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BREAKING: INEC Extends Voter Registration By Two Weeks

The registration will be concluded at the end of August.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the deadline for the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise by two weeks.

ourmumudondo MOVEMENT ,ANAMBRA WITH INEC REC

According to information obtained by our reporters on Tuesday, the registration will be concluded at the end of August.

The extension is coming a few days after OurMumuDonDo Movement nationwide including anambra state, and concerned Civil Society Organisations, met with officials of INEC to call for an extension of the deadline to enable more Nigerians participate.

The registration will be concluded at the end of August.

ANAMBRA CHAPTER OF OURMUMUDONDO MOVEMENT

Senate crisis continues as PDP Senators go to Court

 

The alleged plot to sack the leadership of the Senate took a legal dimension with a suit by senators Rafiu Adebayo (Kwara South) and Isa Misau (Bauchi Central) against the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Inspector General of Police and the Department State Security (DSS) before a Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday.

The lawmakers in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/ CS/872/2018 have asked the court to restrain them from aiding the forceful removal or impeachment of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.

READ ALSO: Senate presidency and what numbers may say

Others listed as defendants are the Senate, the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawal (Senate Leader), Senator Bala Ibn Nallah (Deputy Senate Leader), Senator Emma Buacha (Deputy Minority Leader), Clerk of the Senate, Deputy Clerk of the Senate, the Attorney General of the Federation, Inspector General of Police and the Department State Service.

The suit, was brought pursuant to Order 26 Rules 1, 2, and 7(1) of Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009, and Section 6(6)(8)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

In a motion on notice filed by Mahmoud Magaji, the plaintiffs are praying for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 4th to 11th defendants, jointly and severally either by themselves, their agents, servants or privies, assigns however so called from unlawfully removing the 2nd defendant as the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

The plaintiffs are also seeking for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 9th to 10th defendants from unlawfully interfering with the lawful legislative duties of the 2nd defendant as the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, until the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

“An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 10th to 11th defendants from harassing, hounding intimidating, arresting or detaining the 2nd defendant in respect of the lawful exercise of his duties pursuant to Section 50(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as attended), until the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

More so, the plaintiffs want the court to make an order directing the parties in the suit to maintain status quo pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

In the substantive suit, the plaintiffs want the court to determine among others: “Whether in view of the provisions of Section 50(1) (a) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the I999, the President of the Senate who defected to another party as a result of division in his former party, can be made to vacate his office other than in accordance with the provisions of Section 50(2) of the Constitution?

“Whether by a combined reading of Section 50(1)(a) and (2) of the Constitution and Order 3 Rule 8 of the Senate Standing Orders, 2015 (as amended), the President of the Senate can be compelled to vacate his office on the ground that he is not a member of the party with majority ot senators in the Senate?

“Whether by a combined reading of Section 50(2) (a) of the Constitution and Order 3, Rule 8 of the Senate Standing Orders, 2015 (as amended) the President of the Senate can be said to have vacated his office by virtue of Section 50(2)(a) of the Constitution when he has not ceased to be a member of the Senate?

“Whether the President of the Senate can be said to have vacated his office as President at the Senate by virtue of Section 50(2)(b) of the Constitution when the 8th Senate of which he is the President has not been dissolved?

Upon the determination of the questions, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the President of the Senate cannot be made to vacate his office other than in accordance with the provisions of Section 50(2) of the Constitution.

“A declaration that Saraki cannot be compelled to vacate his office on the ground that he is not a member of the party with majority of Senators in the Senate.

source : Sun

Nd’Igbo Consultative Assembly Endorses Autonomous Region For Ndigbo

 

RESOLUTIONS OF A 3-DAY EMERGENCY CONCLAVE OF THE LEADERSHIPS OF MAJOR IGBO ORGANIZATIONS HELD AUGUST 10-12, 2018 IN ENUGU UNDER THE AUSPICES OF ND’IGBO CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY

Preamble
(i) In view of the gathering storms over Nigeria, reminiscent of the circumstances that precipitated the catastrophes of 1966-1970;
(ii) Concerned about the degenerating situation of Nd’Igbo in Nigeria, a body of Igbo elders convened an Emergency Retreat of the Leaderships of key Igbo Organizations at home and abroad under the aegis of ND’IGBO CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLY to undertake a comprehensive appraisal of the state of the Igbo in the distressed Nigerian union with a view to distilling self-preservation options available to Nd’Igbo;
(iii) Cognizant of the sudden 1966 abrogation of the 1959 Lancaster House agreement – which formed the basis upon which the Federating Regions ceded aspects of their sovereignty to create the Federation called Nigeria resulting in the sudden demise of the Union;
(iiii) Noting the foisting upon us of a false, fictitious, bogus and unacceptable Union sustained through the barrel of the gun and legitimized by a series of imposed Constitutional instruments including the 1979 Constitution and its 1999 reincarnation which were basically an aggregation of the Military Decrees made between the 1966 and 1999 interregnum;
(v) Bearing in mind that these Military Decrees, consolidated as Decree 24 of 1999 (the Constitution), imposed on us a unitary system that foists on us an inverted Federation in which the Center own and control all our major economic assets and the right to work those assets; a quota system that subjugates knowledge to ignorance, all legitimized by the egregious falsehood that “We, the People …” enacted our damnation; thus usurping the sovereignty of the People;
(vi) Aggrieved that this litany of woes were further compounded by the unilateral secession of twelve Northern States which simultaneously imposed Sharia in their contiguous territory thereby unilaterally breaking the secularity of the Union as agreed by all the Constituent Regions while Federating into Independence in 1960 as One Political Union;
(vii) Noting the Country-wide bloc by bloc repudiation of the imposed unitarist Constitutional Order, it becomes clear that the People have revoked those aspects of their sovereignty ceded to the Federation and demands the full restoration of their sovereign rights.
In response to all the above, various Igbo organizations articulated what, in their wisdom, represents the best approach by Nd’Igbo towards self-redemption. Other groups, particularly the pro-independence ones, embarked on more radical agitations towards achieving the same end. In seeking to distil common grounds among the various groups, streamline their prescriptions and arrive at a consensus that will frame a viable response mechanism, this Emergency 3-Day Consultative Meeting involving the leaderships of major Igbo organizations, home and abroad.
The New Igbo Nation City
The Conclave carefully examined the Public Communications Documents issued by various Igbo organizations and reproduce the following central positions of the major ones.
Ohanaeze’s position as encapsulated in the Ekwueme Square Declaration of May 21, 2018 at p.2 is states thus:
“We demand a Constitutional Conference, backed by a Law enacted by the National Assembly, where the People of Nigeria will agree on a new, truly federal Constitution. a Constituent Assembly should be constituted to agree on a new Constitution for a New Nigeria. Such a Constitution – the people’s Constitution – should be approved by the people of Nigeria through a Referendum to give it legitimacy and validity. Thereafter, the National Assembly should repeal Act 24 of 1999 thereby effectively voiding the 1999 Constitution.”
The Alaigbo Development Foundation, ADF, seeks restructuring within the principle of self-determination of Autonomous Region of ethnic nationalities in present Nigeria. ADF states emphatically that Alaigbo will seek outright exit from the Federation of Nigeria if renegotiation along these lines is not forthcoming. ADF’s position is encapsulated in a memorandum titled “THE FUTURE OF ALAIGBO & THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA” dated December 21, 2017 which at p.47 posits:
“A. Alaigbo to exist as an Autonomous Region with all the rights of Self-determination and Self-governance in a new political union with their neighbours in Nigeria, or
The City of Enugu with Autonomous Region
B. to opt out of Nigeria and establish an Independent Republic.”
A wing of the pro-independence groups frame their agitation as “Biafra Restoration” (IPOB) and “Biafra Actualization” (MASSOB), both seek immediate secession from the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
There is also the Self-Determination campaign by the Lower Niger Congress, LNC, for the Greater Eastern Nigeria, framed as a Constitutional Reconfiguration of the Nigerian Union that will include a Self-Determination Referendum, with an outreach to the non-Caliphate rest of Nigeria, seeking a consensus around the outright rejection of the fraudulent 1999 Constitution as the basis of Nigeria.
After a thorough review of these different positions being advanced by various Igbo Organizations, the Conclave recognizes the two dominant tendencies in Igboland in response to the current Igbo situation in Nigeria, namely:
a. Regional Autonomy (variously defined) within the Federation of Nigeria, and
b. Outright Independence for the Territory.
This necessitates the institution of a mechanism to determine the true wishes of the majority of the People.
It is noted that the two Groups are agreed on the abrogation of the imposed, fraudulent 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The two Groups are also agreed that no further National Elections anchored on the 1999 Constitution should take place.
ACCORDINGLY, THE CONCLAVE RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
1. Given the fact that after more than 50 years of disputes, (since 1967) including a 30-month Genocidal War against the East, the Constitutional Arrangements for Nigeria has remained unresolved, the Conclave recommends that the well-known Constitutional Grievances of Nd’Igbo should now be referred to a General REFERENDUM of the People.
2. Guided by the sad experiences of the monumental Constitutional Disputations in the First Republic between 1962-1965 which birthed the 1966 Military intervention in Nigeria’s Political Arena and the resultant collapse of the Nigerian Federation, the Conclave recommends the deferment of further National Elections in 2019 that will be premised upon the rejected 1999 Constitution and in place of Elections, the initiation of an orderly transition process that will take the entrapped Nationalities from the present precarious reality of imposition, to a stable negotiated future.
3. To preserve Societal Order during the period required to execute the winding up of the rejected Constitutional Order to the institution of the successor Constitutional Arrangements, the Conclave proposes the emplacement of a Transitioning Mechanism that maintains Nominal Governance.
DATED THIS 12TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2018
SIGNED
1. Aka-Ikenga.
2. Coalition of Pro-Biafran Groups
3. Forum for Promotion of National Ethos and Values (FPNEV)
4. Global Igbo Alliance (GIA)
5. Igbo Civil Society Coalition (ICSC)
6. Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT)
7. Igbo Strategic Engagement Forum (ISE Forum)
8. Lower Niger Congress, LNC (Igbo Caucus)
9. Nzuko Umunna (NU)
10. World Igbo Congress, WIC

Saraki’s time over – Oshiomhole

Excerpts of an address by national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE, at a press conference in Abuja last week

Basically, to respond to some of the issues raised by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at the press conference he addressed two days ago. It is important we addressed some of the issues he canvassed so that the public is not misled into turning villains to heroes and twisting the facts that are really no secret to the Nigerian public. But it is important that we help the public to refresh their memories and arrive at their own individual judgement.

First, the Senate President raised the issue of the fact that he has always acted not on the basis of his own personal interest; that he has always acted on the basis of national interest. The truth is it is doubtful if the Senate President has ever acted either in the national interest or in the interest of his own political party before his defection recently.

Without going back to ancient history, suffice to start by looking at how, in the first instance, Senator Bukola Saraki became the President of the Senate. He decided, clearly against the party’s position, to enter into a deal with the opposition PDP and got a faction of the PDP and taking advantage of the provisions in the Constitution to side with him while the majority of the APC senators were having a meeting at the International Conference Centre in order to resolve the issue of leadership of the Senate and other principal officers of the Senate that are expected to be produced by the ruling party with majority senators in the Senate. Because he had put his personal interest over and above the interest of the party, when he went into alliance with the PDP and he conceded the position of Deputy Senate President to the opposition in order to obtain the support of the opposition for him, Senator Saraki, to become the Senate President.

 

So, for the first time in our democratic history in Nigeria, we had a situation, which, whereas the APC has the majority in the Senate, the Senate went on to elect a PDP person as Deputy Senate President. This action alone portrays Senator Saraki for who he is; his personal interest comes before any other interest, including the national interest, including the interest of his political party. Having gone into this unholy alliance with the opposition and mortgaged the right of the ruling party, he proceeded to appoint opposition senators to head strategic committees whose activities can affect, either for good or for bad, the workings of the government and relationship between the government and the legislature. Senator Saraki did that in order to continue to protect himself against the wish of his party as Senate President. Again, that shows that the only thing that was always constant in the mind of Senator Saraki was how to cling on to power even if it means at the expense of his party or even of the country, and I will speak to that.

You do not need to be a political activist or a partisan politician to appreciate that, in an election year, every government around the world will do everything possible to ensure that it is seen to be working for the people of the country. So, like any other, the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerians expected that it will do everything possible this year to make up for lost time in terms of budget implementation and addressing critical infrastructures without which sustainable development is impossible.

The Senate under Saraki chose instead to delay the budget up to the end of the first half of the year, to coincide with the period of the rainy season such that those aspect of infrastructure such as roads, for example, cannot really be constructed during rainy season. These were not errors of the head on the part of Senator Saraki’s leadership. They were clearly designed to frustrate the capacity of President Buhari’s government to address physical infrastructural deficit without which the ordinary man in the street cannot feel the impact of governance. Again, I want to plead that I am not about to reveal anything. On receipt of the budget by Mr. President, after going through it, Mr. President cried out that the budget that was handed over to him by the National Assembly under the leadership of the Senate President was a clear distortion of the well-thought-out budget proposal that was submitted to the National Assembly. Whereas Mr. President appreciates that the National Assembly could make some alterations in the budget, he did not expect that the budget would be completely rewritten and so grossly distorted as to make far more provisions for recurrent expenditure such that there is very little left for capital projects without which the Nigerian people cannot benefit from governance. And the President said this budget would be difficult to implement. You have all heard the stories of budget padding and no budget padding, but on this occasion I would rather not delve into those.

So, when I say that the Senate President has never put Nigeria first, I support this statement by the deliberate delay of the budget and the deliberate manipulation of provisions in the budget in a way that it would compromise the commitment of the government to address critical infrastructure. It is by now not a secret that as, Senate President, he conspired with others to try to create a sense of division within the ruling party, having failed to truncate the convention, where they assembled a couple of people who were neither delegates nor contestants for any of the offices at the convention to purport
to have formed a political party. There is nothing for me to add to the illegality of this action and the false foundation that the Senate President tried to lay. However, upon his illegal defection, which he had to do hurriedly, because the number of senators who he was playing on their fears that they would not be able to return to the Senate or that if they return they would be heading to prison if President Buhari is relected. So, he had a situation whereby about 36 senators, who were on his list to defect, but consequent upon our election and our assumption of office, we took pre-emptive steps to reassure those senators. Many of you would not have witnessed the fact that the first meeting we had, a day after the convention, Sunday, June 24, 2018, the first person we met was Senator Bukola Saraki, to try to listen to whatever his grievances were and this I did in company of the Vice President. At least, he was able to confess to that, when I tried to listen to negotiable or verifiable grievances. But, however, his real grievances are not negotiable. Which is about ambition, about values, and conflicting values of him as a person and the values of the APC. However, when he defected, however illegal his action was, he went to Ilorin to tell Ilorin people part of the truth, when he said, among other things, that he was leaving for two major reasons. Number one was that he alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari gave out over 200 juicy jobs without allocating some juicy jobs to him. And, he chose to speak for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, that even Dogara also was not given juicy positions. Again, I would have thought that not being a union leader, it is not for him to speak for the Speaker. The Speaker is well capable of speaking for himself. That is aside the key issue, which was that he lamented that he was not given a share of the so-called 200 juicy positions. I asked, giving Senator Bukola Saraki, Senate President, juicy position, does that coincide with Nigeria’s public interest? Does that coincide with the interest of the people of Kwara State or the interest of the people of Senator Saraki’s senatorial district? At no time did he refer to the interest of his own constituency or the interest of Nigerians. The second reason he gave was that he was being persecuted. Again, even that, the alleged persecution of his person, not persecution of his people. Again, he never pretended that any of these actions have to do with the good people of Nigeria, they have to do with his person, to the extent that he alleged personal persecution of his person, not that of Kwara State people, or the people of his constituency or Nigerians. But, I think the Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, was more explicit in corroborating Senator Saraki’s claim, when he said he, as a governor, and Senator Saraki as Senate President, were being linked to armed robbery cases as part of their reason for defecting. Again, nothing to do with the Nigerian project, nothing to do with Kwara State people. However, what is the truth, as he linked the Senate President to armed robbery? Was it the Federal Government or arrested armed robbers? It was armed robbers who were arrested that alleged that the weapons with which they carried out their heinous crime, including the killing of about 35 indigenes of Kwara State, somewhere in Offa, that those weapons were procured for them. They made that allegation according to police report, which is now known everywhere, so it is not a secret to be declassified.

In support of my thesis that the Senate President has never acted with the Nigerian national interest in view, my final submission is the way in which he adjourned the Senate about two weeks ago. The Senate calendar is not a secret to the presiding officer of the Senate. The Senate calendar that was known was that the Senate was going to adjourn on a Thursday. By Tuesday morning or Monday night, Senator Saraki used his guest house, wrote out names of senators with provisions meant for signatories, for senators to decamp to the PDP from the APC. Happily, some of the senators present refused to sign. And that was what frustrated his calculation that by the time he was done, he was going to turn APC into a minority party in the Senate. For careful observers, is it a coincidence that as the Senate President was reading defections, his counterpart in the House of Representatives was also simultaneously reading the names of those who defected. So, there was a coordination for defection day. But happily, the pre-emptive steps we have taken to address those with genuine grievances frustrated their number such that from 36, he could not get more than 14 senators to decamp. This was on a Tuesday, the calendar of the Senate stated that they were going to adjourn on a Thursday. So, between Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the Senate was expected, like I confirmed from the Senate Leader, to look into the supplementary budget for INEC. What INEC requirement are not equipment you buy from the shelf. You must order them and make allowance for the manufacturers to produce them. You don’t buy them the way you buy a pack of cigarettes from the shelf. So, time is of the essence.

However, the Senate under Saraki’s directive adjourned without considering the matter that was before it, including the budget for INEC. Now, if Senator Saraki adjourned the Senate ahead of schedule to resume towards the end of party nominations, can that act be said to coincide with the national interest? If you decide to frustrate the INEC by denying it the funding that it requires, can you be said to be a defender of democracy? If INEC don’t get their funds and, therefore, are unable to conduct a credible election, would that not lead to further serious consequences for our democratic process and our democratic environment?

He also made unsubstantiated allegation to the effect that the event of last Tuesday, that it was an attempt to carry out an illegal impeachment. How can a presiding office arrive to that conclusion that there was a plan to carry out an illegal impeachment. Until an action takes place how can you determine the status? If the act of impeachment is unlawful then you can probably understand where he is coming from. But, the truth is that it is lawful to impeach any one including the President of the Senate, including the Deputy President of the Senate, if the number required to do so is present. So, he cannot preempt that. As they say, you don’t have to be a pathological liar to understand this general saying that once you start with one lie you would need series of lies to support that one lie. I don’t want to use the word lies to characterise the action or the statements of the Senate President. Let us look at the facts. From their own statement, they said they were aware that the Senate President was illegally going to be impeached and, therefore, they mobilised thugs, their journalists, cameramen and video to the Senate building. They had told the world that they had adjourned till September 25. Meanwhile, about 15 PDP senators were in the Senate and for effect they imported hundreds of thugs that molested one or two of our members that were sighted in the premises. And, in order to expose the lie, I ask you as defenders of democracy, did you find any APC senator in the Senate? So, if APC senators were not in the Senate and it was PDP senators that were in the Senate, what is the basis of the false claim that there was an attempt to carry out an illegal impeachment?

If he does not resign as Senate President, he will be impeached according to law, not by thuggery or anything that is undemocratic. He cannot sustain a minority rule in the Senate and that is what is hurting him as we speak. They have about 48 senators, we have 53 senators. So, how can 48 senators preside over 53 senators.

Let me conclude by saying that when I say the Senate President will be impeached, he will be impeached according to the law. And, the Constitution is clear on how a presiding officer can be impeached. And, because several impeachments have taken place, both on former Senate Presidents
and former Speakers, we are not about to witness what has never happened before; we have enough precedence to all back on.

I have looked at the Nigerian Constitution. It does not say that an impeachment, once mooted is by itself illegal. Until it is done and you look at how it is done, you cannot arrive at a conclusion whether the process was lawful or unlawful. I think Saraki’s time is over. The way he has manipulated the politics of Kwara State, he fails to understand that the Nigerian national project is far more complicated and it is not at his mercy or the mercy of his own dynasty.

SOURCE :SUN

Return To Senate: Udi/Ezeagu Youths Told Ekweremadu

Agbaja Youth General Assembly (AYGA) is an amalgam of various youth organizations from Agbaja area of Enugu State that are found in the present Day Udi and Ezeagu LGAs of the state.
The youth Assembly is an umbrella body for youths of Agbaja to come together and chant for a way forward for the youths of the area.
The Assembly on Sunday 12th August, 2018 held the maiden edition of her summit.
The summit with the theme “Engaging the Youths as Patriotic Future Leaders” was held in the headquarter of Ezeagu LGA was hosted by the Chairman of the council, Hon. Fred Chukwudi Ezinwe had over 4000 youths from Udi and Ezeagu In attendance.
In his opening remark, the host of the summit and the Chairman of Ezeagu LGA Hon. Ezinwa cautioned the youths on the need to remain dedicated in their respective fields of endeavour and not depend on anyone for their survival.
The Chairman of Ezeagu LGA. Hon. Fred Ezinwa
“I enjoin you all to remain steadfast in your endeavours as you and you alone holds the key to your survival”
The spiritual Father of the day, The Anglican Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace Right. Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Olisa Chukwuma who was represented by Rev. Cannon Ejike Ezewome encouraged the youths to always seek the face of God in all they do.
Hon. Mike Uzor, The Special Assistant to the Deputy Senate President on Youth Matters advised the youths to show serious interest in political activities by first, obtaining their PVCs.
Hon. Aguneche, a House of Representatives aspirant for Udi/Ezeagu federal constituency charged the Youths to always pray very hard even as they work hard in their various business.
The Deputy Senate President who was represented by The Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Enugu State, Hon. Joseph Udedi thanked Agbaja Youths for their continuous support of the Governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and charged them to remain committed to positive morals and good ideals as His Excellency is a lover of youths.
Engr. Osita Ngwu an aspirant for Udi/Ezeagu Federal House of Representatives and a guest speaker in the summit told his story/journey to success and urged the Youths to learn from his determination to never say NO spirit when faced with difficulties.
The Member representing Ezeagu Constituency in Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Barr. Chima Obieze in his speech commended the Executives/Organisers of the event led by Comr. Nebo Ebube for the laudable event which is the first of its kind and urged them to continue to improve on what they have started today.
Some of the executives of Agbaja youth Assembly in a group photograph with the member representing Ezeagu in the house of Assembly
Obieze thanked all the Youths for maintaining peace & decorum during the event and charged them to remain good ambassadors of Agbaja.
He encouraged them to continue supporting the Governor of the state who has demonstrated his deep love for Agbaja people in various ways like;
●The 9thmile bi-pass road
●The reconstruction of the ancient Milliken Hill road among many others things.
The highlights of the Summit was the movement of the motion for vote of confidence on the Governor Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi was moved by the President of the Assembly Comr. Nebo Ebube who hails from Ezeagu and was seconded by the Secretary of the Assembly Comr. Udeh Kester C. who hails from Umuabi Udi.
After the motion, Hon. Chima Obieze was invited to put the motion to a vote to all the youths present, and they unanimously endorsed the Governor for a 2nd term in office.
The summit also called on Sen. Ike Ekweremadu PHD, CFR to please consider running for Senate seat of the zone again stating that the benefits of his stay in the senate is visible even to the blind and audible to the deaf.

BREAKING NEWS:ANAMBRA SCHOOL GIRLS BROKE GLOBAL RECORD

The five Anambra girls from Regina Pacies Secondary School Onitsha who represented Nigeria and Africa  at the World Technovation Challenge in the Silicon Valley in San Francisco, US last night have won the Gold Medal in the contest.
The team, led by Uchenna Onwuamaegbu Ugwu defeated representatives of other technological giants including the USA, Spain, Turkey, Uzbekistan and China to clinch the gold medal.
The Anambra girls who have now become Africa’s Golden Girls is made up of five brilliant girls including
1 Promise Nnalue
2 Jessica Osita
3 Nwabuaku Ossai
4 Adaeze Onuigbo
5 Vivian Okoye
The world champions who are reported to be attracting a lot of attention in the world’s greatest technological hub won the Challenge with a mobile application called the FD-Detector which they developed to help tackle the Challenge of fake pharmaceutical products in Nigeria.
Under the tutelage of Uchenna Onwuamaegbu-Ugwu the CEO of Edufun Technik STEM, the Golden Girls spent five months researching and developing FD-Detector which swept through over 2000 competing applications to get to the finals in San Francisco.
Technovation is a programme that offers girls around the world the opportunity to learn the programming skills they need to emerge as tech-entrepreneurs and leaders.
 Every year, girls are invited to identify a problem in their communities, and then challenge them to solve them by developing Andriod applications that would address those problems.
115 countries participated in the qualifiers but only 12 teams from all over the world were selected as finalists for the pitch in Silicon Valley.
The girls will also be attending Field trips, life-changing workshops including a networking session during their one week stay in USA.
The Governor of Anambra State,Chief Willie Obiano had personally sent them off to the US in a brief ceremony at the last Executive Council Meeting where he charged the girls to put Nigeria and Africa on the global technological map with their rare talent.

BREAKING NEWS:45 POLITICAL PARTIES VISIT SARAKI

Saraki gets solidarity from leaders of 45 political parties

In a statement by Saraki’s Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, the leaders of the political parties had paid the Senate President a solidarity visit at the National Assembly.

The Chairmen and leaders of 45 registered political parties were led by the National Chairman of the Democratic United Party (DUP), Chief Perry Okpara.

During their meeting, Saraki said as direct representatives of the people, lawmakers will continue to play their role to ensure that the rule of law is followed and that human rights are respected in the country.

The Senate President also reiterated the resolve and commitment of the 8th Senate and indeed the National Assembly, to continue to protect and defend the nation’s fledgling democracy.

Leaders of 45 political parties declare solidarity for Saraki

Okpara, who led the leaders of 45 political parties that visited Saraki told the Senate President that the visit was to show their solidarity with the leadership of the National Assembly for standing up in defence of democracy in the face of the recent siege in the complex by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Okpara also condemned the DSS siege on the National Assembly and declared that as national leaders of political parties in the country, “we cannot sit by and watch our country slide into the Hobbesian state of anarchy, where life has become short, brutish and lawless.”

This is what Saraki told leaders of 45 political parties

Saraki had the leaders of the 45 political parties that visited him that the perpetrators of the recent siege on the National Assembly have learnt their lesson from the wide condemnation that has continued to trail the anti-democratic action.

He said: “I thank you for taking out time to be with us here today. Thank you for the solidarity message and we truly appreciate it as it encourages us to further do what we are doing to defend democracy in our great country.

“The big thank you goes to all Nigerians that stood with us and have come to support us here in  the National Assembly because in supporting us, you are supporting our democracy.

“We will continue to defend it. We will continue to ensure that there is respect for the rule of law and that due process is followed across the country,” he stated.

Continuing, the Kwara representative said: “It is our hope that those anti-democratic forces have leant their lesson in the last few days, to listen to the voice of Nigerians – men, women, boys and girls – all across the country, who stood firmly to reject their unconstitutional and anti-democratic action.

“Their voice is loud and clear. I believe we must respect it. We must respect those that have made sacrifices for us to be here.

“Some have paid the ultimate price and we must respect that and ensure that Nigeria, as a country, is a shinning example for other democratic nations to emulate. We must not allow anything that will tarnish the image of this country and the democracy we have worked so hard to birth and sustain,” he stated.

IGP SEEKS PERMISSION TO SEARCH SACKED DSS BOSS

 

Ibrahim Idris, inspector-general of police, is seeking the permission of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, to search the residence of Lawal Daura, sacked director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS), TheCable can report.

Osinbajo ordered the dismissal of Daura on Tuesday following the invasion of the National Assembly Complex.

The acting president had summoned Daura and Idris to the presidential villa in Abuja over the raid of the parliament.

Daura was later handed over to the police and whisked away to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) in Abuja while Mathew Seyeifa, a DSS director from Bayelsa who is next in line to him in the order of seniority, was appointed head of the agency in acting capacity.

In a letter seen by our Reporter, Idris said Daura is currently under house arrest in Abuja.

He said an intelligence team of the police had quizzed the sacked DSS DG who had made some disclosure.

Idris said Daura claimed that he acted on the intelligence that some persons were planning to smuggle arms into the national assembly but wondered why Daura did not get clearance from Osinbajo or share his findings with sister security agencies.

He wrote: “The principal suspect, Mr. Lawal Musa Daura, was formally arrested and interrogated in line with the allegation made against him.

“Following the interrogation by our intelligence operatives, the following facts emerged:

“That on 7/8/2018, the suspect Lawal Musa Daura illegally used his position as the then director general of Department of State Security Service conspired with his officers and men who wore hoods and masks, invaded the national assembly complex thereby preventing and forcing the peaceful members and staff of the national assembly from gaining access to the complex without any element of crime committed or an invitation by the leadership of the national assembly.

“That the primary suspect. Mr Lawal Daura, illegally used his position as the then director-general of the Department of State Services to  conspire with his officers and men who wore hoods and masks to invade the National Assembly Complex, thereby preventing members of the national assembly from gaining access to the complex without any element of crime committed.

“The DSS personnel acted like mercenaries hire to carry out execution… There is need to search the houses and premises of all the identified suspects.

“All communication gadgets such as computers, mobile phones and other electronic devices of the suspects will be thoroughly analysed.”

He accused the intelligence officer of conspiring with armed masked men to whip up sentiments against the federal government.

Idris said from the statements the sacked DSS DG made during interrogation, it is possible that he acted the script of “highly-placed politicians”.

Idris also appealed to the acting president to order that those who partook in the operation be released to the police for interrogation.

“It is crystal clear that the principal suspect Lawal Daura may be acting the script of some highly placed politicians to achieve some selfish political goals hence his unilateral and unlawful decision to invade the National Assembly complex,” he wrote.

“As it stands, the principal suspect Lawal Daura is undergoing further interrogation at our facility and is currently placed on house arrest at a private property awaiting further directives from Your Excellency.”

Source: www.thecable.ng 

THE COWARD CALLED GODSWILL AKPABIO By Femi Fani-Kayode

“You remain the father of the nation, our father and political father to all. Just like i told Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Osinbanjo yesterday in Nigeria… Those who think that they have politically grown to insult you will all regret it before month end sir. I am here (London) to register my undiluted love and unalloyed support to you. I was involved in all their meetings and I know what their plans are. The long recess of NASS is going to be your advantage and not theirs like they thought and planned”- Senator Godswill Akpabio to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Those that do not have the courage of their convictions and that do not have the guts to stand against tyranny when under fire are not worthy of being called men: they are little better than beasts.
The fact that the former Governor of Akwa Ibom, Senator Godswill Akpabio, is a coward and a traitor is no longer in dispute. The fact that his brazen treachery knows no bounds is what can best be described as “settled law”.
A leader must be ready to sacrifice his liberty and life in defence of truth, justice and righteousness and he must be prepared to defend his nation, faith, people and loved ones no matter the price he may have to pay.
Sadly such noble virtues and high standards are lost on men like Akpabio. To them such matters and sentiments are like Greek or Latin: they can neither understand their meaning or grasp their import.
They fail to appreciate the fact that fear is not a virtue but a vice. They refuse to acknowledge the fact that to blink the eye, bat the eyelid, surrender, compromise, buckle, capitulate and bend the knee to the tyrant and his minions in a futile and last minute attempt to preserve your life and liberty is utterly shameful.
Akpabio’s desire to decamp to the APC due to his trepidation and fear of the EFCC and Buhari’s regime is pitiful. If he has done nothing wrong then why the fear and why the trepidation? Where is his faith in God?
And if he has done something wrong, given the fact that he has opposed them virulently for the last three years, does he honestly believe that the Buhari regime will not punish him by using it against him if they manage to get back to power next year, no matter how much he helps them today?
If he believes that then he is not half as intelligent as I once thought. Buhari is not a man of honor, he is not a worthy ally, he does not keep to his pronlmises and he does not have friends. The only friend he has is his insatiable lust for power which he feeds on a daily basis.
Aside from that the following questions come to mind. Does Akpabio honestly see any good in Buhari and his goverrnment? Is that what he thinks that Nigerians deserve to suffer for the next few years and if so what is their crime?
Has he forgotten the gratuitous insults that Buhari dishes out so lavishly on the Nigerian people whenever he travels abroad and speaks to foreign leaders and the foreign press?
Has he forgotten about all those that the Buhari government have killed and all those that have died and suffered in the struggle against them? Does the shedding of innocent blood by a desperate government mean nothing to him?
Has he forgotten the tears of the tormented and persecuted and the cries of the widows, orphans and the bereaved whose loved ones have been butchered by jihadists, religious fanatics, cow-lovers and ethnic supremacists that Buhari has protected and encouraged over the last three years?
Has he forgotten the anguish of those whose loved ones have been locked up indefinately and those who have been demonised and subjected to the most barbaric and insidious media witchunts in the history of our nation?
Has he forgotten the practice of double standards in the application of our laws? Has he forgotten how the rogues in Buhari’s cabinet and government and the governors in his party are above the law and get away with blue murder?
Has he forgotten about the slaughter of northern Christians, IPOB youths and Shiite Muslims?
Has he forgotten about the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Fulani terrorists and herdsmen? Has he forgotten about the attack against the Church and the attempt to undermine and ridicule Christendom?
Has he forgotten about the censorship of the media and how newspapers houses and radio and television stations are warned against airing or publishing anti-government material?
Has he forgotten about Buhari’s insidious secret romance with Boko Haram and how he has strengthened them in the last two years by freeing their commanders and paying them huge and unprecedented ransoms?
Has he forgotten the appauling way that members of our Armed Forces are being treated by the government and how they are massacred on the front lines and given secret mass burials in secret graves with no honor or thanks?
Has he forgotten about the brutal assault on the judiciary and judges and the undermining of the rule of law? Has he forgotten about the relentless attacks on the legislature and the humiliation of his colleagues at the National Assembly?
Has he forgotten about the horrors and wickedness that members and leaders of the opposition PDP were subjected to over the last 3 years? Has he forgotten about what the Govermment did to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Sheik El Zak Zaky and Col. Ibrahim Dasuki?
Has he forgotten the vitriolic terms and words that they used to describe President Goodluck Jonathan, President Olusegun Obasanjo and every single PDP leader and government that held power between 1999 and 2015?
Has he forgotten that Buhari considers himself to be the third and final Mahdi of the north and that he has nothing but contempt and disdain for those that come from the Middle Belt and the south and those that do not share his religious faith?
Has he forgotten the insults the Buhari government heaped on southerners, Middle Belters, Afenifere, Ohaeneze, the Niger Delta Elders, the Middle Belt Forum and every single elderstatesman and leader that has called for the restructuring of our country.
Has he forgotten about the division, strife, disgrace, penury, corruption, poverty and despair that they have subjected the Nigerian people to over the last three years.
Has he forgotten what Christians have been subjected to by these demons from hell? Has he forgotten their hatred for the Church? Has he forgotten the division, strife, turmoil, bloodshed, torment and havoc that they have inflicted on our nation?
Has Akpabio forgotten about all these things or is that he is so tormented by the fear of his own shadow, the EFCC and Buhari’s ghost that he has capitulated like a fatherless peasant that lacks nobility, class, dignity, self-respect, good-breeding and honor?
On a general note one is constrained to ask: why are most Nigerian leaders plagued with such a cowardly disposition and servile spirit? Why do they compromise so often and why do they tremble before power?
If Akpabio had issues with PDP that is fair enough. We all have issues with the party in varying degrees.
Yet if he felt constrained to leave why can’t he join any of the other numerous opposition parties? Why does he have to sell his soul to the devil and enter a Faustian pact with Buhari and the APC.
Why should he join the birds of prey to feed on the blood, flesh and guts of the Nigerian people?
The truth is that he has betrayed his people and joined forces with those that seek to enslave them simply in an attempt to secure freedom and goodwill for himself.
Is that what leaders are meant to do? Are they meant to give in to their most morbid and irrational fears and collaborate with those that seek to destroy their nation, their people and their future?
Akpabio reminds me of the old African chiefs and traditional rulers that sold their own people into slavery to the white slave dealers in return for tiny crumbs and protection.
He reminds me of the black slaves that fought on the side of the southern secessionist forces in the American civil war who attempted to preserve the institution of slavery.
He reminds me of the inglorious Scottish clans that turned their backs on Scotland’s heroic Bonny Prince Charlie and instead betrayed their people and fought on the side of the English oppressors to oppose Scottish emancipation and liberation.
He reminds me of everything that is unpleasant, servile, weak, ugly, uncouth, cowardly and dishonorable.
The fact of the mattee is that Akpabio deserves to be pitied. He is more worthy of pathos than wrath because, like Judas Iscariot and those that betrayed and crucified Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, he “knows not what he does”.
Shakespeare wrote that “a coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once.”
Soyinka wrote that “the man died in him who remained silent before tyranny”.
Akpabio has died a thousand deaths and the man has died in him.
Courage, risk and sacrifice are the fuel and engine room of the struggle for liberation. I would rather live as a free man for one day than live a thousand years as a coward and a slave.
May God guide my friend and brother Godswill Akpabio and may He open his eyes and cause him to appreciate the folly of his own actions and the very grave consequences of the monumental mistake he is about to make.
May He remind him that the forces of darkness have nothing to offer but death, sorrow, shame and destruction.
May He remind him that no matter how dark the night, joy comes in the morning for those who have faith, who trust in the Lord and who stand firm till the end.
May He remind him that those that joined Adolf Hitler, even in his last days, ended up dying with him.
Me: Mfonobong Usoro, please come and answer this your former party man ooo. He is looking for Obongowo’s trouble ooo

We Are Biafrans In Politics-MOBIN

MOBIN is Biafran political movement that is established for legal methodology of Biafra quest. It respects other methodologies, but believes that legal methodology which involves political, diplomatic and judicial processes is the best in a country like Nigeria.

Apart from registration fee (N1,000) which was paid by a few hundred members, MOBIN has been run from inception with the Chairman’s and Directors’ personal funds. The Chairman and Directors of MOBIN have spent millions of Naira to take MOBIN to where it is today.
There is a limit to what MOBIN can achieve with little personal funds, thus we have reopened registration for all members. Registration fee remains N1,000. It includes the cost of ID card. We are also introducing monthly due as source of funding, henceforth all members are expected to pay N200 monthly dues to their state Coordinators. Diaspora members should pay annually to the account that will be provided by the Chairman and inform any of the Directors of MOBIN after payment.
My people, politics is a gun; money is the trigger. 2019 general election is around the corner and MOBIN intends to make bolder steps that will surpass its achievements in Anambara state 2017 governorship election. We are wiser now and we can play the game smarter. What we need most are funds for political education in Biafra land and for sponsoring other political activities of ours. Until we produce Biafran politicians who can boldly and intelligently talk about Biafra at local, state, federal and international levels, the actual quest for Biafra has never begun.
We are appealing to all members to be committed in paying monthly dues to their state Coordinators. We are also appealing to non registered members and followers of MOBIN to register with N1,000 which covers cost of ID card. Finally, we are appealing to the public to support MOBIN financially. Integrity is one of our watchwords in MOBIN. We will see our money working as we contribute.
All financial supports and donations for MOBIN activities should be made through this bank account: DE MOBIN INITIATIVE, 1021398408, UBA. The account is being managed by Chairman and Directors of MOBIN. The account managers have records of decades of proven integrity.
Obumneke Ejimnkeonye Okafor
For MOBIN Directors