Tag: Southern

  • Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Endorse Peter Obi

    Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Endorse Peter Obi

    Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) has endorsed the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, as its preferred candidate for the February 25 presidential election.

    The forum took the decision after its extraordinary meeting in Abuja on Thursday.

    The leadership of the forum is made up of the Middle Belt, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere, and the Pan Niger Delta Forum.

    “That we give our unalloyed vote of thanks to our father and leader, Chief Edwin Clark, for his boldness, his sagacity, his tenacity, and his relentlessness in pursuing the aims and aspirations of this organisation,” the form said in a communique.

    “That we warn all those who want to change the hands of the clock of Nigeria by doing anything that will derail a peaceful transition to the next civilian government of this country, that we shall rise like one man in defence of the ballot box and that Nigerians must go to vote.

    “This we have resolved today and we enjoin other Nigerians who do not belong to our organisation to join us in realising this for the betterment of Nigeria: Peter Obi is your son and he is the rock upon which Nigeria will stand.”

    Afenifere leader, Ayo Adebanjo; President of the Middle Belt Forum, Bittus Pogu; and the immediate past president-general of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, John Nwodo; amongst others were in attendance at the event.

    Representatives of the various groups that make up the forum explained their rationale for agreeing with the endorsement. Adebanjo and Clark had previously endorsed Obi.

    The regional leaders say they are committed to ensuring that Obi emerges victorious in the 2023 presidential elections and urged all Nigerians to fight for a better country with their votes.

  • Southern govs acting like separatists- Sen Abdullahi Adamu

    Southern govs acting like separatists- Sen Abdullahi Adamu

    Says Secessionists’ agitators free to go

    Southern governors at their recent meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, as part of measures to address insecurity in the region had banned open grazing and also called on the President Muhammadu Buhari to restructure the country.

    Responding to the communiqué of the Southern governors the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, described the ban as unconstitutional. He said, “It is as good as saying, perhaps, maybe, the northern governors coming together to say they prohibit spare parts trading in the North.”
    In an interview with journalists in Abuja over the weekend, former governor of Nasarawa state and now Senator representing Nasarawa west took a swipe at southern governors describing yheir ban on open grazing as actions of separatists.
    See excerpt of interview below:

    Opposition of southern governors to open grazing
    The southern governors are sounding like a broken record. You know what a broken record does? It cracks. I expected them to be more educated people with the responsibility of governance. Each of those governors is under an oath of loyalty, and of preservation of the sovereignty of this country. That means that each of them is duty-bound to stay away from any act, or word that has the tendency to be perceived as being separatists.

    I was a governor for eight years, and I know what The Governors’ Forum is because I headed it for five of my eight years in office. Before that, I was chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum. So, the secretariat that you see, and the bureaucracy were set up during my time.

    But those that took over from us began to have a situation because we are in a democracy, and people will give to the president, shopping lists from their different zones. There are people in the cabinet, the National Economic Council, and the National Council of States, who once they get themselves out there, begin to talk for their states or their zones only.

    Before the Asaba Accord, there was a meeting of all the state governors, and about 36 of them were there. And less than a week after that meeting, some people came out and claim to be members of the Southern Governors Forum. Really, there is nothing wrong with regional bodies, but these governors know the constitution, and they know that every Nigerian has the right of movement, association, and the right to pursue legitimate goals. However, if these governors are saying no to cattle routes and open grazing, what are the alternatives that they have provided? If northern governors come together and take a position, what will happen? What right have you to tell Nigerians not to move freely? If northern groups also say no to southern businesses in their domain, how will that end up?
    There are killings of northerners going on in the South, but if the North decides to retaliate, we will call it genocide. What is happening to us? We only know about problems, but not solutions. People are openly calling for a break up of the country.

    Buhari should not take all the blame
    It is my first time since coming of age that somebody will just get up and say anything about the government and go scot-free. A lot of people are daily sabotaging this government, including those who are under oath. There are also those who are willing and lurking by the corner to do bad things, who now have got the leverage since they now have people that are even in government, but are not showing satisfaction, loyalty, patriotism. So, what do you expect?

    These are some of the issues that have joined forces to place us where we are today, and nobody can single-handedly, no matter what power you give him, get us out of this mess. All Nigerians must be ready to get the country back on track. This is not to say that Buhari’s government is blameless. I am not suggesting that at all. What I am saying is that we are contributing more to creating problems for the government than what we are doing to solve the problems created by the government. This government is our government; it was elected. No matter what we say. The National Assembly has members from the PDP, APGA, YPP, and the APC. So, everybody is there. Indeed, there are people from every part of this country in the National Assembly and in the Federal Executive Council (FEC). Buhari cannot take all the blame. The idea behind every state having a member in the FEC is for them to bring value and add to Buhari’s capacity. But where are they, and what are they saying today? Is there anything in this country that says that a minister cannot talk? If a governor can talk, can’t ministers also talk? But everybody is just folding his/her hands, and unfortunately for us, Buhari is not the talking type. If he were to open up, you would wish you were down the drain. But God has given him the capacity to absorb. It is part of the characteristics of a leader. Yes, there are certain things that have happened that he was supposed to react and respond to, but we have people who are not patient. You see a problem today and you want a solution today. I don’t want to sound like I am justifying what you may see as a failure, but I am giving my thoughts as to why I think we are where we are, and why I think most Nigerians who have the responsibility are not living up to expectations.
    If I am in government, you expect something from me. I am also part of the government and cannot exonerate myself. Most of us that are educated, even if we went to missionary schools, benefitted in one way or the other from the government’s contribution to our education. So, there is a contribution that the government has made in preparing us to be where we are today. And as patriotic citizens, one would expect some level of concern, and the concern would not be genuine if we become critics. Even a critic can be positively critical, but where it is just a matter of picking whatever you want to pick and then throw it out without caring about the implications, it is not good. It is just bad.

    Nigeria’s problems didn’t start Buhari
    When you’re talking of somebody’s leadership qualities, you don’t just pass judgment. We have the misfortune of battling Boko Haram insurgency alongside other forms of security challenges. It is unfortunate. We must get one fact very clear. This thing didn’t start with Buhari. I cannot deny that there are a few cases, and in fact, an increase in general insecurity. That will be unfair. But the major problem is the failure of state administrations to take up the issue of security seriously. Just like Buhari, every governor has taken an oath to protect the lives and property of the citizens. They get money from the Federation Account and also generate revenues from their states. These are the facts. We agree that the central government needs to handle the issue, but states have to play complementary roles in tackling the issues too. Go and take an inventory of the number of states that are paying salaries today. This is not just about Buhari. States are not paying salaries even with the Paris Club refunds and others that they got. If you have small problems from the various states over time, they aggregate and become big problems. Suddenly, they refer to the problems as Buhari’s problems. Every state government has a responsibility to provide for its people. Nobody said that Buhari is an angel; nobody also said because Buhari is now president, every state governor should abandon his responsibilities.

    There is nothing new about restructuring
    A few years ago, people were not talking about the breakup of the country, Why now? Political leaders are in support of what their people are doing. They cannot speak up and challenge them. They just lament; they want the president to handle it. They are talking about restructuring. What is new there? When you and I know that we passed a law in the National Assembly trying to free states’ assemblies and judiciaries. Is Buhari responsible for that?
    Were efforts made by the National Assembly to free local government councils, states’ assemblies, and state judiciaries part of moves to restructure the polity? That was part of a restructuring. What is even this restructuring? Those saying it wants us to take a look at the exclusive legislative list. We don’t have to fight over restructuring. We have two chambers that can handle that. Both were elected, and this is our job. If you’re dissatisfied with the issues in Nigeria, you can bring these issues to the National Assembly. They don’t want that, they want to blame the president. There is nowhere that the president can alter the constitution. He can’t even give an order for that to be done. And these agitators are educated, people. Take the issues to us and Buhari will assent to it. We keep saying that Nigerians didn’t write the constitution. Was it Buhari that wrote it? Why is everybody calling Buhari? It’s sickening. There is a limit. Not that we can’t talk. We have the capacity to do more. But what we won’t take lightly, is for any part of this country to think that they have a louder voice. That is not true. When the North starts talking, maybe there will be sense. If we want this country to stay on, we will. I speak as a Nigerian of northern extraction. I will defend that as long as I live. Those who want to leave can go. We will continue to exist as one Nigeria. Let’s see where they will go. Separatists are taking laws into their hands and we are tolerating them. The next thing they would shout about human rights. We need to stop. It won’t do us any good. No country has survived two civil wars. Army generals have told me that. We must watch out and guide against another war. We should be careful about what we say. These agitators can go. But we will remain.

  • Southern, Northern Kaduna Agrees for Split of Kaduna State

    Southern, Northern Kaduna Agrees for Split of Kaduna State

    ..As S/Kaduna demands Gurara State

    By Gabriel Udeh, Kaduna

    In a development that caught many unawares, the predominantly Christians, Non-Hausa/Fulani Southern part of Kaduna state and its rival Northern Muslim Hausa/Fulani that dominated part of Northern Kaduna, yesterday agreed for the split Kaduna State into two new states.

    Speaking during the presentation and defence of their memos at the Senate ad-hoc Committee and the House of Reps Special Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution at the Hassan Katsina House, Kawo, Kaduna, both sides, infamous for incessant inter ethnic and religious clashes for decades, said creating new states from the present Kaduna State will go a long way at solving the bloody violence that seemed to defy solution.

    The President of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU), Hon. Jonathan Asake, who defended the memo of Southern Kaduna people said: “The wish of Southern Kaduna is to have a brand new constitution, not an amended one,” he said.

    “But in the absence of that, we are here to make our inputs as a people who have suffered suppression and oppression for a long time,” he said.

    “Southern Kaduna is made up of 67 ethnic nationalities spread in 13 of the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kaduna state. It has a land mass of 26,000kmsq with an estimated population of 5.1 million. We are endowed with an educated population and with abundant natural resources,” he said.

    “Our land size is greater than that of Kano state which has a land mass of 20,000kmsq. Yet Kano is a state of its own with 44 LGAs. Our population is greater than 21 other states of the federation,” he went on. “We are demanding for the amendment of the provision of section 8 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which makes it almost an impossible task for the creation of a new state,” he insisted.

    “We have been demanding for a state of our own for over thirty years and Gurara state was among the 18 states proposed in the 2014 Confab report,” he said.

    “We are demanding for the creation of the Gurara state after the amendment. This will help in solving the incessant conflicts between our people and the other divide,” he said.

    SOKAPU also asked for the removal of the Land Use Act from the Constitution and its amendment as a law, so that communities and families can have larger control of the ancestral lands.

    “We stand by all the 2014 confab report which had captured most of our demands.

    Similarly, the Northern part of Kaduna state, under the aegis of Kaduna Development Elders Initiatives submitted a memo signed by the Senators Representing Kaduna North Senatorial Zone, Sen. Sulieman Abdu Kwari; the Senator Representing Kaduna Central Senatorial zone, Senator Uba Sani; all the House of Reps members from the Northern Part of Kaduna; all members of Kaduna state house of Assembly from northern part of Kaduna their Chairmen of LGAs and Councillors.

    Defending the memo of the group, Abdulkadir Ahmed said, “we are canvassing for the creation of New Kaduna state from the present Kaduna state and we want the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria amended to make this possible.”

    “Kaduna South has been complaining of marginalisation ever since, even though Chiefdoms have been given to them and they occupy 60% of the workforce of Kaduna state,” he added.

    “Let the state be split and if they are asking for Gurara state, let them have it,” he said.

    “This will solve all the crises we have been having in this state,” he added.

    “On our part, we are asking for the creation of ‘New Kaduna State’, which will include Kaduna North and Kaduna Central Senatorial zones,” he said.

    “But there should be a referendum for each section of the state to decide on where it wants to belong,” he added.

    Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, who declared the meeting open, also asked for true Federalism, State Police and Financial Autonomy to Local Government Councils.

    The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Kabiru Gaiya from Kano State, in .his opening remarks assured all that each of the memos will be well looked into and submitted to the National Assembly for further actions.

    Many groups and individuals also submitted memos as the sitting continues till Friday.
    Kaduna State Governor Mall Nasir el-rufai was the only one physically present at the Wednesday northwest session of the Constitution review as other Governors were all represented.

  • Shortage Of Beef, Tomatoes, Onions Loom In Southern Nigeria

    Shortage Of Beef, Tomatoes, Onions Loom In Southern Nigeria

    Acute shortage of beef, vegetables, tomatoes and onions, among other essential edibles from the North may soon hit Southern Nigeria, as foodstuff and cattle breeders have threatened to withdraw their services.

    National President of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN), Muhammad Tahir, who disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday, explained that the association had lost property and several members and were, therefore, demanding N475b as compensation from the Federal Government.

    He hinted that unless the Federal Government addressed its grievances on or before Wednesday, February 24, 2021, it would have no other choice than to withdraw its services.

    The association, an affiliate of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said several letters written to President Muhammadu Buhari, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha and governors of the 36 states had not been acknowledged.

    He, however, pointed out that the National Assembly had addressed their grievances by referring the issue to its Ethics and Privileges Committee, adding that the two weeks given to the committee to consider the matter was too long for the breeders.

    The association also expressed concern over “incessant attacks” on its members and their property across the country including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

    It revealed that despite its several complaints and engagements with the presidency, security agencies, and other relevant ministries that regulate its operations as contained in its three weeks ultimatum issued on November 7, 2020, its members have continued to suffer intimidation, frustration, humiliation, destruction of their property and carnage.

    “During the #EndSars protests, our members were killed and their property destroyed. We demanded compensations for lives and property our members lost.

    “We have also written to various security agencies on multiple taxation hampering activities of our members through illegal roadblocks at unavoidable and strategic locations on federal highways and demand tax worth N450,000 before reaching our destinations.

    “It is sad that some of the federal highways are not accessible to our members, as a result of multiple taxation, armed robbery attacks and kidnapping of our members until ransom are paid,” he lamented.

    Tahir noted that the recent violence in Shasha, Ibadan, Oyo State, claimed the lives and property of its members.

    It urged the Federal Government to revisit its demands at various times to address the issues, which include, but not limited to compensation for lives and property.

    Its other demands are: “To protect the rights of our members on transit and at their business places and dismantling of roadblocks on highways by hoodlums in disregard for laws of the country, especially from Adamawa, Taraba, Benue to Port Harcourt.

    “We seek an agreement between state governments and the union to the effect that henceforth, if any violence erupt in any state and our members are attacked, we will immediately withdraw our services.”