20062021 - Student thrown out of vehicle by fleeing attacks survives

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PAGE 18 —SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 20, 2021 IPOB: Buhari must create opportunity for dialogue – Obi, House of Reps member …Says 1999 Constitution skewed to favour North *’Let Uzodinma convene security summit’ CHAIRMAN, House of Representatives Committee on Health In stitutions, Dr. Paschal Obi, in this interview, urges the Federal Government to create avenue for dialogue with the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, as a step to solving the security challenges in the South-East. Obi, a member of All Progressives Congress, APC, representing Ideato North/ Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State at the National Assembly, opines that the 1999 Constitution was skewed to favour the northern part of the country, calling for a return to the 1963 Republican Constitution. Excerpts: By Nnamdi Ojiego What do you think is the cause of worsening insecurity in the South- East especially, in Imo state? By my current position as a member of the House of Representatives, I now reside in Abuja. So, to some extent, I may not know vividly, what caused the very terrible security situation in the region especially, in my state, Imo. Most times, we rely on the information we gather from people who are in the state which most times, you may not be very sure of the veracity of such information. But the truth of the matter to the best of my knowledge is that the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, are clamouring for a referendum and other things. When you go down to the South-East, you will discover that about 80 to 90 per cent of the people mostly, the artisans, mechanics, vulcanizers and the traders, have bought into the IPOB project. Equal Treatment However, I don’t know what made them so convinced that through that process, their dreams will be actualised. But one fact you must not rule out is that the IPOB members that are clamouring for the referendum have their reasons. All we need in Igboland, in the South-East, is to be given equal treatment, justice and fair play. I don’t think that there’s anybody against our belonging to Nigeria but if we must remain in Nigeria, let us remain in Nigeria with equality, a Nigeria that is guided by justice and fair play where we will participate equally with other federating units. And not a Nigeria where out of six political zones of the country, only the South-East has five states, while others have six states each, except for the north-west, which has seven states. Why should we have five while other zones are having a minimum of six? Why should our own be different? Those are part of the things that are causing the problems. Appointment Again, when it comes to appointment, the South-East always takes the last position when it is the zone that parades the greatest number of intellectuals and technocrats, but it doesn’t reflect in the sharing at the centre. So, I believe that if the federal government grants opportunity to this group, and dialogue with them, the issues will be x-rayed and if adequate attention is given to them by way of addressing them, there won’t be trouble in the South-East. I believe that it is in the interest of us all that such an opportunity is created so that we can have peace in the region. So, the earlier the government of the day gives attention to that the better for everybody. Are you asking the Federal Government to dialogue with IPOB? I think there is a need for dialogue and even though the Federal Government had since proscribed IPOB, let that opportunity for dialogue be created so that issues will be pointed out on the table of dialogue. Of course, when you see injustice staring at your face very glaringly, you cannot deny that there is no injustice. Let us come together and address those cases of injustice, give equal opportunity to all the federating units or geopolitical zones so that there will be equal participation. Do you support clamour for the president of Nigeria to come from the South-East in 2023? Yes. I’m in firm support of that because the South-East is the only political zone that has not been given the opportunity of producing the president of this country. The zone must be given the opportunity this time around and if Nigerians agree that it is the turn of the South- East, then all the political parties must field their presidential candidate from the region. So, I believe it is the turn of the South-East to produce the next president of this country in the spirit of equality and fair play. Can restructuring help in solving myriads of problems plaguing the country? Restructuring will help to some extent but not to a very large extent. That thing we called the 1999 Constitution is about the worse constitution ever created in this entity called Nigeria. That constitution is completely skewed to favour northern Nigeria. We have nothing to call ours as south easterners in that constitution. That is the constitution that reduced the number of Federal House members from the South-East from where it was down to 43. Kano state alone has 24 members of the House of Representatives and Jigawa has 16. So when you put Kano and Jigawa together, they will almost be the same as what we have in the entire South-East. And when we talk about 360 members of the House of Reps, you have 191 from the north and 169 from the south. So where lies that equality? Also in the Senate, even though there is equality of states such that each state produces three senators, we still have a greater number of states in the north than in the south. When you add one senator from Abuja, you now have about 7 or 8 senators in favour of the north and against the south. And those are creations of the 1999 Constitution. 1963 Constitution So if we are talking about restructuring, to what extent can we restructure? How do we have all these statistics, these imbalances equalised? We have a greater number of states, local government areas in the north than in the south. We also have a greater number of state houses of assembly in the north than we have in the south. So, where are we going to start from? I think, All we need in Igboland, in the South-East, is to be given equal treatment, justice and fair play *Dr. Paschal Obi t h e best is for us to return to t h e 1963 R e - public a n Constitution, with some relevant amendments so that states will now translate into federating units and the interest of minority will also be addressed. So returning to that constitution with necessary amendments will be the best bet for this country. With that, all the regions will be allowed to develop at their own pace. And that is the only thing I think that can save Nigeria. Concerning the worsening security situation in Imo state, what do you suggest the governor should do? My suggestions to the governor who is chief executive and chief security officer of the state were contained in a press release I issued a few days ago. In that release, I sued for peace, asking all the parties to sheath their swords and embrace peace. I also urged the state governor to convey a security summit, that will be all-embracing, in which all stakeholders will be invited so that we can come to a table and resolve all the issues for the sake of peace in our dear state. There is no other state we can call our own. So if Imo is burning, nobody will be happy. So, we are all interested because we are all affected by the debilitating security situation in the state right now and we are willing to do everything to support the state government restore normalcy in the state. As chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions, what is your committee doing to ensure federal health facilities are well equipped to serve the people? The promise I made to Nigerians when I took over as chairman of this standing committee was to bequeath health institutions that are much better than what we inherited in 2019. To make that possible, I embarked on an oversights function with my members where we took a tour of all the federal health institutions in the country. This is to enable us to ascertain the status of each of the institution to know the kind of intervention they needed. After the tour, we made a presentation to the government through the Federal Ministry of Health and alerted them on the very deplorable conditions of our health institutions and the need to improve funding both capital and otherwise. From my observations so far, Nigeria’s health institutions especially at the tertiary level, have very qualified manpower. However, the greatest problem we have is the lack of equipment, facilities and environment under which doctors and other healthcare professionals operate. We also discovered that the kind of budgeting system we have is part of the reasons our hospitals are in a deplorable state. The budgeting system we have is a situation where budgetary provisions for hospitals and others were made without visiting the affected establishments to ascertain their peculiarities. However, it is gladdening to note that we have started tackling that problem and what we achieved this year in the 2021 budget is about a 200 per cent increase than what was budgeted in 2020. That means the government put into considerations, the recommendations of my committee. I commend the government for that and plead with them to do more. Having spent two years as a lawmaker, can you say you have given your people purposeful representation? Well, it is not my duty to rate or assess my performance. I think it is for my constituents, who are the beneficiaries of my representation to do so. I think my duty is to concentrate on doing everything that is within my power to do, using my ingenuity and my knowledge as a technocrat, and somebody who has been a permanent secretary at the state level, to attract dividends of democracy to my federal constituency. During my electioneering, I promised my people that I would change the narrative and I have been very busy doing that. c o n t i n u e s . www.vanguardngr.com/
SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 20, 2021, PAGE 19 NDDC BOARD: APC leaders battle for control •Omo-Agege, Akpabio, Sylva, Amaechi may find middle ground •Stakeholders adamant on Odubu board By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South STAKEHOLDERS of the Niger Delta are enthusiastically awaiting the end of this month (June) or latest July 5, which the Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, under pressure, promised ethnic nationalities of the region and ex-militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, that the long expected Board of the Niger- Delta Development Commission, NDDC, would be inaugurated, when he visited the creek of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Delta State, early this month. What the people want Consensus of opinions among concerned parties appears to be that the Governing Board with a former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Dr. Pius Odubu, as Chairman and a former Commissioner for Finance, Delta State, Mr. Bernard Okumagba, as Managing Director, screened and approved by the Senate since November 2019, be sworn- in by President Muhammadu Buhari. But, it is not as straightforward as that as top officials, including Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Akpabio, Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, and Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi, are said to have delegated interests in who runs the interventionist agency fashioned to boost development in nine oil states crisscrossing the South-South, South-East and South-West regions. A rights group under the auspices of the Niger Delta Movement for Peace and Justice, NDMPJ, accentuating the contemplations of a crosssection of Niger-Deltans, in a statement by the National Coordinator, Comrade Etifit Nkereuwem, last week, said: “Niger Delta Movement for Peace and Justice aligns itself with the people of the Niger Delta region to call on Mr. President to inaugurate the Governing Board of NDDC without further delay. “However it is sad to hear that the Senate is currently contemplating screening of fresh nominees for the NDDC Governing Board. “It appears that you (the President) have bowed to pressure from some selfish individuals in the Niger Delta to ignore members of the Board that have already been constituted, awaiting swearing-in. “This has never happened in the history of democracy in Nigeria. No President of this country has had his screened and confirmed nominees replaced even before they were sworn-in. “We, therefore, demand Mr. President to demonstrate that he is a true democrat, principled politician and a man of proven integrity by going ahead to inaugurate the 15 nominees already screened and confirmed by the Senate in November 2019 for the NDDC Governing Board”. Before Akpabio took over as Minister in 2019, Amaechi swayed prominent appointments in NDDC, but Omo-Agege exerted the power of the Senate with the support of former National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshimohole, to vet the substantive Board headed by his erstwhile deputy, Odubu, of course with the imprimatur of Mr. President. Akpabio stamps authority In some way, Amaechi lost grip, but Akpabio, armed with the authority of supervising minister of the NDDC, threw down the gauntlet over the inauguration of the Board for almost two years, until last month, when a leader of the Niger- Delta struggle, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, joined forces with the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, and other stakeholders, including South- South governors, to demand the inauguration of the Board in a jiffy. The body language of Akpabio, who was said to have already m a d e recommendations to Buhari on the Board inauguration, even before his visit to Tompolo, appears to be that he wants an outright new Board with the Managing Director coming from Bayelsa instead of Delta State and taking into account the wide-ranging designs of APC leaders. Hardly had Akpabio sent his recommendations to the President than tales sprung up that he and Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum, were at daggers drawn over the reconstitution of the Board. In fact, a group of monarchs from Ekeremor local government area of Bayelsa State, comprising HRH Perekebina Alfred, paramount ruler of Koromotoru Kingdom, and Chief Alexander Daunemighan, paramount Once these four agree and confirm their pact to President Buhari, they think they are good to go, but that is not what the people want •Akpabio •Omo-Agege •Sylva •Amaechi ruler of Peretorugbene Federated Communities, petitioned Buhari, claiming that Sylva was meddling with Akpabio’s nominee as substantive Managing Director from Peretorugbene in Ekeremor, Bayelsa West. No rift with Akpabio - Sylva News was everywhere that Akpabio nominated Elder Denyanbofa Dimaro, an illustrious son of Peretorugbene community as Managing Director, while Sylva was allegedly promoting Maxwell Okoh from Bayelsa East to become NDDC Managing Director, but Sylva in a retort, June 8, entitled, ‘No rift between Sylva and Akpabio,’ signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Julius Bokoru, denied any disagreement with Akpabio over the reconstitution of the substantive Board. The statement read in part, “The story is false and nothing more than a string of poorly thought-out and poorly crafted lies that should be totally disregarded and discarded. “Sylva has maintained excellent relations with Senator Akpabio through the years. The duo considers themselves brothers and comrades in the quest of building a more prosperous Niger Delta and a stronger Nigeria”. High wired machinations With Sylva’s confirmation that there was no crack, sources familiar with the ongoing intrigues said the way forward was for the “big men” to find the middle ground. Sunday Vanguard learned that Akpabio, indeed, tipped a Bayelsan as Managing Director in the new arrangement with his associate, Mr. Effiong Akwa, currently the Interim Administrator, programmed for Executive Director, Finance and Administration. Whether Akpabio and Sylva, in the light of their new understanding, have brokered a pact on Managing Director since Sylva hails from Bayelsa is unclear. As undistinguishable as it is, there is report making the round that the Managing Director-designate in the substantive Board, Bernard Okumagba, powerfully supported by Omo- Agege, is the Chairman in the new Board, while Transportation Minister, Amaechi, is to produce Executive Director, Projects. Our source said Omo-Agege is disposed to the substantive Board, not a new Board. A Niger-Delta leader, Chief Tom Ofosu, meanwhile, said: “What you are talking about is the scheming of the officeholders you mentioned, but what the stakeholders want is inauguration of the Odubu Board with Bernard Okumagba as Managing Director. “But, it is true that since Oshiomhole, who nominated Odubu, has lost power, his voice no longer counts. “What matters now are the interests of Senator Omo-Agege, Akpabio, Sylva and Amaechi. “Once these four agree and confirm their pact to President Buhari, they think they are good to go, but that is not what the people want.” Militants warn leaders Corroborating Ofosu’s standpoint, a militant group, Niger Delta Revolutionary Crusaders, NDRC, in a statement, Thursday, by its spokesman, W. O.I Izon- Ebi, said: “It has come to our attention that leaders of the region are fighting over who produces the MD of NDDC, thereby diverting attention away from the main issues of injustice, marginalization, underdevelopment and deprivation of the people of the region. “It is sad that leaders of the region are themselves the problems of the region. “They are playing politics with the destiny of the people for personal and selfish interest without the region at heart. “We will not sit back and watch them destroy the future of the people of the region. “We are sternly warning those who dare to fiddle with the future of the people of the region that they should be ready for hostilities taken to their door steps. “The people of the region do not expect anything short of credible, competent, vast, and experienced with maturity and the stint as well as who truly understands the yearnings and aspirations of the people of the region to drive the Commission. “With the current state of affairs in the region, the NDDC needs such maturity and strong hand grounded with the issues of the Niger Delta to lead the Commission if the Federal Government means well for the region. “Therefore, the Buhari government and the National Assembly should be cautious in the appointment of the MD and do the right thing, else be ready to receive a gift from us. “It will be a huge joke and we will resist the appointment of any charlatan that is a puppet to a politician who will turn the Commission into a conduit pipe. “The Presidency has ignored the genuine cry of people and has continued to asphyxiate and stifle the growth of the Niger Delta while hobnobbing and satisfying the interests of this set of leaders to the detriment and progress of the region. “We view the NDDC and the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, that are in their current state of comatose, as the handiwork of selfish individuals from the region and the cabal in the Presidency to undermine the people of the Niger Delta. “We will not hesitate to speak the language the Federal Government understands”.
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