Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State in a Welcome Handshake with the GM of NTA Channel 12 Owerri Deaconess Christy Obot on His Arrival at the NTA Premises During His 48th Nigerian Independence Anniversary Broadcast.

NCP Gives Ohakim Ultimatum to Dissolve Council TCs
Barely one month after the inauguration of the newly appointed chairmen of Transition Committee (TC) in the 27 Local Government Areas of Imo State, the state chapter of National Conscience Party (NCP), has given the state governor Chief Ikedi Godson Ohakim a 14-day ultimatum to dissolve the management of the LGs and revert to status quo.

Addressing newsmen last week at the NCP state secretariat, Owerri, the state chairman of the party, Hon. Bob Uwadiegwu Umunna, warned that if government failed to repudiate the appointment of unconstitutional transition committees for the local councils, the party will proceed to the relevant court of law to cause government to comply.

He demanded that a clear cut framework for the conduct of the LGA elections should be spelt out to commence before the end of October, 2008 and be concluded by December, 2008. He also called for the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) to be given the necessary logistics and support to enable it conduct a successful local government election in order to provide true democratic rule at the local government level.

Describing the inauguration of TCs for each of the 27 LGAs as unconstitutional, Chief Umunna contended that the process of selection of the committee members was not only shrouded in secrecy but also had the trappings of a mafia-like-activity as alleged political godfathers, overlords and local big wigs met in inaccessible locations unknown to the majority of the people to select the members.

The chairman argued that the selection and inauguration of transition committees "runs directly in contravention of Section (7) of Nigeria's constitution which expressly guarantees a system of democratically elected Local Government Council for the local governments in Nigeria.

"It is simply most unfortunate that well over nine (9) years into the 4th Republic, some of our rulers, not leaders, have simply neglected and refused to imbibe basic tenets of democracy in their administration of our affairs. "Adopting unorthodox, autocratic and medieval practices in selecting persons to serve on Local Government Council is tantamount to denying the millions of Nigerians residing in Imo State of their fundamental rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution" he added.

The NCP state chairman berated the state government over its claims of reforming the council election system, stressing that the governor merely used the ploy to buy time. On the N40 billion bond, the NCP rejected in its entirety, the planned move of sourcing of the whopping sum from the capital market, saying there was no need for that as it would rather plunge the state back to huge indebtedness as was the case in the past.

The party argued that it is opposed to the proposal because "there is nothing on ground to show equitable and proper utilization of statutory allocations from the Federal Government to both the state and local governments in Imo State to justify sourcing of additional funds from elsewhere. "The economic implication of the loan will, in the long run, impact negatively on the people as we know that most of such funds will not be utilized for the interest of the people. We are therefore calling on the state government to desist from taking this loan".

Athan Agbakwuru

Nigeria's Human Rights Only on Paper -Chukwumerije
Sen. Uche Chukwumerije, twotime senator representing Abia North senatorial district in Abia State, has said Nigeria has human rights only on paper, stressing that social, civil and political rights of the citizenry are on a daily basis abused especially by law enforcement agents. Chukwumerije, who spoke to newsmen Friday in Owerri, the Imo State capital, after delivering a lecture at a one-day seminar organized by the Centre for Victims of Extra-Judicial Killings and Torture (CVEKT) held at Imo Concorde Hotel, described human rights abuse as an aberration, the world over. The senator cited the killing of the Apo six in Abuja by security operatives as one of such cases of extra-judicial killings, pointing out that several of such cases yet unraveled had taken place in the country and the unfortunate victims vilified as armed robbers and buried as such.

He lamented the severe torture and inhuman treatment meted out to some innocent Nigerians in Police cells and prisons across the country saying that many souls have been wasted through malnutrition and maltreatment of all sorts while many others simply disappeared.

According to him, the reckless abuse of human rights in Nigeria cuts across social, political and economic spheres of the nation's life as education which is the basic right of the child is denied a greater number of children of school age while those whose parents managed to send them to school are charged unimaginable fees. "There are a whole lot of cases of human rights abuses on a daily basis in the country and one can go on and on recounting them. But like I said earlier, there is no human right in Nigeria.

It exists only on pages of the Constitution", the senator said. He said Senate had done little in its oversight function to fight human rights abuses, stressing that Senate has the area of public complaints it could exploit to achieve that. He lamented that such complaints have not been forthcoming from victims through their senators. Recalling that the fight against human rights abuse is a global effort that had taken over two centuries, he urged Nigerians not to relent until the battle is won despite the daunting challenges facing the fight. He expressed optimism that time is coming when the fight will gather serious momentum in Nigeria as according to him, the global trend would always have a reflection on the nation.

Blaming governments for their inability to resist the temptation to misuse the security forces, Chukwumerije alleged that human rights abuses heightened in the land during the last administration of President Obasanjo. He noted "unconstitutional impeachments of unwanted governors with the help of the EFCC, kidnap of Governor Ngige of Anambra State, utter disregard of court orders and politically inspired assassinations increased during this period".

Commenting on why he abandoned the PDP for PPA in the 2007 general elections, the senator explained that his action was informed by the necessity of political survival since he realized that Obasanjo would not have allowed him a return ticket to the Senate, given his opposition to the botched third term project.
Abuchi Anueyiagu, Enugu

Group Applauds Yar'Adua, Jonathan over N’Delta Ministry
As reactions continue to pour in, following the creation of the Ministry of Niger Delta by the Federal Government, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and Vice President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan have been applauded for their wisdom and vision towards proffering enduring solution to the crises rocking the oil-rich region of the country.

Addressing newsmen Saturday at a press briefing, the South-East zonal coordinator of Yar'Adua-Jonathan Success Movement (YJSM), Chief Chris Emma Nzeribe, said the group, particularly the South-East and South- South Niger Delta member states, was impressed with the setting up of the new ministry to handle the seemingly intractable problems of the volatile region.

Nzeribe stated that the new ministry will go a long way in assuring the people of the oil-rich region and other stakeholders in the oil sector that the president is out to alleviate the sufferings of the people of the region with the view to giving them more sense of belonging in the scheme of national events.

Stressing that President Yar'Adua meant well for the region, the YJSM coordinator urged the youths of the Niger Delta states to give peace a chance for the good intentions of the government in creating the ministry to yield the desired result. Also speaking, the national coordinator of YJSM, Alhaji Mohammed Hasheed Ajana described the creation of the Niger Delta Ministry as a timely intervention needed to address the nagging problems in the region.

He blamed the crises in the area on the age-long neglect of the people of the region and the staggering policies of the Federal Government on the derivation formula which he noted continued to witness drastic decline from the early 1970s until it was upgraded to 13% by the immediate past government.

Ajana used the occasion to call on all aggrieved indigenes of the Niger Delta states to eschew anger and recriminations to enable the Federal Government tie all loose ends in the renewed sincere effort to reconstruct the devastated region. The national coordinator further advised critics of the Yar'Adua administration to be patient and partner with him to solve the problems he has set out to tackle in the 7- point Agenda and Vision 2020 respectively.

He, however, warned that the YJSM would not take it lightly with any individual or group who engages in acts capable of threatening the current democracy or the corporate existence of the nation, saying that YJSM has the wherewithal to squarely counter such detractors.

Stories from Athan Agbakwuru, Owerri


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