$9.3m Deal: Presidential Panel Clears Oritsejafor, Dokubo-Asari of Involvement

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor

The Presidential Panel of Investigation set up to ascertain the level of involvement of the President of the Christian Association of the Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, and former Niger-Delta militant, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, in the botched $9.3 million arms deal in South Africa has cleared both men of culpability.

This was disclosed on Tuesday by PRNigeria, quoting authoritative sources and saying that the secret panel cleared the CAN President while also dismissing allegations that Dokubo-Asari was on the flight.

According to the source: “A special team, comprising security agents, intelligence experts and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has investigated the $9.3 million cash-for- arms deal and submitted its report to the presidency.

“The committee confirmed that the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Oritsejafor, had no connection with the transaction.

“It was true that the CAN President’s jet was used but we found out that it was without his knowledge. As at the time in question, the aircraft was on lease. And you may be aware that the lease trend is peculiar to private jet owners in the country.”

A private aircraft belonging to Oritsejafor last month conveyed some unnamed persons and cash to South Africa, meant for the purchase of arms from the black market,  to help bolster Nigeria’s counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts in three states of the North-east

This, however, led to widespread speculations in the media and sentiments being expressed by politicians on the issue in Nigeria.

According to reports, three individuals on board whose identity has not been disclosed to date, were subsequently briefly detained in South-Africa while the cash was confiscated by that country’s financial authorities.

However, there were insinuations that Niger Delta activist, Dokubo-Asari was one of those who flew in the plane.

“It is the view of the committee that Oritsejafor cannot be held liable for any shuttle made by a lease firm.

“As for the manifest of the plane, the committee also discovered that Dokubo-Asari was not among those on board the aircraft. There was no mention of Dokubo-Asari in the manifest presented during the investigation,” the source noted.

The source also expressed surprise that the matter was made public by South African authorities in the first place since an end user certificate duly signed by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA)  was presented by those who were on the plane.

The source said: “The committee’s findings revealed that the ONSA has the statutorily and legitimately mandate to issue end-user certificate for such arms transactions. The imputations surrounding the role of the ONSA were unfounded, baseless and ill-motivated.

“The decision of South Africa to return $15million to Nigeria lent credence to the legality of the transaction. Certainly, Nigeria had no case to answer.”

THISDAY

In Presidential Declaration, Kwankwaso Shows He’s Progressive Conservative

•  Buhari’s loyalists storm rally

Kano State Governor, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso, yesterday formally declared his interest to vie for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and unveiled a manifesto that was progressive conservative in outlook, a shade different from the promises made by his colleagues in the APC.
Key among his promises was to instill fiscal discipline if elected into office.
What appeared to be a sign of the possible understanding between two of the APC aspirants was also evident, as loyalists of former military Head of State, Major-General Muhamnadu Buhari (rtd), stormed Kwankwaso’s declaration rally yesterday in a show of solidarity.
Kwankwaso, who declared his interest at the old parade ground in Abuja, became the third aspirant to emerge on the platform of APC.
Addressing a large crowd of party supporters, Kwankwaso said he would give the country a functional economy with the active participation of the private sector and the collaboration of international partners and friends.
The Kano governor, who sounded very much like a centre-right ideologue instead of a progressive politician, said part of his vision for Nigeria is to ensure that the country gradually achieves a capital to recurrent budget ratio of at least 70 per cent to 30 per cent within his first three years in office.
“In Kano State, we have one of the best records of fiscal discipline in the country. This has been acknowledged severally by reputable institutions and numerous credible professional bodies and civil society organisations, which have honoured the state at different occasions.
“This is our vision for Nigeria. Our plan for Nigeria is to gradually achieve a capital to recurrent budget ratio of at least 70 per cent to 30 per cent within our first three years in office. We will cut the cost of running government and eliminate all forms of wastages like we have done in Kano. It is possible. It is achievable,” he said.
According to him, no country can have a functional economy without the active participation of the “private sector and the collaboration of our international partners and friends”.
He explained that cutting the cost of business would be one of the instruments his administration must use to create a conducive environment for both local and foreign investors.
“Our import and export policies shall be re-examined to make business easier and less expensive. Several other issues that make private sector operations difficult and expensive will be reviewed.
“The gains achieved in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors will be improved upon. We cannot build a formidable economy without a sustainable energy source. Our country’s investments in power and the corresponding output is, to say the least, embarrassing.

The independent power project we initiated in Kano State, which is expected to be completed in March 2015, will be generating 35MW of electricity,” he said.
Kwankwaso, whose speech drew applause from the audience, said the strength of any economy depends on the quality, competence, fitness and morale of the available human resources that drive it.
According to the governor, Nigeria’s education and health sectors are faced with multi-throng crises of quality, quantity, infrastructure, equipment and brain drain.
“At the heart of these crises are policy and sincerity. We must remake our national education and health policies to provide for a sustainable lifeline of funding for these very critical sectors of our national life,” he said.
Kwankwaso, who attacked the transformation policies of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led federal government as being a total disaster, said the key priority for the country is the killing of the cancer of corruption.
“The fiscal policy of the present administration is more than disastrous. Its micro and macroeconomic policies are as vacuous as they are deceptive. Budget performance is more than qualified to be in the Guinness’ Book of World Records of fiscal indiscipline and poor performance.
“How can we attain development when only a tiny percentage of our budget is allocated for capital projects and even that is not properly implemented? How can we grow when the wealth of the nation is being stolen by the very trustees of the wealth? Where on this planet do we have a nation so endowed and yet again so impoverished?
“That is why we must rally around and replace this present PDP government with a progressive and responsive APC administration under my stewardship,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the APC governors, Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi said having worked with his Kano State counterpart, he believed that Kwankwaso is a good man.
According to him, the governors would stand by their position that they would back whoever among the presidential aspirants of the party emerges victorious at the convention.
Also addressing the rally, Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari said from what was happening within APC, the last two weeks showed that the party really has what it takes to take over governance in the country come 2015.
He said there was every indication from the solidarity being shown amongst the aspirants and leaders of the APC that come the presidential convention, the party would emerge a united entity.
According to Yari, the party leadership has decided to create a level playing field for all of its aspirants to participate in the primaries without any rancour.
But even as the Zamfara governor spoke of solidarity among the contestants, the campaign team of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar was conspicuously absent from the Kwankwaso rally, thus casting a question mark on the claim.
What was noticeable at yesterday’s rally was the presence of Buhari’s supporters, including those from among the party leadership comprising the National Vice-Chairman for North-east, Mr. B.D Lawal, Buhari’s Campaign Chief, Audu Ogbeh, as well as many members of the National Assembly.
The presence confirmed speculations that the two aspirants from the North-west may be heading for a consensus arrangement ahead of the presidential convention of the APC.
Chairman of the rally, Prince Audu Abubakar, in his welcome address, said he was representing all the former governors, saying: “The difference is clear because Kwankwaso served in many capacities.”
He said by 2015, the governor would be inaugurated president of Nigeria. Abubakar said Kwankwaso’s candidacy provided an opportunity for Nigerians to re-write the history of the country, adding that the Kano governor’s rich experience speaks loudly for itself.
Most of the speakers at the declaration made reference to Kwankwaso’s stewardship as governor of the largest state in the north by population.
Present at the declaration were Governors Amaechi, Yari, and Babatunde Fashola (Lagos). Others included former Ekiti Governor Kayode Fayemi, Adamawa gubernatorial candidate, Senator Bindo, former National Chairman of the PDP Kawu Baraje, Mai Bala Buni, National Women’s Leader, National Youth Leader, Dasuki Jalo Waziri, National Treasurer, Mohammed Bala, and former Minister of Mines and Steel, Senator Kabiru Gaya
The old parade ground was almost filled to capacity, as supporters of the Kano State governor thronged the place waving banners and beating drums.

THISDAY

PDP Tells Tambuwal to Resign, APC Hails Defection

•  House adjourns till Dec 3, awaits court’s verdict on cross-carpeting  • Gbajabiamila, Ogor: He remains speaker

Chuks Okocha, Muhammad Bello and Onyebuchi Ezigbo
Following the defection of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressive Congress (APC),  yesterday, the ruling party has demanded that the speaker does the honourable thing by resigning his leadership post in the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
But in a swift riposte, the APC hailed his decision to cross carpet, insisting that Tambuwal remained the speaker. The opposition party stressed that both the constitution and a political precedent supported Tambuwal’s continued leadership in the House.
Ending months of speculation, Tambuwal finally defected to the APC on the floor of the House yesterday, shortly after which the House adjourned sitting till December 3 to forestall any attempts by the federal government and PDP to remove him from office.
Although the rumours of Tambuwal’s defection had made the rounds in recent weeks, his eventual defection hit the ruling PDP in the gut yesterday, forcing its National Working Committee (NWC) to call an emergency meeting to review the development.
PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh, asked Tambuwal to do the needful, as the PDP holds the majority in the House of Representatives.
The party said: “After a thorough consideration of the matter, the NWC came to the conclusion that the Honourable Speaker, as a responsible elected officer, knows full well what is needful and honourable of him since his new party is in the minority.
“We are not unmindful of the fact that Hon. Tambuwal became speaker on the platform of the PDP as the political party with the majority of seats in the House of Representatives and that this incontrovertible fact has not changed.”
Also, joining the call for his resignation, the Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, asked Tambuwal to resign as the honourable man that he is.
“He should do the needful, as there is no crisis in the PDP. Right from time, Tambuwal has only been a member of PDP only by mouth. He has been associating with the opposition.
“The PDP is in the majority in the House and the constitution says that the speaker of the House of Representatives should come from the majority party.
“There is no crisis in PDP as a political party,” Akpabio stressed.
However, the opposition party, the major beneficiary of his defection, expectedly rose to Tambuwal’s defence as it welcomed the  development, arguing that it would give the opposition the opportunity to enthrone checks and balances in governance.
Speaking to THISDAY in Abuja, APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the speaker’s defection to the APC had opened an opportunity for the party to aim for greater heights ahead of the 2015 general election.
“I must say that this historic development means that our democracy is growing by the day and it is dynamic. On a more serious note, we welcome the defection of Tambuwal to APC. With this defection, APC has now taken the leadership of one arm of the national legislature.
“We think that having the head of the legislature from the opposition party makes for a balanced setting in government and it’s good for democracy,” he said.
He admonished all those who were expecting Tambuwal to quit his position as speaker to go down history lane to understand the workings of the legislature.
The APC spokesman recalled that in 1983, the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) did not have the majority in the National Assembly and so entered into an accord with the defunct Nigerian Peoples Party  (NPP), and the ruling party at the time shared the leadership of both arms of the National Assembly.
“When the accord concordia broke down, the then Speaker, Chief Edwin Umezoke, did not relinquish his position. Those who are saying this has not happened before and that Tambuwal should step aside as speaker, do not have the  backing of history and the constitution,” he said.
In the same vein, the APC caucus in the House, led by the Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, stated: “We welcome and applaud the speaker’s decision.
“Ever since this crisis started in PDP, which led to the formation of New PDP and the defection of the five PDP governors and 37 PDP members of the House of Representatives to the APC and formal merger of the New PDP with the APC, we had all along known and hoped that this day will come.
“We are proud to acknowledge that the speaker remains not only a member of the House of Representatives but also its speaker. This position is consistent with the law and practice in a presidential system of government and Nigeria is no different. For the avoidance of doubt, the constitution requires only that the speaker or deputy speaker of the House of Representatives shall be elected by members of that House from among themselves.
“Right Honourable Waziri Tambuwal has been a speaker for all the members of the House and all the political parties and for all Nigerians. I’m sure keen observers of activities on the floor and people who follow the House of Representatives would bear witness to the fact that Honourable Tambuwal has been a bridge-builder, he has cut across party lines and he has always put national interest in the fore front of all his decisions and his activities on the floor of the House.
“I believe and we trust that even with this switch to the All Progressives Congress, he would continue to do that and keep faith with that principle.
“As a caucus, we pledge our continued support to the current leadership of the House of Representatives. We will not do anything to destabilise the institution of the House of Representatives so that it would continue to deliver on the mandate given to its members by Nigerians.
“More than ever before, there is need for vigilance and focus on the concerns of Nigerian people, who elected all of us.”
Many, however, believed that the long adjournment till December 3 was a deft move by Tambuwal aimed at letting all the dust arising from his defection to settle before resumption of plenary.
Giving reasons for his defection, the speaker said he left the PDP due to political consideration for his state, Sokoto, and his political forage in the future.
According to him, the decision to leave the PDP and join the APC was based on the constitution and political developments in Sokoto, where its governor, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, had also left the PDP for APC.
Tambuwal said: “Based on our extant laws and the provisions of our Constitution, and having regard for the political developments in my state, I hereby announce my membership of the All Progressives Congress.”
He thanked his colleagues who had stood by him in days gone by as a member of the PDP and also speaker of the House and urged all of them to remain steadfast in the days ahead as they “work together to further the common good of our dear nation”.
However, Deputy Majority Leader in the House, Hon. Leo Ogor, yesterday dismissed the misconception that the adjournment of the House till December 3 was done to forestall Tambuwal’s removal.
“That has nothing to do with his defection.  He stated clearly that the essence is to go for the oversight functions and for the House to adequately prepare for the presentation of the budget.
“You are also mindful of the fact that there are primaries before us.
It behoves all of us to do the needful to make sure that those who want to come back, should have the opportunity to work towards that,” he said.
Ogor added that the House as an institution would await the verdict of the judiciary on the legality or otherwise of a legislator defecting from one party to another.
Ogor however insisted that the PDP was still in control of the House and would keep a keen watch on Tambuwal’s antics as the presiding officer.
“First, I think, like I always emphasise, what happened today was quite unexpected. But again, that decision was a personal decision and has no major implication on our political party.
“The PDP members of the House will look at the situation and take a position in respect of the defection,” he said.
The lawmaker re-echoed the unresolved legal argument of whether those who defect from their parties can retain their seats in the legislature.
“He is gone, fine. And he emphasised that his decision borders on his local politics. That borders on the interest of his people and his constituency. But all said and done, he came through a political party which was PDP, so by the provision of Section (68)(g) of the constitution, which is still before a court of jurisdiction, we await the ruling of the court on the matter,” he said.
Ogor added that the opportunity had been presented for the judiciary to rule on the matter quickly, saying: “Justice delayed is justice denied.
“That this subject matter before them, behoves them to make the necessary interpretations so that we can lay this issue to rest in respect of defection. It is extremely important. But for us as members of the PDP, we believe that we will continue carrying on the responsibilities of our party.”
On the purported removal of the speaker, he explained: “I think we need to be mindful of the constitution. According to the constitution, you would need two-thirds majority to remove a sitting speaker. Do we (PDP) have two-thirds? That is another matter we need to ponder over.
“We will face the party and give our explanations, but I can assure you that the party’s interest will be fully protected.
“Let me emphasise here that the speaker has left. But because he has gone does not mean that the PDP does not control the House. He sits down there as the presiding officer, we run the affairs of the House and as people who control the House. So we must go the extra mile to protect the interest of our party.  We are not going to lose sleep because Tambuwal defected to the APC,” Ogor noted.
He added: “He has gone to APC, he has a political interest in his constituency. His constituency has told him that this is the party under which he can win election. Based on that, we will wish him good luck.”
In the meantime, the APC will formally welcome its latest big catch Tambuwal into its fold at today’s extraordinary convention in Abuja.

THISDAY

FIFA Releases 2014 Ballon D’or Shortlist

FIFA Releases 2014 Ballon D’or Shortlist

The current African footballer of the year, Yaya Toure has been shortlisted along side twenty-two others for the 2014 Ballon D’or in January.

The cote D’ivoire and Manchester city midfielder is the only African player to make the twenty-three man list revealed by the world football governing body, FIFA on Tuesday.

Six members of the Germany world cup winning squared are included in the FIFA shortlist for the coveted awards.

Current holder of the Ballon D’or Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are favourite to claim the 2013/2014 prestigious individual award.

Other notable names shortlisted are of Diego Costa of Chelsea, Neymar of Barcelona, Zlanta Ibrahimovic of Paris Saint Germain, Eden Hazard of Chelsea, Thomas Mueller and Arjen Robben both from Bayern Munich.

The twenty-three men shortlisted will be reduced to three in December before the winner is announced in Zurich on January 12^th, 2015.

The following 23 men (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2014:

Gareth Bale (Wales), Karim Benzema (France), Diego Costa (Spain), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Angel Di Maria (Argentina), Mario Goetze (Germany), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Toni Kroos (Germany), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Javier Mascherano (Argentina), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Mueller (Germany), Manuel Neuer (Germany), Neymar (Brazil), Paul Pogba (France), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Arjen Robben (Netherlands), James Rodriguez (Colombia), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Yaya Toure (Côte d’Ivoire).

AIT

Zambian President Michael Sata Dies In London Aged 77

Zambian President Michael Sata has died at the age of 77 after receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness, the government says.

President Sata, who was being treated in the UK, died in London’s King Edward VII hospital on Tuesday night.

Media said that he died after “a sudden onset [of] heightened heart rate”.

It is not immediately clear who will succeed the president. The issue may be decided by the Zambian cabinet which meets on Wednesday morning.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing on of our beloved president,” cabinet secretary Roland Msiska said.

His death comes just days after Zambia celebrated the 50th anniversary of independence from the UK.

Earlier this month reports in Zambia said that President Sata had gone abroad for a medical check-up amid persistent speculation that he was seriously ill.

After he left the country, Defence Minister Edgar Lungu was named as acting president.

Vice-President Guy Scott has regularly stood in for the president at official events. But he is of Scottish descent and his parents were not born in Zambia, so he may fall foul of a constitutional clause on parentage which would nullify his candidacy.

Known as “King Cobra” for his venomous tongue, Mr Sata was elected Zambia’s president in 2011.

AIT