WHICH SIDE MINISTER MAKU SUPPORTS IN NASARAWA CRISIS?

The recently registered All Progressives' Congress party (APC) demands to relieve the Information Minister Labaran Maku of his duties as the supervising Minister of Defence. The opposition suspect him of being an interested party in the ongoing Nasarawa State crisis.

In order to end the Nasarawa violence, which claimed several lives and wiped out hundreds of houses, troops were deployed to the state by the Federal Government. It is believed that the crisis was triggered by the infamous Ombatse cult, otherwise known as Ombatse militia group.

Voicing the party's statement on Thursday, its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said that Maku is of the Eggon ethnic group, and the Ombatse cult is of similar origins. This fact, according to APC, makes Maku's new appointment as the Supervising Minister of Defence, untenable.

Whatever steps Maku would take in his new capacity towards solving the Nasarawa crisis, they would be judged and most probably misinterpreted, Mohammed alleged.

It was suggested in the statement that Jonathan should immediately relieve Maku from his new duties, as such practice is widely spread worldwide.

Jonathan directed Maku to take the reins of government of the Defence Ministry, as the Minister of State for Defence, Olusola Obada, was sacked last week. Until Mrs. Obada was sacked alongside eight other ministers, the ministry had no senior minister.

The APC also noted that the minister did little to help the matters with his recent interview with BBC. Maku has been "economical with the truth," the statement read, and tried to downplay the role of the Nasarawa State Government in solving the conflict and curbing the activities of the Ombatse cult.

"At the instance of the State Government, several meetings have also been held with Eggon leaders and the Eggon Cultural and Development Association (ECDA), to no avail. It is therefore blatantly wrong for the minister, or anyone for that matter, to say the State Government has not initiated dialogue as a means of resolving the crisis.

"Also, the State Governor has been briefing the President, on a regular basis, over the crisis. He has requested for the deployment to the state of a Mobile Police Squadron as well as troops. While the requests were granted, the deployments are just about being carried out, yet Minister Maku gave an erroneous impression concerning the role of the State Government in curtailing the crisis.

"Thirdly, the State Government has compiled and sent to the Federal Government the names and addresses of the suspected leaders and major players in Ombatse, the perpetrator of the violence. The State Government has also instituted a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the violence, while assisting the victims of the violence state-wide.

In conclusion, the APC stressed that Maku (as well as any prominent Eggon citizen) has not expressed his disapproval over the Ombatse attacks on ordinary citizens and security operatives. This, the party says, serves as an excellent evidence to show where their sympathy lies.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ….Anambra PDP Crisis: Senator Andy Uba Absent At PDP Disciplinary Panel

Senator Andy Uba, the winner of the parallel primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State, was sighted in the Asokoro District of Abuja on Wednesday, August 28,2013 when he and four other members of the party were supposed to appear before the PDP disciplinary panel at the national secretariat of the party. 

They were summoned to explain why they organised a separate congress in the state last Saturday, August 24, where Uba was elected as its governorship candidate for Anambra November 16 election. The other four members are Uba's younger brother, Chris, and Ejike Oguebego, Benji Udepzor and Tonia Nwankwu.

At the primary attended by the party officials Hon. Tony Nwoye was elected as the party's candidate. 

The erring party members were directed to appear before the NWC by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, but none of them showed up at time of this report.

Although there were speculations at the PDP national secretariat that Uba had travelled outside country and therefor could not appear before the NWC, the senator was sighted in Asokoro District in Abuja on Wednesday afternoon. The attempts to contacts Uba have been unsuccessful so far.

Meanwhile at the PDP national secretariat

Also on Wednesday, the National Chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur, presented a certificate of return to Nwoye, at a short ceremony held at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja. Tukur said he did not know the party’s flag-bearer until he emerged the winner at last Saturday’s primary election:

“That is how it should be. If we do things transparently, honestly and with commitment, PDP will always arrive at the right thing. You have made us proud.”

He also said upon his assumption of office as the national chairman and in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s quest for one-man-one vote, he had declared that a level-playing field would be provided for every member of the PDP seeking elective offices while equity and justice would begin to reign in the party.

Speaking to journalists after the ceremony, Nwoye said his emergence was God’s design because he was never considered as one of the top aspirants before the primary election. Nwoye, a former state chairman of PDP in Anambra State and former President of National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, also explained that he did not labour much to secure the ticket last Saturday as he did when he contested election into the House of Representatives in 2011, though he was denied the right of taking his seat in the House.

If elected, he added, he would empower the suffering masses of Anambra State and ensure adequate security in the state so that its indigenes would no longer take refuge in the neighbouring states of Enugu and Delta.

It will be reminded, that the parallel primaries took place on 24 August 2013. The PDP leadership disapproved the primary held by the faction chaired by Ejike Oguebeogu and recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), where Mr. Uba was elected as its governorship candidate. After that, PDP summoned Uba to appear before a disciplinary panel to "show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against them.”