Text of ERC press Breifing in Lagos

Free, quality education is a right, not privilege 22 September 2009 Being the text of a press conference addressed by the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) on Tuesday September 22, 2009 at International Press Centre (IPC) House 11, Dideolu Estate, behind Sweet Sensation, Ogba Lagos. Ladies and Gentlemen, AS THE NATION CELEBRATES 49 YEARS OF MASS POVERTY, MISERY, DEATH OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, JOBLESSNESS AND UNDERDEVELOPMENT ON OCTOBER 1ST, 2009 We Declare October 1st as a Day of Nationwide Protests and Demonstrations We of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) address you today on salient issues in the Country as the corrupt Yar’ Adua anti-poor government prepares to launch into an orgy of fanfare on October 1st 2009 in celebration of Nigeria’s 49 years of independence. As usual, it will be an occasion for the anti-poor Yar’Adua government - a government that cannot point to any achievement since it came to power in 2007 – to assure traumatized Nigerian working people, students and youth of the so-called magical formulas of its 7-pointless agenda. It is therefore bound to be a celebrative mockery of the consistent impoverishment of the masses and the failure of government in all aspects of life including provision of education, healthcare, electricity, shelter, security etc since 1960 despite the abundant revenues from crude oil sale within the same period. Today Tuesday September 22, 2009 marks the third month since public Universities have been shut down due to Federal government refusal to seek quick resolution to the indefinite strike actions embarked upon by ASUU, SSANU, NASU and NAAT to press home their demands for adequate funding of education, adequate remunerations, genuine autonomy, an acceptable retirement age and better condition of service. As a result of government undue belligerence and insensitivity, students have been forced to stay at home since then. Three months into the strike, there is no hope of resolution in sight. Against the above background, we dare to ask: what have we achieved since independence to justify any celebration of independence? What does a Nation with no electricity, education, health care, pipe borne water and with a perpetually hungry, poor, jobless and homeless population celebrate in its independence? What does a Nation whose leaders travel abroad to treat minor ailments such as headache and send their children to private schools abroad celebrate? The real motivation for the struggle for independence in Nigeria as in Africa and other neo-colonial countries was the need to break free from imperialist domination by establishing self-government to mobilize the resources of the country to develop infrastructures, eradicate mass literacy through education funding and create conditions for general wellbeing of the citizens and economic prosperity. 49 years down the road, none of these glorious reasons why our forbears fought for independence have being achieved even though Nigeria has ten times the economic wealth to do so today. Even some of the achievements of the 50s and 60s like improved education, healthcare delivery, housing and agriculture have been destroyed by the rapacious neo-liberal capitalist ruling class that have held on to power since then. Today, Nigeria is a classical example of a failed state. If we dare look back, we will realize that given the enormous resources that Nigeria gets from crude oil today and the sordid picture of mass poverty and destitution that prevails at the same time, indeed Nigeria was better off 49 years ago. 49 years down the road, 80% of Nigerians are poor, about the same amount of Nigerians especially graduates are jobless, less than 30% of the population have conducive shelter, many companies are folding up in Nigeria leading to a colossal loss of jobs, health sector has collapsed with Nigerians dying like flies from ailments that could be treated in Nigerian hospitals in the 60s while health and education sectors have both collapsed due to poor funding. And when it comes to education, our hearts bleed. 49 years ago, thousands of students irrespective of the size of their pockets had access to education up to tertiary level due to the free education policies of government then. 30 years ago, students had subsidized meals of Chicken, Coffee and tea at University Cafeteria whose services equaled the best restaurant in town. Hostel accommodation was conducive with pillow cases, mattresses, blankets given free. No Nigerian student today has received anything free, not even a free cube of sugar from government. Laundry and cooking which have become the daily chores of Nigerian students today was unheard-off in those days as it was the responsibility of the University management. The condition of learning too was far better without overcrowding in classrooms and with provision of standard laboratories and libraries and a well remunerated staff. Today, the opposite is the case. It is hard for us to reel out the entire list of hardships Nigerian students go through in the education sector today. The best to say is that there is no more public education in Nigeria. Successive government education policies has been privatization, commercialization and underfunding all of which have destroyed public education and turned it to the preserve of the rich few. Today, outrageous fees are being charged in primary, secondary and tertiary schools beyond the means of poor working class parents. No Nigerian public University charge less than N5, 000 while some charge as high as N250, 000 in a country where National Minimum Wage is a paltry N7, 500. Yet despite all these charges, infrastructures like libraries, laboratories, class rooms and other basic amenities are missing or decrepit in all the schools in Nigeria while working condition and remunerations of staff is alarmingly poor. This is why quality of graduates has fallen with harmful effect on human capacity and of course economic development. This is why no Nigerian University rank in the first 50 in Africa and 6000 in the world. This is also the basis for the strike actions embarked upon by ASUU, SSANU, NASU, NAAT and NUT. Indeed, 49 years of Nigeria’s independence is an unbroken thread of mass misery, impoverishment and poverty for the working masses, students and youths. While since 1960, Nigeria has generated wealth from crude oil sale alone capable of providing free and quality education from primary to University, these resources have only enriched politicians, multinational companies and top bank executives. The jumbo allowances and other privileges being received by political office holders in the face of mass poverty prevalent among over 80% of the population clearly demonstrate the inequality in Nigeria as well as the impossibility of Nigerian students and youths reconciling ourselves with this unjust economic system. While many analysts have identified bad leadership as the bane of Nigeria’s development, we in the ERC believes that Nigeria’s politico-economic woes has much do with the unjust capitalist economic system being practiced by the Nigerian ruling class. It is the capitalist economic arrangement wherein collectively generated wealth are appropriated by a few people through the policies of privatization, deregulation, commercialization that is responsible for the situation in which over 80% of Nigerians are chronically poor while only a few are rich. OUR CALLS: Against the above background, we regard the Independence Day celebration festivities as a cynical celebration of the poverty and destitution which the mass of people have been consigned to on account of government anti-poor policies. We reject the neo-liberal economic policies of deregulation, privatization and commercialization of the Yar’ Adua government as anti-poor and pro-rich. We declare Yar’ Adua’s 7-point agenda as 7-pointless agenda meant to deepen poverty and misery of the Nigerian working masses, youths and students. We therefore pass a vote of no confidence on the Yar’ Adua government. We believe that free education, free health care, full employment, poverty eradication, provision of decent shelter for all are possible if Nigeria’s resources are well managed by the working people themselves unlike the current situation where the public treasury is looted by the ruling class. We also believe that with a radically different government and pro-poor economic system, it is possible to improve living standards and lift the masses out of the poverty and destitution they have been consigned to since the past 49 years or more. We believe a government that does not care for public education has no reason to remain in power a day longer. More than any other thing, government treatment of the demands of the striking unions shows that the issue of education funding can only be settled in a revolutionary manner. We therefore call for the revolutionary overthrow of the corrupt and anti-poor Yar’ Adua capitalist government and the formation of a workers and poor people’s government that will, through public ownership of the commanding heights of the economy under democratic workers control, use our collective resources to provide free education, health care etc. We urge labour leaders to hasten the process of the overthrow of this corrupt government by building a mass based, working people’s political party that can form a government committed to peoples’ welfare. Against Federal government refusal to meet the demands of the striking unions as well as the death of public education, we regard the Independence Day celebration as a shameless display of a focus less, visionless and failed government. Only equally focus less, visionless and treacherous people especially those who benefit from the current rot will participate in these celebrations with the government. We in the ERC therefore call on all Nigerian students, youths, workers and most especially labour leaders to shun government independence day celebration as a sign of public rejection of the government anti-poor policies of the past 49 years and particularly as a vote of no confidence on the Yar’ Adua government. Instead, we declare a day of nationwide mass action and demonstration in protest against government refusal to sign agreement with ASUU, SSANU, NASU and NAAT, in protest against the chronic underfunding of education, in protest against the N180, 000 which federal government is prepared to impose on Nigerian students, in protest against victimization of students and staff activists and the proscription of students’ unions across the country, in protest against the jumbo salaries and allowances being awarded to politician while the mass of workers and poor people exist on a paltry N7, 500 national minimum wage, in protest against inequality in Nigeria where over 80% are poor in spite of the huge revenues from crude oil sales, in protest against all government neo-liberal policies of deregulation of the oil sector, privatization and commercialization all of which have deepened the misery of the mass of working people, students and youths. We are organizing the nationwide mass actions in conjunction with Coalition of Radical Students Unions (CORASU), Committee of Students’ Union Presidents (COSUP), some progressive NANS leaders, National Association of Nigerian Female Students (NANFS), Nigerian Youths in Motion (NYM) as well as other progressive students unions and groups. We call on all Nigerian students and youths to gather for mass procession in Lagos and Benin on Thursday 1st October 2009 by 8am at Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Secretariat, 29 Olajuwon Street, Yaba and the front gate of the University of Benin respectively for protest actions. We call on Nigerian students and youths to also organize similar actions every where they can. As we have pointed out earlier, this protest is a vote of no confidence on the Yar’ Adua government and a demonstration of the fact that we want an immediate end to Yar’ Adua’s ignoble reign. However, we wish to clearly state that these nationwide protest on October 1st is a prelude to a protest march to the National Assembly in Abuja once the Assembly resumes from recess. Previously, the ERC had called for a protest to the National Assembly on September 28 2009 but due to the refusal of the Assembly to resume from recess possibly for the fear of Nigerian students, we have decided to wait patiently until resumption is announced. If they so choose, the Assembly can decide to delay its resumption till next year but we wish to assure all the lawmakers who are complicit with the Yar’ Adua government in refusing to sign agreements with the striking unions thus keeping Nigerian students at home that whenever they resume, Nigerians students will be at their front gate. Conclusively, we must also warn the Federal government that nothing it does can stop us from continuing the fight for public education. As far as we are concerned, the struggle for free and quality education is a life and death battle. Yet our methods of struggle remains mass actions including protests and demonstrations. We say this in reaction to the latest attempt by the Federal government to criminalize our struggle by the faked kidnap attempt of the Education Minister Sam Egwu and Minister of Labour and Productivity Prince Adetokunbo Kayode allegedly carried out by 3 undergraduates in order to compel government to resolve the on-going strike. Despite the attempt to use the kidnap case to garner sympathy, we in the ERC in keeping with Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s death wish call for the immediate removal of Sam Egwu for gross incompetence demonstrated in his poor handling of the on-going strike. We will not dwell on the easily deducible facts that the kidnap if, it was ever attempted, was not induced by any political motive nor one as honourable as resolving the ongoing strike but by cold financial calculations of demanding ransom. As far as we are concerned, it is the opulent lifestyle of corrupt Ministers like Sam Egwu and Adetokunbo Kayode who habitually flaunt stolen wealth in the face of mass poverty that is responsible for this and other kidnaps that have happened. But the Federal government wants to use this to blackmail the striking unions and Nigerian students. We in the ERC do not believe in kidnap, bombings, assassinations or any other form of individual terrorism as a method of struggle. We believe only in mass actions, protests and demonstrations and this is the method of struggle that will soon consign the Nigerian exploitative capitalist ruling class to the dustbin of history. DEMANDS: (1) Federal government must sign and implement all agreements reached with ASUU, SSANU, NASU and NAAT as condition precedent for academic activities to resume. (2) No to proposed N180, 000 fee increment. For the cancellation of all fees including the exorbitant law school fees. (3) For the Federal government to Pay N40, 000 Cost of Studying Allowance (COSA) to all Nigerian students in tertiary institutions to offset the cost of textbooks, accommodation, feeding, upkeep, transport etc. (4) Funding of education up to 26% of budget as recommended by UNESCO. (5) Provision of free, functional and compulsory education at all levels. (6) Democratization of the education sector with the involvement of representatives of staff and students unions in all decision making organs of the education sector and running of schools. (7) No to arbitrariness. We call on the Lagos State Government to halt the imposition of Prof. Lateef Hussain as Vice Chancellor on LASU staff and students. (8) Recall of all victimized students/staff activists and restoration of all banned unions. (9) Public ownership of the commanding heights of the economy under the democratic control and management of the working masses. Thank you for Reading

Students Pass Vote of No Confidence on Yar Adua

Ayokunle Oloye Student Groups in Nigeria have passed a vote of no confidence on president Umaru Yar’Adua led administration for failing to resolve the crisis rocking the education sector. The student group lead by Education right Campaign ERC, include Coalition of Radical Students Unions CORASU, Committee of Students’ union President COSUP among others said the seven point agenda is a seven pointless agenda meant to deepen poverty and misery of the Nigerian working masses, youth and students. The student however declare October first a day of national mass action and demonstration protest against federal government refusal to sign agreement with university lecturers under ASSU. ERC national coordinator Hassan Taiwo Soweto said “against federal government refusal to meet the demands of the striking unions as well as the death of public education, we regard the Independence Day celebration as a shameless display of a focus less, visionless and failed government”. Soweto however call on Nigerian students, youths, workers labour leaders to shun government independence day celebration as a sign of public rejection of the government anti-poor policy of the past 49 years and particularly as a vote of no confidence on the Yar’Adua government. The protest which will hold in Lagos and Benin , Soweto called on Nigerian students and youths to also organize similar action every were they can. The groups also want the federal government to pay every student 40,000 as cost of studying allowance in tertiary institution . While the distant themselves from the recent plan to kidnap the minister of Education Dr Sam Egwu and his Labour counterpart Prince Adetokunbo Ademola as part of struggle of freedom of the education section although the group called for immediate removal of the ministers. The group however said “we don’t believe in kidnap, bombings, assassination or any form of individual terrorism as a method of struggle in keeping with Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s death wish call for the immediate removal of Sam Egwu for gross incompetence demonstrated in his poor handling of the on-going strike. We will not dwell on the easily deducible facts that the kidnap if, it was ever attempted, was not induced by any political motive nor one as honourable as resolving the ongoing strike but by cold financial calculations of demanding ransom. As far as we are concerned, it is the opulent lifestyle of corrupt Ministers like Sam Egwu and Adetokunbo Kayode who habitually flaunt stolen wealth in the face of mass poverty that is responsible for this and other kidnaps that have happened. But the Federal government wants to use this to blackmail the striking unions and Nigerian students. we only believe in mass action, peaceful protest and demonstrations and this is the method of struggle that will soon consign the Nigerian exploitive capitalist ruling class to the dustbin of history”

EKU ODUN Logo

PROFITING FROM ASUU STRIKE

PROFITING FROM ASUU STRIKE

The strike that cripples our University has been view as one of the sabotage on the education sector from this administration. Although many students are counting their lost to the unending plight of their striking lecturers.

Even though as many of our graduates are half-baked due to the poor system in our 187 university across the country, ASUU strike should be another means of self baking in our set career.

Yes our 300 level student of Electrical Engineering has been counting days, doing nothing, perhaps, they should have been more interested in learning some local electrical techniques in a nearby electrical technicians shop, or an electrical firm, where he can earn little or nothing, but to gather experience.

The era of student learning trade have disappear, due to over civilization. A student in one of our striking institution recently told me of how he has been busy doing nothing daily, “ I cant really explain how I spend my time this days”, he lamented to me during our discussion.

Recently, a top Government official told me of how to build C.V in ones career, which many Nigerian youths lack, she disclosed that she gained experience outside the school environment, which really counts in C.V development.

Just last week, a 200 level student of Food Technology, told me of how he got a job in a Fast Food company across the country, but turn down the offer due to poor salary, Nigerian student should see the money as a motivator, and not As a Right.

Learning outside the school environment should be encouraged among our youths, mostly at this period, the leaders of school union have unjustly crippled our universities, due to the fact that they have failed to champion the cause of the students who elected them into the position they have are.

This opportunity may never surface for the great Nigerian students, if the Federal Government answers the plight of our schools lecturers; what we need is for the government to change the face of the educational system of our great nation Nigeria

Ile Lo Lo Tatrara

Good Bye Sir I thank you for giving me the chance to SHAKE YOU during a press conference in Antony Village Lagos, you indeed loved by Nigerians including IBB, OBJ, Umaru and other big thieves in our country God be with your Family Baba Gani you came,you saw, you make changes Thank Once again Nigerians Love You. Erin Wo, Gani is gone President Nigeria masses is no more, Our Hope is blinking Gani O Di Igba ose, We love you but God Love you Most

NO SECURITY YET IN OGUN ASSEMBLY

NO SECURITY YET IN OGUN ASSEMBLY - Deputy Speaker Remmy Hassan As the legislative and the executive of Ogun State crisis still linger, the security in the state has been described as a none satisfactory one by the Deputy Speaker of the state house of the assembly in an interview recently with some journalist he speak on the crisis rocking the state PDP, LEADERSHIP Ayodele Samuel wrote. Q: How would you assess the legislatives function for the past 2 years most especially during the crisis period? A: legislature is quit an intriguing exercise and I will say Ogun State parliament is not in any way different from the usual intrigues that goes with public legislatives. The only different is the way ours is done for some time now and that has made some level of focus from the media, populace and the entire world to beam their satilight on us and that has actually stood us up too at all time on the show so far to me and the majority of my colleague. Q: How do the legislators in the state then conduct their legislative assignment? A: Our style is not different from what our constitution has said so far but there is illegality committed in an issue but we have settled that by the technical committee. Section 39 sub-section 1b 3 of the local government law specifically state that after the suspension of the chairman, vice or even the council, the commission of enquiry should be set up. It is that commission of enquiry that will determine how far the suspended persons can either be invited or excuse for the offences that were alleged initially. If they have been found not guilty, that section of the law said they should be re-instate and where they have been found guilty, the governor has the right to pronounce another three months suspension at this stage, it is now the caretaker committee that can be in charge while the house of Assembly is notified of the resolution to call for another election but in this case as soon as the suspension has been pronounced, no commission of enquiry was put in place and a caretaker committee was set up, that is an illegality by all standard because whatever is against the law is illegal and that is why we took the bull by the horn in the house to say get it right now or we look at other options available to us to ensure that it is gotten right at all cost so, the house took that decision via a resolution meanwhile, I should let you know that resolution in broad-spectrum may be advisory if you look at it but where it has to do with the matters of law, they may have advisory on the surface but there is element of compulsory in it because failure to obey the law, you are opening another window of constitutional process that a point in time, the house may have no other option than to proceed with every available constitutional option to ensure that things are done properly. Q: The Executive has said the legislatures are painting them black, what can you say about? A: When you talk about painting people black, there is an extent to which I will disagree with you because there is freedom of speech, people can say what they like or want but there is also limitation to such freedom where the law does not permit you to commit libel or slander and to that extend if there is anything that has been said concerning the house that is not right the house will not hesitate to take up an action in the law court. There is nothing we have said about the executive that we cannot stand by someone has also gone to court to challenge us and we still hold on to such thing because it is the truth and is always constant. I was telling one of my friend on facebook one day that if what you are saying is true even if you are called upon years after to repeat it you don’t have to remember what you said then because you will still say the truth and it will not in any way diver from what you have said earlier so on the strength of that I will not in any way subscribe to the of anybody painting anybody black but where there are issues that bother us on getting things right, if that amount to someone alleging that they ‘ve been painted black then is quite unfortunate but like I said, everything that we are standing for is about legality, is about constitutionality, is about due process, is about getting right. Q: What is the security of the member of the house of the Assembly like now? A: It was not too satisfactory but in the last six weeks I must confess there has been a great improvement because we can now see some level of commitment from the security agencies, state security service, the Nigerian police, even other security agency like CID, the NSA or what have you, there has been a great improvement but it can always be better so we still hope that it get better than it is now because security challenges are not put to test until there have been a reach of it, that is when you can really access how much of readiness the security arrangement is. If it has not been tested you cannot confidently say it can stand the test of time but I hope that even if any bridge comes I believe that the respective security agencies will take the necessary action. Q: What can you say about the case in court with the Executive A: When you are drag to court, the matter is before the court there is a limit to how you are allowed to speak on it but for every litigation that has been instituted by the state government we have representation in the court and they are arguing it out and at the end of the day, it is the judiciary that has the right to interpret the law and will state the right position of the law. We are not losing sleep over any of these cases because we are acting within the boundary of the law. Q: So how is the cordial relationship between the legislatives and the party? A: Unfortunately some of our leaders believed that they just must pleased somebody and so even when they see what is right they can’t take a stand to say this is where we are, and to that extend the party has not particularly achieved much in the area of reconciliation because the Yoruba has a proverb that said a child complained of hunger and you put food on the table and you said eat then you raised a big stick waiting for the child to bend down and eat so that you can beat the child with the stick, of course when the child see all of those scenario he is not going to readily go for that food because is more like a trap that you are setting for him, that is the scenario here but that is not withstanding, the national working committee of the party has tried so much and I believe they ‘ve made quite a lot of progress, we are just waiting for them to take the decisive action on some off the complains that is before them. I guess the Ekiti scenario make them not to really concentrate much on the Ogun issue but now that Ekiti is over I believe the matter of Ogun state will be revisited and I trust eminent Nigerian who are occupying positions in our National issue committee, they will do justice to this and put all of this unfortunate scenario behind us. Every challenge in the life of man is testimony so we believe this is a state, it will come and it has come already, definitely it will be put behind us some day. Q: Six years of PDP government in Ogun state, how will you describe this? A: So far not bad but it can be better, not bad because whatever we called success in the first tenure is almost been rubbished by the scenario we have found ourselves now and there has to be some element of consolidation to guarantee that we really can make all of what we called the success of the yester-years that can stand the test of time. It takes one day to destroy the success of 100 years and getting to the top may be certainly a task but it is even more tasking and more difficult to remain on top than to get there and so we manage to get to the top but somehow we are getting challenges by the task to remained there and success without successor whether you believe it or not is failure and to that extend I will hold all stakeholders in this government to do everything humanly possible to guarantee that we don’t rubbish all of the success that we have had in the past, somehow I think we are biting more than we can chew and we are even struggling to do more than we can struggle but not withstanding is a call for us to re-assess ourselves so that we will not make a mess of whatever we call success hitherto. Q: Do you think the scorch between the state government and his legislatives is not farfetched from the 2011 governanitorial election? A: A lot of people ascribed it to 2011 and at the same time a lot of people also ascribed it to positioning for political offices and what have you but for me as a person and the speaker of the house of assembly of Ogun State that I know, I don’t think that forms any of the reasons behind our action, it is not unlikely that those who are scheming for the 2011 election may in the course of this struggle key into the whole thing so that they can get their own agenda driven home, that is the business of those who have taken that option but for us in this house I don’t think that is the reason why we are agitating because agitation is part of legislation, legislators are natural agitators and where we sees that things are not going right the way they should, we will speak out so if those who are fixed government, those who are propagandist, those who are position and office seekers are trying to position themselves for 2011 by using the present administration of the house of the assembly as the vehicle to drive home their agenda it quit unfortunate but for us, we are doing what we think and believe is right and we will continue to do all of this until the situation gets better and we can beat our chest and say good, we ‘ve found it at last.

Ogun Blood Oath

Mr. Nigeria Details of OGUN BLOOD OATH Who Say WHAT OGD Releases THE PLOT AGAINST OGUN STATE: FINALLY THE TRUTH IS BEGINNING TO EMERGE Not a few people have become confounded about the seemingly intractable political crisis in Ogun State especially since the emergence of Hon Tunji Egbetokun as the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly. Hon Egbetokun is the leader of the G15 of lawmakers of which Hon. Wale Alausa is a key member. The chicken came home to roost a few days ago when a national daily, the National Compass published the picture of Hon. Alausa indicating that it was taken at a shrine in Ijebu Igbo while a blood oath was being administered on the member of the House of Assembly. As the State and the nation awaited a denial or confirmation of the publication, what has emerged from Hon. Alausa are series of lies, outright falsehood and brazen inconsistencies. The litany of inconsistencies 1. Within hours of the story’s publication the first reaction of Alausa was done through proxies who maintained in posting on the Internet that the picture was fake and the face of the Hon. Alausa was superimposed on a naked body. 2. However in his own reaction as reported in PM News (the paper that has become the mouthpiece of the G15) of Monday 29 June 2009, Hon. Alausa was quoted by the paper to have maintained that the pictures were genuine. He however claimed that they were taken in 2007 inside Governor Daniel’s Sagamu home and its environs when he was forced to take an oath before he could get the PDP ticket to the State House of Assembly 3. On the same day the story changed when he spoke to the Punch which was reported on Tuesday June 30, 2009. Hon. Alausa told Punch that “the oath was taken in a shrine in Ijebu Ode”. He said further that the oath was done shortly after the 2007 primaries. 4. However on the same day when he spoke to the Tribune he said “the photograph was taken in Daniel’s toilet and bathroom on the Day Titi Oseni was impeached. And since the impeachment was done on May 15, 2008, it means that Hon. Alausa is claiming a new date for the macabre blood oath taking. 5 . The embattled lawmaker added a new dimension in the slant he gave to the Sun where he attempted to implicate the revered Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland , Oba Sikiru Adetona and other traditional rulers claiming they were all involved in the oath taking process. 5. At a news conference on Tuesday June 30, 2009, at a location in Lagos he further claimed that all local Government Chairmen and other political functionaries also took the secret oath. OUR POSITION 1. It is common knowledge that at the time Mrs. Titi Oseni was removed the Governor was out of the country and the time he saw the Awujale of Ijebuland was on the 16th of May at a reception for a former President of the country in Sagamu. It is also noteworthy that the Awujale of Ijebuland and the biological father of Hon Alausa, Chief Agboola Alausa have publicly denounced the claim of the lawmaker describing him as a pathological liar. 2. It has also been established by a scrutiny of the records of the House that Hon. Alausa was indeed present at the sitting of May 15 2008 and actually took part in the impeachment proceedings, contrary to his claim that he was not in the House on that day. The question for discerning minds is why have they now vowed to destroy the man who ostensibly administered the oath on them. Interestingly the G15 members had said at various fora and television interviews that they never took any secret oath. Again the Chairman of ALGON John Obafemi has on behalf of the other chairmen disclaimed the lawmaker’s allegation that all Local Government Council chairmen took any oath. From the foregoing, it is clear that given the level of outright falsehood and inconsistencies of Hon. Alausa and his co-travelers, the people of Ogun State and Nigerians at large can now decipher the truth and appreciate what our State has gone through in the last 12 months - lies of the vilest kind told by dishonourable people who are supposed to be honourable members of the House. For the avoidance of doubt Governor Gbenga Daniel has never and will never administer secret oath on anybody and will not get involved in any sordid acts that will bring our State into disrepute Wale Alusa Speaks AM NOT THE ONLY ONE Wale Alausa, a member of the Ogun State House of Assembly whose nude photographs while taking an oath were published in the papers has revealed that Governor Gbenga Daniel all the commissioners, local government chairmen and other political appointees in the state took traditional oath of allegiance to Daniel before they were appointed into his administration. Reacting to his nude photographs published by the Compass Newspapers owned by Gov. Daniel, Alausa described Daniel as a sodomist and a ritualist who has a shrine in his residence where those seeking appointment in his administration are made to perform ritual rites before they are appointed. The embittered lawmaker disclosed that Daniel introduced oath taking to politics in Ogun State, admitting that he was one of those forced to take the oath in a toilet in his Ijebu-Ode mansion in order to fly the PDP flag for the House of Assembly election. “The issue of oath taking is a traditional way of pledging allegiance between two people. The Otunba Gbenga Daniel-led administration introduced traditional oath taking to politics in Ogun State. “They have an existing structure for all of these. They have their own shrine. Before you get any political appointment, or contest any election, you must have sworn to an oath organised by Otunba Gbenga Daniel. “It happened in several locations, it happened in Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, behind his house, it happened in Ososa. “As I am talking to you now, the current wave of oath taking is the one they are doing in Ijebu-Ode. The one they are doing now, they will give you Mazda 626 or Toyota Camry 2002 Model, they will write OGD Omo ilu on top of it, it’s there all over the place in Ogun state. “Most party chairmen at the ward level as we are speaking now have taken that oath and have collected these cars. It’s a pity that this is the way he wants to use it against us.” Alasua described Daniel further as a blackmailer who superimposed his photograph on a bush in order to realise his devilish agenda, adding that there can never be peace in Ogun State, until Daniel is checked. But reacting to the lawmaker’s allegations, the Ogun State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Samuel, described Alausa’s vituperations as a series of lies, outright falsehood and brazen inconsistencies. “It is clear that given the level of outright falsehood and inconsistencies of Hon. Alausa and his co-travellers, the people of Ogun State and Nigerians at large can now decipher the truth and appreciate what our state has gone through in the last 12 months – lies of the vilest kind told by dishonourable people who are supposed to be honourable members of the House.” How The DEAL was Seal... Oba involves OGUN OATH MESS: Prominent Oba Stuck dealAyodele Samuel, Lagos The G 15 lawmakers in the Ogun State House of Assembly has said a prominent traditional ruler in the state the oath taking for PDP members seeking political post in Daniel’s administration during the 2007 general election. The monarch was said to have personally met with the would-be appointees and instructed them to take an oath of loyalty to Daniel. Addressing journalists in Lagos late last night , the Group of 15 lawmakers, led by the Speaker , Honourable Tunji Egbetokun, described Daniel as a ritualist and a sodomist who will stop at nothing to destroy his perceived political enemies. He challenged him to publish other nude photographs of the lawmakers he promised to publish. Commenting on the photographs of the lawmaker published yesterday in the Nigerian Compass newspaper published by Governor Daniel, Egbetokun described it as wickedness and an attempt to blackmail the lawmakers to do his bidding. He said he once took an oath with Daniel and told him so in the palace of a prominent Oba in Ijebuland. According to him, Daniel denied it but that he reminded him of the event. He said he was not naked while taking the oath. He warned Daniel not to publish any fake photograph of him or manipulate the computers to show him taking oath, stressing that he would resist it. In his own disclosure, the man at the centre of the oath taking scandal, Wale Alausa said: “One thing I thank God for in all of these is the confidence of my colleagues which I betrayed has been restored by God himself because I do not want to be labelled an Omo Ale (bastard). Because, how can one explain Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s release of a photograph he took deceitfully? I know he has been angry because he expected I’ll return to the G-15 and begin passing details of our meeting to him. But I refused. The oath I took was to the effect that I will not be among those who will impeach him from office. It did not include spying on my colleagues. Part of the argument was that as an Ijebu, I should not allow the Egba to disgrace our son, Otunba Daniel. I agreed after that pressure from my dad, but it was a reluctant decision which I made as a dutiful Yoruba son to a father who has been everything to me.” The controversial oath-taking was attested to by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Remi Hazzan, who confirmed that Daniel asked him to see the prominent traditional ruler three times but he refused, adding that they would have used that to capture him. “They knew that some of us are children of God. I was not invited for such an oath, though the governor asked if I had seen the prominent Oba three times. He asked me three times if I had seen the Oba but he never said why the Oba was looking for me. I guess that was what they wanted me to take to capture me, but God scuttled the move,” the legislator representing Ijebu-Ode Constituency stated. Gov. Daniel’s newspaper, Nigerian Compass,had published naked pictures of one of the lawmakers, Mr. Wale Alausa, on its front page taking an oath at a shrine in Ijebu-Igbo, to be loyal to the group of 15 lawmakers who are opposed to Daniel’s style of administering the state. But responding to the allegations yesterday, Alausa admitted that the photographs published was his own but disagreed with the report in the newspaper. He said he was forced to take the oath of allegiance by Governor Daniel in 2007 and that he took the oath in a toilet in one of Daniel’s mansions in Ijebu-Ode. Alausa revealed that he was harassed, intimidated and forced to take the oath. “They put pressure on me through my father,” he added. A reliable source at the Ogun State’s Information Ministry at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, also said that Governor Daniel will also address the press tomorrow, 1 July, to state categorically his position on the matter.