation to Cote d’ Ivoire.

“In the event that
Mr Gbagbo fails to heed this immutable demand of ECOWAS, the community
will be left with no alternative but to take other measures including
the use of legitimate force to achieve the goals of the Ivorien
people,” the ECOWAS leaders said.

They also
instructed Mr Jonathan to immediately convene a meeting of the
Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff in order to plan future actions,
including the provision of security along the Cote d Ivoire, Liberia
border in the event that their message is not heeded.

The sectarian
crisis in Jos, the Plateau State Capital, is reverberating in Abuja as
security operatives in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) heightens
patrol to reassure residents of the sation’s capital.

Residents of
satellite towns of Mararaba, Nyanya, Karu, Kuje and Dutse in Bwari Area
Council had sleepless nights as news of reprisal attack by Muslims in
the area took to the air. At about 2:30a.m, one of the new generation
pastors, known as Okoro, called a reporter to complain that movement
around the mosque close to the residence of some of his members forced
them to run to his house, stressing that the reporter should draw the
attention of the police or any security agency. The FCT police
spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, however appealed to residents of the FCT to
cooperate with the police by giving information. He said the command is
already working with the intelligence report at its disposal to keep
itself on top of the security situation in FCT. A police source in
Abuja also confirmed that they have been directed to mount road blocks
in Abuja at strategic places, adding that some senior government
officials, last Tuesday night while coming back from the Christmas
break, called him and were complaining of the new security measures,
which they complained has never been so in the history of Abuja.

The burial of Fuji music maestro, Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, scheduled to hold on Wednesday, December 29, did not hold after all.

Thousands of relatives, associates and fans who had laid siege to his house, Fuji Chambers, at 24, Lamina Lawal Street, Isolo, Lagos, awaiting the arrival of his corpse from London went home disappointed.

Barrister died at St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London, on Thursday, December 16 after a protracted illness.

Indications that
the funeral might not take place emerged in the afternoon when other
Fuji musicians who had reportedly camped at Melanko Hotel somewhere in
Isolo, came to his house, condoled with Barrister’s family inside and
left.

President,
Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Dele Abiodun, Fuji
acts, Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, Saheed Osupa, Abass Akande Obesere and
Wasiu Alabi Pasuma all came to Fuji Chambers separately before leaving.

Waka Queen, Salawa
Abeni, and other Fuji acts, including Sule Adio Atawewe and Sunny T
Adesokan also came to condole with the family.

Eminent Nigerians
whom Barrister had praised in his records including Mufutau Lanihun and
factional chair, National Union of Road Transport Workers in Oyo State,
Lateef Akinsola, aka Tokyo, also came to pay their respects to the late
musician. The head of the Balogun family, Nasirudeen, couldn’t confirm
if the burial would hold around 3.30pm. “It’s a family matter, I can’t
confirm that,” he said.

Tortuous journey

Dayo Odeyemi,
director, media and public relations, Barrister Organisation, later
confirmed that the burial will not happen. He had, however, told
journalists earlier that the plane was Nigeria bound after a stopover
in Dubai. “After leaving Dubai, the plane has also stopped in France
where it is now delayed. We are expecting it to take off anytime soon
so, if the corpse arrives today, he will be buried latest 10am tomorrow
morning,” he later said.

Thousands of fans
jostled to enter the house to pay their respects to the late Fuji
musician but were barred by bouncers adorning t-shirts of the Barrister
Organisation and a handful of policemen. There was however heavy Police
presence on the street to forestall breakdown of law and order.

Chair, Music
Advertisers Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Waheed Oyediran Mosebolatan,
disclosed that the body ordered its members across Nigeria to close
their shops till 4pm on Wednesday in honour of Barrister.

Barrister’s body eventually arrived at the Murtala Muhammed
International Airport, Lagos around 7.17pm last night. It had however
not been processed for conveyance to his house as at the time of filing
this report. The burial will hold later today.