Aproko Corner: 2015-03-15

Saturday, March 21, 2015

We Made Jega Shift Election Because It Was Clear Buhari Would Win on Feb...

Friday, March 20, 2015

Governor Mimiko Blackmailing Ondo Teachers To Vote For Jonathan

Governor Olusegun Mikiko Sahara Reporters Media Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, is trying to blackmail teachers in the State to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan in the presidential contest next week.

A source in the State told SaharaReporters the governor is traveling around with his campaign team, forcing the teachers into meetings with him and preventing them from undertaking their official responsibilities.
The trip is part of Governor Mimiko’s no-holds-barred carrot-and-stick assault on voters in an effort to ensure victory for President Jonathan in the March 28 presidential contest.
Yesterday the team arrived in Ondo West Local Government where the governor cancelled all school and compelled all the teachers to be present, with attendance taken.
“The governor was not present,” one teacher told SaharaReporters, “but [members of] his campaign team was around telling us why we should not vote for Buhari and APC.”
According to the disgusted teacher who asked not to be named, “They educated us on what we've known. Telling us history. They thought we are happy sitting and some people standing while they are vibrating, telling us lies.” One of the teachers disclosed that while some teachers were given N400, during yesterday's campaign they were each given N100 by Mimiko's team.
Governor Mimiko, who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party from the Labour Party last year, is desperate to deliver Ondo to President Jonathan, and is known to be using bribes as one of his weapons.
It would be recalled that last Monday, he bribed some former members of the Peoples Democratic Movement, pretending to be current members, to “endorse” Jonathan. They then held a press conference at the Adegbemile Cultural Centre Press in Akure, claiming they had endorsed the PDP candidate.
“Quote me anywhere,” one of the beneficiaries said after the make-believe press conference, “Governor Mimiko gave us money through our leaders to endorse President Goodluck Jonathan for second term.”
Bashir Yusuf, the National Chairman of the PDM, subsequently disclosed that those who claimed to be members of the movement endorsing Jonathan were “not card carrying members” of the movement.
Nonetheless, he said, the PDM had as far back as January already endorsed the candidature of General Muhammadu Buhari of the APC for the presidency.

Thugs Attack, Disrupt Lawyers Campaigning For Buhari In Akure

A damaged Bus during the lawyers procession in Akure earlier today

The lawyers, who are members of “Lawyers for Change,” were organizing a campaign rally for Mr. Buhari at the time of the attack.
A lawyer, Titiloye Charles, told SaharaReporters that the thugs were armed with guns and machetes, and threatened to kill the lawyers if they carried out any rally in the state.
The lawyers were attacked as they gathered in front of the State High Court waiting for their other colleagues before proceeding on the road show.
Two owners of businesses near the court confirmed the incident to our correspondent.
“I saw it,” one of the business owners said. He added, “The lawyers gathered together at the front of the court preparing to move out on the street and canvass for APC. Then a group of boys who were already drunk came and disrupted the gathering.”
Mr. Charles disclosed that, a few days ago, the lawyers had written to the security agencies in the state to notify them of a rally to support the APC.
“The thugs just came in from nowhere and unleashed terror on our members while we were waiting for others to join us. They disrupted the procession which was about starting,” said Mr. Charles. He added, “our democracy is under threat if lawyers cannot openly associate and express themselves or have a say during the election.”
The lawyer continued, “Everyday, as the election draws near, the ruling PDP’s desperation increases. And our security agents watch helplessly.”
The police in the state were reluctant to speak on the record about the attack. However, an officer at the state command told our correspondent that the incident “will be investigated and culprits brought to book.”

Boko Haram Insurgents Slaughter Wives As They Prepare For Gwoza Showdown

A source in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, has told SaharaReporters that many embattled Boko Haram insurgents in the town of Bama slaughtered their wives as Nigerian soldiers continued to rout the Islamist fighters in Nigeria’s northeast. Some of them later moved to Gwoza where they vowed to defend their so-called capital with the last drop of their blood.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in a video released by the Islamist group AFP/Getty Images
“They killed their wives so that the women would not get remarried to unbelievers if their husbands die in the fierce battles with Nigerian soldiers,” said the female source, who just arrived in Maiduguri from Bama, a major battlefront in the continuing military operations to dislodge the Islamist insurgents from Yobe, Adamawa and Borno.
According to the source, the Islamist fighters told their ill-fated wives, “We will not spare anyone of you because if unbelievers marry you, when we get to heaven, there is no way we can meet again. So we are doing this so that we can meet in heaven.”
She said many of the women pleaded for their lives, but their Islamist husbands slaughtered them all the same.
The source said the residents of Bama were terrified as the battle raged, adding that many people lost their lives. “My husband and children hid in one house until the battle was over. Then yesterday we were bought to Maiduguri by the military who saved us from Boko Haram,” the woman said.
A top military source confirmed that many civilians were rescued from Bama. “We received intelligence reports that many civilians were in the town. That’s why we used careful strategies to rescue them. Hundreds of them were brought to Maiduguri yesterday by our troops,” said the source.
Boko Haram insurgents had captured Bama last September, but the town was rescued by Nigerian troops last week.
The soldiers brought more than two hundred civilians, including children and women, in ten vehicles to Maiduguri.

Landslide Victory No Longer Feasible For PDP, Says Chairman Mu'azu, As Party Woos Undecided Voters

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu'azu, says there's no way his party will get a landslide victory in the forthcoming elections, but that he is “convinced” it would emerge victorious.

Image result for adamu muazu

Adamu Mu'azu Mu’azu, the former governor of Bauchi State, made the remark in an unusual statement he signed in Abuja on Thursday to try to shore up the party’s dwindling fortunes and refurbish his relationship with the President. He has recently declared he would rather resign his chairmanship than insult General Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress.
He hinged the PDP’s hopes on wooing undecided voters as well as traditional rulers, whom Mr. Jonathan is known to have been offering large bribes.
"We are going around the country in search of undecided voters, who are the final battle ground where the election will be won or lost, he said, adding that the APC could continue to stir the rumour mills into believing that he and Mr. Jonathan are in disagreement, but that they are very serious about winning the presidential election.
Strangely, Mu’azu implicitly conceded that the party was doing very badly before the elections were postponed, thereby confirming popular speculation that was why Mr. Jonathan worked so hard to force the postponement. After three weeks of town hall meetings, the National Chairman said, PDP was “inching its way to victory” in the presidential election, with that time-frame being the additional lifeline supposedly granted to it by the postponement.
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According to him, "We shall continue this interactive engagement with Nigerians until 26th March when campaigns officially end before the March 28th Presidential elections, presenting our scorecard in government, our programme in the next four years to 2019, using the town hall format and meeting our revered traditional rulers.”

He flattered traditional rulers and offered further inducement by telling them the PDP has a special plan that will see them “play more roles in government in the near future via the instrument of the constitution,” because according to him, “the traditional institution is crucially important to the peace, harmony and progress of our father land.”

He also promised that President Goodluck Jonathan, if he is re-elected, will declare a ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild the North-East geopolitical zone that is being damaged in the war against the terrorists.

"Our party has this programme on the top of our agenda in the next four years. That will be the right way to wipe away the scars of war among the people of that area".

Mu’azu also expressed confidence that the PDP will win in the South-West and the North despite "our travails at the beginning".
"Our major concern in the Peoples Democratic Party is not to allow our country to be hijacked by desperados masquerading as purveyors of good governance, who promise heaven and earth to the people without any intention of fulfilling their election promises in the name of CHANGE.

"While I do not see a landslide victory coming, I am convinced that our party will perform creditably in the Southwest and the North of Nigeria and elsewhere in all the elections this year because the evidence is clear that despite our travails at the beginning, we have done very well over the past fifteen years of our nascent democracy since 1999 to record victory. Those who disbelieve our resilience will be surprised for victory is ours.'

UNIPORT Hides Details Of President Jonathan’s Doctorate Degree

The University of Port Harcourt has declined a Freedom of Information, FOI, request for the doctorate degree records of President Goodluck Jonathan.

UNIPORT Letter In a response to the Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, a Rivers State-based civil society organization, the university said a request for President Jonathan’s academic records did not fall within the provisions of the FOI law. “The Management of the University has carefully considered your request vis-a-vis the FOI Act,” the university stated in their letter dated 26th February, 2015, and signed by Eric Loveday Osuo Abonemi, the institution’s Legal Officer.
“It is my instructions to inform you that your request does not come within the relevant provisions of the FOI Act for its practicability or for the University to provide such details as requested.
“Details of the Ph.D Degree of President Goodluck Jonathan in the University of Port Harcourt cannot therefore be made available to you.”
The Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law had filed an FOI request, three weeks ago, to the university seeking relevant details of Mr. Jonathan’s doctorate qualifications.
The letter requested the following information relating to the president’s doctorate qualification, citing the provisions of Sections 2 and 4 of the FOI Act, 2011:
1. The title of the president’s doctorate dissertation
2. Year of registration as a doctorate candidate
3. Name of his doctorate supervisor(s)
4. Name of his external examiner(s)
5. Comments/reports of the external examiner of the dissertation/thesis
6. Photocopy of the dissertation/thesis
7. Date of graduation from the university
The organization said it was willing to bear any cost the university might incur in making photocopies of the requested documents and for posting them.
President Jonathan was admitted into the Department of Zoology (now renamed Animal and Environmental Biology), University of Port Harcourt, in 1977, where he graduated with Second Class Honours (Upper Division).
In 1985, Mr. Jonathan obtained a Master of Science degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Zoology 10 years later.
Both degrees were also from the University of Port Harcourt.
Lately, Mr. Jonathan’s academic qualifications have come under increased scrutiny ahead of the forthcoming general elections. Critics have accused the president of failing to complete his doctorate programme. In a response to an enquiry by Punch Newspaper in January, the university dismissed such claims as having “neither legs nor grounds to stand on”.
The university had also told any person or organization seeking additional information on Mr. Jonathan’s qualifications to contact the school authorities.
“We have absolutely nothing to hide as an institution that has a statutory mandate to advance the frontiers of knowledge,” William Wodi, the university’s Deputy Registrar (Information), had told the newspaper.
It is unclear why the university declined to release Mr. Jonathan’s academic qualifications to the civil society organization after giving that commitment.
Jiti Ogunye, a Lagos-based lawyer, said the president’s academic records ought to be freely available in the university and not be “opaque or hidden”.
“The FOI is applicable to the academic records of a public officer whose academic records are being requested by a Nigerian citizen or a nongovernmental organization duly registered in Nigeria with a view to promoting accountability and transparency in government,” Mr. Ogunye said.
“The academic records of the president are not the medical records of the president in which case a medical officer can say the FOI is exempted, or the records between a lawyer and his client which are covered by the confidentiality rule.”
WHAT THE FOI ACT SAYS
According to Section 14(1) of the FOI ACT, subject to subsection (2), a public institution must deny an application for information that contains personal information and information exempted under this subsection includes:
(a) files and personal information maintained with respect to clients, patients, residents, students, or other individuals receiving social, medical, educational, vocation, financial, supervisory or custodial care or services directly or indirectly from public institutions;…
(2) A public institution shall disclose any information that contains personal information if –
(a) the individual to whom it relates consents to the disclosure; or
(b) the information is publicly available
(3) Where disclosure of any information referred to in this section would be in the public interest, and if the public interest in the disclosure of such information clearly outweighs the protection of the privacy of the individual to whom such information relates, the public institution to whom request for disclosure is made shall disclose such information subject to Section 14(2) of this Act.
Mr. Ogunye said that an institution might attempt to hide under Section 14(1)(a) to decline disclosure of information.
“My argument is, this information is publicly available and ought to be disclosed. The president has said he obtained his Ph.D in that institution, so it’s publicly available,” Mr. Ogunye said.
“So why will an institution refuse to disclose an information that is publicly available? The university has acted wrongly and can be compelled by the suit of the non-governmental organization concerned to disclose the information.”

N7bn Bribe To Christian Association Of Nigeria: DSS After My Life, Says Borno Pastor Who Exposed Oritsejafor

The Borno State-based pastor, Kallamu Musa-Dikwa, who accused the Christian Association of Nigeria of collecting N7bn from President Goodluck Jonathan to campaign against the APC Presidential candidate, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), has raised the alarm that operatives of the Directorate of State Service are after his life.
While maintaining that the christian body collected the said amount, Dikwa said the DSS operatives had forced him to sign a document, which they plan to “show the entire world that President(Jonathan) did not bribe CAN to work against the Presidential candidate of the APC.”
The cleric said the DSS planned to use the ‘document’, which he signed under duress in some national dailies, to portray him as telling lies against the body of Christ.
“They forced me to sign and promised to link me up with the CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, for us to ‘settle’,” he said.
He added that some Christian leaders, especially, the Abuja CAN Chairman, had pleaded with him to recant, by saying the Christian body never collected the said amount.
The cleric in Kaduna on Thursday told a news conference that after the DSS had treated him like a “common criminal,” the operatives forced him to sign a document, to state that what he had said on the bribery saga was untrue.
According to him, since he broke the news on how the Christian body collected N7bn from Jonathan to work against the APC presidential candidate, his life had been under threat.
Dikwa explained that as soon as he finished addressing newsmen on the the alleged scam, the DSS invited him to their headquarters in Abuja and asked him to denounce that CAN did not collect a kobo from Jonathan.
The cleric said, “The DSS invited me to their office in Abuja. They wanted to know who gave me the information that CAN collected N7bn from Jonathan and I told them.
“They said all those I mentioned will be invited and told them to go ahead and invite them. I even told them how the money was disbursed.
“They also said they wanted to know whether the opposition All Progressives Congress is the one sponsoring me to tarnish the image of the CAN and they mentioned Sam Nda Isaiah(Publisher of the Leadership newspapers) and I told them my relationship with him is not political because since 2006, I have been with him. I told them, he(Sam) does not know anything about my revelation on the said money.
“They also asked what was my connection with the APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Rotimi Amaechi and I told them there is nothing that connects us. I told them whatever I said was done for the love of my country.
“After sometime, they went and drafted a letter, which says, ‘I Pastor Musa…’the information I gave that president gave CAN money was false and that I won’t do that again.
“They said I should copy what they wrote in my own hand writting. I have to do it because I was alone with them and I feel they could harm me and frame me up.
“They forced me to sign after writing what they drafted. I wanted to refuse but I fear for my life.”

Nigerian Youths, ‘Shine Your Eyes’ By Carllister Ejinkeonye

The rescheduled elections will soon be here with us. An opportunity to exercise one’s democratic rights by helping to decide in whose hands the affairs of the country should be in the next couple of years ought to be an exciting period totally devoid of fear and dread. That is why the desperation saturating the political atmosphere needs to be defused. While not begrudging the politicians the opportunity to seek to be voted into power, they should try not to stifle the excitement that should accompany every democratic exercise in our country.
Why for instance should people be consumed with fear for their lives and those of their loved ones each time Nigerians are going to the polls? Yes, some of the politicians may be genuinely interested in improving our lives and society if voted into office, but they should also duly respect our right to reject them at the polls, despite their noble intentions. And when that happens, they should accept our verdict with grace and equanimity and wait for another opportunity to repackage and represent themselves to us more attractively.
It is not and should not be a do-or-die affair. There have been reports of clashes between supporters of rival parties here and there. Some politicians have not helped matters too. Provocative statements oozing from their mouths tend to be viewed by their misguided supporters as a signal for “war.” And as one encounters the reports of some ‘battles’ already staged even while the elections are still a couple of weeks away, one is deeply pained that in the event of any struggle between giant ‘elephants,’ it is always the tender grasses that suffer and get destroyed. When lives are snuffed out, what once looked like rosy futures are brutally aborted.
But, are the people itching to put their lives on the line for selfish politicians aware that at the end of the day, when the smoke of battle has cleared, the once “fire-spitting” politicians would always find ways to amicably settle their differences and use the blood of those who had wasted their lives for them to negotiate juicy appointments for themselves. And what would be the fate of the grasses they had crushed when the battle was raging? Who will reserve a care in the world for those nursing life-threatening wounds sustained during the battles fought on their behalf? Yes, who cares? That is the reason for this outcry to Nigerian youths (the easy conscripts to these self-serving struggles and clashes). They should shine their eyes!
The Nigerian youth ought to have realized by now that he has been deceived and used a lot for unwholesome enterprises, in which he has remained the ultimate loser each time. Will he be deceived forever before he realizes himself? Some of his peers have had their lives impaired or even cut short for willingly doing the unhealthy biddings of unscrupulous and selfish politicians. Must other youths allow that to be their fate too before they realize that the fellows using them do not attach any value to their lives? Must this continue to happen again and again?
As one looks at the beautifully photoshopped smiling faces of politicians on posters and bill boards, one cannot help wondering what are hidden behind those wide grins. Afterall, their pronouncements and actions are often in direct contrast to the faces they display. But it is a pity that majority of those who blindly follow them and do their every bidding are unable to read the handwriting on the wall. And a very painful reality is that majority of these blind followers and easy preys are young Nigerian men and women – the so-called future leaders.
It is time the Nigerian youths asked themselves how and where many of their fathers and mothers that had danced to the tune of these politicians and helped them execute their self-serving designs are today. What impact did their association with these fellows make on their families and society? This is therefore the time to shine their eyes and determine, like Chinua Achebe once said, where the rain began to beat them.
My simple advice to Nigerian youths today is: You have a choice in this matter! You can refuse to die the death which man and the devil have designed for you. You do not need the kind of politicians we see around today to be whom you should become. Most of them have rather influenced the lives and future of many young people in the wrong direction, an evil they would not even contemplate for their own children. What good can a man possibly offer who has carefully packaged his own children and sent them off to some distant, safe land, and so now cares less how his unguarded language and actions heat up the atmosphere of the nation where other children like his are stuck in? The politician that works so hard to ensure that there is always pre-election or post-election violence or both, does not care how many young adults remain or are cut down in their prime as they seek to realize their ambitions? For many of them, their familiar refrain is that “blood must flow” if things do not work out the way they had anticipated, but whose blood? Of course, not theirs or that of their children or relatives. So youths, you had better shine your eyes. Do not be the prey.
I watched an incident during the previous elections. I was at an aunt’s burial proceedings when a politician vying for a particular seat came around because one my cousins belonged to one of the parties. Before he appeared, so much praises and noise had been made to herald him. And before leaving the venue, he dropped some amount of money which I wouldn’t want to mention here, an amount which I found so humiliating to the people that I wished I could be allowed to throw it back at him. Later the women needed to share the money among themselves (peanut it was indeed) and what did I see? Loud voices of misunderstanding, quarrels and curses as they decided on who should get what. Meanwhile, the ‘good’ man had majestically walked away amidst ovations while the villagers laid curses on each other as they shared the paltry sum. Relatives and those who had enjoyed friendly and harmonious relationships before the arrival of the ‘philanthropist’ suddenly became enemies, and who knows how far that would go.
I would really want my dear young Nigerians to know that these politicians are not altogether foolish afterall, even if they once were. ‘Nothing goes for nothing,’ they now insist. In times past, some fellows had counseled that one could accept the ‘free’ gifts distributed by them during their campaigns but vote for the candidate of one’s choice and go scot free. Today it is no longer so. It does seem that their gifts have assumed a shade of Greek, and those who take them might eventually pay heavy prices. Indeed, even the few cups of garri or rice that came to one could be very ruinous. Now, ask yourself: do these desperate, “generous” politicians allow their children or other relatives to partake of those their ‘benevolence’ or ‘good will’? Check it out. Any of their relatives driven by greed to partake in those gifts is on his own. The gifts are usually given from very “special” purses or stocks. Yes, they are Greek gifts!
So, young men and women, do not contaminate your precious life and future with cursed ‘gifts’. What you see and receive from them is more of poisoned apples. Be wise? Unfortunately, information like this hardly gets to the youths who are actively engaged in some unwholesome political activities and who wear the “garments of death” for politicians. Neither does it get to suicide bombers lurking somewhere in markets, motor parks and other places waiting to brutally destroy themselves and others, or those of them roaming the villages and highways ready to do whatsoever money had persuaded them to. It is incumbent on religious and traditional leaders, parents, teachers, etc, to ensure that these youths are no longer brainwashed and led to their ruin. We owe it to them.
Indeed, the youths of this country have a responsibility to firmly determine to save themselves. They must resist the lethal seduction of selfish politicians. They must help their sisters, brothers and friends to do so. Let their eyes open so they can see clearly to prepare themselves for a better Nigeria , which shall surely come. Indeed, soon, it will be their turn to lead the country. So, they must not mortgage their destiny no matter how alluring the “mess of pottage” being placed before them is. And that is why I tell them again and again: shine your eyes!

Mrs. Carllister Ejinkeonye, a System Analyst/Programmer, writes from Lagos (youthcare2015@gmail.com)

Yoruba At Ibadan Summit Say Only A Bastard Will Vote For Goodluck Jonathan

The historic Parliament Building in Ibadan was over-filled today as prominent Yoruba in all professions, princes and monarchs, governors and former governors, gathered to articulate their aspirations and minimum demands from the Federal Government.
The high point of the summit, convened by the illustrious Yoruba retired army general, Alani Akinrinade was the total support given the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari.
The summiteers declared unanimously, “It is Buhari or nobody else”.
A major proponent of this declaration, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade who was represented by High Chief Eddy Oyewole said, “On 28 March, 2015, let us vote for Buhari”.
He condemned the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for wasting the meager resources of the country by lavishly bribing various individuals and groups to secure their supports.
While Senator Anthony Adefuye strongly stated, “Only a bastard Yoruba will vote for Jonathan, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye said, ‘We will vote en masse for Buhari”.
Shortly after delivering the message sent by the governorship candidate of Accord Party in the state, Senator Rasheed Ladoja that he would go the way of Yoruba people.
Senator Ayo Fasanmi declared, “At this point, we Yorubas should know where we are going. PDP is distributing money to earn wrong votes. Come May 29, we will be happy when Buhari becomes the president of the nation.
“Why would Jonathan appoint ministers two months to the end of his term if not that they want to use all means to steal what is left in the coffer; that is if anything is left? By God’s grace, I, Senator Ayo Fasanmi will vote for Buhari. May 29, Buhari will be sworn in as our president.”
National Chairman, Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG, Honourable Olawale Oshun said that considering the fact that Yoruba people have been suffering marginalisation within the Nigerian state for the past 16 years, Yorubas should vote for leaders who have its interests at heart in order to bring an end to this unacceptable state of affairs.
Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi who decried the high level of maginalisation of Yoruba in the Jonathan led administration said, “We have been subject of brazen marginalization and deliberate attempt to whittle down our historical contributions to the development of Nigeria. It will interest you to note that in the wheel of power at the centre, there are only two Yoruba people. Indeed, out of the 50 most powerful men and women in the executive, legislative, judicial and even security components of power in Nigeria, there are only two Yoruba people. These are the Chief of Staff to the President, whose choice was almost an afterthought and the Accountant General of the Federation.”
Following suit, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola of State of Osun joined others in condemning Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, for derailing from the principle of ‘omoluabi” that Yoruba is known for by collecting bribe from a desperate aspirant.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President Candidate of APC, in his short remarks, urged Nigerians to be patient at this trying moment assuring that things would soon change for the better when APC takes over government at the centre.
In the communique issued at the end of the summit, the main grievances of the region include: maginalization which has attained the status of deliberate policy of the central government of Nigeria, calculated attempts to invade and subjugate Yoruba land through covert, disguised and even official policies of the Central Government, misguiding some elements in the region for their selfish reasons, decimation of entrepreneurial ambitions of Yoruba people through Federal Institutions and agencies that are supposed to be enablers and facilitators of economic development, near virtual absence of reliable and critical infrastructure of electricity, energy, and transportation which has led to the collapse of economic activities in Yoruba land, absence of proactive, concerted, and visionary leadership in Nigeria, insecurity at the level of state of emergency, and failure of the resolutions of the National Conference to resolve fundamental issues that are prerequisite to a sustainable federalism.
As a result, in the communique, they demanded for regionalism, diversification of economy, holding free, fair, credible and transparent elections as scheduled to commence on Saturday, March 28, 2015, resistance to any form of unelected government, be it Government of National Unity, Interim National Government or howsoever described, repealing of laws and policies that stifle the creativity of the people, dismantling of all pseudo-security agencies that impede peace, harass and terrorise her citizens in order to enforce pre-determined agenda that are not consistent with the wishes of the region, and removal of all bottlenecks in the way of provision of effective and efficient transportation system, electrical power, and petroleum refining infrastructure.
According to the communique, “That the effectiveness of the Federal Government of Nigeria lies on focusing on the critical issues of governance that are common to all components, like defence, national security, foreign affairs, currency and exchange rate, etc, while all other socio-economic responsibilities, especially that of resource control, devolve to the federating units. Yoruba must pursue their destiny in line with the development priorities and ambitions of her people. The creation of a structural environment for effective devolution of powers to the country’s constituent units as a strategic development is imperative. Yoruba people will not hesitate to take our destiny in our own hands in the event of any attempt to compromise our democratic existence.”

Dignitaries at the occasion include: Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, and his deputy, Chief Moses Adeyemo, former governors including: Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Otunba Niyi Adebayo of Ekiti State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola of State of Osun, former Military Governor of the Mid-West State, Samuel Ogbemudia, former Deputy Governor of Ekiti, Modupe Adelabu, Professor Albert Olawale, former Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Professor Wale Omole, and his Ekiti State University counterpart, Professor Akin Oyebode, Professor John Ayoade, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye, Senator Bayo Salami, Senator James Kolawole, , The Managing Director of The News Magazine, Bayo Onanuga, President of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes, CCII, Ambassador Olu Sanu, Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, prominent monarchs in the region including: Soun of Ogbomosho, Oba Jimoh Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungbade III, Oba Adeniyi Sonariwo, Akarigbo Remo, Oba Kolawole Sowemimo of Owode-Egba, Asheyin of Iseyin, Oba Ganiyu Adekunle Ologunebi, and Eleruwa of Eruwa, Oba Samuel Adegbola.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

The Jonathan Administration And Its 50 Shades Of Lies By Karo Orovboni

Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) are not responsible for the October 1st, 2010 Eagles Square bombing.
We will complete rehabilitation of all refineries by March 2013.
Palliatives have been created to reduce effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.
We have made plans to construct 6 modular refineries.
The First Lady is not ill; she only went to Germany to rest.
Nigerians are happy with the power situation in the country.
We are generating more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity.
We have killed Boko Haram Leader, Shekau.
We have rescued all but 8 of the abducted Chibok girls.
We have fixed 25,000km of roads in Nigeria.
We are fighting corruption head on.
The Nigerian troops tactically maneuvered to Cameroon.
We have the vaccines for Ebola.
We have eradicated queues from petrol stations.
Federal Government created 1.2 million jobs for Nigerians from mining.
We have exposed decades of scam in the management of pensions and fuel subsidy, and ensured that the culprits are being brought to book.
We have fixed Ore-Shagamu road.
We funded the multi-million-naira dam in Malete, Kwara state.
President Jonathan has delivered on his promises on power (electricity).
We have reduced poverty rate by 50 percent.
President Jonathan brought Facebook to Nigeria.
The erstwhile governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, could be responsible for the increase in tempo of Boko Haram activities.
The Jonathan administration executed the dualization of Benin-Warri road.
Okpella Water Scheme project in Edo state has been completed.
Soldiers never flogged innocent Nigerians on the street under the Jonathan Administration.
The Jonathan administration has reduced maternal mortality rate by 50 per cent.
President Jonathan does not interfere with other arms of the government.
No Nigerian territory has been taken over by Boko Haram
In terms of road infrastructure, no government has done more than this government.
No government has intervened in agriculture more than this government.
The Jonathan administration has done more in the petroleum sector than any other administration in the Nigeria.
The rail system collapsed in this country around 1983/1984, the Jonathan administration is bringing it back.
We now live in a Nigeria where elections are so transparent.
President Jonathan brought lasting peace to Nigeria.
All airports in Nigeria have been remodeled.
We did not militarize Ekiti election.
Bring Back Our Girls Protesters prevented the Chibok parents from seeing the President.
No money was given to the parents of the abducted Chibok girls when they visited President Jonathan.
Bring Back Our Girls group is a franchise; they have bank account.
We have agreed a cease-fire deal with Boko Haram.
Chibok girls will be released on Monday, 20th of October 2014.
There is no report of mutiny in Maimalari Barracks, Maiduguri.
I never said I would not seek a second term in office.
There was no massacre in Baga village.
Henry Okah was contracted to kill me.
The money Jim Nwobodo stole was not enough to buy a Peugeot [car].
I did not dance in Kano after the first Nyanya bombing.
We have recorded more convictions in this administration than any other administration.
The Ekiti rigging tape is a fabrication.
The military has killed Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, at least three times.

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Karo tweets @Karo_Orovboni