. Governor's statement provocative, says committee member
. FG lacks capacity to manage national dialogue, elections –Atiku
For reportedly shouting down Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State during his welcome remarks at the South-South stakeholders' meeting of the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Dialogue, a member of the committee, Col. Tony Nyiam, has been sacked.
His sack was announced in a statement signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Anyim Pius Anyim and made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday. Nyiam has now been replaced by Chief Solomon Asemota, a lawyer, who is expected to join the committee today.
Asemota was recommended by Prof. Ben Nwabueze as his replacement on the committee but the recommendation was earlier ignored by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The terse statement reads in part: "His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has approved the replacement of Col. Tony Nyiam (rtd) with Chief Solomon Asemota (SAN) as member of the Advisory Committee on National Dialogue."
At the forum in Benin, Nyiam had shouted down the governor while the latter was making his contribution as host of the event. In the process, some suspected thugs disrupted the proceedings of the committee as they heckled the governor on realising that his contributions were different from popular opinion.
Oshiomhole had objected to spending huge public funds on what he said was a wasteful venture, arguing that past conferences yielded little or no results. While he was still speaking, Nyiam had allegedly stood up, challenging the governor's position and also shouting him down.
Nyiam was restrained by his colleagues who were obviously embarrassed by his action but he was said to have screamed at the governor to shut up and sit down. But Nyiam has insisted that he voluntarily resigned his membership of the committee.
In a letter addressed to President Jonathan and dated November 3, a copy of which was made available to National Mirror, Nyiam attributed his resignation to his shouting match with Governor Adams Oshiomhole in Benin City. In the letter of resignation, he also tendered his apologies for his action. "My sincere apologies to whoever may have been disappointed by my overreaction," he said.
He, however, noted that the provocation from Oshiomhole was too much to bear. His words: "The provocation from Governor Oshiomhole's derogatory insinuations, and the casting of aspersions on eminent personalities such as were gathered before him, was just too much.
Lest we forget, the Comrade Governor openly declared that he was not speaking as a governor or on behalf of the Edo people. Thus he needed to be reminded that he cannot, in his personal capacity, usurp the people's opportunity to express their feelings by themselves.
"Some of our leaders need to know that they cannot continue to use the garb to obfuscate and confuse citizens and presenting as patriotism, their personal agenda. An auspicious time will come, when the obfuscation will unravel and Nigerians will come to know the true character of these leaders.
"I will be leaving the committee believing that equity, fairness and justice will continue to be the guiding principles of its deliberations. Like Nigerians, I look forward to the report and will continue to believe that a better and greater Nigeria is possible."
Nyiam also put the Benin event in perspective. He said: "Mr. President, I will like to put the Benin event in its proper perspective so that evil propagandists bent on derailing the dialogue train will not continue to fabricate falsehood to confound Nigerians so as to achieve their devilish intentions.
"It all started in the Benin consultations with us being made to be twice late for important appointments. First, we were made to be over an hour late to the 12 noon appointment we had the privilege of getting at short notice, from the palace of one of Africa's most reputatable monarchs, the revered Oba of Benin.
"Secondly, we were made to keep critical South-South stakeholders and other people's representatives waiting for over three hours. The two occasions of lateness to important appointments, which are against the ethos of our duty, were caused by the twice, and sudden, shifting of the time we had earlier agreed to pay courtesy call to the Executive Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Comrade Adams Oshiomohle.
"When eventually granted audience, the Comrade Governor proceeded to give us a background on why he is vehemently opposed to the initiative of any leader daring to convene a National Conference. The background story was essentially a lecture on how the Governor of Edo State was, ironically, more a Kaduna-made man than an Edo indigene.
"This was followed by a tutorial on how we were deluded to see anything of significance in the opportunity Nigerians are being given to dialogue amongst themselves.
One instance is his self opinionated and sarcastic question: who initiates a process towards a meeting without a pre-conceived agenda? "...After over 40 minutes of the Comrade Governors' exercise of his human rights we left the Governor's office.
"We got to the venue of consultations with the people to find over a thousand people eagerly waiting. We then began taking submissions. Most of the submissions, contrary to Governor Oshiomohle's opinion came from ethnic nationalities.
Later on, the governor walked in and ran up dramatically to take his seat at the high table. "After listening to statesmen and eminent leaders of the Itsekiri, Urhobo, Isoko, Ijaw, Benin and Anioma nations making their enlightening presentations, the governor indicated his interest to comment before departing. Rather than a few minutes' remarks, the governor went on, and on, repeating the lecture we had previously listened to, for about an hour in his office.
"What became troubling was the governor's talking down on the people gathered; amongst who were former governors, senators, retired armed forces generals and judges. What was equally disturbing was the governor's insensitiveness to the ethno-nationalities yearning for self determination. This, they expressed by their beginning to openly boo the governor.
"Noticing the increasing protests against the governor, I stood up and walked to the chairman, to remind him of the need to moderate, to remind the governor that he has gone well over the time allowed for a speaker.
I went back to my seat which was on the other, far side of where the Chief Executive of Edo State was speaking from, Nyiam explained."
Meanwhile, former Vice- President Atiku Abubakar and 11 bishops from the Niger Delta states yesterday called on President Jonathan to shelve the proposed national dialogue as the timing is so close to the general election, even as they doubted government's ability and capability to manage both national events.
Atiku and the bishops while meeting on the state of the nation in Abuja, also discussed the current insecurity and political crisis in the country.
The meeting took place at the Yar'Adua Centre where Abubakar hosted the Niger Delta Bishops led by His Eminence, Prophet Jones Erue, with Bishops Julius Ediwe, Bob Manuel, Abhulemen Josiah, Konel Offiong, Innocent Chiedozie, Alex Okubo, Felix Ezebunwo, Charles Okoh , Peter Abingon and Archbishop Eddy Ogbonda. Speaking with newsmen after the meeting which lasted for over two hours, the former vice president said: "The meeting is just about the country generally.
There is need for unity, peace and stability in the country. Are you telling me that you are not aware that we have security challenges in the North-East and other parts of the country?" He repeated his opposition to the planned national conference, stating that it would clash with the 2015 electioneering. He said: "This government does not have the ability and capability to manage both the national conference and the 2015 election campaigns to together."
Asked how the meeting with the Niger Delta Bishops will help solve the crisis, Atiku said: "What is happening in the country requires the contribution of everybody including religious bodies. Government alone cannot do it, what is happening in the country requires everyone."
On the crisis within the PDP and particularly, the disruption of the new PDP and G7 governors' meeting by the Police on Sunday, the former vice president said: "I am opposed to what the government and the Police have done by the disruption of the meeting of the governors.
There is fundamental freedom of association in the Nigeria constitution. This is a democratic dispensation. It is totally wrong and I don't support the government using the police to harass and victimise anyone that is opposed to it."
Also, the leader of the Niger Delta Bishops, Prophet Erue, confirmed that the meeting with Atiku was on how to ensure peace in the troubled zones of the country. He said that the clergymen in the Niger Delta are embarking on moves on how to ensure peace in Nigeria. According to Erue, "It is just dialogue, peace dialogue.
We are doing consultations. We felt that everybody seems to be failing in the Nigerian project and the unity of this project and sustainable peace and coexistence. We are touched by the insecurity and impunity and the way the nation is going.
"It all started like a joke and it is becoming an excursion into irreversible doom and we, the bishops and clerics can no longer fold our hands to see our nation go down the drain. So, we felt we should go on to consult stakeholders on how we can bring them to a proper dialogue and achieve sustainable peace and keep the Nigerian project going."
When asked whether they are reaching out to the government, he said, "We are reaching out to everybody. If we don't reach out to the government then it is going to be biased. We are here on the principle of truth and we are prepared to tell anybody, 'you are wrong' and that there should be concessions between both parties." When specifically asked whether the meeting discussed the Rivers State crisis as a first point of reference, Prophet Erue refused to respond positively to the question, insisting that the meeting discussed the crisis in the country
They've both been on the news lately for different reasons.
This would be fun to watch.