12092019

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34—Vanguard, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
Tribunal judgement: Gunmen invade Abi/Yakurr Reps
member’s homes
By Dapo
Akinrefon
C lawmaker ALABAR—THE
representing
Abi/Yakurr federal
constituency in the House of
Representatives, Dr Alex
Egbona, yesterday, raised
the alarm that his homes in
the village and in Calabar
had been under heavy
attacks, days after he
decided to challenge the
tribunal judgement against
his election at the Court of
Appeal.
The first attack was the
invasion of his Ekureku
country home by suspected
military men about 24 hours
after the tribunal judgement,
which gave victory to the
Remain
steadfast,
Okowa's aide
tells new
Urohobo Youth
Council exco
YOUTHS in Delta State
have been enjoined to be
proactive and remain
steadfast to join hands with
the Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa-led administration
towards building a stronger
state.
Executive Assistant to the
Governor on Youth
Development, Innocent
Esewezie, gave the advice
when he received in
audience the newly
inaugurated executive
members of Urhrobo Youth
Council, UYC, worldwide
in his office in Asaba.
Esewezie, who
congratulated the new
executive members for
being found worthy to lead
the entire youths of Urhorbo
extraction, reminded them
of the need to see their new
positions as that of service
and work closely with
government policies,
especially in the
maintenance of peace across
the state.
Earlier, the UYC President,
led by the chairman,
Godspower Enerho, told
Esewezie that they were in
his office to felicitate with him
on his appointment and to
use the occasion to introduce
to him the new executive
members of UYC.
Enerho in company of the
16-member executive
assured that they would
continue to support Okowaled
administration in the
state.
Also at the office of the
Commissioner for Youth
Development, Ifeanyi
Egwunyenga, Enerho told
the commissioner that they
were in his office to felicitate
with him on his appointment
and also introduce the newly
elected executive members
of the council and promise
dto partner with him.
Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, candidate, John Gaul
Lebo.
Speaking to newsmen after
the attack, Egbona said:
“Yesterday(Tuesday) again,
I got a message that some
unknown gunmen
terrorised my village from
about midnight and shot
sporadically. About the same
time too, another set of
unknown gunmen went to
my house in Calabar and
shot several times before
leaving.
"I cannot understand why
my homes have come under
attacks. If the tribunal had
ruled that the PDP candidate
won at the tribunal, I have
the right to appeal and
should be allowed to be alive
and pursue my case at the
court of appeal.
“This intimidation will take
us nowhere. I am going to
the Court of Appeal to test
the law and no amount of
intimidation can stop me.
My mission to the Court of
Appeal is to prove that my
people freely gave me a
mandate and that mandate
cannot be taken away
through a bush market
judgement.
“I am appealing to law
enforcement agents in our
state to ensure my safety. I
have drawn the attention of
the police in my local
government to the threat to
my life and I believe that they
will take appropriate actions.”
The lawmaker also alleged
that he had received threat
calls warning him to stay
action on the appeal if “I
wanted to remain alive.”
He said: “My family
members in the village are
now living in fear. This is not
the democracy we fought for.
I do know that this is a phase
and it will pass away."
SECURITY SHOW: From left, Africa representive of International
Foundation of Protection Officers, Dr Ona Ekhomu; Executive Director
of IFPO, Mrs Sandy Davies and Dame Victoria Ekhomu,Trustee of
IFPO Nigeria, at the IFPO booth during the GSX Security show in
Chicago, USA.
NDDC board: Your actions can result to
ethnic clashes, N-Delta youths tell govs
By Festus Ahon
ASABA—NIGER Delta
Youth Council, NDYC,
has taken a swipe at the
governors of the region, who
protested against the
composition of the board of
Niger Delta Development
Commission, NDDC,
saying their actions could
result to unnecessary ethnic
clashes in the oil-rich region.
Reacting to the protest of
the governors, the group, in
a communique at the end of
its emergency meeting in Ikot
Abasi, Akwa Ibom State,
noted that the Act
empowering the commission
required “them to play
advisory role in a constituted
board and not as regards the
constitution of the board.”
Insisting that the
governors were acting in
futility, the group, in the
communique by its
President, Mr Daniel Etaga,
and others noted that the
governors lacked the moral
justification or constitutional
leverage to advise the
president on his nominees.
He said: “For clarity of
purpose, Section 3 of NDDC
Act states that the President
can nominate members and
same section gives premise
for rotation of the managing
director on the quantity of
oil produced by member
states and by virtue of that,
Delta State qualifies for the
position of managing
director after Rivers and
Akwa Ibom states, which
have produced the past
managing directors of the
board.
“The Act also states that the
chairmanship rotation
should be by alphabetical
order and this has
automatically placed Delta
State to qualify for both
positions of chairman and
managing director.
“Despite this, let us not
forget that the president has
the final decision. So if the
President in his
magnanimous nature
decided that Delta Sate
should get the managing
director and leave the
Chairman for Edo State that
has been short changed over
the years, the president,
therefore, has made the right
decision.
“We must not play dirty
politics with the development
of the region. The Ijaw have
always produced Executive
Directors and acting
managing director from
either Delta, Bayelsa or
Rivers because of their
heritage cutting across these
states."
Edo APC crisis: Benin
leaders flay Oshiomhole
By Gabriel
Enogholase
BENIN
CITY—
BENIN Leaders of
Thought, BLT, has
described as reprehensible,
the failure of the National
Chairman of All
Progressives Congress,
APC, Mr Adams
Oshiomhole, to follow the
part of reconciliation
initiated by the Oba of
Benin, Omo N’ Oba
Ewuare II and other state
traditional rulers, saying: “It
is a demonstration of
disrespect to our traditional
institutions, especially as he
is an Edo man.”
BLT in a communiqué at
the end of its emergency
meeting in Benin City, Edo
State, yesterday, by Prince
Edun Akenzua, Ogie-
Obazuwa (Chairman) and
Dr. Festus Imuetinyan
(Secretary), however,
commended the Benin
monarch and other
traditional rulers from the
state that travelled to Abuja
to request President
Muhammadu Buhari to
resolve the dispute
between the national
chairman and the state
governor.
The communiqué said:
“BLT abhors and condemns
godfatherism wherever and
however, it shows its face.
Governor Godwin Obaseki
had issued the
Proclamation Letter and the
House has been
inaugurated according to the
Clerk of the House.
“The elected members of
the House, who have not
completed their
inauguration should
present themselves to the
clerk to be inaugurated.
“The elected members
who have not been
inaugurated and who have
grievances should report to
their constituencies. The
elected members who now
reside outside Edo State
should return to their
constituencies where they
were elected.”
The group said since all
the 24 members belonged to
the same party, APC, the
state chapter of the party
should be the first body to
intervene in the
reconciliation process and
should, therefore, carry out
that function.
It called on the national
body of the party to direct
the state chapter to intervene
in the reconciliation process,
saying the directive by the
National Assembly to the
state governor to issue
another Proclamation Letter
for the inauguration of the
House of Assembly was
farcical and unconstitutional.
BTC also said the threat
by the National Assembly to
take over the Edo State
House of Assembly was a
violation of the sovereignty
of the state government.
2,000 IDPs in Ogoni beg
NEMA, FG for help
Gunmen kidnap Kogi miners’
chairman
By Boluwaji
Obahopo
LOKOJA —Chairman,
Kogi State Miners
Association, Yunusa Oruma,
has been kidnapped from his
residence at Ankpa Local
Government Area of the state.
Brother of the victim, Prince
Oruma, who confirmed the
kidnap, yesterday, said his
brother was in his house
when gunmen, numbering
eight, invaded the place at
about 8pm on Sunday and
began shooting sporadically.
He said the gunmen in the
process seized his brother
and drove away with him,
adding that no information
had been heard since the
incident.
Oruma said the incident
had been reported to the
police and other security
agencies in Ankpa,
appealing for concerted
efforts to secure release of
the victim.
Contacted, Police Public
Relations Officer of the Kogi
Command, William Aya,
confirmed the incident,
adding that efforts were
ongoing by its men to
rescue the victim.
By Davies
Iheamnachor
PORT HARCOURT—
No fewer than 2,000
Internally Displaced
Persons, IDPs, in Ogoni,
Rivers State, have cried out
to the Federal Government,
through National
Emergency Management
Agency, NEMA, for relief
materials as their plight
intensifies.
The victims of communal
war and cult clashes made
the plea when officials of
NEMA visited the crisis
ravaged communities in
Ogoni to carry out on-thespot
assessment of the level
of damage in the area.
Speaking, Alice Dekor, a
victim of the crisis lamented
her misfortune as she begged
the government to assist her
and her five children,
regretting that she lost her
husband and two sons to the
crisis.
Dekor said: “The
government should help us
because we are suffering
here. We have been here since
May 19 this year, and we
have not been able to return
to our farms because these
bad boys are still in our
community.
Ogoni Youth Federation,
OYF, president,Mr Legborsi
Yamaabana, regretted that
Ogoni citizens had not given
attention to the security
problem in the area to
alleviate the suffering of the
internally displaced persons
in Ogoni.
However, Coordinator,
NEMA, South-South Zonal
Office, Walson Brandon,
said: “The reason for coming
to Ogoni is to carry out onthe-spot
assessment of the
loss. We have seen the level
of damage and we shall go
back to write a report and
send to the national
headquarters and we will on
our part, facilitate the process
to ensure speedy response so
that succor comes to you as
soon as possible.