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Tag: Anambra

  • Obiano signs Anambra Anti-Open Grazing Bill into law, orders immediate enforcement

    Obiano signs Anambra Anti-Open Grazing Bill into law, orders immediate enforcement

    Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, has joined his counterparts in the southern region of the country to sign the anti-open grazing bill into law.

    He assented to the Cattle and Other Livestock Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Bill of Anambra State on Friday at the Governor’s Lodge in Amawbia, Awka.

    Governor Obiano explained that the decision of the state government to outlaw the open grazing of cattle and other livestock was to enhance peace between the farmers and the herders in Anambra.

    According to him, the management of the crisis between farmers and herders has been a short-term measure and it has become necessary for the government to take decisive action.

    The governor stated that the law enforcement agencies have been directed to immediately commence the implementation of the law

  • Anambra: Do all you can to ensure a peaceful election – Buhari tells security agencies

    Anambra: Do all you can to ensure a peaceful election – Buhari tells security agencies

    President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Nigerian Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies to ensure that no group or individual is allowed to stimulate anarchy and chaos in Anambra State.

    According to the president, peace must be maintained in Anambra, even if it requires dominating the state ahead of the governorship election scheduled for November 6.

    The National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, disclosed this after a security meeting presided by President Buhari at the State House on Thursday.

    He explained that the President gave the injunction because the implications of sabotage by non-state actors on the Anambra poll would set a dangerous precedence for future elections in the country.

    In a similar vein, Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi, said the security alert level in Anambra needed to be upped in a bid to ensure that people were not disenfranchised in the coming election.

    At a media chat following a meeting with the President, the minister noted that escalating security within Anambra was done purposely to wither the operations of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and to engender a calm atmosphere and embolden the people to vote.

    Before the briefing by his cabinet members, President Buhari presided over a security meeting with the nation’s service chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies.

    The meeting was attended by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; and Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, among others.

    The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, led the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, and other security chiefs to the meeting.

    They are Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao; Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Yusuf Bichi; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.

    Although the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, was absent at the meeting, he was represented by a Deputy Inspector General of Police, Sanusi Lemu.

  • Police to deploy 34,587 operatives for Nov. 6 Anambra governorship election

    Police to deploy 34,587 operatives for Nov. 6 Anambra governorship election

    The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Usman Baba, said on Thursday in Abuja that 34,587 operatives would be deployed to Anambra for the state’s Nov. 6 governorship election.

    Baba made the declaration at a meeting with police officers from the rank of Commissioner and above.

    He said the deployment would consist of conventional police officers, Police Mobile Force, the Counter Terrorism Unit, Special Forces, Explosive Ordnance Unit, Force Intelligence Bureau, INTERPOL, Special Protection Unit and a medical team.

    He said three helicopters would be deployed for aerial surveillance while detachments of Marine Police operatives would also be deployed to ensure safe, secure and credible electoral process.

    Baba said the deployments followed the outcome of election security threat analysis conducted by the Force Intelligence Bureau.

    “Based on the outcome of the analysis, we have developed a strategic election security operation plan which will involve the mobilisation of 34,587 police personnel.

    “Let me use this opportunity to assure all citizens and stakeholders, including the international community of our determination to work with other security agencies to stabilise the prevailing situation in Anambra.

    “The idea is to create a conducive and enabling environment that will guarantee peaceful conduct of the election.

    “We are also committed to partnering with INEC within the dictates of the Electoral Act to deliver a credible election in Anambra,’’ he said.

    According to him, the police have also emplaced adequate forward and reverse logistics arrangements for seamless operation in the state.

    He warned subversive elements and political actors who would want to adopt undemocratic and illegal means to achieve their aspirations to bury such thoughts.

    Baba also called on the Commissioners of Police to strengthen security architecture in their commands to prevent anticipated security threat as the year ran to an end.

  • Malami and the ‘Emergency rule’ in Anambra – Carl Umegboro

    Malami and the ‘Emergency rule’ in Anambra – Carl Umegboro

    By Carl Umegboro

    The Attorney General of the Federation/Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) last week threatened that the federal government may proclaim a State of Emergency in Anambra state. The state suddenly changed from its peaceful nature as the November 6 governorship election approaches to violence by unknown gunmen. A prominent figure, Dr. Chike Akunyili, sadly lost his life in the imbroglio, amongst others. In total, about 10 persons had lost their lives to the unknown gunmen lately. However, many believe the violence is politically-motivated with a plot to manipulate the forthcoming governorship election in the state. Malami, who is also in APC-Anambra Campaign Council despite the sensitive position he occupies in the government displays the same body language like APC candidate, Andy Uba endorsing emergency rule. And the state witnessed similar mayhem when the present APC candidate contested in the PDP platform during Obasanjo’s administration.

    Since Malami’s remarks, criticisms from leaders-of-thought have continued to trail it. The state governor, Willie Obiano without taking chances has reported the AGF to his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari. In fact, people were stunned that Malami whose state, Kebbi has also been under siege for years by banditry including countless abduction of school children could recommend Emergency rule on Anambra for a violence of few weeks. Though, Anambra violence is totally condemned, nonetheless, it must be noted that it doesn’t measure a fraction of the casualties the nation has recorded in places like Borno, Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Benue, Plateau, Yobe, Niger, Adamawa, Taraba and others where terrorists have not only killed several thousands of citizens but also attacked military formations and slaughtered soldiers and other security officers. Terrorists have even brought down some sophisticated combat aircrafts. Amid these outrageous developments, Malami remains silent.

    To be candid, this episode and other previous allegations that linked AGF-Malami leave much to be desired of the occupant of the sensitive position. Instructively, AGF must be nonpartisan. Unfortunately, under his watch, many developments had pointed to partisanship. Even the courts were recently used in obtaining frivolous orders as in the past. These inadequacies triumphed during the previous administrations which Buhari vowed to stop by his ‘Change’ mantra. Thus, there’s no better time for President Buhari to put his house in order. Over the weekend, Chancellor of Austria, Sebastian Kurz voluntarily stepped down from office to clear himself of corruption allegations. This is an iconic leadership template.

    Remarkably, President Buhari unyieldingly displayed statesmanship during the Edo election, and didn’t allow federal bullying interfere with the will of the people. Convincingly, Buhari can do it again, and must not allow his aides to defecate on his hard-earned integrity. Nigeria cannot go back to the dark years when governors were imposed on people through federal might. To AGF-Malami, the question begging for answers is; if a state is under attack, between the President who is the Chief security officer and commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, and the governor handicapped by the constitution, who should be liable? For emphasis, by constitutional arrangement, all security agencies take directives from the president. Hence, the call for Emergency rule in Anambra; believably a script to foist a lapdog against the popular-will is an indictment on the federal government. Even though the believably sponsored-mayhems cannot be compared with that of Borno or other states under a siege, however, it is worrisome as Anambra state for over 16 years has enjoyed peace, stability and progress.

    Again and importantly, there are numerous untreated issues particularly allegations of misconducts linking some government officials, and the masses deserve to know how those weighty allegations were investigated. That is how other countries of the world make progress. As a matter of fact, had the various protests been tied to any specific and meaningful issue instead of ‘Revolution-Now ‘or ‘Buhari-Must-Go’ they would have made serious impacts. Had any been directed towards the probity of any public officeholder, certainly, it must succeed with popular support as accountability is key in public service. But the organizers took it personally and misfired. Public officeholders cannot do whatever they like against standard norms.

    For example, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore had in a series of publications alleged that AGF-Malami, a public officeholder acquired several properties that run into billions of naira since appointment in Buhari’s government. It added that Malami has an underground hotel in Sokoto, three houses at Peace Estate, Abuja, a brand new state-of-the-art school in Kebbi, two houses for his sons worth N100million each, and a new hotel under construction in the Jabi area of Abuja. Others include a house he bought in 2020 worth N150million in the Gwarimpa area of Abuja, a newly constructed school located at the back of NITEL in Gesse Phase 1, Birnin-Kebbi, and a new house worth N600million on Ahmadu Bello Way, Nassarawa GRA, Kano. Furthermore, the whistle blew that Malami also built a N3billion multipurpose event-center in Kebbi state named Azbir Arena for his son, and Rayhaan Hotel located on Zaria Road, opposite Mallam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. As a public officeholder, investigation is necessary. What a list amid masses’ sufferings! Amid these allegations, instead of responding to them, Malami exposed the EFCC boss then, Ibrahim Magu, booted him out of office, and installed his loyalist. Perhaps for ‘protection’.

    Despite the alleged weighty financial misconducts by Magu, he was merely sacked. The indictments cannot be a party affair. The public deserve to know what transpired that led to the coded removal of Magu from office, strangely, without prosecution. Magu cannot be shielded on the alleged diversion of proceeds recovered from corruption. Otherwise, the government should be willing to release all the helpless masses languishing in various Correctional centres across the country even for lesser crimes. These are where mass actions are requisite. And the government must treat these matters seriously and urgently. Some people cannot be above the law or sacred cows.

    It must be recalled that this is a government that didn’t spare a Chief Justice of Nigeria in office who hails from another region, but docked him publicly over alleged illicit assets acquisition, and kicked him out of office before his term elapsed. Buhari, the time to act is now.

    Umegboro is a public affairs analyst and social crusader.

  • Strategies in place to ensure peaceful election in Anambra – Army

    Strategies in place to ensure peaceful election in Anambra – Army

    The Nigerian Army says it has mapped out strategies to ensure that residents of Anambra State enjoy peace and security before, during, and after the governorship election scheduled to hold on November 6.

    Maj.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Enugu, said that the army would also ensure the safety of corps members on electoral duties.

    Lagbaja said this when Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), paid him a courtesy visit at the division’s headquarters, Enugu.

    In a statement signed by Mrs Adenike Adeyemi, the NYSC Director of Press and Public Relations, Lagbaja commended corps members for their invaluable service to the various units of the division, including the command secondary schools.

    “The army had mapped out strategies towards ensuring that residents of Anambra, including corps members on election duties enjoy peace and security before, during, and after the exercise.

    “Beyond the electioneering, the division will continue to accord topmost priority to the security of corps members and staff of the scheme.

    “The NYSC has contributed to the socio-economic development of the country and played a pivotal role in the training and mentoring of the youth as responsible members of the society.

    “I commend corps members for their invaluable service to the various units of the division, including the command secondary schools in its areas of responsibility.

    Earlier, the NYSC director-general commended the division for providing the necessary welfare and security support to corps members during and after orientation.

    Ibrahim noted that the NYSC would continue to do its best to strengthen the cordial relationship between the scheme and the Nigerian Army.

  • Tainted threat of ’emergency rule’ in Anambra – Ehichioya Ezomon

    Tainted threat of ’emergency rule’ in Anambra – Ehichioya Ezomon

    By Ehichioya Ezomon
    President Muhammadu Buhari may’ve temporarily doused the tension generated by Wednesday, October 6, 2021, threat by the government to proclaim a “state of emergency” in Anambra State.
    The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), threw the obviously discriminatory and politically-motivated proposal amid public expectation of de-escalation of tension nationwide.
    According to Anambra Governor Willie Obiano, Buhari isn’t in support of the minister’s bombshell that has sent shockwaves, and elicited condemnation across the country.
    The government that should lead peace initiatives appears to stoke unrest with Malami’s outburst that excuses other states in Nigeria that have more serious challenges to law and order.
    The strife in the South-East, mainly from agitation for secession of the zone, is nothing compared to the carnage in the North-East, Middle Belt and North-West of Nigeria, where terrorists maraud.
    And there’ve never been hints of imposition of a state of emergency in any of the states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Plateau, Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger and Sokoto.
    So, why the threat in Anambra regarded as the most peaceful in the South-East until lately? Obiano, after a quick visit to Buhari at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja, on Thursday, October 7, thumped his chest in attestation to the prior peace that existed in Anambra.
    Short of berating Malami, who broached the plan after Wednesday, October 6, meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Obiano described insecurity in Anambra as “a flash in the pan” and “a little hiccup.”
    He queried Malami’s turn-away from the hotspots “in Kaduna, in Jos, in Imo, in Zamfara” and said, “why is he making that kind of assertion, and we have an election by the corner?”
    Likening happenings in Anambra and the North-West and North-East to a case of malaria and cancer that require “different treatments,” Obiano said, “we are not near, in terms of confusion and security challenges, compared to Zamfara and co.”
    “Look at what is happening in the North; they kill dozens every day. Because less than 15 people were killed in Anambra in two weeks, is that a reason for somebody to call for a state of emergency? That’s a very unfortunate comment by Malami,” Obiano said.
    “In summary, what I’m saying is what is happening in Anambra… crisis and challenges are far from being close to (the) challenges in the North-West and in the North-East, as the case may be.”
    Explaining the rationale for weighing an emergency rule in Anambra, Malami focused principally on tightening of security ahead of the November 6, 2021, governorship election in the state.
    “His words: “What I’m saying… is that no possibility is ruled out by government in terms of ensuring the sanctity of our democratic order, in terms of ensuring that our elections in Anambra hold.
    “And you cannot rule out the possibility of (a) declaration of (a) state of emergency where it is established, in essence, that there’s a failure on the part of the state government to ensure the sanctity of security of lives, properties and democratic order.”
    The scenario painted by Malami raises several questions: Absent the poll, will normal security operations suffice in Anambra, as in Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo, which’ve witnessed reported attacks by a “militia” Eastern Security Network (ESN), allied to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and “unknown gunmen”?
    What a state of emergency does the government envisage in Anambra? The brand that displaces Governors and Legislative Assemblies, and imposes Sole Administrators, as executed by Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in the Western Region in May 1962, and President Olusegun Obasanjo in Plateau State in May 2004 and Ekiti State in October 2006?
    Or the kind that allows elected organs to remain in place, such as actioned by President Goodluck Jonathan in Borno and Plateau in 2011, and in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in May 2013?
    While the Balewa emergency flowed from the intra-party crisis in the Action Group (AG) in the Western Region, and Obasanjo’s emanated respectively from ethnic and religious violence in Plateau and Kano, and the impeachment of Governor Ayodele Fayose; the Jonathan actions, first in Borno and Plateau, and later in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe were purely to curtail insecurity in the affected states.
    The conditions precedent to a proclamation of a state of emergency, which initially lasts for six months, are listed in Part II (Miscellaneous Provisions), section 305(1-6) of the amended 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, but we deal here, paraphrasingly, with subsections (1), (2), (3)(c)(d)(f)(g), (4), (5) and (6)(a)(b)(c)(d).
    Section 305(1) states: “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the President may, by instrument published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation, issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in the Federation or any part thereof.”
    (2) The President shall transmit copies of the Official Gazette to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, each of whom shall convene or arrange for a meeting of the House, “to consider the situation and decide whether or not to pass a resolution approving the Proclamation.”
    (3) “The President shall have power to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency only when-
    (c) there is actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security;
    (d) there is a clear and actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof requiring extraordinary measures to avert such danger;
    (f) there is any other public danger which clearly constitutes a threat to the existence of the Federation;
    (g) the President receives a request to do so in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of this section.”
    Subsection (5) says the President shall not issue a proclamation of a state of emergency in any case to which the provisions of subsection (4) applies “unless the Governor fails, within a reasonable time, to make a request to the President to issue such Proclamation.” But has insecurity in Anambra reached the level that the Governor failed to request a state of emergency?
    Mr Obiano says no, hence he didn’t ask for, as per subsection (4), “a resolution, supported by two-thirds majority of the House of Assembly, requesting the President to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in the State when there is existence within the State any of the situations specified in subsection (3)(c)(d) and (e) of this section and such a situation does not extend beyond the boundaries of the State.”
    These conditions for a proclamation of a state of emergency are straight-forward, and unambiguous, harbouring no partisanship, as allegedly displayed by the Balewa and Obasanjo administrations.
    Still, there’re more questions to ask, and inferences and implications to draw from government’s attempt at a back-door proclamation of a state of emergency in Anambra. They include:
    * Despite the atrocities of Boko Haram in the North-East and North-West, and “bandits” in the North-West and Middle Belt, government hasn’t imposed an emergency in any or all of the states.
    * Why in Anambra? Is it a precursor, as critics allege, to a wider application of the rule in the South-East, or any other state or zone where agitation for secession has reared or may rear its head?
    * The Malami mooted proposal fits into President Buhari’s declaration to crush any separatist agitation and deal ruthlessly with those stoking and backing such divisive campaign.
    * The series of “Operation Python Dance” in the South-East didn’t result in the expected outcome. Will “Operation Golden Dawn” in the area or a state therein guarantee peace?
    * Government’s proposal may reecho the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970), which backgrounds the alleged exclusion, marginalisation, and injustice against the South-East and Igbo in Nigeria.
    * An emergency rule in Anambra is a Catch 23 situation, as government can’t deny political motive, to favour the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November poll, while the beneficiary of such an alleged imposition would lose the mandate and legitimacy of the electorate in Anambra and the entire South-East.
    Yet, it’s not late for the government to pull the breaks on Anambra, and reool its strategy of deploying power for the sword rather than the shield, to achieve peace and security in the South-East, and Nigeria.
    The administration of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had laid the marker in the Niger Delta, when militants were engaged in dialogue, to lay down their arms in exchange for an enduring amnesty programme.
    The Buhari administration should follow in the footsteps of the Yar’Adua example in the South-East, and elsewhere, and dialogue with genuine agitators for equity, inclusiveness and justice for all.
    Mr. Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
  • Over 2.5m registered voters to decide who governs Anambra next – INEC

    Over 2.5m registered voters to decide who governs Anambra next – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday said over 2.5 million registered voters are eligible to participate in the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.

    INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this during an emergency meeting of political parties at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    According to him, a total of 138,802 citizens registered to vote during the first quarter of the agency’s Continuous Voter Registration exercise which commenced in June.

    However, it was discovered that 62,698 people who are already registered voters, had applied again.

    “The number of valid registrants in Anambra State at the end of the First Quarter of the CVR exercise on 5th September 2021 is 77,475,” Professor Yakubu said.

    “This figure has been added to the existing register of 2,447,996 eligible voters used for the 2019 General Election. Accordingly, the number of registered voters in Anambra State now stands at 2,525,471. We shall provide a detailed breakdown of the figure for public information in the days ahead.”

    While noting that the commission will provide further details to Nigerians on the situation in other States of the Federation and action to be taken on the matter, the INEC Chairman cautioned Nigerians against double registration.

    While lamenting the spate of attacks in Anambra State, the commission said security remains a major challenge to its preparations.

    “For the political parties, these heinous attacks have truncated campaigns, making voter mobilization and sensitization impossible. Consequently, Anambra State is not in the usual election mood. It is in the light of the security situation in the State that the Commission held an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) last Tuesday.

    “The meeting was frank and productive. We are assured of the determination of the security agencies to protect voters, election staff, election observers, the media, transport providers and candidates during the election. Already, security around INEC facilities in the State has been ramped up.

    “We are also confident that the heightened deployment of security officials, which is expected in the coming weeks, will further give citizens the confidence to turn up and vote on Election Day. We shall continue to work with the security agencies to ensure that the election is successful and violence-free,” Yakubu added.

    The INEC Chairman also appealed to all political parties and candidates not to exacerbate the feeling of insecurity in Anambra State through unguarded utterances and actions.

    He warned that doing so could compound the security situation and make the Commission’s work even more difficult.

  • Insecurity: Only 15 killed so far, more have died in APC states; Anambra rejects FG’s move to declare state of emergency

    Insecurity: Only 15 killed so far, more have died in APC states; Anambra rejects FG’s move to declare state of emergency

    The Anambra State Government and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, have faulted the planned move by the Federal Government to impose a state of emergency in the south-eastern state.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that as part of measures to tackle the worsening insecurity in Anambra especially as the state holds a governorship election on November 6, the Federal Government had hinted at the possibility of invoking the emergency rule to tighten security.

    The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, announced this on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    But the Anambra Government, through its Commissioner for Information, Don Adinuba has condemned the move, alleging that insecurity in the state is politically motivated.

    “Since the renewed violence in Anambra State which we believe is politically motivated, not more than 15 persons have been killed. How many persons have died in Borno, Niger, Kaduna, Yobe, Zamfara, even Imo, which is APC-controlled; Ebonyi, which is APC-controlled?” he asked during an interview on a monitored Channels Television programme on Wednesday shortly after the minister’s announcement.

    The commissioner said the state has witnessed about 15 killings in the past few weeks, unlike some north-western and north-eastern states that are worst hit by banditry and terrorism.

    Making reference to Borno, Niger, Kaduna, Yobe, and Zamfara which are controlled by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the commissioner slammed the Minister of Justice for mulling a state of emergency in Anambra.

    “Has anybody threatened emergency rule in any of these states? For the past seven years, Anambra has remained the safest, [and] most stable in Nigeria.

    “We remain the only state in the whole country that, for the past seven years, has not experienced one single bank robbery; what is going on is politically motivated and the declaration by the honourable Attorney-General of the Federation is a confirmation,” the commissioner insisted.

    “Nigerians are outraged by the threat by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN.”

    Move to declare state of emergency in Anambra illegal, unconstitutional – Falana

    Meanwhile, Femi Falani (SAN), a human rights lawyer, has also described the move as illegal and unconstitutional.

    According to him, Muhammadu Buhari’s administration “has just realised that the deployment of troops without the declaration of emergency rule in many states of the Federation is illegal and unconstitutional”.

    He recalled that since 2015, President Buhari has imposed emergency rules in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Zamfara, Kaduna and the Katsina States by deploying members of the armed forces to assist the police in the restoration of law and order.

    According to the senior lawyer, the President has adopted such extraordinary measures without seeking the approval of both chambers of the National Assembly.

    “In other words, since the emergency rule imposed on the North East region by President Goodluck Jonathan expired by effluxion of time, President Buhari has not renewed or extended it,” he said via a statement on Wednesday.

    “The National Assembly has not challenged the illegal emergency rule imposed without any declaration as stipulated by section 305 of the Constitution.

    “Hence, the threat issued by the Attorney-General of the Federation is an attempt to return to constitutionalism with respect to the imposition of emergency rule in Anambra State and other states in the North-West, North-East and South-East regions where the Federal Government is waging a full-scale war against terrorists and the so-called gunmen.”

    Falana insisted that nowhere in the Constitution has the President been vested with the power to remove the elected governor of a state and suspend democratic structures.

    He explained that the governor of a state can only be removed by impeachment or resignation and not by imposition of emergency rule, adding that the tenure of legislators is four years in line with the provisions of the Constitution.

    “Even though former President Olusegun Obasanjo removed two Governors via the imposition of emergency rule, the PDP-led Federal Government later jettisoned the illegal practice,” the lawyer maintained.

    “Hence ex- Presidents Umaru Yar’adua and Goodluck Jonathan never used emergency rule to remove elected governors or suspend legislative houses and local government councils. Indeed, the Federal Government has since realised that it is unjust and immoral to remove a governor of a state since the president exclusively controls the armed forces, the police and other security agencies.

    “To that extent, the Federal Government should drop the dangerous plan to remove the Governor of Anambra State and impose a Sole Administrator on the eve of the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the State.”

  • Biafra is madness, we don’t want it – Gov Umahi

    Biafra is madness, we don’t want it – Gov Umahi

    Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum David Umahi has said the agitation for Biafra State in the South East has been hijacked by criminal elements.

    Umahi, who is also the Governor of Ebonyi State, said this when he appeared on a monitored Channels Television programme on Wednesday.

    The governor was speaking about the security situation in the South-East, the activities of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other issues, a day after governors of the region announced that a security outfit “Ebube Agu” will be established in the five states that make up the region before the end of the year.

    “At the initial time, it was an issue of ‘look, we are being marginalised. A lot of people keyed into that,” Governor Umahi said of the initial agitations in the region.

    “Then, along the line, it developed into violence. And then later, the same agitation has been hijacked by criminals, bandits and kidnappers.”

    The Governor explained that the grievances of people in the region over the years had led to support for IPOB, which had said it was fighting against the marginalisation of the region.“A lot of people keyed in,” he said.

    “If anybody had grievances with the centre (Federal Government), the person became a supporter of IPOB. If you sort anything at the federal level and you fail to get it, you become a supporter of IPOB.

    Those in the diaspora that went for greener pastures and they failed to get such become very bitter with the Nigerian society. And so, followers kept growing.”

    According to the governor, the situation worsened when the conflicts with herdsmen came up.

    “They were a couple of killings in the South-East and the people were a bit helpless and felt the governors were not protecting them,” he said, adding that though the governors did a lot to ensure that there was peace between the herders and people, residents were not satisfied.

    “You see, some uninformed elements felt that the only way to solve the problem between us and herdsmen was to ask them to leave the South-East.”

    The preferred option for these elements, he explained, was not nationalistic because people from the South-East also live in the north.

    “Then came the IPOB with ESN (Eastern Security Network), which is the militant aspect of IPOB, and they started to issue orders of threats,” the governor said.

    So, along the line, the whole exercise has been hijacked. In the South-East, we no longer have kidnappers; everyone that commits one criminal act or the other claims to be IPOB.”

    Governor Umahi accused some politicians, who he did not name, of capitalising on the situation.

    These politicians, he said, “began to import killers from outside the South-East to advance their political interests”.

    The governor, however, stressed that the people were beginning to understand the situation and support for IPOB is declining due to the actions of the group and the level of violence in the region.

    He added that once the issues of leadership and development that led to cries of marginalisation were addressed to complement efforts being made by the governors to tackle the situation, security will improve in the region.

    According to the governor, it is the failure of the Federal Government to treat the region equally that has led to agitations and calls for secessionist state, Biafra.

    “This idea of Biafra, Biafra is madness,” he said, adding that most elites in the south east do not want Biafra.

    “We don’t want Biafra. We only want to be treated equally like other regions in Nigeria,” Governor Umahi stressed.

    Speaking of the sit-at-home order, which he says is mostly issued by people in diaspora, the governor lamented that the south-east people are complying only out of fear and not because they want to be obedient.

    “If we had a policeman to everybody, nobody is going to obey any sit at home,” he said.

    He, therefore, promised that governors from the region will continue doing what they can to safeguard the people because “we cannot have Biafra by the way they are going about it”.

  • Insecurity: Anambra faces state of emergency ahead of Nov 6 guber

    Insecurity: Anambra faces state of emergency ahead of Nov 6 guber

    A state of emergency necessitated by insecurity is looming in the southeast state of Anambra, the federal government hinted Wednesday.

    The attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, disclosed this in Abuja during an interaction with newsmen after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said the measure was to ensure a hitch-free Nov 6 governorship election in the state.

    Malami said: “When our national security is attacked, and the sanctity of our constitutionally guaranteed democracy is threatened, no possibility is ruled out.

    “As a government, we have a responsibility to ensure the sustenance of our democratic order. As a government, we have a responsibility to provide security to lives and property.

    “So, within the context of these constitutional obligations, of the government or the desire to establish democratic norms and order, there is no possibility that is out ruled.

    “The government will certainly do the needful in terms of ensuring that our elections are held in Anambra in terms of ensuring necessary security is provided, and in terms of ensuring protection is accorded to lives and property.

    “What I’m saying in essence, no possibility is outruled by government in terms of ensuring the sanctity of our democratic order, in terms of ensuring that our elections in Anambra hold, and you cannot out rule possibilities inclusive of the possibility of a declaration of a state of emergency where it is established, in essence, that there is a failure on the part of the state government to ensure the sanctity of security of lives, property and the democratic order.

    “So, we resolve to have these elections. The elections are going to hold and no possibilities are ruled out in terms of ensuring the provision of security, for the purpose of the conduct of the election, as well as Anambra, is concerned.”