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Vanguard, THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020 — 33
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Edo 2020: Obaseki declares war, threatens
to expel Oshiomhole
By Ozioruva Aliu
BENIN CITY—EDO
State Governor, Godwin
Obaseki has threatened
to expel the National
Chairman of the All Progressives
Congress (APC)
if he (Oshiomhole) continues
to “disrupt activities” in
the state and in the Edo
APC.
Obaseki handed down the
threat when he attended a
meeting of the 18 APC local
government Chairmen
in the state where he also
directed the party chairmen
to seriously deal with any
person or group carrying
out activities outside what
the party hierarchy has
agreed to do.
This threat is on the heels
of a rally held last weekend
in Auchi, Etsako West Local
Government Area
where thousands of people
from the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) defected to
the APC. But the governor
through one of his aides,
Osaigbovo Iyoha declared
the rally as illegal saying
there is a ban on political
rallies in the state.
But the immediate past
Deputy Chief Whip of the
House of Representatives,
Pally Iriase described the
governor’s comments as
‘‘repressive and jackboot
politics.‘‘
Obaseki told the chairmen
that: “All this nonsense they
are doing, if anybody in the
name of our party tries to
do anything contrary to
what we have agreed as a
party we will deal with that
person ruthlessly no matter
who he is.
“If you are elected a chairman,
your attitude should
show if you believe in the
party. Party supremacy
means the leadership of the
party must respect the
membership. It is the members
that make the party supreme
because the members
subscribed to a constitution
which governs the
conduct of the party. One
man cannot be the party.
Delta poly students in peaceful protest
over welfare
By Gab Ejuwa
A SABA—HUNDREDS
of students of the Delta
State Polytechnic, Ozoro,
yesterday, embarked on
a peaceful rally on the campus
to press home their
demands for better conditions.
Just before the rally which
was described as the most
peaceful in the history of the
institution, the President of
the Student Union, Comrade
Gabriel Udemude,
AGRIC EXPO:
From left — CEO/
MD, Tab Group,
Mr. Tahir Bari,
Group CEO, Nahco
Aviance, Mrs.
Olatokunbo
Fagbemi, Head,
Machinery Dept.,
David Kornemann
and Deputy
General Manager,
International
Business, Sonalika
Tractors, Rupesh
Khanna, during the
Africa Agric Expo,
2020 supported by
Nahco Aviance, in
Lagos, yesterday.
• He’s repressive says Iriase
“We are warning the suspended
National Chairman.
If he continues his
activities in Edo State, I will
show him that I am the Governor
of Edo State. Why he
was Governor, he will not
tolerate a fraction of the
misdemeanour and misbehaviour
he is undertaking
today. I have declared that
if Oshiomhole comes to
Edo to say he wants to disrupt
the activities of the
state and the party we will
deal with him the way we
know how best to do it.
Comrade Oshiomhole
stands suspended from the
party. In due course, we will
expel him if he does not
behave. The party does not
belong to him, it belongs to
all of us.”
But Iriase, described
Obaseki’s comments as
‘‘unfortunate’’ and a hard
one at that and wondered
how receiving defectors
would amount to anti-party
activities.
His words, “Ever since we
left the military, we have
not seen this kind of repressive
administration
that gas political opinion.
By now, Obaseki should
be pointing out projects in
my local government and
several others and not
this jackboot tactics.
“How does growing the
party and swelling its
ranks become anti-party
activities? We should be
getting kudos. Obaseki is
trying to scare people
away. This jackboot democracy
in Edo will not
work.”
...As court strikes out suit seeking
Oshiomhole’s ouster
had warned the students
not to highjack the opportunity
to destroy property or
cause any violence.
Security operatives were on
ground to ensure orderliness
as the students
marched on the campus
singing various solidarity
songs,
At an emergency congress
convened to address the
students, which had in attendance
some top members
of the Management,
the union president, Comrade
Udemude, said the
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA—PLOTS by
some factional members
of the ruling All Progressives
Congress, APC
in Edo State to remove
the party's National
Chairman, Comrade Adams
Oshiomhole from office
again failed when a
Federal Capital Territory,
FCT, High Court struck
out the suit filed by one
Steven Oshawo and others,
seeking to oust Oshiomhole
from office.
Oshawo and others from
Oshiomhole's Ward 10,
students decided to embark
on the peaceful rally
after the institution's management
refused to look
into their grievances after
several meetings.
He listed the students' demands
to include: the lift
of ban on the entry of vehicles
and bikes into the
campus, increment of the
Continuous Assessment
(CA) from 20 to 30 marks,
inadequate practicals for
students and also poor
medical facilities on campus.
Etsako West Local Government
Area of Edo
State, had gone to Court
asking it to stop the party
chairman from parading
himself as National
Chairman of the APC, alleging
that Oshiomhole
had since been suspended
from the APC by members
of his ward.
However, Oshiomhole in
his defence, argued that
the Appellants did not
possess the powers to suspend
him according to the
Constitution of the APC,
adding that all the Plaintiffs
in the suit had earlier
been suspended in
their respective units in
Ward 10.
He said, at the time they
purported to have suspended
him, they no
longer had such powers
anymore since they were
already on suspension.
Kokori to Buhari: Be vigilant,
your govt run by cabal
by Perez Brisibe
UGHELLI—A chief
tain of the All Progressives
Congress, APC,
and former General Secretary
of the Nigeria
Union of Petroleum and
Natural Gras, NUPENG,
Chief Frank Kokori has
advised President Muhammadu
Buhari to be
vigilant and watchful as
his administration is being
run by a cabal.
Kokori, while speaking on
the heels of a planned reconstitution
of the Niger
Delta Development Commission,
NDDC, board after
the completion of the
forensic audit, wondered
why the commission
should be placed in the
hands of three persons
manning the Interim
Management Committee.
OSHEVIRE debunks crisis in
UPU
By Festus Ahon
A SABA—NATIONAL
Publicity Secretary of
the Urhobo Progress
Union, UPU, Mr Abel
Oshevire, has said there
was no crisis in the union,
saying that the UPU under
the leadership of
Olorogun Moses Taiga
was at peace with all
stakeholders.
Oshevire in a statement,
said; "Our attention has
been drawn to an allegation
by Chief Joe Omene
that Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa of Delta State, is
responsible for an imaginary
crisis in the UPU.
"Ordinarily, we had intended
to ignore Chief
Omene, the former President-General
of the UPU.
However, given the fact
that the allegation could
convey a wrong impression
in the minds of those
not conversant with the
workings of the UPU, we
have decided to put the
records straight.
"Let it be stated for the
umpteenth time that there
is no crisis in the UPU,
under the control of
Olorogun Moses Taiga,
who was first elected President-
General on December
6th, 2016, for a threeyear
term and was reelected
on 5th December,
2019, for another threeyear
term.
"Chief Omene duly
served his tenure and was
replaced with Olorogun
Taiga in a legally constituted
national congress of
the UPU that had most of
the royal fathers and delegates
from all the 24
kingdoms of the Urhobo
Nation in attendance.’’
World Hijab Day: Groups decry
discrimination against women in
hijab ....Demands equal right
A
COALITION of Is
lamic group, Hijab
Right Advocacy Initiative,
has decried continued
discrimination
against women in hijab,
saying that prejudice
against women in veil is not
only unconstitutional but
also inimical to the development
of the country.
Speaking at a media briefing
to commemorate the
2020 World Hijab Day, in
Lagos, on Wednesday, the
Executive Director Hijab
Right Advocacy Initiative,
Hajia Mutiat Balogun, said
continued denial
of Muslim girls and women
in hijab deprives and
According to him, “The
way the thing is now with
three persons nominated
by one man running that
mighty organization is
very unconventional especially
for a place like
the Niger Delta region, it
is not possible.
“How can you just give
the whole thing to just
three persons and you say
until they finish audit, do
you know how many
years it will take to finish
the audit.?
“Let the current Pius ledboard
continue especially
when you do not have
anything against them
and let the IMC handover
quickly. The audit should
be done fast and not
leave our monies in the
hands of a few cabals eating
our money.”
reduces the chance of the
victims getting further education
and other things
as guaranteed by the constitution.
According to Balogun,
‘‘the promotion of girl child
education can only be
achieved if the girls in hijab
are not harassed or
molested by their teachers
on the basis of hijab usage.’’
She said that it was high
time Nigerians stopped
needless discrimination
against women on the basis
of hijab, adding that
women and girls in hijab
have proven to the world
that their.