NEWSPAPER STORIES COMPILED FOR SUNDAY 13-04-2014 THE NATION Page 3:- The siege of the light brigade As a prelude to the “democratic” war of succession that will make or mar Nigeria, irrespective of the outcome of the ongoing National Conference, the old west is being gradually militarised. The entire region appears to have been placed on the political equivalent of a war footing. The siege is on. It is the kind of shock and awe military terror that will turn Stormin Norman Shwarzkopf to a whimpering old bugger. A pincer movement is unfolding with the major strategic objective of paralysing the dominant political tendency in the region, or at the minimum render it hors de combat in the bid to capture power at the centre. You cannot be advancing when your stronghold has been set on fire. Militarily, it is known as a bridge too far. With Musiliu Obanikoro, the newly appointed Minister of State for Defence, war-gaming from Lagos all the way to the Ilaje coastline, with Iyiola Omisore and Jelili Adesiyan sadistically probing the heart and plexus of the old region in Osun state, and with a column of reaction heading from Ondo to link up with joyous thugs and fifth columnists already in place in Ekiti-land, once again the Yoruba nation is being turned into a theatre of war and strife. See more at: thenationonlineng.net/new/siege-light-brigade/ Page 4:- PICTURE: Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Managing Director/E-i-C, Champion Newspapers, Mrs. Nwadiuto Iheakanwa; Ekiti State Governor (Awardee), Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his wife, Erulu Bisi Fayemi; Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; and former Ekiti State Governor, Niyi Adebayo during Fayemi’s Investiture as Champion Newspapers’ Governor of the Year (2013) in Lagos. Page 5:- Fayemi, Aregbesola win APC gurber tickets Governors Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State and Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State are on course for a fresh mandate. The two of them were yesterday picked unopposed at the APC congresses in their states to fly the party’s flag in the governorship elections scheduled for June 21 in Ekiti and August 9 in Osun. The Ekiti congress which took place at the Trade Fair Complex, Ado-Ekiti, capital of the state, was attended by the Governor , his deputy, Prof. Modupe Adelabu, wife of the state governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; Speaker of the State Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin; the Interim State Chairman of the APC, Chief Jide Awe and the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Yemi Adaramodu. It was conducted by a team of National officers of APC led by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso Other members of the team were Alhaji Abubakar Suleja (Secretary), Isah Maduto, Capt Bala Jubril (rtd), Alhaji Yemi Sanusi, and Steve Asimoke. Also in attendance were the representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission and men of the Nigeria Police and the State Security Service. See more at: thenationonlineng.net/new/fayemi-aregebesola-win-apc-gurber-tickets/ Page 7:- PDP has done nothing for South West, says Aregbesola THE ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has not brought any meaningful development to the South West region since the return of democracy, Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, stated yesterday. He spoke in Iwo, headquarters of the Iwo Local Government where he was endorsed for second term at the weekend by thousands of supporters of the All Progressive Congress (APC). The supporters thronged the playing field of the District Council Elementary School, Araromi, where they waved the broom symbol of the party. Aregbesola assured that all the remaining roads projects around the town and those linking Iwo to the state capital and the neighbouring Oyo State would be reconstructed. He said Iwo remains critical to the economic reconstruction of Osun, stating that the indigenes have been known in history as enterprising people. According to the governor: “The road from Papa boundary to Iwo will be done. We always stand by our promise because we are not like the people who ruled the state for seven and half years without anything to show for it. “We thank our people for having confidence in us; for displaying the conviction that we hold our promises with tenacity. There is nothing we promised that will not be delivered”. See more at: thenationonlineng.net/new/pdp-done-nothing-south-west-says-aregbesola/ Page 8: PICTURE: Governor, State of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, acknowledge cheers from supporters during his endorsement for second term in office by Iwo community, in Iwo Local Government Area of the State at the weekend. Page 15:- Sinister signs “Underhand tactics in Ekiti and Osun PDP primaries, and Obanikoro’s bullying campaign in Lagos send alarming signals in the run-up to 2015 general election.” Page 16:- 2015: Jonathan’s ambition irretrievably edging Yoruba Land to Golgotha All things considered, there is every indication that President Goodluck Jonathan has decided to shatter the peace subsisting in the only part of the country where there remains a modicum of peace as opposed to the horrifying bloodletting, armed robbery, kidnapping and piracy that have completely overwhelmed other parts of the country. In the only section of Nigeria where children’s throats are not being slit while asleep or where the president’s own uncle and godfather’s children are not being kidnapped, the President, who has appropriately been likened to Nero, is irretrievably edging Yoruba land into war. This president, who has failed to secure the lives and property of Nigerians but who, instead, has justifiably been accused by some Northern leaders of trying to profit from the horrendous and ghoulish mayhem in the North, is doing everything to cause chaos in Yoruba land. Some three months ago, I drew attention to his outflanking and, surreptitiously surrounding the Southwest. Today, he has succeeded in procuring, like merchandise, a minor but respected section of the Yoruba leadership which has, in turn sold him the national conference agenda and donated one of its own to kick start the process. The result is that while the extravagantly funded talk show is ongoing, the hard-headed and vocal section of the Yoruba intelligentsia, the Femi Falana’s, Akin Oyebode’s, the Bisi Adegbuyi’s, not to mention Wale Oshun, who by now would have shouted themselves hoarse about Jonathan’s serpentine designs on Yoruba land, are at peace with the President’s men in Abuja. No, I am not by any shred of imagination suggesting that the president and his party should not wish to have a reasonable showing in the coming elections in Ekiti and Osun or, indeed, strive to conjure another Jonathan victory in Yoruba land, come 2015; but for the president to want to inflict this species of Yoruba politicians on us; persons whose antecedents are an open book to Nigerians in general and to us, in particular, should ordinarily be beneath him. We were recently told in Ibadan that what he wants in Yoruba land are not politicians but ‘soldiers’ of fortune and we have since seen some of them. But if we may ask: what does Jonathan want with ‘soldiers’ if not to turn Yoruba land into a war zone? After all, there is no evidence to suggest that this President will faint at the sight of more blood. Nigerians must have seen what the PDP is already making of both the Army and the Police. While we have Senator Adeleke’s word as to how, on the orders of Jonathan’s Police Affairs Minister, seven A.K 47’s were trained on his head, Musiliu Obanikoro, the Minister of state, Army, was reported in newspapers to have led soldiers to Ilaje Ese Odo, Ondo state, last Saturday even as a legislative bye election was ongoing. Till now, a supposedly independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has not been able to announce the result of that election. We can only imagine how many battalions, a President who has no faith in the ballot box, will inundate Ekiti and Osun states with on their respective election day. As a Christian, we hope he knows the story of David and Goliath. It would have been interesting, if not calamitous, that the President went all the way to his South-South region to zero in on a man Nigerian courts declared to be above trial in a massive corruption case, at the instance of EFCC, to do his wish in the PDP primaries in Ekiti. Need we any further evidence of his designs on Ekiti and its people? We hope they will not be led by the Satan itself to self destruct. It is our hope that they will not resort to the Oyinlola strong arm tactics of 2007 in Osun state which saw many of our people to their early graves. Those pictures are forever engraved in our subconscious in Yoruba land. Their game is up and the Presidency, INEC, the Nigerian Army and the Police should know that this clarion call is not only being read all over the world but it could very well be part of dispatches from several embassies to their home governments. The most interesting thing, however, is that his armada will not meet Ekiti or Osun people with our hands tied behind our backs. Before that D-Day, however, we, Omoluabi Yorubas, have work to do. I quote below how aptly this work was captured on ekitipanupo during this past week: “There is a gang up to force a regime change in Yoruba land which is being backed up and is fully and massively funded by the presidency - remember the stolen billions. If we don’t want them to take us back to their inglorious past of infamy and bloodletting, then all hands must be on deck. Our elite must step out of their cocoon and go to their respective towns and villages to reach out to the electorate. The real village square meetings of the people must hold publicly at which the people, especially the impressionable youths, who have voter’s cards and are eligible to vote, will be properly counseled on the communal position on fundamental political issues”, especially the need for Ekiti never to become a colony of stranger elements. Ekiti has forever sealed her freedom with the blood of its citizens shed at the KIRIJI war. See more at: thenationonlineng.net/new/2015-jonathans-ambition-irretrievably-edging-yoruba-land-golgotha/ Page 23: Osun 2014: ‘Aregbesola deserves second term’ n this brief encounter, Dr Charles Onuoha, a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), current chairman, Imo State Housing Corporation and governorship aspirant in Imo State ahead 2015, lauded the achievements of the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, explaining why the governor should be re-elected. Sam Egburonu reports See more at: thenationonlineng.net/new/osun-2014-aregbesola-deserves-second-term/ THE PUNCH Page 6:- Aregbesola, Fayemi get second-term tickets The Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his counterpart in Osun State, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, were on Saturday endorsed as the governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress in the two states in the forthcoming elections. The emergence of the Fayemi and Aregbesola was preceded by congresses held before the governors who had no contestants were endorsed as the flag bearers of their states in the governorship elections. The Nasir el-Rufai-led committee supervised the primary election in Osun State where Aregbesola was endorsed. While giving the governor the certificate of return, he said 269,631 members of the party voted Aregbesola for a second term out 355,390 members who registered in 332 wards across the state. Aregbesola got the APC governorship ticket a week after Senator Iyiola Omisore won the primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State. With this development, Aregbesola will contest against the governorship candidates of other political parties in the election, which will hold on August 9. Reacting to the statement credited to the national Chairman of the PDP, Adamu Muazu, that winning Osun from the APC was a difficult task but very possible, Aregbesola said, “It is difficult and impossible for the PDP to win Osun.” The governor said his administration would not relent in carrying out the responsibilities he was voted for while adding that progress would continue throughout his second term if elected. See more at: sardaunamagazine/index.php/component/k2/item/10561-aregbesola-fayemi-get-second-term-tickets NIGERIAN TRIBUNE Page 4:- PDP moves for total control of South-West · As Aregbesola says party, Mu’azu can’t unseat him Ahead of the decisive 2015 general election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is said to have resolved to change its fortune in the South-West geopolitical zone by taking control of the zone, as Sunday Tribune gathered that special assignments have been handed over to critical stakeholders for that purpose. Sunday Tribune findings revealed that in line with the party’s agenda to take over the South-West, a tactics team had undertaken a state by state analysis recently and had submitted its report to party leaders, who have begun to implement the report. Sources within the party confirmed that the Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, was among those given a special assignment in the operation reclaim South-West agenda. President Goodluck Jonathan and the new PDP Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, as well as other chieftain of the party, have repeatedly on every occasion restated their intention to reclaim the states they lost to the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which had merged with other parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC). See more at: tribune.ng/news/top-stories/item/3274-ahead-2015-elections-pdp-moves-for-total-control-of-south-west Page 6:- PDP sues Okonjo-Iweala, Aregbesola over LG funds The Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has approached the Federal High Court, Osogbo to compel the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the state governor, Rauf Aregbesola and the state’s Accountant-General to comply with the Freedom of Information Act and “state and render account of all remittances from the Federations Account to each of Osun State’s 30 local governments and area office for the accounting period.” The claimants, which comprised the party, Conference of Unpaid Former Local Government Political Functionaries in Osun State and candidates of the PDP for local government elections, in a suit with number FHC/OS/CS/6/2014, asked the state governor and his “self-appointed local government helmsmen and the state Accountant-General to account for the whereabouts of the statutory allocations received from the federation accounts running into hundreds of billions of Naira between January 2011 to date.” See more at: tribune.ng/news/news-headlines/item/3283-pdp-sues-okonjo-iweala-aregbesola-over-lg-funds Page 9:- Oyo/Osun Customs intercept 481 bags of smuggled rice Barely three weeks after 30,000 live cartridges were intercepted by the Oyo/Osun Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, another war against smugglers was won on Wednesday, April 2, 2014, when one of its patrol teams led by one B.F Asagba, a Superintendent of Customs, intercepted nine buses loaded with 481 (50kg) bags of rice with a duty paid value of N6,082,245million along the same Iseyin-Saki axis of the state. Revealing this to journalists through the Public Relations Officer, Nkeiruka Nwala, the Customs Area Controller, Mr Richard Oteri said that within the past one year, his command had made a total seizure of 15,485 (50kg), three (25kg) and 20 (10kg) bags of rice with a duty paid value of N172,898million. Oteri remarked that “this will go a long way in debunking claims that the Nigeria Customs Service is not doing enough to curb the menace of rice smuggling through the borders”, adding: “I want to use this medium to advise unpatriotic Nigerians who patronise our neighbouring ports with the intention of smuggling to desist from the practice as we will not fail to make them face the full wrath of the law.” See more at: tribune.ng/quicklinkss/sunday-pages/crime-report/item/3225-oyo-osun-customs-intercept-481-bags-of-smuggled-rice Page 35:- ‘Nigeria’s story is best told through fiction’ Yoruba Elites and Ethnic Politics in Nigeria: Obafemi Awolowo and Corporate Agency, written by Assistant Professor of African American and African Studies at the University of California, Davis, US, Wale Adebanwi, will be presented at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos on Thursday. The author speaks on the work, his motivations for writing it and why it took 10 years to complete amongst other issues in this interview. Excerpts: See more at: tribune.ng/arts-culture/item/3218-obafemi-awolowo-has-always-captivated-my-imagination Page 46:- Contenders, key issues in Osun gov race Following the April 5 primary that produced Senator Iyiola Omisore as the standard-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), MOSES ALAO and Oluwole Ige take a look at the impending issues that will affect the August 9, 2014 governorship election in the state. The battle to reclaim Osun State by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has become more heightened with the emergence of the party’s standard-bearer after several months of strategising by the party and its governorship aspirants taking the race for the Abere Government House several notches further. Political observers had anticipated tension on the primary date following the party’s failure to settle for a consensus candidate out of the trio of Senators Iyiola Omisore, Olasunkanmi Akinlabi and Honourable Oluwole Oke, despite several months of consideration by an Elders’ Committee headed by Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, with former Governor Isiaka Adeleke also joining the race at the eleventh hour. But the exercise went without hassle. See more at: tribune.ng/quicklinkss/sunday-pages/the-polity/item/3235-contenders-key-issues-in-osun-gov-race Page 57:- Group tasks voters on Ekiti, Osun elections “A non-governmental organization, Democracy Vanguard, has tasked voters in the country, especially in Ekiti and Osun States, to participate fully in the upcoming governorship elections in the states, just as it urged them protect their votes accordingly.” Page 58:- PICTURE: Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Managing Director/E-i-C, Champion Newspapers, Mrs. Nwadiuto Iheakanwa; Ekiti State Governor (Awardee), Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his wife, Erulu Bisi Fayemi; Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; and former Ekiti State Governor, Niyi Adebayo during Fayemi’s Investiture as Champion Newspapers’ Governor of the Year (2013) in Lagos. DAILY INDEPENDENT Front Page:- PICTURE: Governor, State of Osun, Rauf Aregbesola, acknowledge cheers from supporters during his endorsement for second term in office by Iwo community, in Iwo Local Government Area of the State on Friday. Page 2:- 2015: Cracks in Lagos APC over Fashola’s successor There are clear indications that all may not be well within the camp of the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the race for the 2015 governorship race beckons. This is because the Mandate Group, which is said to control more than 50 percent membership of the party in Lagos, are rooting for one of their leaders, Muiz Banire, to succeed the incumbent governor, Babatunde Fashola, whose eight-year tenure expires in May 2015. Another group that can boast of same is the Justice Forum. Aside his immense contributions to the party from the days of Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and now the APC where he occupies the position of Interim National Legal Adviser, he is also said to be ahead by virtue of his position as one of the arrow heads of the Mandate Group, a formidable political group created by Asiwaju Tinubu and the Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. In a related development, Osun State governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, yesterday emerged as the candidate of the APC to contest the August 9th 2014 governorship election in the state. Aregbesola, by this emergence, will slog it out with Senator Iyiola Omisore of the PDP who has vowed to unseat the former in the contest. Candidates are yet to emerge from other registered political parties seeking to contest the seat currently occupied by Aregbesola. Labour Party is yet to pick its candidate, likewise other political parties in the state. At the party’s primary held yesterday at Freedom Park, Osogbo, Aregbesola polled the highest votes. Aregbesola, according to the party’s primary held in all the 332 wards across the state, polled a total vote of 269,631 out of 355,729 total votes of delegates. The election which supervised by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai-led committee was collated at about 6.00pm after the votes had been collated at each of the 30 Local Government Areas. El-Rufai, who said the election was transparent and devoid of violence, said the party did not deter any of its members from contesting the governorship election as no other person contested with Aregbesola. He said the party believes in democracy and would adopt all the programmes and policies of Governor Aregbesola if it takes over the government at the centre. In his acceptance speech, Aregbesola declared that the party would win the August 9 governorship election in the state, adding that “we do not need any change in the state; rather, we need a change at the centre.” He stressed that he would use all means to battle the PDP, saying that violence alone could not help the PDP win the election. See more at: dailyindependentnig/2014/04/2015-cracks-lagos-apc-fasholas-successor/ Page 7:- PDP failed our people - Aregbesola · Ask opposition politicians to bury heads in shame Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has said neither the government of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the federal level nor those at the state level has brought any form of development to the South West geo-political zone of the country. The governor stated this in Iwo, headquarters of the Iwo Local Government Area, just as eminent Septuagenarian lawyer, Otunba Adebayo Aremu, said the trajectory of the town’s politics shows clearly a preference for forward-looking politicians who promote the welfare of the downtrodden. The ancient town of Iwo stood still for several hours on Friday as members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Iwo gathered with one voice to adopt the second term bid of the governor. It was a jam-packed playing field of the District Council Elementary School Araromi, venue for the programme, as members and followers of the party in their thousands gathered to express their appreciation for the governor. Prominent among the sons and daughters of Iwo land who spoke at the event were the “Ekerin of Iwo land” and a former Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Bola Asafa. The eminent lawyer, who told the gathering that he practiced law in Ogun State for many years before relocating home, said the people of the city had never had it better. See more at: dailyindependentnig/2014/04/pdp-failed-people-aregbesola/ GUARDIAN Page 2:- APC Validates Fayemi’s, Aregbesola Candidacy THE All progressives Congress (APC), Saturday, validated the candidacy of governors Rauf Aregbesola and Kayode Fayemi of Osun and Ekiti states for the forthcoming elections. Aregbesola reportedly recorded 269,631 ‘yes’ votes against zero ‘no’ votes to win the direct primaries, which took place throughout the 332 wards and 30 local governments of the state. He will fly the party’s banner in the August 9, 2014 governorship elections in the state. Governor Fayemi, on the other hand, secured the official nod to fly the party’s flag in the June 21 governorship election. As the sole aspirant of the party, he polled 192,767 votes in 177 wards. Except a few places in Iseyin and Ibarapa areas, where there were skirmishes, the local government council congress of the APC also held peacefully in 31 of the 33 councils in Oyo State. And for the second time in two weeks, the congress could not hold in the Atiba and Oyo West local government areas. Security was tight at the centres used for the congress, which lasted barely 40 minutes after starting. This, The Guardian learnt, was due to the fact that the majority of the candidates were elected by general affirmation. In Ido Local Government, for example, the 24-member executive for the party were elected less than 30 minutes after their names were announced. The council chairman, Professor Joseph Olowofela, attributed this to the strategies put up by the party elders in the council to ensure that members of all the component political parties that merged to form APC were represented in the new party. See more at: theguardianmobile/readNewsItem1.php?nid=24951 Page 5:- PICTURE: Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Managing Director/E-i-C, Champion Newspapers, Mrs. Nwadiuto Iheakanwa; Ekiti State Governor (Awardee), Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his wife, Erulu Bisi Fayemi; Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; and former Ekiti State Governor, Niyi Adebayo during Fayemi’s Investiture as Champion Newspapers’ Governor of the Year (2013) in Lagos. Page 19:- OSUN: Stakeholders Urge INEC To Shape Up THE Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of All Progressives Congress of Nigeria (APC), Osun State chapter, Mr Kunle Oyatomi noted that INEC despite its assurances to hold free, fair and credible election still has a long way to go. He said the commission would need to sit up and review its strategies if the body means business and has genuine concern for Nigerians to have credible and hitch-free election. According to Oyatomi, the first task before the commission is to redeem its image by ensuring that all eligible voters in the country are properly registered as part of good preparation for the election. He observed that the commission has failed to pass this test going by the development during the Continuous Voters Registration exercise conducted by INEC in Osun State. He faulted INEC’s showing during the exercise, saying many of the Data Capturing Machines (DCM) brought by the commission for registration were defective and left many eligible voters stranded for days. To further worsen the situation, he said the electoral umpire flagrantly turned deaf ears to calls by Nigerians to extend the registration exercise to enable eligible voters participate in the important exercise. See more at: ngrguardiannews/index.php/sunday-magazine-sp-509870158/157493-osun-stakeholders-urge-inec-to-shape-up Page 40:- UNIOSUN VC Seek More Supports From Benefactors At Convocation Dinner THE State of Osun University, UNIOSUN, has held its third convocation ceremony, and part of the activities for the event was the ‘Benefactors Dinner’, which held at the Western Sun Hotel, Ede, a sprawling town in the state. Speaking at dinner, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Adekunle Bashiru Okesina, stated that the concept of the dinner was borne out of the reality of the Nigerian educational system, particularly the fund raising challenges that confronts tertiary education and institutions in Nigeria. “As part of the third convocation ceremony of the university, we have designed this dinner to provide a platform for friends of the state of Osun and Osun people to have a strategic engagement with the university. It is about strategic visioning and sustainability of the university,” he said. He added that the dinner, is also about strengthening the partnership with the corporate friends of the state and the University, and also an opportunity to involve and pool other public-spirited friends and socially responsible bodies to partner with the university in its drive to provide manpower resources for the nation as well as serve as a centre of academic excellence. See more at: ngrguardiannews/index.php/sunday-magazine/campus/157503-uniosun-vc-seek-more-supports-from-benefactors-at-convocation-dinner Page 56:- Senatorial Ambition Tears APC Apart Ahead of the 2015 general elections, indications have emerged that the ruling All Progressive Party, APC, may be in trouble in Osun West Senatorial District, especially in Iwo – a stronghold of the party, and the development may not be unconnected with the alleged senatorial ambition of the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti. Adeoti, who is from Iwo and former state chairman of the party until his appointment as the SSG in 2011, was reportedly nursing the fear that he may not be returned as the SSG, even if Governor Rauf Aregbesola wins his re-election bid, and was therefore busy strategising, covertly to contest the osun West senatorial ticket with the incumbent, Senator Mudahir Hussein, who hails from Ejigbo, the headquarters of Ejigbo Local Government Area of the state See more at: nationalmirroronline.net/new/2015-osun-ssgs-senatorial-ambition-may-tear-apc-apart-in-iwo/ NATIONAL MIRROR Page 59:- 2015: Tension as Obanikoro leads Jonathan’s onslaught in South West Barely ten months from the February 2015 general election, tension is gradually building up in the South West as the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have commenced plots to recover the zone from the All Progressives Congress, APC. Part of the plots according to sources available to Sunday Mirror is through coercive approach using the services of the military and the police to intimidate the opposition into submission. Few weeks ago, President Goodluck Jonathan confirmed the appointment of Senator Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro and Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan as Minister of State for Defense and Minister of Police Affairs respectively. These ministers according to the source have been charged to lead Mr. President’s campaign in the South West deploying the instrument of state at their disposal with clear instruction to deliver the zone for President Jonathan See more at: nationalmirroronline.net/new/2015-tension-as-obanikoro-leads-jonathans-onslaught-in-south-west/ VANGUARD Page 4:- ALARM BELL: Religious war looms - Soyinka Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has warned Nigerians to beware of being pushed to the point where adherents of religious faiths would engage in a war, stressing that the outcome of it may be very devastating for the country. Speaking yesterday in Osogbo at a press conference to herald a three-day colloquium organized by the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, CBCIU, in collaboration with Osun State Government, which begins tomorrow, Soyinka noted that activities in recent past in the country pointed to the fact that religious war was looming. Tagged, ‘All Comers Colloquium’, under the theme: ‘Fundamental Imperatives of Cohabitation: Faith and Secularism’, the event is expected to bring Christians, Muslims and traditionalists to discuss ways of preventing religious war in the country. Soyinka, who is the Chairman, Board of Directors of CBCIU, represented by a member of the Board, Prof. Wale Adeniran, stated that with Nigeria surviving a civil war, the next war the nation may fight is religious war. “I pray this does not happen because this may lead to disintegration of Nigeria as no nation in the world has ever fought a religious war and remained the same,” he said. - See more at: vanguardngr/2014/04/religious-war-looms-soyinka/#sthash.iJ5R1zzm.dpuf Page 5:- PICTURE: Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Managing Director/E-i-C, Champion Newspapers, Mrs. Nwadiuto Iheakanwa; Ekiti State Governor (Awardee), Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his wife, Erulu Bisi Fayemi; Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; and former Ekiti State Governor, Niyi Adebayo during Fayemi’s Investiture as Champion Newspapers’ Governor of the Year (2013) in Lagos. Page 29:- Utomi: Nigeria beset with the issue of national character Professor Pat Utomi is an economist and a politician. He co-founded the Lagos Business School, now Pan African University. In this interview, Utomi speaks on the on-going National Conference and the economy among other issues.One of the biggest issues in the country today is the National Conference. We have optimists concerning the conference. We also have pessimists. There are those who are neither here nor there. Where do you stand? What kind of conference would you have loved to see? The conference should be building national consensus, talking about acceptable norms. To return to Delta, a couple of weeks ago I talked about this movement for a new Delta; I said that one of the easiest ways to characterize a new Delta is a programme that I called ‘Aregbe Times 20’. What does ‘Aregbe Times 20’ mean? There was a lot of talk on how many pupils/students were in school in Osun State because they get free lunch. You can give breakfast and lunch in a state like Delta and not encounter any challenge finding the resources to execute it. If any progress must take place, there are two things government must do: education and healthcare. People who are well and educated will create their future. And so when you look at what (Governor) Aregbesola is doing, you will see it translate, in few years, into a different kind of Osun State. It is not by accident that today we keep talking about the advantage that the South-west has because of Chief Awolowo’s policy on education in the 50s. I don’t want to talk about how much I have tried to push these issues privately with people who have been in the leadership in Delta State over the couples of years, that it is not a big deal; you stimulate the agricultural economy of the state by simply collaborating with farmers who will provide the food that will feed the children to attract more children to school; and then ensure that you give them the best possible education and training and retraining for teachers by using remote teaching possibilities that technology made possible to ensure that the best education get to kids across the state. You can also create this competitive economy where you can create a new city not far from Bomadi that will grow not like Abuja; if I have my may, I will bomb Abuja out of existence because it is a major part of Nigeria’s problem. - See more at: vanguardngr/2014/04/national-conference-incapable-engaging-future-pat-utomi/#sthash.Gdm9T46w.dpuf DAILY NEWSWATCH Page 7:- APC picks Aregbesola, Fayemi as guber hopeful The governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and his Osun counterpart, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Saturday emerged governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in their respective states. The Ekiti State governorship election is slated for June 21 while that of Osun will hold on August 9. Although, both candidates were sole aspirants of their party in their respective states, the election was conducted to fulfil INECs requirement. Fayemi emerged the candidate of the party at the primary conducted in the 177 wards of the 16 local governments of the state. The party primary in Ekiti, which was supervised by a six-man panel, headed by the partys Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, was also monitored by the security operatives including the police, SSS and Civil Defence Corps. According to the results of the primary as announced by the returning officer of each of the 16 council areas, Fayemi polled a total votes of 192,767. Fayemi, in his acceptance speech, called APC a democratic party founded on the platform of internal democracy, saying what the party has done remains a worthy model and part of the ways to consolidate the democratic culture in the country. He said his emergence as the flagbearer had shown the overwhelming support he enjoyed in APC and among the Ekiti populace. See more at: thisdaylive/articles/aregbesola-fayemi-emerge-apc-guber-candidates-in-osun-ekiti/176038/ Page 46:- Critics of Aregbesola are anti-people - Bashiru Mr Ajibola Bashiru is the Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties in Osun State. In this interview, Bashiru takes a swipe at critics of the Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola administration and explains why the governor deserves second term at the Abere Government House. Excerpts: - See more at: vanguardngr/2014/04/critics-aregbesola-anti-people-bashiru/#sthash.q2ZZhFvW.dpuf DAILY SUN Page 5:- PICTURE: Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; Managing Director/E-i-C, Champion Newspapers, Mrs. Nwadiuto Iheakanwa; Ekiti State Governor (Awardee), Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his wife, Erulu Bisi Fayemi; Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; and former Ekiti State Governor, Niyi Adebayo during Fayemi’s Investiture as Champion Newspapers’ Governor of the Year (2013) in Lagos. Page 5:- Osun guber: Aregbesola emerges APC candidate Osun state governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola yesterday emerged the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state for the August 9 governorship election in the state, having polled the highest votes in the party’s primary election. Aregbesola, at the party’s primary election held in all the 332 wards across the state polled a total vote of 269,631 out of 355,729 total votes. The election which was conducted by officials of the party from the national secretariat led by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai was concluded about 6.00pm at the Nelson Mandela freedom park, Osogbo after the votes had been collated at each of the 30 Local Government Areas. The chairman of the electoral committee of the party, Mallam El-Rufai who said the election was transparent and devoid of violence, said the party did not deter any of its members from contesting the governorship election as no other person contested with Aregbesola. See more at: sunnewsonline/new/?p=59618#prettyPhoto/0/ Page 7:- PDP failed our people - Aregbesola Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has said neither the government of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the federal level nor those at the state level has brought any form of development to the South West geo-political zone of the country. The governor stated this in Iwo, headquarters of the Iwo Local Government Area, just as eminent Septuagenarian lawyer, Otunba Adebayo Aremu, said the trajectory of the town’s politics shows clearly a preference for forward-looking politicians who promote the welfare of the downtrodden. The ancient town of Iwo stood still for several hours on Friday as members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Iwo gathered with one voice to adopt the second term bid of the governor. It was a jam-packed playing field of the District Council Elementary School Araromi, venue for the programme, as members and followers of the party in their thousands gathered to express their appreciation for the governor. See more at: dailyindependentnig/2014/04/pdp-failed-people-aregbesola/ Page 63:- ‘Omisore is no threat to Aregbesola’ “Like its Ekiti State counterpart, Osun State is already kicking with campaigns for governorship election. In his interview, the state Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties, Mr. Ajibola Bashir, is confident that the election will be a walkover for Governor Rauf Aregbesola even with the emergence of Senator Iyola Omisore as the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).” BUSINESS WORLD Page 5:- A full page advert placed by Business World on the Award Presentation to Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as Business World Newspaper ‘Most Innovative Nigerian Governor in First Term.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 12:03:30 +0000
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