Speaker Dogara replies Oyegun, zones Majority Leader to North West

 

Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara HIS FIRST PLENARY SESSION AT THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN ABUJA ON WEDNESDAY (10/6/15).

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ANALYSIS: Gbajabiamila or Dogara: Who leads the 8th Session of the House of Representatives?June 9, 2015

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has replied a letter written by the national Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, John Oyegun, to him on June 23, 2015, directing him to appoint party nominees as principal officers.
Mr. Dogara in his reply, dated July 16, 2015, recalled his earlier claim that a court case instituted by some members on the matter, made it impossible for him to make all necessary consultation on the chairman’s letter.
Mr. Dogara also informed Mr. Oyegun the need to respect Federal Character, and enumerated the tradition of the House of Representatives regarding how Principal officers are elected.
He then proposed to the APC Chairman a list of zoning of principal offices that would best reflect the spirit of Federal character.
He stated that The North East and South West have already produced the Speaker and his deputy. He therefore, proposed that the House Leader should come from the North West (with 86 APC members) Deputy House Leader, from the North Central (with 33 APC members), while Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip would come from the South South and South East respectively.
See Mr. Dogara’s full letter below:
July 16, 2015
The National Chairman,
All Progressives Congress (APC),
National Headquarters,
Abuja.

UPDATE ON ELECTION OF PRINCIPAL OFFICERS OF THE 8TH HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

This is to formally acknowledge receipt of your letter Ref. No. APC/NHDQ/NAM/01/015/06 dated 23rd June, 2015.
2. After the letter was received but before I could make the necessary consultations concerning the letter because of its sensitive nature, I was served with Court processes on the subject matter filed by some Members of the House and other persons and groups from the North Central and South East Zones of Nigeria. The Rules of the House enjoin us to make a determination whether discussing a matter pending in Court in the House would be prejudicial to the Case.
3. However, before this determination could be made, on the 25th June, 2015, I took steps to discuss the matter in an Executive Session of the House which is open to only House Members and not the public. We were prevented from doing so by some House members who conducted themselves in a most unparliamentary manner. It is necessary to point out that the mechanism of Executive Session is resorted to in order to iron out controversial matters in an amicable way to preserve the unity and cohesion of the House.
4. Since then, efforts have been made by the Party, Progressive Governors and other interested persons to intervene and resolve the issues. We want to place on record, our unflinching loyalty and respect not only to you as an individual, considering your antecedents, but also to the party, APC, under whose platform we were elected to the House. We have no intention whatsoever of disobeying your directives or the party’s position on any matter. We would, of course, prefer a situation where we are consulted on matters concerning the House before directives are issued and made public.
5. We feel strongly, that the issue of federal character in the election or appointment of principal officers of the House is a cardinal legal, moral and constitutional principle that should be respected by our party. It is however obvious from the letter under reference that this principle was not taken into consideration. If the letter is enforced the way it was conveyed, it will lead to the following unjust result:
Speaker: North East:
Chief Whip: North East
Deputy Speaker: South West
House Leader: South West
Deputy House Leader: North West
Deputy Chief Whip: South South
This will totally and unfairly exclude the South East and North Central Zones in the distribution of these political offices and lead to undue concentration of some offices in the South West and North East Zones of Nigeria.
6. The House Rules provide that in filling the positions of Majority leadership of the House, namely, leader of the House, Chief Whip, Deputy Leader, Deputy Whip of the House, each candidate;
“shall be a member nominated from among the members in the majority party in the House”
Furthermore, Order 1, of the House Rules provides that
“In all cases not provided for hereinafter or by sessional or other orders, Precedents or practices of the House, the House shall by Resolution regulate its procedure”
It is evident that there are existing Precedents and Practices which the House has been following for a long time and in particular since 1999. Since 1999, Zonal Caucuses of a Party have been primarily responsible for nominating Principal Officers of the House, other than the Speaker and Deputy Speaker that are elected by the entire House.
In 1999, Principal Officers of the House were as follows:
1. Speaker: Rt. Hon. Salisu Buhari &
Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na’Abba -North West
2. Deputy Speaker: Rt. Hon. Chibudom Nwuche -South South
3. House Leader: Hon. Mohammed Wakil -North East
4. Chief Whip: Hon. Bawa Bwari -North Central
5. Deputy Leader: Hon. Mao Ohuabunwa -South East
6. Deputy Whip: Hon. Samuel Sadiq Anwo -South West
2003:
1. Speaker: Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari -North West
2. Deputy Speaker: Rt. Hon. Austin Opara -South South
3. House Leader: Hon. Abdul Ningi -North East
4. Chief Whip: Hon. Bawa Bwari -North Central
5. Deputy Whip: Hon. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh -South West
6. Deputy Leader: Hon. Gilbert Nnaji -South East
2007:
1. Speaker: Rt. Hon.Patricia Olubunmi Etteh
& Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole -South West
2. Deputy Speaker: Rt. Hon. Nguruoje Babangida &
Rt. Hon. Bayero Usman Nafada -North East
3. House Leader: Hon. Akogun Tunde -South South
4. Chief Whip: Hon. Bethel Amadi &
Hon. Emeka Ihedioha -South East
5. Deputy Whip: Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal -North West
6. Deputy Leader: Hon. Baba Shehu Agaie -North Central
2011:
1. Speaker: Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal -North West
2. Deputy Speaker: Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha -South East
3. House Leader: Hon. Mulikat Akande -South West
4. Chief Whip: Hon. Isiaka Bawa -North East
5. Deputy Whip: Hon. Muktar Mohammed -North Central
6. Deputy Leader: Hon. Leo Ogor -South South
2015:
1. Speaker: Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara -North East
2. Deputy Speaker: Rt. Hon. Lasun S. Yussuf -South West
3. House Leader ?
4. Chief Whip ?
5. Deputy Whip ?
6. Deputy Leader ?
These are clear Precedents and Practices for Majority leadership positions since 1999. They therefore, constitute precedents and practices of the House as enshrined in the Standing Orders of the House. We are bound by it by virtue of Provisions of Order 1 of our Standing Rules.
7. The issue of Federal character has very strong constitutional foundations. They are indeed mandatory provisions of the Constitution. For ease of reference, let us examine the following provisions:
a. S. 14(3)
“The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies”
b. S. 147 provides for the appointment of Ministers by the President. However, under S. 147(3)
“Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution”
c. S. 223(1)(b) provides for observance of federal character by political parties, thus:
“The members of the Executive Committee or other governing body of the political party shall be deemed to reflect the federal character of Nigeria only if the members thereof belong to different states not being less in member than two-thirds of all the States comprising the Federation”
d. The Third Schedule, Part 1, C, especially Section 8 (b) and (c) enjoins the Federal Character Commission to:
“b.promote, monitor and enforce compliance with the principles of proportional sharing of all bureaucratic,, economic, media and political posts at all levels of government;
c.take such legal measures, including the prosecution of the head or staff of any Ministry or government body or agency which fails to comply with any federal character principle or formula prescribed or adopted by the Commission”
e. The Oath of office of Members of the National Assembly is contained in the 7th Schedule to the Constitution and every member swore to:
“Preserve the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and ….. (to) preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”
To further underscore the seriousness with which the framers of the Constitution regarded the issue of Federal Character, the National Assembly was given exclusive jurisdiction to legislate in Item 60 of the Exclusive Legislative List, for:
“The establishment and regulation of authorities for the federation or any part thereof –
a.)To promote and enforce the observance of the fundamental objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the Constitution”
8. Our most respected Chairman, in the light of above and and in view of our Party’s unshakable commitment to Due Process and the Rule of Law, the present position is untenable. Therefore, insisting on it is only tantamount to compelling us to violate the Constitution or to betray the Oath of Office we solemnly swore to. This we believe is not what our Party and any of our principled National Leaders stand for.
Indeed, we expect that our great party, the APC, will ensure that “there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or sectional groups in (the) government or in any of its agencies”
9. Consequently Sir, we propose the following zoning arrangement for the distribution of principal offices in the House of Representatives.
Speaker: Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara – North East
Deputy Speaker: Rt. Hon. Yusuf Sulaimon Lasun – South West
House Leader: North West (with 86 APC members)
Deputy House Leader: North Central
(with 33 APC members)
Chief Whip: South South
Deputy Chief Whip: South East
Above proposal satisfies the provisions of Order 1 of our Rules, the Constitutional provision on Federal Character and gives all parts of Nigeria a sense of belonging. The proposal will also obviate all pending Court cases filed by some Zonal Caucuses on the matter.
10. To resolve this problem, we had offered that some of the aggrieved members of our party, APC, who lost the election for the office of Presiding Officers, should produce some of the remaining Principal Officers for peace to reign. For emphasis, we have conceded the position of Leader of the House and Chief Whip to those aggrieved, as long as the persons should not come from the North East or South West Zones that have already produced the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. In any case, sir, I pledge as the Speaker of the House, to accommodate other colleagues of ours in the Party list, who may not be taken care of by this arrangement, with other commensurate appointments or other existing opportunities for service to the nation.
11. We owe a duty to lay the truth bare as we have done in this case. The Party in conjunction with Governors, National leaders and the APC Causes in the House may agree otherwise as the saying goes, “volenti non fit injuria”. Our Party must not have the undistinguished honour of setting a precedent outside of the provisions of the Constitution and the Rules of the House.
12. CONCLUSION
We most respectfully urge that our above proposal be considered on its merits and that efforts should be made to resolve this matter so that the House will resume its working recess in a peaceful atmosphere. There is no gainsaying the fact that a stable House is necessary to support the President and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces and the APC in fulfilling our electoral mandate of Change and Progress for the Nigerian people.
13. May I Sir, respectfully assure you of our continued loyalty and best wishes.
Rt. Hon. Dogara Yakubu
Speaker, House of Representatives
CC: President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
CC: Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Progressive Governors’ forum mediator)
CC: Governor Rochas Okorocha, Chairman, Progressive Governors’ Forum
CC: Chairman, Forum of APC State Chairmen

 

Buhari’s ‘Missing’ Certificate: Ex-Service Chiefs To Be Investigated

Some of the Service Chiefs fired on Monday are to be investigated over some allegations, The Nation has learnt.
Among the allegations are:
•mismanagement of funds for operations; and
•alleged disappearance of the President’s Secondary School Certificate from military records.
Some retired military officers are said to be pushing for the revisit of the row over President Muhammadu Buhari’s certificate.
It was learnt that security reports indicated that some of the Service Chiefs were allegedly “reckless” in office.
One of the sacked military chiefs was noted for “enjoying himself to the fullest”. Another spent a fortune on wrist-watches and acquired property.
There has been some disquiet in military circles over the allegation that some of the military chiefs substantially benefited from an Abuja housing scheme meant for middle-level officers.
A unit of the houses costs about N7 million, which military officers were asked to pay under three months.
Since most of them could not raise the N7 million per unit, some Service Chiefs were said to have taken “undue advantage” to corner appreciable units.
According to sources, there was a  discreet preliminary investigation of the activities some of the Service Chiefs before they were asked to go on Monday.
The preliminary findings may set the stage for a comprehensive investigation, it was learnt.
 A highly-placed source said: “I think the government will certainly look into the activities of some Service Chiefs
“Among the former Service Chiefs, it was known to all that one of them used to buy wrist-watches worth about $300,000 to $500,000 at will for whoever he liked while in office.
“This is outside curious spending on unnecessary overhead. The situation was that bad. You can see why we are celebrating their exit in the barracks.
“As a matter of fact, one or two of the Service Chiefs indirectly funded the campaign activities of a party in their states through their proxies.
“In fact, there is a case of a former Service Chief who was ‘crazy’ with acquisition of property in Abuja for himself and his relations.”





 The Nation learnt that “a fresh lead” would force a revisit of the Buhari Secondary School Certificate row.
It was gathered that the alleged ‘dislocation’ of the certificate from the President’s file is likely to be investigated to give the public the “other side” of what really transpired just before the general elections when the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that Buhari had no certificate.
A military source said: “Some respected but retired military officers are demanding a probe of the circumstances behind the certificate saga because it created a division in the military. These aggrieved officers have insisted that credentials of every military officer are always in their files.
“There is a fresh lead that the President’s file might have suffered some mutilation or misplacement. While some claimed that the certificate had been misplaced since the 1980s, others alleged mutilation as a result of some political factors.
“Some military officers alleged that the certificate might have got lost in transit when the military was relocating from Lagos to Abuja in the 1990s.
“The essence of the investigation is to set the records straight and put issues in the right perspective.

Former Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke Has “No Reputation To Protect,” Lawsuit Asserts

     

Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has no reputation to protect, as the married woman has a notorious reputation and a penchant for adulterous affairs, a lawsuit claims.

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by SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK     

Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has no reputation to protect, as the married woman has a notorious reputation and a penchant for adulterous affairs, a lawsuit claims.

Nigeria's former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke
The suit, filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja by Moremi Publishing House Limited, publishers of Osun Defender, asserts that Alison-Madueke’s illicit affairs outside her marriage have been undertaken using the nation’s wealth upon which she sat as Minister of Petroleum.
The suit is a response toa libel suit filed by Alison-Madueke filed in june 2015
The defendants insist in their statement of defence that there is a treasure trove of documentation in the nation’s press as well as in various public investigations which include the reports of the audit firms KPMG and PriceWaterHouse Coopers on the Nigeria National Petroleum (NNPC), as well as that of the House of Representatives on the activities of Alison-Madueke.
Maintaining that they are “responsible corporate citizens of Nigeria with high ethical and professional standing” who would libel no one, the plaintiff inclusive, the defendants declared that they only publish “credible and verifiable” stories.
They cited a wide variety of published stories in different media outside of themselves which reflect a wide variety of corruption and collusion on the part of Alison-Madueke during her tenure as Minister.
Among others, the defendants asserted that under the Plaintiff’s watch as Minister for Petroleum Resources, 445,000 barrels of crude oil were stolen on a daily basis for about four years with no effort by Alison-Madueke to identify, initiate arrest or prosecute the criminals who were responsible for that huge theft and depletion of national wealth.
“The allegation of daily theft of crude oil was asserted by former President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo and Minister for Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on several occasions and which facts were never contradicted nor debunked by the Plaintiff and which led to the award of bogus contracts of pipeline monitoring and protection to rag-tag security formations of ex-militants and ethnic militias by the government under which the Plaintiff served as Minister,” they said.
They also recalled the House of Representatives’ investigation of Alison-Madueke for squandering about N10 billion of tax payers’ money on charter and maintenance of a Challenger 850 aircraft for unofficial use as was widely reported in the mass media.
“The Defendants aver that, at the trial of this suit, they shall rely on opinions of average Nigerians about the Plaintiff to buttress the fact that the Plaintiff has no reputation to protect save in the coterie of her corrupt associates,” for which they underlined they will rely on various publications to prove their point.
Text of the statement of claim: 
In the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory
In the Abuja Judicial Division
Holden at Abuja
                                                         Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/1712/2015
Between                      
Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke                                         …Plaintiff
  And
  Moremi Publishing House Ltd.                                     …1st Defendant
Kola Olabisi                                                                …2nd Defendant
  Statement of Defence
  Save and except as is hereinafter expressly admitted, the Defendants deny each and every allegation of facts contained in the Statement of Claim as if same were herein set out and denied seriatim.
1.  The 1st Defendant admits paragraph 1 of the Statement of Claim to the extent that the Plaintiff was at the relevant time of filing this action the Minister for Petroleum Resources of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
2.  The Defendants admit paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Statement of Claim but deny that the said publications were defamatory of the Plaintiff contrary to the allegation in paragraph 4 of the Statement of Claim as the statements made in the publications are true.
3.  Contrary to paragraphs 9 and 10 of the Statement of Claim, the Defendants say that:
3.1.   no independent investigation has been conducted by anybody, whether the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or PriceWaterhouseCoopers, that exonerated the Plaintiff contrary to the Plaintiff’s contention;
3.2.   rather, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (hereinafter referred to as PWC) in its audit report on the accounts of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), a corporation under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources presided over by the Plaintiff between April 2010 and May 2015, indicates that
a.  the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) refused to open their financial statement to PWC and hence the latter could not have access to NPDC’s full accounts and records;
b.  no supporting documents were provided by the NPDC for the $0.25 billion claimed by the NPDC as Nigerian Port Authority charges;
c.   a sum totaling $10,257,161.07 could not be substantiated due to insufficient documents which ought to be provided by the NPDC;
d.  a total of $59,324,737.01 ($59.3) Million on Charter Hire Services could not be substantiated due to lack of supporting documents which ought to be provided by the NPDC;
e.  out of the $17,767,683.54 claimed as payments for manning and management fee of MT Tuma and MT Oloibiri, the sum of $6,658,588.74 could not be ascertained due to lack of supporting documents which ought to be supplied by NPDC;
f.   the total claim of $5,457,006.98 out of the total claim $46,265,215.13 could not be substantiated due to lack of supporting documents. NNPC claimed the sum of $46,265,215.13 as crude transport payments during the review period, (which fell in between the Plaintiff’s service as Minister for Petroleum Resources) which was incurred on crude oil transportation from Escravos terminals to Warri refinery jetty using marine vessels;
g.  the sum of $6,707,826.05 could not be substantiated due to lack of supporting documents. This forms part of the expenses allegedly incurred on marine throughput by the NNPC under the management of the Plaintiff;
h.  on capital expenditure, the sum of $24,179,005.48 could not be substantiated due to insufficient supporting documents which were supposed to be provided by NPDC and NNPC under the Ministry of the Plaintiff;
i.   no amount whatsoever was substantiated for the total claim on Pipeline Vandalism and Repair Cost of $11,896,654.71 and on Management Charge out Rate claim of $59,712,530.83 as no supporting documents were provided for the costs;
j.   while there were documentary evidence that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria had ordered that subsidy on DPK be stopped and the Executive Secretary PPPRA to the CBN Governor confirmed that PPPRA had ceased granting subsidy on Kerosene and no appropriation was made in the nation’s budget in 2012 and 2013, NNPC, under the Ministry of the Plaintiff claimed they spent $9.9 billion on kerosene without budgetary allocation;
k.  whereas the sale of kerosene has been deregulated and average common man takes no benefit of the subsidy payments, yet the Plaintiff supervised the payment of huge sums of money for payment of subsidy on a deregulated product for more than two years in her ministry, the amounts paid has never been recovered and the Plaintiff did not finger any recipient of the funds for prosecution by the relevant agencies;
l.    in January 2015, investigators discovered that the various NNPC (55%) portion of Oil leases (OMLs) involved in the Shell Divestments related to eight OMLs were transferred to NPDC for aggregate sum of US$1.85 billion. So far, only the sum of US$100 million had been remitted in relation to these assets and the sum of US$1.75 billion remains unremitted while the Plaintiff presides over the affairs of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. In addition, the said assets were sold for less their commercial value;
m. the total amount remitted from the sale of domestic crude amounted to $14.5 billion which is just half the total amount of $28,215,731,691 claimed by NNPC to have accrued from the total revenue generated from domestic crude sales;
n.  rather than allowing the House of Representatives Committee to complete its investigation, the Plaintiff went to court and obtained an order preventing the Committee from proceeding on its investigation and the said suit is still pending till the time of filing this defence.
4.  The Defendants say that, further to and in clarification of paragraph 3 above, the NNPC is a wholly-owned outfit of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) which operates through its subsidiary, NPDC, in direct petroleum exploration and production operations and the affairs of all these bodies were superintended over by the Plaintiff as the Minister for Petroleum Resources. For paragraph 3 above, the Defendants shall rely on the PWC Audit Report as reported in an on-line tabloid, Nigeria News Headline Today on Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at http://www.newsheadlines.com.ng/latest- news/2015/04/28/highlights-pwc-audit-of-nnpc-accounts/ and accessed on 6/5/15 at 8:19 pm. Notice is hereby issued to the Plaintiff to produce the original of the report of PWC which is in her possession at the trial of this suit.
5.  A report in The Guardian online edition on May 14 2014 confirmed that “PWC audit report confirms that $18.5 bn was diverted from NNPC account”. The Defendants shall rely on this report accessed at http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2015/05/pwc-audit-report-confirms-18-5bn-was-diverted-from-nnpc-account-says-sanusi on Friday 5 June 2015.
6.  The Defendants further aver that under the Plaintiff’s watch as Minister for Petroleum Resources, 445,000 barrels of crude oil were stolen on a daily basis for about four years without efforts by the Plaintiff to identify, initiate arrest or prosecute the criminals who were responsible for this huge theft and depletion of national wealth. The allegation of daily theft of crude oil was asserted by former President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo and Minister for Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on several occasions and which facts were never contradicted nor debunked by the Plaintiff and which led to the award of bogus contracts of pipeline monitoring and protection to rag-tag security formations of ex-militants and ethnic militias by the government under which the Plaintiff served as Minister.
7.  The Defendants aver that, contrary to paragraphs 11 and 12 of the Statement of Claim, the statements contained in the said publications are true and the Plaintiff has no such reputation that can be damaged as the accounts of the Plaintiff’s stewardships in the Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and, later, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, are a catalogue of unscrupulous and indecent practices characterized by profligacy, self-aggrandisement, serial scandals and wanton embezzlement.
8.  The Defendants shall, in justification, rely on the House of Representatives’ investigation of the Plaintiff for squandering about 10 billion Naira of tax payers’ money on charter and maintenance of a Challenger 850 aircraft for unofficial use as reported by
i.         Newswatch Times of May 9, 2014 in a report titled “Reps Probe Diezani’s N10bn Aircraft, Jonathan Media Chat” at http://www.mynewswatchtimesng.com/reps-probe-diezanis-10bn-aircraft and accessed on 6/18/15 at 2:21 pm;
ii.       Premium Times report titled “House of Reps orders probe of Alison-Madueke for allegedly spending N10 billion on private jet” reported at http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/157135-house-reps-orders-probe-of-alison-madueke-for -allegedly-spending-n10billion-on-private-jet/ accessed on 6/18/15 at 2:26 pm;
iii.     Punch newspapers online report of March 27 2014 titled “Diezani’s jet scandal: Reps panel under pressure, uncovers third aircraft” reported at http://www.punchng.com/news/diezanis-jet-scandal-reps-panel-under-pressure-uncovers-third-aircraft/ accessed on 6/18/15 at 2:28 pm; and
iv.      Encomium Magazine online report titled “Inside Diezani Alison Madueke’s N5.1 billion Bombardier Challenger jet” reported at http://encomium.ng/inside-diezani-alison-maduekes-n5-1-billion-bombardier-challenger-jet/ accessed on 6/18/15 at 4:38 pm.
9.  The Defendants further aver that the Plaintiff has been a subject of several reports of shady deals and dirty transactions relating to sale of oil blocks belonging to the Federation. The Defendants shall rely on
a.        online reports of The Icon titled “Shady allocation of oil blocks: Alison-Madueke has a case to answer” reported at http://www/theiconng.com/shady-allocation-of-oil-blocks-alison-madueke-has-a-case-to-answer/ and accessed on 6/5/15 at 7:29 pm which transaction the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is still investigating as at present;
b.        Punch newspapers online report of 06 March 2015 titled “Petroleum minister summoned over sale of oil blocks” reported at http://www.news24.com.ng/National/News/Petroleum-minister-summoned-over-sale-of-oil-blocks-20150306.
10.     The Defendants further state that the Plaintiff, a married woman, is a personage of notorious reputation and penchant for illicit affairs which have been sustained by the nation’s oil wealth. The Defendants shall rely on the following publications to this effect:
a.        an online blog, called Amazing Stories Around the World, published on Sunday 8 December 2013 a report titled “Kola Aluko’s Romance with Diezani, Omokore Exposed” which detailed the lavish lifestyle of one Kola Aluko who, according to reports, abandoned the Plaintiff after a sizzling romantic relationship and opted for the British model, Naomi Campbell. The said report is on http://amazingstoriesaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2013/12/kola-alukos-romance-with-diezani.html and accessed on 6/5/15 at 8:49 pm;
b.        a November 24, 2013 online report titled “The Dirty Secret Between Kola Aluko and Petroleum Minister, Allison Madueke Exposed” published by abusidiqu.com which details how the relationship between the Plaintiff and the said Kola Aluko went sour the latter having escaped with billions of dollars which were profits made from illegal oil deals involving the Plaintiff. The said story is on http://abusidiqu.com/dirty-secret-kola-aluko-petroleum-minister-allison-madueke-exposed/ accessed on June 6, 2015 at 12:28 pm;
c.         a Wednesday November 13, 2013 online report published by NewsRescue titled “Diezani’s Hustler, Kola Aluko, his Super Yatch, Naomi Campbell and His $Billions Wealth Status” which details the expansive wealth of the said Kola Aluko and how same was made from the relationship with the Plaintiff. The said report is at http://newsrescue.com/diezanis-hustler-kola-aluko-super-yatch-naomi-campbell-billions-wealth-status/ accessed on 6/5/15 at 8:51 pm;
d.        a report by Sahara Reporters on August 19, 2013 titled “Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke, Accused of Blowing N2 Billion on Private Jets” detailing how the Plaintiff had been wasting Nigeria’s resources in mind-boggling and satanic splendor published at http://saharareporters.com/2013/08/19/petroleum-minister-diezani-allison-madueke-accused-blowing-n2-billion-private-jets accessed on 6/5/15 at 7:17 pm;
e.        a May 26, 2015 online report published by The Icon titled “N1bn Libel Suit: Allison-Madueke and agents evading service” in which the Plaintiff was alleged to be evading service of court process in Suit No. CV/1679/15 at the FCT High Court for libel and unauthorized use of the name of one Simon Imobo-Tswan and his platform, Network of Progressive Activists as well as his GSM number to launder the Plaintiff’s image in the media via news-stories and advertorial which report was accessed at http://www.theiconng.com/n1bn-libel-suit-alison-madueke-and-agents-evading-service/.
11.     The Defendants aver that, at the trial of this suit, they shall rely on opinions of average Nigerians about the Plaintiff to buttress the fact that the Plaintiff has no reputation to protect save in the coterie of her corrupt associates and shall rely on the following publications:
a.        an article published online by Sahara Reporters on April 19, 2015 titled “Ten Reasons Why Diezani Alison-Madueke Must Go To Prison” by Churchill Okonkwo and accessed at http://secure.saharareporters.com/2015/04/19/ten-reasons-why-diezani-alison-madueke-must-go-prison-churchill-okonkwo on 6/5/15 at 7:59 pm;
b.        an article published online by Premium Times on April 28, 2015 titled “Why the Federal Government Should Prosecute Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke” by Femi Akinfolarin and accessed at http://blogs.premiumtimesng.com on 6/5/15 at 7:55 pm;
c.        the publication by Sahara Reporters of January 27, 2014 titled “Anti-Corruption Coalition Wants Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister, Alison-Madueke, Removed As Alternate President of OPEC”, a report of a petition by Civil Society Network Against Corruption which detailed a number of corrupt practices of the Plaintiff as the Minister for Transportation, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, and later, Minister for  Petroleum Resources, all between 2007 - 2015. The said publication is on http://saharareporters.com/2014/01/27/anti-corruption-coalition-wants-nigeria%E2%80%99s-petroleum-minister-alison-madueke-removed and accessed on 6/24/15 at 11.43 am;
d.        the KPMG report on the sleaze that characterized the Plaintiff’s stewardship in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources which report described NNPC as a “House of Fraud” but was brought to public attention by Premium Times of February 1, 2012 in a write-up titled “KPMG report: 20 Nigerians EFCC should interrogate” - accessed at http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/3636-kpmg-report-20-nigeriana-efcc-should-interrogate.html on 6/24/15 at 11:58 am. The Plaintiff is hereby given notice to produce the report of KPMG which was submitted to her but was covered up for a long time until unearthed by Premium Times;
e.        the editorial opinion of Punch Newspapers published online on April 1, 2014 titled “Mr President, Alison-Madueke’s cup is full” at http://www.punchng.com/editorials/mr-president-alison-madueke’s-cup-is-full and accessed on 6/24/15 at 12:54 pm.
12.     The Defendants maintain that they are responsible corporate citizens of Nigeria with high ethical and professional standing and shall not libel anybody, the Plaintiff inclusive, but only publish real, credible and verifiable stories.
13.     The Defendants shall rely on the defence of justification in this case as the Plaintiff has no reputation to protect.
14.     The Defendants shall also rely on the defence of qualified privilege at the trial of this suit as it is part of their duties to inform the public.
15.     Whereof the Defendants pray for the dismissal of the Claimant’s action with punitive and substantial costs as the said action is frivolous, vexatious and completely lacking in merit.
  Dated this                 day of June, 2015                       
                                                                               __________________
ü R. A. O. Adegoke,
Dare Oketade,                                                
 M. A. Banire & Associates,
 Defendants’ Counsel,
c/o Olujinmi & Akeredolu & Co.,
5th Floor, NICON Plaza,
Muhammadu Buhari Way,
Central Area, Abuja.
+234-802-449-6925
info@mabandassociates.com
For Service On:
The Plaintiff,
c/o her counsel,
Dr. Chike Amobi,
Chike Amobi & Co.,
Ambassador Albert I Osakwe House,
1473, Inner Block Road, Suit 203,
Central Business District,
Abuja.

EFCC begins probe of Uduaghan administration

Fidelis Soriwei

Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has commenced an investigation into the administration of Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.

Investigations on Wednesday revealed that a team of operatives attached to the Economic Governance Unit of the commission was entrusted with the responsibility of looking into the account books of the Delta State Government under Uduaghan.

A reliable source disclosed to our correspondent that some officials of the state government would appear before the commission to answer questions in relation with alleged economic crimes next week.

It was learnt that some former commissioners and principal officers of the state’s seventh House of Assembly would be invited by the commission for interrogation.

The source said that one of the principal officers of the House was at the commission’s headquarters last week.

It was gathered that the team investigating the immediate past Delta State administration had not invited the former governor.

It was gathered that Uduaghan’s invitation would be determined by the outcome of the investigation of the invited officials.

“It is not true that Uduaghan and his aides were quizzed by the commission. Even his aides have not even been quizzed. The commission has invited some of the officials who served under the former governor. Some of them are commissioners and others are principal officers of the House of Assembly.

“Only one of the principal officers (name withheld) has appeared and left. The others are expected next week. The governor was not invited. He can only be invited after the interrogation of the officials involved. For now, he is out of it.”

When our correspondent contacted the Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, to comment on the story, he said he had not been briefed about the said investigation.

Uduaghan had in May denied an allegation by a group which accused him of embezzling over N200bn which was appropriated to the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission.

The group, under the aegis of the Delta Youths for Good Governance and Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum had alleged that the governor had embezzled the money and was speeding up plans to scrap the commission before leaving office on May 29, 2015.

The leader of the forum, Prince Kpokpogri, alleged that some members of the state seventh House of Assembly connived with the governor to secure N40bn bond.

Speaking through his Communications Manager, Paul Odili, Uduaghan, had, however, said the allegations were false and mischievous.

Odili said, “People are just heaping all kinds of allegations against the person of the governor. How can the governor take such a huge amount of money? It is cheap blackmail because the governor has the interest of Deltans at heart and he cannot do that. That allegation is ridiculous and from an ignorant mind.”

Copyright PUNCH.

NSA’s family member being held by insurgents, says governor

by: Duku Joel, Borno and Nicholas Kalu

National Security Adviser (NSA) Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno has his job cut out for him – a member of his family is being held by Boko Haram insurgents, Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima said yesterday.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday named Gen. Monguno NSA. He fired the Service Chiefs and replaced the NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) with Monguno.
To Shettima, the change of guards at the military hierarchy has offered a unique opportunity to defeat Boko Haram.
Reacting to the appointment of Gen. Monguno and Maj-Gen Tukur Buratai as the NSA and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), the governor said Nigeria cannot afford to lose the anti-Boko Haram battle with the new appointments.
Shettima, who described the appointment of the duo of Gen. Monguno and Gen. Buratai as “one of the happiest moments in his lifetime”, said: “The fight to overcome insurgents ‘is now or never’ because with the duo, Nigeria now has the best of chances to overcome the challenges of insurgency facing it since 2009.”
The governor was hosting members of the Insurgency Victims Support Fund Committee, chaired by Lt. Gen. Theophilus .Y Danjuma, who visited him at the Government House in Maiduguri, the state capital.
Shettima said President Buhari’s choice of Gen Monguno and Gen Buratai as a classic case of putting square pegs in square holes, adding that both men have been given the mandate of liberating their state, which has been the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency.
According to him, the military top brass possess ancestral knowledge of the state’s terrain besides being direct victims of insurgency attacks with their relatives killed, their homes destroyed and their towns raided.
His words: “Yesterday was the happiest moment of my life. President Muhammadu Buhari made a strong statement by his decision to appoint two highly competent sons of Borno to the offices of the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Army Staff.
“I think his strategy was to get people with ancestral knowledge of the Borno terrain. Maj-Gen Tukur Buratai is even a direct victim of Boko Haram attacks. He lost family members when his residence was attacked earlier this year in Buratai, a town in Biu Local Government area.
“Monguno (town) was destroyed and once occupied by Boko Haram and that is where the new NSA, retired Maj-Gen Babagana Monguno, hails from. In fact, a key family member of General Monguno is still being held captive by Boko Haram insurgents.
“These two generals are from Borno; they know exactly where it pinches and, most importantly, they understand the terrain and can easily connect with communities to get local support.
“Added to them is also the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who hails from Bauchi, also in the Northeast. AVM Abubakar spent many of his formative years in the military here in Borno State. He has spent over 10 years in Borno; he knows the terrain very well also and connects with the people.
“I think, for us, it is now or never because  the President has generously put the sons of Borno and the Northeast  to lead the battle for the freedom of Borno, the Northeast  and rest of Nigeria, from the murderous threats of insurgents.
“Insha Allah, with the combined efforts of other competent Service Chiefs and all Nigerians, the war on terror will soon be won by the supremacy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The governor called on Nigerians to support the President who,he said, has left no one in doubt about his persistent commitment to ending the insurgency.
Also yesterday, Senate President Bukola Saraki spoke on the appointees.
Clearing the air on Tweets concerning the screening of the Service chiefs, Saraki said the security chiefs do not need to undergo screening before they are cleared. He also said the National Assembly needs no consultation by the President before he names Service chiefs.
A statement by his media aide Sunni Onogu reads: “The attention of the Media Office of the Senate President has been drawn to a story making the rounds to the effect that the Senate does not need to screen or confirm the new Service Chiefs appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“However, we want to make it abundantly clear that based on inquiries made to the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on whether the Senate was consulted before the appointment of new Service Chiefs was announced, he had in response tweeted that the appointment of Service Chiefs is the exclusive function of the President as stipulated by the Constitution.
“Let it be known that his comment is now being misinterpreted to say the Senate will neither screen nor confirm the new Service Chiefs. This is far from the truth.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Saraki has said his comment is without prejudice to extant laws and court pronouncements on the issue and, therefore, that the Senate will do the needful when the list of the new Service Chiefs is sent to it by Mr. President.
“This is to clarify the earlier position which was not up to date and does not represent the position of the Senate President on the issue of screening of the newly appointed service chiefs .
“The Senate will perform its constitutional duty when it receives communication from the President on the appointments.”
Also yesterday, Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade said the President had demonstrated that “he is for nobody but for everybody” as promised in his inauguration speech of May 29.
Ayade was expressing the gratitude of the government and people of his state to Buhari for the appointment of Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, a Cross River indigene, as Chief of Naval Staff (CNS).
He noted that by the appointment, the President had demonstrated his avowed declaration that he would be president-for-all.
Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas is from Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media/Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Ita, Ayade said: “I wish to express my sincere gratitude to our President, Muhammadu Buhari, for the appointment of our son and brother, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as the new Chief of Naval Staff.
It is now clear to all that this is a President who is very much committed to his pronouncements as a leader. He has demonstrated that he is a man of his words and a man of conviction. He declared to Nigerians soon after his inauguration that he would be president-for-all. There is no doubt that every day, Mr. President is walking his talk.”
The governor congratulated the new naval chief on his appointment, which he described as an elevation well-deserved.
He said: “I wish to, on behalf of myself and the good people of Cross River State, congratulate our son and brother, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, on his well-deserved appointment as the new Chief of Naval Staff.
“As a true professional, I have no doubt in my mind that he would acquit himself in his new responsibility and lend his wealth of experience in combating the challenges of insecurity in the country.”

Why I didn’t join PDP – Buhari

•President says he spent 42 months in detention
… Tasks Zuma on seized $9.7m arms money, xenophobia
FROM JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, ABUJA
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday broke his silence on why he didn’t join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when he made up his mind to play partisan politics.
He spoke on the reasons he opted for the opposition parties when Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.
This is even as the President urged Nigeria’s Consul-General in South-Africa, Amb. Uche Agulu-Okeke to furnish him with a comprehensive report about court cases involving Nigerians and the properties they lost during the recent xenophobic attacks on foreigners in that country.
President Buhari spoke to reporters in Johannesburg, South Africa after attending the African Union (AU) summit there. He dwelt on issues including his incarceration for three and half years after the coup that toppled his regime in 1985. He was Head of State between December 1983 and August, 1985.
Buhari recalled that the country lost about two million Nigerians to keep the country one, so nobody should come forward to talk about breakup. He said Nigeria will remain one country since God had given him another opportunity to reorganise Nigeria, saying the society would pay back those who work hard.
The President, who wondered why people keep referring to the fact that he jailed people during his regime, said he also went to jail for three and half years.
According to him, “after being in the military for 25 years, and getting to the highest rank and becoming Head of State and under unusual circumstances, as Head of State, I went straight to detention for three-and-a-half years. So, those who accused me of locking them up, I, too, have been locked up, so what?,” he declared.
Buhari said not on his life did he believe he would one day join partisan politics, giving reasons why he changed his mind said, “Why did I join partisan politics in spite of that? When I went home people, knew that I have no money and I thought they will leave me alone, but they didn’t.
“They were coming to keep asking me to do this and do that.  And I found out that the only way I could do it is by joining partisan politics.
“And maybe if I speak even if I’m not a member at any level, people will listen to me.
“But then I joined the opposition, I joined APP (All Peoples Party). I didn’t want any political office at first, if I wanted I would have joined PDP then and maybe I would have gotten to where I am much earlier. But then I wanted to go with the opposition.
“The second thing that happened that finally convinced me to join partisan politics was what happened to Soviet Union. They were more advanced than the Western countries (NATO) in science because they wanted to go to space specifically in 1957, and they had more nuclear war heads and delivering system than Warsaw countries. And they had organised their societies and had much less crimes and they got jobs for people. When people had no jobs, they got one for them.”
Buhari said he believed that the best form of governance is democracy, but election must be free and fair.
That, he said, was why he was in trouble and he had to move from APP to ANPP, CPC and eventually to APC.
“And that was when I decided and I believed that the best form of governance is multi-parties democracy with a big caveat, election must be free and fair. And that was why I was in trouble.
He contested his electoral losses in 2003, 2007 and 2011 up to the Supreme Court because of his belief that election must be free and fair.
“In all those cases from High Court to Supreme Court, we sent people to the field, they found out why the elections were not fair. They came to the court and gave evidence but in the end, they will say ‘oh well, there were some flaws in the elections but PDP has won. At last, the PDP has lost now!” he added.
The President said he decided to tell the long story instead of reading his prepared text because he wants to encourage Nigerians never to give up on any of their dreams despite oppositions.
Buhari described as irritating that despite occupying different positions like military governor of North Eastern State, Minister of Petroleum Resources, military Head of State and Chairman of Petroleum Trust Fund, people only remember his days at PTF because he equipped hospitals and schools.
“I bought bed sheets and put in hospitals and some X-ray machine and some buses for the schools.
“They (Nigerians) remember me more as chairman of PTF than as a former Head of State, than a governor or a Minister of Petroleum.
“In spite of the fact that it was during my time that I signed the contract for Warri Refinery, Kaduna Refinery, more than 3,500 pipelines and more than 20 depots.
“We got the tankers off the road, we saved lives, we saved fuel, we save the road itself.
“But from 1999 till date, PDP has messed it up. That is why Nigerians decided to vote me,” he said.
Buhari said despite the money politics being played in Nigeria, his victories during his party’s primary and the March 28 presidential election had proven that Nigerians know what they want once they make up their minds.
He said some rejected inducement while some collected and still did exactly what they wanted to do when there was time to vote.
On the $9.7 million seized by South-Africa, Buhari said he would meet with President Jacob Zuma in Nigeria, noting that in the said meeting, he intends to ask Zuma to furnish him with all he knows about the seized cash meant for arms purchase for the Nigerian military.
The South African authorities had seized Nigeria’s airplane with $9.7 million in cash meant for arms purchase for the Nigerian military last year and another tranche of N5.3 million later.
Controversy had trailed the seized cash.
The President who wished he was the president at a much younger age, particularly at the age when he was the governor of a state that has now been broken into six – Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, and Gombe, noted that though there is a limit to what he can do at 72, he assured that he was back to revived all destroyed institutions, as well as implement the three cardinal points of the All Progressive Congress (APC) campaign promises of securing Nigeria, efficiently managing it by trying to build the economy again, generate employment and deal with corruption.
Earlier, Ambassador Ajulu-Okeke told the President that a total of 143 Nigerians were killed in South Africa between 2011 and 2014, while another 81 were in Johannesburg prison.
“Out of this 81 Nigerians, 21 have been convicted,” she said, adding that shops and other property worth millions of Rands belonging to Nigerians were destroyed during the recent xenophobic attacks.

APC crisis: Buhari launches rescue mission

• Meets Atiku, Oyegun, govs, others
By WILLY EYA
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday initiated a rescue mission for  the All Progressives Congress (APC), with a meeting aimed at dousing tension and saving the party from further crisis.
The APC has been embroiled in crisis following the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as Senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives respectively, against the party’s wish. The APC leadership had endorsed Senator Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila as preferred candidates for Senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives, ahead of the National Assembly inauguration on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, which could not materialise.
Shortly after returning from South Africa, where he attended the Africa Union (AU) summit, Buhari met behind closed-doors, at his Aso Drive residence, with former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, alongside some leaders of the APC, including embattled National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Katsina State Governor, Bello Masari and Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-Makura.
Although the agenda of the meeting was not made public, Daily Sun gathered that the president impressed it on those present that the APC must not only overcome the disappointment over the National Assembly leadership elections but also move on as a united political party.
Sources said Buhari mandated Atiku and others present to use their influence to ensure that all the aggrieved parties bury the hatchet, so that APC would remain one cohesive entity.
Following the meeting with Buhari, Oyegun last night also met with other members of the National Working Committee (NWC), in his attempt to ensure that the president’s wish for a united party is achieved.
Since APC’s preferred candidates lost at the National Assembly leadership elections, the party has been in turmoil. Some party chieftains, unhappy with the development, had blamed the party’s leadership for the loss.
One of those who felt that the APC leadership should be blamed for the turn out of events at the National Assembly is former Kano State governor and now a sitting senator, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Kwankwaso blasted Oyegun over the APC crisis, saying what happened was due to leadership failure.
Kwankwaso said APC’s inability to push through its preferred candidates in the National Assembly had divided the party but refused to back calls for the resignation of the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
The senator said the South-East must be given its dues by the APC, arguing that Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu’s election was a fallout of APC leaders’ many mistakes.
He accused the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party of poorly handling issues concerning the zoning of Senate president and House speaker.
Asked to specifically state what the party did wrong, he said: “APC did the right thing at the wrong time. The party missed crucial opportunity to fix the issue of zoning. The party missed some important steps and things went wrong.”
Kwankwaso, who was a supporter of the Ahmed Lawan/Akume Group, said the APC gave the Bukola Saraki group an opportunity and seized it.
He said: “the party gave ample opportunity to Bukola group and they used it effectively. They used the advantages that came to them as a result of the mistakes of the party.”
Listing some of the factors that swayed some senators, he said some lawmakers believed that former Lagos State governor had taken a lot and needed to be stopped. Besides, he said some people backed Saraki because of what he did for them in the past.
Further lampooning the party on its handling
of the whole thing, Kwankwaso, who was the former Minister of Defence, noted that some lawmakers believed Odigie-Oyegun’s NWC did not consult them as would have expected. “Many lawmakers believed that the party would have done more in terms of consultations with them,” he said.

… Party’s governors step in
From FRED ITUA, Abuja
The raging crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) might soon come to an end, following the decision of governors on the platform of the party to intervene.
Chairman of APC Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, who briefed the media on behalf of other governors of the party last night in Abuja after a meeting that lasted for over five hours, said the contentious issues rocking the party would soon be resolved.
The governors, who were about 12 in number, also begged the Federal Government to bail out states as they struggled to pay workers’ monthly salaries. The governors said the dwindling oil revenue had affected the fortunes of the states and therefore needed immediate bailout.
Okorocha said: “We the governors of All Progressives Congress met today (yesterday) to review the state of the economy. We also met to review the issues as it affects our great party. First, on the economy of the nation, we are concerned and worried by the dwindling revenue of the states, which today has affected negatively the lives of our people.
“It has become so serious and urgent actions must be taken for a bail out for the states. States ‎are not getting better either. We sat down to review what steps could be taken. We are calling for overhaul of the system to block all the leakages in our economy.
“We have realised that what we are going through today is as a result of the poor management of our economy. The APC government met a near empty treasury. This has become very worrisome, not ‎just for us, but for the entire nation.
“We also have congratulated the leadership of the National Assembly. We are aware that the process attracted a lot of disagreement here and there. We, the governors of the party, have resolved to embark on a peace process to make sure that we return as members of one family we have always been.
“We have also discussed to strengthen our party. This is the party that brought change and that change must stand. We will make the party meet the desires of our great members. We are ensuring Nigerians that we will remain focused and address some of the issues.”