We do give a damn, Mr. President

viewpoint illustration
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Leadership and followership are two sides of the same coin. In a democracy, leadership emerges from the choice of the following with a mandate to improve the society in all its ramifications. This mandate is a sacred trust and forms the basis of the social contract. While leadership should provide direction, show the light and inspire society towards good values, human and material development, the following should be discerning to appreciate when they are poorly led. The following should also be in a position to call the leadership to account when it is evidently going astray. The foregoing provides the background to this analysis of President Goodluck Jonathan’s “I don’t give a dam” statement on the public declaration of his assets during the last presidential media chat. To me, the President has gone astray and needs to be cautioned. The Nigerian ship, of which he is the captain, is threatened by lack of accountability and transparency, and if this presidential mindset goes unchallenged, he may finally capsize the ship and off-load us into the depths of the sea.

The President stated as follows in the media chat; “The issue of assets declaration is a matter of principle. I don’t give a damn about it, if you want to criticise me from heaven. The issue of public declaration of assets, I think, is playing to the gallery. You don’t need to publicly declare any assets. If I am somebody who wants to hide, it is what I tell you that you will even believe.”

The constitution declares in Section 140 that a person elected to the office of the President shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets and liabilities as prescribed in the Constitution. What is the purpose of assets declaration? Is it to light a lamp and hide it under a bushel? Is the declaration for the consumption of the President and the toothless Code of Conduct Bureau? Who does the President report to and to whom does he owe allegiance? Should he report only to himself and his family or to Nigerians? Where are the citizens, the masters who entrusted their servant, Jonathan, with power in this assets declaration equation? It is a fundamental aphorism that he who must lead must understand that he is the servant of all. It is also imperative to recall that the Constitution declares in Section 14 (2) (a) that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government derives all its powers and authority.

The concept of a declaration is incompatible with secrecy. It is a contradiction in terms to talk about a declaration and yet keep the information away from the public. If the law envisaged that an individual should keep some information secret or known only to himself and those who ordinarily should know about it, then there would be no need for a declaration. Part of the definition of a declaration in the Black’s Law Dictionary (Centennial Edition) is to make known, manifest or clear. It also includes to signify, to show in a manner either by words or acts; to publish, to utter, to announce clearly some opinion or resolution. In these days of the Freedom of Information Act, it is absurd to canvass such a funny idea as a secret declaration of assets by public officers in one of the most corrupt nations on earth.

Apparently, the only President that has publicly declared his assets is the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. This was the high point of leadership by example and not leadership by mere sermonising. President Jonathan’s statement hinging his refusal to publicly declare his assets on principles is confounding. Which principle(s) is he talking about? Pray, is it the principle of transparency and accountability or a principle only known to him? Permit me to state that if there is any such principle, the President has failed and refused to educate the majority of Nigerians who are “ignorant” about this wonderful principle. Why is the President who barely a year ago promised us fresh air and transformation standing logic on its head? This is a desecration of a legacy, a great and higher value left for us by Yar’Adua and substituting the same with base values. It was already in bad faith that he did not publicly declare his assets but to publicly defend the same with all his presidential might shows a clear misunderstanding of the spirit of our age and the reality of our time.

The spirit of our age emphasises the need to strengthen accountability and transparency. Transparency and accountability are like twins and you can hardly separate them. Any accountable government must therefore be transparent. Access to information (transparency) is the currency of accountability and transparency allows accountability to be more effective. Transparency is about a state of openness, non-opaque transactions and ability to let the public know about the process, activities and output of assets declaration transactions. The whole idea is for the public to know how much their leader is worth at the beginning of the tenure and also at the end of the tenure. This puts the public in a position to judge whether the leader has accumulated resources beyond his legal and legitimate remuneration. Pray, if you do not know the opening balance and you are not informed of the closing balance, how can you effectively comment or make input into such an asset declaration?

The reality of our time is that leadership sets good precedents. It is the position of the President that his public declaration would compel other public officers to follow suit. Would this be a wrong precedent? What would Nigerians lose by knowing how much their leaders are worth? We are witnesses to the daily looting of the treasury and corruption in high places and the leadership has not demonstrated the strong political will to tackle corruption. Indeed, public access to assets declarations is the real beginning of the fight against corruption.

There are many reasons for public officers to publicly declare their assets. First, the officers will be entrusted with public funds running into trillions of naira. The resources are not part of their personal estates but belong to all. The media reported that Jonathan’s party, the Peoples Democratic Party, in its Manifesto, Programme and Policy Thrust for 2011-2015, stated that assets declaration will substantially reduce corruption in Nigeria and will develop and promote mechanisms and institutions for preventing, detecting, and bringing offenders to justice. It identifies the public declaration of assets and a legal backing for compulsory open declaration of assets as one of the initiatives to reduce corruption. It is further reported that the joint communique of the Nigeria-United States Bi-national Commission in Washington DC held between June 4 and 5 in the fourth paragraph stated that both countries recognised and reaffirmed commitments to transparency and accountability from local to national levels that include strong community efforts. To support those commitments, Nigeria intends to widen its budgetary transparency efforts to include public asset declarations by parliamentarians and other senior public officials.

Finally, Mr. President, it is not too late to retrace your steps. It will be a sign of the strength of your character if you should reverse your earlier ill-advised position and begin to lead us by example in matters of accountability and transparency. If you ‘don’t give a damn’, Nigerians definitely do. It is not about you. It is about Nigerians and Nigeria.

•Onyekpere, a lawyer, is the Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, Abuja. He wrote in via censoj@gmail.com. 08127235995

Malian jihadist group threatens to attack Nigeria, others

An al-Qaeda-linked group based in Northern Mali has promised to attack Nigeria and other West African countries involved in raising a regional force against the jihadist insurrection in Northern Mali.

The French news agency, Agence France-Presse (AFP), in a report on Friday quoted the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) which has taken over Northern Mali, threatening to attack the interests of countries that would join a military intervention force in that country.

Nigeria is leading other Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries to raise a 3,270 intervention force to rid Northern Mali of a regime of religious extremists and reunite the country.

Western diplomats have repeatedly warned that unless a drastic measure was taken, Northern Mali could become West Africa’s Afghanistan where terrorists would be trained and deployed across the sub-region.

The group, also including Ansar Dine and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, has since imposed an austere version of sharia law in Northern Mali, and it has fallen out with the Tuaregs with whom it started the insurrection.

Tuareg rebels and Islamist hardliners had earlier jointly taken over a stretch of Northern Mali the size of Afghanistan.

Leaders of ECOWAS met in Ivory Coast on Friday in a bid to end the crisis.

MUJAO warned that its branches “in several countries are ready to strike the interests of countries that intend to participate in the force of ECOWAS,” spokesman, Adnan Abu Walid Sahraoui, said in a written message.

“The MUJAO is committed to providing all kinds of material and military support for young Muslims determined to raise the banner of Islam. The scene today is open for jihadists,” said the statement sent to an AFP correspondent in the Malian capital, Bamako.

Mali has been gripped by chaos since disgruntled troops swarmed Bamako in the South in March and ousted the elected president of what had been seen as one of Africa’s model democracies.

The West African leaders who gathered Friday in Yamoussoukro called on the United Nations (UN) Security Council to speed up the adoption of a resolution authorising the regional force.

The ECOWAS force requires international support for such an operation. It also needs logistics support from the United States and France.

A first draft was considered too imprecise by the UN Security Council, and ECOWAS is reviewing the proposal.

The heads of state meeting in the Ivorien official capital renewed their “commitment to a peaceful settlement,” but reiterated their decision to use armed intervention if necessary, according to the final statement.

The MUJAO, for its part, claimed responsibility on Friday for an attack in Algeria — against the regional headquarters of the paramilitary police in the town of Ouargla in which one person was killed and three were wounded.

It said in a text message to AFP in Bamako that a young Algerian from the Southern town of Ouargla had carried out the attack, using a Toyota 4×4 car with “almost 1,300 kilograms of explosives.”

“The cells of the MUJAO branch in Algeria succeeded in carrying out a rapid punishment for the Algerian authorities,” the spokesman, Sahraoui, said.

The MUJAO spokesman said the group accused Algeria of encouraging Tuareg rebels to go to war with it, although the secular MNLA Tuaregs had three months ago fought together with the Islamists to take control of North Mali.

The Islamists chased the MNLA out of Gao in the North-East on Wednesday after vicious fighting that left at least 20 dead, witnesses said.

On Friday, the Islamists were reinforced by jihadists who arrived from Algeria, various sources said.

Reuters, a few days ago reported Nigeria, Niger and Senegal as key countries that had pledged to provide the core of a 3,270-strong force which mission would initially be bolstering Mali’s fragmented army and stabilising political institutions, and then tackling the rebel-held North, if talks fail.

Of the 15 UN Security Council members, France, Morocco and Togo were among the most enthusiastic about swiftly endorsing an ECOWAS operation in Francophone Mali, council envoys said. Others, they added, are more skeptical.

France’s U.N. mission announced a more optimistic assessment of the Security Council talks with ECOWAS and the AU.

“We have made good progress at ECOWAS/UNSC talks to help Mali uphold its constitutional order and territorial integrity,” the mission announced on its Twitter feed.

Culled: Tribune

Wife Catches Her Hubby Having Sex With Dog

According to a report culled from the sun uk, a woman refused to go to bed with her ex-husband found him having sex with her dog soon afterwards, a jury heard today.

Naked Nicholas Saunders whistled Sasha the bull mastiff to his ex-wife’s bedroom, it was said.

Stunned Kelly Thacker, who had gone downstairs to sleep, told police she opened the door to the shocking scene.

Prosecuting, Frank Abbott said Ms Thacker “found it difficult to believe” when she saw Saunders “clearly trying” to have intercourse with Sasha. Mr Abbott said: “Ms Thacker just couldn’t believe what she was seeing to start off with so she looked away and then looked again.”

Shocked Ms Thacker told 46-year-old Saunders “in no uncertain terms” to leave her house, Mr Abbott told Gloucester Crown Court. The dad-of-two later agreed to have a swab taken – and dog DNA was found by a forensic scientist, the court heard.

Mr Abbott said Saunders had gone to see his ex-wife – they married in 1999 and separated three years later – after being kicked out by his girlfriend. She agreed to let him stay the night in her bedroom – but made it plain she would not be having sex with him and would be sleeping downstairs.

They chatted for half an hour before going upstairs to her bedroom where she sat on the bed as he got undressed and got in it.

The dog turned up and Saunders said to it: “You’ve just ruined my chances”, said Mr Abbott.

He added: “You may think that he had rather hoped to have sex with his ex-wife, and the dog getting on the bed had got in the way.”

Later Ms Thacker heard Saunders whistling the dog to go upstairs. She followed it up – and then saw her husband having sex with Sasha, said Mr Abbott.

The prosecutor said when Saunders was arrested he told cops the dog had got on the bed when he was naked and woken him up by licking his face.

He denied any indecent act had occurred but refused to make any further comment. The prosecutor said the jury would be hearing from forensic scientists for both the prosecution and defence.

He added: “It is not only something unusual but it is also something which you might find repulsive. “It is something which of course is wrong and criminal to all right-thinking people.”

Saunders, of Lechlade, Gloucestershire has pleaded not guilty to having intercourse with an animal. Trial continues.(the sun uk)

Police, SSS close ranks on Lawan’s $3m bribery scandal

The Police and State Security Service have closed ranks in the former’s bid to crack the $3m bribery case that involves a former chairman, House of Representatives Ad hoc committee on subsidy, Mr. Farouk Lawan, it was authoritatively gathered on Friday.

Lawan and the Clerk to his committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo, had collected a total of $620,000 from oil magnate, Mr. Femi Otedola, to remove his firm, Zenon Oil from the House list of companies that purportedly collected FOREX for fuel importation, but did not do so.

Earlier requests from the Police Special Task Force headed by Ali Ahmodu, to the Director-General, SSS, Mr. Ekpeyong Ita, for assistance in providing the video that captured how the bribe was collected, and telephone call records were rebuffed.

But an impeccable police source familiar with the investigation told SUNDAY PUNCH in Abuja, that the two security agencies had resolved their differences.

He said, “We are working together now to crack the case.

“We are sister security agencies, and we need their assistance just as they need ours. Though the SSS didn’t send us the evidence on time, we didn’t want to report to higher authorities (the presidency), so that we would not be seen to be against them.”

Otedola had earlier claimed that the SSS was involved in what he called “a sting operation” in getting the bribe across to the suspects.

Meanwhile, the Police have declared Thursday’s quizzing of Lawan by the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, as illegal, adding that the House had no constitutional right to investigate a criminal matter.

A top police officer said a member of the Committee, Mr. Jagaba, was a suspect, adding that it was not proper for a “suspect to interrogate a suspect.”

The House Ethics committee headed by Gambo Musa had grilled Lawan, who reportedly told its members that what he collected was “money” and not “bribe.”

Lawan’s interrogation was held behind closed doors, contrary to an earlier promise by the House to make it public.

A senior police detective with the Special Task Force told one of our correspondents that the committee was

muddling up their work by quizzing Lawan, and summoning other members of his committee and Otedola.

Otedola is to appear before the committee on Tuesday.

The source advised the House to adhere to its decision during its emergency plenary where it resolved to detach itself from the investigation and wait for the outcome of police investigations.

He said, “The House is going beyond its brief by asking its committee on Ethics and Privileges to investigate the bribery scandal which the police are already working on.

“They have no legal right to investigate a criminal case that police investigators are probing. Besides, some members of the committee (on ethics and privileges) are suspects in the bribery scandal because Lawan in his statement claimed he gave the bribe to Adams Jagaba.

“We don’t want to take issues with the House, but at the appropriate time, we will move against all of them; we are just bidding our time and following the rule of law,” the officer stated.

The House had during a session on June 15, 2012 directed its Committee on Ethics and Privileges to investigate the $620,000 bribery allegation and report back to the House within two weeks.

It was gathered that the STF was trying to establish if other members of the committee benefited from the $620,000 bribe, including house members.

Where the money is kept remains a puzzle for the police as Lawan has failed to surrender it, just as Jagaba denied Lawan’s claim that he gave the cash to him for safe-keeping.

On the saga, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Rueben Abati, said the president was interested in ensuring that all corruption cases related to the subsidy were investigated and culprits brought to book.

He said, “When the President spoke in January on the complete deregulation of the downstream sector, he said it was an attempt to sanitise the sector, rid it of corruption and eliminate waste.

“It was the president’s effort that triggered the House of Representatives probe of the subsidy regime and the revelations that followed.

“That was why immediately he got a copy of the report of the House of Representatives probe, he handed it over to the Attorney-General with a clear directive to send it to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for thorough investigation and prosecution.”

Abati also said the report of the Aig-Imhokuede committee set up by the Ministry of Finance on the same issue had been formally presented to the President.

He said like he did with the report of the House of Representatives, Jonathan would send the report to appropriate agencies for actions.

Day all hell broke loose in Kaduna....

Scene of a bomb blast
| credits: File copy

DAVID ATTAH gives a detailed account of what transpired penultimate Sunday, when Kaduna State became a theatre of war.

The time was  6:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 17, 2012. Madam Victoria Akpojiyovwi, fondly called “Mama” by her grandchildren, would by now be giving praises to the Almighty God. Mama, who stayed in Ughelli, Delta State, had set out to travel to Kaduna en route Warri. However, as she got to the motor park, she narrowly missed the last vehicle. It was the fourth vehicle that had loaded that morning to the North-western state.

She was not happy. She threatened to stay at the park until another vehicle came. Her reason was that she had greatly missed her grandchildren and an expectant daughter. Mama left the park after much pleading from other travellers who had also missed the bus. She heeded their advice but decided to leave behind her luggage for the next day, when she would come to try her luck again.

Instead of going back to her house at Ugheli, she decided to spend the night at her brother’s house in Warri, so that she could catch the early morning bus going to the north the next day. No sooner had Mama reached her brother’s house, than her mobile cell phone rang. She was advised to cancel her trip to Kaduna because of the renewed cycle of violence that had then engulfed the state.

But what went wrong? It all started when suicide bombers attacked three churches in the ancient city of Zaria and Kaduna metropolis. Specifically, the churches attacked include the Christ the King Catholic Church on Yoruba Road, Sabon Gari; the Second ECWA Goodnews Church, Wusasa, all in Zaria; and the Shalom Pentecostal Church along the Western bypass in Kaduna metropolis.

The incident sparked off instant revolt, as angry youths in some parts of the state took the laws into their hands to avenge the deaths of those who died in the bomb attacks.

On the first day alone, over four deaths were recorded; and by the second day, the death toll had risen to 74, despite the intimidating presence of combat-ready soldiers, riot police and other security agencies. Again, scores of others were injured; and so far, hundreds of people have besieged the various hospitals in the state in search of their missing relations.

The spokesman of the Catholic Hospital, Mr. John Ali, said the number of bodies brought there was 39, while those who sustained varying degrees of injuries and were being treated were 72.

He also disclosed that all the corpses were later evacuated from the mortuary by the Kaduna State Government, even as many people continued searching for their missing relations.

To underscore the seriousness of the issue, members of the International Committee of Red Cross arrived in Kaduna on Sunday evening, and have been performing surgery on those who were seriously injured.

Also, at the Barau Dikko Specialists Hospital, sources said 12 deaths were recorded, with two others receiving treatment for grievous injuries; while at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, an official of the state Emergency Management Agency who pleaded anonymity said the death toll was 23.

Narrating his ordeal after the violence on his hospital bed at the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital, an immigrant from Niger Republic, 26-year-old Suleiman Mani, who hews firewood for a living said he was cutting firewood for one of his customers at Narayi when, suddenly, he was told to leave because of a disturbing news they had just heard.

“As I was running away, I saw two people on a bike carrying machetes and sticks. They attempted to hit me with the stick, but I managed to dodge them. They then got down from the bike and pursued me. They caught up with me and attacked me with the machete. I wanted to run back to Narayi, but they continued to assault me until I fell down.

“They wanted to severe my head, but the machete landed on my hand as I tried to protect myself. They carried a big stone and wanted to hit my head, but somehow, they ran away, perhaps in pursuit of another victim. Later, one woman who was also my customer helped me to the hospital.”

Another victim, John Arinze, 23, who hails from Imo State, said he was on his way to Abuja when he was attacked by people suspected to be Hausa youths along the Express bypass.

He said that he was saved by the Sarki (leader), who then handed him over to soldiers on patrol.

“There were Hausa boys who blocked the road around that area. They were carrying knives and machetes. They stopped me and pulled me out of the car and beat me.

They wanted to kill me; then, their Sarki intervened and ferried me away from the scene of violence. He handed me over to soldiers who were passing by and they brought me to the hospital.”

Similarly, Yahaya Dahiru, 27, a commercial motorcycle operator was attacked at Sabon Tasha area where he had gone to drop a passenger.

“Immediately my passenger disembarked, I made a U-turn, and then I saw some people ordering motorbike riders to stop. They stopped many of us and asked us to lie down. They started beating us and smashing blocks on every part of our bodies.

“They said they would kill us because Boko Haram was killing their people. They told us that Boko Haram had been bombing them and therefore, they would retaliate by killing all Muslims. They beat me so much that I became unconscious. I don’t even know how I got here.”

Another victim of the one-day madness was Yahaya Usman, a Christian from Kogi State, who said he was attacked at Trikaniya area.

He explained, “My son had gone to church earlier, but he suddenly telephoned to warn me that there was a bomb planted near the church. So, I became worried and wanted to go and pick him. When I got close to IBB road, I saw a mob of Hausa boys who started attacking me with sticks and machetes. They stabbed me all over my body and it was the men of Operation Yaki Patrol that rescued me. They then brought me to the hospital.”

To save the situation and mitigate further damage, the government imposed a 24-hour curfew on the state.  The state government said the measure was to forestall further breakdown of law and order.

Also, a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on media, Mr. Reuben Buhari, said security agencies in the state had been directed to take charge and ensure that residents complied with the curfew.

However, condemnations have trailed the bombings and the subsequent reprisals which claimed more lives.

For instance, the Arewa Consultative Forum said the bombing of the churches came as a surprise. The organisation condemned the act and the subsequent reprisals. 

The ACF  in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani said, “The reported bombings of some churches and other places in Kaduna and Zaria town, which have resulted in the loss of many lives and property on 17th June, 2012, have come to Arewa Consultative Forum as a surprise. A big surprise because this is coming in the wake of an offer of constructive engagement or dialogue by the Federal Government at the instance of well-meaning Nigerians, including elders of North-East geopolitical zone, which held a meeting in Bauchi last week.

“It is still the position of ACF that whatever may be the perceived grievances, it cannot be the justification for taking the lives of innocent people who are totally unaware of the nature of the grouse; more so, that there is no religion which allows its adherents to kill innocent fellow human beings. In fact, all religions preach peace and love of one’s neighbours.

“Therefore, ACF would not be tired of repeated calls on those who kill themselves and other people to stop such killings, and embrace the offer of dialogue by government as the only way of addressing any perceived grievances, however, deep and wide, towards sustaining peace and national security.

Similarly, both the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Jama’atul Nasril Islam condemned the bombing and the reprisals.

In his reaction, President of the Civil Rights Congress, Mallam Shehu Sani, described as most unfortunate the wave of violence that engulfed the state.

Sani, while urging Christians and Muslims to sheathe their swords and embrace peace, said in his statement entitled, ‘A call for peace’:  “I wish to call on all Muslims and Christians in the state to sheathe their swords, eschew violence, resist the temptation to attack or carry out reprisal and embrace peace.

“We must overcome this with the power of reason and courage. We must shun divisive acts and provocative and inciting onslaught. Enough blood has been shed here and other places and we must not add to the tally.”

Meanwhile, the 24-hour curfew is still in force; and government has directed the law enforcement agents to ensure that residents complied with it.

At the moment, the state is still a ghost city as residents remain indoors due to the heavy presence of armed soldiers, mobile policemen  and other  security agencies.

Culled.....Punch

Nigeria’s economy vulnerable —Aregbesola

Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola
| credits: File copy

The governor of the State of Osun, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, has warned of a possible total crash of the nation’s economy if nothing is done about its dependency on oil.

Aregbesola said this in Osogbo on Friday, while playing host to the executive of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institution Employees, who converged on the state for its second quarterly meeting.

The governor said unless the nation returned to agriculture and sustainable production chain, hopes of economic prosperity was remote.

He stated that until the country diversified from the present mono-product economy with its heavy reliance on oil and develops means of producing locally, the country’s economy would depend on western economy for survival.

Aregbesola said, “We are a consuming nation. We live on rents and commissions. Until we develop our local production and produce what we consume locally, our economy will not only be dependent but also weak.”

He told the NUBIFE executive that the current increase in unemployment and threat to jobs are direct corollaries of the vulnerable economy of the country, which he said involved the whole world and not Nigeria alone.

In his response, the President of NUBIFE, Mr. Sunday Salako, said his team were in Osun to learn how things were working despite the nationwide economic crisis and increasing wave of job cuts by government and corporate organisations.

“Our banks are now being threatened through job cuts. We have lost over 5, 000 of our members to job cuts in the last one year. Your formula for job creation should be revealed to other governors so that they can replicate it in their respective states,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party has faulted Aregbesola over the appointment of a former Commissioner for Tourism, Lagos State, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, as technical consultant to Osun Local Government Creation Committee.

A statement by the Chairman, Osun PDP, Mr. Gani Olaoluwa, on Saturday, said the appointment of Afikuyomi, a Lagos indigene, was an insult to the people of Osun State.

According to Olaoluwa, some commissioners and special advisers appointed by Aregbesola are Lagos indigenes, who cannot identify Osun communities.

He said, “Aregbesola has not stopped amusing right-thinking indigenes of Osun as he continues to undermine the sovereignty of the state.

“Long before he assumed office, Aregbesola had described Osun as an annex of Lagos State. He is acting out the script to the letter now.

“Aregbesola only wants to give jobs to the boys; this is why he is giving jobs to Afikuyomi and other Lagos-based politicians.”

The Director, Research, Strategy and Publicity, Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, however, said the PDP should not be dignified with a reply.

He said, “The PDP sacrificed competence for mediocrity and they want the ACN to continue in that manner. No, we will not. The United States is one of the strongest nations in the world because of its diversity.”

“What is wrong with appointing a competent hand as technical consultant to the committee? It is childish to say only Osun people should be appointed in Osun.”

Nobody will manipulate Edo poll — Jonathan

President Jonathan.

Ahead of the July 14 governorship election in Edo State, President Goodluck Jonathan, on Saturday, led ranking members of the Peoples Democratic Party to the state to rally support for the party’s candidate, Maj.-Gen. Charles Airhiavbere.

The President’s plane landed at the Benin Airport around 11.45am, where he was received by Governor Adams Oshiomhole, after which he moved to the Oba’s palace, where he had a brief private meeting with the monarch, Omo N’oba Erediauwa.

Addressing party supporters at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium, Jonathan assured residents of the state of peaceful poll conduct, even as he called on PDP members in the state to mobilise to ensure victory.

Expressing his commitment to free and fair election, Jonathan thanked the people of the state for voting him during the 2011 presidential election, saying it was in the state he started his ‘one man, one vote’ campaign.

He said, “It was here in this state that I said that we must change the way we do elections in this country; this time around, there will be no thuggery, it is going to be one man one vote. I came here to promise the people of Edo State that they should keep faith with that promise.

“This morning before I came, I asked the Inspector-General of Police, ‘Are you ready for Edo State?’ He said yes. I asked the Chief of Defence Staff, ‘Are you ready for Edo State?’ He said yes.

“I guarantee 100 per cent security for your election and there will be no manipulation, election results will be entered at the various units and nobody will change figures.

“PDP is the dominant party. As long as you mobilise and vote PDP, we will win. I am sure that, come July 14, PDP will rule Edo.”

A chieftain of the party, Chief Tony Anenih, who spoke earlier, said Jonathan’s visit ended rumours that the President would not grace PDP’s campaign in the state.

Assuring on the party’s preparedness for the election, Anenih said, “We want to put in place a government that will be responsive to the yearnings of the people. Mr. President, your presence here has raised our hope.

“You have energised us. We need a free and fair election. We want to make sure that on Election Day, all the candidates will be given equal opportunity to vote and go home.”

Those on the President’s entourage to Edo included Vice-President Namadi Sambo; PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur; and state chairman, Chief Dan Orbih.

Others included the Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Seriaki Dickson (Bayelsa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River) and Idris Wada (Kogi).