BOMBSHELL: Jonathan Is Becoming A Big Failure - Asari Dokubo

He is one of President Goodluck Jonathan's most vocal supporter but it seems Asari Dokubo is now agreeing with Governor Rotimi Amaechi that President Goodlcuk Jonathan has failed South-South and Nigerians.

Asari, at a press conference in Abuja, declared that President Jonathan has lost the support of his political base due to the failure of his government to deliver on its promises. The ex-militant leader said:

“I want to start with an Ijaw proverb, which says: the eyes watched its seven children to death. Instead of advising them, it was just looking at them until they died, while the mouth talked its only child to life and success.
“We have continued as Ijaw people and the entire Niger Delta and South-South to support the presidency of President Goodluck Jonathan, but a time has come when silence cannot be golden.
“We mainly speak out in issues that are very critical to the survival of our people, the survival of the people of the South-South and the South-East, which happens to be the political base of Goodluck Jonathan.

“Jonathan is surrounded by very greedy people who are only in the Presidency to enrich themselves at the expense of Goodluck himself.

Asari said that it would be tough for Jonathan to win the presidential election in 2015 if he decides to run based on the poor showing of his administration.

He said that his decision to speak out was for him and others who are ardent supporters of Jonathan not to be blamed when the President fails to win in 2015.

Asari added: “This brings us to another Kalabari proverb, which says: where there are elders, a goat cannot be allowed to deliver tied to a stick. If we don’t talk and we continue to brush it aside, tomorrow we will be blamed and people will say: Mujahid Dokubo-Asari was around when Goodlcuk Jonathan was president and he didn’t talk.

“Then I will be an accomplice and accessory after the fact. It is alarming because the South-South must have its uninterrupted eight years tenure, which is constitutional.

“But with how things are going under Jonathan’s watch, we are afraid that we may not be able to have our eight years tenure because there will be no magic about it if it is going to be one man one vote.”

Asari said he will continue to speak out despite the fact that he had benefited from Jonathan, adding that one of those causing trouble for Jonathan remains the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Godsday Orubebe.

He said: “I have benefited immensely from Goodluck Jonathan with my stake but benefit alone is not enough to make me to keep quiet when the period is very challenging for our people.

“So, some of us are tempted to ask this question: why are all these things happening? Why has the President allow some ministers like Godsday Orubebe to continue in government?

“Everyday people die on the East-West Road. If Orubebe is incompetent as he has shown himself to be, he should be removed. Nobody voted for Orubebe.

“And why is Orubebe so important to the President that he can’t remove him even in the face of his obvious incompetence and several allegation to corruption? We feel very ashamed and embarrassed.

“Orubebe was one of us. He was attending meetings with us, sleeping in the ground with us, entering night bus with us and we nominated him to be appointed a minister.

“We have gone to him and complained to him that we don’t like they way things are going in his ministry and told him that if the President leaves in 2015 without the completion of the East-West Road, we are finished.

“And the man keeps telling us there is no money. [But] when IBB was there, there was money. When Abacha was there, there was money. When others were there, there was money.

“How come the money disappeared when Jonathan got there? Jonathan and Orubebe will account for the death in the East-West Road.

"I have a feeling that Fulani man Buhari would have done more for Niger-delta than Jonathan has done so far Jonathan has done nothing for Niger Delta actually. It is getting more and more difficult to support him."

Angry ASUU Leaders Chase Gov Wada Out of Hospital

Idris Wada

Angry leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) were said to have chased away the Governor of Kogi State, Idris Wada from the emergency ward of the Lokoja General Hospital on Tuesday.

Wada had gone to the hospital to visit their injured colleague, Dr. Ngozi Ilo, and commiserate with them over the death of their former President, Prof. Festus Iyayi, in an accident caused by his convoy.
“Somebody that did not stop after his convoy killed our leader; somebody that did not come to the hospital until some minutes to 5pm (on Tuesday) after the accident that happened around 11am could not be said to be caring. That was why we chased him out of the emergency ward of the hospital and we also prevented him from seeing Prof. Iyayi’s corpse in the mortuary.”
The ASUU leaders, including Dr. Biodun Ogunyemi; the Ibadan Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Nassir Adesola; the Chairman, Lagos State University chapter, Dr. Adekunle Idris; and lecturers chased the governor away.
Their grouse was Gov Wada’s late response to the accident and the uncaring attitude he allegedly displayed on the scene towards the union leaders involved in the accident. They also accused him of trying to make a political gain out of their misfortune.
Dr Adekunnle Idris, who confirmed that Wada was chased out of the emergency ward, said, “We are surprised that a state governor could resort to telling lies because contrary to the claim by his spokesperson that he showed care towards our colleagues, he did not.
“We are not happy with the fact that he came very late to the hospital and the fact that when he came, his press crew attempted to take photograph and video record of Dr. Ilo, who is our national welfare secretary. We stopped them because that was the height of insensitivity.
“Somebody that could not provide us with an ambulance cannot be said to be caring. We had to call UNIBEN for an ambulance that took Ilo to the UNIBEN Teaching Hospital while our colleagues from the Federal University, Lokoja, with the assistance of the vice-chancellor, gave us the ambulance that was used to convey the remains of Prof. Iyayi to Benin.”
Governor Wada latter left the hospital in shame.

You Can’t Pardon Bode George, Tinubu Tells Jonathan

]Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State has described as uncalled plans by the President Goodluck Jonathan led-Federal Government to pardon ex-convict and former National Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olabode George. Tinubu said plans were ongoing by the powers that be in Abuja to pardon the ex-convict if he [...]

Jonathan, PDP chiefs attack Amaechi at Villa meeting

 

WITH its brawling leaders talking tough, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to be far away from the peace it desperately desires.The President warned yesterday that the “new PDP” would not condone indiscipline, after accusing some of its leading lights of fraternising with the opposition.
He said: “In a situation where somebody is in a particular political party but his faith is in another political party… For those who are not holding political offices, yes you can excuse…But if you are holding an elective office, you won’t be in that party and be working for another party. Otherwise, why are you there?”

It was all at a meeting with some PDP leaders from Rivers State at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Although, he did not mention his name, it was clear Dr. Jonathan was referring to Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, whom he greeted warmly last Saturday at the Port Harcourt Airport – a scene many read as the end of their perceived misunderstanding.
Amaechi is suspended from the party. He got yesterday a condition to return – he should apologise.
The factional chairman of the Rivers State PDP, Prince Felix Obuah, announced the condition while speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of elders and leaders of the state with the President.
But Rivers State Commissioner for Information Ibim Semenitari told Obuah to refrain from making unguarded statements.
And a Rivers State Senator, Magnus Abe, dismissed the meeting as a one-sided affair. Only one member of the National Assembly from the state attended.
Responding to a question on Amaechi’s threat to leave PDP, Obuah said: “Everybody is entitled to his own opinion. He has been suspended because of anti-party activities. So, I don’t want to refer to Amaechi’s matter because it is with the NWC of the party. So he has all to say with the party and not me. If he wants to remain in the party, he has to show respect. If he wants to leave, I cannot stop him.”
“That is why we are here. In any case, he has gone to court. If he shows remorse and goes to the party and apologises, we will call him back, but if he still remains recalcitrant and refuses to change, we are not begging for everybody to be in PDP. That is the essence of multiple party democracy. If he wants to remain, fine. But if he wants to leave, nobody will stop him. Well, as he leaves, two will come to PDP. That’s a plus for PDP.”
Stressing that there is no crisis in Rivers PDP, Obuah said: “We want to assure the President that there is no crisis in the party. We are committed members of the PDP and we remain committed. We also assured him that whoever that is not disciplined and who is not in support of our programme should be left out. At every point in time, we let people realise that the party is supreme and the President is the leader of the party and we have come to show our commitment and loyalty to him.”
“We have come to solidarise with the President and we want to pledge our support to his government. We support his transformation agenda. We also thank First Lady for her recent visit to the state and the empowerment programme for women in all the local government areas in our state. Ordinary, this is the first time the leadership of the PDP is paying a courtesy visit to the President. We used the opportunity to appreciate him and wish him well.”
According to a copy of the speech read by Obuah at the meeting, he said: “We are pained and our heart bleeds today that the main champion of opposition in the country against Mr. President and indeed the Federal Government of Nigeria is our own son, Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. This is indeed shameful.”
“We do not know what has come over the young man. Is it that he wants to destabilise the PDP before his eventual movement to his new party, having been handed over the ACN/APC structure in Rivers State? Unfortunately, he has repeatedly rebuffed every effort by us and well-meaning Nigerians to make him show remorse and respect for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
“Mr. President Sir, we sincerely apologise to you and the First Lady on this sad situation. We appeal that as the saying goes, ‘you do not visit the sin of the father on the son’ and implore your Excellency, to remember us in prayers.”
He went on: “To demonstrate that Rivers people are not with Governor Amaechi in this hostile attitude against Mr. President and our great party, we shall continue to support his suspension from the PDP by the National Working Committee, until he retraces his steps from engaging in anti-party activities.”
“Your Excellency, Governor Amaechi is not only showing disrespect to your office, he is also attacking the Nigeria Police, his grouse that the Commissioner of Police in the State, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu is not doing his bidding as perhaps, some before him did by being used to terrorise innocent Rivers men and women, including his perceived political opponents. Your Excellency, Mr. Mbu is a God-sent Commissioner of Police who has refused to be used to arrest and harass political opponents of Governor Amaechi and charging them to court on trumped-up charges. We are very proud of his impartiality and we join well-meaning Nigerians in Rivers State to celebrate him as a core professional.”
“It is for this reason that our governor has been doing everything, including instigating commission of crimes to ridicule and blackmail the Commissioner of Police. Governor Amaechi desperately wants Mr. Mbu out of Rivers State and has publicly threatened to lead a street protest in Port Harcourt with hired persons and non Nigerians. The idea of the protest, we understand, is to further press for the removal of the patriotic and selfless Commissioner of Police in Rivers State.”
Obuah also thanked President Jonathan for giving many Rivers State indigenes the opportunity to hold federal appointments.
“Finally, as a party, Mr. President, we in Rivers State assure you that we will continue to support you, the Transformation Agenda and all your policies. As our son-in-law, we guarantee that you can go home and sleep with your two eyes closed, believing that at all times, we will massively support and stand with you, come rain come shine.”
Also speaking with State House correspondents, the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike said: “The governor is suspended, so he can’t come. It is only when he comes back to the party, then he will join us. You can see the men of timber and calibre, the leaders of the party. So, it is not a question of what The Nation or The Sun will publish. I am happy that The Nation and Sun reporters are here and I hope they will publish correctly.”
“Tomorrow, you will see on the front page that a faction of the state PDP…; there is nothing like faction in the PDP. This is the chairman of the party; he led the members of his exco; all the party chairmen and other stakeholders are here.”
On the moves to bring back aggrieved members, Wike said: “We cannot shut our doors to anybody. That is why it is politics. If you are willing to come back, you will do so. The chairman of the party has said so but there are rules which we must comply with and if you cannot comply with the rules, you can’t come back. There must be party discipline. If you don’t want to belong to party A, you may go to party B.
“As I have said before, this issue of threatening does not hold water. It even favours us because people will now see who actually controls the votes in Rivers State. We are on ground and we have the grassroots. Money does not solve all problems.”
He, however, maintained that there is no misunderstanding between him and Amaechi, saying:
“There is no misunderstanding. What you should understand is that in every political process, you expect some disagreements. Some people see it as if there is a personal misunderstanding. There is none.”
“One thing you must understand is that Nigerians do not easily accept change and when change comes, it takes some people some time to accept, but it is change that has come to stay. That the governor does not have the party structure does not make him comfortable. So, all that you are seeing is a reaction to that and we believe that you cannot build a party around a personality.”
“The party is meant for the people and the people make the choice and the choice they made, they were denied and people went to court to get their mandate. It is like a tribunal; if you lose election, you go to tribunal and the tribunal will tell you if you won or lost. Then you can go on appeal; that is the way it is. So, there is nothing personal; rather it is a political activity that is going on.”
Denying the reports that he was shunned by the President last week, Wike said: “First of all, there is nothing like face-saving. If Mr President came on Friday and I received him and when he came back on Saturday, I was the one who mobilised the people and Mr President was quite happy. You can see me with Mr President in the pictures.”
“What you saw was a syndicated job. That is why I am saying and I will continue to say that journalists are supposed to report the truth. Some people stay in government house and write a story and send to you and you publish. You could see that they cut my picture just to prove that I was not there or that Mr President was not happy with me.”
“How would I have mobilised the entire people to see Mr President and he will now say Mr President should not see me. In fact, it is a humiliation to the governor; it is as a result of that humiliation that he went to the church the following day to now say I am a betrayer. It was that anger.”
The former Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odilli, harped on respect for authority and discipline in the party.
He said: “There is no human problem without a human solution. What is important is for us to recognize that at any point in time respect for authority, respect for the rule of law, discipline is the guiding principle that will make us run whatever system or societies we are running in an orderly, disciplined fashion, in a way that will be inclusive for all stakeholders to contribute maximally to the well being and purpose of the organisation.”
Optimistic that the crisis in the state will soon be a thing of the past, Odili said: “My assurance to you on behalf of the new leadership of the party of the state is that you will see an end to this exchanges that put Rivers State PDP in bad light. The end will be for the family to resolve the matter in a way that will reflect the discipline and the proper organisation of the party.”
On the meeting with Jonathan, he said: “The leadership of the Rivers State PDP came with its executive to meet the leader of the party in the nation. And it was a very cordial meeting and a reunion, if you like, because for quite sometime the party in the state has not interfaced with the leadership at the centre. It was a very warm and cheerful meeting.”
Among those who attended the meeting yesterday were the Acting National Deputy Chairman of PDP and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudum Nwuche, Uche Secondus, Austin Opkara, Senator Lee Maeba, Fred Kpakol, Ama Pepple, and Walter Opuene.

Others are former Transport Minister, Abiye Sekibo, Senator George Sekibo, Sergeant Awuse, Kenneth Kobani, Timothy Nsirim, Doris Fisher, Toru Ofili, Boma Iyaye, Evans Bipi, Hope Ikiriko, Vincent Nemieboka and Elemchukwu Ogbowu.(The Nation)

House of Reps denies knowledge of EFCC, ICPC merger

The House of Representatives, yesterday, dispelled media report on the recently approved merger of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by the Federal Government.The House said such a merger could not have been sealed without the National Assembly being duly carried along.The merging of the EFCC and the ICPC was part of recommendations made by the Steve Orosanye-led Presidential Committee on Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies.
The merger of the two agencies was reported to have received the approval of the Federal Executive Council, and was part of the restructuring in the public service.House Committee Chairman on Anti-Corruption, James Abiodun Faleke, representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, Lagos State, who disclosed this in a chat with newsmen, stated that since the two agencies were creation of laws passed by the National Assembly, the Federal Government would not effect any merger between them without the consent of the National Assembly.Faleke said the two anti-graft agencies performed different functions as specified by the laws which gave lives to them, dismissing as mere speculations report of their merger.
The ICPC and the EFCC were established in 2000 and 2003 respectively by the Acts of National Assembly.Whereas the ICPC was saddled with the task of investigating cases of corruption within the public sector while making recommendations for prosecution of offenders, the EFCC on the other hand, was charged with the task of investigating financial crimes, such as Advance Fee Fraud (419) and money laundering, although there had been reports that one of the agencies had been interloping in the functions of the other.However, separate sources from both ICPC and EFCC said they were not aware of any plan by the Federal Government to merge their agencies, as they described the report by Orosanye’s committee as mere recommendations.They made clear that there had never been a White Paper published on the merger of the two agencies, stating that for such merger to take place, the government would have consulted with the management of the two agencies.Recently, chairman of ICPC, Barrister Ekpo Nta, affirmed the relevance of his commission in the fight against corruption which, according to him, has been commanding the attention of the international community.
He disclosed that the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, UNCAC, required that every country had a dedicated anti-corruption agency separate from the police since corruption, as a menace, was getting increasingly pervasive and intrusive across the globe.The ICPC Boss attested that many countries now had anti-corruption agencies, stating that proponents and advocates of a merger of ICPC and other anti corruption agencies with the Nigerian Police might not have been aware of the international desire on the mode of fighting corruption across the globe.

We won’t allow indiscipline in PDP, says Jonathan

We won’t allow indiscipline in PDP, says Jonathan

President Jonathan told the Rivers PDP delegation that indiscipline would no longer be tolerated in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).He said: “Rivers State is a key state to Southeasterners. It is a key state that needs very strong, focused, committed leadership and maximum political unity and stability. Otherwise, anything could happen and affect the whole country.

“For us to have a stable democracy, we have to have a strong political party. And that is why we get worried when we notice some of the indiscipline in some of the political parties. And the new PDP that we are all working together for will no longer tolerate indiscipline.
“All over the world, parties are supposed to build on ideological differences. These may be close. If you look at the classical case of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) that were created by the military, their ideologies were a little to the right and a little to the left.
“That is the essence of politics. But, in a situation where somebody is in a particular political party but his faith is in another political party… For those who are not holding political offices, yes you can excuse…But if you are holding an elective office, you won’t be in that party and be working for another party. Otherwise, why are you there?”
Jonathan added: “I have listened to the introductions and being a Rivers person, I know key political actors in Rivers State; the who’s who in Rivers State; and they are here. I want to thank you for building this political structure for the state, for the interest of Rivers State and to position Rivers State in the politics of the country.
“To me, I have been working with people of Rivers State for quite some time before I got here. I have had a robust relationship with my brothers and sisters in Rivers State. They are very reliable people who I believe will not speak with both sides of their mouths.”

Amaechi to IG: Redeploy Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu now

GOVERNOR Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, yesterday, threatened to stop funding the police, unless the Inspector General of Police and the Federal Government redeploy the state Police Commissioner, Mr Joseph Mbu to another state.He warned that the continued stay of Mbu was worsening the security situation in the state, particularly, with the recent kidnap of three National Youth Service Corps, NYSC members, adding that he (Mbu) had refused to do the job for which he was posted to the state.
He also accused Mbu of being arrogant and disrespectful to constituted authorities.
“I don’t want a Commissioner of Police that will work for me. I want a Commissioner of Police that will work for the state, the Rivers people. So, it is not only me that you should complain to, talk to Inspector-General of Police and those who transferred the Commissioner of Police that was working in the interest of Rivers people.

Port Harcourt is becoming unsafe, and more NYSC members may be kidnapped, except they remove Joseph Mbu.  It will worsen when we (the state government) stop funding the Police, because we will soon stop funding them.”
Amaechi who spoke when the Chairman of the Governing Board of NYSC, Chief Gordon Bozimo led a delegation to him at Government House, Port Harcourt. He said the state Police Commissioner had long abandoned his constitutional role of securing lives and property in the state.
The governor said the crime situation had risen, noting that as Chief Security Officer of the state, there was no way he could achieve any meaningful result in the fight against crime with Mbu as Commissioner of Police.
Amaechi said that the Police Commissioner was a politician, adding that he attends political meetings with those who allegedly brought him to the state.
The governor said: “The Federal Government should post a new Commissioner of Police to Rivers State.  I have no control over the current Commissioner of Police, Mbu, even though the constitution says so.  He called a press conference, where he said, he does not report to the governor of the state, who is the Chief Security Officer of the state. So, how do I (Amaechi) protect our citizens?” Amaechi queried.
“The Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu is a politician, because he attends political meetings with those who brought him to our state and there is no way you can stop that.  The only way you can stop that is to ask the politicians in Abuja to withdraw their Commissioner of Police and allow us to secure Rivers State.
“My fear is that his stay in Rivers State is intended to kill the conducive business climate in Port Harcourt and the fast growing economy of our state,” Amaechi said.
“We used to have a wonderful security system and Commissioners of Police, who understood their functions and knew what to do.  But since the Police in Abuja, suddenly withdrew the predecessor of this current Commissioner of Police and posted the person called Joseph Mbu, nothing has been working.
“Mbu has been sitting with politicians  and the security system is down and out.  Since he came, we have never had peace. We held security council meetings two or three times. But before Mbu came, we held security meetings two or three times every month. We know where our NYSC members are and we knew the level of security arrangement we put in place to protect them.  We also sent operatives of Department of State Security, DSS to watch over them.
“We have equipment that monitors what happens in the state.  The only way they will not kidnap Corpers is to send Joseph Mbu back to where he came from and post us a Commissioner of Police that will serve the interest of this state.”
Earlier, Chief Bozimo said they were at Government House, to thank the governor for his support for the NYSC scheme, lamenting the recent kidnap of three corps members serving in the state. He appealed to the governor to take steps to guarantee the safety of corps members in the state.

Governor Amaechi Escapes Death As Suspicious Vehicle Rams Into His Convoy

The Rivers State Governor Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi yesterday miraculously escaped unhurt as a suspicious vehicle rammed into his convoy along Igwuruta road on the Governor’s way to the Port Harcourt International Airport.According to eyewitness account, the accident was caused by the intrusion of a Toyota Avensis with registration number AAA 767 AQ that rammed into the Governor’s convoy from the opposite side of the dual carriageway, just after the C4I Security Post along the Port Harcourt International Airport Road.
Fortunately no life was lost and the driver of the vehicle was apprehended and handed over to the police.
Rivers State since the last 3 months have been in the news as political bigwigs in the state outwit themselves in a bid to wrest political power and control the political landscape of the oil rich state. Events reached their climax recently when the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Joseph Mbu openly lambasted the Governor whom he described as a Dictator.
The governor earlier in the day was reported to have demanded the redeployment of the Commissioner of Police whom many believe has pitched tent with Abuja-based politicians who are the governor’s political adversaries. The Police high command, in the meantime has however denied knowledge of any affray between Governor Amaechi and the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu.

No need for Amaechi to leave –PDP

Peoples Democratic Party leadership has asked Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State not to leave the party.

 

It noted that with the ongoing reconciliation in the party, there was no need for any of its aggrieved members to defect to another party.

The party’s acting National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Tony Okeke, stated this in Abuja on Monday.

Okeke was responding to a threat by Amaechi that he could defect to another party if the PDP no longer wanted to accommodate him.

 

But Okeke, who spoke to one of our correspondents on Monday, said, “There is no need for him (Amaechi) or anyone to leave the party. The reconciliation efforts going on in the party now are all encompassing and we are very positive and hopeful and because of this, there is no need for anyone to leave the party, not even now or in the future.”

 

The PDP, which suspended Amaechi from the party on May 27, set up a committee to investigate the anti-party activities accusations levelled against him.

 

Meanwhile, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Austin Opara, has dismissed Amaechi’s claim that he made him (Opara) a principal officer of the House of Representatives.

 

Opara, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, also said it was wrong for the governor to tag him a betrayer.
 

He wondered how Amaechi, as the then Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, could have influenced his emergence as a principal officer of the House of Representatives, when he was not even a member of the National Assembly.
 

He said, “The process of electing the presiding officers of the House of Representatives is well known. It is through election on the floor of the House.
 

“Since the office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives was zoned to the South-South, I spoke to all the governors from the zone and my state governor. How did Amaechi make me the Deputy Speaker?”
 

Also, a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dakuku Peterside, has warned that the PDP will lose the 2015 election if it fails to reconcile its aggrieved members and resolve the crisis rocking it.
 

Peterside, who represents Opobo/Nkoro/Andoni Federal Constituency, stated that without reconciling members of the party, it would be difficult for it to win the next general elections in the country.

The lawmaker said the PDP was currently in disarray, adding that any political party in such a situation would not win any election.
 

Peterside, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Downstream, said though Amaechi was still in the PDP, he would not hesitate to leave the party if the governor decides to defect to another party.
 

The lawmaker said, “If you say the PDP in Rivers State is in disarray, are you not sure the party (PDP) in Nigeria is in disarray?”

Nigerians no longer have respect for their elders – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday affirmed that Nigerians have lost the values for hard work, respect for their elders, truthfulness, honesty, contentment, humility, patience and all moral virtues.

The president blamed cultism, armed robbery, murder, kidnapping and other social vices in the country on its citizens.
Jonathan, who was represented by the Ministerof Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple, made this known at the official flag-off of National Christian Campaign on Social Transformation, tagged: Be The Change You Want To See, organised by the Christian Association of Nigeria,CAN, in Abuja.

According to Jonathan, no doubt, Nigerians have lost their moral values and principles andthat so much have gone wrong in family lives, schools, churches and the society in general. He added that Nigerians have lost the values for hard work, respect for their elders, truthfulness, honesty, contentment, humility, patience and all moral virtues.
“Our priorities are misplaced.

We have trained our children to insult elders, parents fight teachers who discipline their children and so we have been reproducing badly behaved children, who come under peers influences.

The church itself has not always done what it should do, some of the teachings in some of our churches have turned the Bible upside down, the Bible is meant to teach us that which is right and help us to do righteous things.” He added.

Bayelsa awards N3bn contract for security surveillance

• From: Africcon Media – Nigeria
  The Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has awarded the Safe City and Safe State Security Surveillance Project to Huawei Technologies Limited at the cost of ‘over N3bn’.”
  By the terms of the contract, the is expected to provide Close Circuit Television cameras at strategic places in Yenagoa and other identified parts of the state.
  To show his seriousness to the project, the Governor on Friday during the monthly transparency briefing presented a draft of N1.7bn to the company.
  He said, “The project is aimed at boosting the security in the state to attract investments from within and outside the country.”
  While reassuring investors of their safety, Dickson  explained that the contract was awarded to one of the world’s leading ICT and security firms.
  He said state-of-the-art security infrastructure would be deployed in all parts of the state to discourage commission of crime.
  While rendering the financial account of the state at the end of May, he said N29.5bn was the balance in the state purse after statutory deductions and capital payments.
  Explaining the financial activities of the government in April and May, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Duate Iyabi, said N24.6bn was the total inflow from the Federation Account in May.
  He explained that the amount was made up Statutory Allocation of N2.7bn; Derivation fund of N12.4bn; SURE-P, N1bn, Excess Crude N4.6bn; Augumentation, N2.9bn, and NNPC Refund of N233m.
  Iyabi said  1.2bn was deducted for bond repayment and N11.1m for the servicing of foreign loans, adding that derivation  Indices for 2010 gulped N392m while N41m was spent on commercial agricultural credit scheme refund.
  The commissioner, who announced an all time high Internally Generated Revenue of N1.3bn, noted that total inflow after FAAC deductions amounted to N22.3bn.
  He said the total capital payment for the month stood at N3.9bn.
  For the month of April, the commissioner stated that N19.5bn was received as gross inflow comprising statutory allocation of N2.1bn, Derivation N11bn, VAT N599m, SURE-P N1.7bn, augumentation, N3bn and NNPC refunds of N233m.

Tension in APC over sharing of offices

• Here is tension in the yet-to-be registered main merger opposition party, All Progressive Congress, over distribution of offices.
  The APC is a product of a merger between the Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change, All Nigeria Peoples Party and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance and it has an avowed mission to dislodge the PDP from power in 2015.
  Already, sources within the APC on Sunday confided in our correspondents that there had been disagreements over the sharing of party offices among the stakeholders from the different parties.
  Investigations showed that the CPC and the ANPP disagreed over the post of the National Secretary, which the former insisted must be given to it.
  A source within the APC confided in one of our correspondents that, “the ANPP, specifically Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, wanted the position of the protem National Secretary but was schemed out.
  “The CPC and the ACN conspired. The CPC insisted on the position of secretary or nothing. Those in the ANPP are not excited about this.
  “There is also a proposal that the CPC in addition to producing the secretary will get the presidential slot while the ACN gets the chairmanship of the party in addition to producing the Vice-Presidential candidate.”
  Shekarau was the ANPP presidential candidate in the 2011 elections and he has been  one of the major forces behind the merger agreement.
  The ACN, CPC and ANPP have already scheduled a meeting for this week to resolve alleged disagreements over sharing of offices.
  National Publicity Secretary of the ANPP, Chief Emma Eneukwu, however said he was unaware of any such disagreement.
  According to him, there is nothing to suggest that the ANPP has any disagreement with the arrangement made by the leadership of the APC.
  He said, “I am not aware of this. I know of the arrangement that we have with regards to the constitution of the Interim Management Committee. If there is any disagreement, my party has not told me about it.
  “But I know that there is an agreement that each of the three parties will produce one member each in the IMC.
  “There are only three positions: Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, so there is no way one party can take two positions out of three.”
  He noted that the desperation of those who are scared of the rising profile of the APC could be responsible for the spreading of deliberate falsehood and misinformation.
  Speaking in the same vein, National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, accused the PDP and some unnamed “jittery forces” of peddling the rumour about the disagreement within the ranks of the opposition on the sharing of offices.
  He said there was no iota of truth in the rumour making the rounds that the ranks of the APC had been polarised because of this.
  “That is the handiwork of the ruling party and those jittery because of the coming together of the opposition political parties under the banner of APC,” Mohammed said.
  Asked about when the yet-to-be registered party would submit its application to the Independent National Electoral Commission for registration, he said that would be done “soon.”
  The National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the main business before the proposed party at the moment was the issue of registration.
  According to him, it is when the party becomes duly registered that the issue of the distribution of offices will come to play.
  “It is when the issue of registration is settled that we can discuss other issues. Even at that, we recognise the fact that no sacrifice is too much to remove this indignity that the (President Goodluck) Jonathan administration represents,” he said in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Sunday.
  He also took time off to explain that the national leadership of the party was doing everything within its power to ensure that no loose end was left untied.
  Fahakin said, “What we have done is that the national leadership of our party reasoned that, look, since we don’t have a template, even INEC doesn’t have a template to hand to us; you know the concept of merger is a novelty in this country.
  “That is why everybody is looking at the Constitution and the Electoral Act, we are trying our best to ensure we get things right.
  “For now, the National Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of each of the merging political parties making a total of nine, have been saddled with the responsibility of writing to INEC.”
  He explained that only political parties who had held their conventions and had agreed to the merger at this level were entitled to write INEC.
  The ACN, ANPP and CPC are expected to write INEC, signifying their intension to merge this week.
  In a related development, there are strong indications that APGA may not field candidates in the next set of elections in 2015.
  This is due to the protracted crisis rocking the party. Informed sources within the factionalised party confided in The PUNCH that APGA’s internal crisis is not likely to end soon.
  Chief Victor Umeh leads one faction of the party while Chief Maxi Okwu leads the other.
  A leading member of the party and Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has approached the leadership of the APC signalling his intension to drag APGA into the merger.

Oritsejafor working for Jonathan’s 2015 agenda –Buhari

• A former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has accused the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, of working for the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan.
  Buhari said with many statements credited to the pastor concerning him (Buhari), it was evident that he was desperate to help the electoral fortunes of the President.
  The former head of state, in a statement on Sunday, said this while responding to the call for his arrest by the CAN President.
  The CAN president had said in a statement last week that Buhari was a prime leader of the Boko Haram sect, and should therefore be arrested for questioning.
  Oritsejafor had said, “He (Buhari) is, therefore, the prime leader of this religious and blood thirsty sect called Boko Haram, a movement that is based on a warped interpretation of a strict adherence to force people of other religions into Islam.
  “This kind of fundamentalism is the driving force behind his failure in each election in the country.”
  But Buhari, in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change, Rotimi Fashakin, described Oritsejafor’s statement as lacking in facts.
  He said, “It is our view that this statement is utterly tendentious and unsupportable by incontrovertible facts.
  “We are aware that as it was before and after the 2011 elections, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor is keen on helping the electoral fortunes of his friend, President Goodluck Jonathan.”
  While enumerating Buhari’s stand on Boko Haram, whose activities he said had been condemned by the former head of state, Fashakin also described the CAN’s president’s call as reckless.
  He said, “We leave discerning Nigerians to judge and see the incongruity in Pastor Oritsejafor’s reckless call and GMB’s unwavering patriotic stand on Nigeria’s insecurity.
  “Again, Pastor Oritsejafor has proven to be a willing implement for destabilisation in the hands of the Presidency, in the orchestrated heckling of GMB ahead of the 2015 elections.
  “The moral rectitude, personal discipline and patriotic love for Nigeria by GMB is head and shoulder above what the current leaders of the nation possess.
  “GMB is not in the mould of leaders that do not match their words with deeds. In the run to the 2011 election, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan told an unsuspecting nation, “My ambition is not worth the blood of anybody. But truly, his electioneering campaign was trailed by blood, tears and woes.”

PICTURES From Burnt Tedder Hall At University Of Ibadan

The fire which started around 4;10am at the buttery area of the hall was as a result of an electrical failure. News reaching us has it that the fire service came around 5;25 am when the fire had already done serious damage. Goods and property worth thousands of naira was reported to have been lost to the fire. The Cyber café beside the buttery was also affected but some computers and computer accessories were salvaged. The warden of the hall released a statement in respect of the fire outbreak and told ‘Tedderites’ to keep calm and not use this opportunity to perpetrate nefarious activities in the hall.....More pics after the cut:

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Voting & Counting At Controversial Governors' Forum Election

 

It had been reported that a recording of the voting was done by a governor in the camp of Mr. Amaechi.
With his mobile phone, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun captured most of the proceedings of an election that featured intense maneuvering from governors on a clear divide, either in support or against President Goodluck Jonathan’ candidate, Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau state.
The president has repeatedly denied having interest in who becomes the next chairman of the group, but that claim has been disproved by insiders and governors, and even the president’s body language.
The footage documents how the 35 governors voted, the counting of votes and the declaration of result by presiding officer, Asishana Okauru, who is also the director general of the forum.
At a point during the counting of votes, the arrowhead of the opposition against Mr. Amaechi, Governor Godswill Akpabio, realized the election was being taped and he charged angrily at Mr. Aregbesola. But once Mr. Akpabio turned away, the governor simply resumed his secret recording.
With allegation of fraud now up against Mr. Amaechi’s victory from governor’s known to be die-hard associates of the president, the recording is seen as the first documented evidence of a transparent process to crush that concern.
The outcome of the poll has been rejected by governors in support of Mr. Jang, and apparently, President Jonathan. The protesting governors, led by Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom state, said the process violated key rules, and declared the group’s decision not to recognize Mr. Amaechi as the winner.
But for all the authority of incumbency and presidential leverage, Friday’s elections provided a teachable moment on the potency of an alliance between discontent members of a ruling party, and the opposition  All Progessives Congress – a coalition bonded by common goal to upset and humiliate the establishment.
Mr. Amaechi, not favoured to win by the pro-Jonathan team, emerged despite intense strategizing that saw the Peoples Democratic Party raise a list of supporting governors who agreed Mr. Jang was the rightful candidate to win the seat. Nineteen PDP governors signed the document before the polls.
The Northern Governors Forum met early Friday and prevailed on the Katsina and Bauchi governors, Ibrahim Shema and Isa Yuguda, respectively, to yield their ambition, for a consensus candidate in the person of Mr. Jang.
But in the end, at least three governors, who rallied that support on paper, backed off when afforded the luxury of an unmarked ballot paper, and a secret voting system. Their votes, alongside the opposition, apparently went Mr. Amaechi’s way.
After the polls, Mr. Akpabio, backed by other governors in support of Mr. Jang, said using the unmarked papers (which should betrayed those who opposed the president’ choice), and the refusal of Mr. Amaechi to resign first before the poll, nullified the elections.

President Goodluck Jonathan - My Name Has Brought Good Luck To Nigeria

President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday said despite the security challenges in parts of the country, his first name had brought some good luck to Nigeria.
Jonathan said this while granting an interview to a 10-year-old Nigerian girl based in California, Miss Zuriel Oduwole, on the sideline of the ongoing 21st ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Africa Union holding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Oduwole who was said to have earlier interviewed some other African leaders is working on a documentary on the union’s 50 years of existence.
She had sought to know from Jonathan how much good luck his first name had brought to the country under his leadership.
Jonathan said religion and traditional societies attached some values to names.
This, he said, was why parents select good names for their children.
He said, “Traditional societies attach some values to names. That is why people select good names for their children.
“In the scriptures sometimes, when God sends you on some special assignment, He could even direct, ‘change the name of this child from this to that.’
“But the name in itself does not make much difference because even from my village, there is one of my peers that also answers Goodluck.  Another one that is a little older than me answers Lucky from my small village and I didn’t see the good luck and lucky in them.
“In terms of bringing my name to bear in Nigerian affairs, within this period, we have our challenges. Of course, you are aware that we have our security challenges. But in spite of the security challenges, the country is moving on. I will say yes, it brought some good luck to the country.”
On the legacy he would want to leave behind at the expiration of his tenure, Jonathan said he would like to be remembered for sanitising the nation’s electoral system as well as fixing the power poor and security challenges.
“If we can stabilise the electoral process, sanitise the political environment, then we make sure that we have power in this country and of course, security, every other things will take off on its own,” the President said.
Jonathan said he would also like the sanitation going on in the electoral system to be internalised in all sectors of the country.
He said, “People should be allowed to decide who governs them, who represents them at the parliament, who runs their affair at the local government level; the country never had that opportunity and the elite were no longer interested even in voting.
“Democracy was almost left floating in the hands of people who ordinarily have no place there. So, we are sanitising the electoral process. Now, Nigerians can select who they want to be their President, who they want to be their governor, who they want to be their senator, who they want to be their House of Representatives member or even their state House of Assembly member or even chairman of their council.
“We are doing that and I want that to be internalised in all the ways we do things. I want people to remember me for that.”
Jonathan also talked of his desire to put the nation on a better stead in the area of Information Technology.
He said with technological development, power could be stabilised and then, micro, small and medium scale enterprises would be encouraged.
These, he added, are the areas that create jobs for the people, improve the economy and reduce poverty to the barest minimum.
Also, the President said for African countries to come out of the woods and take their rightful positions among the comity of nations, their leaders must deepen democracy by avoiding abuse of power and impunity.

Boko Haram must be defeated at all costs – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan
 

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday said the excesses of the violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, must be curbed, not minding what it would cost the government.

“The excesses of Boko Haram must stop. That is the decision of this present government now. It must stop, whatever it will cost the government, it must stop,” he said in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in an interview with journalists on the sideline of the 21st ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Africa Union.

The President boasted that the government had the wherewithal to confront the reign of terror being unleashed by the sect members and that their actions were already being confronted with his recent declaration of state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

Also at the same forum, Jonathan told the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon that the state of emergency in the three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa might be called off before the end of six months initial prescription by the Constitution.

The President said with the level of success so far recorded by the military in the affected states, he was optimistic that the emergency rule would end soon.

“The military intervention in the affected states is going on well. There is no human rights abuse and there is no collateral damage with regards to security of individuals. I am optimistic that with the level of success already being recorded, the emergency rule in the affected states may not last up to the six months stipulated by the Constitution,” he told Ban.

Jonathan also said that reports at his disposal showed that the relationship between civilians and soldiers on duty had been excellent.

He said the soldiers’ rules of engagements and operation order were well defined and presence of troops in the areas had been welcomed by the residents.

The President added that his recent order for the release of women and children being held by security agencies was a sign of commitment to resolving the security challenge within the ambit of the law, assuring the UN Secretary-General that the state of emergency was not designed to inflict suffering on the civilians.

Jonathan also assured him that Nigeria would continue to play its leading role in the West African sub region.

Ban had earlier sympathised with the government and people of Nigeria over the violence being unleashed on parts of the country by members of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

He noted that terrorism had become a global challenge and identified with the Federal Government on efforts being made to resolve the challenge. He also advised that there should be prudent and cautious measures to protect civilian population living in the affected areas.

On curbing Boko Haram, Jonathan told the journalists that although terrorism was a global problem with the United States and United Kingdom and other countries having their shares, his administration was working hard to contain it in terms of immediate, medium and long-term approaches.

He said, “For the short term, of course, there must be military intervention, we must beef up security, we must change the security architecture to make sure that we detect that something is about to happen before it happens so that we will be able to stop it.

“We have stopped a number of incidents in the country. It is just that the few that happened affect life and whenever life is affected, you will not even think that somebody is doing anything.

“That is why recently I even had to declare a state of emergency in three states so that we go all out to make sure that we seize these weapons.

“A lot of free weapons come in because of the Libyan crisis. We must seize them. They are illegal weapons and must be seized and you cannot do that without declaring a state of emergency to enable the military enter any house, whether it is a residential building or a church, a mosque, a shrine, anywhere, and hotel. We will be able to enter and seize these weapons.

“In the short term, it is to seize these weapons. That is why those three states we have the worst cases; we declared a state of emergency. By the time we finish combing, we would not have just stopped it there but we would have seized most of the weapons they are using. That is the short term.”

The President added that his government’s medium term strategy was to concentrate more on education.

He observed that the part of the country, where there had been prevalence of Boko Haram activities, has the highest rate of school dropouts.

He said although the Constitution put the issue of basic education under the purview of state and local governments, the Federal Government still found it essential to intervene to make sure that there is improvement in the sector.

Jonathan said the idea behind the intervention was to make sure that people received education so that they would not be easily brainwashed.

He said another government’s approach was to create an economic environment that would afford individuals opportunities to fend for themselves.

Obama Cancelled Visit To Nigeria Over Insecurity

Facts have emerged as to why the United States president, Senator Barrack Obama, decided not to put Nigeria in the list of the African countries that he will be visiting, as earlier scheduled.

These facts came barely forty-eight hours that the White House in Washington, DC relased to the press, the details of President Obama’s travel to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.

Checks by our correspondent revealed that the American president was initially having it in his plans to add Nigeria to the planned Africa’s visit but had to change his mind as a result of the unfavourable security reports that the White House has been receiving about the country since three weeks ago.

Our correspondent gathered that Obama had been in constant touch with President Goodluck Jonathan for over two months regarding the visit as a way he (Obama) felt could be used to pacify Nigeria over the way and manner he canceled his earlier schedulled trip to the country during his first term as the American president.

Although, several diplomatic efforts were made by Nigerian officials both in the United States and Nigeria to make the American President Obama visit Nigeria, the American government decided to ignore the idea as a result of the high level of insecurity in the country.

Further checks by our correspondent showed that the Department of State had earlier given the federal government some conditions that could make President Obama add Nigeria to his planned visit to Africa but the inability of the Jonathan-led administration to curb the insecurity in the nation disqualified the country from making the list of the countries that the American leader and his wife, Michelle, will be visiting between the 26th of June and 3rd July, 2013.

It would be recalled that the United States government has recently been complaining about the loss of lives, bombings, impunity and corruption on the side of the federal government, and the idea of using force on families of the members of the Boko Haram Sect by the Nigerian security agents.

The inability of the Nigerian government to strictly adhere to the warnings of the American government, LEADERSHIP gathered made the White House to see Nigeria as a place its president cannot visit.

An official of the United States who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone however disclosed that the canceled visit of President Obama to Nigeria would not jeopardised the good relationship that both countries share together.

“The United States present has a very good Bi-national relationship with Nigeria and the fact that President Obama did not include the country in his planned visit to Africa will not make the US to withdraw all her supports from Nigeria. Nigeria is our most strategic partner in Africa and nothing will ruin our relationship. Maybe in the future, the president will visit but now, he cannot because the security reports available are not encouraging” the official who pleaded anonymity hinted.

Meanwhile, President Obama will return to Africa this summer for the first time since his first year in office, the White House announced Monday.

Jonathan should contest 2015 presidency – Southern Leaders

Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2015 presidential election.

The group made this known in a communiqué issued by the leaders of the three geo-political zones in Southern Nigeria, represented by Rev. Bolanle Gbonigi (South-West), former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme (South-East), and Chief Dr. Edwin Clark (South-South) at the end of the third general conference of the assembly in Lagos.

In the given statement, “The conference resolved that the 2015 Presidency should remain in the South, bearing in mind that the North has been in power longer than any other region of the country.”

It said, “The Assembly passes a “vote of confidence’ in Mr. President and notes that within the realm of constitutionality, nothing inhibits him to seek re-election if he so desires.”

They said, only Nigerians, voting in a free and fair election, could determine who becomes the next President of the country.

The Assembly saluted the courage and wisdom of the President, especially his effort to bring the insecurity situation in the country caused by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram under control.

The southern group also lauded Jonathan’s decision in declaring state of emergency in the three most crisis-ridden states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.

It was lamented that corruption had become deep-rooted in Nigeria, and had become a threat to the development of the nation.

The meeting further urged Jonathan to summon the courage and political will to fight the menace for the sake of posterity.

Chief Cairo Ojougboh and Senator Lee Maeba led a host of former legislators to the conference.

“That Mr. President is hereby urged to regard corruption as national emergency and set up a National Advisory Committee on its eradication,” it said.

I Have No Case To Answer, Kabiru Sokoto Tells Court

The alleged mastermind of the Christmas day bomb blast that killed about 44 persons and wounded 75 others at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church at Madalla, Niger State, in 2011, Kabiru Umar, a.k.a Kabiru Sokoto, yesterday, insisted he had no case to answer.
This came on day the Boko Haram Amnesty Committee said it never met with him during its visit to Kuje Prison last week.
At his resumed trial before Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, Sokoto queried the competence of the 2-count terrorism charge  preferred against him by the Federal Government, contending that the government had failed to establish a prima-facie criminal case capable of warranting his conviction.
He stated this as government closed its case against him after it had called six witnesses that testified before the high court.
Consequent upon an application made by Sokoto’s lawyer, Mr Hassan Lukman, Justice Ademola Adeniyi, adjourned the case till June 7 to enable the accused person enter his no-case-submission.
Basically, a no case submission is made when an accused person believes that the prosecution has failed to prove the ingredients of the offence for which he is charged or that the evidence adduced in court was such that a judge cannot rely upon to pass a sentence.
Specifically, the alleged Boko Haram kingpin urged the court to give him only seven-days to puncture the terrorism case against him, a request granted.
The court also gave the federal government  five days to respond on points of law to whatever the accused person will file.
Besides, Sokoto, asked the court to furnish him with the entire record of proceeding, a request that was declined by Justice Adeniyi.
Meanwhile, the last prosecution witness who testified before the court yesterday, alleged that Sokoto had confessed that one of the recognized leaders of the sect, Abubakar Shekau, told him that only members of the sect initiated into the “Shurah” cadre were allowed to know the ideology behind the current insurgency in the Northern part of the country.
The witness told the court that Sokoto had disclosed that whereas members of the “Shurah” which he belongs to, plan and mastermind attacks, other lay members were recruited to execute terrorist agenda of the sect.
However, Sokoto, through his lawyer, faulted the testimony of the masked witness, maintaining that he used the Hausa word “Anche” in his statement, a word he said meant “they said.”
He told the court that he was only referring to what he was told by those affiliated to the sect.
The federal government had alleged that aside the Madalla blast, the accused person trained over 500 men on how to manufacture and detonate Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, adding that he had a terrorist training camp at Abaji, a suburb town in Abuja.
One of the witnesses had earlier narrated before the court how a donation of N40million divided the sect.
According to the witness, Sokoto had in a statement made on January 14, 2012, confessed that of the said N40million which he said was received from another terrorist group in Algeria, he got the sum of N500, 000, being the recognized governor of Sokoto State in the hierarchy of the group.
He told the court that the accused person admitted that he used his share of the money and bought Quran and other Islamic religious books, even as he allegedly volunteered the names of two members of the sect that bombed Catholic church at Madalla, Niger State, on Christmas day.
The witness further told the court that Sokoto gave the names of the two perpetrators as Bashir Mohammed and Muhktar Kafanchan, noting that the federal government is currently on the trail of the said culprits.
Besides, “Mr ABC”, testified that the accused person confessed that it was not suicide bombers that attacked the church, but that the bombs were detonated from a car that was parked near the church.
Likewise, another witness, “Mr DEF”, narrated how Sokoto hid behind a wardrobe on February 10, 2012, a day he was re-arrested at Sabongida in Taraba state, few days after he escaped from police custody in Abuja.
The witness who is an operative of the Department of State Service, DSS, told the court that upon his arrest, Sokoto was found with a Nokia phone and six different Sim cards.
Meanwhile, Boko Haram Amnesty Committee has said it never met with Kabiru Sokoto, the alleged mastermind of 2011 Christmas Day bombing of St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madallah, Niger State, during its visit to Kuje Prison last week.
In a statement signed by secretary of the Committe in Abuja, the committee, which is officially called Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North (PCDRSCN), said its attention had been drawn to a front page story of a particular media report (not Vanguard) which alleged that it met and held discussions with the suspect.
According to the statement, the committee did not at any time during the visit see Sokoto, let alone have discussions with him.
Agreeing that its chairman had an interactive session with some members of the press, the committee said it did not consider Kabiru Sokoto a sufficiently significant figure in the hierarchy of Ahlul Sunnah Lil Da’awa Wal JihadN to warrant such a special attention to him.
It further described the story as false, saying “it may be considered as deliberate act of mischief or sabotage intended to discredit the work of the committee.”
The statement  read in part: “While, indeed, the committee did visit the Kuje Prison on Thursday,  May 14, 2013, and met with officials and some of those detained there, at no point did the committee state that it saw Kabiru Sokoto, let alone hold any discussion with him during the visit.”