Abia Saga: Uche Ogah’s Certificate Of Return Not Enough For Him To Be Sworn In. – INEC

   
Abia Saga – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officals at the headquarters in Abuja, has explained that the certificate of return issued to Uche Ogah by a Federal High Court, Abuja for the governorship election in Abia State is not enough or valid for him to be sworn in as the state chief Executive.

The election umpire official claimed that the election that produced a governor in Abia state in 2015 was the supplementary election of April 25, 2015 and not the April 11th, 2015 election which INEC declared inconclusive which Mr Ogah did not participate.
They pointed out that the certificate of return issued to Mr Ogah bears the date, April 11, 2015, which was declared inconclusive, and this fundamental error and some legals issues makes it near impossible for him to br sworn in.
It should be recalled that INEC declared the April 11, 2015 governorship election in Abia state inconclusive despite the fact that Ikpeazu of PDP was leading Otti of APGA with a wide margin.
The Nigerian electoral body, INEC called for a supplementary election election in about 8 LGAs and some polling units in the state on April 25, 2015 which Mr Ikpeazu also won and was declared winner. INEC issued him with a certificate of return as winner of the election after the supplementary election.
Technically speaking, the Returns given to Mr Ogah is invalid document and can’t make him governor of that state. He can’t lay claims to the governorship of Abia State on the basis of an inconclusive election.”
As it stands, Mr Ikpeazu remains the state governor pending the decision of the Appeal court and even the Nigerian apex court, if they choose to go that far.

EXPLOSIVE HISTORY: Who Sold Nigeria To Britain For £865k in 1899?

   
Today we will be discussing the first oil war, which was fought in the 19th century, in the area that became Nigeria.
All through the 19th century, palm oil was highly sought-after by the British, for use as an industrial lubricant for machinery. Remember that Britain was the world’s first industrialised nation, so they needed resources such as palm oil to maintain that.
Palm oil of course, is a tropical plant, which is native to the Niger Delta. Malaysia’s dominance came a century later.

By 1870, palm oil had replaced slaves as the main export of the Niger Delta, the area which was once known as the Slave Coast. At first, most of the trade in the oil palm was uncoordinated, with natives selling to those who gave them the best deals. Native chiefs such as former slave, Jaja of Opobo became immensely wealthy because of oil palm. With wealth comes influence.

However, among the Europeans, there was competition for who would get preferential access to the lucrative oil palm trade. In 1879, George Goldie (1846 – 1925, pictured above) formed the United African Company, which was modeled on the former East India Company. Goldie effectively took control of the Lower Niger River. By 1884, his company had 30 trading posts along the Lower Niger. This monopoly gave the British a strong hand against the French and Germans in the 1884 Berlin Conference. The British got the area that the UAC operated in, included in their sphere of influence after the Berlin Conference.

When the Brits got the terms they wanted from other Europeans, they began to deal with the African chiefs. Within two years of 1886, Goldie had signed treaties with tribal chiefs along the Benue and Niger Rivers whilst also penetrating inland. This move inland was against the spirit of verbal agreements that had been made to restrict the organisation’s activities to coastal regions.

By 1886, the company name changed to “The National Africa Company” and was granted a royal charter (incorporated). The charter authorized the company to administer the Niger Delta and all lands around the banks of the Benue and Niger Rivers. Soon after, the company was again renamed. The new name was “Royal Niger Company”, which survives, as Unilever, till this day.

To local chiefs, the Royal Niger Company negotiators had pledged free trade in the region. Behind, they entered private contracts on their terms. Because the (deceitful) private contracts were often written in English and signed by the local chiefs, the British government enforced them. So for example, Jaja of Opobo, when he tried to export palm oil on his own, was forced into exile for “obstructing commerce”. As an aside, Jaja was “forgiven” in 1891 and allowed to return home, but he died on the way back, poisoned with a cup of tea.

Seeing what happened to Jaja, some other native rulers began to look more closely at the deals they were getting from the Royal Nigeria Company. One of such kingdoms was Nembe, whose king, Koko Mingi VIII, ascended the throne in 1889 after being a Christian schoolteacher. Koko Mingi VIII, King Koko for short, and like most rulers in the yard, was faced with the Royal Nigeria Company encroachment. He also resented the monopoly enjoyed by the Royal Nigeria Company, and tried to seek out favourable trading terms, with particularly the Germans in Kamerun.

By 1894 the Royal Nigeria Company increasingly dictated whom the natives could trade with, and denied them direct access to their former markets.

In late 1894, King Koko renounced Christianity, and tried to form an alliance with Bonny and Okpoma against the Royal Nigeria Company to take back the trade. This is significant because while Okpoma joined up, Bonny refused. A harbinger of the successful “divide and rule” tactic.

On 29 January 1895, King Koko led an attack on the Royal Niger Company’s headquarters, which was in Akassa in today’s Bayelsa state. The pre-dawn raid had more than a thousand men involved. King Koko’s attack succeeded in capturing the base. Losing 40 of his men, King Koko captured 60 white men as hostages, as well as a lot of goods, ammunition and a Maxim gun. Koko then attempted to negotiate a release of the hostages in exchange for being allowed to choose his trading partners. The British refused to negotiate with Koko, and he had forty of the hostages killed. A British report claimed that the Nembe people ate them. On 20 February 1895, Britain’s Royal Navy, under Admiral Beford attacked Brass, and burned it to the ground. Many Nembe people died and smallpox finished off a lot of others.

By April 1895, business had returned to “normal”, normal being the conditions that the British wanted, and King Koko was on the run. Brass was fined £500 by the British, £26,825 in today’s money, and the looted weapons were returned as well as the surviving prisoners. After a British Parliamentary Commission sat, King Koko was offered terms of settlement by the British, which he rejected and disappeared. The British promptly declared him an outlaw and offered a reward of £200 (£10,730 today) for him. He committed suicide in exile in 1898.

About that time, another “recalcitrant King”, the Oba of Benin, was run out of town. The pacification of the Lower Niger was well and truly under way.

The immediate effect of the Brass Oil War was that public opinion in Britain turned against the Royal Nigeria Company, so its charter was revoked in 1899. Following the revoking of its charter, the Royal Niger Company sold its holdings to the British government for £865,000 (£46,407,250 today). That amount, £46,407,250 (NGN17,552,955,260.79 at today’s exchange rate) was effectively the price Britain paid, to buy the territory which was to become known as Nigeria.

Source: African Archives

Emeka Ike Files Lawsuit Against Estranged Wife

    
Emeka Ike is not willing to let go of his wife, Emma Ike without a fight.

The Nollywood actor has reportedly movie his divorce case to a High court in a bid to contest his wife's request for a divorce from him.

Ike is reported to have informed a Lagos Island Customary Court that he has filed an application before a High Court restraining the lower court from hearing the divorce suit filed against him by his estranged wife.

Emma has been bent on seeing the dissolution of her 16-year-old marriage over claims of domestic violence.

Ike has continued to deny the claims, pleading with the court to not separate them as he still loves his wife and wants her back.

Ike's defence lawyer, Mr Abdul Labi-Lawal, reportedly informed the court today, July 12, 2016, that his client has filed a stay of proceedings before a High Court in Lagos

Graduate kills self over Euro 2016 final

   
A man named Fidel Nikitin took his own life after losing his last savings on a bet he placed with his friend in the Euro 2016 final between hosts France and Portugal.

The 27-year-old hoped that if France won the finals, his £2,300 (about N862,270) bet would have payed all his debts, but Portugal broke his heart after beating the host nation.

Fidelis Nikitin placed a £2,300 bet on France to win Euro 2016
The mobile phone salesman, from Izhevsk, Russia, left a message on his social media account after the 1-0 defeat saying: “Thank you and forgive me.”

The police in Russia said that he walked into the Ludzya-Izhevsk railway track and did not avoid being hit by a train as it sounded a warning.

Fidel Nikitin commits suicide over a £2,300 bet
The epic final proceeded into extra-time and Nikitin’s relatives revealed that the university graduate was deeply in shock when Eder got the all-important goal after 109 minutes to ensure the Selecao win the tournament.

The hosts made desperate fight back, but were unlucky as goalkeeper Patricio made strings of saves to deny the hosts. It ended; Portugal 1-0 France.

Knowing he would not be able to pay his debts, Fidel who had taken out a series of loans but was unable to pay them back had hoped winning the bet would allow him to repay his debts.

Perspective: Uncomfortable truth that must be told. – By John Okiyi Kalu.

   
*The real issues at stake in Abia
When the movement for the creation of Abia State, from old Imo State, gathered steam in the 80s there were two critical geopolitical blocks whose buy in were key: old Afikpo and Aba divisions of the defunct Eastern Region. At that time, old Bende division was already sold on the need to create the state while some powerful elements in Aba division were angling for creation of Aba state using the Aba State movement.

At this point let me explain “old” Bende, Aba and Afikpo divisions.

In the first republic, we had eastern region (later east central state) with provinces. Provinces are made up of divisions. Each division is made up of districts. Divisions were actually large but smaller than provinces. For instance, Umuahia province was made up of Bende, Aba and later Afikpo divisions. At one time Ogoja province was made up of Afikpo, Abakaliki and Obubara divisions.

Isuikwuato was actually a district under Okigwe division. Abiriba, Ohafia, Arochukwu etc were small entities inside the Bende division of eastern Nigeria and East Central state. Umuahia was a provisional headquarters and later capital of East Central State for a brief turbulent period. I can boldly state that Umuahia was the originally proposed capital of old Imo State before Owerri was settled for due to reasons I will share in future.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Isuikwuato, the “I” in Abia, was NEVER a division, unlike Aba, Afikpo and Bende.

How come?

To convince Aba and Afikpo divisions to join the movement for creation of Abia State, the charter of equity was drawn up by MI Okpara and other founding fathers of Abia State. The reason was simple; without the population numbers coming from those 2 major divisions nobody would have created Abia State.

The major fear of our Aba and Afikpo brethren was domination by the seemingly more politically exposed old Bende people. Dr MI Okpara, Nnanna Kalu, John Okam etc were strong men of old Bende division Jaja Wachukwu of Nbawsi and Eze Enweremadu were the pillars of Aba division while Akanu Ibiam and Aja Nwachukwu were of Afikpo division. (Incidentally, Ibiam never believed in partitioning Igbo land into states. Story for another day.)

The Abia Charter of Equity simply defined power rotation arrangement among the 3 “federating” blocks in Abia State. It was meant to ensure that no block is left behind in power distribution or subjugated through the tyranny of connivance of the majority or better connected block(s).

To date, every Abian sees Afikpo person as his relative and they are treated as Abians to date, even after they joined Abakaliki division to become Ebonyi state. It might be key to note that from Abiriba to Ebonyi state is a 10 mins walk. (Another story for another day).

It is also important to note that Abia remains the only South East state that treats all Igbo as indigenes and equal stakeholders. You shouldn’t therefore be surprised that the current Chief Judge of Abia is of Anambra State origin.

Great Igbo woman that will soon be immortalized.

Take note of what I have laid out above. Many false historians will lie to you about the “I” in Abia. I will tell you the truth shared with me by elder statesmen Involved in creation of Abia state. After sharing what I was told about the emergence of the ‘I’ anyone with superior information is free to come forward and contradict me. Learning is an endless pursuit.

After the Aba and Afikpo divisions team were convinced to join the new state, various names were suggested (including even Aji State) until someone said they should use the first alphabets of the merging divisions and position in such a way that the state will be number 1 alphabetically in Nigeria. They ended up with ABA. (A for Aba, B for Bende and A for Afikpo)

ABA was rejected for obvious reasons and someone suggested that since Isuikwuato district has joined the movement from Okigwe division the ‘I’ in Isuikwuato can be added. Dr M I Okpara agreed but warned then that it should be noted that it was only for naming convenience and does not equate Isuikwuato to the other 3 former divisions vis-a-vis the charter of equity.

That was how our founding fathers arrived at the name ABIA. It was a clergymen who later discovered that Abia was in the Bible and gave the state “God’s Own State”. (I will share his name later please)

It is a historical fact that Isuikwuato leaders later came to Abiriba to formerly join Old Bende block. Late Chiefs Nnanna Kalu, John Okam, Obewu Ukaegbu and Dr Anagha Ezikpe participated in that meeting alongside other leading old Bende children. Since then we see Isuikwuato as old Bende people and we are proud of their contributions to our great state as equal stakeholders. Great brothers.

Important fact to focus on.

Following the creation of Abia, Ogbonnaya Onu of Afikpo division was elected Governor after meetings at Abiriba and other places that referenced our charter of equity and other variables. Abiriba Kingdom actually sacrificed her son who was running for Governor, to allow old Afikpo take the first shot at Abia Governorship in the spirit of Abia Charter of Equity.

After Ogbonnaya Onuh the next elected Governor of Abia State was Orji Uzor Kalu of Igbere in old Bende division. He governed for 8 years non stop.

That means we have taken care of two divisions: Afikpo and Bende. Though by then Afikpo division had joined Abakiliki to form Ebonyi State.

Remaining Aba division.

By a strange political twist in 2007, T A Orji of Umuahia, also of old Bende block, emerged the Governor for another 8 years. Senatorial zones mathematics was introduced by Orji Uzor Kalu who was bent on stopping his former Deputy, Enyinnaya Abaribe, from emerging as Governor. Otherwise power should have moved to Aba division after OUK. I still recall that around 1999 OUK promised to run a single term and hand over. But he didn’t keep that promise for obvious reasons: power is sweet.

You will recall that it was Abaribe (OUK’s Deputy) that mobilized Ukwa/Ngwa people of Aba division via “otu onu” (one term only) movement against Orji Uzor’s second term in 2003. Apparently Orji was looking for excuses to deny Abaribe and his people and found plausible one in the new geopolitics of the state as per Senatorial zones.

Ochendo served for 8 years.

Abia has 3 senatorial zones with Orji Uzor from Abia North and TA Orji from Abia Central. That means that with Afikpo gone, of the remaining Aba and Bende blocks, the Bende block has produced 2 democratically elected governors of Abia state. 

Aba division: zero.

In terms of senatorial geopolitics, only Abia South was left out as at 2015.

It was because of that “zero” situation that Abia’s founding fathers and statesmen met with then Governor T A Orji in 2014 and told him he cannot give PDP ticket to either of his two friends/boys: Alex Otti and Uche Ogah. Both men are from Old Bende axis. I have the list of elders that went on that mission including Prof Herbert Orji. Ask him and/or Ezeogo Anagha Ezikpe, Chief Bob Ogbuagu, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, Elder Emmanuel Adaelu, Chief Ojo Maduekwe and others. Aside from Ojo others are still alive to the glory of God.

They all saw the need to stop the injustice from being further perpetuated under any guise whatsoever as the consequences will predictably be devastating to our peaceful state that was just recovering from power struggle induced schism. I will highlight the consequences of denying or stripping Aba division of power till they have done 8 years later.

When Sampson Ogah met some Abia elder statesmen for endorsement in 2014 they told him something I wish to share and wait for him to dispute it.

“Uche Ogah you are a young man and people love you but you have to wait for Ngwa (Abia South Senatorial zone) to do their 8 years and you can then run after Dr Okezie Ikpeazu. Your age is good but you must necessarily show patience to avoid making a fatal mistake”.

Even when it later emerged that Ogah sued Dr Ikpeazu and also sponsored others to sue him, the same founding fathers told him to “go and withdraw that suit, work with your brother Okezie for 8 years and then…”

I challenge Uche Ogah to publicly state that I have lied so I can provide live evidence. Somehow I know he will not dispute my account because he knows them to be true. I know he is a nice young man who did what I love: invest in Abia. But only him know how and why he allowed himself to be misled, allegedly duped of $3m and used to literally push Abia to the precipice.

Nwannem, che uche biko.

Just like my Abiriba people, Uche Ogah’s Isuikwuato people have produced military governors of various Nigerian states including Ndubuisi Kanu (Imo & Lagos) and Ike Nwachukwu (Imo). Abiriba produced Vice President of Nigeria and 2 Governors, Ebitu Ukiwe (Lagos and Niger) and Igboamagh (Adamawa). Abiriba and Isuikwuato are small communities compared to the very massive old Aba division currently making up 9 out of 17 LGAs in Abia.

Historians will tell you that when the white man came to Igbo land he met only 2 standing armies: Abiriba and Ngwa. (Story for another day.)

Open your eyes and mind before reading this bit of information:

NO SINGLE HUMAN BEING FROM OLD ABA DIVISION (Ukwa/Ngwa) ever was Governor, including military and civilian governors. The first ever Ngwa man (Aba division) since God created the earth to be Governor of any state is Dr Okezie Ikpeazu.

It was quite a battle for those of us that believed in equity, justice and good conscience to fight and deliver Okezie’s governorship. In addition to the need to ensure equity, he was actually the best of the lot for several reasons I enumerated during the campaigns.

But I must warn that it will be Abia’s terminal war if anyone stops Governor Okezie by any means, including foul means such as the attempted coup of last 2 weeks. That will be disastrous and calamitous, to say the least about likely emergent inter-communal relationship in Abia.

I can boldly state that after Governor Okezie’s first term we only have a narrow choice of either re-electing him or replacing him with someone from Old Aba division (Abia South) to complete 8 years.

I doubt that some of us from old Bende division fully understand what our brothers from old Aba division will do if we fail to abide by the arrangement entered into before they joined us to create Abia State. They will simply go with their Aba commercial city and oil from ukwa area and agitate till the Federal Government hands Aba State to them.

If in doubt kurum aka.

You cannot stop them because you have no moral right to do so. You also lack the spiritual and physical force to stop an angry and betrayed people from responding to betrayal by their own brothers.

But we can stop all that now by simply gathering together to affirm our charter of equity and allow Dr Okezie peaceful reign while benchmarking him only against his performance in office. Nobody born and/or living in Abia can deny that so far Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has done well. Give him space and support to do much more.

Apart from those elders and rapacious youths who wish Governor Ikpeazu share our commonwealth with them and abandon what matters to common folks, everyone is happy with what he is doing so far.

Do we understand the burden imposed on us as brothers or are we blinded by political greed and short term financial benefits?

Support Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to succeed and forget about torpedoing his regime using your arrogant connections. Those connections will fail as more people come to realize what is happening. Per adventure it succeeds it will be the end of Abia as we know and agreed before 27th August 1991.

Believe it or not.

Those of you collecting money from our son Ogah to write nonsense, prepare too. When the come shall come even you will become. Since you want to involve yourself in what you don’t know the background story, continue. If money that should be used to fix Abia roads, infrastructure and build private owned factories are given to you and you chop and write nonsense one day you will visit Abia and our bad roads will either kill or injure you.

It is not a curse but rather a word of knowledge and advice. Stop misleading Uche Ogah and allow him to use his money to build more factories in Abia. He cannot and will not be Governor of Abia till 2023 as agreed by his fathers and mine.

If he refuses to obey the agreement of our founding fathers, let the God of equity judge him and others.

I personally have faith in our judiciary to vindicate innocent Governor Okezie Ikpeazu whose taxes were deducted at source and used to build Abia and Nigeria in the period under review.

Senator Ben Bruce makes Anambrs a case study for Nigeria

   
Senator Ben Bruce has said that the nation with the largest reserves of crude oil in the world is Venezuela, but the crude oil could not save Venezuela from crumbling economically.

Ben Bruce noted that the desperate economic decline in Venezuela, the nation with the world’s largest oil wealth under her ground is a warning to Nigeria.

He said: “We must look beyond oil or we are at risk of experiencing the same fate.

My people consider that nations like the US and UK who used to buy Nigeria’s oil no longer buy our oil. As a matter of fact, America now plans to sell her own oil. In other words our buyers are now our competitors.

Currently, royalties from oil accounts for 90% of our total government spending. Many people have said that this means without oil Nigeria could not function.

Perhaps this thinking is itself the problem.

Let us take the case of Anambra state and make it a test state for how we could possibly get out from the oil boom and bust cycle.

Anambra is not an oil producing state in that it does not have oil in commercial quantities yet it does not take loans or owe workers salary.

According to the United Nations, Anambra has one of the lowest poverty rates in Nigeria at 11.2% which places her ahead of 33 states.

Twenty years ago Anambra and other Southeast states lagged in education and had poor boy child school enrollment, but today Anambra leads the nation in WASSCE results.

For the past three years Anambra has had over 60% pass rates in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination.

They have made the best improvements in education in the whole nation and the state government even supports private schools financially.

But look at those states that thrive by depending solely on federal allocation. They are broke, cannot pay salaries and are so debt ridden, banks will not lend to them any more. Worst of all is that these states are performing woefully in education.

There is something to be learned from Anambra. Is it their policy? Is it their budgeting practice? Is it their sense of community? Whatever it is, it is working!

The Federal Government and other states should study what Anambra state has been doing right and replicate it nationally

Anambra proves that Nigeria does not need oil to thrive. What Nigeria needs to thrive is education. What is under the ground of this nation is chicken change compared to what is between the ears of our people.”

The social-media savvy senator has said that twenty years ago the southeast states lagged in education and had poor boy child school enrollment, today they lead in WASSCE results.

He noted that Abia, Anambra, Rivers and Imo state came first, second, fourth and fifth respectively. Ben Bruce also commend Edo for coming in at third.

Senator Bruce said the Federal Government and other states should study what these states have been doing right and replicate it nationally.

Disclosing this via his Facebook page, Ben Bruce said what has happened in the southeast is nothing short of a miracle.

Ignore rumours, I'm not interested in 2019 presidential election - Jonathan

      
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has denied report that he has intentions to contest in the 2019 presidential election.

The report whic was published by some online platforms stated that Jonathan declared his interest to run for presidency in 2019 in Bayelsa on Wednesday (today).

However Jonathan’s media aide, Ikechuwkw Eze, denied the allegation in a phone conversation with Vanguard. Eze aide stated that the former president never made any declaration on 2019 election.

'Forget about Nigeria breaking up' - Buhari tells pro-Biafra protesters, militants

     
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday sent a message to some restive groups – they should forget about Nigeria breaking up.

The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA)have been attacking oil facilities. The Indigenous People of Biafra and the Movement for the Emancipation of Biafra (MASSOB) have been pushing for a Biafra State, independent of Nigeria.

But, Buhari insists that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable.

IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, who is also the director of the separatist and illegal Radio Biafra, is on trial for alleged treason, among other charges

The president was emphatic yesterday that anybody seeking the break-up of the country should perish the thought.

He spoke at the Presidential Villa in Abuja when Federal Capital Territory (FCT) residents paid him an Eid-el-Fitri homage.

The President said the slogan in the 1970s, “Go On With One Nigeria” (GOWON), is very apt now as keeping Nigeria one is a task that must be done”.

He urged the militants to give peace a chance.

Noting that there is a lot of improvement on security in the Northeast, Buhari said the attention has now shifted to the Niger Delta.

He said: “On security, we have made a lot of improvement. There is improvement in the battle against Boko Haram. We are now concentrating on the militants to know how many of them in terms of groupings, leadership and plead with them to try and give Nigeria a chance.

“I assure them that the saying by Gen. Yakubu Gowon (a former Head of State) that ‘to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done is still relevant. In those days, we never thought of oil, all we were concerned about was one Nigeria. So, please pass this on to the militants – that one Nigeria is not for negotiation and they had better accept it.

“The Nigerian Constitution is clear as to what they should get and I assure them there will be justice.”

Buhari urged those with plenty of money which does not belong to them to negotiate and return it in peace.

“So that both they and us will be in peace; otherwise, we will continue to look for it,” the President added

To solve some of the problems of agriculture, he said Minister of Agriculture Audu Ogbeh was working very hard with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele to ensure that 13 states start rice production..

According to him, the programme is good and giving the country confidence while many farmers are already going back to the field.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said the past one year had been tough, adding that the administration was busy clearing the mess it met.

He stressed the administration’s commitment to placing the country on a sound footing, acknowledging that things were already looking up.

Minister of FCT Mohammed Bello, who led the delegation, prayed for God’s wisdom, good health and success for the President.

The President was presented with Sallah greeting cards and a mirror.

At the ceremony were Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir David Lawal; Primate of the Church of Nigerian (Anglican Communion) rev. Nicholas Okoh; Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu; Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar; National Security Adviser Babagana Mongunu and Acting Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris.

The Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), FCT Chapter, Israel Akanji and Dr. Kabir Adam of the National Mosque, Abuja were also part of the delegation.

I’m not desperate to be Abia governor - Ogah

     
A People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Abia State, Dr Uche Ogah, Wednesday said his demand to be sworn in as governor was not borne out of desperation.

He said contrary to impression being created, his case against Governor Okezie Ikpeazu was far from being an ambush.

According to him, his victory at the court is valid and not “a hurriedly executed legal ambush for the acquisition of political power as being insinuated by some persons.”

“My case is strongly anchored on facts, and the refusal of Ikpeazu to respond to the core issues and his resort to propaganda speaks volumes,” Ogah said.

At a briefing in Lagos through his counsel Mr Monday Ubani, Ogah said his case predated Ikpeazu’s swearing in as governor and had reached the Supreme Court before returning to the lower court.

Ogah said his claim was that Ikpeazu was not eligible to participate in the primaries on the basis that he failed to pay his taxes as and when due as required by the 1999 Constitution, PDP’s Guidelines, and the Electoral Act of 2010. He said on the face of it, Ikpeazu’s tax clearance was questionable.

The Tax Clearance form (Code PD002/G), dated November 4, 2014, and sworn to at the High Court Registry, Aba, shows that Ikpeazu’s tax receipt number for December 2011 is 0012849; that of December 2012 is 0012846 and that of December 2013 is 0012847 and 0012848.

“Did he use one booklet to pay tax for three years? Is he the only one paying tax? How come the tax number which ends in 49 came first rather than last?,” Ubani asked.

He said Ogah went to court soon after the primaries because the PDP’s appeal panel failed to respond to his complaints about Ikpeazu’s alleged non-qualification.

When he filed the suit in 2014, Ikpeazu challenged the court’s jurisdiction. The appeal process got to the Court of Appeal until it was decided by the Supreme Court which ruled that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to hear the case.

The first judge handling the case, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, withdrew from the case on the basis that he was accused of bias and returned the file to the Chief Judge. The matter was re-assigned to Justice Okon Abang.

“If Ikpeazu is convinced about the rightness of his cause, he should vacate the seat, plead his case in a court of law and when granted victory come back rather than resort to propaganda,” Ubani said.

According to him, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should not be blamed for issuing Ogah with a certificate of return because the court ordered that it should be with immediate effect.

Besides, there was no order to the contrary brought to INEC’s notice. “We got an enrolment order which INEC complied with,” Ubani said.

The lawyer said legal steps would be taken to discharge the restraining order made by an Osisioma High Court stopping Ogah’s inauguration.

“We have to vacate the order lawfully even though the judge who made the order did not indicate a return date,” Ubani said.

On why Ogah should be sworn in, the lawyer said an appeal does not operate as a stay of execution in pre-election matters, adding that it is “absurd” for a court of coordinate jurisdiction to arrest an order made by another court.

“The Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation should have ensured compliance with Justice Abang’s order in the absence of any contrary order, because the judgement says ‘with immediate effect’, and an appeal does not mean a stay of execution because it is not a criminal case,” Ubani said.

He said Ogah would not take the laws into his hands but would pursue his case to the logical conclusion through the courts, adding that he was not desperate to be governor.

Ubani said Ogah, an oil magnate, entrepreneur, investor and President of Master Energy Group, a conglomerate with over 15 subsidiaries and interests across a variety of industries with over 40,000 employees, “is not in the race for the money”.

“He sees involvement in politics as an opportunity to have more solid and sustainable impact on Abia,” he added.

IGBO PLIGHT: Agony and neglect of Igbos in Benue state

   
They are torn between two worlds. Being of the Igbo stock, their soul is in the Southeast, but their bodies and homes are in Benue State, in the Northcentral. That is not all. In Benue, where they are quartered, more for political considerations than for cultural reaons, they lament their lack: no roads, no water, hardly any sign of modern life.

They are Igbos of the Ezza, Izzi and Effium stock. Their kith and kin are in other parts of the Southeast, particularly Ebonyi State. They claim they are not fewer than one million scattered in four local governments of Benue State. And for close to 50 years since they were excised from their kinsmen, they have been living primitive lives.

Their pathetic plight is that the authorities in Benue, from the state to the local governments, have not seen them as part of the state ostensibly because they speak Igbo. On the other hand, the Ebonyi State government where they should have rightly belonged is helpless as they are not under its area of administration and authority.

The people allege that since their inclusion into Benue State they have not felt any government presence. None of their people were considered for employment in any of the two tiers of government. Indeed, in their lamentation, they are not in the scheme of things as far as government business is concerned in Benue.

“We have been on our own. No roads, no water, no electricity, no employment. We just wander about to help ourselves in our own way,” an octogenarian, Pa Nwankwo Aloh said, clutching a bucket in search of water.

Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam is said to have acknowledged their existence and concerns, even promising to address them, but that was during his first term in office.

Also, Mr Ogbu Igelega, spokesman of Ado Local Government Area, one of the councils where the Igbos are found in Benue, told our reporter on the telephone that one of the obstacles to the development of the Igbo-speaking areas of the state is their difficult terrain. Igelega said this makes access difficult, adding that the few places which do not present such challenges get government attention.

The spokesman cited the example of Etenyi which has 90 per cent Igbo population, saying the community “is being electrified at the cost of N17m”. He also said the Igbos occupy “important offices” in the council, adding that the assistant head of Revenue Development is Igbo, while the Senior Special Assistant on Inter-ethnic Relations is also Igbo.

The reporter met with the president, Benue Igbo Development Union, Nweke Cedrick Ifeanyi who narrated their ordeal. He said all they want is for the Benue State government to accept them since fate has lumped them together. He is of the view that if they can be given a sense of belonging, they would all wholeheartedly join in the effort to develop the state.

Ifeanyi does not expressly condemn their inclusion in Benue State, be he said if the other ethnic groups do not want them in Benue, the Federal Government should set up a machinery immediately to return them to their kith and kin in the Southeast, particularly Ebonyi State.

He sent a save-or-soul message to the Senate president, David Mark and Governor Suswam to come and save them from “this ignoble plight”, adding: “We are neither here nor there.”

In Nweke’s words: “The Igbos in Benue State particularly those in Ado, Oju, Obi and Okpoku LGAs of the state were in existence before the advent of Christian religion in Nigeria.

The Igbo found in Benue are: Umuezeokoha, Umuezeoka, Oriuzor, Umuoghara, Amaekka and Amaezekwe all in Ezza communities, Izzi, Ezzamgbo and Effium, these are the people who would have been in present-day Ebonyi State but due for the fact that the Nigerian government then carved us into Benue in order to use our population to suppress our Eastern population. Apart from the Ezza-speaking clan, particularly the people of Umuezeokoha that has over 300 villages, if you are to calculate the number of Igbo-speaking villages, you find out that we are more than 600 villages because three of the biggest markets in our area are all in the Igbo-speaking part.

The markets are as follows: Inikiri Ichari, Iddah, Iduokpe.

”But in all these places, we have been facing a lot of deprivation of our fundamental human rights to the extent that we do not have any project attracted by the government, be it local, state or federal. In fact we have become the rejected part of the country because local government identification letters are not given to us any longer.

“Before now we used to witness governmental attention in everything during and after colonial administration but since after the civil war we were dumped by the successive governments just because of our language difference.

“We do not have any drinking water, our source of water here is a dam which Fulani herdsmen do carry their cow to drink at the same place with us because the water is not covered.

“In the process of stopping them from coming to the water with their cow, it later resulted in the loss of five lives.

“We have no representative in local, state and federal levels. Mosquito nets that were given free of charge to roll back malaria have been sold to our people at the sum of N6,000 each. We have become slaves to our brothers because of language difference. No hospital, let alone health centre, we are seeing hell here in Benue State because of our language. I do not know whether it is a curse for someone to have fallen under a particular tribe like Ezza, Izzi, Ezzamgbo and Effium.

“Our women are dying every day during labour. Also our children are dying for lack of polio immunisation programme and other medical treatment needed to be given to a child at a tender age.

“Our roads are not passable. We have contributed so much not only to the development of Benue State but Nigeria at large. At least a place with over one million people in population has no primary school. We are therefore as a matter of urgency calling on federal government, our Southeastern brothers and any other corporate bodies to rush to our aid before water will come to our neck.

It is obvious that if we are speaking the same language with them we wouldn’t have found ourselves in this forbidden and undeserved situation like this one we are now.

An area with over 50 polling units, but we are benefiting nothing even on every of our market days they do come and sell their ticket (tax). We have been regarded as slaves in the country of our birth and our fore-fathers, we are also calling on our able president of the senate David mark to come to our help because after God we also contributed in making him what he is today and even Gabriel Suswan.

We can never regret why we are Igbos or deny being Igbo people before we are recognized in the country of our fore-fathers.”