Nigerian Judiciary is Active, Says
MOSOP Chieftain
Deputy President of the Movement
for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Evang Olua Kamalu (JP) has
described the recent victory of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in Edo State
as a sign that Nigeria's judiciary is beginning to sit-up. Making the
assertion in an exclusive interview with the Niger Delta STANDARD newspaper
in Aleto, Eleme, the activist and medical doctor said: "Oshiomhole's
victory is victory for democracy and for Edo people who voted for him.
I also thank the Edo people for coming out to demonstrate when it was
clear their votes were stolen.
If they had stayed back, maybe the robbery would have gone through.
Nigerians should learn from this and emulate it whenever elections are
manipulated," he advised. Also commenting on the victory of Barack Obama
in the United States, Kamalu said: "We give the glory to God. It teaches
us humans that we should move on no matter the odds, provided what we
want is right. Martin Luther and Co. initiated it but never knew it
would come to pass. It shows if you stand for justice, even though it
will take time, it will surely materialize. It has strengthened us to
fight for justice anywhere," he explained. The lessons Kamalu believed
Nigerians can learn from the Obama victory are many.
He said: "if you compare the 2003 and 2007 elections to what took place
in America, you will be ashamed to be called a Nigerian. Former President
Obasanjo said we are practicing democracy but we are practicing 'dem
don craze'. I think it is time for those who call themselves leaders
to examine themselves. Imagine the incumbent president in America was
a Republican but he did not say he would win at all cost. But Obasanjo,
who I call the Saul of Nigeria, said the PDP must win at all cost and
did everything to realize that. It is a shame to think he wanted to
be the Secretary General of the United Nations. He would have gone there
to use his autocratic nature to destroy the image of Africa.
It is a good thing he did not get there. "With all these, Nigeria is
still not in a democracy," he posited adding that," leaders should better
think as the oath they swear before going into office can affect their
2nd and 3rd generations, if they default. Look at the example of Saul
and Eli. Also, bad leadership is responsible for prostitution, robbery,
etc and God will hold them responsible."
Adamu Usman
NAPEP to MOP Up Poverty
The National Agency for the
Eradication of Poverty [NAPEP] in Rivers state has so far spent about
N80 million as loans to co-operative groups in the war against poverty.
The agency, in another frontal attack in the war has also concluded
plans to launch another programme code-named 'In Care of People [COPE]'
to mop up the remnants of poverty in all nooks and crannies of the state.
This was disclosed by the state Co-ordinator of NAPEP, Dr Innocent Barikor
in an exclusive interview with the Niger Delta STANDARD newspaper in
Port Harcourt recently.
The Co-ordinator informed that the activities of his agency centre around
their mandate which he said included the co-ordination and monitoring
of poverty reduction activities which they do on a monthly basis and
report to the presidency and the state government as well as intervention
in the fight against poverty in the country. He said on the basis of
their first mandate his agency, apart from monitoring and co-ordinating
the various poverty reduction activities of government, it also monitor
prices of commodities on a monthly basis and report to government.
"On the basis of our second mandate which empowers us to intervene,
we have three programmes but at the moment we have two running; what
we call the village solution and the promise to wealth programmes where
churches and mosques are involved in some kind of micro credit programme,"
he said, pointing out that some churches and mosques were already benefiting.
"We are empowering them, we are monitoring them and we are engaging
more churches and mosques in these programmes and there are more opportunities
still for more churches and mosques to benefit," he added.
According to him, more people have also benefited in the village solution
programme of the agency in the state and more people are expected to
benefit from the programme, pending partnership with the state government,
stressing that the village solutions progarmme alone has gulped the
sum of about N80 million. The Co-ordinator, who is on his second tenure
in the state NAPEP further informed the Niger Delta Standard newspaper
that his agency would soon launch what he called 'In Care of the People
[COPE]' programme which he said is expected to mop up the remnants of
poverty in the state.
"We are just beginning to engage the local governments in our COPE programme.
So far we are discussing with local governments, they have shown significant
interest in partnering with NAPEP. So I think that in the few months
ahead significant achievements would be made in the COPE programme,"
he said. Dr Barikor who said that militancy in the Niger Delta region
were hampering the activities of his agency also defended claims of
his boss, Dr Magnus Kpakol that he has reduced poverty level in the
country by 50 percent, saying that the claim was realistic because "the
figures came from the World Bank."
Memoye Oghu
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