Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State Friday pulled out of the Northern Governors Forum until he was sure decisions reached at the forum would be binding and implemented by all members.
His decision further adds a new dimension to the crises rocking the Nigerian Governors’ Forum where issues of elections has polarised the members leading to factionalisation of the once powerful forum.
In a press conference in Makurdi, Suswam said he joins Governor Isa Yuguda to insist that there was no point belonging to a voluntary forum that could not stand by its decisions, where trust had taken flight among its members.
Suswam who has been at the forefront of the NGF has been involved in the leadership crises over his insistence that their procedure of choosing their leadership had never been through elections but by consensus.
However, the crust of his decision appears to be the alleged breaching of a decision by the Northern governors to vote for a consensus candidate in Jang against Governor Rotimi Amaechi who was running for a second term.
It turned out that some of the Northern governors voted for Amaechi and upstaged the agenda allegedly agreed in a meeting.
Suswam said he was miffed by the simple fact that people who held high offices could not be trusted or keep to their words in a simple election of a voluntary body, hence such people may easily betray for more important things to them.
“The northern governors’ forum is polarized because it is no longer conducive for us to sit as one in such meeting where a collective decision is taken and some people go out to do something else. We no longer trust ourselves,” Suswam insisted.
Asked if the position was final, his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Cletus Akwaya said his principal would no longer attend until he saw reasons to believe that things have changed and that decisions taken would be binding on members.
“He is not going to be party to any forum or association that its decisions would not be binding on its members. He won’t attend the meeting again until is sure the decisions of the forum would be binding on all members. It is not a serious issue; he is acting based on principle,” he clarified.
While backing Jonah Jang faction of the NGF, he alleged that Amaechi exhibited desperation, pointing out that to him, Jang was the rightful Chairman of NGF and “anybody else parading himself as such is deceiving himself”.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Senator Helen Esuene, representing Eket Senatorial district, Akwa Ibom state in the National Assembly has indicated her intention to become the first female governorship aspirant in the state for the 2015 governorship election.
Esuene voiced her intention in her senatorial district, saying she has commenced consultations pending a formal declaration before the entire people of Akwa Ibom State.
“The governorship of this state with present administration ending 2015, a lot of people have come to me to say you must contest and I say why? They say we know that you are the one that can manage this state, so that there is unity, transparency, sustainable development.
“I know sustainable development is born out of three things. One justice, two justice which begets peace and unity and three is vision before you can have sustainable development otherwise we know that it is very difficult to build but to destroy is easy.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Last Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the great day called June 12 in the political history of Nigeria. For twenty years, all the laudable talks, beautiful adjectives and anecdotes have been used lavishly to describe that exercise. It was a day of liberation. A liberation that never was in the true sense.
Despite his furtive attempt to defend his action in annulling the June 12 presidential election over the years, the burden of guilt still lays heavily on former military president, Gen Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. It is a cross he will have to bear till breathes last, especially as his name and memory collocate with that great and grave injustice.
It was a day laden with ironies. The June 12 election was supposed to be during the rains. But meteorologists confirmed that all over Nigeria, there was no rain anywhere on that day. I had looked forward to the day with so much excitement. The sun shone with its own excited blaze. I had covered the Hope 93 Campaign Organisation from the very start. I had traveled with the late MKO on many of the campaign tours, I had reckoned that the volume of reception he got across the country was indeed overwhelming, especially when compared with the pilfered crowd of his counterpart, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, the presidential candidate of the National Republican Convention (NRC). Abiola’s philanthropy, business background, academic background and indeed, his many women, character, etc had all combined to work in his favour. He could connect with every part of the country with homely familiarity. Even his message was enchanting and inspiring. Everything, but the establishment worked in his favour.
His chief strategist, Dr Jonathan Silas Zwingina left nothing to chance. His (MKO’s) sheaves were really upright. Nigerians were not only tired of military rule, the Abiola candidacy chimed well with many of them. There was a bright hope of a new dawn. A dawn that never broke.
The sign that it will be a frustrated dawn emerged soon as Abiola and his late wife, Kudirat cast their votes. The then National Chairman of the NRC, Chief Tom Ikimi began to make a heavy weather out of the fact that Abiola wore a green agbada on which was emblazoned the imprint of a horse, the emblem of his party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP); seeking to suggest that Abiola was, in a way, continuing his campaign, after campaigns had officially ended. He was already stoking the fire of that issue as the initial results were trickling in. We have always had bad losers amongst us. And it resonates well with the recent Nigerian Governors’Forum election, which was won by Governor Rotimi Amaechi, but because he was not the one they (establishment) wanted to win, they began to (as they say in Warri) “draw rain”. A needless rain! They started looking for excuses and after-thought arguments to discredit the election, just as IBB and his cohorts began to shop for excuses to justify why MKO could not be declared. IBB, like Akpabio and co wanted to abort a baby that had been born. From the time of Ikimi to the time of Akpabio, we have always had bad losers.
I remember that the National Publicity Secretary of the NRC at the time, Dr Doyin Okupe, (now President Jonathan’s ‘attack dog’) was so angry with the argument of Ikimi so much that he (Okupe) chose to resign from office. Those were days of righteous principles. Not anymore, it seems. By the end of the first week, when Babangida announced the annulment of the election, the entire result had been known and it was clear MKO won the election landslide. The latter swore to fight the annulment, and vowed to keep a date with history. He did.
It was such a funny act. A man is made to go through the rigours of an election. He wins and then he is chased out of town. And when he eventually returns, he is thrown into the prison, for daring to proclaim his victory by declaring himself the President. I remember that night, at Epetedo, Lagos, when Abiola was smuggled into the arena by the likes of Wahab Dosunmu (who just died) and Chief Ralph Obioha (whose clothes were torn by the surging crowd). Not even the rain that night deterred the people from listening to the declaration. It was such an awesome night.
At the end of the day, not only was Abiola denied his deserved presidency, he was killed or made to die whilst still in government custody. Before he died, he had become government’s enemy number one! His businesses had been crippled by the establishment. I remember how government agencies or ministries began to treat National Concord Newspaper like a leper. Nobody advertised therein anymore. They were not to even buy or read the paper. Gradually but steadily, the establishment snuffed life out of the paper… all to crush MKO, even after he had obviously fallen. It was an injustice that cries to the heavens. It is unforgettable.
Twenty years after, June 12 refuses to fade away. It refuses to be forgotten. It refuses to be dismissed. It has come to represent more than a metaphor for national deliverance and redemption. It has since become a recommended manual of an electoral model. But how much guide have we got from this manual!
NAMA as the Establishment’s Hammer?
Once it was the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, that was manifestly used to haunt perceived enemies of the presidency. Today, the agency in charge of that brief seems to be the National Airspace Management Authority (NAMA). Between April ánd now, the hitherto quiet agency has been in the news, somewhat for the wrong reasons. The aviation agency has been doing lots of explanation to justify many of its actions which are generally perceived to be driven by political considerations.
It started with Gov Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State in Akure, in April. A plane which had been flying for over seven months in the country was suddenly said to have expired permit, incomplete documentation etc. First, they said the pilot failed to file manifest. Then, the plane got grounded, as NAMA fitfully shopped for classified excuses for its actions. All these came just when the spat between the President and Amaechi broke open. Informed sources say Gov Godswill Akpabio’s plane which had the same documentation process with Amaechi’s, has remained spared by the new Aviation Policies.
Then penultimate Friday, the newspapers had published a report where Dr Sam Ogbemudia granted an interview where he said the Peoples Democratic leadership in Edo State had gone begging Gov Adams Oshiomhole to join the party, but that the latter refused. It was supposed to counter the claim by Olisa Metuh, the PDP spokesman that Oshiomhole had lobbied to be allowed to join the PDP. Ogbemudia’s interview not only cleared the fog, it belied the claim of the PDP. Then the very next day, Oshiomhole’s chartered helicopter which had been allowed to take off from the Benin airport was recalled mid-air and eventually grounded by NAMA, again, on the excuse that the manifest was not filed. If that be true, why was the chopper allowed to take off the first time?
And while the dust from that was yet to settle, NAMA again, last Wednesday diverted the chartered plane carrying the Sokoto State Governor, Aliyu Wamakko (who was recently suspended by the PDP and so a perceived enemy of the power mavens) and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, whom it seems had been in the bad books of the party’s hawks, from landing in Sokoto, to Kaduna. NAMA said the crowd at the Sokoto airport to welcome the suspended governor was “unruly”. So to avert the attendant risk, the plane had to be diverted to Kaduna. Some think is is punishment. It is difficult to string all of these as mere coincidences. From Amaechi to Oshiomhole, to Wamakko, all perceived enemies of the presidency, who will be the next on NAMA’s anvil?
Would You Burn the Corpse of your Loved One?
Did you hear that they are about turning our state to Mumbai? Mumbai? Where is that? And who wants to turn our dear Lagos to Mumbai? You don’t know that popular city in India called Mumbai? Don’t you know how they treat their dead? Yes, I know. How does that connect us in Lagos? Did you not hear that there is a new law in Lagos that says dead people will now be burnt to ashes and packed into a bottle? Didn’t you hear this sacrilege? Can you imagine!
What is sacrilegious about burning the dead? Are we more human than those who do it in India? Look, you don’t have to be sentimental about it. It is part of the dynamism of society. A responsible leader has to be proactive and visionary. You can blow all the grammar you like. But I can tell you it is one law that will be Brought-in-Dead. How can we consciously burn the bodies of our beloved ones?
You don’t seem to understand the underpinning of the new law. When last did you visit any of the public or private cemeteries in Lagos? Can’t you see that even the dead are also having acute accommodation problem? Can you imagine where the dead will be buried in the next ten years in Lagos? Can’t you see the cemeteries are full and over-flowing? Even the private vaults would soon run out of space. In fact, some ancient corpses are being removed to accommodate new ones in the cemeteries. So can’t you understand the essence of the new law is to spare the next generation the trouble of finding space for the dead? Really? Ok. Let me ask you: would you burn the corpse of your mother or father, just because Ikoyi or Atan cemeteries are full? Would you? Answer me!
Yes, I can. Stop being sentimental on this matter. It is a reality we have to face someday. In any case, of what use is a corpse? Do you ever go back to maintain a corpse after it’s been buried? If it is the memory you need, the ashes in the urn is a good symbol of your beloved one; something you can relate to and feel. It is different from a corpse dug in somewhere far away, sometimes never visited again by the so-called children or family members.
Do you realize it is against our culture? Burn a corpse? Is that the kind of development we are looking for? Is that how American or Britons treat their dead? If corpses are to be burnt, then of what use are tombs and mausoleums? You are reasoning in analogue way. The world is going digital. I think the Lagos state government should be commended for thinking ahead of the age.
In any case, the law is not binding. It is voluntary. Those who want to do it are allowed by law. But it is not compulsory. But trust me, it is the way to go. Ok, when next your uncle or auntie dies, please go to Mushin, buy plenty of firewood and set them ablaze, gather the ashes into empty ragolis can and take it home.
Look, you sound so made up on your thoughts and beliefs. Thank God your opinion on this matter does not count. The law has been signed by Governor Babatunde Fashola. And there is nothing you can do about it. Hmmmm, you can sign all the laws you want, it is one thing to sign them, it is quite another to implement them. After all, the hullaballoo that trailed the Lagos Traffic laws has settled down now. Have you not been seeing Okada men on Oshodi-Apapa-express way? Or are landlords not still charging new tenants two and even three year’s rent? Please leave me alone with Lagos laws jare. We know how it all goes.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State Friday expressed support for the Sovereign Wealth Fund and charged the federal government to ensure effective participation of all the states in the management of the initiative.
He gave the charge in Asaba during the second anniversary lecture of the fifth Assembly of the Delta State House of Assembly.
The governor explained that state governors were not against the establishment of the SWF “per se, but the way and manner” in which it was being managed.
“We are not against the Sovereign Wealth Fund. States should be able to decide the amount to save and what to do with their savings since they are not appendages of the federal government,” he said.
The Federal Government and the 36 states have been at loggerheads over the SWF for sometime now.
The case is presently before the Supreme Court. The court has since asked the Federal Government and the state governors to explore out-of-court settlement. Only this week, 36 state finance commissioners walked out of the monthly revenue allocation meeting in Abuja over a number of issues, including deductions for the SWF.
Uduaghan also called for the immediate review of the Value Added Tax Law to enable state governments collect VAT in their locality and remit an agreed percentage to the federal government.
He explained that the idea of VAT being collected and shared to states that abhor some of the VAT items like alcohol was unacceptable.
“We collect VAT on alcohol in Delta State and the money is shared to some states in the North where alcohol is prohibited. This is not acceptable.”
The governor also advocated for the practice of true Fiscal Federalism in the country “to enable federating states have access to their resources for maximum development.”
He stated that the practice of Fiscal Federalism would create the opportunity for states to develop their mineral and other resources and improve their revenue bases.
“This would engender healthy competition among the various states in the federation and enhance infrastructure development.
“The issue of Fiscal Federalism is dear to all state governors. If we are practicing true Fiscal Federalism in this country, the state governors will not need to go to Abuja to beg or lobby for what is rightfully theirs.”
The governor commended the Delta State House of Assembly for its contributions to the development of the state explaining that the constant dialogue between the legislative and executive arms had led to the developmental strides in the state.
Speaking further, the governor commended Deltans for the support given so far to his administration and charged politicians to be peaceful and eschew violence and acts that would heat up the polity as 2015 election activities begin.
In a welcome address, the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Victor Ochei explained that the idea of the public lecture was to deliberate and proffer solutions to topical national issues.
The speaker said that Delta State Government was promoting the “Delta Beyond Oil” initiative to help develop other sectors of the economy explaining that taxation was one of the means being used to achieve the initiative.
Ochei said the idea of Fiscal Federalism suggested that each tier of government in a federating state would be allowed to pursue its own financial policy initiative explaining that it would ensure rapid development of the country.
In his speech, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu said fiscal federalism and strengthening of democratic institutions were issues that needed to be addressed “if Nigeria is to move forward as a sovereign country.”
Ekweremadu said: “a federating arrangement where the units converge at the federal capital every month like spoilt adults to be bottle- fed with free money without thinking of how to make their own money is what I have often described as a feeding bottle federalism. And typical of free money, this culture has had a lottery effect on the nation.
“This culture of free money has also affected our national attitude to taxation as a catalyst for socio-economic development, as the citizenry regard the allocations from the centre as a national cake. There is aloofness among them towards resources that are not accruing from and impacting their individual pockets in the form of taxes.
“The poor economic health status of most states, their poor development indices and high debt profiles are all concrete evidence that feeding bottle federalism is a huge disservice to industry, creativity, enterprise, responsible governance and national development.”
Ekweremadu explained that fiscal federalism and enhanced resource control had become a reoccurring decimal in the constitutional amendment process since 1999, “but unfortunately, they have failed to garner the requisite support to scale through due to embedded fears which he said is unfounded.”
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha in his lecture titled: “Legislative Issue in Fiscal Federalism” called on the states to tap into other areas of resources to generate revenue.
“While we confront the problems facing us a nation, it’s an achievement that the country has marked fourteen years of uninterrupted democracy. The challenges facing all of us is to ensure that the remaining two years left of our mandate, at all levels of government is to justify the trust of the people and provide democracy dividend.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The federal government Friday expressed shock over the death of the Senate President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Donald Onukaogu and four others in a car crash on their way to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Also Friday, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State called for a probe of the riot that led to the death of two students and the destruction of property worth millions of naira at the University of Uyo.
Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i said in a statement from the ministry Friday in Abuja “the passing of the NANS leaders in such manner was painful.”
Rufa'i who described the late Onukaogu as a committed leader, explained that he worked for the peaceful coexistence of Nigerian students at all levels in his capacity as the leader of the parliamentary arm of NANS.
Students of Engineering and Science Departments of UNIUYO reportedly led their colleagues last Wednesday on a demonstration on the town campus against a new transport fare regime introduced by the school’s administration.
In the course of the protest two students were killed; and in retaliation, the offices of the Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor were burnt, while several cars and security posts were vandalised.
Akpabio, who was conducted round the scene of the incident by the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Comfort Ekpo in company with the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Professor Paul Ekwere and Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Professor Okon Ansa, described the destruction “as criminal, targeted and pre-meditated.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Previous chairmen of the crisis-ridden Nigeria Governors’ Forum used it as a campaign platform to promote personal ambition and as a tool for occupying national political space, thus derailing the NGF from its founding principles, so says Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State.
Dickson who spoke on a number of state and national issues to select journalists in Yenagoa recently alleged that the previous chairmen refused to stick to the founding principles of the forum, “which is a peer review mechanism, not a trade union, not a platform for personal political aggrandisement and not a platform for playing partisan politics.”
Said the Bayelsa governor: “We are there actually to compare notes and also to serve as a platform for collaboration. It is not a political organisation; it is not a partisan organisation. It is a bipartisan or multi-partisan organisation that enables us to focus on what is the best, how we can deepen democracy and collaborate with the federal government on challenges of development, challenges of national security and so on.
“Well, the problem didn’t start now. PDP governors who became chairmen of the Forum over the years turned it to a campaign platform. It didn’t start now; it didn’t start with Governor Rotimi Amaechi. Even before him, that was the tradition. So there was the urge of the Chairman of NGF to want to become the President or Vice-President. Once an organisation of equals, a voluntary organisation of equals starts on that note, things could fall apart and the centre may not be strong enough to hold. I think that was what happened basically. But, like I said, we are all not happy about what happened. We are all friends and colleagues and men of honour. We agree and disagree and I think very soon we will all come back to do the things we are supposed to do.”
Dickson said all the governors were unhappy about the on going crisis and how it has metamorphosed and that many felt it could have been handled well: “Quite frankly, there is no governor who would say he is not touched or he is not sad by the development in the NGF. We are as outraged and saddened as any other Nigerian. I think that Nigerian governors are responsible people and not irresponsible as the outcome may have suggested.
”We are putting our heads together, consulting across divides and very soon, with the feelers that I have, the misunderstanding will be resolved and NGF will be back. But the NGF that will be back, I’m sure it’s an NGF that would have learnt its lessons; an NGF that would have learnt to stick to the founding principles of the organisation.”
The Bayelsa governor said he would never accept the chairmanship of the forum, even if offered free because it is an unnecessary stress: “Quite frankly, for some of us, even if you dash me the chairmanship of the NGF, I won’t take it because it is additional trouble and stress. It is basically additional responsibility. The responsibilities we have in our state are enough challenges. Quite frankly, that is why I think the whole thing was blown out of proportion because some people wanted to use it to achieve other ends, other ulterior motives, even when there was no need for it.
“In the United States, people don’t even know who the chairman of the American Governor’s Forum is, because it’s not important. The chairman is just there to preside over the meetings of equals. It doesn’t make him a super governor. But you know everything Nigerian, people want to distort and then make something out of nothing. You don’t need NGF to discuss with your party. If you want to become anything, you set up your campaign platform and you battle for the ticket of your party and you talk to Nigerians. You don’t need an NGF.
“But I think there is this unfortunate misconception of NGF as platform that could be used for national political space. I think heavy investment was also made to project it that way. For me, it’s nothing I am prepared to accept right now because the challenges of governing my state are serious enough. As governors, the mandate we have is to govern our state.”
The governor also spoke on why his administration has been spending so much money on road construction across the state: “There is construction everywhere because that is what I promised the people of the state and also that is what they deserve. We are preparing our state for industrialisation. We are preparing our state to be a foremost tourism and investment haven. We are preparing our state to join the league of developed states. I am in a hurry to see development."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Director General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), Dr. Abdullahi Shehu, has said that developing countries lost about US$858.6 billion – $1.6 trillion in illicit financial flows in year 2006.
Shehu, who made the disclosure in a keynote address at a workshop held in Lokoja, Kogi State for elected officials of Local Government administration, said the amount has further stressed the need for a concerted fight against money laundering in Africa.
According to a statement by the communication assistant for GIABA, Mohammed Usman, the Director General, who spoke on the topic: ‘Democracy, Good Governance and the Challenges of Development’, added that if the fight against money laundering succeeded, it would promote democracy, good governance as well as international peace and security in the world.
He noted that, “Terrorists and extremist organizations, drug cartels and the trafficking of human beings are seriously affecting human security in developing and developed economies alike.
“The 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA have brought to the attention of the world the global reach of the extremist organizations and the frightening consequences of their actions concerning personal safety, peace and security in the world, potential tensions among different segments of the society, and pressures on the state institutions.
He identified colonisation, discrimination, low level of education, and a large population, among the causes of poverty, lamenting that negative structural factors, such as lack of government support, neglect of educational development, health care and poor economic infrastructure have also contributed strongly to the persistence of poverty in developing countries.
Shehu stated that the establishment of GIABA was part of the renewed efforts to develop strategies for the prevention of money laundering and its predicate offences and to assist member States to implement those strategies to protect their economies from misuse for the purposes of laundering the proceeds of crime, including the financing of terrorism.
The GIABA director general opined that democracy and good governance were key elements to end poverty in Africa, towards improving the standard of living of the citizenry in the continent.
A gesture, he added could be achieved through responsive and participatory democracy, respect for human rights, freedom of expression, rule of law, free and fair election, viable opposition and a free and independent press to ensure that checks and balances were enshrined in the system.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
President Goodluck Jonathan has blamed Nigerians for crimes in the country, saying the society has failed. Jonathan stated this, yesterday, during the official opening of the National Christian campaign on social transformation, titled: ‘Be the change you want to see’.
The president said the society needed both moral and spiritual transformation, stating : “The whole society has failed, that is one reason we have incidents of cultism, armed robbery, murder, ritual killings, drugs, sales of babies, kidnapping, sexual immorality, and other vices.”
The President blamed this moral decadence on parents, who did not teach their children the right things to do, the church, where Bible teachings have been turned upside down, and also on schools, where most teachers, rather than teach their students, turned themselves to traders of all sorts.
“Indeed we have lost our moral values and principles. So much has gone wrong in our family life, schools, churches and society in general. We have lost the values of hard-work, respect for elders, truthfulness, contentment, for Godliness with contentment is great gain, humility, patience, compassion, fairness, love, justice, obedience, and all other vices, are all lost. Our priorities are misplaced.
“It would appear we have the society we deserve. We, therefore, need both moral and spiritual transformation. We need to return to God. Study and obey the word of God, which is able to cleanse us,” he said.
The president, who was represented by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Amma Pepple, insisted that there was a great responsibility placed on the church to lead this return to values and morals and to bring about the much needed transformation in the society, so that the people can try to be like Jesus, who he described as “meek, never spoke angry word, frequently in prayers and always doing good.”
In his remarks, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, while thanking the organisers of the campaign, said it corroborated Mr. President’s Transformation Agenda in the Christian way.
Maku noted that change could only come right from the heart and that such change would take the country to the next level.
President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor said change could only take place when an individual decided to change for the better rather than expecting it from other people.
He said: “For this country to change for the better, I must change. I should not expect the change to come from others first. It must begin with me. That is why all the three books on social transformation given out today must be studied very well by all, in order to effect the change we desire in our country.”
The organiser of national Christian campaign on social transformation, Reverend Williams Okoye said if Christians lived exemplary lives, they would be able to influence others, thereby making the country the best in the world.
Okoye, who said the three books on social transformation are being distributed freely to all Nigerians, called for more collaboration from all stakeholders to ensure positive change in Nigeria.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
A 60-year old Maiduguri based businessman, Friday, turned in his son, a member of the deadly Boko Haram sect, to the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Restore Order.
It was gathered from a source within the family that the son before departing from the family house few days ago had threatened to kill his father.
But to everyone’s surprise the son returned home some days later, pleading with his father to give him refuge from the soldiers, who have started a clampdown on the sect.
The source said the son "after confessing all his crimes, including how he participated in killing of people and looting of banks to his father, the old man decided that it was against his conscience to keep a killer-son in his home, so decided to turn him in."
The source further revealed that the father, who is Kanuri, after making up his mind against housing a killer-son approached the Sector office of the JTF and told them of the criminal involvement of his son.
It was gathered that the soldiers followed the father home to arrest the son, who had to be shot dead, while trying to escape arrest.
An eyewitness described the incident: "When the young man was shot by the soldiers and was writhing in pains, the old man only turned to say Masha Allah (to God be the glory)."
The old man was also said to have decided against taking up the ill-gotten wealth of his son stashed away near the family house.
A source said: "Before he was handed over to the soldiers, the young man had revealed to his father and family members that he possessed two cars and had millions of Naira buried somewhere near the family home.
"But the no-nonsense father said he has no interest in his ill-gotten asset and has no intentions of inheriting his assets, according to Islamic injunctions because they are 'haram," the source further revealed.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The former Senate President, Ken Nnamani has been appointed Chairman of the National Steering Committee on Nigeria Second Peer Review, with a charge to appraise the level of progress made by Nigeria in addressing any observed gaps in the four thematic areas of the African Pear Review Mechanism (APRM).
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, who inaugurated the Committee, Friday, listed these thematic areas to include democracy and political governance, economic governance and management, corporate governance and socio-economic development.
Anyim noted that Nigeria was commended as a pace setter in several areas in Africa, during the last APRM, which was conducted in 2008, such as the institutionalisation of the Federal Character Principle in the constitution; the National Council of State; the National Youth Service Corps and the Technical Aid Corps. He, however, clarified that the maiden APRM identified some governance gaps, which have not been addressed, especially in the area of Electoral and Public Service Reforms, Constitutional amendments and affirmative action on women.
He charged the committee to look into those identified as well as the achievements as reflected in the two progressive reports on the implementation of the National Programme of Action (NPoA), which have been accepted by the continental body.
He said that the review would equally touch on emerging issues and challenges to governance and socio-economic development in Nigeria.
"It will also discuss the way forward to be supported by a Road Map and cost NPoA to facilitate the attainment of improved livelihood and standard of living for our citizens," he said.
The SGF further urged members of the committee to make the report very inclusive of reaching out to all shades of opinion in Nigeria, regardless of ethnic religious or political affiliation.
"The purpose is to incorporate all opinions which are crucial to formulating policies and programmes that will facilitate the achievements of our transformation agenda. I am optimistic that you will work assiduously towards this goal," he noted.
Responding, Nnamadi thanked the Federal Government on behalf of the members of the committee for finding them worthy to serve the country, promising to develop new standards for other African nations to follow.
He said the primary purpose of APRM is to foster the adoption of appropriate laws, policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration.
He said: "This is done through sharing of sharing of experiences and reinforcement of successful and best practices, including identifying deficits and assessing the needs for capacity building by our African brothers.
"Nigeria is not only one of the pioneering countries but played a leading role in the process of giving a practical form to the mechanism, and the core documents of the APRM were signed in Abuja in 2003."
He further noted that from 10 countries that subscribed to its mandate in 2003, 33 countries have subscribed to the APRM mandate.
It would be recalled that African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a voluntary mechanism, which was acceded to the APRM process in March 2003 by 10 countries including Nigeria. However, the country was only Peer Reviewed at the first forum in Continuo, Benin Republic in 2008.
Other members are Mr. D. I. Kifasi, Perm Sec. Ministry of Finance, Mike Omeri, DG National Orientation Agency, Salisu Maikasuwa, Clerk to the National Assembly, Prof. Ben Angwe, Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Yemi Kale, DG, National Bureau of Statistics, John Isemede, DG, National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Danladi Halilu, Executive Secretary, National Judicial Council, Ntufam Fidelis Ugbo, Executive Secretary, National Planning Commission and Okey Wali, President Nigeria Bar Association.
Others are; Mrs. Nkechi Okemini, President, National Council of Women Societies, Robert Itawa, NEPAD Business Group, Dr. Ibrahim Jibo, Center for Democracy and Development, Goddie Ibru, Chairman NEPAD Business Group, Abdulwaheed Omar, President Nigeria Labour Congress, Mohammed Abubakar, Director Special Duties, office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Dr. S. A. Faseyi, Director Governance, NEPAD, President, Nigeria Network of NGOs, James Idakwo, Deputy Director NEPAD and Princess Francesca Frank-Chukwuani, office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation.
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