Obasanjo plotting my extradition to US, says Kashamu

Buruji Kashamu

A Peoples Democratic Party chieftain in Ogun State and the Ogun East senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of working with local and foreign security agencies to extradite him to the United States of America through illegal means.

Buruji said Obasanjo was involved in the alleged plot to extradite him to the United States over drug-related indictment in the US because of the defeat the former President had suffered in the PDP.

The senator-elect, through his lawyer, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, said this in a petition to the National Human Rights Commission, seeking investigation into the alleged plan to abduct him and forcibly extradite him to the US.

The petition, dated April 15, 2015 and addressed to the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Prof. Bem Angwe, was entitled, “Prince Buruji Kashamu: Abduction plans by United States of America’s agents in collaboration with law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.”

“The current plan to abduct him (Kashamu) is an admission by the US authorities that there is no case against him and is a design instigated and commissioned by Obasanjo who seeks revenge against him for the comprehensive political defeat Obasanjo suffered because of Kashamu in the PDP,” Oluyede wrote.

Oluyede urged the NHRC to urgently intervene “in accordance with the jurisdiction expressly given to your commission by the National Human Rights Act 1995 as amended to carry out an inquiry into the matter in order to establish the culpability and compromise of certain institution in this despicable plan and to protect our client’s fundamental human right to liberty, life and dignity of his person.”

Kashamu said despite previous court decisions both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom exonerating him of the alleged offences, “desperate politicians” were still mounting pressure on the Attorney General of the Federation to resuscitate the US indictment against him in Nigeria and extradite him to the US.

Oluyede, however, said that the pressure on the AGF did not work because the US authorities had never made a request for Kashamu to be extradited to the US as required by the Extradition Treaty with the US and Nigeria, as well as the Nigerian extradition law.

The petition read further, “Kashamu’s enquiry revealed that indeed there had been moves by US officials within the region to secure the assistance of the head of the INTERPOL division in Nigeria, Mr. Solomon Arase, a Deputy Inspector General of Police, for the arrest and delivery to the US officials of Kashamu for transportation to the US without following the due process required by the Nigeria Extradition Act.

“Mr. Kashamu’s informant revealed that Arase has confirmed that one Donna Chabot approached him in January 2015. The said Ms Chabot is an attache with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the American Embassy route Des Almedies BP 49 Dakar Senegal and requested that INTERPOL Nigeria assist in the abduction of Kashamu for the purpose of his forcible transportation to the US to face trial before Judge Norgel.”

Lack of internal democracy caused PDP’s defeat – Nnaji

A lawyer and former National Auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Ray Nnaji

A former National Auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Ray Nnaji, on Sunday faulted calls for the removal of the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, following the party’s dismal outing in the 2015 general elections.

“Lack of internal democracy in PDP was the cause of the woeful outing in the general elections,” he said.

Nnaji, who spoke to our correspondent in Enugu, Enugu State, stressed that PDP “elders” who contributed to the defection of five governors to the All Progressives Congress should be blamed for the party’s failure in the presidential poll as well as the other electoral defeats the party suffered.

He accused the PDP elders, who he did not name, of not allowing internal democracy to thrive in the party.

He said the Mu’azu-led PDP national executive committee should not be blamed for the party’s failure in the presidential poll.

Nnaji, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone, equally noted that all members of the PDP should share in the blame for the party’s poor outing in the general elections.

He said, “The fact that the party failed woefully in the elections should not be attributed just to the national chairman or the national executive committee.

“Everybody should share in the blame. Remember that before he (Mu’azu) came in, there was crisis in the party.

“The people that should be blamed are the elders who allowed five governors to decamp to the APC; that move nailed the coffin of the PDP.

“Such a thing has never happened anywhere in the world. So, all those who contributed to the defection of the five governors should be blamed.

“If those five governors had not left, the opposition would not have been strong enough to effectively challenge PDP in the elections.”

Nnaji, however, noted that the development was good for the country’s democracy as well as the fortunes of the PDP.

According to him, it is an opportunity for the party to know its true members and those he described as “saboteurs. “

“There is nothing static in life except change; it is also an opportunity for the party to know who is a true member. Some people are saboteurs, they pretend to be genuine members but in truth they are not.

“The leadership of the party should not be left to people who are only interested in lining their pockets,” he added.

Nnaji suggested that the Mu’azu-led NEC should be given a chance to revive the party’s fortunes.

“The leadership of the party should not be crucified; they should be given the opportunity to redefine the party so that it could become a credible opposition that can wrest power from APC in 2019.

“This is possible because some of the people that caused problems in PDP are now in APC and surely they will also cause problems in APC,” he said.

Also, the Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Enugu State, Dr. Okey Eze, said calls for Muazu’s removal were belated since the party had already lost the presidential election.

“It is not necessary to call for his (Mu’azu’s) removal now because in a no distant time there will be a congress. It is already a belated call because the elections have come and gone,” Eze said.

But he went ahead to describe Mu’azu’s failure to deliver his state (Bauchi) as “unfortunate”.

Eze said, “It is unfortunate that he could not deliver his state. He tried his best but the level of opposition was too much. He came in with a lot of expectations, and with a loud ovation. He came in when there was absolute need for a change in the party. But be that as it may, what has happened has happened.”

APC NEC to ratify zoning of N’Assembly posts this week

President-elect, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari

The National Executive Committee of the All Peoples Congress will meet this week to ratify the zoning of key posts in the National Assembly.

The National Working Committee of the party , which rose from a meeting in the early hours of Saturday, had zoned key offices like the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

But findings in Abuja on Sunday showed that the NWC   agreed that the Senate President should be zoned to the North Central.

The decision has now left Senate Minority Leader, George Akume from Benue State and   Bukola Saraki ( Kwara State) as the two front liners for the post.

However, investigations indicated that the decision on the zoning of the position of speaker was not very clear , as influential political figures from both the North and the South are allegedly scheming to have their candidates assume the seat.

The development led to two separate accounts on what exactly transpired at the NWC on the position of speaker.

One early account claimed that the post was zoned to the North-East.

But, a second account insisted that as of the time the meeting ended on Saturday morning, it had been resolved that the South-West should take the speaker’s slot.

By this account, the post of Deputy Speaker was reportedly zoned to the South-South.

We learnt that to achieve this arrangement, the post of Deputy Senate President was also zoned to the North-East.

This implies that while the North will be in charge of the Senate, the South will control the House.

A top   National Assembly official in Abuja said, “This is the way things stand, looking at the general direction of the negotiations.

“What is most important though is that, all of this is actually in principle.

“It is the NEC that will have the final say in this week. It then means that a lot of lobbying and wooing by both the North-East and the South-West will take place this week ahead of the NEC”,

It was gathered that should the South-West push its way through at the NEC, House Minority Leader,   Femi Gbajabiamila, would likely emerge as the speaker of the 8th House.

Gbajabiamila (Lagos State), a lawyer and fourth-time member of the House , had also served as Deputy Minority Leader in the 6th Assembly.

He has been largely regarded by his colleagues as the “leading voice of the opposition” since 2003.

The National Assembly source added, “But, if the North-East takes it, the man to watch is   Yakubu Dogara (Bauchi State).

“He has a lawmaker from Borno State, Mr. Mohammed Monguno, as his rival in the zone.

“Much again depends on what the NEC will ratify, between Deputy Senate President and House Speaker as the position zoned to the North-East.”

Investigations revealed that the APC was guarding the process “cautiously “ to avoid a possible revolt by the younger and mostly independent -minded members of the House, who might choose not to toe the party’s line.

“In 2011, the current Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal (North-West) , emerged against the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party to zone the seat to the South-West.

“The APC is being careful to avoid a repeat scenario, where members will vote in a direction different from the party’s,” the official said.

When contacted, House spokesman and member of the APC,   Zakari Mohammed, confirmed that decisions had been reached on zoning.

He added, “Certain decisions were reached, but you see, there is still NEC ahead.

“We should wait for the NEC to ratify and come up with a decision to avoid unnecessary speculation”, Mohammed.

We gathered that despite the fact of the NWC narrowing the position of speaker to between the South-West and the North-East, Chairman, House committee on Finance,   Abdulmumin Jibrin (North-West) was still campaigning for the job.

For example, Jibrin, who is from Kano State, is scheduled to meet with newly-elected members this week in Abuja.

Others in the race are   Pally Iriase (Edo State); . Ajibola Famurewa (Osun);   Mojeed Alabi (Osun); and   Mohammed Monguno.

North-West rejects Chief Whip slot in senate

Senators from the North- West may have rejected the position of Chief Whip allegedly allotted to the   zone by the APC caucus in the Senate on Thursday.

It was learnt on Sunday that Senators from the   zone   met immediately after the enlarged meeting and rejected the positions allotted to them.

One of the senators eye witnesses on Sunday that his colleagues were not happy because others wanted to short-change them because the President -elect is from their geo – political zone.

However, when contacted, a senator from the zone, Kabir Marafa (Zamfara Central ), said he could not speak on an issue that had not been decided upon by the party.

Buhari group, Presidency clash over Jonathan’s transition team

Meanwhile, the APC     Presidential Campaign Organisation and the Presidency on Sunday clashed over the composition of the   transition committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan.

While the APC PCO described the committee as trickish, the Presidency said it was senseless for anyone to complain about it.

The Jonathan transition   committee   is expected to meet with the one to be constituted by the President-elect,   Muhammadu Buhari, ahead of the May 29 inauguration of the new administration.

It was reported exclusively that the Jonathan transition committee would be headed by Vice-President Namadi Sambo and that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, would serve as its secretary.

But the APC PCO, in an article on Sunday by its Director, Media and Communication, Garba Shehu, flayed the   Jonathan committee, saying it is made up people who represent   “the worst of our prejudices.”

It therefore advised   the   incoming Buhari administration to be careful about its choice of people who would constitute its own version of its   committee.

The APC PCO stated, “The President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has earned an incredibly high amount of goodwill following his acceptance of the outcome of the election, which itself had the effect of de-escalating tensions not just among Nigerians but all over the continent.

“But the President’s committee on transition and handover looks to be a trickish one. It seems to be like one drawn to ‘massage’ the numbers and ensure safety for ‘team Jonathan.’ “Some names on that list have certainly made the eyes pop out of their sockets. In the President’s list, you have men and women who reflect the worst of our prejudices; men and women who have made themselves the mouthpieces for everything regressive.

“This is one reason why the President-elect Buhari and his party cannot be too careful on choosing who they will give their part of the assignment to.

There is no room for complacency in doing this either.

Nothing that puts the incoming government at a risk should be allowed to happen.”

It suggested   that the committee to be set up by Buhari should be peopled by technocrats and not politicians.

The APC PCO   warned that including politicians in the Buhari’s committee “may compromise the ability of the incoming government to get a full understanding of the issues(on the ground).”

It added,   “Technocrats will on the other hand come in from a detached and hopefully, unbiased standpoint.

“Without preconceived ideas or mindset, a well-chosen set of technocrats may help unravel the rot that has eaten deep into the oil and maritime sectors, two money spinners, yet hemorrhaging government departments that are adequately represented in Dr. Jonathan’s transition team.”

The organisation pointed out that   the successful take-off of the new administration would be determined by the quality of its handover committee.

It said, “Buhari’s emergence as President has already unleashed an upsurge of patriotic zealotry and strong sense of probity and accountability that is flaring and sharpening with each day.

“It is, therefore, important for the country that both   Buhari and the party have agreed that a good step to the successful take-off of the new administration is one that is defined by the quality of its handover team, itself driven by knowledge and experience and certainly not by patronage.”

“We have our respect for politicians.

After all, they are the ones who led the party to this overwhelming mandate.

But if they are given this job, they won’t be as incisive as is needful.

Let us not underrate or under-estimate the amount of damage that has been done to national institutions, the economy and politics by the 16-year mismanagement of the country by the Peoples Democratic Party. It is the combined effect of their unseriousness, shortcomings and their mistakes that have reduced the once dominant ruling party to a paltry minority stakeholder in the states and the National Assembly following these elections.

“What will work for the incoming administration and for the best interest of the nation is a strong set of committees, drawing heavily from experts in the several fields and a set of good, independent auditors.”

But the   Presidency, through the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity,   Reuben Abati,   said Shehu’s statement     amounted to “unnecessary busybody commenting.”

According to Abati, Shehu probably did not understand the composition of a transition committee and therefore   could not have been speaking for his principal.

He said, “He (Shehu) probably does not understand what the composition of a transition committee is all about.

“His statement amounts to unnecessary busybody commenting because the transition committee on our side is supposed to prepare the handover notes and to ensure that they are properly done.

“Then on Gen. Buhari’s side, there is another transition committee whose job is to collect the transition notes, review the notes and ask relevant questions to see if there are needs for clarifications.

“Candidly, if he is complaining about the composition of the transition committee, it does not make any sense to me. He probably did not speak for his principal.

“I really don’t see the basis for what he had said.

Complaining of the composition does not make sense at all.”

S’Africa attacks: Nigerians lose N21m, says envoy

Zimbabweans moving their belongings from a temporary refugee camp in Chatsworth, South of Durban in South Africa before boarding a bus back to their country... on Sunday

Nigerian Consul-General in South Africa, Amb. Uche Ajulu-Okeke, said on Sunday that Nigerians lost more than N21m Rand (1.2m) in the on-going xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

Ajulu-Okeke told the News Agency of Nigeria by phone from Johannesburg, South Africa, that the loss included looted shops, burnt shops, two burnt mechanic workshops, 11 burnt cars and two stolen cars, among others.

“Nigerians have compiled the cost of the damage to their property and it is totalling about 1.2m Rand or N21m, which will be sent to the Federal Government for further action,” the ambassador said.

She said that two of the three Nigerians who were wounded during the attacks in Durban had been treated and discharged from the hospital.

The consul-general said that she would go back to Durban to assess the situation on ground and meet with the provincial authority on the security of Nigerians in that province.

She said, “The Nigerian mission in South Africa is on top of the situation. We are working hard to protect Nigerians in South Africa.

“Though the task has not been easy but we are trying our best. In one of the hot spots at Jeppe, near Johannesburg, the mission assisted about 50 stranded Nigerians to re-settle.

“I have also visited the site of the attacks in Johannesburg to assess the damage and it was enormous.”

She said the Nigerian mission would meet with the Nigerian union chapters in the nine provinces of South Africa to devise means of checking further attacks.

“I am bringing all Nigerians together so that we work out a vigilance and alert mechanism; they will also tell me what their challenges and issues are,’’ she said.

Okeke said the mission and the Nigerian Union had been working together to meet the challenges caused by the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians.

My plea for forgiveness not cowardice –Fayose

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose

The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said his asking for forgiveness should not be taken for cowardice by his opponents, saying his tenure in office will be determined by God.

He said he took the step to seek a genuine reconciliation with the All Progressives Congress, whose 19 lawmakers in the state House of Assembly were plotting his impeachment.

The governor spoke on Sunday at the thanksgiving service organised for him at the Cathedral Church of Emmanuel, Anglican Communion, Ado Ekiti, to celebrate his electoral victory at the Supreme Court.

Fayose said, “I asked for forgiveness for reconciliation and to pursue genuine peace. Waiving the olive branch does not mean cowardice, it is for peace.

“Conspiracy is against God’s will. What better way could one seek peace other than asking for forgiveness.”

The governor advised the APC to emulate President Goodluck Jonathan who conceded defeat and saved Nigeria from disintegrating.

“When I contested for Senate they said I lost and I did not fight anyone. I did not go to the tribunal and I was saying good things about the government then. The opposition should be courageous enough to accept defeat. I follow Jonathan in and out of office. Jonathan gave up for survival of Nigeria. Jonathan prevented the prophecy that Nigeria would break up in 2015.

“I’m enjoying the mandate of God through his people and that cannot be controverted. My sin is because I allowed the common man to breathe the air of hope.

“The people have spoken (governorship election), they said it was military intervention. They spoke the second term (presidential election), is that one photochromic? And they spoke again the third time (House of Assembly election).

“If God that gave me victory cannot defend me, I better go home. If the people cannot defend the mandate they gave to me, I better go home. Power doesn’t come from man. Power belongs to God. Anyone against the voice of God is following Satan’s way.

“In a democracy, you need a simple majority to win elections, but I enjoy total majority. They want to take government by force, firing shots at people; that is coup against the people. They said they are coming again tomorrow, we are waiting for them.”

But the APC lawmakers advised Fayose to stop inciting the people, saying his Sunday broadcast had demonstrated that he was not committed to genuine reconciliation.

The APC lawmakers in a statement on Sunday accused the governor of inciting the people against them in the broadcast.

A statement by the Special Adviser on Media to Speaker Adewale Omirin, Wole Olujobi, said the governor in his broadcast demonstrated that he was never committed to the peace he preached barely 24 hours before his inciting broadcast.

“How do you reconcile this inciting broadcast with a plea he made for peace not quite 24 hours earlier, which Ekiti people and indeed Nigerians thought was a good move by the governor to thaw the frozen relationship between him and the lawmakers?

“This is a confirmation of what Dr. Omirin said in his Sunday Punch interview that the governor can’t be trusted in any peace move.

“It is shocking that the governor, who refused to make any remark or commitment during the church service after the man of God appealed to him to embrace peace, could go on air few minutes after the church service to start inciting workers, traders, okada riders and artisans to defend him with their last drop of blood.

“As if his inciting live broadcast was not enough, Ekiti people were shocked when a public service announcement started running intermittently on the state media urging okada riders to look out for strange faces across the state and attack them because they are thugs that are being imported into the state by the APC lawmakers.

“They are also to converge on the House of Assembly as early as 6am on Monday to prevent the lawmakers from performing their legal duties,” the statement added.

Stressing that they were not planning any invasion of the state with thugs, the lawmakers called the attention of Nigerians to the unlawful acts of the governor in his desperate move to ensure that the lawmakers were rendered ineffective in the discharge of their lawful duties.

‘Scrap N100bn foreign scholarships’

Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd)

The Commonwealth Youth Council has urged the President-elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to abolish foreign scholarships in the country after he assumes office on May 29.

In a statement issued by the CYC chairperson, Ahmed Adamu, in London on Saturday, the council said close to N100bn is spent on foreign scholarships annually by the Federal Government.

According to Adamu, who is also an economic expert, the expenditure had resulted in the abuse of the naira and triggered devaluation of the currency.

He said, “This figure is extremely higher when adding the cost of other self-sponsored foreign education programmes and I am using this medium to call on the Nigerian President-elect to consider this as one of the immediate policies he will adopt in the first 100 days in office.

“Nigerians and other internationals studying in United Kingdom contribute 2.3 per cent to Britain’s Gross Domestic Product growth and their patronages contribute 2.6 per cent to the overall UK employment. How different are foreign universities from Nigerian universities?

“We may talk about access to energy, Information Technology, resources, facilities, conducive atmosphere and efficiency, but all these can be provided in all Nigerian universities with the savings that will eventuate from abolishing foreign scholarships. If you divide N100 billion by the number of federal universities, you will see that each university will get N2.5 billion a year.”

About the N2tn spent on elections –Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday said there was no truth in a report that he and the Peoples Democratic Party spent N2tn for campaigns ahead of the just-concluded general elections.

He also denied setting up a committee to conduct an audit of how the elections funds were disbursed by party members and state officials.

Jonathan made the clarification in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.

Abati was reacting to a story of theSUNDAY PUNCH of April 19 titled, “Jonathan demands N2tn election funds refund, audit.”

He described the report as “mischievous, false and embarrassing.”

The presidential spokesman said with the country’s budget being a little above N4tn, the story suggested that half of the federal budget was spent on elections.

This insinuation, he argued, was meant to incite the public and instigate a national crisis.

Abati said the Presidency was worried that since the March 28 and April 11 elections, some persons had continued to work very hard to diminish the Jonathan Presidency.

He said such people needed to be reminded that the time for politics was over and it is time to focus on the in-coming government, with emphasis on national development.

The statement partly read, “The front-page story of the Sunday Punch of April 19 alleging that the Presidency spent a whopping N2tn on the 2015 general elections, and that a Committee of Five has been set up by President Jonathan to conduct an audit of how the funds were disbursed by party members and state officials is mischievous, false and embarrassing.

“The President has not set up any committee as alleged in that story. It is also not true that the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party used state funds, or spent N2tn on the campaigns. The innuendoes are wrong-headed; the motives behind the story are suspicious.”