INEC, APC differ on poll cancellation
*PDP vows to defend mandate, berates military
Amid violence that marred the Bayelsa State governorship election on December 5 and 6, some National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members that served as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) adhoc staff are still being trapped in some troubled areas in the state. INEC declared the election inconclusive yesterday after it cancelled the rescheduled election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.
New Telegraph learnt that security agencies are making spirited moves to retrieve the corps members from the volatile areas. A security source informed New Telegraph that the whereabouts of some of the NYSC members are still unknown.
The source added that some of the ad hoc staff sustained injuries while others were abducted in the attacks masterminded by party thugs and ex-militants doing the NYSC-membersbidding of their sponsors in the eight local government areas of the state. Governor Seriake Dickson confirmed the development last night while speaking with journalists.
“As we speak, we are in the process of working with community leaders and other partners to identify and retrieve youth corps members who were put in danger for no fault of theirs.
“I like to use this opportunity to also commend them, these young wonderful Nigerians who came here to serve their fatherland. I want to assure them and all stakeholders who will participate in the rescheduled election and other activities that Bayelsa will continue to be home to them. The government of Bayelsa appreciates their sacrifice and will continue to partner with them to make our nation a better place,” Dickson said.
Meanwhile, the INEC and the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) have differed on the cancellation of the rescheduled governorship poll in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. But Governor Dickson, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, applauded the electoral commission for the cancellation of the election in Southern Ijaw.
However, the APC governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, rejected the cancellation of the poll. INEC had earlier announced the cancellation of polling in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in Saturday’s governorship election in Bayelsa. Announcing the cancellation at a news conference in Yenagoa, Baritor Kpagih, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), said the exercise was substantially marred by some irregularities and violence.
Dickson has won in six of the seven local governments so far declared while Sylva won in one local government – Brass. Addressing journalists in Yenagoa, the state capital, Sylva said INEC had no power to cancel the election that had been concluded and the result being awaited. “APC will not take this cancellation.
The REC has no power to cancel an election that has taken place. It is only a returning officer that has power to cancel an election,” he said. The APC flag bearer said he would challenge the INEC’s decision in court. Sylva accused the REC of working for the PDP.
He said: “The election of Southern Ijaw was held on the 6th. The results were coming on the 7th after the election had been concluded. The REC did not cancel it when it was being conducted. “It was when the REC discovered that the results were not going to favour the PDP that he decided to cancel it, citing violence. If Southern Ijaw is to be cancelled, then election in other local government areas where there was violence should also be cancelled,” he said.
The former governor said there was no basis isolating the election in Southern Ijaw while election in Nembe, Ekeremor, Sagbama, Yenagoa and Ogbia local government areas was marred by violence. According to him, militants took over Ekeremor amid sporadic shooting at the home of the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, while election was going on, on Saturday December 5.
“Yet, election still went on and the results

Says new Yoruba nation in the offing
By Gbenga Faturoti, OSOGBO.
The ancient city of Ile Ife, the cradle of Yoruba race was agog yesterday as His Imperial Majesty, Oba Babatunde Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II was presented with the staff of office and instrument of appointment as the 51st Ooni of Ife.
Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola presented the staff of office and instrument of appointment to the monarch at Afewonro park, Enuwa square at the frontage of palace of Ooni.
The ceremony was attended by reputable dignitaries including the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Saa’d, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande, Governor Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, Senator Isiaka Ajimobi and Ibikunle Amosun among other dignitaries.
In his goodwill message, the Vice President, Professor Osinbajo, who represented President Mohammadu Buhari at the event, said the throne of Ooni, being a deep and revered institution among the Yoruba people carries the responsibility of the race.
He told the new monarch to exercise courage, integrity and loyalty to truth and charged him to be virtuous and used his position to work for the unity of the country.
He averred that Ile Ife is blessed to have a youthful monarch at the critical period in Nigeria history and prayed for the anointing of virtuous of leadership as explained in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 10 verses 16 and 17.
Before presenting staff of office to the monarch, Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, said as long as throne of Ooni comes will lots of privileges, calling on the monarch to handle the responsibilities attach to the throne with fear of God and large heartedness.
He urged him to draw on the wisdom of the people by listening to them and advised him against pursuing naked personal interest at the expense of the larger interests of his subjects.
According to the governor, new Ooni must mobilize his subjects to support government in its bid to implement its programme by enlightening them on the need to pay taxes.
“New Ooni must work towards fostering unity among his subjects across, not a unity that will be achieved through coercion. Your attitude will be the cardinal determinant of your success and try to carry along all in decision making,” Aregbesola said.
Commenting shortly after receiving staff of office, the new monarch said it is a rare privilege for somebody of his age bracket to be made Ooni adding that his emergence was beyond human imagination.
While dedicating the staff of office and instrument of appointment to the youths of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi urged the youths to work towards cohesion and team building by not continually condemning the leaders for their actions but join hands with the leaders in making necessary correction of the social ills in the society.
According to him, “let us all work towards the good side of the city of Ile-Ife.
He also preached peace and unity among the traditional rulers in the Yoruba land and political leaders stressing that there is strength in unity

Recently, members of the Oyo State House of Assembly boycotted plenary to express their displeasure over unpaid wages, prompting the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi to intervene in the situation. Though the lawmakers have since ‘called off the strike,’ resuming plenary after some days,.
ON November 19, 2015, the Oyo State House of Assembly became the cynosure of all eyes, following the decision of 20 members of the 32-member assembly to boycott the day’s sitting over unpaid salaries and allowances. These members flipped the lid off a laden disquiet that has burgeoned since the eighth Assembly was inaugurated by state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, on June 10, 2015.
In August, Minority Leader of the House, Honourable Olagunju Ojo, had provided a precursor to the boycott action when he declared that all had not been well with members of the assembly since inauguration. Ojo voiced the lamentation of members over the non-receipt of their running cost allowance, constituency allowance, transport allowance, housing allowance and their salaries. He described what members had, so far, received from government as stipends.
That boycott, however, became full blown with news getting into town that all 32 members of the House had decided to embark on strike a week later. The strike, which lasted only a few days, had shocked watchers of political events in the states, with most of them divided on a development that was considered weird and intriguing.
Though the strike was halted following last Monday evening’s meeting with Governor Ajimobi at his residence, political observers have not ended discussions on what went wrong and whether similar things would not happen in the not-too-distant future given the circumstances that led to the failure of government to honour its commitments on the lawmakers’ allowances and salaries. According to them, the dwindling resources of the states following the decline in the international oil market and continued reduction in allocations accruing to Oyo State was solely responsible for the failure of government to meet the commitments. They added that it was clear that such challenges would arise following the state government’s inability to pay workers’ salaries for over four months until it received a bailout from the Federal Government.
As a result of the biting paucity of funds, state governors recently insisted that they could no longer pay the N18,000 minimum wage. Similarly, the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Zamfara State governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, disclosed at the weekend that governors were faced with the options to either reduce salaries of workers or retrench. These developments, political observers noted, were sufficient reasons the legislature in Oyo State became victims of the trying times though the state government should not have allowed the situation to get out of hand to the point of lawmakers embarking on strike. However, some of the observers questioned the decision of the lawmakers to boycott sitting for days, calling for their sacrifice in the face of dwindling allocation to states, especially since workers were facing the same situation without going on strike.
But some of the lawmakers justified the action, noting that while they had been diligent in the performance of their constitutional duties, to including presence at sittings twice or three times a week aside from oversight functions, the executive failed to fulfill its financial obligations to the legislature, culminating in the low morale among the lawmakers.
According to the members, justified the performance of their duties with the consideration of bills, including the Revenue Administration bill, Self-Accounting bill, bill to repeal Oyo State laws, bill to reconstitute ministries, bill for a law to provide for the Establishment of Oyo State Meat and Abattoir Regulatory Authority and for Connected Purposes. Also, they listed some motions considered at plenary like the one requiring Go

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Sunday, said current Nigerian leaders need divine wisdom to overcome the several challenges confronting the country.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Speaker’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Turaki Hassan in Abuja.
Hassan stated that Dogara made the remark when he visited Keffi, Nasarawa State, to condole with the people, family and state government over the death of the Emir, Alhaji Chindo Yamusa II.
According to him, the plethora of problems bedevilling the country cannot be solved with mere human wisdom.
He said “Nigeria needs divine wisdom and intervention for the present crop of leaders to address the challenges facing the country.
“Peace is becoming a very rare commodity, particularly in the North.”
Yamusa died in the early hours of Friday at the age of 70 years.
The Speaker said “we are here to condole with the people of Keffi over this huge loss of our father, the emir who was a lover of peace.
“Keffi witnessed peace throughout his reign and this is what we need, especially in the North.”
Dogara then urged urged the people of Nasarawa State to emulate the life of the late monarch, stressing that “he left a good legacy of peace because if there is no peace we cannot even practice our religion as people of faith.
“Without peace, there cannot be any meaningful development in the society.”
He pointed out that the change mantra canvassed by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government could only be actualised when people prayed for and support the government to succeed.
“Even when we have good intentions, we cannot achieve anything without the support of the people.
“Everybody knows the situation we found ourselves especially in the North.
“There is no human wisdom that can take us out of this quagmire except divine wisdom from God Who is all-knowing. That is the only way out.”

Former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, has disagreed with critics of former President Goodluck Jonathan who described him as incompetent saying Jonathan was rather “inexperienced” rather than “incompetent.”
General Babangida who spoke with The Interview magazine in the December 2015 edition which is currently on sale argued that Jonathan who lost his re-election bid in March “is a very pleasant person” and that he believed the former president meant well for the country.
Asked about the perception that Jonathan is a good person but was “incompetent”, Babangida replied: “If you use inexperience, I will buy that.”
The retired general spoke on a wide range of issues, including the botched coup of 1990 and how his late wife, Maryam, woke him up in the middle of the night to alert him about the movement of troops at Dodan Barracks, which was the seat of power then. He denied that his life was saved by Sani Abacha, who was then the chief of army staff, and also denied reports that he hid in a bunker while the coup plotters were looking for him.
“They obviously didn’t have a lot of experience,” Babangida recalled. “It was during the fasting period. We were still in Dodan Barracks then. My wife got up from sleep and said she had noticed very unusual movement of troops from one end to the other. So she woke me up and said I should look through the window.
”I found troops moving from one end to the other. The next thing I heard was shooting going on. We tried to put a small party together. It was about 1.30am. Then the guards, the bodyguards said let’s check out of this place. I was a bit stubborn. I told them I was not leaving. It didn’t occur to me that we had a bunker at Dodan Barracks. We had, but it didn’t occur to me to use it. And so, they came. I said the only thing I would concede to, I would evacuate my family. My wife had her last born, who was just a few months old, with her. So they evacuated them to a safe house.
“So, I remained with a few bodyguards. We decided to get out and move around. We went to a safe house around Surulere. I had a bodyguard, Omuah. We just moved in there. From there, we established communication. I later established communication with Abacha, Raji Rasaki (who was governor of Lagos then) and the other. They had mobilised their troops.”
He maintained that “Abacha didn’t save my life in the Orkar coup. We worked together to crush Orkar’s coup.”

*Osinbajo, Tinubu, Danjuma, Sultan, govs grace event
The ancient town of Ile-Ife lost its balance yesterday as the new Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, was officially presented with his staff of office by Governor Rauf Aregbesola at a colourful ceremony held at the Enuwa palace. With the coronation, Oba Ogunwusi officially becomes the 51st paramount ruler of Ile Ife, succeeding the late Oba Okunade Sijuwade, who joined his ancestors on July 28.
Residents trooped out as early as 6 a.m. to witness the official coronation of their king from the Giesi ruling house.
Traditional entertainers, including acrobatic dancers, were on hand to add spice to the ceremony. They rendered mind-thrilling historical songs and poems of Yoruba adages and proverbs. Roads leading to the palace were blocked as human and vehicular traffic was heavy at every junction and corner, not even the heavy presence of traffic controllers could salvage the situation.
As a mark of honour for the new monarch, shops, schools, banks and other operational businesses in the town were shut, but some commercial vehicle operators were seen offering skeletal services, howbeit, at an exorbitant rate.
Speaking after presenting the staff of office to the monarch, Governor Aregbesola advised the new Ooni to work towards the peace, harmony and progress of the kingdom.
Aregbesola pointed out that the new monarch became Ooni of Ife by the people of the town and the gods of the land. His words: “As the king of Oodua kingdom, you have a lot of responsibility ahead of you.
You must know that as a king, you will have a lot of privilege within and beyond Ife and the state, but you should use it for the development of humanity and the people of your town.
“There are usually two characters of a king; He could be known for peace or agony. But God will help you to be peaceful with the people of the Yoruba kingdom throughout your reign. Don’t pursue any personal parochial interest that could deter the progress of the town or affect the progress of your people,” he stated.
Aregbesola further admonished the monarch to love his subjects, guide them and listen to their complaints and plights, stressing that he should be like a father to all.”
He further charged him to uphold religious harmony and make the kingdom ethnicity free in order to tolerate all and sundry while segregation, tribalism and sectionalism should be jettisoned during his reign Aregbesola charged the Yoruba race to cooperate with the new monarch for him to be able to transform the Ife kingdom rapidly.
In his address, President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, encouraged the new monarch to exhibit courage, loyalty and integrity.
Osinbajo added that the Ooni stool is a deep and reference institution in the Yoruba race. “You have to exhibit the courage, integrity and loyalty to truth at all time and God will give you the wisdom to steer the ship of your forefathers to the verge of success,” the president said.
The event was not without some security as expected. Many traditional rulers at the occasion could not gain easy entrance into the venue of the event as the three gates leading to the venue were crowded.
For instance, the chairman of Osun Council of Obas, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran stood at the third entrance gate for about 40 minutes before being allowed in while the national coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams and his entourage were kept out for a while before being allowed in.
Also, due to the traffic jam recorded at the town, a former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and his counterpart in Oyo State then, Otunba Adebayo Alao- Akala, had to trek to the venue of the programme from a long distance. In his remarks, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad, acknowledged the contributions of the late Ooni, Oba Sijuwade to the advancement of the traditional institution in the country, adding that the new Ooni would add more values

Oil prices are not likely to rebound anytime soon, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted at the weekend, casting a shadow over the prospects of countries like Nigeria which depend on oil exports for the bulk of their forex earnings.
In a report published on its website, the Fund stated that fossil fuel prices are likely to stay “low for long”, adding that notwithstanding important recent progress in developing renewable fuel sources, low fossil fuel prices could discourage further innovation in and adoption of cleaner energy technologies.
According to the report, “Oil prices have dropped by over 60 per cent since June 2014. A commonly held view in the oil industry is that ‘the best cure for low oil prices is low oil prices.’
The reasoning behind this adage is that low oil prices discourage investment in new production capacity, eventually shifting the oil supply curve backward and bringing prices back up as existing oil fields— which can be tapped at relatively low marginal cost— are depleted.
In fact, in line with past experience, capital expenditure in the oil sector has dropped sharply in many producing countries, including the United States.
The dynamic adjustment to low oil prices may, however, be different this time around.” The report noted that the advent of shale oil production has added about 4.2 million barrels per day to the crude oil market, contributing to a global supply glut.
It predicted that shale oil will lead to shorter and more limited oil-price cycles, pointing out that shale requires a lower level of sunk costs than conventional oil, and the lag between first investment and production is much shorter.
The report also stated that other factors such as the projected increase in Iranian exports, the scaling down of global demand (especially from emerging markets), the secular drop in petroleum consumption in the United States, and some displacement of oil by substitutes and the change in the strategic behavior of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), are putting downward pressure on oil prices.
“These likely persistent forces, like the growth of shale, point to a ‘low for long’ scenario, even after the supply legacy left by the high-price era of the 2000s has dissipated. Futures markets, which show only a modest recovery of prices to around $60 a barrel by 2019, support this view”, the report stated. In addition, the report noted that natural gas and coal—also fossil fuels— have similarly seen price declines that look to be long-lived.
According to the report, “coal and natural gas are mainly inputs to electricity generation, whereas oil is used mostly to power transporta-tion, yet the prices of all these energy sources are linked, including through oil-indexed contract prices. The North American shale gas boom has resulted in record low prices there.
The recent discovery of the giant Zohr gas field off the Egyptian coast will eventually have repercussions on pricing in the Mediterranean region and Europe, and there is significant development potential in many other locales, notably Argentina.
-newtelegraph