Attah quits politics, urges PDP to reorder steps

By Etim Ekpimah

A former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Obong Victor Attah, has said he has decided to quit partisan politics, warning that his action should not be misconstrued as joining the All Progressives Congress.

According to him, at 77 on November 20, he has become an elder statesman.
He noted that there had been other statesmen who had served and would continue to serve Nigeria eminently without carrying any party card.
Speaking in Uyo during a press conference organised in his honour by Akwa Ibom Liberation Coalition on Tuesday, Attah said he had always been a committed professional in politics and not a professional or career politician.
“So, I can formally state that I have quit partisan politics to play the role of an elder statesman and to continue to serve this country with love, strength and faith with integrity to the best of my ability.
“Let nobody take this to mean that I want to remain in the Peoples Democratic Party or therefore jump to the opposite conclusion that I am going over to the APC or any other party for that matter,” he said.
The former governor, a PDP Board of Trustees member, criticised the interview the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, granted to a national newspaper on Sunday, where he doubted Attah’s membership of the PDP.
The ex-governor said when Metuh was asked why the Ekweremadu reconciliation committee did not contact him (Attah), he (Metuh) asked if the former governor was still a member of the PDP.
He also alleged that Metuh accused him of having “made utterances for PDP to fail”.
Attah added, “Indeed, I made several utterances and I stand by all of them, including those ones for which I was, from time to time, accused of anti-party activities. The tragedy for the PDP is to now blame its failure on such utterances rather than its perilous refusal to heed the warnings they conveyed.
“Elections are conducted to fill vacancies, but PDP would start by announcing that there is no vacancy. Then it would offer automatic tickets to a set of people. And when pressure mounts, it would switch the same automatic tickets to another set of people.
“To bounce back as Metuh claims it will, the PDP must stop looking for who to blame and reorder its ways along the aims and ideals of its founding fathers of which I am one.”
Attah urged Akwa Ibom people to take the opportunity created by the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal that sat in Abuja, ordering a rerun in 18 local government areas in the state, to liberate themselves from imposition and impunity.
Culled from Punch newspaper

Tribunal sacks speaker, 20 lawmakers in Rivers State

By Eric Ikhilae,

The Rivers State legislative election petition tribunals yesterday nullified the election of 20 out of the 32 members of the state House of Assembly.

The four tribunals, in separate judgments yesterday, upheld the petitions by candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the election.
They ordered rerun in the affected constituencies.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members of the House, who are affected by the tribunals’ verdicts, include the Speaker Owaji Ibani from Andoni constituency.
The state’s governorship election petition tribunal last Saturday, voided the election of Governor Nyesom Wike and ordered a rerun.
Yesterday, the tribunals upheld the petitioners’ evidence, particularly in relation to allegations of irregularities and violence among other electoral malpractices.
The tribunals were of the view that the petitioners were, by the evidence led, able to prove their case.
By yesterday’s development, the PDP is now left with just 11 seats in the House. There was only one member of the APC in the House.
The affected lawmakers are, under the Electoral Act, entitled, within 21 days, to challenge the nullification of the elections at the appellate court.
The affected constituencies are GOKANA, ELEME, OBIO AKPOR 1 and 2, Etche 2, Opobo/Nkoro and AKUKUTORU 2,
Others are ASARI TORU 1 and 2, BONNY, Tai, ONELGA 1, DEGEMA, AHOADA East -1,  KHANA-1 and 2 ,Ikwerre, PHALGA-2, ANDONI.
The trbunals upheld elections in 11 constituencies won by the PDP. They are Oyigbo, Etche 1, Omuma, Ogu-Bolo, PHALGA 1 and 3,ONELG 2, ABUA-Odual, AHOADA West, Ahoada East 2 and EMUOHA.
The petition challenging the election in Okrika constituency, where the former First Lady, Patience Jonathan hails from, was earlier dismissed.
Culled from The Nations newspaper

Oritsejafor deceived Jonathan with false election prophecy – Okotie

By Friday Olokor and Ozioma Ubabukoh

The General Overseer of Household of God Church, Rev. Chris Okotie, on Sunday said that were it not Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor’s “false” prophecy to former President Goodluck Jonathan, the latter (Jonathan) would not have contested the 2015 presidential election.

He said that the former President had initially made up his mind not to vie for the election, but stated that Oritsejafor “deceived” him with tales of victory as prophesied unto him by God.
Oritsejafor is the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria.
Okotie, who said this while delivering a sermon in his church on Sunday in Lagos, said, “Pastor Oritsejafor deceived Jonathan with a false prophecy from God that he (Jonathan) would win the election convincingly.”
He said, “The man (Jonathan) became convinced to contest after Oritsejafor had told him, using CAN’s name, that God had ordained him the winner of the 2015 presidential election.”
Okotie noted that some members of CAN and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria at that time knew Oritsejafor’s prophecy was false, but were scared to speak out.
He said, “They couldn’t speak out because they were scared of being insulted. They were scared of being insulted for saying rubbish. They were scared of being insulted on the pages of newspapers. So, while I continued to write and speak that Jonathan was not the man, those of them who knew the truth in what I was saying chose to keep quiet out of fear.
“I told CAN and PFN that Jonathan was not of God; that whosoever would win would be one that had built a tabernacle in the presence of God.
“I told CAN and PFN that Jonathan did not belong to the House of David and that since he did not belong to the household, his winning would bring more sorrow to Nigeria.”
Okotie said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory was an act of God, adding that his emergence was a sign of good things to come.
Quoting Hebrews chapter eight, verses one and two, Okotie said, “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heavens.
“A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord picked, and not man.”
But responding on behalf of Oritsejafor, the Director of National Issues in CAN, Mr. Sunny Oibe, in an interview with THE PUNCH on Sunday, said that Okotie was looking for popularity through Oritsejafor.
He said, “Well, it is laughable if Chris Okotie is making this spurious allegation…We will not like to take issues with Okotie…because doing that will amount to making him popular. He is looking for popularity which he doesn’t have through Pastor Ayo and he is not going to get it.
“Okotie knows exactly that what he is saying is not true. Nigerians should know that Pastor Oritsejafor is not among those pastors that make prophecies. He does not make prophecy and never said anything during the campaigns. Why would he bring politics into the pulpit?
“This is where we Christians are getting it wrong. They are the ones misleading Nigerians. Oritsejafor never made any prophecy concerning Jonathan and the 2015 presidential election. I challenged any Nigerian with evidence to come forward.”
Culled from Punch newspaper