thisday0520

50 WEDNESDAY MAY 20, 2015 • THISDAY
NEWSEXTRA
Speakership Race: Legislators Clash over
Gbajabiamila’s Aspiration
Jibrin, North-central members kick
Muhammad Bello in Abuja
Majority of the legislators of the
House of Representatives, both
old and new, from the North-west
geo-political zone, yesterday threw
their weight behind the aspiration
of Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
This is in spite of the growing
cynicism and rejection of such
actions credited to members from
the North-east and North-central
zones. Some elements of the House
All Progressives Congress (APC)
caucus from the two zones have
recently rejected claims made in
an advertisement and some stories
that they support Gbajabiamila.
This is as Hon. Ahmed Rufa’i
Chanchangi, from Kaduna, told
journalists that the zone supports
the bid of Gbajabiamila, given the
sacrifices he has made to uphold
the interest of the North-west since
2011.
By his pronouncement, about
80 federal lawmakers out of the
90 coming from the North-west
geo-political zone have lined up to
back the candidacy of the Minority
Leader, Gbajabiamila, in the race
for speakership of the incoming
eighth House of Representatives.
Chanchangi said: “I think, to me
and to the returning members of
the House, there is no conflict at
all. The only person in the race is
Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila”.
“Apart from him, I can’t see
anybody in the race because when
you are talking about someone
being in the race, the first thing
to be taken into consideration is
your home support base.
“Look at Hon. Abdulmumin
Jibrin, I can say he is someone who
is just trying to bargain with the
whole issue because he is from
Kano State, I have not seen even
a single member behind him.
“Let’s go to the other contenders
like Hon. Dogara; there have been
a lot of noise about Dogara and
why I am saying it’s a lot of noise
is that, first of all, you have to
convince me that your state is
behind you. Bauchi State has 11
members and I don’t see any of the
11 members going behind Dogara
to campaign along with him, I
have not seen anything like that.
“So, for me, the only person
that is contesting is Hon. Femi.
I am from the North-west, we
have almost 90 members from
the North-west. Kaduna State in
particular, we have 16, from Kano
we have 24, Katsina we have 15,
Jigawa we have 11 and in Sokoto
we have 12 members respectively.
He added: “What we have
is almost one-quarter of the
total honourable members of
the House. And if you take a
look at that statistics, from the
90 honourable members, about
75 to 80 are hundred per cent
with Gbajabiamila and this is
not because of party affiliation
but because of what he did.”
“This is someone who has
been in the House for the past
12 years, I just joined the House
in 2011 but I have seen what he
has been doing for the past 12
years as the minority leader.
“For someone to lead you from
darkness to light, we know he is
the right candidate. We don’t have
to even start doubting. He led the
opposition from minority party in
the House now to majority party
and he stood on his feet through
thick and thin.
He dismissed as baseless
,allegation that the outgoing
Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, is
behind one of the contenders for
the position. “Actually, I won’t
say Tambuwal is behind any
contestant apart from Femi. If he
is, he should come out and say
‘I am behind so and so person.’
Once he cannot come out and say
this, then we believe it is already
‘dead on arrival’.
“Whoever or the supposed
candidates that are going about
lying that Tambuwal is behind
them are playing to the gallery
and I don’t believe that such a
thing exists at all”, he stressed.
Meanwhile, Jibrin observed that
recent claims of endorsement of
aspirants by different groups
of members of the House of
Representatives will not ultimately
decide who becomes the Speaker
of the lower chamber.
According to him, the popularity
of an aspirant can only be
ascertained by the number of votes
he garners and not some unclear
zonal and state endorsements.
He told journalists that “as
evident with the outgoing seventh
assembly, members of the House of
Representatives chose their leaders
based on acceptance, not purported
endorsement being bandied in the
media. I am confident that the
eighth Assembly will continue
this laudable democratic trend.”
“All the endorsement claims and
counter claims have ended up as
fake and lies. However, the focus
should be acceptability not fake
endorsements. Secondly, I have
concentrated clearly in what I will
do if elected, other aspirants are
simply struggling to be speaker
in a do or die manner. I challenge
them (aspirants) to come out with
their agenda if they are sure it will
be in the new spirit of change!”
Jibrin added.
He further added that:
“With the recent powerful
and patriotic statement
from the president-elect,
the coast has been cleared for
competence and merit to determine
who becomes Speaker of the 8th
Assembly.
“It is a known fact that only if
I am zoned out, under a free and
fair contest I will win with land
slide margin the 8th Assembly
Speakership election. None of
the aspirants can match my
popularity or provide the
needed compatibility with the
incoming President to execute
the needed reforms and deliver
on our campaign promises like
myself.”
Orubebe Debunks Plans to Defect
to APC, Threatens Legal Action
Chiemelie Ezeobi
Former Minister of Niger
Delta Affairs, Mr. Godsday
Orubebe, has debunked reports
making the rounds that he is
planning to dump the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) for the
All Progressives Congress (APC).
Orubebe had debunked the
news following the uproar that
trailed a tweet he supposedly
tweeted announcing his decision
to join the APC.
The uproar was caused by his
infamous protest at the collation
centre during the just concluded
general election where he accused
the Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission
(INEC), Attahiru Jega, of rigging
in favour of the APC.
Tweeting from @
ElderGOrubebe, he supposedly
wrote, “I have concluded plans
to join my folks in the APC
to champion and sustain the
movement for a better Niger
Delta in the new administration.
Details will be released soon.
Thank you all.”
Following his announcement,
all hell was let loose on Twitter
with one writer simply identified
as Woye, who seemed to have
captured the general feeling of
almost all Twitter users.
Tweeting from @woye he
wrote, “This account must have
been hacked. Not the Orubebe
that I know.”
Imam Imam seemed to have
agreed as he tweeted from @
imamdimam, “Orubebe’s twitter
handle has been hacked. Because
it is tweeting responsible things.”
Also, one Adebayo Salami
tweeting from @Le_Stylo wrote,
“Am I seeing clearly? Has this
handle been compromised?
@ElderGOrubebe to join @
APCNigeria Interesting!”
Chuka Chuka tweeting from
@chukachuka0984 wrote “For
real? Then you must make a
big fortune being an actor, cos
your role on the vote counting
day was amazing!”
Adeola Ahmed also wrote,
“Elder! Please stay in your party
and ensure government delivers
public good to the Niger Delta
people.
“He has constitutional right to
do so but does he have moral
right? Time will tell.”
One David Emzo wrote:
“Exactly, now he’s talking about
Niger Delta struggle when he
was in position what did he
do?”
To which @teghmulu replied,
“Dont mind him, he’s always
been a runner to where the grass
is greener. He did nothing for
us and he still won’t.”
Prince Akin Odunsi also
wrote “Please Oga Orubebe! Sit
down for your party! We don’t
need you in APC! Okay? You
can’t cope with our Jegamacine
here! Stay there biko.”
Kayode Ogundamisi tweeting
from @ogundamisi wrote, “If it
is confirmed that Elder Peter
Godsday Orubebe is joining the
APC then it is safe to say 99 per
cent of Nigerian politicians need
psychological help.”
Not many however flayed his
decision and among them was
one Mrs. Yetunde Ogudo who
tweeting from @yetundeogudo
wrote, “Please do what is best
for you and your country to the
best of your conscience. Don’t
let anyone dictate your life!”
Orubebe, who has since come
out to debunk any plans to defect,
threatened legal actions against
the rumours mongers, even as
he disclosed that his Twitter
handle was hacked by some
unknown persons.
BRIEFING THE MEDIA
L-R: Contractor for Ministry of Women Affairs, Mr. Haida Saidi; Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Zainab Maina; and the Permanent
Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Ezekiel Onyemomi, addressing the press on the completion of the new office building of the ministry in Abuja...
yesterday
Julius Atoi
Kaduna APC Transition Committee Wants Yero
Investigated over N2.7bn Sure-P Funds
John Shiklam in Kaduna
The All Progressives Congress
(APC) Transition Committee in
Kaduna State has petitioned the
Economic and Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC) over alleged
attempts by the outgoing governor
of the state, Alhaji Mukhtar Yero,
to temper with N2.744 billion, being
funds that accrued from the
Subsidy Reinvestment Programme
(SURE-P).
It was learnt that Yero had
approached the state legislators
to approve the disbursement of
the funds said to have accrued
for the 23 local councils in 2014.
In the petition dated May 15, a
copy of which was circulated to
the media in Kaduna yesterday,
the Chairman of the APC
Transition Committee, Alhaji
Balarabe Abbas Lawal, claimed
that elaborate steps were being
taken by the outgoing state
government to legitimise the
misappropriation of the funds.
“I write to bring to your
attention the elaborate steps being
taken by the outgoing Kaduna
State Government to legitimise
the misappropriation of N2.744
billion local government Sure-P
funds, and to request that you
exercise your responsibility of
deterring crime by preventing
this last-minute looting of public
assets,” the committee stated in
the petition.
The committee said the
state House of Assembly had
earlier declined to appropriate
the Sure-P funds in the 2015
budget by removing it from the
budgets submitted by the 23 local
government councils in the state,
insisting that the fate of the funds be
left to the incoming administration.
The committee however alleged
that the outgoing governor has
been putting the legislature under
tremendous pressure to approve
his utilisation of 50 per cent of the
funds for a road project, while
the 23 local government councils
would share the balance.
“Coming from a government
whose tenure expires in less than
two weeks, the intensity of the
lobby for the money indicates a
certain desperation that is clearly
not in the public interest.
“I wish to therefore request that
you (EFCC) urgently investigate
whether the Sure-P fund is still
intact, or if it has been spent
without appropriation thus
necessitating a belated approval
from the House of Assembly to
provide a ‘legal’ means of retiring
the funds.
“If, as it is widely believed in the
state, the monies have already been
spent, it is crucial to determine the
projects, the contractors and the
procurement processes that facilitated
such a deliberate hemorrhaging of
public funds,” Lawan said.
The governor-elect, Malam Nasir
Ahmad El-Rufai, who expressed
concern over the issue, has vowed
that his administration will punish
anyone who misappropriates public
funds.
El-Rufai in a statement
declared that the incoming APC
government in the state would
punish anyone culpable in the
SURE-P funds diversion.
“I have been made aware
of desperate attempts to secure
approval to spend N2.744 billion
SURE-P funds. Less than two
weeks to its exit, the outgoing
government of Kaduna State is
seeking to pressure the outgoing
House of Assembly to permit it to
spend 50 per cent of the money
on the Kawo road project, while
the 23 local government councils
will share the balance.
“As governor-elect, it is my duty
to caution every official involved
in these last-minute deals that the
incoming government will ensure
that there are consequences for
illegal conduct, breach of trust
and stealing of public assets. Our
government will certainly insist
on accountability, and no one
should be in any doubt about
our resolve, be it the instigators
of any impropriety or those
who facilitated and executed
it,” El-Rufai said.