The president has clearly stated he is not going to run, but the State Dept. is urging him to do so, or at least crerating his urge to run. When a senior American diplomat told him not to last week, he angered the entire nation so much that now, 30 state governors (out of 36) are backing a constitutional change that will allow him to seek a third term. If American diplomats tell him not to run again, that may be enough to make him announce his candidacy.
The following is a careful selection from half a dozen publications which tell many different stories, all of which will utlimately bear on the fate of investments in the Joint Development Zone and Nigeria's future relationship with the United States.
This is valuable background reading on the several crises that now occupy Nigeria's leadership. Think of it as due diligence, and do your own:
Five Governors On London Police Arrest List
FROM TUNDE OYEDOYIN, LONDON
BESIDES Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, at least five other state governors cannot go to London without risking arrest on money laundering charges.
Three of the governors are from the South-South zone of the country, one from the Southeast and the last from the Southwest.
The governors, according to investigation, will surely be "guests" of the Metropolitan Police and the same humiliating treatment given to the impeached Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha "awaits these five anytime they come to London."
One of the governors was referred to "as a crook," by a detective who spoke to The Guardian in London. According to the detective, "some of these people became governors and within a week, they became very rich."
About a month ago, one police source had disclosed that a governor from the Southwest "was being investigated" because he has fallen out with his professed political godfather.
But the two detectives, who were asked to confirm this last week, eliminated his name from the list of governors they (Police) would want to speak to on arrival in London.
At the time of giving the lead, the police source had said, "I'm not very sure; they're still investigating, to see if he (governor) is using people to bring in money. But they're not very sure."
When last week The Guardian put forward the governor's name to the detectives, who would only speak under anonymity, both shook their heads, saying, "he's not there."
However, when, about two weeks ago, the names of three PDP governors - one from the Southeast angling for higher office in 2007; and the other two from the South-South - were scribbled for confirmation, one detective looked at the list, nodded his head, before saying:
"I'm not going to comment on those three, but I can definitely tell you that if one of those three ever comes here, he will be picked up. We'll arrest him on suspicion of money laundering."
A couple of days after speaking to the first detective, The Guardian met his colleague and this time, the Southwest governor's name topped the list of the three governors presented to him.
On looking at the list, he didn't get a buzz on seeing the name of the governor. But as he held the list to examine the other two names penciled down, he gave several nods.
Following a hunch, the name of a very active governor from the Southwest was scribbled on the notebook and on seeing what was written, the detective looked at the reporter and kept mum for some seconds.
Is he there? He was asked. Reluctantly, the detective said, "we know about him, but I'm not going to make any comments."
Underneath that governor's name was that of the Southeast, and on waiting for the four-letter word being scribbled, the detective just gave a nod.
And lastly, when the name of another South-South governor - one of those scheming for Aso Rock in 2007 - was penned down, the detective wasted no time before answering in the affirmative.
Asked to confirm if it was only governors that the London Police were after, another detective said, "no," explaining that, "they could be senators or people in government or anybody."
On allegations that their efforts were being remotely controlled to witchhunt political opponents of the President, the detective's reply was: "Nobody needs to be afraid. If they have no skeletons in their cupboards, anybody's free and welcomed here (in London)."
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Fear of EFCC? Why 30 Govs Want 3rd Term
By Yusuph Olaniyonu, 12.25.2005
Personal gain, political survival, intrigues and fear of the Economic and Financial Crimes Comm-ission (EFCC) are some of the factors which inspired last week’s decision of 30 of the nation’s 36 governors to support the plan to elongate the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo with a third term.
THISDAY checks reveal that several of the governors believe that supporting a third term “is a win-win situation” in which they would also benefit from a constitutional amendment like the President.
Hence, some of them have dropped their initial opposition for the third term agenda. Yet some others are believed to have plugged into the agenda for the fear of being under the searchlight of the EFCC. In their calculation, by the end of a third term the tenure of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as Chairman of EFCC must have expired. Ribadu is feared by some of the governors as being inflexible in his bid to prosecute them for alleged corruption.
This plan is to be achieved through constitutional amen-dment passed simultaneously by State Houses of Assembly early next year.
Top sources close to the series of secret meetings held by the 30 governors told THISDAY that while a few governors are supporting the agenda because of the promise that they will replace Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the post-2007 Obasanjo government, some others believe that they could use the agenda to negotiate a respite from the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFFC) which has compiled incriminating evidence against them.
Informed sources also explained that some Northern governors are merely playing along in the third term game so as to be immune from the wrath of Aso Rock in the meantime. Governors in this category believe that the third term agenda would fail eventually in the face of the rising opposition to the idea, in which event they would not be blame and they would have impressed the President that they did their best.
A fourth group of governors who were elected for the first time in 2003 are said to have enlisted in support of the third term because they were assured of automatic re-election ticket by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while they were further reasured that the party would still sweep the polls at the 2007 elections.
THISDAY gathered that a fifth group of governors are those who have problems within their party and states and are facing threats to their hold in power.
"For those group of governors which included Oyo state governor, Rashidi Ladoja, Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom), Joshua Dariye (Plateau) and Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) who all have internal crises in their states, they believe that being in the good books of Aso Rock can sweep the rugs off the feet of their adversaries," the source said.
Ladoja is facing impeachment threat from a group of 18 legislators supported by his enstranged godfather, Lamidi Adedibu while many key members of the Ekiti State political elites are still opposed to Governor Fayose. Also, Ambassador Sam Edem, chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is believed to have seized the PDP machinery from Attah in Akwa Ibom state. Dariye's problem is the battle of supremacy between him and deputy senate president, Ibrahim Mantu who is also scheming to become the Vice-President if Obasanjo's third term ambition works.
Dariye is however mentioned as a member of the group of governors who endorsed the Third term agenda to halt the gradual move against him and his aides by the EFCC. Some of Dariye's aides and staff of a bank, All States Trust Bank are standing trial in a Kaduna High Court on charges of corruption in which the governor is a principal actor. The governor also has pending charges of money laundering in London where the Metropolitan Police had concluded investigation on his various illegal transactions in Britain.
Other governors alleged to be using the third term project to gain respite from the EFCC are Governors Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), James Ibori (Delta), and Jolly Nyame (Taraba).
Governors Gbenga Daniel (Osun), Olusegun Agagu (Ondo), Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun), Bukola Saraki (Kwara), Idris Ibrahim (Kogi), Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Jonathan Goodluck (Bayelsa) and Modu Ali Sheriff (Borno) are said to be those who though still running their first term in office are supporting the project to gain automatic re-election.
Goodluck is believed to be using the third term project to further pay back Aso Rock for the support he got in the battle to remove his predecessor, Diepreye Alamieye-seigha. Governors Jolly Nyame and Bukar Abba Ibrahim of Taraba and Yobe states respectively may secure a fourth term in office if the Obasanjo 3rd term agenda works out. The two men had been elected as governors in 1991, 1999 and 2003, though they spent 23 months in office between 1991 - 1993.
Sources however confirmed that the constitutional amendment which may give President Obasanjo a third term in office is expected to retain Section 308 of the present constitution which guarantees the president, governors and their deputies immunity from arrest and trial for any criminal and civil proceedings in any Nigerian court.
"Retaining the immunity clause is a trade-off for the governors' support for the 3rd term project. So, there is something in the agenda for all the key players," a source said.
THISDAY had yesterday exclusively reported that 30 governors have agreed to back the proposed amendment of Sections 137(b) and 182(b) of the 1999 constitution which limits the maximum tenure of office of a President and governors to only two terms of four year each.
Only Governors Orji Kalu (Abia), Bola Tinubu (Lagos), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Boni Haruna (Adamawa), Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto) (Zamfara) and Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano) refrain from endorsing the third term project.
As part of the agreement at series of meetings, the pro-third term governors resolved to deliver the support of their representatives in the National Assembly for the project.
But the pro-third term governors are to facilitate the passage of the constitutional amendment, which is planned to be passed by the 36 state Houses of Assembly simultaneously on the same day and at the same time.
The proposed simultaneous passage of the amendment, THISDAY gathered is intended to whittle down the effect of the opposition from the North.
It is, however, not clear if the National Assembly will also sit to ratify the amendment on the same day with the state Houses of Assembly.
THISDAY gathered, that three main committees have been constituted to facilitate the actualisation of the project. They are the Contact Committee, headed by Governor Adamu Mu’azu of Bauchi State, Finance Committee, led by Governor Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State and the Central Planning Committee with Dr. Peter Odili (Rivers) and Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi (Nassa-rawa) as the linchpins.
It was gathered that following the series of meetings and contacts including a sub-committee meeting in Enugu, the number of state chief executives that have so far lined up behind the bid is 30.
The major source of funding, as gathered by THISDAY, is Corporate Nigeria expected to be anchored by the Managing Director of Nigeria Brewery Plc., Chief Festus Odimegwu. Also, the funds are to be channelled through a leading bank in the country which is expected to provide logistics for the project. It has also been alleged that money is being “extorted” from corporate organisations and individuals to swell the war chest of the project.
• See Analysis of the governors' positions and why they are supporting the third term project on Behind the New Section.
The speculated third term bid of President Olusegun Obasanjo may have received a boost with 30 of the 36 state governors signing to support a constitutional amendment that will allow the President and state governors to serve three terms of four years each.
By sections 137 (b) and 182 (b) of the 1999 Constitution, the Presi-dent and the governor of a state are eligible for election into office for only two terms of four years each. Only legislators do not have a constitutional barrier to the number of tenure they could serve.
These two sections are what the 30 governors have agreed to amend to pave the way for the President’s quest for another term of four years.
As part of the agreement at series of meetings, the governors agreed to deliver the support of their representatives in the National Assembly for the project. They also pledged to deliver their Houses of Asse-mbly for the project that had drawn massive opposition from a cynical public, which believed that the Obasanjo administration’s policies had brought more pains than joy to the generality of the people.
According to THISDAY information, the governors that are queuing behind the extra term project are Obong Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom), Do-nald Duke (Cross River), Dr. Peter Odili (Rivers), Chief James Ibori (Delta), Chief Lucky Igbin-edion (Edo), Chief Achike Udenwa (Imo), Dr. Sam Egwu (Ebonyi), Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu), Senator Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo), Prince Olagu-nsoye Oyinlola (Osun), Otunba Gbenga Daniel (Ogun), Dr. Ayo Fayose (Ekiti), Dr. Olusegun Agagu (Ondo), Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna), Alhaji Ahmed Kure (Niger), Alhaji Saminu Turaki (Jigawa), Alhaji Adamu Aliero (Kebbi), Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto), Alhaji Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Alhaji Adamu Mu`azu (Bauchi), Chief Joshua Dariye (Plateau), Chief George Akume (Benue), Alhaji Ibrahim Idris (Kogi), Dr. Bukola Saraki (Kwara), Rev. Jolly Nyame (Taraba), Senator Modu Sheriff (Borno), Alhaji Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe), Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa), Alhaji Yar`Adua (Katsina) and Dr. Jonathan Goodluck (Bayelsa).
Six of their colleagues, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (Lagos), Dr. Chris Ngige (Ananmbra), Chief Orji Kalu (Abia), Mr. Boni Haruna (Adamawa), Alhaji Shekarau (Kano) and Alhaji Ahmed Sani (Zamfara), are, however, opposed to the move.
For the opposing governors, the move to ratify an extra term for the executive arm of government is an immoral act that threatens to undermine the nation’s quest for the strengthening of its democratic culture and institutions.
Also opposing the proposal according to THISDAY information are many members of the National Assembly, especially senators, some of who will have their governorship amb-itions eclipsed by the constitutional amen-dment that will permit sitting governors to have another shot at the coveted seats at the states.
But the pro-third term governors would not be deterred by their dissenting colleagues reservations as they set up committees to facilitate the passage of the constitutional amendment, which is planed to be passed by the 36 state Houses of Assembly simultaneously on the same day and at the same time.
The simultaneous passage of the amendment, THISDAY gathered, will whittle down the effect of the opposition from the North, some of which governors had vehemently opposed the third term project.
It is, however, not clear if the National Assembly will also sit to ratify the amendment on the same day with the state Houses of Assembly.
According to THISDAY information, three main committees have been constituted to facilitate the actualisation of the project. They are the Contact Committee, headed by Governor Adamu Mu’azu of Bauchi State, Finance Committee, led by Governor Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State and the Central Planning Committee with Dr. Peter Odili (Rivers) and Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi (Nas-arawa) as the lichpins.
It was gathered that following the series of meetings and contacts including a sub-meeting in Enugu, the number of state chief executives that have so far lined up behind the bid number 30.
The major source of funding, as gathered by THISDAY, is corporate Nigeria expected to be anchored by the Managing Director of Nigeria Brewery Plc., Chief Festus Odim-egwu. Also, a leading bank in the country is expected to provide logistics for the project. In addition to funds to be provided by corporate Nigeria and the leading bank, there is information that money is being “extorted” from corporate organisations and individuals to swell the war chest of the project.
As part of the efforts to actualise the project, compromises and realignments of political forces had to be done. For instance, governors who on account of their support for Vice President Atiku Abub-akar, and their opposition to the project had been harassed by the Federal Gover-nment’s anti crime and corruption agencies, would be left off the hook.
In this group is Governor Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Governor Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo State. Dariye who has been hounded by the Econ-omic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and is being investigated by the state House of Assembly for indictment fueled by the EFCC, may regain his rest of mind as the commission has been reportedly asked to remove the noose around the governor’s neck.
Also to benefit from the wisdom in supporting the extra term project, is Ladoja who has been having a hard time with his political godfather, Chief Lamidi Adedibu. Only on Thursday, for five hours there was a gun battle between his and the godfather’s supporters in Ibadan in a bid by 18 pro-Adedibu lawmakers to consumate the impea-chment process against him.
With his new-found support for the extra term project, Ladoja is to enjoy a reprieve as the Federal Government, is by a special pact with the governor, to withdraw its subsidies to the opposition group that have been terrorising him and have made his state ungovernable.
THISDAY information also shows that Vice President Atiku may end the major loser in the power game and calculus as Governors Mu’azu and Ahmed Markarfi of Kaduna State, and Deputy Senate President Ibra-him Mantu have been penciled down as his successor.
The third term agenda has been in the public domain in the past few months with many public policy analysts and social critics opposing it as an unfortunate symptom of the African leadership malaise of sitting tight in office.
Individuals who have spoken publicly against the bid include Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, the stormy petrel of Lagos Bar, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, and the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Dioceses, John Onay-eikan. Others are the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) presidential candidate in the 2003 general election, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Bu-hari and the Speaker of the House of Represen-tatives, Alhaji Aminu Masari.
Also on the queue against the extra term bid are such political organisations as the Arewa Cons-ultative Forum (ACF), Afenifere, Move-ment for Development of Democracy (MDD) and Movement for the Restor-ation of Democracy (MRD).
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Fear of EFCC? Why 30 Govs Want 3rd Term
By Yusuph Olaniyonu, 12.25.2005
Personal gain, political survival, intrigues and fear of the Economic and Financial Crimes Comm-ission (EFCC) are some of the factors which inspired last week’s decision of 30 of the nation’s 36 governors to support the plan to elongate the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo with a third term.
THISDAY checks reveal that several of the governors believe that supporting a third term “is a win-win situation” in which they would also benefit from a constitutional amendment like the President.
Hence, some of them have dropped their initial opposition for the third term agenda. Yet some others are believed to have plugged into the agenda for the fear of being under the searchlight of the EFCC. In their calculation, by the end of a third term the tenure of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as Chairman of EFCC must have expired. Ribadu is feared by some of the governors as being inflexible in his bid to prosecute them for alleged corruption.
This plan is to be achieved through constitutional amen-dment passed simultaneously by State Houses of Assembly early next year.
Top sources close to the series of secret meetings held by the 30 governors told THISDAY that while a few governors are supporting the agenda because of the promise that they will replace Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the post-2007 Obasanjo government, some others believe that they could use the agenda to negotiate a respite from the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFFC) which has compiled incriminating evidence against them.
Informed sources also explained that some Northern governors are merely playing along in the third term game so as to be immune from the wrath of Aso Rock in the meantime. Governors in this category believe that the third term agenda would fail eventually in the face of the rising opposition to the idea, in which event they would not be blame and they would have impressed the President that they did their best.
A fourth group of governors who were elected for the first time in 2003 are said to have enlisted in support of the third term because they were assured of automatic re-election ticket by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while they were further reasured that the party would still sweep the polls at the 2007 elections.
THISDAY gathered that a fifth group of governors are those who have problems within their party and states and are facing threats to their hold in power.
"For those group of governors which included Oyo state governor, Rashidi Ladoja, Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom), Joshua Dariye (Plateau) and Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) who all have internal crises in their states, they believe that being in the good books of Aso Rock can sweep the rugs off the feet of their adversaries," the source said.
Ladoja is facing impeachment threat from a group of 18 legislators supported by his enstranged godfather, Lamidi Adedibu while many key members of the Ekiti State political elites are still opposed to Governor Fayose. Also, Ambassador Sam Edem, chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is believed to have seized the PDP machinery from Attah in Akwa Ibom state. Dariye's problem is the battle of supremacy between him and deputy senate president, Ibrahim Mantu who is also scheming to become the Vice-President if Obasanjo's third term ambition works.
Dariye is however mentioned as a member of the group of governors who endorsed the Third term agenda to halt the gradual move against him and his aides by the EFCC. Some of Dariye's aides and staff of a bank, All States Trust Bank are standing trial in a Kaduna High Court on charges of corruption in which the governor is a principal actor. The governor also has pending charges of money laundering in London where the Metropolitan Police had concluded investigation on his various illegal transactions in Britain.
Other governors alleged to be using the third term project to gain respite from the EFCC are Governors Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), James Ibori (Delta), and Jolly Nyame (Taraba).
Governors Gbenga Daniel (Osun), Olusegun Agagu (Ondo), Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun), Bukola Saraki (Kwara), Idris Ibrahim (Kogi), Danjuma Goje (Gombe), Jonathan Goodluck (Bayelsa) and Modu Ali Sheriff (Borno) are said to be those who though still running their first term in office are supporting the project to gain automatic re-election.
Goodluck is believed to be using the third term project to further pay back Aso Rock for the support he got in the battle to remove his predecessor, Diepreye Alamieye-seigha. Governors Jolly Nyame and Bukar Abba Ibrahim of Taraba and Yobe states respectively may secure a fourth term in office if the Obasanjo 3rd term agenda works out. The two men had been elected as governors in 1991, 1999 and 2003, though they spent 23 months in office between 1991 - 1993.
Sources however confirmed that the constitutional amendment which may give President Obasanjo a third term in office is expected to retain Section 308 of the present constitution which guarantees the president, governors and their deputies immunity from arrest and trial for any criminal and civil proceedings in any Nigerian court.
"Retaining the immunity clause is a trade-off for the governors' support for the 3rd term project. So, there is something in the agenda for all the key players," a source said.
THISDAY had yesterday exclusively reported that 30 governors have agreed to back the proposed amendment of Sections 137(b) and 182(b) of the 1999 constitution which limits the maximum tenure of office of a President and governors to only two terms of four year each.
Only Governors Orji Kalu (Abia), Bola Tinubu (Lagos), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Boni Haruna (Adamawa), Attahiru Bafarawa (Sokoto) (Zamfara) and Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano) refrain from endorsing the third term project.
As part of the agreement at series of meetings, the pro-third term governors resolved to deliver the support of their representatives in the National Assembly for the project.
But the pro-third term governors are to facilitate the passage of the constitutional amendment, which is planned to be passed by the 36 state Houses of Assembly simultaneously on the same day and at the same time.
The proposed simultaneous passage of the amendment, THISDAY gathered is intended to whittle down the effect of the opposition from the North.
It is, however, not clear if the National Assembly will also sit to ratify the amendment on the same day with the state Houses of Assembly.
THISDAY gathered, that three main committees have been constituted to facilitate the actualisation of the project. They are the Contact Committee, headed by Governor Adamu Mu’azu of Bauchi State, Finance Committee, led by Governor Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State and the Central Planning Committee with Dr. Peter Odili (Rivers) and Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi (Nassa-rawa) as the linchpins.
It was gathered that following the series of meetings and contacts including a sub-committee meeting in Enugu, the number of state chief executives that have so far lined up behind the bid is 30.
The major source of funding, as gathered by THISDAY, is Corporate Nigeria expected to be anchored by the Managing Director of Nigeria Brewery Plc., Chief Festus Odimegwu. Also, the funds are to be channelled through a leading bank in the country which is expected to provide logistics for the project.
It has also been alleged that money is being “extorted” from corporate organisations and individuals to swell the war chest of the project.
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Alleged third term agenda: Presidency asks US to leave Obasanjo alone
The Presidency has warned the United States to stop asking President Olusegun Obasanjo not to go for a third term in office.
The reaction is a response to a comment of US State department officials that Obasanjo should not seek a third term in office.
Asking the US to mind its business, the Presidency said Nigeria does not need any lesson in democracy from abroad.
" We in our country, and certainly our president, does not need any lesson in democracy, or in constitutional rule from anybody, least of all people from outside our shores," a Presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Fanikayode told BBC's Network Africa programme on Friday.
He, however, said Obasanjo has never said he would go for a third term or violate the constituion.
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* Niger Delta youths allegedly set fire
* Raze down Asarama communities
* Many natives feared dead
By Ogbologwung Gabriel with
additional reports by Ogbonna Nwuke
They came in four boats and their attire showed they were
warriors of a kind, according to accounts by the victims of a raging fire set off by burning oil pipelines carrying precious crude for export to the Bonny Terminal that is yet to be brought under control by firefighters.
They wore red bands round their heads and chanted war songs in Ijaw. It was Monday night and the time, the Telegraph has learnt, was about 8.30pm. And some say they were asking the people, mostly fishermen to leave as they headed for their target.
Apparently, the attackers had chosen Agba Okwan, a sleepy fishing settlement in Asarama, which is part of the Andoni Local Government in Rivers State.
Incidentally, the fishing settlement located within the Opobo Channel, about fifty kilometers Southwest of Port Harcourt city, had grown over the years around a strategic oil pipeline owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC.
On Monday night, some unknown persons swooped on the hapless village, set the pipeline ablaze and vanished into the creeks beyond, leaving a trail of blood, sorrow and tears.
When The Telegraph got the hint and rushed to the scene, a pitiable sight was all that there was. The raging flames had razed down everything in sight, destroying a stretch of makeshift fishing villages. And there were fears that several lives, particularly that of women and children may have been lost in the inferno.
Eyewitnesses told Ogbologwung Gabriel that at between 8.30 and 9.00 pm Monday night, a group of youths arrived Agba Okwan Asarama.
Said one of the eyewitnesses, "they were shouting...I think they were urging us to stay away from the communities"
"One person from one of the four boats that came climbed an oil pipeline conveying oil to the Bonny Oil Terminal, opened the installation, then buried what I suspected to be dynamite inside it. And in no time, there was a thunderous explosion accompanied by fire", he added.
Refuges interviewed said several lives were lost especially that of children who could not run or swim to safety.
The leader of the rescue team, Mr. Banjamin Urake - Asarama CDC Chairman, Mr. Dimkpa Iranti and Mr. Dienye Igoni - chairman and secretary respectively of Agbaokwan Asarama CDC said in different chats with Ogbologwung that what happened to the community was horrific, noting that they were yet to recover from the shock.
Narrating the ordeal faced by the communities, they said at the moment several people have been crying.
They told The Telegraph that a reasonable number of persons are yet to be seen and the flames had consumed countless numbers of property.
They called on government and SPDC, (SHELL) to please come and put out the raging fire that is sending clouds of thick, black smoke into the sky and worsening the process of environmental degradation that threatens life in the Niger Delta.
In an interview, the chairman of Andoni LGA, Hon. (Elder) Monwan Owoh Etete who also rushed to the scene to see things for himself, said it was regrettable that such terror could be unleashed on innocent Niger Delta communities by fellow Niger Delta people and wondered what offense the inhabitants of the place had committed to deserve such an act of terrorism.
Etete said the affected persons from what is on ground, are helpless and traumatized. He therefore called on the state and federal governments; international agencies as well as the SPDC/NNPC, owners of the pipeline to immediately come to the rescue of the people.
Calling for relief materials, Etete stated that the people at the moment lack shelter, food, clothing and other things of life.
The fire which started at about 8.30 Monday night was still consuming everything around the affected zone about 3pm Tuesday, when our man Ogbologwung Gabriel left the scene of wreck and possible revenge.
Shell reacted.
It expressed sympathy to the victims, mobilized a medical team to deal with the injuries and burns sustained by escaping villagers in Port Harcourt and shut down pipeline activity at the Diebu creek, Nun River fields and other land area facilities except the one at Rumuekpe.
Don Boham, Corporate External Affairs Manager acknowledged Tuesday that an explosion had occurred along one of its pipelines in the Opobo Channel, an incident it said had resulted in a major oil spill and fire.
Boham confirmed that preliminary investigations had revealed that the explosion was triggered off by an explosive substance believed to be dynamite used by unknown persons to disrupt the flow of crude in the Niger Delta heartland.
He alerted the nation that there had been attacks on a security post at Fisiokiri in the Cawthorne Channel and an LNG tug boat by unknown persons.
Boham affirmed that Shell had communicated the incidents to relevant government agencies in Nigeria and acknowledged that the explosion had impacted on communities within the blast.
But it noted that it was yet to determine the extent of impact, or who was behind the attacks and what their motives were.
All of a sudden, a state that survived a fake report of alleged collapse of the Choba Bridge days after an air crash led to so much sorrow had another unimaginable disaster on its hands.
Magnus Abe, Commissioner of Information told this publication Government had received a report from Shell outlining what had happened to its pipeline in the Andoni area.
He disclosed that government had ordered an investigation into the episode and would make its position known after a preliminary report is released.
In the meantime, there has been an outpouring of concern and sorrow, with the people of Asarama brazing up for the worst as news of the discovery of corpses begin to make the rounds.
As at the time of filing this report, there were indications from Agbaokwan that at least 10 roasted corpses have been recovered in the area.
Addressing the refugees in various places, Etete told them to continue to have faith in God, the author of everything.
He promised that his council would do its best to intensify rescue operations, which had commenced since the night of the fire, including the provision of emergency relief.
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December 23rd, 2005
FG orders ‘high security alert’ in Niger Delta
Federal Government yesterday reacted to the worsening secuirity security in the Niger Delta area of the country and ordered all defence and security personnel in the region to be in a state of "high alert".
by Simeon Alozieuwa, Abuja
The directive was issued by President Olusegun Obasanjo at a meeting with the top hierarchy of the country's security and military services.
At the meeting were the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Ogomudia, a general; the Chief of Army Staff, Martin Luther Agwai, a lieutenant-general; the Airforce Chief, Jonah Wuyep, an air marshal; Naval Chief, Ganiyu Adekeye, a vice-admiral; heads of the State Security Services (SSS); National Intelleigence Agency (NIA), and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Sunday Ehindero.
The meeting was called to review the security situation in the Niger Delta following two pipeline explosions in the region in the past few days.
A statement signed by Remi Oyo, senior special assistant to the president on media said President Obasanjo reaffirmed the determination of the Federal Government to provide adequate protection for persons and oil installations in the Niger Delta.
Said Obasanjo: "We will not abandon this country to brigands. Criminals must be chased, caught and punished," he told the defence and security chiefs.
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FG chides US over third term: CNPP threatens mass protest by Emmanuel Bello / 2005-12-26
The federal government has for the second time in three days rebuked the United States for its persistent adverse comments on President Olusegun Obasanjo’s alleged third term ambition.
The president’s Special Assistant on Public Matters, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said that the former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Herman Cohen, who earlier denounced the third term agenda, was engaging in ‘speculative criticism’.
Cohen, whose earlier comments were widely reported by the Nigerian press again weekend, spoke more forcefully against any term extension. He spoke in an interview with the BBC world service weekend.
He insisted there must be a leadership change in Nigeria so that not only Obasanjo but those around him also leave the stage.
Cohen admitted that the war on corruption has achieved some success. He however noted that the government receives 48 per cent of all oil revenues, but that no one knows where the money goes.
In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust yesterday, Chief Kayode said the US official comments on the issue “was unnecessary as it is equally strange. It is strange indeed that an official of the well respected United States government or anybody for that matter will comment on a matter that is largely in realm of hypothesis. Why should anybody worth any level of intelligence comment on an issue that does not exist?” he asked.
He stressed that the president has no intention to stay beyond his constitutional mandate.
“I tell you again, like I’ve said, the president will not violate the constitution. He has no reason or mind to do a thing like that. And while we can appreciate the level of concern at home here over it, it is ridiculous to have an outsider, someone who doesn’t even live here, try to interpret our collective destiny or constitution.”
Herman Cohen, in his previous remarks, had cautioned the Nigerian government not to contemplate extending the life-span of its tenure. “Even our own country, the United States, sets a limit of two terms, or eight years, for the presidency after FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt) won his fourth presidential election in 1944,” he said, adding that “presidential limits also are critical because they guarantee change in policies and the people who surround the leader. Not only are new ideas and reforms brought in by a new administration, but a political turnover also makes it difficult for corruption to become entrenched because office-holders will leave when a new leader is elected.”
Cohen also said that “it would be a shame if Nigeria and Uganda (where there are movements underway to extend legally presidential terms for incumbents) did not do the same.”
But Chief Kayode said that President Obasanjo is the custodian of African democracy and will not jeopardise his international image as an acclaimed statesman. “Our president is the custodian of democratic practice in West Africa and father of our nation. He’s a true democrat who will do everything to preserve it.”
The presidential spokesperson said that it is unfair for any Nigerian to amend the constitution arbitrarily without the input of the public, noting that Nigerians of all works of life have a stake in the constitutional amendment.
“The National Assembly sub-committee on the executive has outlined 100 amendments; why should people be fixated on tenure? The National Assembly is the people’s representative and they have a mandate to amend the constitution. The least we can do is to wait for them to finish their work because they are the elected officials of the Nigerian people. And whatever the Nigerian people want will of course become part of their constitution,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has said that it is appalled by the nation’s ‘slide into fascist dictatorship, characterized by the return of North-South dichotomy and divisive tendencies; and on the economic scene, in spite of the posturing of the regime, more than at any other time, majority of Nigerians are wallowing in abject poverty, disease and squalor.”
Stressing that the third term agenda of President Obasanjo is a reality, CNPP, in the statement made available to Daily Trust, said that “CNPP cannot be fooled, going by the choreographed deception of the regime to manipulate the constitution. We however wish to warn that in conjunction with other compatriots, we will make the country ungovernable. No Nigerian is indispensable.”
It also lambasted government’s ‘incessant violation of court orders’, observing that the situation came to a head when the Chief Justice of Nigeria “rose to the occasion to condemn the flagrant abuse of the rule of law.”
On budget implementation, CNPP decried what it termed a “roller coaster” pattern of executing fiscal policies, noting that the budget has been reduced to mere rituals, not the road-map of economic programme.
“We are yet to understand why 50 per cent of the capital budget is never implemented since 1999 and nobody has ever told us where the money budgeted but not spent is kept.” CNPP blamed the recent aviation disasters on such non-implementation of budgets.
“CNPP has it on good record that the aviation sector, like other sectors, got to the low ebb, when year in year out, their facilities are never repaired nor replaced as the funds are not released. CNPP wishes to point out for instance, the havoc caused by the diversion of N2bn budget for total radar coverage, diversion of N300bn meant to cushion the effects of increase in petroleum prices and other uncountable diversion.”
The statement signed by CNPP’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, also condemned the loss of billions of dollars by the NNPC, even as it frowned at the fact that President Obasanjo is “the substantive minister of petroleum since 1999.” It urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to expand its dragnet and not to engage in selective dispensation of justice.
Similarly, the CNPP laments the police brutality “unleashed on concerned mothers of Nigeria, led by Professor Jadesola Akande, in Lagos, protesting the avoidable death of Nigerians as a result of the incompetence and insensitivity of the regime.”
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