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PDP COULD HAVE PRODUCED THE SENATE PRESIDENT BUT…..DEPUTY SENATE PRESIDENT IKE EKWEREMADU

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8 years ago

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Senator Ike Ekeweremadu during a plenary session  

SENATOR IKE EKEWEREMADU, has been the
Deputy Senate President since 2003, and till date, he is regarded as one of the
most powerful lawmaker at the red chambers. A trained Lawyer, and astute grass-root
politician, He always affirm his coming far in politics as God’s will and his
political calling, divine. Since the genesis of his political odysseys, as the
president of his Community Youths, since then his profile has been rising till
date, The Distinguish senate president, however, spoke extensively in this interview
on matters concerning the country and how he has stood firm despite the rough
political banters thrown on him and the other leadership of the senate.

You have been a local government chairman, 
SSG, Chief of staff and now Deputy senate president and have been
actively in politics for over twenty years and you still remain relevant. What
is the secret?
It’s all about God’s grace, not by our
power and might. God has used the people to put me in those positions. So, I
try as much as possible to remain with the people and connect with them and we
give God all the glory.
 What
was your dream when came into in 1997, and did you ever thought you would ever
come this far?
Well, there is no way I would have
thought I would ever get to this level. I just wanted an opportunity to serve
my people and to address some of the challenges of my people. Growing up, I saw
a lot of challenges facing my people, ranging from poverty to backwardness,
infrastructural deficit. So, as a lawyer, I practiced for 10 years before
delving into politics, I thought I could address those problems, but I found
out that it is not possible for me in my private capacity to do it, that I need
an opportunity that only the government can provide. Looking back, I think we
have done a lot in challenging those problems, so I started out from the local
government. If you are conversant with the power structure in Igbo land, you
would understand the power of age grade in the power equation in the land. I
was the chairman of my age grade for 30 years, I became the president of my town
union and in all this opportunity, I try as much as possible to leave a mark, I
do what I call purpose driven politics. I have an idea of what I want to
achieve in office or before I get to the office, I try to create a milestone to
myself. But sometimes, we achieve more beyond the dreams and aspirations we set
out for ourselves, all thanks to God. Looking back, I think that it has been
quite satisfactory assuming those positions and am sure you are aware that am
the speaker of ECOWAS parliament, which has also exposed me different political
structure in the region and am happy. But, if not for God, it won’t have been
possible.
Did you nurse any fear deep inside of you while coming into
mainstream politics?
I try not to allow any situation weigh
me down and discourage me of my set goals, I met Nigeria politics in a very
rough and raw stage and we pulled through, but things are getting better now.
In those days, I ran for local government, it was fight on the streets.
However, I think things have improved now, there is a lot of civility in a lot
of things. The violence and all those stuff have reduced. So we appreciate our
people at all times for their contributions.
Did you reach any agreement with Saraki to install you as the
deputy senate president in 2015?
We faced the reality of politics.
Politics is the game of number. At the time we were going to the election on
the 9th of June 2015, we had 59 APC senators, and 48 PDP senators. That means
the margin between the APC and PDP is roughly 10 senators. There were two APC
senators who are contending to be senate president and neither of them could
muster up to 51 senators of their members. So that means each of the
contestants has 30 senators each supporting them. So, you want to be senate
president with 30 senators and you are talking to 49 senators. What that means
is that the number they have is bigger than what you have. In political
business, it is required that those with 49 make a request, 
because that 49 would have changed the cause of things. And don’t forget
that the issues of senate president is not about the government in power or
highest 
numbers of senators in power, 
it is a presidential system, and anybody in accordance to the
constitution can be senate president, because we want a situation where the
party can drive their agenda in the national assembly. We felt it was
appropriate to allow them produce a senate president, because if the PDP had
wanted to produce a senate president with the number we had and the division
APC had, we would have produced a senate president. But, we felt it does not
make sense and the only thing we thought of is to have a bi-partisan
leadership. And as so we looked at the contending parties, the person who had
the bipartisan outlook, don’t forget that Saraki is coming from PDP to APC, he
has a better nationalist outlook, he is somebody who is not an extremist in
terms of religion and ethnicity. We found that in Saraki and decided to do
political business with him. We decided that we were going to vote for him, and
in return, they also voted for us for the deputy senate president, and my
colleagues decided to nominate me as the candidate of the PDP. Senator Ali
Ndume also ran as APC candidate for the deputy senate president. Some voted for
him from APC and some also in PDP. That’s why I had more numbers than the
number of PDP in the election. It’s all an idea of building a united senate and
for us, once politics is gone and we get to the national assembly, it’s the way
forward. Political parties are just vehicles to get there, and we began to work
in the best interest of Nigerians, we hardly see the difference between the PDP
and APC. And in terms of how we vote, we look at things from the nationalistic
point of view.
Forgery
charges were made against you and Saraki. What would you say orchestrated this
plot?
 It
is essentially related to our emergence as the Senate president and Deputy
Senate president. Those who sold the idea to them, for me, acted out of
ignorance. From 1999 to 2003, each assembly, there is always a rule we had. The
senate rule of 1999, which was repaired by the management of the national
assembly and given to the assembly of that year 1999, and you are informed from
day one that you’re just a senator-elect, you cannot raise any objection to the
rule. The only thing that rule can do for you is to elect you after you have
been elected. You can now amend it the way you want till 2003. In accordance to
the constitution, the house has been dissolved in 2003, so the rule is also
gone, there must be a new rule for the next parliament. That was why in 2003,
we had the senate rule of 2003, a rule prepared by the management and given to
us. I met a rule given to us in 2003, namely senate rule 2003 as amended in the
cause of our stay in the senate. We did some amendment in 2007, we all left the
senate, but some of us were re-elected. So, when we came back, we were given
another amended constitution in 2007, and we operated that rule until 2011; the
senate ended with the rule of 2007, so the management also produced another
rule for us in 2011, which was given to us on the inauguration day. The same
thing happened in 2015 at the floor of the senate, we were given new set of
2015 rules. So, for some of us who have been there, we are not surprised of the
development, because we knew that’s how it has always been. Some of our
colleagues complained that there was a rule in 2011 which was used during the
orientation programme, but by that time the assembly has not been proclaimed
they had to use the 2011 rules for the orientation. When we came on the day of
inauguration, there was a new set of rules, and when they saw it, they were
alarmed. So what was their contest? It was that in the 2011 rules they saw in
the content that presiding officers, namely the senate president, deputy senate
president, chief whip and clerk of the house should be nominated and elected by
raising of hands. So they were expecting that their party leadership will stay
at the gallery and watch who raises hands. Unfortunately for them, the rule has
also been amended by the management of the national assembly, which of course,
is within their powers. The house settled for secret balloting. We were there
and they started reading out the rules of engagement, what will happen on how
the senate and deputy senate president will be elected and it must be by secret
ballot. So we were all given ballot papers and we voted. So, some claimed that
there was forgery, some of them wrote to the police, but in fairness to them,
none of them who wrote to the police said Ekweremadu forged any document or
Saraki also. What they were saying was that they didn’t know when it was
amended. That was the only thing, they said they never accused anybody. So it
was the police that looked into it and that there was nobody to be charged and
no offence was committed at all. But because of the pressure the government in
power was putting on them, they moved the whole thing to the office of the
Attorney general. Looking at all this document before us, no offence has been
committed. So they sent it back to the police and asked them to further their
investigation, there was nothing to investigate if you come there a thousand
times they will say there is nothing Ekweremadu did, neither did Saraki. So the
police left it, but due to pressure from the highest quarters, the attorney
general went ahead to charge us to court for forgery. What they charged us for
was the statement that was made to the police. If you match it to the offence
that was being charged, it doesn’t make sense, so there was no connection. If
you charge a case at the federal high court, you have what they call prove of
evidence, which includes the statement of the witnesses. But no witness was
prepared to come and say Ekweremadu or anybody committed any offence.
Government realised that instead of wasting public funds to prosecute us, they
withdrew the case because it was heading nowhere. I have left it behind and
forgiven those who are behind the conspiracy.
President Buhari is fighting corruption; do you think he is
fighting it the normal way?
I think he is fighting it the best way
he knows. Maybe, if I were the president I would have done a different thing.
For him, the end justifies the means. But in a democracy, the end doesn’t
justify the means, both the end and the means are very important. See what they
are talking about the PDP election expenses. If you say Enugu State spent N450
million and this money was given to Enugu State from the office of the national
security adviser. So you are telling the people who disbursed the funds to
return that money or you charge them to court. What are you going to charge
them with? In law, you have to establish that the money came from the office of
the NSA, you have to establish that the money was stolen, and that those you
gave the money knew the money was stolen before you can secure a conviction.
And that’s why nobody is being charged, because they knew what they are
chasing, because no offence has been committed. You have to establish that the
principal person who disbursed the money stole it. It is just like kidnapping
PDP politicians, and asking them to pay ransom. Look at what is happening in
the oil industry and nobody is pursuing it. There are strategic places that we
need to tackle in government. I think that government needs to sit down with the
people to apportion a more realistic way to tackle corruption. I must give it
to him, there is some kind of sanity in the system, I also believe that
impunity has reduced. We need to fight corruption in a more civilized manner,
making sure that the rule of law is respected. If we ignore the rule of law,
whatever we do will be misinterpreted. I had to be sure that same standard is
applied across board irrespective our political differences.
The war between the executive and legislative is no doubt dragging
the country back. What is the possible solution?
I don’t think there is any war going on.
What is happening is that the legislative has refused to carry along the
parliament. Don’t forget that our structure in the senate, where we have
executive arm of government doing two possible terms in office of four years
each also envisage that those in parliament, as far as their constituent wants
them to go back, they keep coming back. The idea is how to build institutional
memory, so we expect that when there is a new government, he should also turn
over to the parliament in order to know how things are done, because some of us
have been there several times. As for me, I have seen four presidents, namely
Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Jonathan and now Buhari. So if a matter comes up now, the
parliament needs to be consulted, so those who have been there know how it is
done. All the problem we had in the budget issue was due to the fact that
everybody we had in that circle was new. Prior to that, the offices of the
senate president and the deputy have also tried to coordinate the budget, but
that didn’t happen last year because the APC wanted it their own way and we had
all kinds of issues. That is part of the things that caused the rancour between
the legislative and the parliament, because of lack of engagement. Prior to
this government, every two weeks, we used to have meeting with the president
and vice president and the leadership of the senate. But it doesn’t happen any
longer. Since this leadership came into the national assembly, we just met once
with the president, which is not the correct thing to do. Sometimes, they
invite the senate president and the speaker; they forget they are just two
people out of twenty, because they have 10 in the leadership of the house and ten
in the leadership of the senate. There is no way you can engage twenty persons
by talking to two people, but unfortunately, that has not been happening. If
you engage the full leadership of 
the house in matters that concern the country, people will come with
ideas and tell you this will work and this will not, they will advise you on
how to go about every policy. Don’t forget that it is the same constituent that
Buhari is caring about that we are also caring about. They elected us the same
way he was elected and we don’t have different people to care about. That is
why at all time, we should be on the same page on all issues. The national
assembly is ever ready to work with the president, but they are creating a gulf
between the presidency and the senate, and it is completely unnecessary. I
think there should be shared responsibility and vision on matters concerning
the welfare of Nigerians.
 Nigerians
are suffering under the yoke of RECESSION. What is the possible way out?
Well, for me, the way out bothers on
that engagement, we need to engage ourselves in the policy of the government on
how to get out of recession and the parliament would in turn will sell it to
the people they are representing. But where the government is fighting to take
us out of recession and those efforts are not in accord with the reality on
ground, we are likely to run into problem. There is need for cordial
engagement. We all need to make sacrifice to ensure we get ourselves out of
recession. So, we can only make sacrifice when we engage ourselves in
discussions, talking about diversifying our economy. Look at the legislative
list in the country, it favours the federal government more. If you want us to
come out of recession, empower the various states. And by doing that, you are empowering
various people. So, how can you empower the states by taking some things from
the exclusive list to the concurrent list, the resources of the country, both
the solid and liquid minerals. In that way, they will make their own effort,
depending on the Federal Government in releasing funds through the resources
available in their states I did a study that every state in Nigeria have a
solid mineral that can make them self-sufficient, but they can’t develop it
because it is all in the exclusive list. We need to do fiscal restructuring,
each state would be self-sustaining financially. But right now, we are talking
about bailouts, which means that each state would have to fall back to the
Federal Government, which originally is not the idea of a federal structure.
Each state is also meant to contribute to the economy. But we have a centre
that is feeding the component units. We need to work on all that I have pointed
out if we must come out of recession. I believe that things like refinery are
things we need to give priority to; construction of refinery, we are going to
save a whole lot of money from importation of fuel product, we are going to
save the money we use in buying the product from overseas and this money we
spend are moneys we realised in the sale of crude oil. So, if we do that, we
save a lot of money and the exchange rate will also improve. It needs a whole
lot of consultation, planning and carrying everybody along. It should not be a
process where some part of Nigeria would think they would be short-changed.
That’s why we must all make sacrifice in the best interest of the country.
 What
are your plans for the future, politically?
I don’t make any plan for myself, God
makes plans for me. I do my best in every opportunity made available to me. I
have to work so that those who elected me would be proud of me, make sure my
colleagues would be happy, ensure that I am productive and live a milestone.
2019 is approaching, and your people are agitating for power. Do
you think you have the clout and experience to contest?
Politics
is not a capacity business, it is dynamic. Second chance threw up Jonathan and
he became president, second chance threw up Buhari and became president after
four attempts, he came at the right time and it happened. I am not bothered
about 2019, but I will make use of the opportunity I have now if 2019 comes up
and it is the desire of my people and Nigerians to give me an opportunity at a
higher level, I will thank them and make the best out of it. Otherwise, I thank
God for what I am today.

culled from: THIS DAY NEWSPAPER

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Elated Polaris Bank Customer commends Bank for excellent customer service

Published

1 year ago

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December 2, 2023

By

Polaris BAnk

Polaris Bank customer, Ife Michael, who recently aired her concerns on X (formerly Twitter) on a school fees transaction, has commended the Bank for resolving her Complaint swiftly as promised.

 

Ife Michael tweeting via her X handle @V_Ifemichael had called out the Bank for ‘seizing’ her funds as sent from a UK University where she had sought admission.

Polaris Bank reacted promptly to her Complaint and engaged her to explain the process and promised to resolve the issue which the Bank did swiftly.

An apparently elated Ife Michael went back to the micro blogging site to recount her experience with an update on her earlier thread of how the Bank swiftly resolved her Complainant.

The Bank, according to her update “responded and reached out to explain in details the guidelines underpinning FX transaction as it relates in particular to International payment.

In her tweet, Ife Michael expressed gratitude to Polaris Bank’s swift action and transparent communication. According to her, the Bank clarified that the situation was complex but assured her that the funds would be promptly refunded to the school. And Polaris Bank did exactly as it promised as it promptly refunded the money to Roehampton University and initiated necessary processes to streamline the refund.

The engagement began when Polaris Bank’s headquarters made the first contact at 11:48 am, and by 3:41 pm on the same day, Ife Michael confirmed that the Bank had successfully refunded the funds and

fulfilled all required procedures. The Bank also took the extra step of writing to the school to facilitate the process.

This positive outcome highlights Polaris Bank’s commitment to customer satisfaction, responsive and excellent customer service, and adherence to regulatory policies. The incident not only showcases effective conflict resolution but also underscores the power of a Bank fostering transparent communication between it and her customers.

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Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Manchester United

Published

2 years ago

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July 28, 2022

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Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes held meetings with United at Carrington on Tuesday, but his position remains unchanged and he wants to play for a club in the Champions League and win major trophies. United do not want him to go, however, and Ronaldo has started training with the team having missed the club’s pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to family reasons.

His potential options elsewhere are limited. Chelsea are not an option anymore, while Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid appeared to publicly rule themselves out this week. “As we’ve seen on Instagram, Ronaldo has been keeping fit, so there are no concerns from Manchester United over his fitness or physical level; he’s one of the fittest players in world football.

“Ultimately, The Portuguese forward did state his desire to leave Old Trafford, but he’s running out of options, and it seems like he’s actually going to have to stay. Perhaps he will try and swing it where the 25 per cent pay cut in his contract will be waived away by United, perhaps he wants to manoeuvre and muscle a new deal, we’ll have to wait and see. But it doesn’t look like Stamford Bridge is on his cards.

“Chelsea have distanced themselves from a deal for Ronaldo, as have Bayern Munich, Napoli and a lot of other elite clubs that Jorge Mendes, who is Ronaldo’s agent, has tried to sell him to. “An offer from Saudi Arabia is astronomical but ultimately, it does not give Cristiano Ronaldo what he wants, which is that legacy. He wants to achieve Champions League records that he thinks no one else will be able to attain in the future.

“He wants to sign off at the absolute highest level. Now, it looks increasingly like he will have to stay at Manchester United because there are no biters from the big clubs.

“Everyone has their forwards already, and Chelsea, who are the only club looking like they could actually potentially be spun by what Cristiano Ronaldo offers off the pitch because we were told that Mendes, while being in front of these clubs, was putting forward his numbers in terms of social media influence, sponsorship that he rakes in, the commercial gain of his shirt sales and stuff like that. But even they now say he is not in their plans. Their immediate aim is to strengthen the defence.

“So, that leaves Ronaldo really with not many choices. We know that he does want to be competing at the highest level so if he does go to Saudi Arabia that cuts against everything he has said and everything we actually know about him and his career.

“Manchester United have always been very calm and very comfortable. They have insisted he is not for sale, and he will see out the last year of his contract. How they manoeuvre this now going forward we’ll see, but Ronaldo is keeping fit, so they have no issues or problems or fears over what state he’ll report back to pre-season in.”

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CONVOCATION: GRACE NATION BIBLE INSTITUTE GRADUATES 120 STUDENTS

Published

3 years ago

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April 4, 2022

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-you must remain a good Ambassador of Christ- Chris Okafor

No fewer than 120 certified Trained Prophetic students of Grace Nation Bible Institute graduated today after they have gone through rigorous prophetic training by the best Teachers Supervised by the anointed servant of God Dr. Chris Okafor. The student was presented with their certificates at the special convocation ceremony held at the International Headquarters of Grace Nation(GBI) in Ojodu Berger Lagos Nigeria. According to the Rector of the institute, they satisfy all requirements and conditions to be awarded a diploma certificate in various fields of Prophetic and Bibles knowledge.

In his words of Encouragement, the President of Grace Nation Bible Institute, Dr. Chris Okafor remarks that he has no doubt in his mind that all the students are well-trained judging by the level and capacity of all the resource Personality who lecture them, train and retraining them to face any challenges that come there ways,
The Apostle of altars also challenged them to be a good ambassador of the school to the outside world through soul-winning to the kingdom of God.

The Generational Prophet of God also remarked that as you have all learned, you must put the name of a school in good repute and always ready to work for the Lord at any time

Some of the course covered in the 8weeks program includes Evangelism and soul-winning, spiritual development and Human Management to mention but few

The highlight of the convocation was the Presentation of Certificates to all the students, according to the Rector all the students perform excellently well

Earlier in his sermon, the Senior Pastor Grace Nation and the Generational prophet of God Dr. Chris Okafor teach on the series, ”The Covenant Day of Settlement” said settlement comes when you fulfill all the Principles of Settlement,
the man of God said nothing come free but when you applied the principles and follow it diligently you will easily get a settlement on all side

The realm of the Prophetic witnessed another higher dimension of Prophetic movement and deliverance through the Set Man, the Generational Prophet of God Dr. Chris Okafor, He visited many family altars and set many captives free, he also delivered people with blood-line diseases while delivering miracle babies to expectant mothers

The service came to a close with a special Prayer for the Set Man, the Generational Prophet of God Dr. Chris Okafor who will be making another birthday tomorrow, 4 April 2022.

 

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