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The assistant legal
adviser of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation,
Onyibo Chukwu, has denied the group’s endorsement of the presidential
ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.

Mr. Chukwu told
journalists in Abuja on Thursday that there was never a time the
organisation took the decision to endorse Mr. Jonathan, as claimed by
the group’s president, Ralph Uwechue, alleging that he (Uwechue) was
executing a personal agenda.

“I am a PDP member
and a strong supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan, but if Ohanaeze
has to endorse him, it has to be done with decorum, and not through
this ambush tactics of Ralph Uwechue,” Mr. Chukwu said.

The senatorial
aspirant from Enugu State explained that Ohanaeze has three different
organs through which it takes crucial decisions – the national
executive, Ime Obi, and National Assembly – and insisted that none of
them ever deliberated on the matter.

He warned that Mr.
Uwechue should not be allowed to bring crisis into the organisation
because the Igbo race is already in a dilemma.

Personal project

According to him,
the way the group’s president is going about the support for Mr.
Jonathan might jeopardise his chances in the five Igbo states, pointing
out that some of the people are disturbed by the development.

“Uwechue must not
be allowed to bring crisis into Ohanaeze,” he said. “He is using this
his pro-Jonathan project to blackmail Ndigbo. He is putting the Igbo
race into very serious dilemna.

“We want to
maintain good relationship with the people of the South- South
geo-political zone, but not through this personal aggrandizement of one
man,” he said.

Mr. Chukwu said the
organisation does not have the kind of money which was used to
advertise its support for the president on television and other media
outfits. He said he will bring up the matter at the National Executive
Committee (NEC) meeting of the organisation scheduled to hold on
Saturday, October 30.

The national
leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has written the
Independent National Election Commission (INEC) stating reasons why it
will not organise fresh congresses in some states.

The party also set aside October 29-November 1, for a fresh congress in Imo State.

The commission had
in a letter signed by the INEC secretary, Abdullahi Kaugama, said it
would not accept congresses in eight states, insisting the ones
organized in those places were inconclusive. The states are Adamawa,
Imo, Kogi, Delta, Oyo, Plateau, Bayelsa and Enugu. But in a letter
signed by the PDP deputy national chairman, Bello Mohammed and dated
October 26, addressed to the INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, the ruling
party said it will not accede to the request by the national electoral
body except as regards Imo State.

The ruling party had last weekend dissolved the executive committee of the Enugu State chapter.

Mr Mohammed
explained that fresh congress will not be conducted in some states,
especially Delta and Oyo because the previous congresses in 2008 have
become a matter of litigation in courts. He recalled that the congress
in Delta State was supervised by the commission’s monitoring team after
which the then Resident Electoral Commission, Humphrey Nwangeneh
forwarded a report to the INEC chairman in Abuja.

“There is evidence
that a Monitoring Team of the commission monitored the congresses at
the relevant levels and made a report duly signed. (The letter attached
copies of the letter of INEC Monitoring team that confirmed that there
were congresses marked annexure 1).

“By a covering
letter dated March 6 2008, the Resident Electoral Commission, then
Humphrey O. Nwangeneh (JP) forwarded the report of the congresses to
the INEC Chairman. (Annexure marked J,” the letter stated.

Change of position

Mr Mohammed also said that the matter is already in court.

“There is an
interim order of injunction issued by the presiding judge which have
been served and are subsisting, Enrolled orders attached and marked
annexure K.

“The documents
emanating from your commission do not support the claim of inconclusive
congress in Delta state. While the above suit pending, no fresh
congress can legally hold in Delta state. There appears to be good
reason for the commission to have a second look at the case of Delta
state.” The PDP deputy national chairman said there are also several
litigations pending in court on the congress in Oyo State, adding that
already an order of injunction has been issues by one of the courts.

“Our understanding
of the ruling on jurisdiction is that the ex-parte order earlier issued
by the court was never made and that at all materials times, the Oyo
State congress was never legally encumbered by any valid court order,”
Mr Mohammed said. “There is evidence that the same court which gave the
Ex-parte orders later held that it had no jurisdiction to entertain the
case and accordingly struck it out.” He, however, confirmed that INEC
did not monitor the congress in Oyo State, and that of Enugu whose
committee was dissolved last weekend.

Mr Mohammed also attached documentary evidence indicating that
congresses were held in some other states and asked INEC to change its
position on the matter.

The Kogi Youth
Council, a coalition of youth associations in Kogi State, yesterday
called for the immediate sack of Farida Waziri, the chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over the publication
of a list of corrupt politicians.

Isaac Omale, the
group’s national publicity secretary, said in Abuja on Thursday that
Mrs Waziri’s tenure had ruined the progress made by federal
government’s anti-corruption campaign. It accused her of witch-hunting
and persecution of innocent citizens. The group said the case of
Gabriel Aduku, the former minister of state for health, highlights such
persecution.

On Monday, the EFCC
published a list of politicians and other prominent personalities who
were under investigation for corruption and called on the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) to ban those listed from contesting in the 2011
general election.

Witch-hunting

The list included
Mr. Aduku who was indicted by the EFCC in the wake of allegations of
N300 million fraud in 2008. He was discharged and acquitted of
corruption charges last November by the Supreme Court.

“The EFCC
voluntarily told the Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Saleh
Garba, that after a thorough investigation it had come to the
conclusion that Chief Aduku had no case to answer and applied that his
name should be deleted from the list of accused persons,” said Mr.
Omale. “

Mr. Aduku [was] an
innocent man [who] lost his job as minister, suffered bouts of illegal
detention and had his reputation ruined as result of indiscriminate
allegation of corruption against all ranking officials of the Federal
Ministry of Health.”

The group challenged Mrs Waziri to subject herself to an independent investigation to “see if she can emerge unscathed.”

“The EFCC under
Mrs. Waziri has been battling with credibility and integrity crises
owing largely to allegations against her person, which have remained
unaddressed said Mr. Omale.

“The persecution of
an innocent person who has been passed through the entire process of
the rule of law and still stands vindicated can only exacerbate her
image problem.”

A stern warning

The agency has come
under fire from the political elite over the list which it published on
its website. On Tuesday, the PDP said it would not act on the list,
which includes former state governors, legislators, businessmen and
bankers, saying that it did not want to undermine the country’s
judicial process.

On Wednesday, the
Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, warned Mrs. Waziri
to stop making political statements capable of embarrassing the
government and unduly “heating up the polity.”

“While it is
important for anti-corruption agencies to continue to pursue their
statutory mandate with vigour, care must be taken to ensure that no
negative feeling or perception is unwittingly created that government
is complicit in any grand design or scheme to ‘witch-hunt’ people,” Mr.
Adoke wrote in a letter to the EFCC.

Mr. Adoke, however, lauded Mrs. Waziri for her ongoing
investigations and prosecutions of bank executives. He urged her and
the commission “to sustain this momentum by ensuring that all actions
and pronouncements of the EFCC come within the confines of due
process.”

The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Caucus in the
House of Representatives alleged yesterday that the President, Goodluck
Jonathan and his deputy, Namadi Sambo are uncomfortable with its role
in the lower legislative chamber.

The minority leader in the House of Representatives,
Mohammed Ali Ndume, disclosed this at a meeting with the leadership of
the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Abuja yesterday.

Mr Ndume claimed that, during a recent meeting with
the House leadership, Mr Sambo upbraided the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole
and the entire leadership for allowing the minority to make huge
impacts, especially in the area of defeating bills emanating from the
executive, even when the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has the
majority in House.

“In fact, let me tell you sir, the Vice-President
complained at a meeting with the House leadership recently that how can
they (PDP) have a majority in the House and the minority parties are
killing their bills,” Mr Ndume told the ANPP leadership.

The minority leader, from Borno State, said there are
many members of the PDP in the lower legislative chamber, who shared
the views of the minority caucus and are willing to go with it anytime
there are important issues on the floor.

He said that the ANPP caucus, whose membership
currently stands at 42, are determined to continue to offer
constructive opposition. He said his success as the leader of the
minority so far could be attributed largely to the support from the
other members, who, he said channel their views through him on issues
on the floor.

Explaining the strategy through which the minority is
achieving its feats in the House with one voice, the leader stated that
“what I do in the House is not done by me alone. My colleagues here are
the brains behind all those things I do in the House. It is not every
time all of them will want to speak and so, they channel their views
through me. The 42 of us are equal to the 320 of them.”

The lawmaker expressed gratitude to the ANPP
leadership for inviting them to the meeting, which he said never
happened in the history of the party. According him, only last week,
the party leadership invited the ANPP members in the Senate and the
House to a dinner, stressing that it was an indication that the party
had finally come alive.

He assured party leaders that the caucus will help
shop for new members but quickly noted that Nigerians expected a lot
from the new chairman, Ogbonnaya Onu.

Party recruitment

Earlier in his welcome address, Mr Onu asked the ANPP
Caucus to fan out to the 36 states and shop for members for the party.
He said that the opposition party is determined to wrest power from the
PDP and form the government at the centre, and produce the next Speaker
and majority leader of the House.

“42 of you are 42 wise men. Don’t think of yourself coming back
alone; we want you to have the majority leader and the Speaker. We need
more honourable members and it is you that can do it,” he said. “Our
party is determined to win the next general elections. We therefore
want you to go to every zone of this country and the 36 states. You are
42, share the 36 states and distribute the rest among you.” Mr Onu
commended the ANPP legislators for not bowing to pressure, like others,
to defect to other parties, saying it shows that they are not only
honourable people but also love the country.

Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, yesterday
called on Nigerian women to rebuild the country, first by building a
strong homefront and by employing activism.

Mr Mimiko, speaking in Lagos at the 10th annual
National Women Conference, organised by the Committee of Wives of Lagos
State Officials (COWLSO), identified poor upbringing and deficient
personality esteem as the psychological reason why political office
holders abuse their offices and steal public funds. The theme of the
conference is ‘Celebrating the Passionate Woman.’ He said the existing
value system and family structure in the country cannot imbue the young
with the requirement for prudent management of public funds. “The
building of a country starts with a family,” he said. “It is only in
this part of the world that leaders will steal more than three or four
generations need. This is very unfortunate. Such leader indeed has
personality problems and defective background. They steal more than
what three or four generation can spend. And the consequence brings
about sufferings for several millions.”

The role of women

He credited his election victory, partly, to the
protest staged by half-naked Ondo State women in 2007 on the
Benin-Akure Road, and posited that women must take on activism role and
stand against all forms of social injustice and electoral frauds which
he said are responsible for the “untold hardships” Nigerians are
suffering. “If women can protest naked, this country will shake,” he
said. “And there will be desired change we pray to witness. Change will
not come in this country until women fully get involved in political
activism.” Mr Mimiko also praised the country’s judicial system for
favourably determining the petition he filed against “the usurper of
the mandate my people gave me.”

In his goodwill message, Babatunde Fashola, the Lagos State
Governor, admired the passion of Lagos women which has produced, not
only “loving wives and devoted mothers” but also key positions, like
the deputy governor, secretary to the state government, deputy speaker
of the legislative house, chief judge, and commissioners, in the
state’s public service. “It is only passion that one finds in women
that can propel such commitment to public causes and still leave them
with a reserve of energy and commitment for them to remain loving
wives,” he said. “Truly, if there is yet a glass ceiling to be
shattered, Lagos women have broken many, and are sending the clearest
possible message that whatever may remain is certainly attainable.”

The Kuramo Conference 2010 will be hosted in
Nigeria’s commercial capital between November 2 and 4, 2010, to address
issues on the recovery of stolen wealth by corrupt officials, as this
has been identified as a critical factor hampering the growth of many
economies of the developing nations.

This was made known by the chairman of the organising
committee of the conference, Olasupo Shasore, the Attorney General and
Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, while addressing journalists on
the planning of the conference.

The Kuramo Conference is an international Colloquium
on Law and Development and it aims to identify and examine emerging
concepts and new developments in contemporary issues in criminal
jurisdiction, economic and social rights, especially as it concerns
unbridled corruption among African leaders.

The key speaker at the conference will be the
founding partner of a Miami, Florida-based Law firm, Astigarraga Davis,
Edward Davis, Jr., who will be speaking on the subject of ‘Recovery of
Stolen Wealth’ within the realm of legal arms.

Other discussants will include a former jurist of the
World Court in Hague, Bola Ajibola; the managing partner of the Legal
Resources Consortium, Olawale Fapohunda; and Oba Nsugbe, QC.

Plenary speakers are the president, International
Commission of Jurists and first female president of the Republic of
Ireland, Mary Robinson; a global civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson;
and a former UK Secretary for Treasury and British High Commissioner to
South Africa, Lord Paul Boateng.

The chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, Emmanuel Ayoola, will chair the conference.

A renowned Nollywood star, Anayo Onyekwere, popularly
called Kanayo O. Kanayo, on Wednesday in Lagos declared interest to
contest the Ahiazu/ Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency in Imo in
the 2011 polls.

He told journalists that he would vie for the
position on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Mr
Onyekwere said his foray into politics was informed by the passion to
serve his people and also correct what he called a twin scourge of
under-representation and misrepresentation in the area.

He said there was need for a change in the leadership of the constituency to reflect the mood of the nation.

“My candidacy was borne out of the realisation that
men of conscience do not have to keep quiet when everything seems to be
going wrong.

“What is needed this time in Ahiazu/Ezinihitte
Mbaise is not brawn but, face and voice that can bring back confidence
and hope to the people,’’ he said.

“If people believe that I have done well as an actor, then the story can serve as a role model for our youths.’’

The foremost actor famed for his action packaged and
diabolical roles in movies called for a re-orientation of youths toward
acquiring quality education and working hard to change the country’s
system.

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday,
decried the smear campaign against him and his family by some faceless
politicians and threatened to take legal action soon.

The presidential aspirant said in a statement issued
by the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation in Abuja, that the
campaigns, which are both prosecuted online and in newspapers, are
carefully orchestrated and well-funded by the unnamed politicians and
are aimed at frustrating his political ambition.

“The smear campaign against Atiku through newspapers
(online and hard copies), text messages, e-mails, posters and
pamphlets, among others is the handiwork of political opponents, who
are mortally afraid of Atiku’s political ascendancy,” the statement
said. “It is most unfortunate that these politicians will not take on
Atiku on the issues of governance and welfare of Nigerians, which he
has made the hallmark of his campaign.” The statement quoted Mr Atiku
as saying that he will not be deterred in his commitment to an
issue-based campaign that will focus on the concerns and welfare of
Nigerians and the future of the country.

The former vice president said that formal complaints
have been lodged with security agencies to identify the faceless
sponsors of the campaigns and called on Nigerians to dismiss the
allegations.

While noting that his lawyers have taken legal notice
of these smear campaigns, he also warned that he will not hesitate to
drag any Global System of Mobile Telecommunication company that makes
itself available for use in the propagation of these libellous
materials against him and his family to court.

“We challenge the sponsors of this campaign of calumny to show
courage, put their faces and names to the claims and substantiate them.
Anonymity and cowardice are not attributes of leadership. Those who lay
claims to leadership should not be afraid to stake the basis of their
claims in public,” he said.

The Ogun State
government has, for the fifth time in the last one month, postponed the
much publicized official visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to the
state without giving any reason.

The state
government through the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Sina
Kawonise had announced that the planned visit, initially scheduled for
September 16 was shifted to October 22 and 23.

As residents and
citizens of the state were counting down to welcoming Mr Jonathan, the
government announced that the date was not feasible and the event was
moved to October 28 and 29. Yet again, the government announced another
date, November 5 and 6.

Barely a week after announcing the November 5/6 dates, the government yesterday announced November 11 and 12 as new dates.

No reasons were
however given for the series of postponement as the President has being
visiting other states of the federation.

There are
indications that this development may have to do with the lingering
crisis within the State’s House of Assembly, as the duo of Tunji
Egbetokun and Shoyemi Coker lay claim to the office of the Speaker.

The President,
according to sources is said not to be comfortable over the ugly
development, hence, the need to find a lasting solution by the party
authority before his visit to the state. The party is yet conclude on
who is to recognized as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly at
the ceremony.

Residents who spoke on the visit, said, they are unhappy wit the frequent postponement.

According a resident, ‘all these several postponement to me seems
like April fool, for God sake how many times is government will
continue to change dates, if they like, they can even change it to next
year, am not bothered.”

The 39-year old Deputy Speaker of the
Ekiti State House of Assembly, Saliu Adeoti, is dead. Mr. Adeoti died
at about 8.30am yesterday at the University Teaching Hospital (UCH),
Ibadan, Oyo State, after a protracted illness.

The deceased, according to the Ekiti
State government, would be buried today, October 28, 2010, in his
country home, Otun Ekiti, in accordance with Islamic injunction, after
which the 8-day Fidau Prayer will be held next Wednesday.

The former Deputy Speaker, who lost his
wife in February in the same circumstance, was said to have been rushed
to the hospital on Tuesday, when it was discovered that his health was
fast degenerating.

The 39-year old former Deputy Speaker,
who was the acting Speaker during the 79-day administration of Tunji
Odeyemi as the acting governor of the State, hailed from Otun Ekiti in
Moba local government area of the state.

He graduated from the defunct Ondo
State University (OSUA), now University of Ado Ekiti (UNAD) in 1999,
with a bachelors degree in Political Science Education (BSc.Ed) and was
elected in 2007 on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) to
represent Moba Constituency 1 in the State House of Assembly.

His appointment was necessitated
following the sharing of political positions between the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and his party in the Assembly, due to the 13/13
equal strength of the two political parties in the House.

The state government, Speaker of the
House, Mr. Odeyemi, the PDP, and the Action Congress of Nigeria, have
expressed regret over the loss of the politician, who until his death,
remained a vibrant member of the Assembly.

In a statement signed by the senior
special assistant to Governor Kayode Fayemi on media, Mojeed Jamiu, the
deceased death was described as shocking to the state government. The
statement prayed for the repose of the deceased’s spirit and prayed God
to give his family the courage to bear the loss.

In a statement signed by its director
of communications and strategy, Jackson Adebayo, of the state chapter
of the PDP, sympathized with the Oore of Mobaland, Oba Adedapo Popoola,
Adeoti’s family, and the entire Ekiti populace, over the demise of the
former Assembly member.

The chairman of the ACN in the state,
Jide Awe, described the deceased as a dependable political ally,
praising him for his steadfastness, competence, and political sagacity
during his life time.