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SUNDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2014 NEW TELEGRAPH
News
Soldiers, DSS invade APC’s Lagos data centre Temitope Ogunbanke
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Vandalised office equipment at the All Progressives Congress Lagos data centre after yesterday’s invasion by security agents
Ekiti: Speakers insist on Omiri’s leadership Tunde Oyesina, ABUJA
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he Conference of Speakers yesterday said it still recognises Dr. Adewale Omirin as the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly because the mode of his impeachment was illegal and unconstitutional. Chairman of the conference, Hon. Sam Ikon, stated this in Abuja while addressing journalists at an interactive session between Civil Society Organisations and Speakers of State Houses of Assembly on ‘Constitution Amendment Bills awaiting passage,’ organised by Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre. Ikon stated that there is nowhere in the world where a lesser number can outweigh the higher number. He added that the conference is not partial and sentimental, adding that a new speaker would have been recognised if the im-
peachment of Omirin had followed due process. Also speaking, Omirin accused Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, of nursing ‘deep hatred’ for him and other members of the House of Assembly who are from the All Progressives Coongress. Omirin, who said he was still the legally recognised Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, having been elected by members of the House, stated that seven members did not have the constitutional power to impeach him because such a number did not constitute two thirds majority. He further stated that if returning to Ekiti State would not be conducive to them, they would legislate from outside the state. He added that he had earlier promised Fayose that he and other APC members would work with him to move the state forward, “but it seems the governor is not ready for the progress of the state
from his behaviour.” Ikon had earlier given the assurance that the conference would ensure that the interest of the people is protected in ratifying the resolutions of the National Assembly in the ongoing constitution review. “Having learnt from previous exercises, we are resolute to join in bringing about a people-oriented Constitution for the development of our country. May I therefore urge my colleagues in the state houses of assembly that we take this exercise with the seriousness it de-
serves. Never again should we be seen to have denied the people of the opportunity of strengthening an institution. The interest of our people and their well being must be paramount while playing our role of ratifying the resolutions of the National Assembly. In other words, the outcome must reflect the overall interest of our people,” he added. Speaking earlier, the Executive Director of PLAC, Clement Nwankwo, expressed the importance of the interactive session.
Taraba gets new SSG, COS Sabiu Mustapha JALINGO
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ew Taraba State Acting Governor, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi, has approved the appointment of Gibong Timothy Kataps as Secretary to the State Government. A state-
ment issued yesterday by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Danbaba Suntai, Hassan Mijinyawa, also announced the appointment of Mallam Aminu Jika as Chief of Staff Government House. According to the statement, the SSG will be sworn in on Monday.
ll Progressives Congress has strongly condemned yesterday’s invasion of its data centre in Ikeja, Lagos by soldiers and the agents of the Directorate of State Security, calling it perhaps the worst political scandal in Nigeria’s history. APC in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the invasion can only be likened to the Watergate Scandal that led to the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon in 1974, as a result of the June 17, 1972, break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the attempted cover-up of its involvement by the Republican Nixon Administration. It described the invasion as another act of impunity, “now a trademark of the Jonathan-led presidency which is being edged on by the hawks in the Peoples Democratic Party.” It stated that the invasion of its offices is an attempt by Jonathan and the PDP to suppress the opposition, get details of its membership with the intention of using it to rig the 2015 elections and also to destroy the spirit of democracy. It therefore called for an independent enquiry to fish out those who ordered the needless and unprovoked attack on the offices of the APC and ensure that they face very serious consequences, irrespective of their status. Also addressing a press conference yesterday at the data centre, the party’s state Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe, said the manner in which the
facility was invaded had shown PDP’s desperation for power in 2015. Igbokwe said the party would do everything possible to recover the vital documents taken away by the security agents, adding that it would also go to court to seek for damages for all the vital documents and properties destroyed during the invasion. Giving details of the invasion, the party said in the early hours of Saturday morning, a combined team of the DSS and OP-MESA stormed the centre and arrested 25 APC data agents and three security guards. “‘In what was a Gestapolike operation, the APC membership data centre located at Number 10, Bola Ajibola Street, off Allen Avenue in Ikeja, came under siege between the hours of 5:30am and 7:30am on Saturday. An operation of terror and brigandage was unleashed on a legitimate operation of a leading national party. They came without a search warrant for the premises. Over 50 security operatives drafted from Abuja operations blocked the two major street entrances to the APC data entry centre, pulled down the gates and spent over two hours ransacking and vandalising the centre. “‘More than a dozen computers were destroyed. The server was also vandalised along with other equipment in the building. Just like the Watergate scandal in the USA, the state-sponsored security operatives apparently acting at the behest of the ruling PDP government turned the office upside down, and pulled out and vandalised everything in sight,” the party said.
Ekiti saga, rape on democracy – Ogun Obanikoro pledges to liberate Lagos from Tinubu Yekeen Nurudeen, Abuja
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ormer President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Comrade Babatunde Ogun, has described the two recent political incidents where policemen tear- gased civil servants and legislators at the National Assembly and the ‘impeachment’ of the Ekiti State House of Assembly’s Speaker by seven lawmakers as a rape on the nation’s democracy. Reacting to the incidents,
Ogun said that politicians should act with decorum
and stop activities that can put the nation under tension. In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday, Ogun condemned the behaviour of the police, who applied force in stopping the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, from entering the National Assembly Complex last Thursday. He berated the police for their failure to give consideration to the safety ofworkers in the Assembly before firing tear gas. The fromer union leader Ogun, who commended the intervention of the Senate President David Mark by shutting of
the National Assembly, called on the legislators, especially the Senate to ensure that the “unholy” action of the police did go not unchecked. “ The police ought to be non-partisan and perform their sacred duty of maintaining law and order but not causing chaos as seen at the National Assembly on Thursday,” he said On the impeachment of Honourable Adewale Omirin as the Speaker of the Ekiti House of Assembly, the union leader condemned the action, describing the impeachment as not only unconstitutional but also “illogical, unethical and a show of shame.”
Wole Elegbede
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ormer Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, has said that he is in the best position to wrest power from the claws of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Lagos. He also said he remains the only person who can demystify former governor of the state and APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Addressing party leaders and supporters at the Peoples Democratic Party secretariat in Lagos, where he announced his intention to contest the governorship election, Obanikoro said that it was time for all of them to be united and un-
derstand that they were all fighting one opponent - the APC. He said: “It is time to liberate Lagos from Bola Tinubu, the emperor of Bourdillon. It is time for Tinubu to go. This state has been ruled by him and his cronies for over 16 years without any change.” Obanikoro averred further that only a person who had experience in governance could improve the fortunes of the state and not new entrants. “Experience can never be purchased aside. This state has been ruled by one man for the past 16 years and I can tell you that only those who have served in government can make any mean-
ingful change. “Those who don’t have experience cannot make a meaningful change; they will only go there to start learning governance and we don’t need an apprentice governor in Lagos. See the quantum debt incurred by the APC in this state. Only one person can win and fix Lagos and that is Obanikoro,” he said. Dispelling insinuations that he is a violent man, Obanikoro stated that he had never been found wanting since he joined active partisan politics. In his remarks, the Chairman of the PDP in the state, Mr. Tunji Shelle, assured that the primaries would be free and fair.