[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Deputy Chairman of the PDP Campaign Council and Anioma born philanthropist, Prince Ned Nwoko has said that he is supporting Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to return as a Governor a second time, based on the fact that he is a good governor who has performed excellently well and again, that the Anioma extraction of the State should complete her second term governorship arrangement as anchored on equity and fairness.

He made these assertions while hosting Focus Groups, Non Indigene Communities and Support Groups in conjunction with the Directorate of Focus, Non Indigene and Support Groups of the PDP Campaign Organisation to launch “operation return Okowa as Governor in 2019”, at the Mount Ned Nwoko Resort, Idumuje-Ugboko in Aniocha North LGA of Delta State.

“First, I am on this mission for Okowa’s reelection because I recognise him as a good governor who has performed beyond expectations and over and above his predecessors.

Secondly, we must do this based on equity, justice and fairness; which is a reasonable thing to do after the Central and Southern parts of the State had done their own cycles of eight years each.

I am a good friend of Chief Great Ogboru as well as I am to Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. Before now, I was on the other side with Ogboru against Uduaghan and Okowa; but today, Ogboru and Uduaghan are on one side fighting Okowa and myself. That is politics, but I don’t like this kind of politics.

We must be able to be on the same page, not minding if politics is about PDP or APC. The emphasis must be on the people.

I don’t sing praises of people. However, I have seen in Okowa a man focused and committed to good governance.

So, I consider this gathering a very important foundation for the reelection of Okowa. I am out to support him. My mission is to change the way governance is viewed. It is in the interest of the people, in the sense that we must establish a social contract directly with the people.

That is why I have called the focus groups and all non indigene communities to see how everybody can be factored into governance. That is my idea of politics; so that government will begin to involve the people on the policies and programmes of government.

We truly need a template to put up a body of leaders that can drive this system of governance where there will be a Ministry to cater for every group not partisan in politics. We should be able to drive this new leadership agenda that will give a voice to all Deltans – voices not hitherto represented in politics. And I assure you I will fund it.

I know that if we all agree to support Governor Okowa’s reelection based on these concepts enunciated here; he (Okowa) will do all that we will suggest for him to do. Like I said, he is a good man and has performed excellently well. He deserves a second term”, Ned Nwoko affirmed.

Speaking also, the Senior Political Adviser to the Governor and Head of the Directorate of  Focus, Non Indigene and Support Groups, Chief Festus Ochonogor commended Prince Ned Nwoko for his unprecedented support towards the reelection bid of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, adding that by his monumental influence the focus groups had been united to key into the second term agenda of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.

He declared that government is by this unity gathering, ready to integrate every one of the groups for a thorough social contract that will significantly focus on the masses.

While representatives were selected from the organised labour, religious body, civil society, community development unions, non indigene communities and others to speak, they all focused on one direction – the acceptance of the fact that Okowa had done well and the need to support him for reelection.

On a final note, a 7-point communique was drawn and read to the participants. In conclusion, all the focused groups, non indigene communities and support groups thereafter, endorsed Governor Okowa for a second term through a unanimous voice vote.

By Patrick Ochei

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]hief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen has responded to the accusations of false assets declaration by the Code of Conduct Bureau, clarifying that he forgot to update his asset declaration forms, according to some reports.“My asset declaration form numbers SCN 00014 and SCN 00005 were declared on the same day, 14/12/2016 because I forgot to make a declaration of my assets after the expiration of my 2005 declaration in 2009. Following my appointment as acting CJN in November, 2016, the need to declare my assets anew made me to realize the mistake.

“I then did the declaration to cover the period in default. I did not include my standard chartered bank account in SCN 000014 because I believed they were not opened. “I did not make a fresh declaration of asset after my substantive appointment as CJN because I was under the impression that my SCN 000015 was to cover that period of four years which includes my term as CJN,” Mr Onnoghen said in his statement dated January 11″, Onnoghen stated, in his response to the CCB query.

The online news platform, Premium Times published snippets of Onnoghen’s response.

Nevertheless, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has scheduled Jan. 14 for his arraignment. Mr Ibraheem Al-Hassan, the tribunal’s Head, Press and Public Relations, said this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

He said the action was consequent upon an application filed by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to the Chairman of the tribunal. Al-Hassan said the application was signed by Mr Ibrahim Usman and Mrs Fatima Ali on behalf of the bureau.

He, therefore, said the tribunal would commence the trial of the CJN on six-count charge as the service of summons had been effected on the defendant.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Anti-Corruption and Research Based Data Initiative (ARDI) filed the petition at the Code of Conduct (CCB) against Justice Onnoghen.

Mr Dennis Aghanya, Executive-Secretary of the organisation, who made the copy of the petition available to NAN on Saturday in Abuja, said the body had acted as a whistle blower.

Aghanya said the petition, which was filed on Jan. 7, was an offshoot of a painstaking investigation into the dealings of the CJN. He said the organisation was of the strong opinion that the allegations were weighty enough to compel an action against Justice Onnoghen. The petition reads in parts: “we hereby petition you on suspected violations of the law and the Constitution of Nigeria by the Honourable Mr. Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, the Chief Justice of Nigeria.

“ Specifically, we petition you based on the alarming facts detailed below, all of which indicate that the leader of our country’s judicial branch is embroiled in suspected official corruption, financial crimes and breaches of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.

“The particulars of our findings indicate that: 1. His Lordship Justice Walter Onnoghen is the owner of sundry accounts primarily funded through cash deposits made by himself, up to as recently as 10th August 2016.

“These appear to have been run in a manner inconsistent with financial transparency and the code of conduct for public officials.’’

The body had alleged that Justice Onnoghen made five different cash deposits of 10,000 dollars each on March 8, 2011 into Standard Chartered Bank Account 1062650.

The group also alleged that the CJN on June 7, 2011, made two separate cash deposits of 5000 dollars each.

It was also alleged that the June 7, 2011 transactions were followed by another four cash deposits of 10,000 dollars each.

Similarly, ARDI further alleged that Justice Onnoghen had on June 27, 2011, made another set of five separate cash deposits of 10,000 dollars each and made four more cash deposits of 10,000 dollars on June 28, 2011.

The body alleged that the CJN had also failed to declare his assets immediately after taking office, adding that the inaction was contrary to Section 15 (1) of Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.

ARDI also alleged that Onnoghen did not comply with the constitutional requirement for public servants to declare their assets every four years during their career. The group alleged that the Code of Conduct Bureau Forms (Form CCB 1) belonging to Justice Onnoghen for 2014 and 2016 were dated and filed on the same day.

The group alleged that the acknowledgement slip for Declarant SCN: 000014 was issued on Dec.14, 2016 while that for Declarant SCN: 000015 was also issued on Dec.14, 2016.

The petitioner alleged that the two CCB acknowledgment slips were issued to the Justice Onnoghen when he had been sworn-in as the CJN.

“The affidavit for SCN: 000014 was sworn to on 14th December 2016; 2 of 6 b. The affidavit for SCN: 000015 was sworn to on 14th December 2016.

“Both forms were received on 14th December 2016 by one Awwal Usman Yakasai.

“The discrepancy between Justice Walter Onnoghen’s two CCB forms that were filed on the same day is significant.

“In filling the section on Details of Assets, particularly cash in Nigerian Banks, His Lordship as Declarant SCN: 000014 mentioned only two bank accounts,’’ the petitioner alleged.

According to the petitioner, the CJN runs Union Bank account number 0021464934 in Abuja, with balance of N9, 536,407 on Nov. 14, 2014.

The body alleged that the second account the CJN agreed to run was Union Bank number 0012783291 in Calabar, with balance of N11, 456,311 as at Nov. 14, 2014.

The petitioner said the sources of the funds in the accounts were stated as salaries, estacodes and allowances.

The petitioner, however, alleged that Justice Onnoghen as Declarant SCN: 000015, had listed seven bank accounts that were in use.

The group said the CJN was linked to Standard Chartered account 00001062667, with balance of N3, 221,807.05 as at Nov. 14, 2016.

Another account they alleged was operated by the CJN included Standard Chartered account 00001062650, with balance of $164,804.82, as at Nov.14 2016.

The other account linked to him is Standard Chartered with account number 5001062686, with balance of 55,154.56 Euros as at Nov. 14, 2016 among others

Mr Onnoghen was first appointed acting CJN on November 10, 2016 following the retirement of the former CJN, Mahmud Mohammed.

He was sworn in to office as Nigeria’s 17th CJN on March 8, 2017.

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]INISTER of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Amaechi has reacted to blackmail reports against him, especially as he has asked an unidentified blackmailer to go to hell for asking him to pay him N5 million, saying he was too busy to attend to such a frivolity.
It will be recalled that in September last year; a blackmailer had requested that the Minister pay a total sum of N5m to stop a particular story against the backdrop that he, Amaechi did not attend to him. The yet to be identified blackmailer who called one of the Minister’s friends to demand for a ransom of 5 million naira, days after the Minister had a private meeting with journalists covering the Ministry, continued with his threats to Amaechi that he would go public if he did not respond to him.

A close source of the Ministry told Vanguard that the Minister was angry with reporters assigned to the Ministry over the private discussions that had become a source of blackmail from one of the reporters. The said meeting was meant for assigned reporters of the Ministry but several other journalists from print, television, bloggers and online media found their ways into the meeting. Ameachi who was apparently betrayed over a friendly meeting where nothing was expected to be published, cut off from reporters in the Ministry for three months.

The blackmailer has been blackmailing the minister to pay for the recording or else he (blackmailer) was ready to quote him out of context and make the whole world discredit the Minister’s loyalty to the President. On the issue that Mr. President does not read, Amaechi was actually stressing the fact that the President is focused on building infrastructures and does not care about all the negative things people write to distract him from his mandate. “And come to think of it, the President does not have all the time to read the entire write up by journalists that is why he has a media aide. Our President is not an ordinary citizen.”

His real statement was, “Corruption is a problem in Nigeria. The problem is that everybody wants free money but one good thing is that under this administration there is no free money at all and people are not happy about that. “One of my friends once told me that the solution to fighting corruption is to gather all the corrupt Nigerians and throw them into an ocean. This is because corruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of our society, everybody wants the easy way and you all know that when things like this have remained for a long time, it will not be easy to fight against.”