Describing them as ‘migrant’ and ‘rolling stone’ politicians, the party chairman said this in his opening remarks at the National Executive Council meeting of the party holding at its National Secretariat, Abuja.

According to him, when he took over as national chairman, he initiated peace moves to assuage the feelings of those who had genuine grievances that he felt the party could address.

He, however, said, “But those who were determined to leave, not on account of what anybody has done wrong against them, but on account of an ambition they believe they cannot realise on our platform, even though they were not denied the opportunity to try out that ambition, but perhaps because they could read like an oracle what the future would be, particularly as people have contested before when we didn’t have any incumbent.

“Those who had dollars gave; those who had nails gave and Mr. President said I don’t have, but even if I have, I won’t give, but will offer honest leadership. At the end, the President won, but the victory did not purge those with that ambition and they were determined that they must contest and they were free to do that.

“I had thought that by the provisions in our party constitution, they had the right to contest and that right was not going to be denied them. But reflecting on what has happened in the past and reading the minds of party members and leaders, they came to the conclusion that the only way they can realise their ambition was to relocate and they relocated.”

He further said, “For distant observers, they think that this is a huge blow to our party. I made a comment which seems to have been misunderstood in some quarters, when I said that if some individuals of no particular fixed political address decide to leave, I will not lose my sleep.

“I speak of no particular fixed address because if you have a history of moving every season from one political party to the other with one constant thing in mind — to contest — now, what is your political address? So, for people like that who are migrant politicians, rolling stone politicians, I am not able to identify their political address and therefore, I refuse to miss my sleep.”

Oshiomhole stressed that some misconstrued his comments to mean arrogance, but that all he did was to be blunt, noting that there was little, if anything, he could do about people who felt they must contest and win every election and if they don’t, they take their loyalty elsewhere.

He assured party members, especially legislators who have genuine cases of unfair treatment, that the party would do what is right to ensure that justice is done.

The party chairman expressed delight that President Muhammdu Buhari has not disappointed Nigerians since he took over the saddle of leadership in 2015.

He also noted that since the president took over, the APC has won most of the elections it had contested in various states, the latest being in Ekiti State which, before APC’s victory, was a stronghold of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

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The Council also supported the immediate creation of ranches across the country.

Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of the NEC meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

According to him, the five mostly affected states which had witnessed herdsmen killings will be expected to make land available for the ranches.

He said through ranching, the nomadic herdsmen and their families would be able to access good medical facilities and good schools for their children if they stay in one place.

Staying in a ranch, he said, would also improve the well-being of the cattle.

The governor added that the Federal Government and the affected states would still iron out the interventions expected from the two parties.

He said foreign herdsmen should be able to show some travel documents, even though visa is not allowed for movement in West African.

The Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh said the federal government would no longer allow the killings to continue.

He said Nigeria may no longer keep to the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons.

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Mohammed said calls by the National Economic Council − which comprises the 36 governors and the Vice-President – for the assets to be sold was of no consequence.

The minister said this on Wednesday while fielding questions from State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mohammed who was accompanied by the Minister of Water Resources, Sulaiman Adamu, said, “The government is still working on the most comprehensive manner to lift the economy and the government will make its position known very soon.

“What the government will do is to expand the economy, everything you have heard so far is just suggestion, until the government makes its position known, all these assets sale, assets leasing, whatever is being bandied about, they are nothing but speculations.

“The government has yet to come out with its position on how to bail out the economy and it will take that position.

“NEC will recommend but it is the Federal Executive Council that will decide and what we decide will be the position of the government.”

Mohammed and Adamu disclosed that FEC approved three memos from the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.

Mohammed said, “Water today, like no other time, has become one of the most important resources with economic, social and political implications. And the judicious use and allocation of water for human, animals, livestock and industry have become more than ever one of the serious issues facing humanity.

“As a matter of fact, many countries have gone to war over the issue of water. So, I believe it is only timely that Nigeria is proactive and has considered the issue of water resources.”

Also speaking, Adamu listed the three memos to include the National Water Policy, the National Irrigation Policy and a Draft National Water Resources Bill.

He said, “The National Water Policy seeks to provide strategies that will improve the management and delivery of water in the country in particular reference to water supply.

“It is followed by the enabling law, that is the National Water Resources Bill, which essentially consolidates all the existing laws, the Water Resources Act, the River Basin Development Authority Act, the National Water Resources Institute Act, the National Hydrological Services Act and other Acts put together to form a national law that conforms to international standard and international best practices.

“By so doing, we have been able to streamline many of the overlapping laws. Sometimes, we have conflict in laws, like the one we have with NIWA, some laws relating to environment and mining. This bill seeks to sort out all those issues so that we have a standard national law, also so that we can set up a proper regulatory agency to regulate the water sector.”

With the new development, he said the door was now open for the private sector to come in to invest in water supply schemes in the country.

He said that the irrigation and drainage policy sought to recognise and bring in a water users’ association and generally improve not only irrigation infrastructure but irrigation management in the country.

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The motion to dissolve the party’s NEC and NWC was moved by Austin Opara, a former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives and seconded by Emeka Ihedioha, also a former Deputy Speaker of the house.

Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers and Chairman of the party`s National Convention Committee put the question and the motion was affirmed by the delegates.

The convention also approved another motion to set aside decisions taken by the NWC and zoning of its presidential candidate for 2019 election to the north.

The motion was moved by Dr Babangida Aliyu, a former governor of Niger and seconded by Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta.

The convention also set up a seven-man caretaker committee headed by Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State, while Sen. Ben Obi was appointed as its secretary.

The committee was given three months to organise a new National Convention to elect new national officers.

The delegates also barred the committee members from contesting any position in the next convention.

Makarfi, in his speech, said he accepted to serve because it was about the unity of the party and progress of the country.

“I humbly accept this challenge and I do so, on behalf of other members of the committee. Other members of the committee were nominated on trust,” he said.

Makarfi assured that the committee would serve and bring unity to the party.

“I assure you, you will have no cause to worry. None of us is seeking for any office. We are here to serve and bring unity to our party. I call on all aggrieved party men and women to give us a chance to rebuild our party to give hope to Nigeria and black race,” Makarfi said.

The other members of the committee were Sen. Odion Ugbesie, Sen. Abdul Ningi, Kabir Usman, Dayo Adeyeye and Alhaja Aisha Aliyu.

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The decision to suspend the strike, which started in October 2013, was reached on Saturday morning at the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the union held in Abuja.

The National Publicity Secretary of ASUP, Clement Chirman, confirmed the suspension of the strike and said all striking lecturers have been directed to resume work on Tuesday.

The ASUP NEC meeting was held two days after the leadership of the union held a ‘fruitful’ meeting with the new Education Minister, Ibrahim Shekarau, who was sworn in by President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday.

The ASUP NEC consists of all chapter (polytechnic) chairmen of the union and the national executive of the body.

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The union’s Chairman, Saheed Oseni, told newsmen that the decision to continue with the strike was taken at the union’s congress on June 23.

The union had embarked on an indefinite strike on May 26, to demand for the repeal of the ‘no vacancy, no promotion’ policy of its management, a reduction in the tuition fee hike and the implementation of the 65 years retirement age policy.

Oseni said that the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union, at its meeting on June 19, pledged to support the union in its struggle for the implementation of its demands.

“SSANU National had sent representatives of the union to the management in February to dialogue on why the management should do the needful, but to no avail,” he said.

Oseni regretted that the management and the Governing Council of the institution did not invite the union for discussion since the strike started.

He said that the union had given room for negotiation before and during the strike but described the management as being insensitive to meet the demands of the union.

He said that the union would ground activities at the university from next week, noting that the strike would commence with the union withdrawing the essential services provided by its members.

“We have been magnanimous enough to give room for discussion since the strike started. But we would become hard from next week, since the management do not appreciate our worth. We should not be blamed if we totally ground the system,” he said.

Commenting on the `no work, no pay threat,’ Oseni said the union would not be worried if their salaries were paid or not.

“What is the essence of receiving a salary that is not enough to meet our needs. Our members are growing their family sizes but not in their career levels,” he said.

Kayode Sutton, Public Relations Officer of the university, said that efforts were ongoing to negotiate with the union and meet their demands.

Sutton noted that the management had taken steps to address all the pending issues. “The fee hike has just been reduced and this is part of the demands of the unions. We are also working to address the remaining demands, so as to return the situation to normalcy,” he said.

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The Zonal Publicity Secretary of the party, Al-Amin Mohammed, who disclosed this in Bauchi, said that the consultations were spearheaded by the PDP Governors in the zone, the party’s zonal leadership, elders, ministers from the zone and other stakeholders.

He assured that the stakeholders would beat the Monday deadline for the emergence of a new chairman of the party as directed by the President.

Mohammed said that already, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party had directed the leadership of the party in the zone to produce a new national chairman of the party before Monday next week.

It will be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan announced the resignation of Bamanga Tukur as PDP National Chairman at the NEC meeting of the party on Thursday.

The party’s zonal publicity secretary said that the position of the PDP National Chairman had been zoned to the North-East zone of the country.

“The National Executive Council of the party has already directed that the new chairman be picked from the zone as the position is slotted to it,” the zonal publicity secretary said.

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The decision, reached Monday afternoon in Minna, the Niger State capital, followed the meeting called to deliberate on when to call off the union’s six-month old strike following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Government.

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Fagge announced the decision at a news briefing in Kano on Wednesday and explained that the union found it necessary to suspend the meeting following the sudden death of Prof Festus Iyayi.

Iyayi, a former president of the union, died in a motor accident in Lokoja on Tuesday, while he was going for the meeting at which the union was expected to decide on its nearly five-month-old strike.

Fagge described the death of Iyayi as a great loss to the country and added that the deceased was a strong pillar of the union.

“You (journalists) have to bear with us because we are in mourning because we lost one of us, who was a strong pillar,’’ he said.

Chairmen of various branches of the union who came for the meeting left for their stations from Bayero University, Kano, where the meeting was scheduled to hold.

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Iyayi was travelling to Kano for the NEC meeting of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) scheduled for Wednesday when the accident occurred at about 11:45 a.m., union officials said.

The state Commander of FRSC, Olakunle Motajo, who made the confirmation, described the accident as unfortunate.

He said the accident involved the a Toyota Hilux in the motorcade of Gov. Idris Wada of Kogi and a Toyota Hiace bus belonging to the UNIBEN ASUU chapter.

Iyayi was in the union bus with two others, including a woman, who sustained fracture in her left arm, while the other had bruises but the driver escaped unhurt, Motajo said.

The corpse of Iyayi has been deposited at Kogi State Specialist Hospital in Lokoja where other injured victims were also being treated, he said.

The FRSC Sector Commander said that a preliminary report on the accident revealed wrongful overtaking on the part of the government vehicle.

The governor who was returning from Abuja, later visited the emergency ward of the hospital to commiserate with the victims.

He was also at the hospital mortuary to the see the dead body and directed the management of the hospital to give the victims the best of care.

Some ASUU members were also seen around the emergency ward but refused to talk on the accident.

Some residents of Banda community, who witnessed the accident, told NAN that the two vehicles collided and the ASUU bus somersaulted three times before hitting a big tree in the bush.

Seven policemen in the vehicle in the motorcade also sustained injuries and are receiving treatment at the Government House Clinic in Lokoja.

Meanwhile, Gov Idris has ordered a full investigation into the accident.

The governor in a statement in Lokoja expressed sadness over the death of Iyayi and sympathised with those injured and their families.

The statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Jacob Edi, claimed that the “governor’s convoy was on a speed of 80km per hour when a bus collided with the escort van.”

Born in 1947, Iyayi attended Annunciation Catholic College and Government Ughelli, Delta.

He obtained an MSc in Industrial Economics from Kiev Institute of Economics and a PhD from Bradford University, England.

The President of ASUU, Dr Nasir Fagge, said “the sad news was broken to the union in the morning of Nov. 12.’’

“I cannot say anything right now. We have just lost one of our own, Festus Iyayi, who was very dear to us. I am mourning.’’

The immediate past President of the union, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, said the news came to him as a rude shock and was still in doubt if it was true.

Prof. Ahunna Okerengwo, the Chairman, University of Port-Harcourt chapter of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), says the death of Prof. Festus Iyayi on Tuesday was shocking.

When contacted on phone, Okerengwo said that she was on her way to Kano for a meeting concerning the ASUU strike and was still shocked by the news.

Prof. Damian Opata, the Head, Department of English, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, also described Iyayi’s death as unfortunate. “It is very sad coming at this time,” he said.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday commiserated with the leadership and members of ASUU on the tragic death of Iyayi.

The President recalled that Iyayi rose to national prominence in the 1980s with his courageous leadership of ASUU and struggle for a better working environment for teachers and academics in the nation’s university system.

In a statement by Senior Special Assistant, Media to the president, Dr. Reuben Abati, it said the president “is particularly dismayed by the fact that Iyayi has sadly lost his life while going to contribute to efforts to finally resolve the current ASUU strike.’’

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