Fayemi, Aregbesola canvass use of card reader machine

Ekiti State Governor Kayo­de  Fayemi and his Osun State counterpart, Ogbeni Rauf Areg­besola, have called on the Inde­pendent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rescind its decision not to use Voter Card Reader (VCR) machines during the forthcoming Ekiti and Osun States  governorship elections.
The governors who faulted INEC’s decision to defer the use of card reader machines till the 2015 general elections spoke in Lagos at the weekend at a fund raising dinner hosted by “Friends of JKF. They spoke even as former Lagos State Governor and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu dared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to attempt rigging elections in the two states and see the wrath of the people.
Fayemi, while throwing his weight behind the use of VCR machine in Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections slated for June 21 and August 9, respectively,  said that Ekiti people would leave no stone unturned to ensure that their votes count, counted and announced in Ekiti State and not elsewhere.
The governor added that the electoral body would not only be encouraged, but be pressured to use the VCR machine to affirm its commitment to free, fair and credible polls in the two states.
Fayemi said: “We will go to any length not only to ensure that the votes of the people count, but that the votes must be counted at the spot where they have chosen to elect the leader for themselves and we will do everything to ensure that INEC is forced, not just encouraged to use the card reader for these elections in Ekiti and Osun.”.
The APC governorship candidate stressed that the difference made by his government in the lives of Ekiti people since 2010 is clear and is an evidence of his commitment to lifting up the weak and vulnerable section of the society.
Governor Fayemi who said that the seven years of the PDP rule in the state was full of criminality and brigandage stated that the collapse of the PDP candidate, Mr Ayo Fayose at Ifaki Ekiti was an act of God revealing the true colours of the enemies of the people.
Governor Aregbesola alleged that the PDP is already collecting the voters iden­tification numbers on voters cards with the aim of cloning the original cards, adding that the only way the cloned cards can be detected as fake is not physical examina­tion but through the use of electronic voting system.
The Osun governor also alleged  that there are plans to manipulate both the Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial polls to favour the opposition, saying that INEC should en­deavour to test run the use of Voters Card Reader machines in the two states ahead of the 2015 general elections.
He added that INEC only needs to pro­vide 3,500 VCR machines for the use in the two states as a sign of its commitment to conducting credible polls.
Tinubu told the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to perish its alleged plan to rig the forthcoming elections in Ekiti and Osun states, saying, any attempt to subvert the people’s will would be resisted.
The APC leader alleges that the PDP could only win the states by manipulat­ing the election, because the party has not presented an alternative manifesto to challenge the ruling APC government in the two states. The former governor who dared the PDP-led FG to arrest him for his vow to resist rigging charged the people of Ekiti State to defend their votes and prevent any attempt not to make their votes count.

Why military can’t crush Boko Haram –Shuluwa

hief Abu King Shuluwa, a social critic and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in this interview with ROSE EJEMBI in Makurdi, lampoons the Nigerian military for not been able to crush the dreaded Boko Ha­ram sects after boasting it would within a short while. He accuses the Military of compromise and enjoins them to wake up and work so that their lost glory and the confidence which Nige­rians no longer have in them can be restored.
Shuluwa also bares his mind on other perti­nent national issues. Excerpts:
What is your comment concern­ing the over 200 girls that were abducted from Borno but up till now, there has no trace of them?
Two hundred girl-children taken away. Tell me the agony of their parents and up till now, the Federal Government has not been able to do anything to know where these children are. Had they been taken away outside this coun­try? How were they abducted? Were they trek­king or taken away in trucks in a state where emergency rule is in place? Yet, nobody knows where they are. Kai! And if they are taken out­side this country, it shows that our borders are very porous and useless. We should be able to trace where they are.
Security operatives should do everything they can, to find where these children are whether dead or alive. You can imagine the agony of the parents of these children and in deed all Nigerians at this time. Anybody who is a father or mother will feel for the children. My sympathy goes to all the parents of the girls. It shows that nobody is safe in this country if it has gotten to the level that insurgents would come and cart away over 200 children without any trace. The only safe person in this country is the president because he has all the security guarding him while 200 children cannot boast of a few security men guarding them. If you want to go to Aso Rock Villa now, you have over 1000 soldiers guarding villa alone. Then you have 200 children in a school unguarded. You know that these people were burning the schools, yet you left the children just like that?
What is your take on Governor Nyako’s controversial letter in which he indicted the President of all that are happening in the North?
Let me say this, the people from the south-south are the ones financing Boko Haram be­cause they want crisis in this country especially in the northern part of this country. They would say Nigeria is ungovernable and that they can no longer stay with the northerner, therefore, they want to secede. They are the ones creat­ing the insecurity in the north. In no history of this country have we ever had this kind of crisis. We are having crisis in the north because of the southern agenda particularly the people from the south-south. So, the insecurity which you have seen today especially the Boko Haram insurgency is the advantage which the south-south has taken.
When Nigeria joined the Organisation of Is­lamic Countries (OIC) during Babangida’s ad­ministration, did you see any problem? If Boko Haram is saying they don’t want western edu­cation, let them be. If they don’t want western education and you need western education to get a job in Abuja or elsewhere, then, they can’t get that job. In any case, you must have western education before you can become a governor of Borno. Why is it that every time somebody comes into the position of Chief of Army Staff, he shouts about how he would deal with Boko Haram yet after that, Boko Haram would strike. Why! Why? Why. Where are they getting their weapons? I tell you, these weapons are coming from the south-south.
The war against Boko Haram insurgency seems to be becoming more difficult to win than that of Biafra?
That is true. I agree with you. It is so because the soldiers have compromised their position. They are no longer as active as they were in the past. Tell me after the world war and the Biafran war, have they fought any other war? They have never gone to any other war there­fore, their equipment are obsolete. Look at the Nigeria Air Force Command here in Makurdi, do you think they have any new jet? When you see South Korea and Japan parade their military might, you would see that they are ready to face any war. Nigerian Army cannot face Boko Ha­ram. Shame on them.
With what you have just said about the Nigerian soldiers, do you think the military can even summon the courage to overthrow government?
I wouldn’t say that because I am a democrat. The worst civilian regime is better than the military regime.
But with the kind of insecurity quagmire that we have found ourselves in this country, don’t you think we need military solution to our problem?
What military solution do you want? We sent police, we sent soldiers, we sent Navy, we sent Air Force, which other military solution do you want again? They have compromised. That is why they cannot crush the insurgencies. Let them do the work they are supposed to do. Take for example in Benue State, what is the Mili­tary that have been drafted here doing. They are doing nothing. Why did they come here? Yet, somebody sits in Abuja and maybe they voted so much money to be used for them and the ogas just sit on top of the money. Corruption in high places is killing us in this country.
Nigerians have continued to say that the issue of youth unemployment in this country is a time bomb waiting to explode. Do you share that view too?
Thai is what I have always been saying. For over 10 years now, there is a ban on employ­ment in this country. And when there is an opening occasioned by the retirement of some persons or some persons have left service by whatever means, instead of advertising those positions, people who are there would go and bring their brothers and relations to fill them quietly. Nepotism of the highest order! We are not expanding in employment sector. Why? Because the agriculture that is supposed to sup­port the industry is completely dead. Now, you are producing graduates from tertiary institu­tions all over the country but you are not pro­ducing where those graduates will work. What do you expect? There are graduates of over 10 years roaming the streets without jobs in Ni­geria today. More worrisome is the sad reality that our government is not even providing these graduates the enabling tools and environment to be self employed. I have four graduates of over 10 years here in my house with no job. Tell me, how many tertiary institutions do we have today? In fact, the federal government has increased the number of universities and when these students graduate, what do they do? Noth­ing. The industries that are supposed to employ them don’t exist. Why? No power (electric­ity). The enabling environment that can make them self employed is not there. In Makurdi for example, there is no single industry here. The only employment agency here is the state gov­ernment which is already saturated.
But with the recent move by the Federal Government to establish a crop processing zone around Gboko Road, don’t you think that would also help in creating job oppor­tunities for people?
Don’t establish crop processing zones, do it. We are not talking about intentions, we are ask­ing about actions. How many years have you heard this before? Even if he does it, how many people can they employ? Did you see what happened during the NIS recruitment exercise recently? You saw hundreds of thousands of Nigerians who went to apply to fill less than five thousand spaces. That is to show you that youth unemployment is a time bomb waiting to happen.
The day the whole youths of this coun­try rise to say enough is enough, then we will know. That war will be fierc­er than the Boko Haram insurgency.Agriculture alone is not the solution. There must be industries. Look at the Steel industry in Ajaokuta which was started by Shagari. Up till today, it is nowhere. You can’t develop indus­try without steel. If Nigeria wants to develop, it must first develop the Steel industry. Every industry you want to set up today depends on steel. How can you continue to import steel when you have enough steel in this country? How many billions do we need to make the Steel company in Ajaokuta operational? How many billions are daily being stolen in this country?
Then, do you subscribe to the idea of a parliamentary system of government rather than the presidential system we are pres­ently operating?
I don’t. But I would advocate for a single structure at the National Assembly instead of the double structure we have now. I would also advocate that membership of the National Assembly must be on part-time basis. United States of America has been operating presiden­tial system for a very long time. We copied it from them yet we never hear them go home with the kind of allowances that our people go home with.
They call one constituency project. What is constituency project? Constituency project is that if you are a senator and you say I want hos­pital to be built here and they agree and put it in the budget, they give the money to you to go and build the hospital. It shouldn’t be like that. The ministry of health should go and build the hospital but not you as a senator. Here, when you succeed in putting a project in the budget, you collect the money, and then you don’t ex­ecute that project.
That is why people fight to go back as a senator or House of Representatives member. House of Representatives members get over N40million each quarterly while their counter­parts at the Senate get over N90 million quar­terly for constituency projects that will never be done. So, for me, I would suggest that we should have just one structure at the National Assembly level. If we want senate, let’s have senate and if we want House of Representatives let’s have it. Otherwise, it is duplication.
Back to Benue State. As a member of the Conflict Resolution and Peace Building Committee, how far have you gone with the work?
First of all, when that committee was set up, we drew up the terms of reference ourselves. We itemised what we wanted to do to bring peace. And that committee is interested in peace. We are not interested in war. We are not a fighting committee. We would do everything possible to ensure that peace returns to Benue. We have been having series of meetings. We have inter­acted with the affected local governments. We have interacted with elders and stakeholders of Guma, Gwer-West and Makurdi. They came and gave us what they feel are the problems and also suggested solutions to the problems. We constituted another committee which was under the auspices of DIG Mike Zuokumor who came with Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore. Incidentally, there are two Miyetti Allah; one is for the cultural organisation and the other is for the cattle breeders. And the cattle breed­ers association was dissolved when this crisis was on. But we sat with the other organisation which the DIG came with, and we formed an 80 man joint peace committee between Fulanis and Tivs in  Nasarawa and Benue. The commit­tee requires some logistics for them to go and dislodge the Fulanis. Whether they have got­ten those logistics or not, I cannot tell. But it is expected that the government of Nasarawa and Benue States should provide those logistics for them to work with the possible backing of the federal government and the security agencies. I believe they have not yet been given those lo­gistics because the committee is yet to go and dislodge these people (Fulanis) of their weap­ons neither have they also been able to make the Fulanis vacate Tiv residences that they are occupying.

However, on our part, we have visited a number of Fulani leaders. We have seen the Sultan of Sokoto, we have seen the Emir of Daura. We have visited Emir of Muni, we have seen the Emir of Kastina, Lamido of Adamawa, Governors of Kastina and Nasarawa. We have also visited the Aku Uka in Taraba, we have visited Buhari also. We are yet to see Baban­gida, Atiku, Abdulsalami and Danjuma. All we are saying is that Benue is for peace. There is little calm now as you can see. The tension has gone down to the extent that some people have even returned to their homes but those who are far inside are afraid to go back because the Fulanis are still there and occupying their homes. We have held meetings with both the Tivs and Fulanis. We have met with the fight­ers in the bush. In a nut shell, I would say we have achieved a lot within the one month that we started work. We were given two months to work but it would depend on the government whether to extend our timeframe or not at the end of the two months.

Adenuga, most generous Nigerian –Oba Adetona

Globacom Chair­man, Dr. Mike Ad­enuga, Jr, (GCON) has been described as Nigeria’s most generous personality, whose milk of hu­man kindness, philanthropy and compassion have been enjoyed by many across the world.
The Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba (Dr.) Sikiru Kayode Adetona stated this in his re­sponse to the toast proposed by the Dagburewe of Idowa, Oba Adekoya at the grand finale of activities marking his (Awujale’s) 80th birthday held at the Dipo Dina Sta­dium, Ijebu Ode at the week­end.
Awujale said: “Adenuga is the most generous man in Ni­geria today. This is my son in whom I am well pleased. We need more of your activities in Ogun State. God will con­tinue to give you the stamina, good health and grace. I thank you.”
The monarch, who has ruled Ijebuland for 54 years, decried the practice of tag­ging those pointing out the ills of the society as committing treason and advised govern­ment at all levels to always take constructive criticisms in good faith, while caution­ing government appointees against making inflammatory statements capable of heating up the polity.

Jonathan welcomes Israel’s anti-terrorism experts

The support from the international community for the search and res­cue of the over 200 stu­dents from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State con­tinue to swell with the lat­est coming from Israel.
In a statement by the Spe­cial Adviser to the Presi­dent on Media and Pub­licity, Dr.  Reuben Abati, Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu ,  in a telephone conversation yesterday afternoon with President Goodluck Jona­than, conveyed his coun­try’s sympathy and solidar­ity with Nigeria, offered to send a team of counter-terrorism experts to assist in the ongoing search and rescue of the female stu­dents who were abducted by Boko Haram on April 14 from their school.
He said, President Jona­than, in accepting the of­fer  expressed optimistism that with the entire interna­tional community deploy­ing its considerable military and intelligence-gathering skills and assets in support of Nigeria’s efforts to find and rescue the girls, success will soon be achieved.
Abati said: “ The Presi­dent briefed Mr. Netanyahu on actions already being taken by Nigeria’s armed forces and security agencies in the search and rescue op­erations, noting that Nigeria would be pleased to have Israel’s globally-acknowl­edged anti-terrorism exper­tise deployed in Nigeria.
“Mr. Netanyahu, who expressed Israel’s total con­demnation of the mass ab­ductions, said that the team of experts from his coun­try who will soon arrive in Nigeria, will work in col­laboration with teams from the United States and Brit­ain who are already in the country and their Nigerian counterparts to intensify the search for the girls.
“He reaffirmed Israel’s willingness to give the gov­ernment and people of Ni­geria all possible support and assistance to overcome terrorism and insecurity,” Abati said.