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The All Nigeria
Peoples Party (ANPP) is to form alliance with other parties against the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming general
elections.

The ANPP chairman,
Ogbonnaya Onu, disclosed this yesterday when the national chairmen of
16 opposition parties visited the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

Mr. Onu, who
criticised the PDP for giving Nigerians poor leadership in the last 12
years, said if the ANPP collaborate with the other parties, Nigerians
will have the desired change they are yearning for.

“By the time they
see us, they will know that something is happening in Nigeria and that
people are ready for change. Let us never doubt what we can achieve if
we work together. The time has come for change in Nigeria, and we are
the apostles of that change,” Mr. Onu said.

The ANPP national
chairman said that most of the problems confronting the country are
self-inflicted and can be solved, saying “we are asking Nigerians to
give us the opportunity to lead the country. If one party (PDP) has
failed the nation, there are 62 other parties.”

He told the
delegation not to look at the party’s past, and stated that its new
national executive, headed by himself, is poised to provide the
required leadership , not only in providing Nigerians with an
alternative government, but also to ensure that the general elections
are transparent.

Earlier, the leader
of the delegation, Maxi Okwu, had challenged the ANPP to provide
quality leadership for the opposition groups to ensure that Nigeria
does not become a one-party state, which he said could truncate the
nation’s democracy.

“I believe that
ANPP should go back. When you have one way rule, democracy will die.
Try to energise your party, we urge you to do more,” he said.

“The next contest
must be a clear contest. If PDP is on one goal post, please come and
help us to man the other goal post. Democracy must grow, and we must
make it grow,” Mr. Okwu said.

Mr. Okwu, who is
also the national chairman of the tCitizens Peoples Party (CPP), said
the chairmen of the political parties have a common platform on which
they interact and ensure that the country’s democracy does not suffter.
According to him, the former caretaker chairman of the ANPP, Governor
Ali Modu Sherriff of Borno State had accepted to lead the forum, but
left the office before he could do so.

Among the parties
whose chairman were at the event were Liberal Democratic Party;United
Nigeria Peoples Party ; Alliance for Democracy; Mass Movement
Progressive Party ; Change Advocay Party; Nigerian Masses Progressive
Party; Action Alliance; and Peoples Progressive Party. The others were
Movement for Democracy and Justice ; Action Party of Nigeria; Nigerian
Peoples Congress ; Republican Party of Nigeria; United National Party
for Development; Masses Movement of Nigeria; and Citizens Peoples Party
.

The Patriotic
Electoral Alliance of Nigeria, PEAN, an alliance of thirty-five
political parties, has adopted Rasheed Shita-Bey, a second republic
legislator and national chairman of the Mega Progressive Peoples Party,
as its chairman.

The adoption took
place at the stakeholders’ meeting of the alliance, which took place in
Abuja yesterday. Mr. Shita-Bey leads a national committee of the
alliance, which is expected to provide a formidable platform for the
2011 general elections.

Other members of
the national committee included Shitu Mohammed, of the Republican
Party, who was adopted as the vice chairman, and Sam Onimisi of the
Democratic People’s Alliance, who occupies the position of secretary.

Mr. Shitta-Bey
thanked his counterparts in other political parties for the trust
reposed in him to lead the alliance, and solicited for their support.

“I have no new
dream to set forth today, but rather urge a fresh faith in the old
dream of the founding fathers of Nigeria project, Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and Sir Tafawa Balewa.
among others,” Mr. Shitta-Bey said.

“You have given me
a great responsibility to stay close to you all and to exemplify what
we stand for. l believe that your strength can compensate for my
weakness and your wisdom can help to minimise my mistakes, so that
together, we can forge ahead for the betterment of our nation Nigeria,”
he added.

Progressive ideals

He said he is
convinced that the “progressive ideals” that have remained elusive to
Nigerians are achievable if all progressive politicians unite under one
platform.

“Our strength is
based on the nobility of ideas and commitment to fulfil the good
ideals. I, therefore, urge all other people with common interest and
progressive principles to join us, without delay, as all plans have
been concluded for a successful campaign,” he said.

The national chairmen of 22 political parties were present at the meeting.

Mojisola Dada, a judge of a Lagos High Court in Igbosere,
yesterday, admitted as evidence, a statement dated September 10, 2000, made by
Lateef Shofolahan, a former aide of late Moshood Abiola in the on-going trial
of Hamzat Al-mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to the late military
head of state, Sani Abacha, and former head of the Police Mobile Unit at the
Presidency, Rabo Lawal, over their alleged roles in the murder of Kudirat
Abiola, wife of the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election.

The judge, who had earlier fixed Tuesday to determine whether
the statement was made voluntarily or by means of torture, held that the
statement by Mr Shofolahan was not confessional in nature. “The statement,
according to available facts before the court, showed that the 3rd defendant
made the statement voluntarily and not under duress as earlier canvassed by the
defendant and it is hereby admitted and marked exhibit A6,” she said. “The fact
that the defendant’s were legs and hands were chained whenever they appear
before the Special Investigation Panel (SIP) and even after, does not in any
way translate to torture.”

The defence argument

Olalekan Ojo, counsel to the defendants had on September 22,
2010, while adopting his 22-page written address, urged the court to refuse the
purported statement since it was not made voluntarily.

The essence of the trial within trial is to determine whether
the statement was made voluntarily or by means of torture. Part of the
submissions of the defence counsel is that the cuffing of the legs and hands of
suspects in detention is against their fundamental rights.

He argued that suspects in custody should not be subjected to
torture or any dehumanising treatment by the detaining authority. Mr Ojo also
submitted that no suspect should be hand-cuffed or leg-chained in the
interrogation room either routinely or to gratify the pleasure of the
interrogator.

He maintained that it is settled in law that any departure by
the interrogators or investigator from acceptable rule has to be justified by
the prosecution. The matter was adjourned to December 20, 2010 for continuation
of trial.

The National Drug
Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), on Tuesday, announced the death of one
of its officers, Abdullahi Idris, 41, who was killed by a mob that
attacked a joint team of operatives from the agency and the Nigerian
Police Force at Owo Town in Ogun State, during a recent raid of a
cannabis joint.

According to the
agency, the deceased, who was an Assistant Superintendent of Narcotics,
was said to have sustained a fracture in the raid that led to the
seizure of 2,300kg of cannabis and the arrests of two drug suspects,
but died in a hospital while receiving medical attention. “His death
brings the number of officers that have died this year to 31,” said
Mitchell Ofoyeju, the spokesperson for the agency in Lagos.

Describing the
death of its officer as “painful,” the NDLEA said that it would fish
out the perpetrators of the crime, stressing that the culprits have no
place to hide in the country. “In all, five police officers and one
NDLEA officer sustained gunshots during the attack, said Walter
Nicholas, the Ondo State Commander of the agency. “They were
immediately rushed to the hospital for intensive care, and most of them
recovered except Abdullahi, the Superintendent of Narcotics, whom we
lost. It is very sad but we are not giving up.”

Until his death, the deceased, who was a native of Potiskum, in Yobe
State, had a National Diploma in Business Administration and was born
on March 27, 1969. Mr Idris worked briefly in the Department of
National Civic Registration with the Federal Ministry of Internal
Affairs, Maidugur, Borno State before joining the NDLEA in 1994. He is
survived by a pregnant wife.

A Federal High
Court sitting in Abuja yesterday said that the 2009 National Convention
of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) under the leadership of
Chekwas Okorie was in order.

Last September, a
factional chairman of the party, Victor Umeh, had approached the court
for an order to stop the convention organised by Mr. Okorie. During the
convention, the National Working Committee of the party expelled Mr.
Umeh, Sani Shinkafi and Peter Obi as members and officers of the party.

Mr. Umeh’s faction
had also asked the court for an order restricting the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) from implementing the resolutions
of the convention.

However, Justice
Tanko Soba said that Mr. Okorie had complied with the necessary
requirements before the convention was held and therefore the
convention could not be nullified.

After the court
decision, Orji Okorie, media representative of Chekwas Okorie, said the
dismissal of Mr. Umeh’s suit was the last obstacle in the party’s
preparation for the 2011 general election.

‘’Consequently, the
party has scheduled its National Working Committee meeting and National
Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday, 30th November, and Wednesday,
1st December 2010, respectively at Abuja to approve the party’s
programme for its nationwide congresses/primaries,” Mr. Orji Okorie
said.

Bashir Tofa, the
1993 presidential candidate of the National Republican Convention (NRC)
and a presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP)
has advised Ibrahim Babangida, Aliyu Gusau and Bukola Saraki to remain
in their party to safeguard their status as men of honour.

Mr Tofa, who was
reacting to the decision of the Northern Political Leaders’ Forum to
pick former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the trio, said
they should remain calm and not be deceived by sycophants that will
advice them to explore another political platform to actualize their
presidential ambitions.

Mr Tofa appeared
keen to discourage any plans by the politicians to move to the ANPP to
pursue their presidential ambitions, an eventuality that could present
problems for his own campaign.

“Following the
recent decision of the PDP northern front to anoint Atiku Abubakar as
their consensus candidate, I wish to congratulate him and wish him
well. I also applaud the magnanimity of IBB, Gusau as well as Bukola,
for the maturity and good sense they have shown in this respect,” Mr
Tofa said.

“These three
leaders have proven that they are not desperate and are true believers.
I hope they will jealously safeguard their new status as men of honour.
They must not allow any sycophant and enemies in disguise to lead them
astray by suggesting that they can continue to pursue their
presidential ambitions in another party. That will surely lead to utter
disgrace and complete loss of the enormous respect they will enjoy for
the rest of time.” He advised Mr Saraki to be patient, as he still has
age on his side.

While
congratulating Mr Abubakar, Mr Tofa reiterated his decision to pick a
nomination form and contest the presidential election under the
platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

“As for me, I will pick my ANPP nomination form at the right time,
ready for the battle and victory ahead, by the grace of God,” he said

The Senate on Tuesday withheld its approval for the nominees of
Abia and Enugu to the board of the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation
Commission (RMFAC), while approving 21 others.

The approval for both nominees, who were selected by the
president to fill vacant positions in the commission, was held back on the
request of the Senate president, David Mark, and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu,
respectively.

According to the Senate president, Chris Adighije, the Abia
State nominee, is his personal friend, and he needed more time to clarify some
issues with him and report back to the Senate, perhaps, within the week before
his nomination is confirmed.

The Enugu State nominee, Uche Christopher Odika, also have some
outstanding issues with the Enugu State senators. Mr. Ekweremadu requested that
the Senate stand down the approval of his appointment, pending the
determination of the issues which bothers on objections to his nomination.

“We should allow the Enugu caucus to settle their issue and
report back to the House within the week,” the Senate president said.

“That of Abia; he is my personal friend, and there is information
that I want to clarify and report back to the House within the week. I have
consulted with the senators from Abia State about it,” Mr. Mark said.

The suspension of the approval of both nominees elicited
objections from members of the Senate committee on national planning, economic
affairs, and poverty alleviation, headed by Zainab Kure (PDP, Niger State),
which had earlier screened all the nominees and forwarded their names –
including the two dropped nominees – for approval.

The approval of the nomination of the remaining members of the
commission saw the emergence of Elias Nwalem Mbam, an engineer from Ebonyi
State, as the chairman of the commission, and 20 others as members. Five out of
the 20 members were, however, re-appointed for their second term on the
commission.

The reappointed nominees include Ignatius Amodu (Kogi); Otumba
Oladeji Ariyibi (Osun); Yusuf Pam (Plateau); Isa Geidam (Yobe); Muhammed Jabbi
Maradun (Zamfara); and Saidu Mohammed (Gombe).

Too old

Some senators did oppose the approval of all the nominees,
arguing that they are either too old or not just fit for the job, considering
their educational background and method of selection from the states.

“Most of the members graduated either in 1972 or 1979,” Ahmed
Lawal argued.

“I know they may say they have experience, but today’s financial
sector requires fresh brain,” Mr. Lawal said.

Abubakar Gada (PDP, Sokoto State) added that it is the politicisation of
such appointments at the state level that produces old men all the time. He
called for the review of nominees’ appointment methods “other than that, we
will continue to recycle old people who will see their nomination as a source
of livelihood.”

Nigeria is the second largest beneficiary of the
Global Environment Facility (GEF) fund allocation to Africa, Chief Executive
Officer of GEF Monique Barbut, said while South Africa is the largest
beneficiary in the continent.

Mrs Barbut, who disclosed this to the News Agency
of Nigeria in Washington DC, also said that GEF had shown a lot of interest in
environmental affairs in Nigeria. “As the second largest beneficiary of GEF
programme in Africa, the fund had impacted positively on programmes with
tremendous benefits to the country in its drive to safeguard and ensure
environmental safety.

Barbut, who is also the chairperson of GEF said that Nigeria in the past has
had challenges and difficulties in engaging with GEF,but that with the right
leadership in place, the country had taken its rightful position on GEF
programmes in Africa.

The Ekiti Justice
Group (EJG) has asked the Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, to
resolve the strike embarked upon by medical and health workers in the
state, saying “issues bordering on lives of Ekiti people should not be
treated with levity by any government.”

Its national
coordinator, Tunji Oluwasanmi, said it was painful that the strike
action has denied children in the state the benefit of the ongoing
national immunisation exercise.

“From information
available to us, the strike action was occasioned by Fayemi’s approval
of 60 percent increment in the health workers salary, as against the
100 approved by the immediate past governor of the state, Olusegun Oni.

“When Fayemi was
approached for revalidation of the approval already given by Oni, he
(Fayemi) revalidated the approval for University Teaching Hospital
(UTH) alone, leaving out those in State Hospitals, General Hospitals,
Comprehensive Health Centres, Blue Hospital, and other health
institutions in the state,” he said.

“For this reason,
health workers in Ekiti State have been on strike since last Thursday,
denying Ekiti people the benefit of health care delivery, and we have
gathered that casualties are already being recorded,” Mr. Oluwasanmi
said.

He said the group wished to implore Mr. Fayemi to pay more attention to the plight of the people affected by the strike action.

On the 50th
anniversary of Nigeria’s independence, Adams Oshiomole, governor of Edo
State, warned the nation against “focusing on the negative issues.”
Supposedly, this barbed comment was directed at the press and other
critics by a one-time “comrade” who spent much of his life in trade
unionism, attacking governance (or lack of it) in Nigeria. The comfort
of government house in Benin could be blunting Mr. Oshiomole’s cutting
edge and blinding him to the suffering of the common man.

Governors’
residences in Nigeria are practically in situ laboratories for the
horticulturist – massive compounds of lush green, breathtaking,
tropical vegetation – palms and pines, acacia, eucalyptus, roses,
zinnias and marigolds! Swimming pools and gyms, tennis and squash
courts, serviced limousines and chalets await relations and
girlfriends. Power cuts are anathema! And sometimes, cartons of cash,
held in safe keeping for the people by the governor, are found in the
rooms of state house.

If you live in
America or Europe, South Africa, Dubai, or anywhere, and you have a
state governor, minister, or commissioner for a relative, then this
Christmas message is not for you. Your benefactor will send an Angel of
the Lord armed with automatic weapons and described as “my orderly” or
“protocol officer” to clear you at the airport and take care of further
transport and security matters.

But perhaps your
social conscience is developed enough under the circumstances to note
some ethical issues – that the orderly and protocol people are on the
payroll of the public service. Their emoluments derive from the blood,
sweat, and tears of the Nigerian taxpayer. Kinship does not entitle you
to their services.

Most Nigerians
living abroad and returning to spend Christmas, on the contrary, have
no such godfathers and, therefore, must contend with horrendous
problems of security and safety that are part of life in this republic.
We should not be bullied by privileged politicians into leading
uncritical lives and refuse to focus on issues threatening the lives of
Nigerians.

Do’s and don’ts

On arrival this
Christmas, beware of being lured into conversation by strangers, while
not remaining stone-faced and aloof. Either by dress, speech or
mannerism, don’t give yourself away as “foreign.” Complaining about
electricity convulsions will show you have not been living with us. If
a chat is unavoidable, then limit to abstract events.

Do not personalise
and dominate conversation, bragging about your achievements, as many
Nigerians do. Listen more and ask questions. Make your exit from the
chat abrupt, apologise you’ve run out of business cards.

For road journeys
and checkpoints, remove airline tags and stickers on baggage. Cab
drivers are the fountain of all knowledge. Talk to the driver with
confidence to find out the state of things in the country. Never get
into any argument with the police at road blocks, but don’t offer an
unsolicited bribe. Leave the driver to do most of the talking and
negotiating. Don’t get out of the vehicle and start making phone calls.

Avoid lecturing the
officers on how much better the cops in America or England are.
Remember, the police at a road block in the middle of nowhere have got
guns, and you’re at their mercy! The police may ask who you are and
where you’re going. There is nothing wrong with that. Identify yourself
correctly, but think twice about handing over your passport to anyone,
except at the Immigration or Customs desk, or to the SSS at the point
of entry or exit.

There’s nothing you can do about criminals masking as security
agents at bogus checkpoints! That is a recent mutation of criminality!
Good luck!