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SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 22, 2021—15 •Okonkwo •Maduka •Ezeemo •Ude •Soludo By Vincent Ujumadu Primaries: It’s battle of billionaires in PDP instantly donated N6 million and later donated 21 sienna cars to all the •Why PDP is indebted to Dr. Obiora Okonkwo local government chairmen of the party. Dr. Ugochukwu Uba, a former senator and two time Commissioner in •Dr. Godwin Maduka’s homes worth $7m, his hospital $4m Anambra State is one aspirant that has not defected to another political party since he became a politician. While many politicians in the state •Godwin Ezeemo currently employs 3,000 Nigerians were jumping from one party to the other and later returning to PDP, Uba said he had no reason to defect to another party because, as a founding •Dr. Winston Ude first to donate 21 Sienna cars, N6m to party member of the party, he believes in the ideals of PDP. That consistency has earned him enormous credibility in Anambra politics. Since leaving By Vincent Ujumadu the senate, Ugochukwu had remained at the background in the Uba F political dynasty of Uga, while his two brothers, Andy and Chris, held or the June 26 primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the selection of the forth in the political terrain. In fact, he was seen as the engine room of party’s candidate for the November 6 governorship election, the battles will be fought by politics in Uba family and many believe that his time has come. The billionaires. The billionaires are not just among the contestants, but also godfathers who university teacher says he would bring his experience to bear in the determine who gets what in Anambra politics. Among the billionaires wanting to take over from governance of the state if he eventually becomes the governor of the Governor Willie Obiano in March next year are Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, the Russian -trained state. political scientist who is the managing director of Nigeria’s newest airline, the United Nigeria The interesting thing about the forthcoming primaries of PDP is that Airlines, United States of America (USA) - based medical practitioner and pharmacist, Dr. Godwin even those who are not billionaires among the aspirants have billionaires Maduka, USA -trained lawyer and architect, Dr. Winston Udeh, and a businessman/ farmer, Mr. backing them, and that makes the contest very dicey. For instance, it was Godwin Ezeemo, The other billionaires on the sideline include but not limited to those in Nnewi gathered that the Nnewi axis of the state, which has the highest axis. concentration of billionaires in the state, are likely to collectively back Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, is one person who many believe, can prosecute the election on his own one of their own for the PDP ticket. There are three major aspirants from based on the resources at his disposal. His United Nigeria Airlines came into the aviation sector from Nnewi in PDP namely, Hon Chris Azubogu representing Nnewi with a bang as he launched the airline with no fewer than five aircraft in one fell swoop. Okonkwo North, Nnewi South and Ekwusigo in the House of started as a humble trader in the commercial city of Onitsha, he fought his way through life and Representatives, Mrs. Chidi Onyemelukwe, the daughter of the former earned first class degree in Russia and capped it up with a PhD. Even when PDP was in crisis in the vice president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme and Chief Emeka Etiaba, SAN, son state, Okonkwo was servicing the party at the various levels and paying the rent for the party’s of the former governor of the state, Mrs. Virgy Etiaba. In the meantime, state secretariat in Awka. A top member of PDP said the party is indebted to him, arguing that it there are reports that some Nnewi billionaires are putting heads together would amount to ingratitude if he is denied the party’s ticket. Okonkwo is one of the consistent to prevail on aspirants in the major political parties, including PDP, to do members of PDP. everything possible to ensure that Nnewi people emerge the candidates Another aspirant, Dr. Godwin Maduka is considered one of the richest people in Anambra of the various political parties. State. The actual net worth of Godwin Maduka is currently unknown. However, his hospital in Dr. Tony Nwoye is another experienced politician in the race. The USA is valued at over $4 million in addition to his residential properties valued at over $7 million. former state chairman of PDP had contested for the governorship twice His 17 floor medical research center at his hometown Umuchukwu is a site to behold and he has in the past and was a member of the House of Representatives for Anambra single-handedly transformed the rural community into a semi -urban town. In the course of his East and Anambra West federal constituency. A great mobilizer, Nwoye, tour of the various local government areas of the state to mobilize support from the would -be a medical doctor, is a darling of the youths and should he get the PDP delegates, Maduka has been promising the people of the state that he would not be relying on the ticket, contestants in other parties would face a real battle. He also has allocation from the Federation Account to run the affairs of Anambra State if he became the the backing of one of Anambra’s billionaires, Prince Arthur Eze, who governor, assuring that he would use his contacts across the world to to attract funds for the has adopted him as his political son. Arthur Eze once described him as development of the state. one person who can work for the state because he has the energy of the Godwin Ezeemo, from Umuchu, left Nigeria after his studies and established lucrative businesses youth. with headquarters in London. In 2012, Ezeemo decided to relocate to Nigeria because of his Chief Val Ozigbo is another serious contender for the PDP ticket. desire to develop Anambra State. He subsequently invested in agriculture, manufacturing, media, Within the one year he has been in the political field, the former Managing tourism and his companies currently employ over 3000 people. Ezeemo had virtually turned his Director of Transcorps Plc has become a household in Anambra State. Umuchu community in Aguata local government area into an industrial town. He said he decided He is said to be favoured by some political stakeholders across the state to go into politics because of the sorry situation he found Anambra State in when he came back and beyond and his gentlemanly disposition is one of the factors going and therefore wants to serve the people to better the situation. Ezeemo was the first to donate a for him. vehicle to the leadership of PDP in the state. Mrs. Chidi Onyemelukwe, the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme’s daughter is Hon Chris Azubogu of the House of Representatives, another contender for the PDP ticket has another aspirant that has some kind of advantage above others. She what it requires to contest for the governorship of Anambra State. The three -time lawmaker has hails from Oko in Orimba North of Anambra South senatorial zone projects dotted not just in his federal constituency, but also in all parts of the state such that he is and is married to the popular Onyemelukwe family of Nnewi, also in popularly known as ‘Mr. Project’. As a native of Nnewi, he is one of those seriously being considered Anambra South. With the two families backing her, Chidi is placed by Nnewi billionaires to fly the ticket of his party and the people of the industrial town are not among the top contenders for the PDP ticket. pretending about it. As Nnewi billionaires are said to be rooting for one of their own to Dr. Winston Ude, is one of the surprises among the PDP aspirants as he was the first person to become governor, other parts of the state are also doing same. In Ihiala make a serious financial donation to the party as part of preparations for the primaries. When Mr. zone, notable billionaires, including Dr. A.B.C. Orjiako, Dr. Ernest Obiejesi Ali Odefa, the South East zonal chairman of PDP visited Anambra State as part of the party’s of Nestoil Group and Chief Allen Onyema of Air Peace Airlines, are sensitization efforts and solicited for funds from the aspirants to help in running the party, Ude being wooed by some of the politicians, although their political interests have not been ascertained. Mr. John Nwosu, a governorship aspirant on the platform of APGA for the November 6 election contested with the incumbent governor, Willie Obiano for the primaries of the party in 2013 and lost. He believes that this is his time to clinch the party’s ticket and wants the party leadership to conduct free, fair and credible primary next month. He fielded questions on the Anambra election. Why are you still pursuing your aspiration in APGA when there is the feeling that the party leadership has settled for another candidate? I don’t believe there is an anointed candidate, but even if such exists, I can tell you that it will boomerang. The best option is to allow a level playing field for all the aspirants. During the first outing of Governor Obiano, after becoming governor in 2014, he called all of us that contested the primaries with him both in APGA and other parties for a meeting, although all the promises he made to us were not fulfilled. But we are not complaining; rather we have moved ahead. I believe that it won’t be business 30 groups contributing money for Soludo’s nomination form By Vincent Ujumadu About 30 groups, which have been supporting the governorship aspiration of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, have moved into another phase of the support by contributing money to support the purchase of his nomination form on the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. The party was said to have pegged the nomination form at N22 million. One of the groups, the Soludo Support Group (SSG) has donated N10 million to the project, while another group, Youths Earnestly Seek Soludo, YESS, also donated N2 million. The convener and national coordinator of SSG, Mr. Chinedu Nwoye said the group was formed in 2019 as Soludo Fans Club. Recently, the various groups have been collapsed into SSG for more effective coordination. as usual this time. I know that our great leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, even in his grave, would wish that real democracy be practiced in our great party, APGA by giving power to the grassroots. It is only true democracy that can save this country. Rigging of elections brings bad leadership and when you take money and rig, the person sees it as a business and if he enters there, he will first of all try to recoup his expenditure before doing anything. After that, he sees governance as a private business. What will be your cardinal points to drive the economy if elected? Infrastructure is number one. When you talk about the major infrastructure needed in the state and nation at large, electricity comes first. Once there is electricity, if we ensure there is steady supply of power in Awka, Nnewi and Onitsha industrial clusters, the Asian companies will relocate to Anambra. During the time of Peter Obi, a private company was encouraged to build a power plant in Onitsha; another company is also planning to build in Ozubulu. The state government can encourage them and ensure they get the needed support. Nnewi Industrial centre was one of the industrial centres among the seven centres to be given power plant under the During the donation, elated Soludo said that he had never before witnessed where groups came together to contribute money to sponsor an aspirant and recalled that the previous day another support group donated N2million for purchase of Expression of Interest Form. ”This is new. You have begun a new revolution in Anambra State. I believe there is a hand of God in all these. There is a rebirth in our political practice. Initially it was like a child’s play. What you did will live with me for the rest of my life. It is new and different,” Soludo said. He traced the beginning of support groups to three years ago when he marked his birthday when three young men, who were all students at the time, brought him a cake. He told them that the issue of governorship of the state lies in who has the knowledge, the experience and the network to sustain the state now that Nigeria had changed in the face of dwindling resources. What Ojukwu, in his grave, would be wishing APGA —John Nwosu Jonathan administration. Once that happens, industries will spring up , our GDP will grow, Small and Medium Enterprise will spring up while cost of doing business will drastically come down. There will be employment and with that, insecurity will reduce. Now with the statistics, we will implement the National Health Insurance and the state patterned scheme too. Every family with an average of N10,000 will get a card in a year and we will help the private hospitals to team up and ensure that every Anambra family will be registered to benefit from free medical checks and highly subsidized medicare cost. Indirectly, we are going to empower the churches and private hospitals so that no one will be left out. Youth empowerment is the in thing. What are your plans for them? Why there is insecurity today is because of unemployment and mistrust in the system. To draw out the youths already involved in criminality is a difficult task because they don’t trust the government. You know Boko Haram became a problem in the North because their leader was killed extra judicially. Before the killing, they were just there doing their thing undisturbed. No one can win guerrilla warfare; you reach out to them, know their problems and find a way to engage them in productive ventures. I also strongly believe that people are feeling cheated in our Nigerian system. That is why they can accept that it is better to do something and die than waiting for hunger to kill you. We have so many youth driven patterned projects which will not only make the youths in the state productive, but make them actively involved in governance. These include creating job opportunities and making them part of the government where they will have a say. •John Nwosu
16—SATURDAY Vanguard, MAY 22, 2021 ATTENTION MALAMI: ‘Our constitution guarantees rights to Nigerians, not cows’ By Omeiza Ajayi Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation AGF, Abubakar Malami has come under attack for comparing the ban on open grazing by Southern Governors with prohibition of spare parts trading in the North. Malami had in an interview while reacting to the decision of the Southern Governors, said it is a dangerous decision for any governor in Nigeria to think that they can bring any compromise on the freedom of liberty of individuals to move about, comparing it to northern governors prohibiting the sales of spare parts in the North. He insisted that the ban does not align with the constitution in the context of human rights. Arise Television presenters bared their hearts on this when they discussed trending videos anchored by Orji Okpe, a model. In his reaction, a former Presidential spokesman and television presenter, Dr Rueben Abati urged the AGF to stop misreading the constitution, saying Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, guarantees freedom of movement to person and not cows. He said; “The office of the Attorney General of the Federation is provided for in Section 150 of the 1999 Constitution and the functions of the Attorney General are very clear. He is the Chief Law Officer of the Federation. He is the Chief Legal Adviser to the Federal Government of Nigeria. At the state level, Section195 provides for Attorneys General of the states. “However, the first problem we have with this comment by the AGF is that when an Attorney General begins to dabble into politics, it becomes a very untidy situation and it is one of the reasons some persons have been arguing that we need to separate the Office of the AGF from the office of the Minister of Justice, because the office of the minister is a By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri There are discordant tunes over the rumoured death of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the dreaded terrorist group, Boko Haram, during a fierce battle when members of an armed group suspected to be Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) invaded Sambisa forest last Wednesday 19th May 2021 Sambisa forest shares border with parts of Konduga, Bama, Gwoza Askira Uba, Hawul, Kaga and Biu Local Government Areas in Borno, with some parts of Gujba, Buni Yadi, Goniri in Yobe and Madagali in Adamawa state. Although, military authorities who are directly involved in the fight against terrorism are yet to issue official statement on the rumoured death of the terrorist leader in Nigeria, sources said, hundreds of ISWAP fighters invaded Sambisa with heavy gun trucks during the week hunting for Shekau who was the factional leader of Boko Haram. It was also revealed that Shekau was not directly killed by ISWAP, the splinter rival group, but blew up himself when ISWAP attempted to capture him (Shekau) alive, during a gun duel. According to a security report obtained by Saturday Vanguard, “unconfirmed source reported that Abubakar shekau was dethroned and killed by ISWAP and they have taken over the entire Sambisa forest. ISWAP is more equipped and better funded than Boko Haram. So, their mode of operation will change, and there is likely going to be frequent attacks around Konduga, Bama, Gwoza, Biu Local Government Areas and part of Adamawa. All humanitarian groups around the axis should be security conscious and be very vigilant.” It was learnt that a fierce battle that lasted several days between the two factions led to the death of dozens of commanders and hundreds of foot soldiers from both sides, with multiple sources saying Shekau has killed himself or fatally injured himself to the extent that he might not survive Many media platforms and social media •Malami political appointee. The AGF has to focus on the law. So, this is the problem that I see here because in this particular instance, the AGF responding to the 17 governors of the South is crossing the line from discussion of law into partisan politics. “The second point is S. 41 of the 1999 Constitution which he was referring to, does not talk about cattle. It talks about persons. It says, “every person...” And this is without being presumptuous because I don’t imagine that I can teach the AGF on the point of law. He is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN and all of that, but with due respect, the governors of the 17 Southern states are talking about cattle going about and disturbing people in the Southern part of the country, destroying farms. “If I recall, in that 12-point communique, there was no where they said northerners have been banned from the South. Nobody has banned the Fulani or anybody from any part of Nigeria. In the Southwest or the Southeast, you can go anywhere, but the issue is about cattle grazing and that is why they are calling for ranching. They are not calling for the ranching of human beings, they are calling for the ranching of cattle. “The third point is his analogy. I think it is entirely misplaced. Look, the Southern Governors can say yes, don’t even bring the cattle, they will eat fish. There are even southerners who have set up their own ranches, if the issue is about economic conflict that is indicated. The people selling spare parts in the North, if they come from a particular part of the country, maybe, from the Southeast or Southwest can gladly say okay, they will leave, that they will not sell spare parts in the North again. Now, in terms of cost, the people in the South have an alternative. They can eat fish, they can eat snails, but if you don’t have spare parts, how do you maintain your vehicles? How do you replace vehicle parts? So, that is why I think that the analogy is a bit misplaced but what is more important is that we will like a situation whereby the AGF does not get involved in partisan politics and just concentrate on the job of defending the rule of law, which is what is important in this regard. On her part, Tundun Abiola, daughter of late Chief MKO Abiola said comparing cattle grazing and activities and criminal herders with spare parts dealers is a false equivalence. She said; “I think that is a false equivalence he made there. He was referring to S. 41 of the Uncertainty trails Abubakar Shekau’s rumoured death had reported that ISWAP fighters armed with sophisticated weapons had penetrated Sambisa forest from different fronts and surrounded the place Shekau used as a safe sanctuary for years. They reportedly killed many of his fighters and forced him to surrender. Signal from security sources indicated that when Shekau discovered that it was the end of the road for him, and ISWAP fighters had directed him to relinquish his position as the grand amir and successor to the founder of the group Mohammed Yusuf, he opted for suicide by detonating the explosives he strapped to his body. However, the AFP news agency reported that when Shekau reached the point of no return as he was surrounded by ISWAP fighters, he shot himself in the chest, fell on the ground while bleeding profusely but was whisked away to an unknown destination by some of his surviving loyal fighters. Impeccable sources revealed that most of the fighters that fought for the defeat of Shekau were aged between 12 and 30 years. “They are actually children of some ISWAP members killed over time,” one of the sources said. According to him, “Others are youths sourced during raids on multiple islands around the Lake Chad. The ISWAP carefully selected the youths. It was therefore much easier for recruitment as some of the youths willingly joined the group and others were forcefully conscripted. Some of them were born during the wartime and others were very young when their parents joined the group around 2002. After their parents died because of illness or confrontation with Nigerian troops, the children naturally took over and when the group split into two in 2016, those that moved on their own or forcefully taken to the shores of Lake Chad under the umbrella of ISWAP had an upper hand in terms of training because they were taken to Libya for training in guerrilla warfare and other purposes. Others were sent to Syria and Somalia. They were taken to many countries abroad for training. However, those that came back especially between March and April this year took active part in confronting Shekau in the •Shekau last few days. T h e y launched a serious offensive alongside other top commanders and fighters already on ground and they succeeded in taking over,” he said. Another credible source said some of the 300 youths were trained as “medical doctors, paramedics, engineers, IT specialists, bomb specialists and mechanics.” He added that among them were women “who serve as nurses or cooks while others have gun-handling skills, meaning they can partake in combat operations.” He said after their return from abroad, they were camped at a village called Shuwaram in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State. Another source said ahead of the invasion of Sambisa by the factional group, one of the top commanders of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and his lieutenants had visited the shores of the Lake Chad in company of ISWAP leader Goni Mustafa. “Members of the entourage were seen on two boats with ISIS flag. Some of those in the entourage were light-skinned people possibly from Libya or Syria. It was only Mustafa that Constitution that guarantees freedom of movement all over the country to all Nigerians and you cannot be expelled from any part of the country. However, we have a pressing security issue at the moment. Nobody has any problem with lawful herders. We never had because we all grew up with herders roaming the country. But now we have a new breed of herders who are brandishing AK-47. So, it is disingenuous of him to talk about it like it is just about cattle rearing. It is not. It has taken a sinister dimension and it will be irresponsible for southern governors to fail to curb this menace. So, it is a false equivalence on that score. “Now, spare parts traders in the North do not have AK-47s, do not shoot down customers. What is happening between the farmers and the herders is completely different and I really like that he would raise the spare parts issue whereas when Hisbah goes and destroys the stocks of Christians trading in Kano, what do we hear? Crickets. This is the kind of problem and tension that we are facing in the country when people don’t feel a sense of belonging and that some are more equal. I don’t appreciate this kind of comparison to lawful businessmen; comparing them to criminals”. Another presenter, Rufai Oseni expressed dismay that Nigeria has so degenerated to a level where cows have become subjects of national discuss at a time the country should be thinking of other developmental issues. “I saw the interview and it was quiet very sad. The fact that as a nation with the might and the size of Nigeria the potential it has got, that our national issue and development have been reduced to issues about ‘ma’alu’, that is cattle. It is problematic. And when you sense the body reaction of the AGF, you expect more from an AGF in cases like this. At first, an Attorney General trying to distort the law... S. 41 talks about movement of persons. So, why twist it? Cattle are not human beings except if you are telling us that cattle have become human beings in this country or you are giving them human status. “Sometimes, maybe we need to check. Look at the open grazing law- they have had this since 1965 in the North but in the ’70s we had the Land Use Act that vests powers over land in the hands of the state governors and that still subsists. The state governors still call the shots on the land. What is residual should be left for the residual. So, why is the AGF talking as though there is another law he is quoting from in this country, trying to play technicalities with us? And we have seen the signs and the next thing, you use a very tribalistic slur by saying spare parts. Because we all know that the major dealers in spare parts are the Igbo. Why are you doing this? At first, you put forward Ruga, we said no. Just because of this same land, you come and collect land from people and call it settlement for cows. You went further ahead and put forward the Water Bill and we said no. Let us cool things down. We all want this country to work. Let us not inflame passions. We should all be statesmen in the collective development of this country. Nobody is bigger than any other person”. was black. They first visited Marte before they proceeded to Sabon Tumbu. They also visited Kirta, Kusuma and Kwallaram where they held meetings with commanders and other fighters,” the source said. The source added that after the strategy meeting, the visiting terrorists left and since then, the ISWAP fighters started mobilising ahead of launching attacks on Sambisa Forest. “Some of them gathered at Kurnuwa, Kayuwa and Tumbin Jaki before they launched the offensive. They had RPGs, GPMGs and AA guns on some vehicles,” he said, adding that the attackers also moved their “vulnerable women and children” from the Marte area to some locations around Kukawa. Another source said before they aimed at Sambisa forest, the ISWAP fighters were responsible for the recent attacks in Damasak, Marte, Mainok, Dikwa and Maiduguri towns in Borno as well as in Geidam in Yobe State. “They did not target civilians in most of their attacks; rather, they launched attacks against constituted authorities including security forces. The group handpicked and killed people perceived as enemies such as members of a volunteer security group, CJTF. “On the other side, Shekau and his followers operated from the southern parts of Borno State, mostly around the Mandara Mountains, Sambisa National Park and the Alagarno forest. The group had carried out several deadly attacks on its targets including civilians. Shekau was strict on his followers and did not tolerate rebellious behaviour. He had killed several of his renegade commanders and that was why many of those alive ditched him,” he said. It was further revealed that before the ISWAP fighters moved en masse to Sambisa, military operatives had launched several attacks on their hideouts in the northern parts of Borno State while air raids continued unabated. “The military had sustained onslaught against the group which has its hideouts in the semi-arid landscape with sparse vegetation. Their enclaves are being decimated and with time they will have no hiding place,” he said. Continues on www.vanguardngr.com
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