US-based Nigerians Would No Longer Be Intimidated, SaysACN Chieftain From laolu Akande, New York
public incitement
tiona! Broadcasting Corpora-
PRONACO chairman, Dr. Baba Adam, Ernest Ezeocha, the Executive Director of the Nigeria Forum in California, Ugbah's wife, herself a Nigerian professor, Stevina Evuleocha and his sister Rosemary Akhidenor are among several others known to be actively involved in mobilising the US media, US gov· ernment law makers, officials and other US-based Nigerians to rise in defense ofUgbah after he was arrested. As a resul~ since Ugbah's arres t over a week ago in Abuja and aial in Makurdi, several US media outlets including the New York Times and the Na-
like 1V stations and newspapers have published detailed reports on the political travails of the American professor of Marketing at the California State University. For instance the largest 1V network in the US, National Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, via its San Francisco station ran a report last week saying 'A California State University East Bay teacher running for governor in his home country, survived an assassi nation attempt and an arrest but ·his future in that country remains uncertain."
INTERNATIONAL US-based Nigerians and tion, NBC, and many other T TS-BASED Nigerians, passion- plaining; we are coming home groups, like the defunct US- local California media outlets Uate about the fate of the
country. will no longer be sutr jeer to the intimidation of "do or die" politiCians, says Steve Ugbah, ACN's gubernatorial candidate in Benue State at the recently concluded elections. "Some of our political colleagues in Nigeria think those of us abroad are so comfortable that we can nor take the heat here. This is our opportunity to tell them that our destiny is in Nigeria also," Ugbah said in a telephone interview with The Guardian last week According to him, Nigerians in the US and elsewhere in the
Diaspora "are not just
COffi-
to put our money where our mouths are and to provide solutions." Ugbah, 57, a university Professor in California for27years, was declared loser in the state's governorship polls. But he is challenging the results at the Election Petitions Tribunal. More significantly however, his case and cause are now ammunitions in the mobilisation of a number of US-based Nigerian professionals; many of who are actively supporting him and advocating his cause in America after he was arrested recently on the orders of Governor Gabriel Suswam for alleged
iZa.mfaraTo Restore Students' . !Allowances . ." i'
•cua:oURmayhave ~ome to Zamfara State students in vari-
·~us terpaWipstil:1.J.dons in thecount:rY; as the new govemOl; . A1hajl Abdul'aziz YariAbubakar has expressed readiness to re;store andclilrnrnence fJllYJl!ent of monthly allowances, begin[ning fUJIe. Students lost forty months of aUowances dwing :theJast adrninistration of MamudaAIiyQ $hinkafi: Speaking dtUiPg a m¢etingwith:stakeholders at GovemmentHo!lSe, Gusau, the !,;overnor said thathis administration would do eve~gpossible to n;store quahtativej:ducation to its propIe. My administration will do everything in its power to en>sure it does not fail to deliver on its electoral promises," he sara. He also said he would pay registration fees for students wno enroll forthe WestAfiican ExaqUn;ltion Council [WAECI -an~National ExamlI)atipn Council [NECO I in the state, ';, " "', . -Is;lh Ibrahim, Gusau .' ,- ' . . . '\ .
BishoDWamS Relbtious Bigots .
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'T'HEBishop on the Niger, (MiJ(!itan Comml!pion) RJ;Rev. . 1 Owen Nwokolo, !1a$warneareligious fanatics and leaders in: thr North to ca II tht;ir niembersto order. 1l1eBisnop who . ~pokeat theweekend atlrnmanuel Church, Ugwimabamkpa, :' OniJ:Sha, dUring the 2S"'syIlod with the.theme:.'forgetting whatlies behind. ,. 'pr;'$s on; said Christ!~ns cannot contioue to be Sactilit.i.a..l' lam.os, a.d<jing: "EnOl!g/1.is eno.ugh." He said: 1.' "EVery efforr.should be made to stein the tide of religiOUS poli- , tics, beca!lSe it is;! dangerous wind that blows no one any '. go:od. The goyernmen~.should create a levelllIaying groundfo~ 'otizeps, so that love, peace, justice and unityWiU reign." ; ... -Chuks Collins, Awka .
Jonathan's PresidenCyA Tribute To -.' j Constitutional 'co~rence "_
AMlJMBERof the defunct19941995 Nationa] Constitutioilal < .I \Copference, Prof. Timothy Uzodinma Nwala, has said the. j ;emergence of President jonathan from the minority ~outh• [South region is testimony to the ~onference's laudable woikw-j _: [wards the unJty of \hecoimay. NWala who ~poke at the ·. w~el,epd said,the develgpmePtad,dressestl:ie;fe""lo[thoSe: . ,: whofeel marginalised. ': L. . . ':"';'all>ias Okwe,Mlija- . i
~g¥~ntis~ fl~y'NECdOverEXamina~o~
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rIl1N . Gdefi. leme.n. t. of tIl.e. sacred,n.es.s otth.'.e.Sabbath by exam- j !~ationbodies in tIlemunay.tIleAssciCiation ofAdventisl' !
iSeqin~School Pripdpiils inNigeri<!(MsSPIN) has con- ,: 'demJledrefusal of the National ExaminauonCouncil (NICO) j ito $top co,pduo:;t; ofits eJGimWtions on Saturdays" . . .:' : ~akinga[theweekend through the President,Ad~ 1 itiffiothYAdes.P.lii, ar its. . nnUalco.ofe. ence,held atBabcodil1nh · , High Schqo~ Ili!;nan-Remo, OgunStat~ the association . tted thatits students miss~ three s~bjects in the Iffeilt ; r Secondary Certificate examination; organised NE<::q, , 'He sai¢"We believe that Saturday is the$abbath and Ibesa~ ess of tile $abbath$nouldberespected. But in recent · ! students have been,having problepls: Ip the recent /imiOr1 . ,e rtificate eJgImination by NECO, ClUr students , : .difIeil!nt papers that were fix~d foiSaturdays bee i elieved tnat'Sabbaths.s hould,be observed~ ; tharthough the association has disqJssed With the. qfNECQanq there is agreemeptthat the affected sru.: d rewnte thepapers;heappealed to the exa.nuna, . ,tiop bodytoTevers.¢ polities onboldlrig of examinations on .. ' , lSat\!Idays. "Wl\,are ready tocoopeiate with gqvemmel)l;we are' ll>.le,acjjngth.a rth.eann .' .uaIJOin.t. A..dmis ...... sior)Ma.. m.'cuIationil(laI:d ' i(]M1B~ eJGln:unationsshould bedlanged:to the days ofthe '. i week:. .hesald ~, . 't· -Gb~n~Akinfenw. .", a.
lagos Slale Governor, Babatunde Fashola (second from right) , receives a gift of the Holy Ouran from Baba Adinnl of Lagos, Sheikh Hafeez Abou (left); Chief Imam of L~gos, She,ikh Garub~ Akinola Ibra~im (middle); Service Moderator, Alhaji Abdul· Rasa·q Aremu Gawat (second from le'ft) and Bashorun of lagos, Alhaji Sikiru A1abi·Macfoy (right) durmg a speCial Jumat service 10 mark commencemenl of Ihe governor's second lerm in office aline Central Mosque Lagos,.. Friday.
From Ralph Omololu Agbana, Lokoja Ya popular decision, secB ond timer, Abdullahi Bello, representing Okene I State
Rumpus Trails Speaker's Emergence
cause disunity, misundcrstanding, disharmony, and disenfranchise the newly elected legislators from the three senatorial disaicts. Wh ile hinting that they are weighing a judicial option to iPresidentjotlat!:tanw Ii,ve up to d)e expectations ofNigeIians clarify the issue, the lawmak- ,bydeliveripg on his prprniseto transfoIll1the counay. .· " . ers said: "We, incoming mi- . : SpealOngatthewee'kend during a posi;inaflguratlon rliImer. nority members, coupled :orga$ed by the BenljeState (jaw Cornm\uJi~ Orunabota said with other forthright mem- fIonathan naSlmenorrnp\lS respopsibilitY tq live upto bers,lmowwhat todolegisla- :paign promjse$ be~lIs¢of tIte conftdel\ceNigerians fromaU . av~reposed iP him. \. ,.', . .' tively, but we do not want to 'g . . jdept tQ cOPdnl!e wit\! the developmenrof take-off amidst rancor and !' He !th~ . "so as. tQgalvanis.e th~ ecopoiny;md empower confusion." ~ess ptivilt!ged Nige.tiallS. : .. ; ; , . . !.L •. ,::.5;C.-:-~·~~,_..Id:":':"""'~..;;;;;;:~:'·~=' · · ~··"· A .nx~'W!iiiilP'X").!~l'::'~~· . .;;~~&tie.'§j'.~ i Orunaoofajllso appeiJIed to 19naihan ~ojn'vestin iheeduca-It/Qrial, ~ealthitnd watet~eo:;t;ors to directl)' re~ch out to indi-'.' ;nal')' NI~~nal)s wbo voted for hirrl, but Ia¢.k access to these . , From ChuksCollins. Awka the new 7'" Session of the SenIgbeke, in a reaction dis· illPslC amepid'es. ' . . .! . . ',: 'TWO of the three claimants are: missed the a llegations as i A~\:((rding'tohim: ~Nowisthe time for President jonathan to . A press statement from representing his zone, when it coming from a disgruntled [deliver on qiepromiseshe madero NigefianS duringihei:am- , I to the Anambra North senatorial seat, Prince John Emeka, who was the immedi- convenes on Monday. political upstart who was ?igns. We knowile has tit. e capacity to de.liver. and we support: He alleges thatlgbeke still roundly , defeated at the Emeka and the incumbent ate Minister of State forItans· ;~'.~st.tlef!!p:oftheway, That is why we ur~him to remailt Alphonsus (gbeke, have con- porration, called on the has a pending case of forgery party's primaries again and !"9<lm:~•.esev(ejry go<$ahead, as he has done siilce he tookOllef :" tinued to exchange words leadership of the National As- and pequry m a Federal H.gh again. emantle oJ. eadersbipof the nil-tion lastye~r." and claims to the seat, ahead sembly not to swear in Sena- CourtAbuJa, m a case between He said he is more pre-oc- · He call~d on thepreSiden(to appoipU:reqibie lrunisters tomorrow's inauguration of tor Igbeke as a Senator Senator Igbeke and the Fed- cupied with how to continue 'andpdvisersm..assi!itbilnindeliVeringonhismandate. -, .' eral Government of N.gena. serving his people. , lfi$pointl;if the occasioiHvas cutting of the calm by South- . .......:.:~ffi~.:;:;.;;(.-:;:.::~~i.:z-:~&'·· -;~~.':~""""~. " " ~>1. ~ :.::'t·~~~l~j lSoudilea~ers~ttheevePt . ' ... ' .. . r . . .':' -Sime.ooNwakaudu.lla!wrdi · Friday Constituency on emerged as Speaker of the newly inaugurated Kogi State House of Assembly. He succeeds Clarence Olafemi, who bowed out after two terms, having also emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) deputy governorship candidate for the ill-fated Jan uary governorship primary election. .
KOGI
But the dec ision to nominate Bello as Speaker without election may be the beginning of a legal tussle, following resolve by four opposition members to seek legal redress. (n a press release, signed by the members from the West Senatorial District: Oluyori Afolabi (ljumu), Adeyemi Ablderru (Yagba West), Folusho Daniel (Mopamuro) and HenryOjuola (Yagba East) and
made available to reporters in lokoja, shortly before Bello was named Speaker, the aggrieved said that while nominating principal officers of a party or parties is the sole business of each party, with the amended Section 10 (I) of the standing rule, the nomination (and not election) of principal officers of each party should be done with majority party members. The group said that if the issue is not addressed, it could
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IIjaw Lead~rTask$ Jonathan, On .
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PDP Senators Trade Allegations, As Seventh Senate Kicks Off
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Legislator Protests Mode Of House Appointment
From Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City
A S the inauguration of the Il.:7'" National Assembly ho lds tomorrow, some elected members in Edo State have said the use of rank to determine who occupies what position in the chamber would not bring the best out of the Assembly.
I I Speaking to journalists at the weekend, one of the lawmakers-elect, representing Owan Federal Constituency, Pally lriase, said competenc'e, profeSSional background and pedigree should be the condition.for choice of leaders. "The way we are carrying
on about rank is wrong be-
cause our democracy has not lasted long enough, neither has it had the best of experience in terms of acceptable behaviour that will say, 'look this is the way we must go'. "Right noW, the image of the National Assembly is at its lowest ebb and anything that will make it a case of 'business as usual' will not be
acceptable to Nigerians. For God's s:llie, let experience, let profeSSional competence,let
track record, pedigree deter· mine who .becomes the chairman of what committee, because, after all, the greatest value that the legis-
Jature can gIVe to gover· nance is derivable from vibrant committee perform-
ance."
iWeeds''IhreatenFoQdSeCUrity
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.ect"pests . and. diseas . es . . ronsti- '. ! VVtute.a thTl!at to fopd sepmtym Africa,saY$Friday ~kclerne, : ' rofWeedSclencearthell~inaugurallectu[erofthe ' ~ University ofAgriculture; l\bia State. At the ' " , HaUunder$e$airn1ansbiJ1oftheVi~e ,chan~ . Hilary Odo Ed¢Qga.Eke1eme said: "Weeds represent ' ,.. imPQrflInt~~~ompl\iXStagna!ingyield$and pith !d~onparti~arl¥ Ui.\\fti<;q where contro.l~Ues heavilyOll. tmi\P-ualJabOur. >' .". , i .n s
:if~;U~~~~ctilJ;eon "O;pp?@J)pil;f$i.$pategjr:$.RJr, . ", ageme.nrrnSinallholderfilriningSySteiIiln',c.; Lo~ ~~~~,)~:.~~!~~f:~r~~~·.~;::.::::-~i;L]:!~··L::~~::,;i.~~~:·:~~~..~.. . .~: ?C,:,~~~~6-i:~~
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