The National Working Committee, NWC, of the Peoples Democratic Party on Monday said it is having consultations to resolve the issue of the setting up of a parallel party from its fold last Saturday.

Olisa Metuh, who was re-elected as the party’s national publicity secretary at its just concluded special national convention, told newsmen at the end of a meeting that consultations were going on at very high level to address the situation.

“Consultation is going on at the very highest level of the party, the President, the party’s national chairman, the chairman of the Board of Trustee (BoT) and PDP Governors are meeting on this,” he said.

According to him, the response so far is encouraging and the party will convey the outcome of the consultations to the public in due time.

“There will not be any rancour or division, the party will remain united. We have only one chairman and we will abide by his decisions, the decisions of the NWC and the party’s constitution,” Metuhsaid.

He further said that Remi Akintoye would remain the party’s acting national secretary as long as there was no court order restraining him from functioning as such.

Consultations are expected to continue today.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the new faction of the PDP has asked a Lagos High Court to restrainBamanga Tukur, chairman of the other faction, and other party officials elected on Saturday from parading themselves as members of the national executive of the party.

Joined as plaintiffs in the case are the national secretary of the new faction, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, factional chairman, Abubakar Kawu Baraje and the deputy national chairman, Sam Sam Jaja.

The matter is to be heard in court on September 9.

The Police in Rivers State on Monday declared Seimeikumo Debewari, ADC to Governor ChibuikeAmaechi, a deserter from the force.

A statement signed by the assistant commissioner of police, administration, Augustine Sanomi, saidDebewari ceased to be the ADC to the governor with immediate effect for ignoring all lawful directives to see the state commissioner of police and the Inspector-General of Police since July 10 over his role in the fracas at the Rivers State House of Assembly.

He said the whereabouts of Debewari was currently unknown to the police and that the move to declare him a deserter is in line with the Police Act and the Regulation Cap of the Federation of Nigeria 1990.

Sanomi also said the IGP had approved the declaration of Debewari as a deserter from the force.

Also confirming this position, the Nigeria Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, said that if a police officer leaves his duty post for 21 consecutive days without permission, the Police Act and regulation authorises the force to declare the officer a deserter.

Mba told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that “being a deserter is an offence because the officer involved can be arrested without a warrant of arrest”.

Mba also said that it was within the purview of a state commissioner of police to declare an officer a deserter in the force.

A High Court in Abuja has granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC an interim order to take possession of assets and properties belonging to Atiku Abubakar Kigo and Uzoma CyrilAttang over their involvement in a N32.8 billion Police pension scam.

Justice Sunday E. Aladetoyinbo gave the order in pursuant of Section 29 (a) and (b) of the EFCC Establishment Act 2004.

Consequently, the accounts of the suspects have been frozen pending the final determination of the corruption case filed against them.

Attang, a former assistant director at the Police Pension Office between 2005 and 2008 and Kigo, a former director of the office were first arraigned on March 29, 2012 on 16-count criminal charge bordering on conspiracy and criminal breach of trust before Justice Mohammed Talba of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Gudu, Abuja alongside seven others.

Properties covered by the interim order include a block of 4 flats at 3 Mama Ada Street, Alasia, Ajah, Lagos; a block of 4 flats at 33 Pamona Street, Sun City Estate, Abuja; blocks of flats at 71 Pamona Street, Sun City, Abuja; a piece of land and a 3 bedroom duplex along Ajah- Epe Express Way, Alasia, Lagos; 2 blocks of 3 bedroom duplex at 13 & 15 Adele Road, Apapa, Lagos; 2 units of 2 bedroom bungalows at Plot E148, Prince and Princess Estate, Abuja.

Other properties include: 5 bedroom house at Ikot- Nseten,Ikono, AkwaIbom State; a 4 bedroom house at Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State; shops 1,2 & 3 at Garki 2 Ultra Modern Market, Abuja;  3 bedroom bungalow at 44 Main Street, Sun City, Abuja; 3 bedroom bungalow, 8 pomona Street, Sun City, Abuja and 5 bedroom House, at 12 Olushola Agbaje Street, Lekki Phase 1,Lagos; Shops/Office B74 & B76,Effab Mall, Area 11,Gark- Abuja; Shops E1 to E5, F6 & F7 at Oba Elegushi Market, Jakande Estate, Lekki-Lagos.

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Also included are: Shops D11, C03, C04, C07, C08 & D02 at Effab Mall, Area 11,Garki-Abuja; Shops 174,176,185,186 &187 at Ikota Shopping Complex, Ajah, Lagos; a Warehouse at 3, Nwanyinkwo Street, Ajah, Lekki, Lagos and a Water Factory at Industrial Estate, Idi Iroko Road, Otta, Ogun State.

Some companies allegedly operated and used as conduits by Attang to siphon public funds were also confiscated. They include: Anifon Nigeria Limited; Enyiuzo Ventures Limited; Quill Ponte Nigeria Limited; Royal Diadem Business Logistics Limited; Status Symbols Rental Limited; Status Symbols Fashion Limited and  Status Travel & Tours Limited.

In addition,  22 accounts in various banks purportedly used to launder the stolen funds were frozen.

The minister of health, Oyebuchi Chukwu, on Tuesday said Nigeria had been certified as a guinea worm-free country.

Chukwu made this known in Ibadan at a symposium tagged: “Global Perspective in Emerging Diseases”.

“For any country to be certified as a Guinea worm-free country, you must not record any Guinea worm for three consecutive year,” he stated.

The success recorded in guinea worm eradication will make the World Health Organisation, WHO, to present a certificate to President Goodluck Jonathan in December, Chukwu disclosed.

The minister said further that although polio was still endemic, the transmission of Type 3 virus had been interrupted for more than one year for the first time in the history of the country.

He also said that maternal mortality ratio had dropped from 545 per 100,000 in 2008 to 350 per 100,000 in 2012 and that the prevalence of malaria and HIV/AIDS were also declining as evidenced by the recent national survey.

Leading medical practitioner, Sunny Kuku, in a keynote address on Nigeria’s  health sector in the last 40 years, said that the country had fallen short of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs.

According to him, most Nigerians still travel abroad for medical care because they have lost confidence in the healthcare system.

“Our healthcare facilities are fast deteriorating and are unable to meet the medical needs of our people while life expectancy is still under 50 years,” he said.

Kuku urged the federal government to improve funding of the three tiers of health institutions in the country.

Senate President David Mark on Monday recommended stiff punishment for anyone caughtvandalising national assets and infrastructure irrespective of status to serve as deterrent.

Mark made the call in a remark at the opening of a two-day stakeholders’ forum tagged: “Protection of Critical National Assets and Infrastructure (CNAI)” held in Abuja.

Mark noted that some of those charged with the responsibility of handling and protecting national assets collude with vandals to destroy such infrastructure for selfish reasons.

The senate president, who was represented by the chairman, senate committee on national security and intelligence, Mohammed Magoro, said that the most critical asset of any nation was its human resource.

According to him, protection of assets must start from within and an

attack on them should be seen as an attack on the country’s national interest.

“When you put these assets and infrastructure, they are handed over to certain persons but we have had experience in this country where internal connivance has brought down a number of them,” he said.

Mark also called for adequate remuneration for security forces and others saddled with protection of the infrastructure to motivate them as some of them compromised due to poor pay.

Similarly, the speaker of house of representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, called for a review of the national security policy to enable security agencies adequately deal with vandalism of infrastructure and other challenges.

Tambuwal, who was represented by Umar Bature, the chairman house committee on interior, noted that the policy had not been reviewed since 1986.

According to him, our greatest challenge now is how to respond to vandalism of assets and terrorism.

In his opening remark, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Sambo Dasuki, said that vandalism of infrastructure and terrorism were the two current prominent threats to national security.

“The potency of threat of terrorism, militancy, oil theft, vandalism and sabotage of critical national assets and infrastructure has now become unprecedented,” he said.

He noted that vandalism of infrastructure including oil facilities, telecommunication and power supply equipment was affecting government’s ability to provide adequate power and essential services to the citizenry.

“The level of crude oil theft, vandalism of telecommunication, power, and oil and gas infrastructure is serious drain on the economy and degrading the ability of government to provide services,” he said.

Dasuki called for the support of all stakeholders including government at all level as well as host communities in the protection of national assets and infrastructure.

The form was organised by the Office of the NSA for stakeholders to interact and come out with measures to protect state assets.

About 24 youths in the fold of the Civilian JTF have been killed in Monguno, Borno state, as search for members of the outlawed Boko Haram sect continues.

It was gathered Saturday, that about 100 vigilante youths stormed territories of sect around Kaleri,Shuwari, Maganari and Nannari villages in a bid to capture them but got more than they bargained for.

Members of the sect who had probably got wind of the plan, disguised in military clothes and stolen patrol vehicles and posing as military officers ambushed the vigilante group.

The youths were thus tricked into approaching the impostors in uniform for partnership.

About 15 of them were immediately gunned down, a source told journalists.

The source said nine youths who wore charms and could not be killed with guns were made to lie on the road while a moving vehicle ran them over, bringing all the deaths recorded to 24.

Some other “lucky” youths escaped with broken arms and legs, while about 36 are said to be missing.

“The vigilante youths numbering over 100 were on a mission to capture some Boko Haram terrorists in their camps  before they were ambushed by the terrorists which led to the death of 24 vigilante youths, while about 36 were still missing,” the source said.

According to the account, there was an initial arrangement with military troops that they will accompany the vigilante youths to the Monguno camp of the sect members, but when the youths waited for hours without seeing them, they decided to go on their own.

It was gathered that the caretaker chairman of Monguno local government council. MohammedMongunu travelled to Maiduguri yesterday to brief Governor Kashim Shettima on the incident.

The Nasarawa State chapter of the Nigerian Union of local Government Employee, NULGE, has accused Nasarawa State governor, Umaru Tanko Al-makura, of neglecting the union for the past two years which led to the indefinite strike declared by a faction of the union.

The state NULGE has since 2010 been thrown into chaos as a result of an election which divided the union into two factions.

Speaking to journalists in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, a factional state president of NULGE,Adamu Salihu Eladoga, attributed the declaration of the strike to government’s insensitivity to the plight of workers.

According to him, a lot of local government staff have been under paid since the state government carried out biometric registration of workers.

He also faulted the inability of the state government to pay local government workers their annual increment for the past three years.

Eladoga said another reason for the strike is the delay in paying salaries of local government workers and the delay in the reinstatement of over 5,000 local government workers who dismissed after Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura came into office in 2011.

Another rationale for the strike, according to the union’s president, is the inability of the state government to pay leave transport grants to any of its worker since 2010.

The union president also faulted the non-implementation of scheme of service for local government which was initiated by the Obasanjo administration.

“The inadequate funding of local government is affecting the progress of local governments drastically, both in infrastructural development and security wise. Almost one-third of the local governments in this state is engulfed by one crisis or the other and the local government is the immediate government to those communities and they need to have enough funds on ground to tackle this crisis because no one can tackle security problems without money,” he said.

“The security agents need fuel, working materials and other allowances and the local government is supposed to cater for these needs.”

He further: “Everyday the government will say local government money is intact but I don’t want to jump the gun because apart from salary, the money local government is being given only N500,000 to run the affairs of the local government for a month. This is not enough for each local government.”

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The president maintained that “under normal circumstance, government should make money coming into state/local government account public. The distribution should also be made public, just as it is the case in Benue and other states. But, in our own case, it is an exclusive affair”.

Eladoga called for the speedy passage of law on local government
autonomy as, according to him, it is the only way development can get to the grassroot.

The national convention of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, ended in confusion as former vice president Atiku Abubakar, seven governors and others stormed out of the event to form another faction of the party.

Others who walked out of the Eagle Square convention ground included governors Rotimi Amaechi(Rivers), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), MurtalaNyako (Adamawa), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Aliyu Wamako.

Also in the group was Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former governor of Osun State who was ousted recently as the secretary of the party.

The group convened immediately at the Yar Adua Centre in Abuja and held its own convention where national officers were elected, with Abubakar Kawu Baraje emerging as its national chairman.

While Sam Jaja emerged as the deputy chairman of the splinter PDP, Oyinlola regained the post of secretary which he lost in the ruling party months ago.

Addressing the press later, Baraje explained that leaders of the party had no choice but to found the breakaway group in view of “the increasing repression, restrictions of freedom of association, arbitrary suspension of members and other such violations of democratic principles by a faction of our party led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur”.

Baraje said that the politics of the 2015 elections had “blinded certain people from the consequences of their actions” and that the constitution of the party had been “serially abused” byTukur and others while “all the organs of the party have been rendered virtually ineffectual by a few people who act as though above the law”.

The splinter PDP chairman said the convention at the Eagle Square was held against the constitution of the party, observing that the date of the event was not chosen by the National Executive Committee, NEC, the authorized body, while delegates were allowed from nine states where the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had said congresses were not properly conducted.

The new group also faulted the upturning of the election of Andy Ubah and his suspension from the party “in defiance of subsisting court orders” and in spite of INEC’s recognition of his winning thePDP Anamba governorship primaries.

Baraje also listed as worrisome developments in the party the suspension of governors Ameachi andWamako, the dismissal of Jaja, a national officer by state officials and the dissolution of theAdamawa State chapter of the PDP.

The faction promised “a new lease of life” for those “who may have become disillusioned by the anti-democratic tendencies of the Bamanga Tukur’s leadership”, adding that the PDP was not envisioned to be “a political party where one man would be taking decisions for all members and where once you do not kowtow before the presidency, you are deemed a rebel that must be crushed”.

As Baraje was charting a new course for the party, at the national convention in Eagle Square, which had President Goodluck Jonathan in attendance, speakers were calling for a rallying of forces to take the party forward.

The chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, Tony Anenih, called for peaceful co-existence in Nigeria for the enhancement of the country’s stability, just as he asked members to complement this by embracing peace as well.

“This call becomes imperative for the country to move forward. Time has come for all Nigerians to come together and tolerate one another,” he said.

Anenih who noted that there would always be crisis in every society, however, said PDP had the mechanism to resolve its internal crises.

In his speech, the Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, said the party was owned by all Nigerians and emphasised the need for peace to reign in the country for the country to be run smoothly.

Akpabio, who is also the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, claimed that statistics showed that the best states at the moment in the country were the ones being run by PDP governors.

He also said PDP governors had resolved to give adequate support to President Goodluck Jonathan in the running of the country.

“The President has succeeded with “an uncommon performance”, leading to the reaping of democratic dividends by the people.

“The uncommon reformation in both the power, health and aviation sectors are great achievements. For the first time in 10 years, the rails are now running and airports are wearing new-looks, just as peace is being restored in the troubled Northern parts of the country,” Akpabiosaid.

Below is text of Abubakar Baraje’s address.

We address you today as leaders of PDP, who are worried by the increasing repression, restrictions of freedom of association, arbitrary suspension of members and other such violations of democratic principles by a faction of our party led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur .

While we have done everything humanly possible to bring to the attention of critical stakeholders within the party the dangers inherent in the course being charted by that leadership, it has become very clear that the desperate permutations towards 2015 general elections have blinded certain people from the consequences of their actions.

Not only has the constitution of the party been serially  abused by Alhaji Tukur and his fellowtravellers, all the organs of the party have been rendered virtually ineffectual by a few people who act as though above the law. Unfortunately, it is obvious that that they get encouragement from the presidency whose old calculations are geared towards shutting out any real or imagined opposition ahead of the party’s presidential primaries for the 2015 elections.

As leaders of our great party, we consider it a sacred responsibility to save the PDP from the antics of a few desperadoes who have no democratic temperament and are therefore bent on hijacking the party for selfish ends. While the list of their violations of the tenets of our great party is long, we will highlight just a few:

The National Executive Committee of the PDP at its belated meeting of 20June 2013 approved 20July2013 for the conduct of a special national convention.

However, that date was changed to August 31 without reverting to NEC (the only authority vested with such powers) by a few people, apparently acting on the authority of the presidency.

Notwithstanding the fact that INEC had noted that the PDP congresses in nine states were not properly conducted, the illegal delegates from such states are being paraded at the so-called convention being held today in a cynical attempt to circumvent the law and further bring the name of the party to disrepute.

In gross violation of the PDP constitution which stipulates that the NEC meeting must hold at least once in a quarter, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and a few people have been running the party like a personal fiefdom without recourse to that important decision-making organ of the party.

The NEC of the party accepted the resignation of the former members of the NWC whose offices were affected by INEC observations based principally on the agreement that the affected officers would be returned to their respective offices at the convention. However, against the decision of the NEC and in a not-so-clever bid to exclude some perceived opponents of the few powerful members who are trying to hijack the party, these positions have been made Open to some Yes-men within the party.

Notwithstanding INEC instance that Senator Any Uba is the duly elected candidate of the party inAnambra State and against the background that he is so recognized by majority of our party members, the Bamanga Tukur-led Executives announced a purported suspension of Senator Ubaand some other members close to him in defiance of subsisting court orders.

Despite that the PDP Constitution is very clear that the state chapter of the party cannot discipline a national officer, the Deputy National Chairman, Mr. Sam Jaja, has reportedly been dismissed by some renegades who have hijacked the Rivers State chapter of our party with the connivance of the Bamanga Tukur leadership.

The persistent change in the list of the party’s delegates in many states as part of a deliberate attempt to rig the party’s nomination of candidates, especially at the presidential and gubernatorial levels, with a view to foisting on the PDP some unpopular candidates who are bound to lose at the polls.

The suspension without due process of the Governors of Rivers and Sokoto states. Even when the illegal suspension on Sokoto State Governor has been lifted, the Rivers Governor remains purportedly suspended for no just cause.

The illegal dissolution of the Adamawa State chapter of the party is a clear abuse of power byAlhaji Bamanga Tukur thus causing confusion in his home state.

Given the foregoing, it is very clear that the Bamanga Tukur leadership cannot guarantee for our millions of party members democracy anchored on free choice and the rule of law. We have therefore taken it upon ourselves to rescue the party from their int and dictatorial leadership.

It is indeed noteworthy that from 1999 to date, Nigerians have constantly voted the presidential candidates presented by our great party but not only dies such trust come wig enormous responsibility, we recognize that we cannot continue to take the people f granted.

From now, the new leadership of the party under us will strive to build a fairer as well as a more transparent and accountable PDP that will putty interest of members and indeed all the people of Nigeria above that of one single individual.

For all the members of our great party who may have become disillusioned by the anti-democratic tendencies of the Bamanga Tukur’s leadership, there is a new lease of life in the horizon. It’s a new day for the Peoples Democratic Party.

As we take over the leadership of the PDP, our immediate priority is to revive the culture of robust debate of all contending issues while providing a level-playing field for all our members. These were the ideals that differentiated our party from others and endeared us to Nigerians.

We are not, and have never been a political party where one man would be taking decisions for all members and where once you do not kowtow before the presidency, you are deemed a rebel that must be crushed. That is not the PDP bequeathed to us by our founding fathers. That, I dare say, is no longer what PDP under our leadership will represent from today.

The PDP convention is still in progress at the Eagle Square.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has denied an allegation leveled against the party by Kwarachapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, of planning to disrupt the Offa local government election rerun today.

Rather, it said, the PDP is indeed the purveyor of violence and the mastermind of rigging going into the polls.

A statement issued by the APC’s national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, said the allegation is an admission of failure on the part of the PDP, which has been in power in Kwara for the last 10 years.

”If a government that has been in power for this length of time, that has control over the police and the State Security Service (SSS) is now crying wolf over an isolated local government rerun, it can only mean one thing, that the government has lost control of events in the state and that it is no longer sure of the support of the people it claims to be governing,” Mohammed said.

Kwara PDP in a statement issued by its director of publicity, Mas’ud Adebimpe, on Wednesday alleged that APC planned to import political thugs and assassins from neighbouring states who would invade Offa few days to the election day.

Ma’sud said the plot was hatched during a meeting presided over by Mohammed and held at Oro inIrepodun local government of the state.

APC disclaimed the presence of its national publicity secretary at any such meeting as he had been out of the country.

It stated further that fear of losing the Saturday’s election prompted the allegation, pointing out that the PDP has never won elections in Offa local government.

Contrary to allegation made by PDP, Mohammed stated that it is a tradition for The ruling party to mobilize thugs during elections claiming that there is pictorial evidence of the attacks carried out during past polls against its members and supporters including damage done to their vehicles.

The APC urged its members and supporters to continue to eschew violence even in the face of provocation from the PDP, but urged them to turn out in large numbers to vote and ensure that they defend their votes on Saturday.

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on Wednesday restrained the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from recognising Tony Nwoye as the party’s candidate for the November 16 Anambra governorship election.

The court, presided over by Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, gave the order following an originating summons filed by the Anambra state factional chairman of PDP, Ejike Oguebego.

The court also restrained PDP and INEC from accepting the outcome of the primary election conducted by Ken Emeakayi’s faction of the party.

It said PDP and INEC should stop further action pending the hearing of the motion for an interlocutory injunction and motion to set aside the interim order.

The court adjourned the case to August 30 for hearing.

The party had recognised and given certificate of return to Nwoye who won the primary election conducted by the Emeakayi faction.

Andy Uba had emerged factional winner in another primary election held concurrently by INEC’srecognised chairman of the state’s chapter of the party, Oguebeo.

But the national leadership of the party gave recognition to Nwoye and had summoned Uba andOguebego to appear before the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, for holding a rival primary election for the governorship poll.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the only governorship primary election recognised by the party was the primary election conducted by the electoral panel under the leadership of Governor IbrahimShema of Katsina,” the party’s acting national publicity secretary, Tony Okeke said.

Okeke added that the holding of the other primary was  “a clear breach of our party’s constitution and is therefore totally unacceptable and cannot be condoned.”