16112017 - FG revokes Intels' expatriate permits

14—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2017
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No political rift with Dickson —Jonathan
By Samuel
Oyadongha
CONTRARY
to
speculations of a rift
between former President
Goodluck Jonathan and
Governor Seriake Dickson
of Bayelsa State, both men
have denied the existence
of leadership tussle.
A press statement by the
governor’s Chief Press
Secretary, Francis Agbo,
noted that Jonathan said
this yesterday when
Dickson paid a condolence
visit to the former president
in his Otuoke home on the
passing of the Paramount
Ruler of Otuoke
Community, HRH King
Lord Justin Ogiasa.
The governor, who led a
state delegation on the
condolence visit, said he is
part of the Ogiasa family
and by extension, the
Otuoke community of
Ogbia Local Government
Area.
‘’We are here in full force
as we have always done to
commiserate with you, my
elder brother, leader and
the Ogiasa family in this
hour of bereavement. We
pray God to grant the late
Ogiasa eternal repose,’’
Dickson said.
The governor, who
dispelled rumour of any rift
with the former president
said, in and out of office,
Jonathan would continue to
DTHA to DELSU: Release student’s result
withheld for 5yrs
By Perez Brisibe
THE management of
Delta State
University, DELSU,
Abraka, has been directed
by the Delta State House of
Assembly, DTHA, to
immediately release the
result of a student of the
institution, Solomon
Tedjere, who graduated
five years ago.
The order by the House
is sequel to a petition filed
by the student through the
lawmaker representing
Ethiope East constituency
in the House, Mr. Evance
Ivwurie.
The petitioner who was a
student of Agricultural
Science in the Department
of Vocational Education,
had prior to now, appealed
to the Delta State House of
Assembly, DTHA, to
investigate the continuous
withholding of his result by
the institution five years
after graduation despite
meeting the “prescribed
requirements” for
graduation.
In its recommendation
remain his leader, having
come a long way with the
former president.
He, therefore, called on
those, who want to cause
imaginary differences
between him and Jonathan
to drop their plans.
He said: “Both of us have
come a long way. My
personal political story
cannot be complete without
talking about my elder
brother, Jonathan. He also
knows that I made little
contribution that is
recorded in the political
chapter of his life.’’
Governor Dickson said
both he and Jonathan are
not contesting any office and
wondered why political
jobbers are bent on
destroying their good
relationship.
Responding, Dr.
Jonathan thanked Dickson
for the visit and denied the
existence of any rift
between them.
While describing politics
as a useless game, the
former president said some
people are using politics to
create crisis.
“There is no way I can sit
anywhere and plan evil
against Bayelsa or the
governor. When I was
dreaming of becoming a
governor, Dickson was
among the very few in the
meetings we were holding,
although he was not in the
PDP he opted to help.
"He said he didn’t want
to be in the PDP, but I
virtually forced him to join
PDP. When I became
governor, I appointed
Dickson Commissioner for
Justice and Attorney
General and that was how
he came into PDP and later
became a member of House
of Representatives and so
on."
EXHIBITION: From left: Art Collector, Femi Akinsanya; Art X Event
Convener, Tokini Peterside; Art Collector/Session Moderator, Femi Lijadu;
Managing Principal & Head, Tax and Legal, W8 Advisory, Bimpe Nkontchou;
and Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited, SIPML, Eric
Fajemisin, during the Art X event supported by SIPML in Lagos,
after hearing the matter,
chairman of the DTHA
Public Petitions Committee,
Chief Timi Tonye, said:
“This honourable House
directs the Vice Chancellor
of Delta State University,
Abraka, to immediately
release the final result of
Mr. Solomon Tedjere, a
student of Agricultural
Science in the Department
of Vocational Education and
graduate him accordingly,
to enable him proceed with
his National Youth Service
Corps.
“That the vice chancellor
should show evidence of
compliance to the directive
to the House within two
weeks of the passage of this
resolution.”
Speaking on the
recommendation by the
House, an elated Ivwurie
said: “This is victory for the
downtrodden in the society
and an evidence to show
that the State House of
Assembly is up and doing
in the discharge of its
legislative duties for all
Deltans irrespective of
political affiliation, tribe or
gender.”
PANDEF converges again
Tuesday in Delta
By Emma Amaize
THE Pan Niger Delta
Forum, PANDEF, will
come together on Tuesday,
November 21, at Effurun,
near Warri, Delta State, for
an emergency general
assembly 24 days after the
Police and Department of
State Service, DSS,
disrupted its fourth general
assembly in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State.
Coordinating Secretary,
PANDEF, Dr. Alfred
Mulade, in a notice of
meeting, stated that the
forum would deliberate on
the current security
situation and the urgent
need to sustain the peace
and development in the
Niger Delta region,
outcome and aftermath of
the just concluded fourth
assembly and other
burning issues impeding
the implementation of the
16-point agenda.”
National leader of
PANDEF, Senator Edwin
Clark, who is already in
Delta State, said: “We do
hope the security agencies
will not come again to Delta
State to stop the meeting,
as they did in Rivers State.
“We of the Niger Delta are
indeed an integral part of
this country; we are not
inferior or subordinate to
any other group of persons
of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. We are Nigerians,
who are also under the
protection of Mr. President,
the President of Nigeria.”
“No impression should,
therefore, be given that you
are fighting enemies within
or without. We are still
waiting for the Federal
Government to give
Nigerians the reason for
their action of attempting to
abort our meeting and
laying siege on us at the
Hotel Presidential,” he
asserted.
Insisting that PANDEF’s
intervention paved way for
the ceasefire by militants
since August, last year, he
said the forum in the
interest of its mandate has
scheduled the Effurun
meeting to deal with the
recent issues of the Niger
Delta Avengers, NDA, and
resumption of hostilities,
among others.
Following pressure from
the emissaries sent by
Senator Clark, the Niger
Delta Avengers, had
quietly shelved
recommencement of its
announced hostilities by
two to three months to
enable the Federal
Government take concrete
actions on its promises and
plans for the region.
Few days back, the
Federal Government
announced the increase of
the takeoff grant to the
Nigerian Maritime
University, NMU,
Okerenkoko, from N2
billion to N5 billion, an
indication that it was
desirous of fulfilling its
promises on the takeoff of
the institution, one of the
items in PANDEF’s 16-
point programme.
Despite the Port-Harcourt
disruption, PANDEF
leaders have remained
upbeat since the Minister
of Niger Delta Affairs,
Pastor Usani Uguru Usani
and Special Adviser to the
President on Niger Delta,
Brigadier General Paul
Boroh (retd.) visited the
group to explain that
government was aware of
its tremendous role in the
Niger Delta peace process.
Group queries alleged
fresh talks
However, a rights group,
the Ijaw Peoples
Development Initiative,
IPDI, picked holes in the
claim by PANDEF that the
Federal Government had
through the visit of Usani
and Boroh to Senator Clark
in Abuja, opened talks with
Niger Delta leaders