Boko Haram extended the frontiers of its atrocities with the callous attack on an Internally-Displaced Persons camp in Rann, Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno State, early this month that left three United Nations aid workers dead. Such an attack contravenes the global convention that an IDP camp is a humanitarian centre. This places a burden on the Muhammadu Buhari administration to bring the perpetrators to book.

Two of the deceased represented the International Organisation for Migration, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, stated. The third casualty, a medical doctor, worked with the International Red Cross. The attack on the 55,000-member camp also saw the abduction of three aid workers and a UN nurse. The consequence was instant. The UN, which has 3,000 humanitarian workers in the North-East, immediately shut its operations in Rann, putting the IDPs in further distress.

Likewise, Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials, MSF, suspended medical activities because of the attack. It said that 40,000 IDPs, who needed medical attention, were affected by its decision. “The latest attack is a stark reminder that it is the people in Borno who are paying the price of this ruthless conflict,” the IOM said. Indeed, Nigeria is paying a heavy price for the insurgency. Over 100,000 people have been violently slaughtered since 2009, when Boko Haram’s terror campaign began, according to the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima.

Unfortunately, the government is adamant that the Boko Haram insurgency has all but faded away. At the eighth National Security Seminar recently, organised by the Alumni Association of the National Defence College in Abuja, the President said the sect “is no longer a serious fighting force.” This is out of tune with reality. Juxtaposed with the horrific banditry it is still carrying out, the denial is akin to hiding behind a finger.

Apart from carrying out repeated suicide bombings since the turn of the year, Boko Haram regained global infamy on February 19 when it kidnapped 110 female pupils of Government Science and Technical Girls College, Dapchi, Yobe State. It is a repeat of the abduction of the 276 Chibok schoolgirls on April 14, 2014 in Borno State.

Having taken root for over nine years, Nigeria faces a formidable task to reduce Boko Haram to rubble. Although negotiations have yielded the return of about 100 Chibok girls, lecturers of the University of Maiduguri and abducted female police officers, Boko Haram is still waxing stronger. Buhari had made the same mistake in December 2015, when he controversially declared that the sect had been “technically defeated.” This was after the military high command said it had captured “Ground Zero,” and cleared the Sambisa Forest, the sect’s stronghold.

Before the latest attack, the insurgents, armed with automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and gun trucks, according to the IOM, had raided the military formation at Rann. Damian Chukwu, the Borno State Commissioner of Police, said that four policemen and six soldiers died in the attacks. This shows that the group has not been weakened. At best, it is in retreat, which is the modus operandi of Islamist terrorism. Without saying so, Buhari, last December, asked the National Assembly to approve $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to buy arms needed to prosecute the war.

Experts state that terror organisations mutate. They operate as the occasion demands, using asymmetric tactics, capturing territories or hitting soft targets with bombs. It is naïve, therefore, to assume that Boko Haram has been tamed because it is not currently holding territories, as it once did across Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

The incontrovertible evidence is that it is still a potent fighting force. One, Borno, not underestimating the Boko Haram threat, shut female public boarding schools in 25 of its 27 LGAs on March 12. “If the entire security situation is not addressed, one cannot be sure what could happen,” the state’s Commissioner for Education, Inuwa Kubo, said. “…in a situation where you cannot move to some parts of the state without an escort and you are hearing that, in some cases, soldiers are being ambushed, do you deceive yourself and say everything is okay?” Why, then, is Buhari underrating the Boko Haram menace?

Two, in a state visit to Nigeria on March 12, the then United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, said the Boko Haram insurgency extended beyond Nigeria. “Boko Haram is a threat to other regions…in my discussions with President (Idris) Derby in Chad earlier today, we spoke about the threat of Boko Haram….” Put differently, taking Boko Haram for granted could be perilous.

This is how Saudi Arabia, which is leading the military coalition in Yemen, responded. It fired its security chiefs on February 27. The major shake-up ousted the key security and military brass. The President should infuse new ideas into the war, appoint capable personnel and give them targets, including taking out Abubakar Shekau (the Boko Haram leader) and tracing the source of the Islamists’ funding and weaponry, collaborate with our neighbours and seek financial and technical assistance from the US and Europe.

Punch

The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee for the 2014 National Conference, Senator Femi Okurounmu, tells SAMUEL AWOYINFA that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government can restructure the country before the 2019 general elections among other issues.

What do you think is wrong with the report of the 2014 confab, where you played a prominent role?

Why do you think the APC leadership rejected the report of the confab?

They never wanted the confab in the first place, like I told you earlier.

What are your thoughts on the recommendations of APC’s panel on restructuring?

My position, I believe, should also be the thought of anyone with a logical mind. There are people who, in the last three years, have been opposed to restructuring. They were equally opposed to the national conference. President Muhammadu Buhari, for instance, would have nothing to do with the confab report. He said he would keep it in the archives. Those who have been speaking on behalf of the APC since 2015, including the Vice-President, Lai Mohammed and Nasir el-Rufai, have all been lambasting advocates of restructuring. They are even pretending as if they don’t know what restructuring means.

The President, in his New Year message to Nigerians, said the country’s problem was not restructuring but a process to achieve good governance. He specifically said that we did not need restructuring. So, with these antecedents of all the leaders of the APC, if they now suddenly turn around, a year to election and begin to say they support restructuring, should any reasonable and logical mind believe them? They are only looking for votes, especially with the way they lied to us in 2015 to get our votes. Are they not telling us lies again to get our votes in 2019? They know that if they fail to support restructuring, they will have a tough time to win in 2019.

Do you think the current agitations are addressed in the 2014 confab report?

To a large extent, the agitation for restructuring has been addressed by the 2014 confab report. In the report, consisting of all delegates from all sections, 432 delegates in all, no section can get all its demands. But by and large, through the cooperation of the South and the Middle Belt, the advocates of restructuring got most of what they wanted.

I think there is one issue where I can see us saying the same thing: it seems they are now open to the idea of state police. The 2014 confab report came out clearly to recommend state police. Now the Vice-President and the governors’ forum have come out in support of the state police. So, we are on the same page.

But I want to observe that the Arewa Consultative Forum has come out to strongly oppose the position of the Vice-President and that of the governors’ forum. So, we are back to square one, because this was the position at the 2014 conference. It was the Arewa people who opposed the creation of state police but the majority prevailed and we were able to pass state police at the confab. It was because Arewa people were not satisfied with the confab’s decision that they now prevailed on the President not to even look at the report.

Why do you think the North is opposed to restructuring?

They are afraid because they don’t want to lose their privileged position in Nigeria.

Did the 2014 confab address their fears?

Yes, it addressed their fears by making sure that we took decisions in the confab by unanimity without having to vote, so that the decision reflected the wish of the overwhelming majority of delegates and therefore of Nigerians.

Do you think Buhari’s decision to set up a restructuring panel has anything to do with 2019 elections, as some have said?

Yes, he (Buhari) has seen where the pendulum is swinging and he wants to pretend he is in favour of restructuring even when he is not.

Do you think the adoption of the 2014 confab report would address the agitations by Nigerians?

It will. One, it will give the federating states more autonomy. Two, it will give the contiguous states opportunity to merge if they want to merge. Three, it will allow the formation of state police. Four, it will remove the creation of local governments from Federal Government and bring it under the confines of the state; states will be responsible for creating and funding the local governments. More revenue will accrue to the states because they will have more responsibilities. These are some of the areas that tension will be reduced.

Do you think restructuring can be achieved before the 2019 polls if the confab report is adopted and implemented?

Yes, I think so because there are three different categories of recommendations. The first category requires only administrative action only. That can be implemented immediately. The second category requires legislative action by the President and the National Assembly. Again, this can be implemented without delay. The third category requires the most time and this involves areas of constitutional amendment. Even this can be implemented within three months if the President wants to show sincerity that he is for restructuring.

The constitutional amendment requires three stages. The first step is to be driven by the National Assembly; all that can be done within one month, because the President controls the majority in both houses. Once the party is carried along, and it is a party decision, the necessary amendment by the National Assembly can be done within one month.

The second stage is to forward the decisions of the National Assembly to the state Houses of Assembly. For any amendment of a constitution to become valid, it must be passed by at least two-thirds of the members of state Houses of Assembly. Because the APC controls the governors’ forum and if they are brought on board, it will be easier for them to steer the amendments through the state Houses of Assembly.

When it has been passed by two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly, it goes back to the National Assembly for final ratification. All this could be done in three months. So, if the President wants to show a serious change of mind on restructuring, he can do all these within three months. Then we shall believe he is serious.

What do you make of the recent statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo advising President Buhari not to contest in 2019?

I am not an Obasanjo fan, but I have always been objective in assessing him. In his ‘letter’ to Buhari, he expressed what was in the minds of the majority of Nigerians. It can be said that he was not saying anything new. In fact, many Nigerians have been saying these things, but coming from Obasanjo, given his influence and importance as a former president, gave the statement more weight and mileage among Nigerians than they had got before.

His assessment of Buhari was accurate — failure in managing the economy, failure in being President for all Nigerians; he’s been one of the most tribalistic and most nepotistic presidents Nigeria ever had. This shows in his handling of security of ordinary Nigerians against the continuous killings of Nigerians by herdsmen; raping of women and daughters of farmers by these rampaging herdsmen and destruction of their crops and farmlands. It shows he only cares about the herdsmen and does not care about the security of Nigerians.

But the President ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to relocate to Benue State…

The police can move in, but what instruction has he (IG) been given? The herdsmen are still killing the villagers and farmers with impunity and the police failed to arrest and bring them to justice. But when the villagers organised local vigilante to protect themselves, the police were quick to go and arrest the vigilance group or the villagers.

Are you saying that the police are protecting the rampaging herdsmen?

They allow them (herdsmen) to go away and wreak more havoc. Look at what happened in Benue State. The state governor said he informed the government about the impending invasion, but nothing was done to save the people. The IG first said it was a communal clash, but when there was uproar, he apologised. The Minister of Defence was also quoted by some newspapers as saying that it was because the grazing route was blocked that the herdsmen struck. So, he was in effect justifying the killings.

The killings by the herdsmen have not stopped; see what has happened in Taraba, Plateau, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Ondo and Edo states. That of Southern Kaduna is constant and the latest was Zamfara. The attitude of the President to the killings is deplorable. As they were burying those killed in Zamfara, President Buhari and some of the governors were meeting in Daura, perhaps on how to return in 2019. So, they don’t care about the dead; the second term is more important.

Again, like Obasanjo pointed out, almost all the security chiefs are northerners, except the Chief of Naval Staff.

Are you saying the IG has not done enough on the issue of the rampaging herdsmen? Some suspects have been arrested over the Benue killings.

The IG has not shown that he is there to protect the interest of all Nigerians but that of the Fulani. The arrests are belated. As far as I am concerned, it came after a lot of uproar from Nigerians. It was when it became an embarrassment to the government that they made those arrests; they are not doing it for the people; they are not doing it conscientiously.

Recently, there was a proposal for the establishment of cattle colonies in the states of the federation. What is your own view on these proposed cattle colonies?

As far as I am concerned, I see the cattle colonies as a way of facilitating a complete takeover of Nigeria by the Fulani. The background to this is that since the Fulani jihad of 1804, they had the ambition of overrunning the whole Nigeria. After they overran the Hausa, their next targets were the Middle Belt and Yoruba territories.

They had said it was British colonialism that stopped them. The herdsmen have always been there with us and they were known with their ‘sanda’ (sticks) with which they directed their herds, but this is no longer the case. We now have herdsmen carrying AK-47 rifles. Cattle rearing is a private business and ranching is the modern way of doing this. In developed climes like the US, UK, and even in Argentina, ranching is the mode of rearing their herds.

Do you think the South-West should be wary of suffering the sort of tragedy experienced by Benue and its environs?

I say this because by the time they set up cattle colonies, they will begin to control some local governments. We should not allow any cattle colony in the South-West.

But there are some herdsmen that have been living in some communities in the South-West and they have become part and parcel of those communities and are law-abiding.

It is true but there is an agenda. If they are here genuinely to sell their cows, I mean for economic reasons, they are welcome. But when they carry arms, there is a cause for concern. Some of them are trans-border herdsmen from Mali and Niger. It is a common agenda to invade Nigeria. Why is the Federal Government trying to link a rail line to Niger?

Would you also support that Buhari contest a second term?

Like Obasanjo and other eminent Nigerians have advised that he (Buhari) should not contest a second term, they are merely speaking the minds of a majority of Nigerians. I will say he (Buhari) is not up to the task of governing Nigeria. He has no clue about how Nigeria should be governed. The economy has been in a mess since he took over.

All the promises he and the party made, when he got to government he dissociated himself from the promises. He had promised that the naira would be exchanging at par with the dollar. But today, it is N360 to a dollar. It is an improvement of what it used to be six months ago.

He also promised that Nigerians would be buying a litre of petrol at N40. Now, we are buying at N165 per litre, and there are even queues. If one says someone has not done well in their first term, is there any need for a second term? Obasanjo has said that. Chief Edwin Clark, Afenifere, Middle belt Forum, Pan-Niger Delta Forum and Ohanaeze have all said he has not done well, and he should go and rest.

But some believe the administration has whittled down the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.

If the administration has defeated Boko Haram, as it claimed, why is it still asking for more money to fight the insurgents, which they claimed they had subdued?

In what areas do you think the current administration has made any improvement?

None, but some of its apologists will say it has been fighting corruption. I don’t agree. Its entire inner circle is full of corrupt people. When people, who are close to the President are accused of corruption, he goes out of his way to protect them. Obasanjo gave some examples in his open letter to the President. One of them is the Mainagate of the pension reform funds. Another one happened in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, where contracts were awarded without following due process. I can go on and on.

The current one is the case of the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, who was suspended by his supervising minister. Buhari went over the head of the minister to reinstate him. Some people, we heard, returned their looted funds, and they were not arrested and tried for corruption. This will definitely keep encouraging people to steal, because once such people return a fraction of what was stolen, they go and enjoy the rest. Buhari’s approach to fighting corruption is actually encouraging it.

What would you say about the Coalition for Nigeria Movement being promoted by former President Obasanjo?

Obasanjo is not in the best position to bring up a coalition for Nigeria because he is one of those who ruined this country. He is a northern apologist. He has been giving us leaders since 1979. Unfortunately, none of the leaders has performed well.

This shows that he has a hidden agenda for selecting the leaders. He gave us Umar Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan. He knew Yar’Adua had health challenges and he eventually died and then, Jonathan came in, and he later wrote him a letter. Later, he joined forces with the APC and they brought in Buhari. Obasanjo has never been in favour of restructuring.

Punch

The Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Mr. Anthony Ogbizi, tells OGBONNAYA IKOKWU how he confronted the security challenges in the state, including the activities of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, farmers/herdsmen crisis, kidnapping and armed robbery.

You were posted to Abia at the peak of the IPOB activities. Can you recall the situation which you met on the ground?

I was in the Special Fraud Unity for about one year before I was transferred to the Railway Police Command Headquarters in Lagos. It was from the Railway Command that I was posted to the Abia Command as the Commissioner of Police on September 11, 2017 and I reported here on September 14, 2017. I actually came when the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra were at its peak. The fundamental challenge I met on the ground was the activities of IPOB. I came at a time when there was near collapse of law and order. There were targeted killings, burning of properties, particularly motor vehicles, burning of police station and killing of police officers. We lost a police officer; an assistance superintendent of police and one other officer was injured in Aba when I came. IPOB members had taken the law into their own hands by engaging the law enforcement agencies violently, using petrol bombs and other offensive weapons. In fact, they were law unto themselves.

As a police officer, my fundamental responsibility is maintenance of law and order. I was aware of IPOB activities in the state. However, the magnitude of my findings on resumption showed that I underestimated the situation that I met on the ground. Notwithstanding the magnitude of the problems, I hit the ground running. We started confronting the problems head-on and with the push from our sister agency, the army, we were able to calm the situation within days.

What specific measures did you put in place to tackle the menace?

Our main task was to deal with the hoodlums who took the law into their own hands by harassing innocent citizens, to the extent of going into stealing, vandalising public properties and burgling peoples’ shops. Many people were even forced to desert their homes in Afara Ukwu, Umuahia, when they could no longer cope with the activities of IPOB members. We had the problem of people being intimidated and assaulted. There was total breakdown of law and order with lots of deaths being recorded on daily basis while properties were either destroyed or stolen. The movement of law-abiding citizens was restricted. So, the task before us was to restore peace and win the confidence of the law-abiding citizens.

Can you recall a major confrontation between your officers and IPOB members?

IPOB had already declared certain places as Biafra Republic and named a particular community as the headquarters. Nobody dared go there. One of such places happened to be where the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police and other top government officials live. For the police to enter such a place, we had to confront them in places like Afara Ukwu, Ariaria, and Powerline. It even got to a point where they were collecting revenue from the people. In fact, they went ahead to declare the whole of the South-East as Biafra land. So, there was a serious confrontation with them in which we lost a police officer. They were not in any way provoked, but because the police station was just close to Ariaria, the IPOB boys went there on rampage, looted the offices, killed a police officer and burnt the station.

Did you at any time recover weapons from IPOB members?

We recovered weapons like petrol bomb, rifles and other weapons. We also recovered their insignias; we got a lot of information concerning the military wing of IPOB that they were training and teaching their members military tactics.

Nnamdi Kanu was charged to court; he still has a case in court. He was granted bail by the court, but we heard that he jumped bail. The sureties, who secured the bail conditions for Nnamdi Kanu, should tell us his whereabouts.

His parents were also not in the palace. As the chief law enforcer in the state, where are they now?

As for Nnamdi Kanu’s parents, they have the right to live anywhere they want. Nobody stopped them from going back to their house, but if they decide to live elsewhere, it is their choice. None of them is in the custody of the police; so, we are not in a position to say where they are.

How have you been handling kidnapping activities in Aba since you came to the state?

The moment we decapitated IPOB, the next challenge we faced was other serious crimes like kidnapping, armed robbery, drug dealings, child trafficking and cultism. What we did was to look at their modes of operation and we designed the strategies to stop those heinous crimes. We redesigned the security architecture of the state. If you move around now, you see nipping points all over. We created and deployed nipping squads to isolated areas were these kidnappers used to operate freely. The Divisional Police Officers, who were not performing, were redeployed and we replaced them with those who were bold and committed to duty. Within the space of three weeks, incidences of kidnappings reduced and lots of arrests were made. Lots of interceptions of child trafficking syndicates were also made. We arrested many robbers and it reduced the robbery incidences to a great level.

Another strategy was that we took the war to the criminals’ hideouts. We developed local intelligence, which means we earned the confidence of the public. I have learnt something and that is once you win the confidence of the public and they know that you are committed and determined to doing the right thing, they can help you by giving you information. That strategy has helped us a lot, such that even from my office, I can call a DPO in Aba to move to a scene of an incident because of information given to us from members of the public.

How did your men unmask the activities of a criminal gang in a three-bedroom flat somewhere in the Ogor Hill area of Aba?

I must thank the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, because he deployed an intelligence response team, and when the operatives came, we added a few trusted local officers to them, particularly those from one division in Aba and the DPO. We also got some officers from our crime squad here included in the IG response squad and they did a marvellous job.

They met heavy fire from the kidnappers, but they overpowered the hoodlums, and in fact, the squads discovered where kidnappers hid their arms in a tank carefully constructed under a car. Over nine notorious kidnap suspects were arrested and the victims, including a 78-year-old man, were rescued. However, the old man died in the hospital because he was denied his drugs for one week.

The Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway used to be a very notorious point and what I did was to deploy a fearless police officer there and we made a shocking discovery there. Most of the kidnapers were living in the midst of the people in the communities. Acting on intelligence, we arrested about seven of them in a forest, while we are still looking for those who escaped. That explains why that area is still calm till today.

Did you undergo any special training on how to tackle certain crimes?

I’ve spent 32 years in the police. My policy is that I must attend to any visitor who comes to me, irrespective of their class. That is how we gather intelligence. I have been AC operations in Delta State. I have been in the investigation (unit). I have been a DPO in the most challenging areas; so, the training and experience gathered over the time are what I am working with. I’m grateful to the IG because often, he brings his wealth of experience to bear by giving us the needed manpower and materials to confront challenging situations at any given time. He sent two units of the mobile police to me at that time, which helped us to beef up the nipping points. The local police officers here know that I will be serious with them if they fail in any operation; thus, they also became serious by following instructions.

How have you been managing the farmers/herdsmen crisis in the state?

The IG has been helpful too; he gave us two units of mobile police officers and directed us on how to deploy them. If I go outside that directive, I will have myself to blame, so I deploy the mobile police officers to the appropriate command. For example, Ohafia Command has a unit and also the Bende Command. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu also constituted the farmers/herdsmen committee, of which I’m the chairman and members of the committee are drawn from the stakeholders — government officials, the military and other security services, the traditional rulers, religious leaders, the farmers and herdsmen and even members of the state House of Assembly. Within the period since I came here, we have held meetings, about six times, with the members of the committee and chairmen of various local government areas. We have spelt out the need to maintain peace and control the movement of cows in the state. We also spelt out the legal implication of people taking the law into their own hands during the time of crisis.

How do you ensure regular training for your officers in the command?

I am conscious of our perception before the public, which is why we do not joke with the training of officers in the command. I commend and encourage those who behaved well and I equally discipline those who misbehave at any time. We hold lectures and training for our officers to encourage them to conduct themselves within the ambit of the law. Just as we do not play with their welfare, we don’t also bat an eyelid when it comes to the discipline of officers.

We had training about human rights and anti-corruption last week. It is about policing in a democracy. The Centre for Civil Society and Justice, an umbrella body of various civil society and human rights groups in the country, organised the training.

The IG wants it to sink into the minds of all of us that we can’t abuse the rights of citizens, extort them, collect bribes from them and citizens are encouraged to report any police officer involved in any of these to the Commissioner of Police.

Punch

Frequent strikes have very damaging impact on academic pursuits

With more than half the current academic session gone, the non-teaching staff of Nigerian universities operating under three unions, namely, the Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) finally announced the suspension of their strike last week. The decision followed a commitment by the federal government to source for about N8 billion to settle some of the financial claims within the next five weeks, after acceding to the unions’ demand that no worker will be victimised on account of taking part in the strike.

The strike had been temporarily suspended last September before it resumed in December with the students bearing the brunt of the endless disruptions on their campuses. Yet, as we stated in an earlier editorial, it is a measure of what education has become in our country today that while the strike lasted, many Nigerians were not even aware that administrative activities, including admissions of new entrants, had been suspended in all federal universities cumulatively for more than four months under the current 2017/2018 academic session.

The main contention is the N23 billion released last year to 24 federal universities, being the amount owed the lecturers as Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) for 2009 and 2010, a concession granted after the last Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike. While the academic staff received N18.4 billion, representing 89 per cent of the total sum, the three non-academic unions were allocated N4.6 billion which amounted to 11 per cent of the money. It is the disparity in the distribution that has been causing the problem. But since the money was for academic allowances, we have always considered the position of these non-academic unions untenable.

What makes the situation particularly unfortunate is that students in public-owned tertiary institutions are now caught in what amounts to a rivalry between academic and non-academic staff. The consequences have been a situation where these unions alternate strikes, with the attendant debilitating effects on academic pursuits on our campuses. The hurried academic calendars following the end of industrial actions allow for very little attention to serious studies. These have contributed significantly to the decline in the quality of graduates of our public universities.

However, we cannot shy away from the fact that the underfunding of the education sector, over the years, has had collateral damaging effects on the country, such that our universities have now become grotesque carcasses of their former selves. The weak financial conditions in the universities are exacerbated by the current crippling economic crisis afflicting the nation. Yet besides personnel costs, funds are required to rehabilitate dilapidated facilities, purchase consumables and research capability.

While dealing with the challenge of thin liquidity requires more than seasonal strikes by both the academic and non-academic staff, the federal government must also understand the primacy of constant dialogue, especially given the current realities.

Thisday

Academic Staff Union (ASUU) of IBB University Lapai, says it has commenced an indefinite strike, due to the nonpayment of its N500 million outstanding allowances by the Niger state government.

‎Dr Salahu Lawal, ASSU Chairman, IBB University Chapter, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Lapai on Saturday that the decision was taken after the expiration of the week-long warning strike embarked by the union on March 7.

He said that the chapter executives were invited by the state government over‎ the issue but they were unwilling to pay the allowances that had accrued since 2009.

“Niger state government begged us that it will pay N350 million while we forfeit N150 million; we cannot afford such a loss, it is huge.

“This is the money we worked for and it has to be paid us in full; actually, they wanted to pay us but they insisted in paying N350 million; that is a breach and we are not going to take it.

‎“This money we are asking for is accrued money from our allowances, this money we earned it, we are not begging for it.

‎“They said they do not have money to clear the backlog, we are not going to accept their offer. They want us to forfeit part of the money, we cannot because some of our members died while waiting for this money.

‎"I am sure if they had paid this money, some of them would have used it for their medical care and may not have died,” he said.

‎Meanwhile, Mr Jide Orintunsin, Senior Media Assistant to Gov. Abubakar Bello, said that the debt was not incurred by the present administration rather; it was inherited from the previous administration.

According to him, members of the union were not being reasonable in view of the financial challenges of the administration was dealing with.

“We have many competing issues jostling for financial attention, these issues are many and we are trying to do something with the little resources we have.‎
‎
“We will pay but in phases, they should bear with us ‎and accept in good faith what we are willing to pay now,” he said.

NAN

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is under massive pressure to change its name as alliance talks intensify between it and some other parties, the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) and key political figures ahead of the 2019 elections.

The alliance is aimed at denying President Muhammadu Buhari a second term in office.

The participating groups say a change of name by the PDP is desirable to give everyone a sense of belonging.

But with 13 states under its control, the former ruling party does not want merger, preferring only collaboration that will unite all opposition parties, groups and political leaders.

Nonetheless, the PDP plans to  raise a committee soon to work out modalities for coalition with other parties and interest groups like ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s CNM.

Some elders and governors elected on the platform of the party have also initiated moves to curb the influence of Governors Nyesom Wike and Ayo Fayose on the party such that the other groups will not be scared away from working with the PDP.

Highly placed party sources said last night that ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Governor Sule Lamido, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo are leading the search chart of PDP.

The party is not relenting in wooing Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and Senate President Bukola Saraki back to its fold.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is not less busy.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s strategists  and some APC leaders are understood to  be working on  the possibility of reaching what a source called an  “accord concordiale” with some PDP governors and respected leaders of the party during the 2019 polls.

One of the leaders that Buhari’s strategists are mounting pressure on is ex-Governor Ibrahim Shekarau whose return to APC is believed can whittle down the influence of Kwankwanso in Kano.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that PDP leaders are anchoring their plan to oust the APC from power on propaganda and forging a grand coalition against the ruling party.

The coalition part of the plan has seen the party reach out to other opposition parties, the CNM and some key political figures in the six geopolitical zones who are against Buhari’s re-election.

However, it was gathered that the PDP is finding it difficult to rally international support against Buhari, whose integrity is still being trusted by world leaders.

The party  is counting solely on ex-President Obasanjo  to do the ‘damage’ but the one-man international campaign against the President  does not seem to be having the expected result yet.

Findings revealed that a recurring issue in the ongoing secret talks, covert negotiation and lobbying by PDP, is the demand by affected parties, groups and leaders that it should change its name.

Giving an insight into the development so far, one of the sources said:”These opposition parties, some leaders of the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) and  some key political figures in all the six geopolitical zones are asking PDP to change its name in order to enable more Nigerians identify with it.

“Those interested in the coalition with PDP said the party’s name has been battered because of alleged massive corruption when it was in power for 16 years. They said the electorate might not want to associate with it.

“A few other parties do not want to lose their identities. They want a sort of merger like the case with APC.

“In fact, Obasanjo’s CNM would have loved to identify with PDP but the hijack of the party by some governors at the last national convention foreclosed a wholesale adoption of the opposition party. The CNM would prefer a change of name by PDP for effective coalition against APC.”

The source said the PDP has made it clear to those interested in working with it that it will not change its name or symbol.

The party believes that any change in its identity is an easy technical way of killing it for a new set of ownership.”

A PDP leader said: “The National Working Committee sees the demand for either merger or a change of name as a booby trap to kill PDP by some forces.

“The timeline does not favour a change of name or merger. It is like starting afresh.

“Why should PDP which has about 13 governors lose its name? We believe our party is in a position of strength and should be allowed to enjoy the privilege in a coalition.

“If we go for another name, won’t they say the same people in PDP are in the new party like the case now with the Social Democratic Party?

“You don’t change a party’s name on the basis of losing election

“We are also suspecting that some of those who left the party are plotting to return to PDP through the backdoor. This is why they are giving this condition of change of name.”

The National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan said yesterday that the challenge before the party is “not about the name, it is a perception issue.”

The party has no image challenge, he said when contacted.

He added: “We would allow Nigerians to choose our candidate for 2019 presidential poll; we will not interfere with the process.

“At the end of the day, we will ensure the emergence of a credible candidate who will accord priority to national unity and development and the reshaping of the nation’s economy.”

PDP to raise committee to work out modalities for coalition

In spite of the tethering challenge, it was learnt that the PDP will soon raise a committee to “work out modalities for coalition with parties and groups.”

A member of the Board of Trustees of PDP said: “We are interested in coalition; we will soon inaugurate a committee on how to go about it, what we should offer and what we should reject.

“So far, it is clear that unless we team up with Nigerians and groups of like minds, it will be difficult for PDP to defeat APC alone.”

The source also confirmed that the party might still need to “do more work internally” by checkmating some of its leaders like Governors Nyesom Wike and Ayo Fayose.

“We are aware that we have internal challenge especially the overbearing influence of some leaders like Governors Nyesom Wike and Ayo Fayose. They operate as if they own PDP,” he said.

“Some elements in CNM and a few incoming coalition partners have also told us to return PDP to its democratic structure instead of allowing Wike and Fayose to be behaving as if they have the party in their pockets.

“At a point, we will all mobilize support for the party leadership to assert itself. We know some PDP governors are equally uncomfortable with Wike and Fayose’s attitude. You will see what will happen soon. We want to win in 2019, we won’t bow to the whims and caprices of some party leaders.

“By the time we enter into negotiation stage with groups and individuals, the overriding interest of the party will take the centre stage.”

What party has in stock for Saraki, Tambuwal

The source said the PDP is “ready to bend backwards for the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki if he is ready to defect to APC.”

Saraki, according to him, has been “advised to forego his presidential ambition” and PDP “won’t mind returning him as the President of the Senate because the performance of the 8th Senate, which he is heading, has been outstanding in terms of bills already passed.

“You can see why PDP is giving him a major backing. But we have not got any commitment from him.”

Saraki has however not shown any sign of defection from PDP to APC in spite of the fact that the main opposition party is his major pillar of survival in the Senate.

The source ruled out the possibility of the party giving its presidential ticket to Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State who is being actively wooed by some PDP governors.

The source said the best the PDP can offer Tambuwal is re-election ticket as governor.

“Except for a few governors who wanted us to woo Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal from APC based on his democratic credentials, most of our leaders and governors are not keen on him because of his likely imposition by some PDP leaders,” he said.

“We are open to Tambuwal but let him go and seek re-election as governor on the platform of PDP if he is fed up with APC.

“Tambuwal is a presidential material for the future even though Wike will not want to hear this from our governors and leaders.”

Search for credible presidential flag bearer intensified

Party leaders and governors are gauging the mood of political leaders across the six geopolitical zones on a credible PDP presidential candidate.

A member of the National Caucus of party named ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Governor Sule Lamido, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, and Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo as those currently topping the search chart.

But he said Atiku has an edge on account of his “solid and enduring structure,” and a major obstacle: Ex-President Obasanjo.

His words: “His only problem is ex-President Obasanjo who might fight him to a standstill. The alternative is for Atiku to eat his vomit and beg the ex-President.

“We underrated Lamido until our leaders went for a rally in Jigawa during the week.

“The rally was an eye opener that this 2019 poll is going to be tough. The performance of Dankwambo has been appreciable too. He has age and vision on his side as well.

APC working on its own strategy

Strategists of President Buhari and the APC are not sleeping either.

An APC source said: “One of the windows being explored is the ongoing reconciliation being coordinated by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. We know that the President and the party would have to shift grounds to reunify some APC leaders.

“The outcome of the reconciliation will determine many things.

“We have also identified fluid states and tough election battlefields and how to make amends. Along the line, some PDP governors and leaders have faith in President Buhari’s aspiration for a second term and we are trying to consolidate on this.

“It will be akin to what the famous politician, the late Chief K.O. Mbadiwe described as ‘accord concordiale.’

“Even within the APC, some strategists have identified those who may glorify PDP by defecting to the opposition. In such states, we are working on Plan B in the light of the vote margins between PDP and APC in the affected states during the 2015 general elections.

“One of the PDP top shots, which the APC has extended its olive branch to, is ex-Governor Ibrahim Shekarau (of Kano) who had always been an ally of the President until the two leaders had a political disagreement (not personal problem).

“The strategists of the President are prevailing on Shekarau to forgive and forget. He is yet to respond to overtures from these strategists. If he does, Kano will become winnable without Kwankwanso.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “We know that the headache of PDP is getting a credible candidate like President Buhari. We are awaiting their choice or any party’s choice in order to define the battle.”

The Nation 

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo; the immediate past Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and some political parties have been meeting as part of moves to strategise for the 2019 elections, The PUNCH has learnt.

In one of such meetings, which held at Protea Hotel, located at 42/44 Isaac John Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, Obasanjo was said to have met with 35 political parties under the aegis of the Coalition for New Nigeria.

Others at the meeting included the Co-Chairmen of the Nigerian Intervention Movement, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), and Dr. Jhalil Tafawa-Balewa, one of the children of Nigeria’s post-independence first Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa.

A former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke; a former Governor Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; and a former Special Adviser to Obasanjo, who is the spokesman for the CNM, Mr. Akin Osuntokun, also attended the strategic meeting.

Some of the political parties represented at the meeting included the Social Democratic Party, Labour Party, Alliance for Democracy, Democratic People’s Congress, Action Alliance, Progressives People’s Alliance, Democratic Alternative and National Conscience Party.

Others, who attended the Lagos meeting, were Mr. Kenneth Udete, who represented Action Alliance Party; and Mr. Okey Chukwuendu, who represented the All Grand Alliance Party.

A source, who attended the meeting, told our correspondent that Obasanjo emphasised the need to work together ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The source, who is close to Obasanjo, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the coming together of the various interest groups and individuals had become necessary as that was seen as the only way to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2019 elections.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said, “The meeting was summoned by Obasanjo. He noted that both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party have failed Nigeria and there is a need to come together. He said his association, Coalition for Nigeria Movement, and the NIM should form a merger.”

When asked why Kwankwaso was invited to the meeting despite being a member of the ruling APC, the source noted that Kwankwaso had always been an Obasanjo loyalist.

“Have you forgotten that Kwankwaso was appointed the Minister of Defence by President Obasanjo in 2003? The former governor was not invited because of his ties with the APC but because he also has a huge movement known as the Kwankwasiya in Kano and its environs. Kano is a very strategic state,” the source, a top member of one of the groups, stated.

“The meeting is not just a political one but an attempt to come up with a unified ideology and strategy for 2019.”

The source explained that Obasanjo stressed the need for the parties present to prove to Nigerians that they were different from the APC and the PDP, saying Nigerians were tired of the two parties.

When asked why the meeting was kept secret for so long, the source said Obasanjo insisted that such strategic sessions remained clandestine.

When contacted on the telephone on Saturday, Agbakoba confirmed the meetings with Obasanjo.

Agbakoba, who is a co-chairman of the NIM, said the meetings would continue to hold.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria stated, “What I can say is yes, that is true. We are exploring the option of working together and those conversations are still ongoing and we have a mutually-agreed agenda that we will have to make an impact in 2019.

“And that we will not be supporting the APC or the PDP. We have agreed on that but we have not agreed on who the candidate would be and other minute details.”

When asked if the presence of old politicians like Kwankwaso and Oyinlola in the meetings would not undermine the quest for change, Agbakoba said NIM would be circumspect.

The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, added, “I can confirm that Kwankwaso was there and Oyinlola was there, but for us, our concern is that Nigerians need to see a new political plan and we told them in clear terms that if we are to work together, it would present a challenge if the Nigerian voting population see the same old people and then there would be no change. So, that’s where we are.

“It will be difficult in my view for us to be supporting the same old people who left the PDP and went to the APC to come and join us. It will be very difficult.”

Attempts to get a response from Kwankwaso about the meetings were futile.

Calls to the mobile of his spokesperson, Rabiu Bichi, were not returned while a response to a text message sent to him on the subject was still being awaited as of the time of filing this report on Saturday night.

Attempts to speak with Osuntokun proved abortive as he neither returned calls to his mobile on Saturday nor responded to a text message sent to his telephone.

Efforts to get Oyinlola to speak on this were unsuccessful. Calls to the former governor’s phone rang out several times while he had yet to respond to the text message sent to him on the same issue as of the time of filing this report.

Punch 

The President of the Senate Dr. Bukola Saraki has expressed sadness over the death of Sen. Ali Wakili who was the chairman of the Senate committee on Poverty Alleviation.

Wakili died at the age of 58 and his death has been confirmed by Saraki in a series of tweets to mourn his deceased colleague.

The President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki said that he was saddened to hear the news of the demise of Wakili.President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki sad over death of Sen Ali Wakili

Saraki who was on his way to the family house of the Vice President to felicitate with them on the wedding of his daughter, said that he was now on his way to the family House of the Wakili’s to commiserate with them on the passing of the senator.

Saraki wrote on twitter:

 Enroute to celebrate with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and family on their daughter’s wedding, I just heard about the passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Ali Wakili. I am on my way to the Wakili house to pay my respects to his family. 

Inalilahi wa Ina Ilaehi Rajiun. It is the Almighty Allah (SWT) that gives life, and it his Him that takes it away. I pray that the Almighty Allah grants the dear departed Senator a place in Al Jannah Firdaus.

Wakili, a member of the All Progressives Congress, representing Bauchi south, was educated at Government Secondary School in Damaturu. He also went to Bauchi School of Arts and Science and Bayero University, in Kano, where he passed out with a Bachelor of Arts in 1982.

He was a retired controller of Customs before he joined politics.

The Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, yesterday assured that the era of fuel scarcity is gone for good.

Receiving the Man of the Year Award from Nigeria NewsDirect newspaper, the NNPC GMD said that the corporation had learnt a great lesson during the recent fuel scarcity in the country.

“We have actualized the lessons learnt, part of which is to ensure that at any point in time, there should be sufficient products available for distribution across the country.

“Most of our PPMC depots in Ejigbo, Mosinmi, Ibadan and other parts of the nation have sufficient product for distribution now.

‘NNPC is discussing with security operatives to stop smuggling of petrol products across our borders.

“We are working alongside with them to ensure safety of our pipelines because we still have some areas in which vandals still disrupt our pipelines,” he said.

Baru said he dedicated the Man of the Year award to all staff of the corporation.

Also speaking, Dr Diran Fawibe, Chairman, International Energy Services, urged NNPC to ensure that the nation’s refineries worked to its full capacity.

According to Fawibe, the oil and gas sector is a major sustainer of the nation’s economy.

Earlier in his welcome address, Dr Samuel Ibiyemi, Publisher, Nigeria NewsDirect, said that the award was in recognition of the good work of distinguished Nigerians to the country’s growth.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), others that received awards include the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Raji Fashola and CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele.

The Nation 

Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, have jointly reacted to withholding of assent by President Muhammadu Buhari on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

Recall that Buhari on Tuesday turned down the amended Electoral Act bill in letters addressed to Saraki and Dogara.

Yusuph Olaniyonu and Turaki Hassan, Special Advisers (Media) to Senate President and Speaker, in a statement on Saturday stated that the two leaders and chambers were not on collision course over the matter.

“The Senate President and the Speaker, as heads of the two chambers of the National Assembly and representing the views of their colleagues, will want everybody to know that they are on the same page on what is the appropriate reaction to the President’s withholding of assent on the Electoral Act amendment bill.

“There is no disagreement between the two chambers as well as their presiding officers. The leadership of the two chambers constantly hold discussions and are in agreement on what to do, how to do it, when to do it and why it must be done.

“The issue at stake is not personal. It is about deepening democracy. It is about improving our democracy and the National Assembly is on firm constitutional and legal grounds to amend the law as well as take decisions in the manner they have been responding.

“We see that story and the insinuations contained in it as mere distraction and unnecessary misrepresentation aimed at creating division in the Federal Legislature. The Senate President, Speaker and their colleagues urge members of the public to discountenance the report”, the statement read.

DailyPost