Politics
Don Knocks Rivers Elders Over Letter To Buhari …Urges INEC To Act Within The Law
A university teacher and Co-convener, Initiative for Credible Elections, Dr. Sofiri Peterside has criticised some Rivers elders over a letter they wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari for him to intervene in the election crisis in Rivers State.
The Tide recalls that the elders in the said letter said that ‘Mr. President should note that INEC going ahead to collate and announce results of 17 areas unnamed local government after two weeks of suspension of electoral process could precipitate public disorder’.
The letter also said that ‘no moral justification to continue with the suspended electoral process, as the outcome will be prejudicial and contentious’, among others.
But Dr. Peterside while appearing as guest on a radio programme in Port Harcourt monitored by The Tide said the elders letter calling for the intervention of the President is belated, accusing them of failing to speak up before the elections, like other organizations and groups who had called for peaceful polls in the crude oil and gas rich state.
This is as Peterside, who is a senior lecturer, Department of Sociology at the University of Port Harcourt called on the electoral body to be open and douse tension by providing the necessary information in the public domain and act within the dictates of the law
He stated, “I read the letter by the elders in the newspapers. My position on it is that the letter is belated. These elders ought to have spoken on the road to the elections. Every organization and civil society were calling for peaceful elections and the elders of this state refused to speak.
“At the point in time when we were already in crisis, even when people were being killed, the elders also lose their voices. So this kind of intervention if you ask me is very belated.
“What is required actually is for INEC to act within the ambit of the law. What is it that the law has said? Why should INEC give an announcement and tell citizens of this country, including Rivers State people that by Wednesday (last week) details of what is going to happen will be made public.
“Journalists went to INEC office in Port Harcourt and they did not get any information. They (newsmen) were not allowed entry. At the national level, no information. And when you do that kind of thing is that you create tension and people are soaked in tension,” Peterside said.
The University don stated further, “So the right thing to do is to douse this tension by stating clearly and keep the citizens informed. I am aware and we have read that there were cases in court and the court declined to grant the ex parte motion by saying that INEC be notified and let them return on the 25th.
“So INEC needs to keep the citizens informed of what is happening otherwise when you leave people in that state when there is no information, anything can happen. So there is need to douse the tension in the state.
“From the analysis of what the elders want even though they did not come out to say so clearly. My own understanding and reading of their statement is that the election be cancelled. Now what I support is that need not to keep that information because they said that they have reports of about 17 LGA’s in their kitty.
“We need to know those LGA’s so that the citizens can begin to know whether these LGA’s are listed amongst those LGA’s where men in uniform actually intervened and took results away or where political thugs actually intervened and hijack electoral materials.
“So what is required is to put that kind of information in the public domain. Perhaps INEC is hiding under the cover that election results need to be announced by INEC and it should be a process when they are announcing the results.
“But I think that that information should be in the public domain so that people will know which local governments are these. And so if these are local government where these kind of situation never took place, collation and all that, then people should come out and say so. I think that is the way forward in this process. Openness,” the university don admonished.
Dennis Naku
The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has officially transmitted the resolution of its emergency meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday to the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
It also attached the communique of the meeting, the findings of the Saminu Turaki SAN-led fact-finding committee as well as copies of the Court Judgement/ orders with an instruction to the NWC to immediately swear in Sunday Ude-Okoye as substantive National Secretary.
This was sequel last Wednesday’s emergency meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
This was contained in a memo from the BoT to the NWC, yesterday, barely 24 hours after the meeting.
The memo read in part, “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) is hereby drawn to the attached Legal Opinion of the BOT Committee led by Dr. Taninu Kabiru Turaki, SAN; and the Communique issued at the end of the Emergency BOT Meeting affirming Rt. Hon. S.K.E. Udeh Okoye as the substantive National Secretary of our Party.
“NWC is hereby invited to please. study the report and its recommendation for immediate implementation.”
The documents were stamped and received by the Office of the Deputy National Chairman (North), Amb. Umar Damagum’s office before he became Acting National Chairman.
An Enugu High Court had in a ruling affirmed Ude-Okoye’s appointment as National Secretary, and the decision was subsequently upheld on appeal.
However, Senator Samuel Anyanwu told a national daily that, “With all due respect, the BoT’s position is advisory.
“I have a valid stay of execution from the Court of Appeal. The substantive matter is still before the Supreme Court, the PDP as a law-abiding party should wait for the final decision of court and not rush into taking decisions that would become counterproductive.”
The House of Representatives has urged the Attorney General of the Federation to propose harsher sanctions, including life imprisonment, for producers and importers of fake drugs into the country.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance, sponsored by an All Progressives Congress lawmaker, Tolani Shagaya, and read on the floor during yesterday’s plenary.
Highlighting the importance of the motion, Shagaya expressed concern over the alarming increase in the production, importation, and distribution of fake and substandard goods, drugs, food, and beverages across Nigeria.
According to him, this development poses significant threats to public health, national security, and the economic stability of the nation.
He added that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have repeatedly warned that Nigeria is one of the most affected countries in the world by counterfeit medicines, contributing to thousands of avoidable deaths annually.
He said, “The House is aware that NAFDAC recently seized counterfeit food and pharmaceutical products worth over ?5 billion in a raid at the Cemetery Market in Aba, Abia State, highlighting the widespread nature of this menace.”
“The House is concerned that Nigeria suffers economic losses of approximately ?15 trillion annually due to counterfeit and substandard goods, as reported by the Standards Organization of Nigeria. The unchecked proliferation of fake products not only jeopardises consumer safety but also discourages genuine investment in the food and pharmaceutical industries.”
“The House is further concerned that despite existing regulations, weak enforcement mechanisms, corruption, and the absence of stringent penalties for offenders have emboldened perpetrators to continue endangering public health.”
“We recognise that the current legal framework does not provide sufficient deterrence, as offenders often return to the illicit trade due to lenient fines and bailable sentences, allowing them to operate with impunity.”
He further added that a national state of emergency is necessary to intensify enforcement efforts, strengthen regulatory institutions, and impose stricter sanctions on perpetrators.
Following overwhelming support for the motion by lawmakers, the House urged the Attorney General of the Federation to propose amendments to existing laws with a view to imposing stricter penalties.
These include, “life imprisonment for those involved in the production and importation of fake drugs and significant fines for businesses found guilty of dealing in counterfeit goods.”
The House also urged the Federal Government to strengthen the capacity of regulatory agencies, particularly NAFDAC, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Customs Service, by providing adequate funding, modern equipment, and advanced technology for effective surveillance, detection, and enforcement.
It further urged the Federal Government to establish a special task force comprising security agencies, regulatory bodies, and the judiciary to fast-track investigations and prosecutions of individuals and businesses involved in counterfeiting.
The House also directed its Committees on Health, Commerce, and Industry to conduct a comprehensive probe into the prevalence of counterfeit products and propose legislative measures to address regulatory gaps.
In a recent interview, Chief Akande also said Senator Ladoja entered a no case submission for the suspects accused of assassinating the ex-Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
But the ex-governor has denied the allegation, saying old age has probably affected the memory of the former Osun State Governor to remember what happened during the period.
Senator Ladoja wondered why Chief Akande, who said he knew many things about the assassination that he would not disclose, did not tell the public what exactly surrounded the killing of the former AGF on December 23, 2001.
Senator Ladoja, next in the hierarchy to the Olubadan of Ibadan, said this when speaking with reporters in his Bodija residence in Ibadan.
Speaking in an interview with Edmund Obilo, Chief Akande suggested that Senator Ladoja might have important information about late Chief Ige’s killing.
He alleged that Chief Ige was killed by the government and described his death as a “state murder” — but never affirmed a specific person who committed the crime.
Chief Akande claimed that Senator Ladoja withdrew a case related to the murder that had initially been pursued by his predecessor, former Governor Lam Adesina.
“I was the chief security officer of Osun State at the time, not Oyo State. Lam Adesina was the chief security officer of Oyo State and he went to court and the governor that took over from him, Ladoja, withdrew the case from court. He might be able to tell you more, he might know more than I do know,” Chief Akande said.
“There are many things that die with people. I know Lam Adesina went to court over the matter, and I also know his successor, (Rashidi) Ladoja, withdrew the case. Ask Ladoja; he would know more about Bola Ige’s death”, he added.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain also expressed regret that ex-governor Adesina had confided in him about certain details he could no longer disclose.
Chief Akande noted that key figures, including the former Oyo state governor, who could have shed more light on the case, had passed away.
“Because there are many things you don’t want to tell the public. I don’t want to tell anybody. Now Bola Ige is dead, and Lam Adesina too is dead, so who will be my witness? Nobody,” he added.
Addressing journalists at his residence in Ibadan, Senator Ladoja described Chief Akande’s claims as false.
He said that the case was pursued up to the Supreme Court during his tenure, and denied ever having withdrawn any charges.
“I didn’t withdraw the case; my government didn’t withdraw any case. The case was even prosecuted till apex court, Chief Akande lied against me. This is not the first time people said he lied; someone like Baba Adebanjo even said he lied in his book.
“We are not all happy as a result of Chief Bola Ige’s death, and we are all concerned about his death. I was very close to Chief Bola Ige while alive”, he said.
In 2016, former President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that the investigation into the murder be reopened, but there has been little progress since.
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