Lawyer asks court to cancel Lagos monthly sanitation

A Lagos-based lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has asked  a Federal High Court in Lagos to put a stop to the monthly enviromental sanitation exercise in Lagos State.
The lawyer is asking the court to declare as illegal, the monthly exercise, during which citizens’ movements were restricted.

Joined as respondents are the Inspector General of Police, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Governor and the state’ Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
Others are Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and the Ministry of Environment.
The applicant in his motion on notice argued that the imposed environmental sanitation on every last Saturday of the month did not have any legal backing.

According to him, the restriction of people’s movement was in conflict with Sections 35 and 41 of the Constitution, which guarantees rights to personal liberty and  freedom of movement.

Adegboruwa stated that the restriction also violates  Article XII of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
He is therefore asking the court to declare that the Lagos State Government and its agents do not have the legal backing to restrict movement of Lagos residents on the last Saturday of the month.
The applicant is also asking the court to declare that the respondents could not,  as of right, arrest and detain any Lagos resident found moving on either state or Federal Government roads in the state on the last Saturday of every month.

Justice M.B. Idris has adjourned till January 28, 2015 for hearing in the suit

‘I cannot count the stolen cars I’ve sold’

Akorede

A suspected car snatcher, Alhaji Kabiru Akorede, who was arrested by the Lagos State Police Command, has said he can not count the number of stolen vehicles he sold to people.

Rev4mation learnt that 42-year-old Akorede, who hails from Ilorin, Kwara State, was nabbed by operatives of the special Anti-Robbery Squad in his residence at NEPA Quarters, Isashi, Lagos.

Our correspondent gathered that Akorede allegedly belonged to an eight-man robbery gang, who had gone to the Victoria Island area on September 12, 2014 and robbed one Mr. Albert Omisore of his Toyota Prado marked, AAA 690 BH.

The vehicle had reportedly been delivered to Moses Ogbu, a gang member, who in turn, gave it to Akorede for sale.

According to the police, Akorede allegedly re-fixed the fittings of the vehicle such as the headlights and windscreens.

However, after the gang had been nabbed, Akorede was trailed by SARS operatives. He was subsequently arrested, while the stolen vehicle was recovered.

According to the police, Akorede had been arrested earlier in the year and was still standing trial before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court when he went back into crime. The police added that Akorede was arrested at the point of re-fixing the fittings of a stolen vehicle.

Speaking with Rev4mation last Friday, Akorede, who said he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2010, confessed that although he started selling stolen vehicles barely a year ago, he could not recall the number of the vehicles he had sold.

He said, “I was working as a building engineer until 2013. I started receiving stolen cars last year. It was a friend, one Dada, who introduced me to the gang. Since I started with them, I used to sell the stolen vehicles along the Ile Zik area in Lagos.

“I cannot recall the number of the vehicles I collected, but they may not be less than 20. There were about three Toyota Highlander which I sold for N1.2m each. I also got four Toyota Camry, which I sold for N600,000 each.”

Akorede, who is married with two children, said that while the court granted him bail, Ogbu called him that the gang wanted to dispose a Toyota Prado, and the vehicle was brought to his place.

He said, “I decided to work on the vehicle so that I could conveniently resell it. It is true that I changed the fittings. I gave Moses N250,000 for the vehicle. I did this because I desperately needed money.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the arrest, adding that the suspect would be charged to court.

He said, “Yes, the suspect was arrested for receiving stolen vehicles. Investigations are ongoing and he would be charged to court soon.”

2015: Urgent tasks before INEC

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega

The Independent National Electoral Commission is saddled with, among others, the responsibility of handling electoral matters in Nigeria. In this report, the issues that will be used to assess the success of the electoral umpire in the conduct of the 2015 general elections is simply examined below.

All eyes are on the Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigeria’s electoral umpire, concerning the conduct of the much-anticipated 2015 general elections. No doubt, it is a huge responsibility to conduct elections in an emerging democracy where many politicians crave for power.

The functions of INEC are contained in Section 15, Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) and Section 2 of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended). The laws, among other functions, empower the commission to conduct elections into elective public offices. These include the office of the president, vice president, governors, and deputy governors. It is also to conduct elections into the Senate and House of Representatives.

The power to conduct local government area chairmanship elections, which were vested in States Independent Electoral Commission, is being moved to INEC, going by the amendment of the laws.

The country has experienced the good, the bad and the ugly, when it comes to elections.

The 1993 elections, especially the annulled June 12 presidential election, have been widely acclaimed to be the freest, fairest and most credible. It was conducted by the then National Electoral Commission of Nigeria, under the chairmanship of Humphrey Nwosu. The commission deployed Option A4 voting system and the Open Ballot System for the election.

Despite challenges, some close watchers of the electoral system have said there is relative improvement on how the country carries out its electoral process today. They cited computerisation of the system by INEC and the coding of ballot papers, ballot boxes and polling units, among others.

Aside these, political pundits have called the attention of the commission to other issues. They are:

Voter registration and voter card

The ongoing distribution of permanent voter cards is part of efforts towards having a comprehensive and up-to-date voter register. However, both the voter registration exercise and the distribution of voter cards have suffered public criticism.

The nationwide voter registration exercise conducted by INEC had recorded several irregularities until the anomaly was eventually corrected.

Currently, INEC is distributing PVCs nationwide and conducting a Continuous Voter Registration. However, this is not without criticism, especially from political parties and politicians.

For instance, it was the turn of nine states — Kano, Edo, Ogun, Imo, Lagos, Rivers and Nasarawa — last weekend for the third phase of the nationwide distribution of PVCs by INEC. The exercise, scheduled to hold between November 7 and 9, was marred by irregularities.

Expectedly, the opposition All Progressives Congress and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party had engaged themselves in a war of words over the hitches.

While the opposition party accused INEC of programming the exercise to favour the PDP, the ruling party fired back by accusing the APC of having a hidden agenda.

However, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Kayode Idowu, last Sunday, denied the allegations, while announcing an extension of the exercise in Lagos by 24 hours.

He said, “Contrary to allegations in some quarters, no duly registered person has been delisted from the Register of Voters, neither will any be denied his/her PVC.”

While INEC has deferred and reschedule the distribution of PVC and its CVR exercise in the affected areas, political scientists have warned that due to the political atmosphere which is becoming tense, any slight mismanagement of issues by INEC may generate controversy.

Voter apathy

Another issue INEC has to contend with is voter apathy. The development, observers have said, may frustrate efforts by INEC to ensure hitch-free and widely acceptable elections.

Just on Monday, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Abia State, one of the twelve pilot states where PVC distribution began in May, Professor Jacob Jatau, expressed worry over the alleged apathy by the electorate in the state towards collecting their PVCs.

Jatau told journalists in Umuhaia that voters in the state were not collecting their PVCs since the exercise started in May. He said less than 50 per cent of registered voters in the state had collected their cards since the collection exercise started six months ago – three months to the elections.

According to Jatau, unless there is an attitudinal change, many eligible voters might be disenfranchised in the 2015 elections.

Prior to the Ekiti State governorship election held on June 21, 2014, the REC in the state, Halilu Pai, had in May expressed fears that voters might shun the election.

He said over 285,794 permanent voter cards had yet to be collected with just five weeks to the election.

In a scenario like this, political analysts have raised the alarm over possible situations where the few who have their cards will have their say over the majority without cards.

Electronic voting

The commission has often blamed its failure to adopt electronic voting system on unavailability of enabling law.

The Head of Publicity Division of INEC, Mr. Nick Dazang, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH in June, expressed the eagerness of the commission to adopt electronic system. He said this was why most of INEC’s operations were technology-driven.

He said, “By law, we are not supposed to use electronic voting machines. We also have canvassed for it but so far, the law does not permit the commission to use electronic voting machines. Until the law is amended, we cannot do so.”

Earlier in February, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, had said it would be “practically impossible to adopt the electronic voting model in the 2015 general election, even if the National Assembly were to lift the prohibition on its usage.”

At the Senate on April 1, 2014, when three separate bills seeking various amendments to the Electoral Act 2010 passed for second reading, the lawmakers were divided on e-voting.

However, the Nigerian Bar Association, on August 10, 2014, urged INEC to introduce electronic voting machine to enhance the credibility of future elections.

The Chairman, Election Working Group of the NBA, Dafe Akpedeye, in a statement on behalf of the group, said, “INEC should move towards the use of Electronic Voting Machines for elections, as it has indicated that it has the capacity to use such process, which it used to collate results in the collating centres.”

However, the National Chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, on October 30, 2014, stated, “We are hoping that INEC will do their best. Good as the chairman is, he does not know the reality of what is on ground under him. Our prayer, as far as INEC is concerned, is that they use card readers in the election so that we can be sure of a cleaner process. It is a no-go area and a must that card reader has to be used.”

Better INEC management/techniques

Electronic voting is not all that the National Assembly is working on to improve INEC’s performance. The lawmakers are also working on the powers of INEC to issue duplicate voter cards before election, determine voting procedure, holding of elections on a single day, and to conduct debate for all candidates who are contesting election into the office of president.

With the ongoing review and amendment of INEC laws, there seems to be more work for the commission, and more challenges too, according to analysts.

The Assembly had on October 21 deleted the State Independent Electoral Commission from the Constitution, vesting the powers to conduct council elections on only INEC.

The lawmakers also made provisions for independent candidacy in future elections   by amending Sections 65 and 106 of the Constitution. By so doing, analysts have said the electoral umpire may begin to cater for not only political parties but also politicians as independent candidates. In addition, ballot papers will carry more names, which translate to more cost on the side of INEC.

Political party (de)registration

Another issue the INEC contends with is the registration and deregistration of political parties.

In a massive swoop, INEC on December 6, 2012, announced the deregistration of 28 political parties.

The Commission’s Secretary, Abdullahi Kaugama, in a statement, said INEC deregistered the 28 parties “in the exercise of the powers conferred on it by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).”

However, some of the parties had sought redress in courts and won.

By the amendments made to the Constitution by the Assembly, the commission can now deregister political parties for non-fulfilment of certain conditions like breach of registration requirements and failure to secure or win either a presidential, governorship, council chairmanship or a seat in the national assembly or state assembly.

Not long ago, some newly-registered political parties emerged on the scene, including Dr. Frederick Fasehun’s United Party of Nigeria and Falae’s Social Democratic Party. This is an indication that more parties may emerge as the general elections approach, according to analysts.

With the new powers to be conferred on INEC in the constitutional amendment, observers of the political scene are expecting a massive deregistration of parties — those sometimes referred to as “mushroom parties” — after the 2015 elections.

Diaspora voting

At the moment, only citizens residing in Nigeria at the time of registration of voters can vote at any election, whereas Section 77 (2) of the Electoral Act says: “Every citizen of Nigeria, who has attained the age of 18 years at the time of the registration of voters for the purposes of election to a legislative house, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter for that election.”

Jega, who was represented by INEC Commissioner, Election Party Monitoring, Amina Zakari, had at a three-day National Stakeholders Forum on Electoral Reform in Abuja on January 29, 2014, said the much anticipated Diaspora voting was not feasible until the Electoral Act was amended.

The INEC boss, however, said it was proposing an amendment to the Act to enable Nigerians in the Diaspora, who were 18 years as of the time of registration, to vote. He added that denying the Diaspora the right to vote would be an infringement on their rights.

Terrorism and elections

Despite the ongoing terrorist acts by the Boko Haram sect, INEC has insisted it would conduct elections in the north-eastern part of the country, which is mostly affected by the insurgency.

In April, and subsequent other times, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the commission would do its “best and conduct elections in every part of the country in 2015.”

Jega said, “Insecurity is a serious challenge to the commission and the entire electoral process. But we are ready to conduct elections in any situation. Security challenges are enormous, be it Boko Haram, kidnapping or even armed robbery.

“Elections can be conducted under situations of emergency rule. But all we are saying is that elections will be free and fair where there are minimal security challenges. Under a situation of emergency, many things are likely to happen, either people will be scared of coming out or they will come out and run into security cordons and be molested by security agents.

“Our hope is that by 2015 we will be able to conduct elections in all parts of the country. We are ready to conduct the elections everywhere in this country in 2015. We hope that security challenges will be minimal for us to conduct elections in 2015 and when we get to the bridge, we will cross it.”

Observers of the development in the region have expressed fears that a large percentage of the electorate might be disenfranchised in 2015 as millions of them had been displaced; some taking refuge in faraway Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

Again, observers have doubted the possibility of conducting free, fair and credible elections in troubled states like Yobe, Borno and Adamawa, where Boko Haram is in control of the areas.

However, INEC’s REC in Borno State, Prof. Tukur Sa’ad, on Wednesday hinted that the commission planned to make provisions for Internally Displaced Persons to cast their votes in the 2015 polls.

Sa’ad, however, said INEC had yet to work out modalities for the IDPs to vote.

Militarised election

One issue that often generates criticisms is militarisation of election. This is massive deployment of security personnel and hardware by security agencies. Nigerians have witnessed such in recent elections, where the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police, the Department of State Security, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and several others deployed thousands of personnel for just a governorship election.

The October 20, 2012 governorship election in Edo State; the June 21, 2014 election in Ekiti; and the August 9, 2014 election in Osun are good examples.

Although during the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives on the bill for the amendment of the Electoral Act, 2010, held on August 20, 2014, Jega had backed a proposed amendment that would confer the exclusive power to manage and assign security men during elections on INEC. The bill also sought to limit the role of the military during elections.

Aside massive deployment of security, the appearance of masked security agents suspected to be DSS operatives during the Osun election had sparked protests, most especially from the APC.

In an apparent reaction to the development during an interactive session with local and international election observers in Abuja on August 20, 2014, the INEC chairman said “In recent times, we have witnessed an increased presence of hooded security operatives during elections. This is an emerging trend, which is highly worrisome and which needs to be addressed in good time.

“Security agents who are deployed on election duties should not be masked, the doctrine of transparency requires that they should be identifiable. We will not allow such persons during the 2015 elections. Any security personnel deployed for the election must be someone identifiable such that if anything happens we will be able to know who to hold responsible.”

While Jega also decried over-zealousness of some security agents during elections, he however maintained that the perceived over militarisation of the elections in Ekiti and Osun did not deter the electorate from voting for their desired candidate.

Jega said, “In fact, the two elections proved that there was a high correlation between the massive deployment of security and the willingness of people to come out and vote.

“Apart from over-zealousness on the part of some of the security men on the field, we discovered that people actually felt more secured to exercise their franchise. The key lesson our politicians need to learn from the two elections is that the era has gone when they relied on corrupt electoral officers or security agents to manipulate elections.

“In this era, any politician that intend to win election must reach out and convince the voters, be it through ‘stomach-infrastructure’ or otherwise. The only guarantee to win election now is to let the voters come out to vote for you, which in turn means that you must first of all convince them on your credibility.”

Speaking to SUNDAY PUNCH, the Head, Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof. Jonah Onuoha, said Nigeria was not ready for a digitalised electoral process, due to the infrastructural challenges in the country.

He, however, expressed approval of any means by which Nigerians abroad could exercise their franchise, adding that a transparent process should be the underlying factor.

Onuoha said, “If there is electronic voting and the numbers are not influenced, then one can be rest assured, especially with regard to voting by Nigerians in the Diaspora. Ensuring the eligibility of the votes is a different thing all together. But I don’t see how electronic voting can work in Nigeria because you can’t be particularly sure of electric power.

“Any idea that will enhance rigging should not be encouraged. In my opinion, it is a thing for the future. However, for those in the Diaspora, in order for their votes to count, it has to be done electronically. The facilities, unfortunately, cannot support it in Nigeria.”

According to him, INEC is not ready for the 2015 general elections. He cited mixed reactions to PVC distribution exercise as a basis for the argument.

“Many participants, including aspirants and officials who are in office, have raised the alarm. For instance, in the North-East where there is conflict, there is no sign that INEC can conduct elections. In fact, we don’t know where elections will and will not be conducted. We are about three months away from the elections, and the picture is not so clear. If INEC must conduct this election, it has to show evidence of capability,” he said.

Similarly, Prof. Remi Anifowose of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Lagos, argues that Nigerian expatriates deserve to be given the platform to vote in elections.

He said, “Nigerians in the Diaspora are patriotic people and, to a large extent, they would like to perform their civic responsibility. They even look forward to it. I think INEC should make the needful arrangements to ensure that such people are not left out. They should not be denied the privilege of choosing their leaders.”

AFCON: Nigeria brighten qualification hopes, beat Congo 2-0

Steven Keshi and Vincent Enyeama

African champions Nigeria brightened their chances of qualifying for the 2015 African Cup of Nations courtesy of a 2-0 win over Congo in Pointe-Noire on Saturday.

Returnee striker, Ike Uche, converted a second half penalty before China-based Aaron Samuel added a second late on to the dismay of the Congolese fans, who threw missiles into the pitch afterwards in anger.

With the victory, Nigeria are now in second position in Group A of the qualifiers, with seven points from five games, and stand a chance of defending their title, won last year in South Africa, at Africa’s top football showpiece next year.

Congo, who defeated the Eagles 3-2 in the earlier phase of the qualifiers, also have seven points but are behind the Nigerians on the head-to-head to rule.

Group leaders South Africa had earlier defeated bottom-placed Sudan 2-1 at home to secure their place for the competition next year.

If the Super Eagles beat South Africa on Wednesday at the new Uyo Stadium, qualification would be secured by the Eagles.

Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi should have put Nigeria ahead after 20 minutes, when he headed wide from a corner kick.

But Nigeria was more businesslike after the break. Goal-bound Emmanuel Emenike was fouled by goalkeeper Massa but it was Villareal forward Uche, who converted the resultant spot kick in the 59th minute to the joy of Nigerian fans at the stadium.

But six minutes later, man of the match, Vincent Enyeama, saved a penalty after centre-back Godfrey Oboabona, handled the ball inside the area.

Samuel then sealed the win for Nigeria in the 89th minute, when he scored from inside the box. It’s the ex-3SC’s striker’s second goal in two games, having also scored in the 3-1 defeat of Sudan in Abuja.

Angry Congolese fans then threw missiles into the pitch, which could earn their team a ban, after crowd incidents in their earlier game against Sudan.

A win over the Bafana Bafana on Wednesday will secure a place for the Eagles in the continental event next year but Congo could still qualify as best third-placed team if they beat Sudan away same day.

CBN restricts dollar sale to save naira.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has stopped the sale of dollars to some categories of importers at its twice-weekly regulated foreign exchange market in order to save the naira from falling.

The move is meant to also reduce the pressure on the naira amid falling oil prices and perceived dollarisation of the economy, according to industry analysts.

In a circular released on Thursday, the central bank specifically said it would no longer sell dollars to importers of electronics, finished products, information technology equipment, generators, telecommunication equipment and invisible transactions at its Retail Dutch Auction System forex market.

According to the directive, the importation of the listed items will now be funded at the interbank forex market only.

The circular was signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Mr. O.I Gbadamosi.

It read in part, “In order to maintain the existing stability in the foreign exchange market and to further strengthen the various policies already initiated by the CBN, the importation of the items shall henceforth be funded from the interbank foreign exchange market only.”

Meanwhile, the CBN said it had also reviewed the guidelines for the operation of its Standing Deposit Facility in order to encourage banks and discount houses to lend to the productive sectors of the economy.

The central bank noted that banks and discount houses preferred keeping their idle balances at the CBN’s SDF, thereby constraining the process of financial intermediation.

Consequently, it has reduced the remunerable daily placements by banks and discount houses at the SDF to maximum of N7.5bn.

In a circular signed by its Director, Financial Markets, Mr. E. U Ukeje, the central bank said, “All deposits by a bank or discount house in excess of N7.5bn shall not be remunerated.”

Defection: S’West APC panel meets over Osoba, others.

 

Olusegun Osoba

Members of the South-West Committee of the All Progressives Congress met on Thursday on how to make a former Governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, the embattled Deputy Governor, Segun Adesegun, and others have a rethink on their defection to the Social Democratic Party.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, who made this known in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, said the committee headed by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has an ex-Minister of Information, Tony Momoh, as one of its members.

Mohammed neither gave the names of other members of the truce panel nor stated where the meeting took place.

He   said, “We believe that the grievances are not irreconcilable and we are redoubling our efforts to bring them back. What we share in common with them is much more than the areas of disagreement.

“There’s nothing absolutely fundamental that cannot be reconciled. The party’s South-West committee on reconciliation is in a strategic meeting right now as I speak with you to ensure that the family remains one.

“We will concentrate efforts on bringing the major players into accord. The committee has the mandate to get to the root cause of the disagreement and achieve total reconciliation.”

It was gathered from a reliable member of the APC that the truce committee would meet soon with Osoba, Adesegun and others who joined the SDP, a party led by a former Presidential candidate of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party.

The other APC members that defected are Senators Adegbenga Kaka, Ghenga Obadara and Akin Odunsi, who represent Ogun East, Ogun Central and Ogun West respectively.

The defected members of the House of Representatives are Kunle Adeyemi, Babatunde Olabode, Olumide Osoba, Abiodun Abudu and Bukunola Buraimo.

Earlier on Thursday, Mohammed,   in a terse statement   expressed the hope that the defectors would reconsider their decision and beat a quick retreat.

He also pointed out that the defection would not affect the overall chances of the party in the forthcoming polls in Ogun State.

Mohammed added that the party was   shocked   by the defection because it came at a time   efforts were ongoing to reconcile all its aggrieved members in the state.

He said, ‘’Yes, the defection of some our members will create some challenges for our party, but we will go back to the drawing board to restrategise and redouble our efforts to retain the state in 2015.

‘’Every member of our party is important to its overall success, but none is more important than the party. Against this background, no member can hold the party to ransom.’’

The APC spokesman said it was a mere fallacy for anyone to conclude that the defection of some members, irrespective of their importance, would dramatically alter the chances of the party in 2015.

 He therefore urged the APC members in the state not to lose any sleep over the latest development.

 

A member of the House of Representatives, Kehinde Odeneye, who was reported to have also defected, said he was still in the APC.

Odeneye said, “Contrary to reports that I have defected to the SDP, I am still a bona fide and committed member of the APC and have not at any time defected or expressed the intention of defecting to any other political party.”

Odeneye said he was approached by those who defected to the SDP but he declined on the basis of principles.

“When they were about to defect, they approached me but I refused because I don’t believe in   jumping from one party to another.”

The state   publicity secretary of the APC, Sola Lawal, has however said the party cannot take any action yet against Adesegun since he has not formally defected to the SDP.

“I cannot tell you the sanction yet; let us wait until he finally defects,’’ Lawal said in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents.

He said, “We are not aware of the move the deputy governor is making, either to defect to another party or not. At the party level, there is no document to show that he has left the APC.   Even Chief Osoba has not disclosed where he’s going.”

A member of the assembly, Remmy Hassan, told   our correspondent in the state that it would be difficult for the 26 -member House of Assembly to impeach Adesegun.

The House is factionalised into 13 members loyal to Governor Ibikunle Amosun and the other 13 making up the opposition.

Hassan,who is the Leader of the opposition lawmakers,   said   they were patiently     waiting   for any attempt to impeach the deputy governor.

He said, “It will be practically difficult to impeach the deputy governor because there is no constitutional breach.   However, everybody is awake even while asleep.

“We have 13 members each on both sides. But the other 13 loyal to the governor are at a disadvantage, because the   Speaker, Suraj Adekunbi, who is on their side cannot not vote. He only presides.”

Efforts   to speak with   Adekunbi proved abortive as his telephone line was unreachable.

In Abuja, Chief Olu Falae described the defection of Osoba and others to the SDP as a welcome development.

 He said, “I welcome all Nigerians to join this party from councillors to President because this party, although may not control the Federal Government, it is a party with a clear people- oriented ideology.

“It is a party which philosophy is zero tolerance for corruption. It makes the people   the central object of its endeavour. Any party that is not doing all these is not a party.

“I hope all Nigerians will join this party so that the country could be a different nation. The country needs to be changed. Change is absolutely necessary.”

The former presidential aspirant also said he had consulted with his lawyer to interpret what the law says if a politician holding a public office dumps his party for another party.

“I have consulted a lawyer who told me that the legal interpretation is that the law only requires legislators to resign if they change their political affiliation. That is what I was told, I am not a lawyer. The lawyers will advise us as a party. We are law-abiding. It is whatever the law says that we will do.”

Asked what his party would do if the APC moved to impeach Adesegun , Falae said, “that would amount to being speculative.”

He said, “The election is next year February. I don’t think it is a major issue for now. The Deputy Governor may decide to resign or decide to stay depending on what the lawyers advise him to do.”

No president resigns during war, Jonathan tells APC.

    President Goodluck Jonathan

The Presidency has said there is no part of the world where the President resigns during an ongoing war.

It therefore challenged the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to tell Nigerians where such presidents had resigned during war time.

The Presidency was reacting to the demand by the leadership of the APC, including its National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, that President Goodluck Jonathan should resign because of the on-going war against the country by the members of the Boko Haram sect.

Reacting on behalf of the President, his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, asked Nigerians to ignore such calls.

He said, “The suggestion by one of the leaders of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Tinubu, that President Goodluck Jonathan should resign from office as a result of the activities of insurgents in the north-eastern part of the country, has once again shown beyond doubt that the former Lagos State governor and his colleagues in the opposition are a bunch of political anarchists and charlatans blinded by an unbridled appetite for power.

“The assertion by Tinubu at a political rally in Ilorin, Kwara State on Wednesday that in ‘civilised’ societies, the President should have resigned is unfounded and lacking in historical precedence.

“We challenge him to tell Nigerians which part of his ‘civilised’ world has there been a call on a President to resign during an on-going war.

“When terrorists attacked the United States of America in September 2001, the leaders of the Democratic Party did not demand a resignation of President George Bush but rather they rose in defence of the American nation to support the various measures taken by the President to defeat the al Qaeda terrorists.”

He said it was necessary to remind the APC leader that it was leading members of his party who vehemently opposed and openly criticised the proscription of the Boko Haram sect by the Federal Government in 2013 with some of them even going as far as describing it as a move against the North while others tried to incite the civil society to condemn this anti-terrorists’ action.

Okupe said that it was therefore unfortunate that the APC, in its desperation for power and eagerness to make selfish political gains from insecurity, had shown a total lack of the spirit of nationalism and statesmanship in its public comments on the challenges of insurgency in the North-East.

He added that it was particularly sad that the leaders of the APC would mount every available podium to pour invectives on the President and ridicule members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria who were in the battlefield against terror.

“Telling the President to resign because of an ongoing insurgency is the height of insensitive, indecorous and bad politics which ought to be roundly condemned by every patriotic Nigerian,” he added.

 

He said that by the provisions of the Nigerian constitution, the only recognised means of changing a government was through the electoral process.