He equally accused PDP of suffering from selective amnesia by its claim that he(Tinubu) endorsed Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential win as free and fair.

According to Tinubu, “the federal ruling party should address the challenge Gen. Buhari has thrown: organise a free, fair and transparent election and everything would be well. But try and skew the vote, and face sure disaster.”

Reacting to Olisa Metuh, the PDP national publicity secretary’s claim that Tinubu endorsed President Jonathan’s election at a lecture he gave at Chatham House, London, Sunday Dare, Tinubu’s special adviser on Media, accused the PDP of wilful mischief, as Tinubu’s statement was “deliberately” quoted out of context.

Mr. Metuh was reacting to the ACN support for Gen. Buhari’s warning that dire consequences awaited the polity if elections were rigged in 2015.

But putting the records straight, Dare insisted that though Tinubu said he thought Jonathan won the election, his tally was exaggerated, thus casting a slur on the integrity of his victory.

Tinubu was said to have declared in the Chatham House speech, on 18 July 2011: “I believe Jonathan won the election but that the returns attributed to him in some parts of the country obviously appeared exaggerated. Thus, celebrating the election as free and fair might lead to INEC beating its chest and might short-circuit the process of fundamental electoral reform. We must not relent in our struggle for fundamental reforms.”
The rest of the statement today reads that:”In that same speech, Asiwaju Tinubu had warned about the danger of draping the 2011 elections in qualities they did not deserve, adding that such false hope could come back to haunt Nigeria, if future elections were not improved upon, saying that by then, the damage might even be beyond the judiciary to fix.

“Again, direct quotes from the speech: “The negative consequence of this inflated measure is that the bar has been set too low for the conduct of subsequent elections. Those in power now believe they will not have to improve the process. This would be a gross miscalculation of the public mood. Should subsequent elections be of the same uneven quality, I fear a backlash that cannot simply be contained by resort to the judiciary for resolution.”

The statement “wondered how all these were different from what Gen. Buhari said; and how a party out of touch with reality and just throwing political tantrums, could claim Tinubu’s analysis of the 2011 elections amounted to endorsing Jonathan’s elections.”

“But even on the so-called international observers’ endorsement, Tinubu had warned, in this same speech, that such endorsement was hasty, misleading and did not represent the true picture of the situation.

“The 2011 elections were not of the high quality the government and many international observers proclaimed. In a way, international observers have done Nigeria a disservice that will become apparent in the future. The observers did not see what took place before Election Day or what happened in rural Nigeria. More importantly, most observers ended their day as the sun set and the polling stations closed,” Tinubu had said. “They ended their watch just as the agents of malpractice would begin their craft. Observers made a broad final conclusion based on a thin filament of information. They judged a complicated play solely by viewing one of its several acts”,it added.

It cautioned PDP against muddling up facts for political mischief and counselled it to devote more time to reading the full Chatham House speech, instead of quoting it out of context to confuse and confound unsuspecting Nigerians.

The NLC in a statement released today by its acting general secretary, Comrade Owei Lakemfa asked President Goodluck Jonathan to call members of his cabinet funding the plot to order.

According to the union, ” These hawks in government who see the NLC as being too powerful and capable of checkmating undemocratic and unpatriotic moves by the political class, have come to the conclussion that the best way out is to engineer internal ‘disagreements’ in the NLC, and hiding under this guise, to register a new labour centre which they hope will support anti-people policies and cause distractions in the Labour Movement. These government agents have even fixed July 2012 as the registration date of their proposed new labour centre.”

Labour said the same agents are also responsible for the anti-labour bill currently before the National Assembly, adding that these agents of destabilisation fail to realise that the NLC is a major buffer against any unconstitutional or anti democratic bid for power in the country.

“They do not recognize the fact that when the chips are down, it is the NLC, and not the political parties that is capable of mobilizing and getting tens of millions of Nigerians on the streets to defend our democratic project. The NLC advises the trade unionists who have enlisted for this anti- people project, and those being enticed to join them, to retrace their steps as the Congress will not allow the ranks of the working people to be split. The NLC and its allies put the working people on the alert for a struggle to stop this move”, the statement added..

The NLC also called on President Jonathan to stop his officials who are engaged in renewed media campaigns to further increase the price of fuel under the guise of a nebulous deregulation policy, which it stated that the House of Representatives has exposed as being fraudulent.

It added that the continuous waste of public funds on media campaigns, the enticement of youths and so called Town Hall meetings to mislead Nigerians to support another round of fuel price hike was a criminal enterprise.

“With the serious security challenges in the country, the heating up of the polity by politicians and rising poverty in the land, the NLC calls on President Jonathan to call the agents of his government to order on the twin issues of trying to break up the NLC by fiat and increasing fuel prIce. These are unnecessary battles which the government cannot win”,labour warned.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said
the concocted accusations against Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola,
that he is trying to Islamize the state and
also engineer secession, are part of the PDP’s grand plan to use
religion as a destabilizing force in the South-west
in particular and the whole country in Nigeria.

It said the fact that the PDP desperadoes and their collaborators in
the security services could even try to link Governor
Aregbesola with Boko Haram is an indication of how low they are
willing to sink just to carry out their nefarious plot.

ACN also expressed surprise that in its desperation, the PDP ensured
that its collaborators in the security services -
in routing their imaginary security report – bypassed the normal
channel of communication on national security issues.

”The South-west as a region does not have a history of religious
intolerance as, in most families, adherents of the various
faith have co-existed peacefully through the ages. It is therefore
curious that a party that prides itself as pan-Nigeria will seek
to end the age-long religious tolerance in this region just for
political expediency,” ACN said.

The party said any keen observer of the way the PDP-controlled federal
government has handled the Boko Haram crisis will
not be too surprised that the party’s goons in the South-west, backed
by their clueless bosses at the federal level, are
resorting to religion in their inordinate quest to ‘recapture’ the
region they so mindlessly plundered in their first coming.

”The Boko Haram crisis has become the meal ticket for the PDP and its
chop-I-chop members, what with the huge chunk
(about a quarter of the 2012 budget) allocated to ‘combating’ it. It
is also the party’s trump card for maintaining a stranglehold
on the nation, hence its flame must be kept aglow at all costs – human
or material.

”It is also common knowledge that President Goodluck Jonathan of the
PDP has frittered away the goodwill that followed him
into office, through a succession of poorly-thought-out policies. With
his eyes firmly set on another mandate even when he
has not justified the current one, he and his party believe that his
surest ticket to another mandate is to keep the flame of Boko
Haram burning, and continue misinforming the international community
that the crisis is rooted in religion, rather than in years of
irresponsible governance, the type of which the PDP has foisted on
Nigeria since 1999.

”That is why the PDP federal government has paid only a lip service
to all efforts to find a lasting solution to the Boko Haram crisis.
It was the government’s insincerity (the mediators said so and the
government did not deny) that led to the collapse of the most
recent attempt to resolve the crisis. In the post-911 world, the best
way to attract sympathy from the international community is to
put the terrorism badge on any acts of brigandage or social disorder
and then link it with religion.

”However, the game is up for the PDP, and the party will know this if
it bothers to read between the lines the recent apt characterization
of the Boko Haram crisis by the Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African
Affairs at the US State Department, Mr Johnnie Carson,” ACN
said.

The party therefore warned: ”PDP should stop exploiting religion for
whatever purpose. It should stop encouraging those who are bent on
exploiting it to destabilize our country. And as Mr. Carson rightly
advised, let us make it impossible for Boko Haram or any group
whatsoever to ‘capitalize on popular frustration with leaders, poor
government service delivery and the dismal living conditions’ of many
of our citizens. The only way to do this is good governance, not scare
mongering. We hope the PDP is listening.”

In a statement issued in Lagos on Wednesday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said Osun
state is being targeted in the pilot scheme of this act of desperation
by the PDP, which is hell bent on causing chaos in the region.

”The architects of this plot believe that unless the PDP destabilizes
the South-west and gets rid of the man they see as an
implacable foe of the party (PDP), the President’s putative plan to
run for re-election in 2015 will be in jeopardy, especially as
they are afraid – for reasons best known to them – that the President
will not get the backing of the North-West and the North-East
in his quest for re-election.

”The first step in the dastardly plot is the fabrication of an
‘intelligence report’ alleging that Gov. Aregbesola is nursing a
secessionist plan; that he now plays Osun’s anthem in place of the
national anthem; that he has since dispensed with the
services of the SSS operatives attached to him and replaced them with
Islamic extremists called ‘Tawun’; that he has officially
changed the uniforms of secondary schools in Osun, made the wearing of
hijab compulsory for female students and enforces
that through Islamic militants, and that he has sent militants for
revolutionary training in Cuba.

”The cooked intelligence report concluded that all legal and
constitutional means must be used to stop him. Reading between
lines, the measures being advocated in the report could only be
impeachment (this is impossible considering the clean sweep
of the PDP’s footsteps in the state), creation of chaos and anarchy to
pave the way for the imposition of a state of emergency in
the state, or the final solution, which is physical elimination,” it said.

ACN said it listed physical elimination because of the inexplicable
disappearing acts involving some security agents attached to
the Governor in recent times, and the growing suspicious activity of
some security agencies in the state.

The party therefore warned the plotters to desist from any act that
will further threaten the tenuous peace and security in the country,
while reminding them to learn from history.

”There is no iota of truth in the allegations detailed in the
so-called intelligence report engineered by the PDP. No SSS operative
has been sent packing and the Governor neither has the intention nor
possess the authority to do so; no private militia is being
trained anywhere except in the warped minds of the PDP desperadoes;
and no uniform change or hijab-wearing law has been
passed in the state.

”We hope that the plotters remember that since the First Republic,
all attempts to destabilize the South-west have ended with dire
consequences for the nation. Also, such acts have always been
motivated by the desperation to win federal elections. The ACN will
therefore like to put the PDP and its collaborators on notice that it
(ACN) will guard its mandate in Osun and other states jealously
against political hawks. The so-called intelligence report should be
shredded and packed in a dust bin where it belongs, because it is
nothing but the PDP master-plan to destabilize Osun state in particular and
the South-west region in general..

”We also warn the security and intelligence agencies to be
independent and not to allow themselves to be used for political
gains. They should put national interest above partisan or sectional interest, and
remember that the PDP is not synonymous with the Nigerian nation.
It is just a bull in china shop that will soon be ejected by the
peoples’ votes,” the party said.

”For the avoidance of doubt, there was nothing exculpatory in the
pedestrian statements issued by the PDP and the Presidency. Instead of
employing facts – if they have any – to explain to Nigerians what they
felt transpired, they resorted to name calling and endless ramblings.
What an opportunity gone down the drain,” the party said in a
statement issued in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

”Since the statements did not deny that the church in question was
constructed or ‘renovated’ by a foreign construction firm taking
contracts from the government and that the church is situated in the
President’s community, and since they did not refute the statement
credited to the President himself that he solicited and received the
‘gift’, then we are compelled to renew our call on the National
Assembly to urgently launch impeachment proceedings against the
President.

”While we will not like to deviate from our well-acknowledged style
of dwelling on issues to trade words with an increasingly confused and
an apparently overwhelmed presidential spokesman and a greenhorn PDP
spokesman seeking relevance,
we will like to put it on record that their statements are full of
sound and fury, signifying nothing’ apology to William Shakespeare.

ACN said the presidential spokesman’s explanation that the church’s
renovation is part of the construction company’s Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) and that the church does not belong to Jonathan
or his family is too untenable and actually compounds the issue.

”What is this company’s track record of CSR in Bayelsa or any other
state in Nigeria, where it has obtained billions of naira in
contracts? Why did the company choose the President’s village to do
its CSR? Even if it is CSR, is it not a gift to the President’s
community. What qualifies that community for this CSR above any other
community? Assuming it was even legitimate CSR, shouldn’t the
President see the obvious conflict of interest in a church where he
worships being gratuitously renovated by a government contractor?

”In other climes, the President and the company will give a full
account and a full scale investigation will be launched. Instead of
the President’s handlers to be remorseful for what is, at the very
least, a poor error of judgment by the President or his community in
accepting this Greek Gift, they resorted to firing darts at imaginary
political opponents of the President.

”The reactions never mentioned the fact that the President himself,
in his now trademark Freudian Slip, admitted soliciting and receiving
the ‘gift’ from the construction firm. One would have expected that
they will put a lie to this by causing the President’s speech at the
inauguration of the church to be played for Nigerians to hear.

”The truth is that the President’s handlers are either grossly
incompetent or are terribly overwhelmed by the demands of their
office. Otherwise, they would have ensured that the President does not
make statement that will put him in bad light. Had they done that,
they would have saved themselves from having to issue, in regular
intervals, statements that do no credit to the competence and
professional standing of those who sign them,” it said.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said commencing
the impeachment proceedings will enable the National Assembly to
investigate the matter and also reach the appropriate
conclusions, since the President, by his own admission and without any
prompting, has thumbed his nose at the Constitution.

”To know the gravity of the President’s self admission of soliciting
the church ‘gift’ from the Managing Director of Gitto Construzioni
Generali Nigeria Limited (GCG), one needs to understand Section 6 of
the Code of Conduct for Public officers embodied in the First
Schedule of the 1999 Constitution and the Code of Conduct and Tribunal
Act (CAP C15) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

”The Act states: ‘A public officer shall not ask for or accept any
property or benefits of any kind for himself or any other person on
account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge
of his duties. For the purposes of subsection (1) of this
subsection, the receipt by a public officer of any gifts or benefits
from commercial firms, business enterprises or persons who have
contracts with the Government shall be presumed to have been received
in contravention…unless the contrary is proved’,” it said.

ACN said by his improper and unfortunate action, the President has
also undermined the country’s fight against corruption and put
Nigeria’s democracy in jeopardy, hence must not be allowed to get away
with such an egregious act.

”Gitto has obtained billions of contracts from the Nigerian
government, amid reported allegations in the media that it has not
executed such contracts well. How can the federal government hold the company
to account, when it (firm) has obtained an ”insurance cover”
by bribing the President? Is this not why the country’s
anti-corruption efforts have not achieved anything? Can the EFCC and
the ICPC honestly and boldly fight corruption when the President is knee-deep
in the mud of corruption?” it queried.

The party said by openly and gleefully saying, at the inauguration of
the church at his Otuoke hometown, that ”the managing director of
Gitto made him a promise to build and donate the church to Otuoke
community after he (the president) had complained of the aging
structure of his church,” the President has demonstrated that he is
either not conversant with the Constitution he swore to uphold or
thinks very little of the laws of the land.

”Either way, he should be held accountable for his deeds,” it said.

ACN said it would amount to wishful thinking to expect the country’s
anti-corruption agencies to probe President Jonathan’s admission of
soliciting and receiving bribery, hence the call on the National
Assembly to handle the issue.

The party warned that ongoing attempts to twist the facts and make it
seem as if the President did not solicit the bribe will not work, as
Nigerians are too smart to be hoodwinked.

”If the President and his supporters deny that he indeed solicited
the bribe – as he admitted at the inauguration of the church – we
challenge the presidency to play – on national radio and television – the
unedited audio and video recording of his speech at the occasion for
all Nigerians to hear and see. Experts must also be called in to verify
that the tape has not been tampered with in any way,” the party said.

A statement issued today at the end of one of such meetings reads:
“A coalition of Northern Politicians, academics, professionals and businessmen met yesterday at Asokoro, in Abuja to deliberate on matters of serious concern to the Northern States of Nigeria and their peoples.

In the course of the meting the Northern Group reflected on the deteriorating security situation in the region, particularly with regards to the growth and spread of attacks and impunity by the Boko Haram insurgents and other ethnic and religious militias in the North. In addition, the meeting dwelled on the threats posed by the resurgent activities of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), other Niger Delta militant groups, Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). In addition, the meeting dwelled on the threats and recent calls by groups for a Sovereign National Conference.

The meeting reflected on the elements that bond the Northerners and their cultures together, irrespective of ethnicity and religion over many years at their association, and expressed their sadness that the basis of unity of the region has of recent come under a serious assault. The meeting noted the positive fallouts of the recent nationwide strike,, in the course of which the ordinary people of the North, and of the rest of the country manifested a refreshing desire to support and protect one another against the clear evidence of orchestrated designs to polarize and keep the people apart.

The meeting also received the shocking details of the several excesses of the JTF (Joint Task Force) which amounted to no less than gross human rights abuses. The meeting expressed the view that the threat posed by Boko Haram insurgency could best be attended to without the attendant attacks on individual rights and on businesses.

The meeting resolved to support the calls for the restructuring of the Nigerian Federation in the hope that the lopsidedness in the structure of the nation’s politics and economy will be a key agenda issue.

It then called on the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) to liaise with other Stakeholders in the North, such as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Union (NU), Jama’atul Nasirl Islam (JNI), Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Women, Youth and Student Bodies and other groups to join hands together to tackle the identified threats confronting the region.

Among those who attended the meeting, were the Governors of Niger and Jigawa States, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, OON, CON and Alhaji Sule Lamido, CON, the convener of the meeting, Dr. Junaidu Muhammed, a former Senate President, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, a former Deputy Senate President, Dr. John Wash-Pam, CON, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, CFR, former Ministers, such as, Dr. Shettima Mustapha, Alhaji Adamu Maina Waziri and Malam Lawal Batagarawa and a former Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council, Prof. Nur Alkali.

Others were a former Chairman of Langtang South Local Government Council, Mr. Solomon Dalung, former Presidential Legal Advisers, Ibrahim Ismail and Prof. Awwal Yadudu; as well as newspaper publishers including Sam Nda-Isaiah and Mohammed Haruna. The rest included University Vice Chancellors, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, Prof. Risqua Arabu, Sokoto, Businessmen such as the Chairman of Mainstreet Bank, Alhaji Falalu Bello, a former Chairman of the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission, Engr. Hamman Tukur, the former Solicitor-General of the Federation, Professor Ignatius Ayua, Prof. David Iyornem and Alhaji Dahiru Mohammed, and two former Managing Directors of the New Nigeria Newspapers.

Others included the first female Editor of the New Nigeria, Mrs. Bilkisu Bintube and another female Editor from Trust Newspapers, Mrs. Aisha Kabiru Yusuf, Dr. Bashir Kurfi of Ahmadu Bello University, (ABU, Zaria) and Timaus Mathias, veteran journalist.

Also present were Mr. David Garnva, former President of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Malam Abba Gana, former Deputy Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Alhaji Shehu Kaikai, Sanusi Abubakar, Garba Shehu, Mr. Simon Gunkat, Mallam Adamu Yakubu, Barr. Zannah Mustapaha, Malam Sambo Ingawa, Kalli Ghazali, Abubakar Michika and Prof. Abubakar Mustapha, (mni), OFR.

Signed:

Dr. Junaid Muhammed

Convener

Governor Mimiko, who stated this while declaring open the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association, holding in Akure the state capital, noted that the present situation whereby the state governors as the chief security officers of their states do not have absolute control over the security apparatus could not effectively address the security challenges in the country.

The Governor maintained that if the nation should achieve rapid development, more funds must be devolved to the periphery to give room for the expected development at the grassroots level, adding that the political structure of the nation must be well addressed to aid rapid socio-economic transformation.

On the rampant cases of corruption in every sector of the economy, Dr Mimiko noted that his administration has put in place mechanism that makes it a difficult task to embezzle pubic funds, adding that due process and effective monitoring of projects have been the priority of the government.

Dr Mimiko, who used the medium to shed light on his administration’s 12-point programme in the areas of health, education, agriculture and infrastructural development among others, vowed to continue to tackle youth unemployment, provide affordable and qualitative healthcare and add value to the lives of the people.

In his address, the president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Joseph Daudu SAN, noted that the Association is poised towards tackling corruption among its members as efforts would be made to replicate anti-corruption committees in all its branches.He submitted that if the association failed to tackle the menace, it might result in sudden death of the nation’s legal system.

Mr Daudu, who spoke on the fuel subsidy crisis called on the institutions of governance to be efficient in service delivery, stressing that those in the positions of authority must priotize the interest of the masses.
The NBA boss commended the Ondo State government for the transformation being recorded in the State, especially in Akure the State capital.

He described the State as the hub of economic activities in the country, considering its abundant human and natural resources

In their speeches, the Ondo State Chief Judge, Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi, represented by Justice F.O Aguda-Taiwo and the State Attorney -General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Eyitayo Jegede SAN, noted that the judiciary has enjoyed tremendous support under the Mimiko administration through the provision of the required logistics to aid quick dispensation of justice in the State.

The eminent figures at a public lecture organised as part of the activities marking the 3rd year anniversary of the Mimiko government in Akure,, the state capital on Wednesday, echoed their opinion and urged the people of the state to ensure Mimiko is re elected to enable him take the state to its place of destiny.

Among those who canvassed fresh mandate for Mimiko were retired Anglican Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi, former Governor of old Ondo State, Evangelist Bamidele Olumilua, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae and former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN).

Others included former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Aliyu Idi Hong, foremost industrialist, Chief Oba Otudeko, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Olujimi Akinkugbe as well as Ganiyat, the wife of late human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi

They spoke at the anniversary public lecture entitled “Of Stated Goals and Proven Performance” chaired by the Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi.

The Lecturer at the event, Professor Akinkugbe, in his lecture said the people will no doubt register their approval and gratitude to Mimiko with their votes in due course because of the pace of progress in all sectors of human endeavour in the past three years.

Saying that though he has no gift of prophetic wisdom, “the visionary instincts that are currently incubating such profound initiatives as the Sunshine City, public private partnerships on power, agro-business, seaport development and so on, gives me the gut-feeling that citizens of Ondo State are not unmindful of the hurricane (not just the wind) of change and will no doubt register their approval and gratitude in due course.

“The way Mimiko has been prosecuting his assignment these past three years demonstrates clearly that he must have embarked on the think-through logistics of good governance even whilst he was still trying hard to retrieve his political mandate.
“He was thinking, he was planning but now he is doing, – through vision-driven Agenda (The Caring Heart), through Quality Assurance in Education, through Agricultural Villages, through Water and Sanitation, Rural Infrastructure and Housing, through urban renewal and bottoms-up rural development programmes. All these and many more constitute what I can now confidently refer to as the building blocks of good governance and the veritable damp-proof course (DPC) of true democracy. They simply do not come about in a weekend.

The former Vice Chancellor of University of Ibadan lamented that Nigeria ’s top-level executives and administrators often fall short of meeting society’s highest expectations.

“I have heard it lamented, for instance, by eligible voters queuing at various polling stations at election time, that once the exercise is over, the winner goes on to govern in spite of his promised mandate and not necessarily in keeping with that mandate. And there are few opportunities to challenge him as he journeys through his tenure, sometimes even with impunity. The platform of positive engagement gives way to a litany of unmonitored “achievements” and community’s aspirations are thus short-changed and expectations remain largely unfulfilled.

While applauding the administration’s initiative in tackling maternal mortality, Akinkugbe believed that its adoption by African countries will achieve the targeted reduction in maternal mortality rate by 2015.

“Although many of the stated “millennium goals” relate to health, it is the ones that address infant and under 5s mortality rate (Goal 4) and maternal mortality ratios (Goal 5) that Ondo State decided these last few years to engage aggressively, and achieve an impressive outcome. The ABIYE concept and Mother and Child Centre are perhaps the ones that have put the State on the global map, won laurels for effective leadership and made it a reference point on how to plan, execute and measure the effectiveness of a well-designed health strategy.

“The fact however remains that the “Sunshine strategy” has resonated so effectively within a short space of time that Sub-regional, Regional, Continental and Global parts of the developing world are already applauding, having been seized with its dramatic health dividends. It would be interesting to assess how rapidly these measures, if implemented, will ensure a steady progress toward realizing the targeted two-thirds reduction of under 5s mortality rate and three-quarters of maternal mortality ratio by 2015.

“In every department of life in Ondo State , we have witnessed impactful changes, some immediate and palpable, others medium and long-term, less obvious but no less profound. In it, you can see a combination of redefinition of old strategies (avoiding loopholes), positive interventions and novel initiatives to meet modern challenges” Akinkugbe maintained.

Speaking at the event, Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi blamed Nigerian adults for the country’s woes and traced the bane of good governance in the country to sycophancy and praise-singing .

Acknowledging the robust contributions of his Ondo State counterpart to the development of the country in general, Governor Obi described Mimiko as a national figure whose contributions to national issues are always fundamental at the Governors Forum.He added that most members of the forum have found the template of his initiatives in Ondo state useful as some of the works are already being replicated by some of the governors.

A statement by the BH Public Policy Forum Chairman, Prof. George Obiozor, stated that Governor Aliyu’s acceptance to speak at the event was a demonstration of his commitment to the unity of Nigeria and peaceful co-existence of the various ethnic and religious groups of the country. He noted that Aliyu has been a strong promoter of the oneness of Nigeria, especially since the beginning of the security challenges that confront the government of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Other dignitaries to grace the occasion are Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State as Special Guest, while Prof. Anya O. Anya will chair the session.The theme of this month’s Public Policy Forum, according to Obiozor, is “Governance, Social Conflict and the Imperative of Communal Harmony.”

Public Policy Forum is a civic outreach programme organized by Business Hallmark to provide a platform for eminent policy makers to articulate their views on diverse socio-political and economic issues.

Some eminent Nigerians who addressed the Forum in the past include Gov. Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State; Dr Joseph Odumodu, Director-General, Standards Organization of Nigeria; Dr Oscar Onyema, Director-General, Nigerian Stock Exchange; Mr Osita Chidoka, Corps-Marshal & Chief Executive, Federal Road Safety Corps, among others.