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NATIONAL NEWS
July 27, 2013
Saturday Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
PDP crisis: Northern govs give Tukur conditions for truce OBIORA IFOH ABUJA
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eoples Democratic Party’s governors from four northern states, who are bent on unseating the national chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, have given conditions for a truce. The governors, Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Sule
Lamido (Jigawa), Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto) and Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), according to a source are willing to make peace with Tukur leadership if he meets their conditions which include returning to the recommendation of the Sule Lamido led presidential reconciliation committee on Adamawa PDP crisis. The conditions also in-
clude that the hounding of the party members, PDP governors inclusive, by the National Working Committee (NWC)must be addressed and that the leadership roles of the governors as the chief executives of the states must be clearly defined. The governors who insist that they would not dump PDP for any other party, the source said, declared that
the national headquarters must be open and positive as regards the 2015 general election as every party member must be encouraged to vie for any elective position at all levels. The governors, it was gathered, are positive that until the conditions are met, it would be difficult to give maximum support to the party leadership.
Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) (2nd right); Chairman, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Lagos State, Chief Henry Ajomale (right); chieftain of ACN, Chief Pius Akinyelure (2nd left), and the Asoju Oba of Lagos, Chief Molade Okoya Thomas (left), during the 40th days fidau for late Iyaloja-General of Lagos, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, at Blue Roof, LTV 8, Agidingbi Road, Ikeja, Lagos, recently.
Child marriage: We‘ll employ legal options against NASS –Okei-Odumakin TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE
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s controversy continues to trail the Senate’s refusal to outlaw child marriage through the amendment of the 1999 Constitution, President of Campaign for Democracy and Women Arise for Initiative, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, said that civil society groups is prepared to employ legal options to press home their demands if the Senate fails to reverse itself on the obnoxious amendment. Speaking to Saturday Mirror in an exclusive interview, Okei-Odumakin said that the civil society and other eminent Nigerians
will mobilise people across the country whenever the need arises to impress the 36 states Houses of Assembly to reject any plan to approve child marriage in Nigeria. She also challenged Nigerians to ensure that Section 29 (4) (B) of the 1999 Constitution and others that may be considered as being against the interest of an average Nigerian is deleted from the constitution. Her words: “We owe it duty to let Nigerians know that the agitation is about the amendment of the 1999 constitution as it affects the right of the girl child though now being referred to as Child Marriage. But in fairness to the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review,
there was no proposal in their recommendation approving Child Marriage. The contention is the decision of a section of the Senate to manipulate the process and throw away the committee’s recommendation which outright suggested the deletion of Section 29 (4) (B) of the 1999 Constitution. “There are several plans that we have put in place and just Thursday at the Lagos Airport Hotel, the Women Arise conveyed a stakeholder’s summit that had representatives of over 60 NGOs, the Lagos State government, the First Lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, and many Community Based Organizations.
This summit was chaired by Dr. Oby Ezekwesili and we were able to come out with several far reaching decisions which are aimed at ensuring that Section 29 (4) (B) of the Nigeria Constitution is deleted for the sake of the girl child.” The CD boss, while speaking further on some of the steps taken so far by her groups and other organisations against child marriage, said that: “We have made our protest formal in form of our resolution which is being forwarded to the Senate and the House of Representatives. This we hope to consolidate on by mobilising our people across the nation to impress our State Houses of Assembly to reject that very unpopular decision of the Nigerian State.
Insecurity: Brazil to train Nigerian military EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA
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igeria and Brazil have held bilateral discussions on defence matters, as the federal government intensifies efforts at tackling insurgency in the country. Specifically, both countries are to cooperate in the areas of transfer of
military technology and the training of Nigerian soldiers on how to tackle emerging challenges of terrorism and other crimes. These and others were the fallout of a three-day meeting in Brazil between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Olugbenga Ashiru, and his Brazilian counterpart, Mr. Antonio De Aguierpatriota.
A statement from the Foreign Affairs ministry reads: “On the invitation of the Foreign Minister of Brazil, Mr. Antonio De Aguierpatriota, Amb. Olugbenga Ashiru visited Brazil from July 14 - 16, 2013. The visit was aimed at moving the bilateral relations between Nigeria and Brazil forward. “During the visit, Amb. Ashiru held discussions
with officials of the Ministry of Defence, to foster cooperation in defence matters, particularly transfer of military technology, as well as training of Nigerian military personnel. Consequently, an invitation has been extended to our Minister of State for Defence, EreluOlusola Obada, to visit Brazil for further discussions on this matter.”
A senior aide to the Adamawa State governor, Adamu Bagda, told Saturday Mirror that the disagreement between Tukur and the Northern governors started with the way the national chairman discarded the recommendation of a committee put together by the president. “The entire problem started with the Adamawa issue, the decison to put the Lamido committee was a collective one by all stakeholders and now after they have toiled and come up with a recommendation, he spurned it, the recommendation was not even considered not to talk of being debated. The implication is that no PDP governor is safe under the present party leadership. “Bamanga Tukur unilaterally dissolved the state exco and the president and the PDP governors agreed that what he did was wrong. A presidential committee was set up and Governor Lamido was asked to head it to see how peace can return to the state. He refused to work with the committee and he went ahead to conduct his own exco at the ward, local government and state. He refused to listen to the presidential committee. His plan was to dispose the governor in the state. What will a governor do with a party he has no say in, he is supposed to be the leader of the party in the state. But the national chairman brought members of the opposition. Every thing was done in flagrant disrespect to the people that matter in the party.” Another source who is a commissioner to one of the governors told Saturday Mirror, “How do we support a chairman, who is a northerner but has no interest of the North at heart. He has already sold the ticket for the 2015 to the present occupant without giving opportunity for other interested aspirants to test their popularity. “This is unfortunate. The governors will not support that illegality and until he comes out boldly to state the fact about the rotation policy of the party and where the power must reside in the 2015, then it would be difficult to guarantee the support of the northern governors. Presently, most northerners are beginning to see reasons with the four governors. I can assure you, it is not about personal interest, it is purely an issue which bothers on equity and fair-play.”
Recall that when the Norhern governors have visited Obasanjo a fortnight ago. They were quoted as telling him that “We have come to discuss some of the political problems affecting the nation especially as it affects the North, Rivers State and our democracy as a whole.” Also, speaking after their meeting with former heads of state, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubarkar in Minna, they affirmed that their meeting was fruitful, adding that they would also meet with more northern leaders in the days to come to “chart the way forward for the region.” They also told him of their plans to visit eminent stakeholders within the PDP, leaders which include some founding fathers like Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Solomon Lar, and Theophilus Danjuma amongst others in order to stop the rapid disintegration of the ailing ruling party. Speaking after their meeting with IBB and Abubarkar, they affirmed that their meeting was fruitful, adding that they would also meet with more northern leaders in the days to come to “chart the way forward for the region.” Notable Nigerians who are skeptical about the treatment of the Rivers State governors include Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former head of state, who described the lingering crisis in Rivers State as “a sad development which is capable of truncating Nigeria’s nascent democracy. According to the former head of state, “you have freedom of association, freedom of speech and freedom of expression and even freedom to ask questions, but your freedom stops where you are infringing on the rights of others.” The governors had also accused Bamanga Tukur of working to ensure the destruction of the party through his overbearing tendencies. It is not known whether the PDP will meet with the conditions by the Northern governors but the Special Assistant to the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Oliver Okpara told Saturday Mirror that such conditions are only in the media and until it is properly channeled the party can not respond to it.