Tambuwal suspends presidential bid, to pick gov form

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday bowed to pressure and opted out of the race for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress.

The Speaker made his decision public in a statement he signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja.

Tambuwal said the decision to suspend his bid was taken after due consultations and considerations of the overall interest of the party.

He equally noted that going ahead with such a bid at this time, would alter calculations on the political chessboard of the party.

The Speaker, however, stressed that he had what it takes to be the President of the country.

This, he said, led him to embark on extensive consultations towards taking a decision as to whether or not to participate not to actualise a personal ambition, but rather to actualise “our dream for a new Nigeria.”

The statement partly read, “Having consulted widely, taking into consideration the concerns of some elders of the party, I have decided to suspend my participation in the presidential contest for now.

“I have done so as a sacrifice for the cohesion and unity of the APC. I am suspending my participation in the presidential race for now, because I do not have any inordinate ambition to occupy any office. Nigeria is a country too great to sacrifice on the altar of partisan politics and personal ambition. What anyone becomes in life is exclusively in the hands of God. Only God gives power to whoever He pleases.”

He noted that since the news of the possibility of his participation in the presidential contest got into the public domain, it had generated monumental interest, analyses and commentary.

Although he made no direct reference to his next political move, Tambuwal said, “I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and interest. On my part and with the greatest sense of modesty and responsibility, I wish to assure Nigerians that I am fully prepared, ready, willing, determined, available and armed with the requisite plans, programmes and ability, to undertake the great mission of rescuing our dear country from the clutches of institutionalised corruption, gross incompetence, greed and divisiveness.

“I am prepared for the great task of rescuing Nigeria from the security problems, the scandalous youth unemployment, and the economic and social malaise that plague her.”

The Speaker expressed confidence that when given the chance, an APC government would operate a clean, corruption-free, competent and purposeful government to deal with the inexplicable paradoxes that had held the nation hostage for over 100 years.

“I have carefully considered the concerns expressed by some of our leaders, whom I deeply respect and whose support and counsel I enjoy, to the effect that my entry into the presidential race at this point may necessitate having to rework some equations on the political chessboard of the party,” he said.

While pledging his loyalty to the APC and the five presidential aspirant – Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Governor Rochas Okorocha and Mr. Sam Ndah- Isaiah, Tambuwal appealed for understanding.

Inquiries from the APC National Secretariat on Tuesday evening, revealed that eventhough Tambuwal was speculated to be eyeing the governorship of Sokoto State, he had yet to pick an expression of interest or nomination forms.

Things falling apart within Lagos PDP

George and Obanikoro

In this piece, ENIOLA AKINKUOTU examines the conflict within the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of the 2015 elections

On June 22, 2014, the day Mr. Ayodele Fayose was declared the winner of the Ekiti State governorship election, it seemed the fortunes of the Peoples Democratic Party in the South-West had changed for the better.

Weeks later – precisely on July 11, 2014 – Fayose arrived at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota, along with several leaders of the PDP on a ‘thank you’ tour to Lagos State. Many observers, however, believe that the aim of the event was to create awareness for the PDP and mock the All Progressives Congress, which has been ruling the state since 1999.

At the event, some PDP leaders such as the then Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro; the Chairman, PDP Mobilisation Committee in the South-West, Chief Buruji Kashamu; and six other governorship aspirants in the state; made it clear that their mission was to wrest Lagos State from the APC.

Another event involving the Lagos State PDP held on August 29 at the National Theatre, Iganmu, in honour of the leader of the PDP in the state, Chief Olabode George, when the Mandela Award was bestowed on him by the National Association of Nigerian Students. At the event were the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko; a former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; a former Governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala; a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole; a former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope; a former Minister of Works, Mr. Adeseye Ogunlewe, and many other party leaders in the state. Their mission was clear; they wanted to ‘rescue’ Lagos from the firm grip of the APC.

George did not mince words when he stated that Lagos was being run by a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who has been largely responsible for the success the APC has always enjoyed at the polls in Lagos State.

The PDP leaders, who referred to Tinubu as the ‘Lion of Bourdillon,’ said just as the late South African leader, Nelson Mandela, freed his country from apartheid after spending 27 years in prison, George, who is also a prison returnee, would free Lagos from the firm grip of Tinubu.

Mimiko, who is of this view, said he had a ‘spiritual revelation’ that the PDP would win Lagos next year. Mimiko said, “I can see; I have the gift of clairvoyance that by 2015, we shall come to celebrate with Chief Bode George when he has produced the next governor of Lagos State. You better believe it. I am speaking under divine inspiration.”

On his own part, ex-governor Daniel, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for alleged financial impropriety, said it was unfortunate that Lagos had never been ruled by the PDP despite the fact that George is an indigene of the state.

He said, “In 2000, the Yoruba nation was in a quandary and we had a President (Olusegun Obasanjo), who had no political support in his home. So, Chief Bode George led us to tour Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti and everywhere and the PDP won everywhere in 2003 but Bode George’s state. It now behooves all of us to understand the concept of one good turn deserves another and now that he is no longer as strong as before, we must stand by him to ensure that he can inaugurate the next governor of Lagos.”

Three months later, however, it seems the PDP’s attempt to ‘sack’ the APC and Tinubu has suffered a setback, following emerging acrimony and infighting between the supporters of Obanikoro and another governorship aspirant, Mr. Jimi Agbaje.

Agbaje, who is alleged to be enjoying the strong support of George and Ogunlewe, was said to have been promised the governorship ticket long before he joined the PDP from the Democratic People’s Alliance, which was deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Since Obanikoro was still a minister at the time, it was believed that with the support of such influential leaders of the party, Agbaje would be accepted by other aspirants.

However, the political calculation changed when Obanikoro resigned his ministerial appointment and joined the governorship race. Since then, it had been allegations and counter-allegations between the two camps.

A source close to Obanikoro, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “When Agbaje joined the PDP and declared his intention to run for governor, he was highly favoured by the party leadership and was rumoured to have the President’s backing. They probably believed that Obanikoro would not contest. But now that Obanikoro has declared, it has now dawned on them that things will not go as smoothly as they thought.”

As the crisis deepens, the warring parties which have the Agbaje, Ogunlewe, and George camps on the one hand; and Obanikoro on the other hand, have not had a direct confrontation. They have not traded accusations in the open. However, various groups have sprung up in support of each of the two major factions, issuing press statements on their behalf.

For example, a group, the Lagos Integrity Watch, told Obanikoro to forget his bid for the party’s ticket. The group slammed Obanikoro for allegedly criticising George over the conduct of the ward congress in the state. The coordinator of the group Olarinde Onitolo, in a statement, said, “We read with alarm and disgust the outrageous claim of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, alleging that our national leader, Chief Olabode George, was somehow partisan in the ward congress held in Lagos State. This is unfair. It is crude, illogical and foul. The fact of the matter is that Obanikoro is a rejected aspirant. The stakes are too high. Obanikoro should apologise immediately to our party and Chief George for this gross indiscretion.”

However, another group, which is loyal to Obanikoro, The Patriots, berated George for being a dictator in the party. The group, while adopting Obanikoro as its sole candidate, said it believed that George was planning for the PDP to fail because he wanted to remain the leader of the PDP in Lagos. The group explained that if a PDP governor emerged next year, the governor would assume the leadership of the party and thus make George redundant.

The Organising Secretary of the South-West PDP, Mr. Femi Carenna, who is a staunch supporter of The Patriots, said, “Only Obanikoro can face Tinubu and even Tinubu knows this. Obanikoro is the only person that can take the PDP to Alausa Government House next year. We saw how he performed in Ekiti and even in Osun. We are sure that he is the only one capable of fighting the opposition.”

As the fighting intensified, another pro-George group, asked an Ikeja High Court to stop the governorship ambition of Obanikoro over an alleged falsification of age. Besides, the group asked the court to determine Obanikoro’s citizenship, alleging that the ex-minister had acquired the citizenship of the United States without renouncing his Nigerian citizenship.

Specifically, the respondents, Michael Babatunde Ogun, Suleiman Olayinka Saheed and Wasiu Adeniyi Odusan, all PDP members in the state and initiators of the suit, asked the court to determine Obanikoro’s eligibility to participate in the party’s governorship primary fixed for December 8, 2014.

They also asked the court for an injunction barring Obanikoro from accepting what they called “the PDP’s candidacy or nomination” to contest the next year’s governorship election in Lagos State until the matter was favourably disposed of.

However, another group, The Group of Concerned Lagosians, slammed Ogunlewe and George for sponsoring a campaign of calumny against Obanikoro. The group, in a statement by its coordinator, Olayinka Sotade, on Monday, said it was mischievous for them to have brought up the issue of citizenship a few weeks to the PDP primary even though Obanikoro had served as a minister and an ambassador. The statement read in part, “Let it be made clear that Obanikoro is a natural born citizen of Nigeria and nowhere else, not USA, not UAE, not Outer Mongolia. Instead of meeting him at the party primary, desperate individuals are resorting to the same dirty tricks they used in years past to, at the most, frustrate his aspiration, and, at the least, confuse the electorate.

“We are solidly behind Senator Obanikoro and wish to let Bode George and his cohorts know that Obanikoro is a true son of Lagos, who has served Lagos decently all through his public service career without any criminal record, accusation or litigation. He will not be intimidated by half-baked politicians who are already afraid of meeting him at the primary.”

Responding to the crisis within the PDP, a former Minister of State for the Interior, Mr. Ademola Seriki, who was a vice chairman of the PDP in Lagos State, before defecting to the APC, said the disunity in the Lagos PDP was expected and that it would affect the party’s chances next year.

He said, “They have not and cannot win Lagos because they are not united and can never be. They have never had power in Lagos before and don’t know what it is like to have it. So, when power is approaching, all of them will be hungry. It is like putting food in front of people that are not just hungry but starving. You know, when they see the food, they can just start slapping one another because no one would want to be cheated. That is what is happening now.”

In a move seen largely as a bid to unify the party, President Goodluck Jonathan visited the state last month when he reportedly charged the party leaders in the state to come up with a consensus candidate or prune the large number of aspirants to three so that the party could forge ahead.

This seemed to be more difficult than expected as only one aspirant, Dr. Ade Dosunmu, dropped out of the race to contest the Lagos-Central senatorial ticket. Reacting to the crisis, the Publicity Secretary of the Lagos State chapter of the PDP, Mr. Taofik Gani, said the party was aware of the infighting. He, therefore, warned those disparaging George to be careful as they risked being sanctioned by the party. Gani said there was no reason to believe that George was supporting anybody and reaffirmed George as the leader of the PDP in the state.

He said, “The Lagos PDP is reading the Riot Act to all those who are out to foment trouble in the name of any aspirant or group. Issues that are meant to be resolved within the party should not be discussed on the pages of newspapers. Let it be known that the activities of the aspirants and their groups in the open or secret are being noted by the party. Elections are approaching and this is not the time not to be seen as united.

“We are not precluding that people can agitate for rights and privileges but they should not be overambitious. We particularly condemn any aspirant or group that has come to put a bad label on Chief Olabode George, he remains the leader of our party but that is not to say that his opinion will always be final. Anyone that continues to attack him will not only suffer punishment but may lose some privileges and will be labelled a mole of the APC and Tinubu.

Fayose has sealed my office, says Speaker

Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin

The Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin, said on Tuesday that Governor Ayodele Fayose had ordered the sealing off of his office.

This, the Speaker claimed, followed the action of seven PDP members of Ekiti State House of Assembly who illegally sat to attempt to change the leadership of the House, but only succeeded in approving the reconstitution of the local government caretaker committees and confirmation of the commissioner-nominees sent to the House of Assembly last week by Fayose.

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Wole Olujobi,ý said the governor had earlier employed threats and coercion, including freezing the accounts of the Assembly, cutting off the electricity supply from the Speaker’s Lodge and stopping statutory votes for the Speaker’s upkeep and protocol to intimidate Omirin and have firm control of the House.

He added that on Tuesday, the governor announced the sacking of the Speaker’s aides, ýincluding that of the Deputy Speaker and Majority Leader.

Olujobi claimed that the Speaker’s official vehicles had been demobilised because their keys had been taken to the office of the governor, while his official drivers had been redeployed.

Efforts to get the state government reaction to this failed.

But Fayose had earlier denied involvement in the purported removal of the Speaker of the Ekiti House of Assembly.

The PDP lawmakers had cited the absence of the Speaker and his deputy, Taiwo Orisalade, as reasons for the appointment of the Acting Speaker for the Monday’s business.

Although, the PDP has seven, members in the Assembly, 10 persons attended the plenary on Monday including three whose identities remained unknown as of press time.

The APC on Tuesday maintained that only seven members of the Assembly including three ‘fake’ legislators sat at the plenary when it required nine members to form a quorum.

The party challenged the governor to name the 10 lawmakers that sat on Monday and to provide the video recording of the proceeding.

The situation is already generating heat in the state.

But Fayose’s Special Assistant on Information, Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, on Tuesday said the government would not allow the situation to degenerate into a crisis in the state.

Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti, Ogunsuyi said the Speaker had yet to brief the governor on the incident.

Maintaining innocence of the governor, he said Fayose had once saved Omirin from impeachment.

He said, “We are waiting to see if the Speaker was removed or not. But we know the Assembly is empowered to appoint a Speaker extempore. What happened yesterday (Monday) was an affair of the Assembly. He (Fayose) has no hand in it. He is not a beneficiary of any of the action.

“When they need us they will come to us. Up till now the Speaker has not come to the governor.”

Ogunsuyi, however, said what happened at the Assembly with the approval of the three commissioner nominees was in the interest of the state.

He said the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice was needed to draft document for the state to access the N220bn Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises’ Development Fund of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He added that the Commissioner for Works also needed to represent the state at a World Bank event.

Ogunsuyi said the government did not expect a smooth relationship with the Assembly because of party differences.

“We don’t expect the relationship to be very smooth because of the party differences. But honestly speaking, the Assembly is for the state. They have the right to reject a thing if it’s not in the interest of the state but they don’t have the right to reject a thing if it’s not in their party’s interest.

“Nobody should use the government platform to advance party’s interest.”

The governor’s aide also frowned on the branding of the Ekiti people that went to witness the Assembly’s sitting as thugs.

He said, “My people should not be addressed as thugs anytime they take interest in the activities of government. They are no thugs. They were the people that voted and are interested in the government. Some of these people have their business under threat while some have their shops locked by the former government.”

Ogunsuyi also justified the sacking of the aides of the Speaker by the government.

According to him, the last administration made a law that the governor will appoint aides for the principal officer and Local Government chairmen.

“What happened was that the Governor had to revalidate the appointments. It is left for the Speaker to put heads with the governor. If he is interested in retaining those people, the governor would appoint them for him.

“But he passed that law knowingly or unknowingly that the governor would appoint aides for him.”

The Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, who also attended the briefing, recalled that former Governor Kayode Fayemi did the same thing by sacking all the political appointees on assumption of office.

Senators divided over emergency rule extension

Senate President, David Mark

 

The Senate on Tuesday abruptly adjourned plenary till Wednesday (today) following a sharp disagreement by its members over President Goodluck Jonathan’s fresh request to extend emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

Plenary had commenced smoothly with Senate President David Mark reading a letter from Jonathan amid murmuring by some of his colleagues, especially those from the affected states.

Sensing that the letter titled, “Extension of the period for the proclamation of a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states” might generate tension, the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, moved a motion for the Senate to dissolve into a closed – door session to consider the request.

When the senators reconvened after a two-and-half hour extensive brainstorming, Mark announced that further discussion on the issue would hold on Wednesday(today).

He said, “The Senate in a closed session met and discussed the letter from Mr. President on the extension of a state of emergency.

“We had a very extensive debate on it. And we will continue with the debate tomorrow (today).

The letter by Jonathan read in part, “May I respectfully draw your attention to the state of emergency proclamation 2013 in respect of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states which was approved by the National Assembly and extended for a further period of six months as conveyed by the Clerk of the National Assembly dated May 21, 2014.

“By virtue of the provisions of Sections 305, (6) c of the 1999 Constitution as amended, the proclamation aforementioned will elapse after a period of six months from the date of approval of the National Assembly except the period is extended by the National Assembly.

“It is important to state that despite concerted efforts by this administration to stem the tide of terrorism and insurgency in the affected states, the security challenges that necessitated the proclamation are yet to abate.

“Consequently, it has become imperative to request the approval of the senate for extension of the period for the state of emergency for a further period of six months.

“In view of the foregoing, I most respectfully request distinguished senators to consider and approve by resolution the extension of the proclamation of the state of emergency by a further period of six months from the date of expiration of the current period.

“I look forward distinguished Senate President to the usual kind expeditious consideration of the above request by the Senate.”

The Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Bello Tukur, who briefed journalists after the adjournment , did not give details of what transpired at the closed-door session.

Tukur merely said, “The Senate met behind closed – doors to consider the letter from Mr. President but we did not conclude deliberations on it.

“I want you to reserve whatever questions you have on the issue till tomorrow (today) when we would have concluded discussions on it.”

However, senators, especially those from the Northern part of the country, who spoke on what transpired at the meeting, said they opposed the extension of the emergency rule.

Their objection was based on the fact that the declaration of the state of emergency in the affected states had not achieved the desired objectives since it was proclaimed in May 2013.

Three of the senators, who spoke were Ali Ndume (Bornu South), Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North),   and Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara Central).

Ndume stated that he was totally opposed to the request by Jonathan because it would further worsen the security situation in the three states which are ravaged by Boko Haram insurgency.

He said, “The state of emergency since it was declared in the three states had taken us from bad to worse.

“Our fear now is that if we extend it again, we are inviting more problems to ourselves because the insurgents would capture more territories during the period.

“As the representative of my people, my entire constituents are totally opposed to the extension of the emergency rule because it restricts movements of the civilian populace while the insurgents move freely and have a field day.

“When people are sleeping in the night, the insurgents are freely moving around. By 6pm, the whole towns are closed but the insurgents are busy taking control of everywhere.’’

Ndume doubted the sincerity of the Federal Government to the fight against insurgents and urged the relevant military authorities to adopt fresh strategies to confront them.

Lawan, who boasted that the President’s request would not be granted, advised that “after 18 months of the state of emergency, we should look at other avenue.”

He said, “Although we will continue deliberations on the issue tomorrow (today), but I can assure you that we will not approve the emergency rule extension because the president can deploy the military to any part of the country without declaring a state of emergency.

“We have a very strong military in Nigeria and nobody can doubt their capacity to handle this insurgency except if the government is telling us that so many things are fundamentally wrong.

“Discussions on it will definitely continue tomorrow (today) but I want to tell you that I am totally opposed to it.

“So many options are being advanced which would be concluded tomorrow.

What we need at the moment is the massive deployment of troops to quickly

launch serious attacks because we have lost so many territories already.

“The request for the extension of the state of emergency is only a waste of time because we had it for 18 months which ended in total failure.”

Marafa said, “The emergency rule extension is unnecessary because previous ones had failed. Even if you are a student and you fail three times then something is either wrong with the student or the teacher. We need a different strategy now.”

Mark leads Senate leadership to Jonathan

Hours after adjourning sitting, Mark led his Deputy,   Ike Ekweremadu;   Ndoma-Egba; the Deputy Senate Leader, Abdul Ningi;   the Minority Leader, George Akume, among others to the Presidential Villa for a closed-door meeting with Jonathan.

All the senators arrived and left the villa in a convoy without talking to State House correspondents.

A Presidency source however said the meeting was a troubleshooting effort by the President to ensure that his request to extend the emergency rule scales through at the National Assembly.

House to hold special session Thursday

The House of Representatives will reconvene on Thursday (tomorrow) to hold a special session on the extension of emergency rule in the troubled Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

A meeting of the House leadership presided over by the Speaker, Aminnu Tambuwal, on Tuesday (yesterday) endorsed the special session.

Tambuwal confirmed the reconvening in a statement he signed on Tuesday evening.

Part of the statement reads, “On Tuesday, November 18, 2014, I received a communication from the President, requesting the extension of the existing state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states by the House of Representatives.

“Pursuant to the powers conferred on me by Section 305 ( 2 ) of the 1999 Constitution, which requires me to ‘forthwith convene or arrange a meeting of the House’ and in order to treat the extension before the expiration of the current state of emergency in accordance with Section 305 (6) (c) of the constitution, I hereby reconvene the House which is currently on recess.”

The statement added that the session would hold on Thursday by 11am.

The Chairman, House Committee on Rules/Business, Albert Sam-Tsokwa, told reporters that a decision on the special session had been taken.

“Now, they (leadership) have resolved that the House should reconvene on Thursday to consider the extension of emergency rule”, he said.

The spokesman for the House, Zakari Mohammed, said, “There is going to be special session on the emergency rule on Thursday. The speaker’s office will convey a statement on the reconvening shortly.”

The House has been on break since October 28 to resume on December 3. However, the urgency attached to the emergency rule extension reportedly forced the leadership to approve the special session.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Peoples Democratic Party, Friday Itulah had said it would be proper for the House to reconvene since the issue at hand (Jonathan’s request) required some urgency.

Itulah claimed that the emergency rule had yielded “positive results so far”, adding that the extension was necessary to strengthen the war against terrorists in the affected states.

He said, “I think the extension is worth it as long as the reason for it has not been realised. So, there is a need to extend the emergency rule. Some aspects of it also need to be revisited to make it more effective.

The House is supposed to reconvene on December 3, but since this is a national emergency, let us see how it goes.”

An All Progressives Congress lawmaker, Pally Iriase, also backed the extension of the rule.

He said, “We have been moving back and front; one step forward and 10 steps backward, but that notwithstanding, we still believe the requisite environment be created to enable the Armed Forces to do their work.”

However, investigations by Rev4mation's world showed that many lawmakers in the House were against the extension.

One of them said, “Let us face the truth. Has emergency rule worked? More lives and property have been lost in those states with emergency rule in place.

“Where are the abducted Chibok girls? If anything, Boko Haram has become more daring, taking control of more towns and hoisting flags under the emergency rule than when there was no emergency rule.

“The facts are there for all to see. Why continue to deceive ourselves with this emergency rule?”

Shettima, Ngillari back emergency rule extension

Although Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima and his Adamawa State counterpart, Bala Ngillari,   backed Jonathan’s bid to extend the emergency rule, they called for the evaluation of the gains or otherwise of the previous proclamations.

Shettima, through his Media aide, Isa Gusau, said, “I do not have doubts about the sincerity of Mr. President in seeking an extension to make it easier for our security agencies to continue their services to our fatherland and I think an extension is reasonable in the circumstance we have found ourselves much as it is also reasonable to take stock of what previous declarations have achieved.

“No democratic government would wish to have military men roaming its streets with armoured vehicles. However, we are very much aware that in most guerrilla warfare, insurgents sometimes dictate the pace because they can disguise and pretend to be friends whereas the security agencies are by their systems, known so they can be identified by citizens.

“I have strong hope that Borno will get out of this situation just I have for the Nigerian state. The problem is however how long it takes and those who suffer while it lasts. This is why we must make common sense sacrifices as leaders, political party members and those in positions of influence to help our military and security agencies to remain focused and not to make the slightest attempts of diverting their attention for whatever reason we seek to achieve.

“We must at the end never fail to remember that no matter how long, we would be required to give accounts of how best we managed our influences, whether we blindly limited our thoughts to our individual and group goals or we used our influences for our people who entrusted us with rights to decide their fates. We owe them the right to live.”

Also, Ngillari,who spoke through his Director of Press and Public Affairs, P. Elisha, said the President had absolute powers to seek extension of emergency rule in the affected states.

The governor however warned against rumours on the situation in the affected states, saying they were capable of making nonsense of the efforts to flush out Boko Haram fighters from the North-East.