11092019 - BAILOUT: Pressure on states as FG starts deductions

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
PARTNERSHIP: From left, Regional Marketing Manager, PZ Consumer, Ekekwe Roy;
Marketing Director Africa, PZ Cussons, Kalyan Bandyopadhyay; Manchester City FC Club
legend, Micah Richards; and Manchester City FC Head of Partnerships, EMEA, Tom Boyle,
at the official Premier Cool and Manchester City FC partnership renewal announcement, in
Lagos.
Bakassi: NLC to approach ICJ for review
of judgement
•As monarch accuses OBJ, Duke of
By Ike
Uchechukwu
C Nigeria
ALABAR—THE
Labour
Congress, NLC, Committee
on Bakassi and Oil Wells
has concluded plans to
approach the International
Court of Justice, ICJ, to
review the judgement that
ceded a portion of Nigeria's
territory to the Republic of
Cameroon.
Chairman NLC, Cross
River State branch,
Committee on Bakassi/76
Oil Wells, Mr Okon Etim,
made the disclosure during
the committee’s visit on a
fact-finding mission to the
palace of Paramount Ruler of
Bakassi in Calabar,
yesterday.
Etim said they were at the
monarch’s palace to bring
back the consciousness of the
nation to the injustice done
to Cross River State and the
nation at large where a vast
portion of the country’s
territory was ceded to
Cameroon.
The NLC committee
chairman stated that for this
to be achieved, they needed
to seek the consent of the
monarch.
He said:”For this to be
achieved, we will start from
the origin and root of the
matter, and that is you. It is
sad that we have come here
to remind you of the pain and
bitter experience you went
through.
“As concerned citizens, we
intend to know what went
wrong and possibly
approach the International
Court of Justice, ICJ. We are
here to let you know that all
hope is not lost.”
On his part, the Paramount
Ruler of Bakassi, HRM Etim
Okon Edet, chastised
former Governor Donald
Duke of the state and
President Olusegun
Obasanjo for their failure in
the applications of the right
strategies to prevent ceding
of Bakassi to Cameroon.
He said: “I will be grateful
mortgaging Bakassi
if as a committee if you do a
holistic investigation, not
only on oil wells but about
the welfare of my people who
suddenly became destitutes
in their own ancestral land.
“I think for now I am
worried about my subjects
who live like destitutes. I am
worried about their welfare
and security. I am yet to know
how they are faring. As a
leader, I am not happy at all
because of the pain and
suffering of my kinsmen who
now wallow in poverty as a
result of being pursued out
of their ancestral land.
“Where were you people
when I was crying to the
world that I and my kinsmen
were being deprived of our
father land? And the world
kept quiet to make us total
strangers in on our ancestral
land.
“Donald said to OBJ, don’t
set up the presidential
committee, for I am going to
do the resettlement. And I
told Obasanjo, no. That
objection got Donald Duke
infuriated and I was told to
walk out of the meeting.
Obasanjo said to me, your
governor is going to resettle
you people.
“He was so carried away
by the ambition of becoming
the president, that whatever
Akpabio vs Ekpenyong: Tension as
tribunal delivers judgement today
By Chioma
Onuegbu
UYO —THERE is
tension in Uyo, Akwa
Ibom State as the National
Assembly Election Petition
Tribunal sitting in Uyo, will
today deliver judgement in
the case between Senator
Godswill Akpabio and
Senator Christopher
Ekpenyong for Ikot Ekpene
senatorial district seat.
The tribunal had on August
8, 2019 after adoption of
written addresses by
petitioners and respondents
reserved judgement.
This came as chairman of
the Governorship Election
Petition Tribunal sitting in
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State,
Justice A. Yakubu has
assured the petitioners and
respondents in the case that
the panel will deliver justice
to them.
Justice Yakubu, who gave
the assurance, yesterday, in
his remarks after the
adoption of the final
addresses by parties,
adjourned to a later date to
be communicated to parties.
He commended counsel to
the petitioners and
respondents for the peace
witnessed throughout the
proceedings, adding that the
panel did not experience any
security breach in the course
of handling the cases.
In the first case, Akpabio
of All Progressives Congress,
APC, is challenging the
victory of Ekpenyong of
Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP in the February, 23, 2019
senatorial election.
OBJ said to him, he didn’t
know how to counter it to the
extent that he allowed his
immediate community to be
ceded.”
He accused both leaders of
mortgaging Bakassi for Noble
Peace prize and ambition to
become the country’s
president .
“Unfortunately, Obasanjo
equally lost in his ambition to
win the Noble Peace Prize,
while Donald Duke also was
unable to realise his
presidential ambition.
“If there is anything causing
me headache, it is the welfare
of my subjects who have
become destitutes on their
father's land.”
Ekpenyong of PDP polled
a total of 118, 215 votes while
Akpabio, who was seeking
second term in the Senate
scored a total of 83,158 votes.
Dissatisfied with the
outcome of the election,
Akpabio approached the
tribunal to reclaim his alleged
stolen votes from the PDP
candidate.
NGO splashes cash on persons
with disability in Delta
PLEDGE Love Charity
Foundation, PLCF, has
given crash grants to exlepers
and persons living
with disabilities under the
aegis of Joint National
Association of Persons With
Disabilities, JONAPWD.
PLCF president, Innocent
Aganbi, flanked by other
executives while presenting
cheques to the group at Eku
town hall, Ethiope East Local
Government Area, Delta
State, said that the exercise
was part of funding for the
empowerment of the
beneficiaries.
He explained that having
trained the beneficiaries on
various vocational skills,
PLCF decided to give them
the cash grant to assist them
in establishing their skills.
Acknowledging the support
of PLCF, members and
executives of JONAPWD,
further presented an award of
excellence to the group for its
humanitarian gesture to the
underprivileged in the
society.
Speaking on the essence of
its humanitarian outreach,
Aganbi said: “We have been
able to go beyond the
secluded leprosy community
and brought together the joint
association of persons with
disabilities by empowering
them with skills acquisition
programmes and award of
certificates of competency."
AAC petition: Court to rule
on Friday
A
Federal High Court
sitting in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State will on Friday
decide if it was proper for
the President of the Court
of Appeal to constitute
another panel to examine
the merit of the case brought
by Awara Biokpomabo
Festus and the African
Action Congress, AAC,
against the election of
Governor Nyesom Wike of
Rivers State.
The President of the Court
of Appeal, Justice Zainab
Bulkachuwa, had, in
conformity with the Court of
Appeal decision in Appeal
No: CA/PH/376/2019
recently, halted the former
panel from continuing with
the matter. The directive was
preceded by the
displeasure expressed by
the Appeal Court against
the former tribunal’s
decision in refusing to
entertain the petition filed
by a party in the case, and
its dismissal of the petition
which was purported to
have been withdrawn by a
faction of the party.
The AAC had ran into
leadership crisis wherein
another Chairman, Mr
Leonard Ezenwa, was said
to have been named. The
said new chairman had
allegedly, without
consultation with National
Executive Council, NEC, of
AAC, hired another lawyer,
Mr Henry Bello, to represent
the party in court.
Mr Bello was the same
lawyer that represented a
faction of All Progressives
Congress, APC, in Rivers
State, led by Senator
Magnus Abe.
Until the emergence of
Bello as AAC lawyer, the
party and its governorship
candidate, Biokpamabo,
were represented by Tawo
Tawo, SAN.
Following the dispute in
the party leading to the
purported suspension of its
presidential candidate, Mr
Omoyele Sowore, Leonard
Ezenwa emerged as the
acting chairman of the party.
The tribunal dismissed the
AAC petition at the tribunal,
describing it as
“abandoned,” though the
law prescribes that any
objection to pre-hearing
matters, has to be addressed
after the substantial issues
have been dealt with.
We'll continue to work as if
this is our first term — Wike
GOVERNOR Nyesom
Wike of Rivers State
has said he will continue to
deliver key projects across
the state all through his
second term.
Commissioning the
rebranded Government
Secondary School, Ubima
(former Community
Secondary School, Ubima),
yesterday, Wike said he
would not be affected by the
second term syndrome.
He said: “We will continue
to work as if this is our first
term. We will never go to
sleep all through our second
term.
“For us, we shall continue
to deliver projects for our
people. There will be no
stoppage in the execution of
projects. Our people will
continue to see new projects.”
Wike called for the prayers
and support of Rivers people
so that he could continue to
work towards improving the
state.
“We seek your prayers and
support as we continue to
develop Rivers State. God
has been kind to us, so nobody
can intimidate us with
propaganda and blackmail.
We shall remain focused,” he
said.
Wike who changed the
name of the school from
Community Secondary
School, Ubima to
Government Secondary
School, Ubima said he
promised to rebuild the school
and to the glory of God that
promise has been fulfilled.
Delta South: Our faith in
Nigeria’s judiciary not in vain
— DSU
OLEH—A political
group, United Ijaw,
Itsekiri and Isoko for Delta
South Advancement,
known as Delta South
United, DSU, has hailed
the judiciary for proving
to be the hope of justice
seekers in Nigeria.
Convener of the group,
Chief Timi Dajagbasan,
who spoke after the
group’s quarterly
meeting in Oleh, Delta
State, yesterday, hailed
the judiciary for quashing
the victory of Senator
James Manager in the
February 23, 2019
National Assembly
election for Delta South.
Dajagbasan, a chieftain
of All Progressives Congress,
APC, said the people
of Delta South had
unshakeable faith in the
tribunal to stop the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
candidate, Senator
Manager, from running
away with the mandate of
the people, adding that the
Ijaw, Itsekiri, Isoko and
Urhobo communities in
Delta South voted against
the four-time senator.
He said: “We know
Senator Manager did not
win the election. That is
why we are commending
the judiciary for
establishing that there was
massive rigging in the
area he controlled and
subsequently cancelled
those humongous votes."