Trouble in Communities around Benin City on Land matters

Friday, 1 November 2013

Rival groups Killed many, burnt down cars & houses in Edo state over land dispute. (Photos) courtesy www.allaroundgist.com

Property worth millions of naira have been destroyed in Okhuoromi Community in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State following a clash by two rival groups. Indigenes flew their homes and the community have been deserted following a disagreement between a member of the community and the youth chairman of the community over the laying of foundation on a new plot of land. The situation degenerated into a quarrel which led to the destruction of lives and properties.

The youth chairman, Prince Eware Erese, narrated the ordeal, He said : "They came to my house with almost about 20 cars and started shooting, they killed about three people and one of them is my own brother, the same father and the same mother with me, and i have not seen the PRO whom they took away"

An indigene of the community, Mrs Evelyn Obadiaru, said her aged parents were thrown out of their house and the house burnt down. She added that her aged parents were later found hiding in the bush. Several persons have been confirmed dead, some severely injured in the hospital while others are still missing.

Meanwhile Capt. Roselyn Managbe, the APRO of 4 Brigade Nigeria Army, said the army received a distress call but before they got there, the damage has already been done.

Edo Politics at play; Oshiomhole/Ikimi vs Anenih/Onolememen in Edo

Oshiomhole/Ikimi vs Anenih/Onolememen in Edo

• Written by  Banji Aluko
• Wednesday, 16 October 2013 00:00
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On paper, it is about the conduct of election into just one local government, where previous attempt to conduct election like the rest of other 17 local government areas of Edo State twice failed.
But there is more to it in real terms as respect, recognition and relevance are all for grab on Tuesday, writes Banji Aluko.
IT is now more than five months that representative government returned to local governments in Edo State, except for Esan North-East Local Government Area of the state. This came after the conduct of local government election first on April 20 and later April 24 and 25, 2013, in four councils, where elections were postponed.
On  his assumption of office in November, 2009, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, had sacked the 18 elected chairmen and 193 councilors, who had been voted into office in December 2007 during an election that was organised by the administration of former Governor Oserheimen Osunbor, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to the electoral body in the state, Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC), the April 20, 2013, election had to be postponed in Esan North-East and three other councils due to logistic challenges. EDSIEC was, however, evasive in providing reasons for the cancelation of the election when it was eventually held four days later on April 24, thereby giving the political parties freedom to trade blames for the failure of the election.
In any case, the people of the local government would not have expected that a window to have a democratic leadership in their council would next be opened six months after. Perhaps they had expected that a new date would be announced immediately after the cancelation of the April 24 polls. This, however would not happen. They held rallies and appealed to EDSIEC to conduct another election.
They even wrote petitions to the Edo State House of Assembly to prevail on the EDSIEC to conduct another election so that they would also have a  representative government in their council like the other councils in the state.
Their prayer was eventually answered last week as the EDSIEC announced Tuesday, October 22, as the new date for the conduct of election into the council and six wards spread in four local government areas. While announcing the date of the election, EDSIEC chairman, Solomon Ogoh, said it took the commission time to announce the  date because a lot had to be put in place before the election would be held. The body also absolved itself of blame in the delay of the election, saying that the parties were largely responsible for the delay. The commission added that four parties—PDP, APC, Accord Party and Labour Party—would be contesting the election.
With about a week to the conduct of the election, politicians in the camps of the two parties have since returned to the drawing board, strategising how victory would be theirs on Tuesday. Ordinarily, the election could have been inconsequential and a walk in the park for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), won the chairmanship polls in all the 17 local government areas where elections were held in April, but the race for Esan North East council is more complex than that as so many other factors are involved.
One of such factors is that Esan North-East council, with its headquarters in Uromi, is the local government of maverick politician and chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of PDP, Chief Tony Anenih. That is not all. The Minister of Works and governorship hopeful in the state, Mr Mike Onolememen, is from the council. The duo are said to be highly influential and well respected. With Anenih and Onolememen, it is generally believed that funding and mobilisation would not constitute any problem for PDP in the council.
Onelememen, in particular, was accused of alleged disrupting the last election in the council by the State government. Commissioner for Information, Louis Odion, in a statement issued immediately after the election, alleged Onolememen used thugs and policemen to disrupt the election.
The council is also seen as the remaining stronghold of the PDP in Edo, though the party is considered strong in the entire Edo Central Senatorial District, where the council is situated. For instance, the senator representing the zone, Odion Ugbesia, is of PDP, while two House of Representatives members from the zone are also of the party PDP.
Ahead the general election in 2015, the political calculation in Edo is that there would not be a better time for the PDP  to get out of the political obscurity that the ACN/APC had lately consigned it to than now. For the PDP, winning the election will signal a kind of resurgence it hope to build on to challenge APC in 2015. For APC, victory is equally crucial if only to send message to the PDP leaders in the council that they can be defeated even at home.
Above all, the popularity of its candidate in the election, according to observers,  may well be the reason for the PDP’s optimism. Their candidate, Honourable John Yakubu, is said to be very popular in the local government. His popularity is said to extend beyond party lines as he is said to have followers in all the parties owing to what was described as his landmark while he served as chairman of the council between 2007 and 2009. During the period, he was said to have embarked on numerous developmental projects that people said were still very feasible. Many in the council consider him the best council chairman the local government has ever seen and are willing to see him return, irrespective of his political affiliations.
At a well-attended campaign of the party at Uromi on Sunday, Edo State chairman of PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, described Yakubu as a grassroot mobiliser and best candidate for the election. He said his achievement as chairman of the council remained the best in the history of the council, boasting that the APC would be trounced on Tuesday.
Such is the confidence in the PDP camp that one of the leading politicians in its fold, Mr Vincent Akhere, told the Nigerian Tribune that that their candidate would win the election anytime it is conducted. He said, “If the election is conducted in Esan North-East Local Government Area 100 times, our candidate, John Yakubu, will always win. If the election is fixed for tomorrow mornings, we are very ready.”
He alleged that the election was delayed so that APC would have enough time to prepare for it. “Obviously, the ACN people are aware that they have no chance of winning the election and that is why they are delaying the conduct of the election.  We heard that they held a meeting at the Government House where they informed the governor to give them at least six months to prepare for the election. They are scared of our candidate, Honourable John Yakubu, so they are buying time,” Akhere said.
Pundits opined that be that as it may, defeating the APC may not be that easy as Akhere said. A reason is that it is the ruling party and ruling party hardly loses council election in Nigeria. It will be recalled that the party won in all the 17 other councils where  the election was concluded and only a complete domination or 18/18, as they used to say in Edo, would be good enough for the leaders of the party including Governor Oshiomhole and the national vice-chairman, South South, of the party, Chief Tom Ikimi, who incidentally is from Edo Central Senatorial zone like Chief Anenih.
Less than a week to the election, the party has started campaigning and strategizing how to win.  Immediately EDSIEC announced the date for the conduct of the election, its candidate, Sam Oboh, started campaigning, telling people in the council that if they do not want to be left behind by the wind of change currently blowing in the state, they should vote for him. The party has also be appealing to the people in the council not to be the odd one out among the local governments in the state.

Nyiam exposed FG's hidden plan with confab - Oshiomhole - Vanguard News

Nyiam exposed FG's hidden plan with confab - Oshiomhole - Vanguard News

Ogba CDA Chairman murdered.

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

Tragic! The Chairman of Ogba Community has been killed by unknown gunmen in Edo State. (Graphic video + pix)

Inhabitants of Ogba community in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State have been thrown into mourning following the assassination of the Chairman, Community Development Association, Mr. Osarumwense Omorogbe, by unknown gunmen at about 9pm yesterday night while he was eating. The gunmen destroyed his skull after shooting him and left without taking anything from the house.
According to the wife, Aisosa Omoregbe, who was an eyewitness, the deceased was shot over a dispute.
The PPRO of Edo State Police command, DSP Moses Eguavoen, has promised to fish out the culprits.
See more graphic images and video after the cut:
 

What Oshiomhole told us- Nyaim

What Oshiomhole told us - Nyiam

"We left Jos and went to Minna, we went through the same experience with Governor Babangida Aliyu and most people there too spoke in terms of ethno nationalities representations. We went to Calabar, we went through the same experience. So we came to Benin, where Governor Oshiomhole shifted the timing and that changed the time we were supposed to meet the Oba of Benin. We saw the governor for at least 40 minutes and he started giving us tutorials as if we are children; he told us that he was a product of Kaduna, that he had his children in Kaduna.

"He went on to now attack the idea of ethno-nation. He argued that we are going to celebrate 100 years next year so what are we going to talk about? I countered that. He argued that we don't need a conference, but with all the troubles we had, for a leader to say we don't need a conference is very sad. It is an insult on the intelligence of Nigerians. In Kenya recently after the elections, there were lots of killings that led to a constitutional conference which turned Kenya from a unitary system to a true federalism.

"With that background, he now came to the venue after the Benin Development Forum spoke. He came late and after listening, he asked for an intervention, he took the micro phone and then decided to repeat the lecture, treating people like students and castigating the Federal Government. More offensive for me was that he was talking down on the elders there, that the idea of them coming together there was a waste of time.

"These two things, one talking down on people is contrary to the philosophy of our people. We had former governors there, elders, traditional rulers. Secondly when we are in an interactive session with the people, it is not for a governor to come and take over the stage, grandstanding. This is a governor that spoke over 40 minutes when we were with him. This idea of governors trying to run down the President, a governor abusing the office of the President to make insinuations against the office of the president, to criticise people's ability for self expression, is unacceptable.

"So when people started booing the governor, I went to the chairman to remind him about the rules of our committee. The chairman said we should give him a chance to continue. He carried on with his derogatory remarks and it was at that point I then said no, not again. When I said that, by this time, his aides tried to come at me, but when I suspected that one was at my back I stood up, then sat down.

"Not long, after a group of people came towards the table, it was then that the DSS people advised that my life was not safe and I was taken away for safety. The Director of the Department of State Service, DSS, mounted security around us; the Commissioner of Police came to see me and they brought security. The Police drove us all out of Edo State because of fears of attack. So contrary to what they said that I mobilized thugs, it is not true, it was Edo people that protected me," he narrated.

Making presentation to the Nation Confernce Advisory committee

Here is my response to the suggestion by Bar Friday Ojealaro that Edo Political Forum should harness the positions of the Edos for the National conference Advisory Committee....I am all for Bar Friday Ojealaro's suggestion and we should do it within the next few days. The position of the State Governor has already started affecting and molding the response of the people and Edo State towards the conference. For example on the day of the conference, Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta States government sent down their protocol officers to secure seats for their states delegates and indicated their interest to speak because they were ready. So when the conference commenced those other states took prominet positions in the hall. Also when the Chairman started calling people to come and make recommendations it became Bayelsa, Delta States over and over again, the people of Edo had to protest verbally before the Chiarman skipped to call Benin Forum. My point is that if we want Edo State peple to be heard we must take the bull by the horn. The other thing I observed was that the people that came to represent their various states were old men in their 70's. Men who should be in retirement, men who were nervous and uncoordinated. I was force to ask the man who represented the Isoko nation, where is your  lawyer son who has been practicing for 18 years? What makes you think you can better represent your people than your son? He was just smiling, foolish and greedy generation.

How Akhigbe died in the US.

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How Akhigbe Died in the US

29 Oct 2013

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 Mike Akhigbe

•Mark: I've lost a brother

By Adibe Emenyonu

Details have emerged on how a former Chief of General Staff, Vice Admiral Mike Akhigbe, died Monday in his Manhattan home, New York in the United States at the age of 68.

The late former military vice-president in the junta headed by former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, between 1998 and 1999 died at 1.06 pm, Eastern Time, after he had earlier been discharged from a New York hospital where he had been receiving treatment for cancer.

Reacting to his death last night, Senate President David Mark expressed sorrow at the death of his former military colleague, saying he has lost a brother.

THISDAY had earlier in the day, based on initial reports from sources, which later turned out to be false, reported that the former chief of naval staff was dead.
But the family had refuted the publication, saying Akhigbe was alive and was stabilising.

It also refuted the report that the retired naval chief had died in a hospital in England.
It said Akhigbe, who had been on admission in a hospital in the United States, was stabilising.

However, later in the day, another family source confirmed to THISDAY that Akhigbe finally gave up the ghost yesterday at 1.06 pm New York time after losing the battle against cancer.

It was learnt that his doctors had earlier discharged him, saying there was nothing more they could do for him as his organs had packed up.
Confirming his death, a member of the Akhigbe's family said: “The admiral died after a long battle with cancer.”

The Senate president, who retired from the military as a brigadier-general, in a swift reaction to the death of his former military colleague, expressed sadness at his passing away.

Mark, in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media & Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, described Akhigbe's death as the loss of a brother, confidant, friend and comrade-at-arms.

Mark, who was overwhelmed with grief, recalled their days at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), stating that “Mike was fearless and very diligent in our course. He took these attributes to all the formations where he was privileged to have been posted either in his core military postings or political offices.

“He was one of the poster boys of our Course 3 and we were all very proud of him. His death is a huge personal loss to me, the members of Course 3, the Armed Forces, Edo State and the nation.

“But we cannot question God. He alone gives life and takes same when he so desires. We are bound by his decision to take our brother and friend at this time.”

The Senate president who is the chairman of Course 3 Alumni of the Nigerian Defence Academy, said: “We are however consoled that while Mike was with us, he lived his life in the service of God and mankind.”

Tags: News, Nigeria, Featured, AKHIGBE

Dialogue panel chief incites thugs against Oshiomhole

Posted by: Osagie Otabor and Ben Ogbemudia Benin in Featured, News 5 hours ago

The national dialogue roadshow went awry yesterday in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

A meeting of the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue in the Southsouth zone ended in a fiasco at the Imaguero Hall. The delegates left after comments by Governor Adams Oshiomhole caused an uproar.

The hall was virtually empty by the time some ethnic groups and individuals were presenting their memoranda.

The meeting that began at about 2pm ended at 4:30pm after committee Chairman Femi Okunrounmu declared that its members’ lives were not safe in Edo.

The Isoko, Urhobo, Itsekiri and Bini had presented their stand before the fracas.

It was as if some people were hired to disrupt the event when somebody from the audience interupted Oshiomhole a few minutes into his speech.

The voice said” “Two minutes”. “I will do more than that,” Oshiomhole replied.

The governor went on: “I want to make my own comments. They are my views and not the views of Edo State. It is not the view of any particular ethnic nationality. I think as a Nigerian we all have stake in this country and we have a duty to lay a solid foundation for the future of this country. I have a duty to be honest and truthful on the views and position that I canvass. My views are different. I asked the question, why are we having a national conference?”

“I believe that anyone who convenes a meeting must be clear why he convened a meeting. I have the opportunity to travel far and wide. You don’t assemble people and then ask them, what do we talk?. Whoever wishes to convene a meeting must be clear on what the issues are. When you have stated why the meeting was convened, you can then ask what should be added or deleted. You have hundreds of agenda. When I was the NLC, a former president convened a national conference and up till now…

Another interruption. Oshiomhole said: “You cannot shout me down. I know some persons were hired to be here.”

He continued: “People from various states converged, money was spent and in the end I can’t remember what came out of that conference. It is a valid point to make that we failed before, we can make amend but it is important we learn from our history. I will be surprised if anything changes. As a leader, I have no business to mislead anyone. This conference will not be different from any previous conference.”

Some ethnic nationalities, mainly from Bayelsa and Delta states, were accused of joining to shout down the governor.

A member of the committee, Col. Tony Nyiam, stood up and made some unprintable remarks about Oshiomhole which led to a near free for all on the high table.

Nyiam stood up, banging the table and screaming: “No!”, “no!”, “no”. The ex-soldier was restrained by other members of the committee who appeared shocked at his behaviour.

The committee members hurriedly left after thugs invaded the hall.

The governor was still making his contribution when Nyiam started screaming for him to sit down. He was then joined in by the thugs who disrupted the proceedings and many scampered for safety as a result of the unruliness of the committee member and the thugs.

The governor, who insisted on concluding his remarks, yielded the floor to the thugs, who were getting violent.

The National Anthem was hurriedly played as the governor took his exit.

In a statement last night, the dialogue panel condemned the “unruly conduct” of one of its members for joining the crowd to heckle the governor.

At a visit to him in his office by members of the committee led by Senator Femi Okurounmu either Oshiomhole said he had no faith in the process.

He said: “All I owe Nigeria now is to speak my mind. It could be error of my head, but certainly not of my heart. As much as I wish you well, I just want to say that I have no faith in this process and I do not think it was necessary at all.”

The governor added: “I am unable to find any basis to give me some illusion that this exercise will be different from the others.

He lamented that 53 years after independence, Nigerians still prefer to look at themselves from their ethnic origin rather than being Nigerians. “For me, I am just a Nigerian,” Oshiomhole said.

Oshiomhole said: “I do not think that more than 100 years when we have set aside billions of naira to celebrate our centenary the fact of our amalgamation of the North and Southern Nigeria, and we have lived together as one country for over a 100 years, and we have gone through independence, we have been free for 53 years and we are coming back to ask the question, how could we be there?

“I think Nigeria needs to address very serious issues. When I see eminent Nigerians discussing this issue, I am sure they know that Nigeria’s problem is not this politics of sharing, which the national dialogue is all about; who is getting what, who has this natural endowment, who should do this or not do this. For me, this is the act of perfecting poverty.

“The real challenge is getting Nigeria back to production. The real challenge is creating industrial base and this cannot be resolved through conferences. We have moved from parliamentary system in our own wisdom to the presidential system. We have test-run it and it was aborted by the military and it has re-incarnated in the present form,” he said, adding:

“Nigeria does need a serious reflection about how to return to those core values that made Nigeria work before. Those healthy competition between the governments, visit the whole question of attitude and unless that changes, I do not see how any dialogue can work”, he said.

The Governor said: “I was discussing with somebody last week and he noted that this is the eleventh conference and I ask what ten conferences could not do, how would the eleventh one do it? Why do we think we can continue doing the same thing the same old way and think that this time the outcome would be different?”

The Governor said nobody convenes a meeting without stating the agenda and asking others to draw up the agenda for that meeting. “From conception we know we want to talk, but we do not know what we want to talk about.”

Okurounmu said the committee was in Benin as part of its tour of the six geopolitical zones to get their input into the content of the agenda, the duration, choice of delegation and legal framework of the proposed dialogue.

Okunroumu expressed happiness over the impressive turnout by Nigerians at the different venues of its sittings.

“Nigerians have accepted the need to have this conference. We have been to four centres Minna, Akure, Jos and Calabar, and the turnout has been impressive and overwhelming.

“In all the centres, Nigerians came from the rural areas, even from the remotest villages to make presentations to us and there are “no-go areas at all.

“We are to listen to all Nigerians and I am happy that the turnout has been encouraging to the extent that we requested for bigger halls,’’ he said.

The chairman noted that “we have been listening to different groups and views, but no single group who threatens to dismember Nigeria has come before us.

“Nigerians all over the world are entitled to submit their views, but they must not be in the committee to air their views.

They have our e-mail address. “Let them submit their memo to us and their views will be acknowledged. This is the essence of the committee.

“That is why we are going round to know what are the things agitating the minds of Nigerians.

“We will include these views in our report and these will definitely set the agenda for government and tell government how they want to be governed,’’ he said.

2 Activist attacked at the National Conference Committee meeting in Benin City.

This is what Kabaka and his boys did to MMK and Omobude at the order of the governor, now the report making rounds is that PDP thugs attacked Oshiomholeo. In the Kabaka's and his boys words, 'shei na una dey talk to our governor for TV anyhow' The duo was attacked with guns at the presence of police officers who were watching helplessly. Oshiomhole has gone very wicked by always believing that using Kabaka to intimidate anyone that opposes him. Let it be known that the lives of these people are presently in the hand of the governor who has sent thugs to attack Col. Iyiam who wanted to beat Oshiomhole up for his unguided statement and any perceived enemy of this unpopular government. — with Mandela Marxist Kola Gcfr.

Confab: Nyiam resigns after shouting match with Oshiomhole

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM
BENIN CITY— FOLLOWING his outburst against Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State a member of the  the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Conference/Dialogue, Col Tony Nyiam (rtd),  was yesterday forced to resign by the Senator Femi-Okurounmu-led committee.

Vanguard gathered that members of the panel were embarrassed by Nyiam’s perceived partisanship and had to apologise to Oshiomhole.

However, in a telephone chat with Vanguard last night, Nyiam refused to confirm whether or not he had quit the job. Asked if he had resigned, Col Nyiam, in a combatant tone asked Vanguard to question the source of the report that he had resigned.

Col Tony Nyiam (rtd)  shouting  at Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

“Who told you that I have resigned? Ask the person who told you to tell you his authority or how he learnt that I have resigned. Thank you!” he said and hung up.

Another member of the committee firther clarified that the committee had to force him to step down in order to redeem the panel’s image.

“ The governor, Oshiomhole was our host. It was unbecoming of a member of a commiitee that was set up to listen to Nigerians to now want to stop Nigerians from talking, no matter what they had to say. We faulted him, he didn’t like it; we told him he embarrassed the committee; he admitted his outburst was wrong and we demanded his resignation.

Authoritative sources told Vanguard that Okurounmu led other members of the panel to apologise to the governor and showed him a copy of Nyiam’s alleged resignation letter.

Oshiomhole reportedly accepted the apology.

This  came as suspected thugs disrupted the proceedings of the Committee on national conference in Benin City,  when they stopped Governor Oshiomhole and others from making contributions to the ongoing talks.

The disruption came after a member of PAC, Col. Tony Nyiam (rtd) had shouted down the Governor while making his contribution.

The thugs believed to have been imported from neighbouring states heckled the Governor as soon as they realised that his contributions would be different from the expected opinions.

The governor who took the stage to make his contribution after the Isoko Ethnic group had made its contribution said he objected to spending huge public funds on a wasteful venture, saying, during the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo, money was spent on a similar conference and at the end, nothing came out of that conference.

While the governor was still making his speech,  Col Nyiam stood up to challenge the governor and shouted him down.

But Oshiomhole who had earlier told the crowd that his views about the conference may not be the views of the people of the state but “my personal views” insisted that he must be allowed to air his views publicly and he continued despite comments from Ijaw groups at the conference.

“I will be surprised if anything changes. Sincerely, I have no business to deceive or mislead anyone. I believe that the outcome of this conference will not be different from that of other conferences we have had in the past.”

But as soon as Governor Oshiomhole made this statement, committee member, Col Nyiam jumped up and shouted at the Governor.

He was restrained by other members who were taken aback by his action. Even while the Governor was still making his contribution, Nyiam started screaming at the Governor to shut up and sit down.

Thereafter  by the PDP thugs who disrupted the whole proceedings and many scampered for safety as a result of the unruliness of the committee member and thugs.

The governor who insisted on concluding his remarks however left the floor when the thugs were getting violent.

However, the Governor had, at a courtesy visit to him in his office by members of the Committee led by Senator Femi Okurounmu, said he had no faith in the whole process.

Oshiomhole said: “All I owe Nigeria now is to speak my mind. It could be error of my head but certainly not of my heart. As much as I wish you well, I just want to say that I have no faith in this process and I do not think it was necessary at all. I am unable to find any basis to give me some illusion that this exercise will not be different from the others. And I honestly think that in terms of the private sector, when a country keeps debating how we can live together that cannot be one of the basis on which the outside community will invest in Nigeria. They may well wait until we know how we want to live in Nigeria.”

He lamented that fifty-three years after independence, Nigerians still preferred to look at themselves from their ethnic origin rather than being Nigerians, saying, “for me, I am just a Nigerian. I do not think that more than one hundred years when we have set aside billions of naira to celebrate centenary celebrating the fact of amalgamation of  Northern and Southern Nigeria, and we have lived together as one country for over a hundred years, and we have gone through independence, we have been free for fifty three years and we are coming back to ask the question, how could we be there.

“I think Nigeria needs to address very serious issues. When I see eminent Nigerians discussing this issue, I am sure they know that Nigeria’s problem is not this politics of sharing which the national dialogue is all about, who is getting what, who has this natural endowment, who should do this or not do this. For me this is the act of perfecting poverty. The real challenge is getting Nigeria back to production. The real challenge is creating industrial base and this cannot be resolved through conferences. We have moved from parliamentary system in our own wisdom to the presidential system. We have test-run it and it was aborted by the military and it has re-incarnated in the present form.”

“Nigeria does need a serious reflection about how to return to those core values that made Nigeria work before. Those healthy competition between the governments, visit the whole question of attitude and unless that changes, I do not see how any dialogue can work. I was discussing with somebody last week and he noted that this is the eleventh conference and I ask what ten conferences could not do, how would the eleventh one do it? Why do we think we can continue doing the same thing the same old way and think that this time the outcome would be different?

The Governor said nobody convened a meeting without stating an agenda and asking others to draw up an agenda for the meeting, saying “one would have expected the Federal Government to make an outline and allow Nigerians make additional input, instead of saying there are no no-go areas and giving the impression the exercise will end nowhere, at which point the governor’s security aides formed a ring around him, just as the arena was getting very rowdy, with shouts of no, yes, the only words that could be discerned. ’Then the issue of fashioning a new political system came up in the past, a lot of money was spent, transporting people all over the whole country and expanding more on related issues but at end, what did we get. To me, this is not meant to work and it will not work. Fconception we know we want to talk but we do not know what we want to talk about.”

Earlier, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue/Conference, Senator Femi Okurounmu said they were in Benin as part of their tour of the six geo political zones to get their input as regards the content of the agenda, the duration, choice of delegation and legal framework. States of the South-South zone and different ethnic nationalities, including the Ijaw National Council, Urhobo Progress Union, Benin Forum, Ijaws of Gbaramatu, Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, Isoko Development Union, Midwest Consultative Forum and many other groups made presentations.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/10/confab-nyiam-resigns-after-shouting-match-with-oshiomhole/#sthash.WkpHUE17.dpuf

Spontaneous protest again Comrade Adams

Today in Benin City @ the National Conference Advisory Committee meeting at Imaguero College, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the Executive Governor of Edo State was making a remark and wanted to use the opportunity to put forward his personal view. As he started to say that he the conference does not have a set goal the crowd erupted and started chanting thereby hushing him up. It should be noted that there were delegates from Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and the host state of Edo. The spontaneous action did not have political colouration and any attempt to paint is so is a cheap lie.