Political Briefs

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PATIENCE Jonathan, wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, opened the can of worms which gave birth to the crisis in Rivers State, on Wednesday, July 17. Speaking to 16 bishops from the South-South, who paid her a visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the first lady said that the misunderstanding with Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, which started about four years ago, was responsible. She said she had appealed to Amaechi to engage her people in dialogue instead of demolishing a part of the community in Anyugubiri in Okrika. Patience, who described the governor as “hot tempered,” alleged that he did not only ignore her advice, but went a step further to sack the chairman of the local government for holding a reception in her honour.

At another time, she alleged that Amaechi imposed a nine-month curfew on the community, where she hails from and all her pleas with the governor to lift the curfew fell on deaf ears. The first lady said that although she had forgiven the governor, she decided to tell the visiting bishops so that they could pray to God to touch Amaechi’s heart. “Rivers State issue is one thing I have committed to prayer because I believe there is nothing God cannot do. God restored me and I will do His work without the fear of man. The truth will always remain the truth and what God ordains must come to pass and so Rivers issue is something we have handed over to God,” Patience said.

The first lady used the occasion to appeal to the governor to sheathe the sword and allow peace to reign in the state. She said as her son, she could not be fighting the governor. “I appeal to Amaechi to sheathe his sword so that we can defend our state and this country with love, unity, patriotism and truth at all times. Hebrews 12:14 urges us to embrace peace with all men without which, we cannot see God. Amaechi is my son, I cannot fight him and I cannot kill him. He shouldn’t be used by outsiders against his own blood because this seat is vanity,” she said, adding: “One day, no matter how long it takes, we will leave this seat. Power is not forever. This seat is vanity, others sat here and left, so one day I will also leave and we will meet at home; so why should I fight him?

Reacting, Ibim Seminitari, commissioner for information and communications, Rivers State, denied that the governor demolished houses around a school in Angubiri, Okirika, as advised against by the first lady. “The First Lady advised against it and the governor did not demolish the houses. The school is still there without a playground. This issue happened a long time ago. What I don’t understand is that she still bears that in mind,” Seminitari said.

On the allegation of nine-month curfew on the people of Okrika, the commissioner said it was not so.  “Even the First Lady had said several times that one of the achievements of the governor was that he (Amaechi) brought peace to Okrika and that people could sleep with both eyes closed,” she said. Seminitari refused to comment on Patience description of Amaechi as hot-tempered, saying it was a personal opinion of the first lady. “What I think is good to hear is that she has no problem with the governor (Amaechi) and that those using her name to cause crisis will stop doing so,” the commissioner stated.

Summons for Amaechi’s Security Men, Legislator

MOHAMMED Abubakar, inspector general of police, on Wednesday ordered three security men attached to Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State, to report at the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja, on Thursday, July 18. He also asked Chidi Lloyd, leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, to do same. He said he needed the security men and the legislator to come and explain their roles in the crisis which rocked the state legislature on Tuesday, July 9.
The summon for Debeware Semeikumo, the aide-de-camp, Tony Iwelu, chief security officer, CSO, to the governor and Lloyd was contained in a statement issued by Frank Mba, a chief superintendent of police and deputy force public relations officer.

The statement said that they were invited for questioning in respect of their roles “as seen in the video clips in circulation,” adding that “The invitation, therefore, seeks to obtain further details that will assist proper investigation into the matter.’’ It also referred to the video clips in which, “a man carrying a mace, another in police uniform, as well as other security details were seen conducting themselves in a questionable and uncomplimentary manner.’’

Committee on Same Sex Marriage, Death Penalty

THE Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday, July 17, set up a committee to consider issues relating to same sex marriage, abolition of death penalty and other human rights issues. The committee headed by Mohammed Adoke, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, will help the country to prepare its final report to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Briefing state house correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, Labaran Maku, minister of information, said that Nigeria was due to send the second Cycle Universal Periodic Review, UPR, report to the United Nations, UN, Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland after the first report sent in 2009. Since the last report, Maku said Nigeria has made substantial progress in 30 out of the 32 issues raised in it. The minister, however, noted that Nigeria has continued to differ with the international community in the two areas of same sex marriage and death penalty.

The National Assembly recently passed an anti-gay bill, which prescribes a 14-year jail term for those involved in same sex marriages and witnesses to such marriage. The bill is yet to be assented to by President Jonathan.

Maku said that the committee would look at all the issues before forwarding Nigeria’s final position to the UN Human Rights Council. “Also today, the council devoted most of its sitting to discuss Nigeria’s impending second circle universal periodic report to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Every country that is a signatory presents a report every four years stating the profile of the human right situation and what government and communities are doing to promote the enforcement of universal human rights across the world… We are happy to note that of the 32 issues that were raised in the last report in 2009 relating to Nigeria, we have made substantial progress in about 30 of those issues. These include issues relating to press freedom, the rights of citizens, the rights of women.”

Northern Youths Disown Their Leaders

A GROUP of northern youths under the aegis of the Northern Youths Network, NYN, has disassociated itself from the position of some elders and politicians in the north concerning 2015 elections. Alli Kano, president of the group, said in a statement on Wednesday, July 17, that comments reportedly made by some leaders of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, and the Northern Elders’ Forum, NEF, on the return of power to the North in 2015 were made for selfish reasons.

 “We wish to state very clearly that ethnicity, religion and all the other primordial sentiments which our elders have whipped up in the past to sway the choices of the people during election times, must be hurriedly discarded as we prepare for the 2015 general elections, so that credible and competent leaders will rule the nation and advance our democracy,” Kano said.

The group said it was lamentable that the elders in the North did not consider it imperative to consult the youths with a view to harmonising positions before craving for the return of power to the North in 2015. “They just assume that as usual, they can set their selfish agenda and the youths, most of whom they have deliberately left impoverished, will fall in line automatically! But this time, they are in for a big surprise,” the statement said further.

On Tuesday, July 16, the ACF and NEF along six other northern organisations had insisted that the North must produce the next president in 2015. The ACF, the NEF, Arewa Reawakening Forum, Arewa Research and Development Project, Northern Union and the Code Group, made the declaration during a news conference in Kaduna. They all insisted that power should return to the region by 2015.

Speaking at the well-attended conference, Ango Abdullahi, a professor and NEF spokesman, stated that the North would use its numerical strength to ensure that power is returned to it in 2015. “The North is determined and is insistent that the leadership of this country will rotate to it in 2015 and I am making that very ‘very’ clear to you (journalists),” Abdullahi said.

— Jul. 29, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT

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