How Amaechi was re-elected

After many weeks of intrigues and horse-trading, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State was re-elected as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, beating his lone rival, Jonah Jang of Plateau State.

It was even an anticlimax that Jang ended up as Amaechi’s sole challenger, having not been in the frame throughout the preparations for the tensed vote.

But Saturday Vanguard learnt that the failure of the series of meeting held to resolve the disagreement over who should challenge Amaechi from pro-Jonathan camp, paved the way for Amaechi’s victory.

The People’s Democratic Party had settled for Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State to run against Amaechi and made it clear to its campaign managers that the governor was its preferred candidate.

However, the Katsina state Governor, Ibrahim Shema, who insisted he had earlier been tipped by the Presidency for the same contest, refused to step down for Yuguda.

Reliable sources confirmed to Saturday Vanguard that spirited efforts made to persuade Shema to see reasons and step down for Yuguda, failed even after the Northern Governors Forum and the PDP Governors Forum had met and pleaded with him.

Angered by the insistence of Shema to run, the NGF meeting, which met earlier at the Niger State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, excused him and his Bauchi counterpart from the meeting and opted to push Jang to run.

It was gathered that upon their return to the meeting of the NGF, both Shema and Yuguda were asked to stand down and vote for Jang as the candidate of the north.

At the enlarged meeting of the PDPGF held at Akwa Ibom Governor’s Lodge also in Asokoro, Jang was subsequently presented as the ‘anointed’ candidate of the party to confront Amaechi.

A source said that as soon as Yuguda was forced to leave the contest, it was all clear to them that Amaechi would beat Jang,who was not in the picture at all.

"Honestly, it was a big disappointment to see the way the whole game went because Jang was not in the frame and those who decided at the last minute to draft him into the contest should be made to explain what they wanted to achieve."

"What has happened now is a big slap to our own camp and it is a shame that things went that way because some people believe that they understand politics more than others,”  the source said.

Announcing the results of the ballot, the Director-General, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Asishana Bayo Okauru disclosed that Governor Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari of Zamfara was unanimously voted in as the Vice Chairman, following the withdrawal of Governor  Olusegun Mimiko from the race.

All the 36 governors except that of Yobe State, Ibrahim Gaidam were present and the election was through secret ballot.

An elated Amaechi while accepting the outcome of the election, said there was no victor and no vanquished but thanked his colleagues for the confidence reposed in him.

Emergency rule: US urges Nigeria military to avoid rights abuses

US Secretary of State John Kerry Saturday renewed a plea to Nigerian authorities to ensure the military does not carry out atrocities against civilians in its clampdown on Islamic militants.

Nigeria declared a state of emergency in three northeastern states on May 14 as it launched a military offensive to end Boko Haram’s four-year insurgency.

“Boko Haram is a terrorist organisation and they have killed wantonly and upset the normal governance of Nigeria in fundamental ways that are unacceptable,” Kerry told reporters on the sidelines of an African Union summit.

“We defend the right completely of the government of Nigeria to defend itself and to fight back against terrorists. That said I have raised the issue of humans rights with the government,” he stressed.

Activists as well as the United States have voiced concerns over the fighting, with Nigeria’s military regularly criticised over its response to the insurgency due to allegations of major abuses.

“We all of us try to hold to the highest standards of behaviour,” Kerry said in a joint press conference with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “One person’s atrocity does not excuse another’s.”

He insisted the authorities should not seek revenge, saying the best way forward was “good governance, it’s ridding yourself of the terrorist organisations so you can establish a standard of law that others can respect.”

A May 7 attack in northern Bama saw insurgents disguised in military uniforms break into a prison and attack several government buildings, leaving 55 people dead. The women and children were around the sites at the moment of the attack and were taken hostage and only finally released on Friday.

The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security services.

Kerry added that “to their credit the government has acknowledged that there have been some problems, they’re working to try to control it.”

Deadly Car Bomb Detonates Near Benghazi Hospital

There have been reports of a car bomb that detonated in a car park just outside a major hospital in Benghazi, north Libya, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens, according to defense ministry officials.

According to AFP news agency, the car bomb laid waste to Al-Jala hospital’s car park on Monday afternoon, with at least 30 people wounded in the attack.

An official of the ministry also added that two children were amongst the dead, explaining that the explosives were loaded in a grey Toyota car.

Benghazi has been the centre of several attacks ever since the uprising that saw the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi began.

Demonstrators took to the streets, flooding the scene of the bombing with anger clearly seen on their faces. Many blamed militants for the incident, calling for only police and military presence in the country. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The explosion took out dozens of vehicles and did damage to nearby buildings, putting residents in a state of pandemonium.

The attack came only a day after the militants ended their two-week siege on foreign and justice ministries, and days after the US and the UK withdrew some of their staff from the embassies over concerns of their safety in the presence of rising tensions between militants and government forces.

Libyan Minister of Defense Quits Position

The Libyan Minister of Defense, Mohammed Mahmoud al-Bargati, has resigned from his position on Tuesday, protesting the siege on the ministries of justice and foreign affairs by gunmen.

Despite the fact that the parliament passed down a law that purges Gaddafi-era officials from their posts (the militiamen had demanded the parliament introduce a law banning officials of the Gaddafi-era from holding office), the gunmen have continued to put ministries under siege on Tuesday.

In his own words to Reuters, the minister said, “I will never be able to accept that politics can be practiced by the power of weapons … This is an assault against the democracy I have sworn to protect.”

Before Bargati was appointed defence minister in November last year, he was retired on a government pension in 1994 after serving as a commander of the Benghazi air force.

After the parliament voted to ban anyone who held a senior position during Muammar Gaddafi’s four-decade-rule from government on Sunday, most of the gunmen have dispersed from the ministries.

But, some groups of heavily armed fighters stayed behind. According to some of them who spoke to the reporters, they were waiting to be replaced by official security forces.

The new law could see the ousting of the prime minister, 40 of over 200 deputies, and other top officials in the government, irrespective of their roles in the removal of the late dictator.

Bargati will be the first cabinet minister to resign since the new law was passed. There are indications that he resigned before his expected dismissal, as the law would apply to him as soon as it takes effect.

CAF Champions League: Rangers Dumped Out

Nigerian club side, Enugu Rangers have been sent packing from the CAF Champions League after going down to a 3-1 defeat to Angolan side Recreativo do Libolo.

The Flying Antelopes before now were Nigeria's sole surviving team in Africa club competitions, but Saturday's away defeat meant the end of the road for the Enugu team.

Rangers managed just a goalless draw in the first leg played at the Nnamdi Stadium in Enugu a fortnight ago and were hoping they could at least get a score draw in the second leg tie.

Going into Saturday's game Rangers and Libolo were enjoying contrasting fortunes in their domestic leagues, while Rangers sit at the top of the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL their opponents sit at the base of the league in Angola.

That however counted for nothing as Libolo seal their place in the lucrative Group phase of the Champions League as they become the first Angolan side to achieve this feat since 2003

Police Inspector Arrested over Alleged Accidental Discharge

The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr Umar Manko, has announced the arrest of a Police Inspector for allegedly killing a man with his official rifle.

Manko made the disclosure in Lagos when he met with the newly-elected officers of the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN) on Friday.

The police commissioner said the suspect allegedly went for a distress call, but later committed the crime under unprofessional circumstances.

"We are not interested in what led to the distress call. But we are interested in the fact that a life was lost in the incident. The Inspector acted unprofessionally."

"He has spent 28 years in the Force, so he should have been more careful."

"Right now, he has been arrested and transferred to the State CID, Panti for investigation."

“He will be prosecuted for murder,’’ Manko who said he was ready to expose and deal with any police officer found wanting in the discharge of his duties said.

Until his arrest, the police inspector was attached to the Elere Police Division in Lagos State.

Meanwhile, Manko has emphasised the need for a level playing field for the police and journalists reporting crime to interact and exchange views as partners in the fight against crime.

The police commissioner decried speculations in reporting crime; saying journalists on the crime beat should try to cross check their facts before going to press with their stories.

"Let us be objective in our reportage. Let us build on the good relationship we share."

“If I do anything wrong and you publish it, I have no problem with that. But I will not be happy about outright falsehood,’’ he said.

Manko then congratulated the new officers of CRAN, asking them to help ensure a better working relationship.

“As long as I remain here as police commissioner, I will continue to partner with CRAN,’’ he said.

Earlier, the CRAN Chairman, Mr Christopher Oji, had said he and his team were in Manko’s office to introduce the new executive committee members to him.

“We are also here to intimate you with our yearly programmes,’’ he said.