We support sit-at-home civil disobedience tool that is strategic in getting Biafra restoration on a speedy track and getting MNK released.
However, we don’t support sit-at-home that brings nothing useful to the struggle.
Importantly, folks at DOS have not claimed issuing this alleged civil disobedience sit-at-home order from November 4th to November 11th.
Now hear these important facts and the reasons why this threatening sit-at-home position is like fetching water with a basket.
1) MNK is not going to be released before his next Court hearing and DOS is rightfully aware. So why take a position that makes no reasonable sense?
2) Keeping the busy-bee Ndilgbo/ Biafrans at home for these 6 days without any positive gains will amount to an exercise in futility, grossly embedded with poor DOS judgement.
3) If the so-called DOS alleged sit-at-home announcement also meant to scuttle Anambra State gubernatorial election, it simply played into the hands of Buhari and his Fulani caliphate men. Without any doubt, and DOS is aware of this fact, whether there is sit-at-home or not, someone will be declared winner.
Tufiakwa!!! Handing Anambra State over to Andy Ubah of APC will be too dangerous for Anambra State and entire Alaigbo. The state will be heavily militarized more than what we see occuring in Imo State.
4) Furthermore, whether there is sit-at-home or not as alleged, a significant number of the Anambra people will come out to vote November 6th. By coming out to cast their ballots, this will erode the authority and credibility of DOS which is suffering already.
5) When an authority issues directive such as sit-at-home for 6 days straight, they ought to provide resources to cushion or ameliorate the daily impacts on their target population.
Moreover, we are trying to make sense of what is so unreasonable in many perspectives. In summary, we make the following postulation/assertion.
A) Sit-at-home on MNK Court Hearing days is important to be observed. We observe them here.
B) Sit-at-home on May 30th as Biafrans Day, is highly important. We observe them here in the USA.
C) Sit-at-home on Mondays volunteerily is understandable until he is released. DOS cancelled it but many people still observe it. This is the people’s decision.
Therefore, issuing sit-at-home order that is not going to result in advancing Biafra restoration, and that wouldn’t be respected and obeyed by majority of Biafrans is counter productive to the DOS leadership’s visions and missions.
Detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, has pleaded not guilty to the seven-count amended charge the Federal Government preferred against him.
Kanu, who was docked before trial Justice Binta Nyako, said he was innocent of all the allegations FG levelled against him after the charge was read to him in the open court.
His re-arrangement came on day the Department of State Services, DSS, blatantly refused to allow even a single journalist inside the courtroom.
Though this reporter [Vanguards’] and six other Journalists were initially cleared at the main gate of the court to enter the premises, upon his arrival at the door leading to the courtroom, arm-wielding operatives of the secret service denied him entry.
The operatives insisted their action was based on “order from above”.
They made it clear that no Journalist would be allowed to enter the courtroom till the end of the proceedings.
“You people can go to your press centre and wait till the end of the matter, after then, you will receive a briefing on what happened”, one of the hooded operatives stated.
Meanwhile, a source inside the courtroom, notified Vanguard that the embattled IPOB leader took his fresh to the amended charge at about 10:45 am.
The proceeding is still ongoing, as Kanu is expected to push for either his release on bail pending the determination of the case against him or his transfer from the custody of the DSS to a Correctional Center.
Journalist101 gathered that the matter has been adjourned to 10th November, 2021 for continuation of the trial.
Security agents are drawn from the DSS, the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, and the Nigerian Army, had as early as 4 am, blocked all roads leading to the high court premises which is adjacent the Federal Ministry of Justice Headquarters.
Though staff members of the court were initially barred by the heavily armed security operatives, they were subsequently cleared to enter their offices after they protested.
Stern-looking DSS operatives had specifically threatened to deal with any journalist recording or taking pictures of the unfolding drama.
Cameramen from major television stations in the country, including those from the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, were ordered to shut down and face it on an uncompleted building opposite the court premises.
By Dr Cyprian Anigbogu, Secretary, Anambra Development Initiatives Forum
There is no gubernatorial candidate in Nigeria’s history who has been as much of a moral and criminal burden on his party as Andy Emmanuel Uba, the purported candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State. His conduct has for years been of great interest to the governments in both the United States and the United Kingdom. For instance, he flew into John F. Kennedy Airport in New York with a presidential jet in 2003 with a whopping one hundred and seventy thousand dollars ($170,000) in raw cash. The United States authorities promptly seized the funds which they said were proceeds of a crime. Before the seizure, Uba had tried to hide the money by giving it to one of his girlfriends, Loretta Mobiton, who was with him on the flight.
On December 24, 2008, Uba attempted to enter the United Kingdom on a private jet. He was refused because the British authorities considered his presence inimical to the public moral health of their people. Uba was carrying a whopping one hundred and thirty five euros in raw cash. The British authorities believed the funds were proceeds from a crime. Uba cannot enter the United States or United Kingdom because his presence is considered toxic.
As early as December 17, 1985, the Los Angeles Sheriff Department (LASD) had arrested Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba for “a deadly violent act”, a grievous act committed by using a gun to threaten someone. He was subsequently charged to court on January 27, 1986, at 8.30 am. By this time, Andy had dropped out of Concordia University in Canada and relocated to California.
Still, the Andy Uba Gubernatorial Campaign Organization has in the last few days been pontificating on the moral health of the South East political zone, sponsoring third rate news items on the social media against in particular the people and government of Anambra State. As expected, the mainstream media have avoided the sponsored puerile attacks like a leprous patient. The celebrated Kenyan writer and activist, Ngugi wa Thiongo, would equate the moral posturing of Andy Uba and his hacks as the November 6 election in Anambra approaches to the devil on the cross.
Andy Uba’s hair-raising activities are unfortunately not confined to the international scene. The home front bristles with many examples. When James Ibori, the convicted former Delta State governor, was revealed to attempt to bribe the leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with an unbelievable fifteen million dollars ($15m) in 2012, it quickly emerged that the slush funds were in the custody of Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba. Chibuike Achigbu, the chief executive of Chimons Ltd, a Lagos-based gas company firm, decided to take a fall for his associate, friend and boss, by claiming that the money was his, and not Andy’s. No one believed him.
Andy Uba submitted a false and forged secondary school certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), even though it is an extremely poor result. According to Uba, he got credit in only one paper, namely, Chemistry.
The school certificate result is forged because of a number of factors. He says he obtained the Senior Secondary School Certificate in 1974 at Union Secondary School at Awkunanaw, Enugu, whereas there was no SSSC system in Nigeria until in 1989. He also claims to have obtained the result from the Enugu State School system, but Enugu State was not created till August 27, 1991. He claims to have sat for Further Mathematics in the exam, but what was offered in 1974 was no Further Maths but Additional Mathematics.
A school dropout with a forged secondary school certificate wants to be the governor of Anambra State, the state with the highest number of educated and successful Nigerians, but also is pontificating on moral and ethical issues. What can he possibly tell youngsters about ethics when he is the symbol of amoral behavior?
Andy Uba sponsored the three-day mayhem which consumed Anambra State in November, 2003. The Governor’s Lodge, Anambra Broadcasting Service, Legislative Building and the House of Assembly Complex were burnt during this madness which Uba designed and executed by Andy Uba in conjunction with the police when Andy was working for President Olusegun Obasanjo. He provided the arsonists presidential and police cover, ensuring none was arrested or prosecuted. The sole purpose for all this lunacy was to get the President to impose a state of emergency so that he would be appointed the sole administrator of Anambra State. Seventeen years later, Andy is lobbying the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to cause the President Muhammadu Buhari, to declare a state of emergency in Anambra State, hoping he would be appointed the sole administrator.
Africa’s greatest novelist, Professor Chinua Achebe, wrote about Andy Uba when the latter was President Obasanjo’s immensely powerful Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs:
“For some time now, I have watched events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay. I have watched particularly watched the chaos in my home state of Anambra where a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connections in high places, seems determined to turn my homeland into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom”.
By pretending to be preaching morals to the Anambra people, Andy Uba has become the latest Devil on the Cross.
Dr Anigbogu, a lawyer in Onitsha, submitted this statement on behalf of the Anambra Development Initiatives Forum.
It was a gathering of Anambra key players at the Sports Club in Enugu with sprinklings of stakeholders from other South East states on Sunday, October 17, 2021. The audience was excited and jubilant of the next Anambra that will be livable and prosperous and resolved to make this happen by supporting the Governorship bid of Cee Cee Soludo. From Architect Henry Arize to Ogochukwu Ekwueme and a host of others, the firm resolve to join their folks back home to work for Soludo’s victory was palpable. And why not?
The coming election is consequential as the past and future of Ndi Anambra and Ndigbo are hanging on the cliff. The future of the All Progressives Grand Alliance which is handed to us by the Great Zik of Africa and iconic Ikemba is at stake. Many may not know that the cock was the symbol of Zik’s NCNC and that APGA is the embodiment of that indomitable Igbo spirit that is positioned to champion the place of Ndigbo in Nigeria. Closely related is that since attempts to drive development in Nigeria from the centre have been less spectacular, there is crying need to recruit capable men and women to galvanize progress from the states. The foregoing underpins the consequential imperatives of the election and the driving forces behind Soludo’s “A People’s Manifesto for a Greater Anambra.”
In a nutshell, that is what the clamour for Soludo has been all about in the past two years and more. Yes, it’s the clamour to preserve Igbo identity in a plural society and to drive massive development from the state.
True, Soludo’s manifesto which is a beauty on four wings, namely economic Transformation, Social Agenda, Rule of Law and Environment, seeks to make Anambra a place to live happily, learn happily, work happily, invest happily and enjoy happily. The current distortion of demographics will be reversed by wealth creation and gainful employment generation such that children born in Anambra will have no attraction to seek greener pastures elsewhere. The ‘Made in Anambra for global consumption’ philosophy will drive economic transformation under which Soludo himself will lead the marketing force as Chief Marketing Officer.
For Soludo who is a Life Member of the Sports Club and who was accompanied by a crack team comprising Distinguished Senator Victor Umeh; Amiable former Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Emeka Sibeudu; Indomitable Hon. Chinedu Obidigwe, Ebullient Campaign DG, Prof. Solo Chukwulobelu; Energetic Chief of Staff, Chief Primus Odili; Dependable Honourable Commissioner, Engr. Emeka Ezenwanne and Indefatigable Chinedu Nwoye, the interactive town hall meeting was indeed, a home coming. It was an evening well spent with brothers, sisters and friends for a greater Anambra.
On a lighter note, all enjoyed happily on account of the happy hour generous free drinks by Chief Umeh.
The Department of Petroleum Resources, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency and the Petroleum Equalisation Fund are all officially scrapped and do not exist anymore, the Federal Government said on Monday.
It also said while workers of the three agencies would be protected, their chief executives had been relieved of their various appointments.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, stated this while speaking on the side-lines of the inauguration of the boards of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission in Abuja.
He explained that with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act, the NPRA and NURC had taken over the functions of the DPR, PPPRA and PEF.
Responding to a question on what would happen to DPR following the inauguration of the board of NURC, Sylva said, “It is now a matter of law.
“The law states that all the assets and even the staff of the DPR are to be invested on the commission and also in the authority. So that means the DPR doesn’t exist anymore.
“And, of course, the law specifically repeals the DPR Act, the Petroleum Inspectorate Act, the Petroleum Equalisation Fund Act and the PPPRA Act. The law specifically repeals them. It is very clear that those agencies do not exist anymore.”
On what would happen to the chief executives and employees of DPR, PEF and PPPRA, the minister replied, “The law also provides for the staff and the jobs in those agencies to be protected.
“But I’m sure that that doesn’t cover, unfortunately, the chief executives, who were on political appointments.”
He stated that the process for aligning the workers of the defunct agencies with the new regulatory bodies had already commenced, as the staff had to be rationalised.
Sylva said, “The authority has its staff coming from the defunct PEF, PPPRA and DPR. The commission has staff coming over from DPR and the process is going on for the next few weeks.”
Sylva stated that the inauguration of the boards on Monday marked the beginning of the successor agencies.
He said, “The PIA provides for the upstream regulatory commission and the establishment of the midstream and downstream authority.
“So far, the chief executives of these agencies have not been in place, but of course, Mr President in his wisdom made the appointment a few weeks ago and they went through a rigorous process of confirmation at the National Assembly.
“The agencies have now taken off because they now have clear leadership and today’s event marks that beginning for the new agencies.”
He further stated that with the passage of the PIA into law, after spending over 20 years in the process, the coast was now clear for investors to fully invest in Nigeria’s oil sector.
“Today, the PIA has clarified the legal framework around the sector and the agencies are now in place. So I don’t see anything now stopping investors from coming,” the minister stated.
He said competent hands were now handling the business, adding, “Nigerians should brace up for exponential growth in the oil and gas sector.”
The Chief Executive, NURC, Gbenga Komolafe, said the commission would deliver on its mandate as captured in the new petroleum Act.
“Nigerians should expect massive deliverables in the sense that the PIA has ended the regime of uncertainty in terms of the governance of the industry,” he said.
He also said the commission would ensure that the country hits its OPEC quota in crude oil production, as the NURC would be an enabler of investments.
The governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma, has reacted to the murder of traditional rulers in the state, assuring that the state will ensure that those behind the killings are brought to book.
Gunmen, on Tuesday, invaded Nnenasa community in Njaba LGA of Imo state where traditional rulers had converged for a meeting.
Michael Abattam, Imo police spokesperson, confirmed the incident, adding that three traditional rulers were killed.
Speaking on the development at a media briefing on Tuesday evening, Uzodimma condemned the incident, which he described as a “new dimension to banditry”.
“The situation is very pathetic and condemnable. This is a new dimension to the banditry in the state, where they now attack traditional rulers gathered in a hall for their normal meeting, with the council chairman presiding,” the governor said.
“All I know is that we will take it very seriously, and we must go out to every length to ensure that those behind that crime are brought to book.
“We will never allow such thing to happen again in the state. We will really go after them.
“I sympathise and condole with the families and relatives of these traditional rulers that died. It’s a very serious offence. It is unacceptable, condemnable, and we’ll never allow those who did it to go scot free.”
It was an exciting news as the most outstanding Presidential Aspirant in Nigeria , 2023 Election – Prof Kingsley Moghalu starts an academic engagement program at the University of Oxford for the period October 2021-December 2021. According to statement released by Prof Moghalu ; he will be meeting with the business and political leaders during the three months program and will give public lecture to the Oxford community and its invitees from around the UK on a topic of political economy, lead a seminar, interact and share knowledge and perspectives with Oxford faculty members and and students, and as well as finish two books he has been working on.
At Oxford University ,800 year old institution ,Prof Moghalu will be engaging with political, business and civil society leaders in the UK.
On arrival at the University ,Prof Moghalu was warmly welcomed by Ricardo Soares, Professor of African Politics at Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations with a lunch at the Ashmolean Museum. He also visited the Oxford Martin School, where the largest philanthropic gift in the university’s history by billionaire Dr. James Martin funds research that turns ideas into action to solve the 21st century’s most pressing challenges.
It is expected that Prof Moghalu will return to Nigeria at the end of three months program to continue with his transformation agenda for Nigeria.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked government officials in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to withdraw their children from foreign universities and enroll them in Nigeria.
It also called on the National Assembly to initiate a law that makes it compulsory for the public office holders to send their wards to public schools in the country, saying such a step would let the officials know the decay in the public universities.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, gave this charge in Abuja at the reconvened meeting with the federal Government, being conciliated by the Minister of Labour and Employment.
Speaking before the meeting went into a closed-door, Osodeke said, “We hope that the government will make it mandatory that if you accept a government appointment, your children must attend universities in the country.
“The National Assembly must formulate a law that if you take an appointment, your children must study here. If you know that your children cannot be here, don’t take government appointments.
When you hear those in the government who send their children to schools abroad say that ASUU goes on strike, they should know that strike is not the problem. The problem is the issues afflicting the universities; nobody is interested in tackling them.
“Look at the budget we have seen recently, it is exactly the same thing we have been seeing. Nothing has changed. And this country is paying the high price for neglecting education – the banditry you see, the kidnapping and what have you, is because people are not being taken care of.
“That is why ASUU has been struggling, so that Nigerian universities will be revamped, so that as our children go outside for learning, other children from other countries will come here too and pay to this country in hard currency.”
Earlier in his remarks, Ngige assured that the Federal Government would not abandon the public universities in spite of dwindling resources and reiterated the government’s readiness to work with ASUU and others interested in revamping the educational system.
“ASUU is not asking for things that are impossible. They are not asking that we give them our head or blood. They are interested in getting good working conditions for their members and for the public university system to be conducive for teaching and research,” the minister said.
The meeting is still ongoing as at when filing this report.
