My ‘honey pot’ is not for public use — Tonia Ferrari

At first sight you would think you need to break the bank to have Tonia Ferrari Okoro sit and have a chat with you. But when you go closer and have a feel of her warm affection, humility and the sparks of electromagnetic attraction that emanates from her, you will realise you are in nothing but a good company.

Ferrari

Though not the kind of beauty that will grace the covers of European tabloids but her womanly assets, steep in African values, will more than make many African men get out of their skins. It is doubtful any man will run into her and not be pushed to want to know her better.

I sought her out after being told that there is another Yoruba actress making waves in the industry. She has done a couple of films that got top ratings and thus has some good claims to fame. I knew next to nothing about her but when we got on talking I knew another star is born.

Meeting Tonia Ferrari

“I’m Ferrari Tonia Okoro, born to a Nigerian father and a Cameroonian mother. I am into beauty and the world of entertainment. I have serious passion for acting. That’s why I left banking job for acting. I came into the industry through Kunle Afod in 2010 and we did a couple of jobs together. Some of the movies I did with Afod included Olosho, Ewe Aje and others. I also worked with Bayo Tijani who introduced me to my present boss, Afeez Owo. Afeez Owo is a man I respect and love. I call him my dad and his wife, my mum. Both of them have been very nice to me”.

Acting in Yoruba films

Born to a Nigerian father from Delta State and a Cameroonian mother, Tonia Ferrari obviously has no Yoruba roots. So, why would this sophisticated beauty opt to ply her acting trade in the Yoruba sector of the movie industry.

“Yeah, I grew up in Lagos, everyone around me spoke Yoruba, so I picked Yoruba as my first language. I am a Lagosian by virtue of being raised here in Lagos. I was born in Cameroon but my mum brought me back to Nigeria when I was still very little. I was raised by a strict dad who was a no-nonsense man but in spite of his strictness he was also my best friend. I attended High Class International Schools for both my primary and secondary educations. I studied Accounting at Yabatech.

I found the Yoruba sector to be more amenable. Most of the people are very accommodating and always willing to help. Besides, when I wanted to start acting the first connection I got was with the Yoruba sector. That was in 2010 when I left my banking job and opted for acting”

Leaving the banking job for acting

Arguably, the most financially prosperous sector to work in Nigeria after the oil and gas sector and telecommunications is the banking sector. It is almost unthinkable that anyone would want to leave such a lucrative job as banking for the unpredictable, uncertain world of acting, where many upcoming actresses are not always paid for their roles. But Ferrari has her reasons and she was seriously convinced she was wasting her time working in the bank.

“I have serious passion for acting. I was an internal auditor in a bank and I was living fine but I always felt incomplete, like something was missing from my life. In a nutshell, I felt I was not doing what I love, so I resigned and followed my dreams. I am not saying the banking job is boring, it was exciting and interesting but my eyes were always outside the banking hall- in the make-believe world, because it is what I have always wanted. I didn’t go into acting for the money because I have my beauty care business that brings in income. I am here only to fulfill my dreams and desire to be an actress. In acting, when you pay your dues, acting pays you back in ways you least expect.

But would she sincerely say acting pays more than banking?

There is nothing like enjoying what you do. For me, acting pays a whole lot more. Everything should not be seen in naira and kobo. There is a fulfillment more rewarding and exciting in doing what you truly love than counting money. I meet great people and I am living my dream, what can pay better than that?

Her experience as an actress

It didn’t start easy, trust me. It’s got its own challenges. You don’t expect to start making money immediately you get in, you have to join the queue and wait for your time. There is always one hurdle or the other to scale. Not everybody you meet will take kindly to you. Some older actresses hate you at first sight for no reason, probably thinking you pose a threat to them. There is also the challenge of finance because you need money to make money. In spite of all these, it has been fun all the way because nothing beats doing what you love. When you love what you do you don’t see any negativity anywhere.

How her beauty has helped her career

No doubts beauty and good figure help in the industry because it is your calling card but it is your talent that will see you through. Without true talent, your beauty cannot take you far. It has helped me get some roles though and it defines mostly the kind of roles I get. Most of the times I play the roles where my beauty is pivotal in the script. For instance, you don’t see me playing the role of an old woman because I just don’t fit the picture.

Sexual harassment in the industry

I have never experienced what you would call sexual harassment in the industry. What is sexual harassment? Is it when a guy asks a woman out? Is it when a man and a woman in the same job decide to date each other? Most situations we call sexual harassment are normal man-woman love relations. Has anybody raped or slept with anybody by force? If a senior colleague asks you it doesn’t amount to sexual harassment in my own estimation. I have been asked out several times and I won’t call that sexual harassment. Anyone that asks me out and I say no, and he decides to take it personal, that’s his headache. I have got one ‘honey pot’ and it’s not for public use. It’s a precious sweet part for a special person.

Her limits as an actress

I honestly have no limits when it comes to acting. As an actress, I believe I should be able to take on any role given to me, as long as it not in disharmony with my values and beliefs. As an African woman, I cannot go nude of course. I think the normal fake romance on set is the maximum I can for now. When it comes to sex scenes I can do that too but not to the extent of going nude and showing my privates to the world.

The craziest thing she has ever done

That will be when some actors accused me of wearing fake hips and bum. At first I thought it was a joke but they were dead serious about it. They went on and on about it that I had to prove it to them that I am all natural. So, I pulled down my jeans and showed them my naked bum. They were transfixed and could not talk for moments. I know I have a fresh and beautiful bum. It was so crazy I couldn’t believe I did what I did. Even the guys were confused. Don’t think I am wayward or something, I believe so much in decency but their accusation made me lose my head. I even told them to touch it and confirm but they just stared in disbelief.

What followed after seeing the big fresh bum

Of course, after getting an eyeful of my fresh bum one of them started getting funny ideas. I have got a nice butt and I know it. When he asked me out I wasn’t surprised but I shocked him by turning him down. He tried and tried but failed to get to me.

Her ideal man.

My ideal man must be tall because I am not not tall. He must not be fat because I don’t like fat guys. But more importantly, a guy that fears God, intelligent and who speaks with wisdom. I don’t like guys who are talkative.

What about a poor guy with all her qualities in a man.

Are you kidding me? Poor guys are a definite no for me. If he is intelligent, God-fearing and with wisdom, he can’t be poor except he is under some diabolic spell.

What she can’t stand in a relationship.

Insecurity. A guy who is not secured can do and undo. As an actress I meet a lot of people and there are times I have to be absent from him because of location demands, so, if a guy doesn’t trust you completely he starts imagining things. I can’t stand a guy who suspects my every move. For a man to really want to be with an actress he must trust her completely or there will be problems.

Why she’s not yet married

Okay, that’s a good one; I need to ask God why. I believe in love, I don’t believe in divorce. So, for me to get married my man must be ready for eternal union. When God brings the guy for Ferrari, then I will be married. Some say we actresses, set very high standards for ourselves but I’m not like that. All I want is an understanding, God-fearing , responsible, fun-to-be-with kind of guy. I hate arrogant people with passion. For those actresses who set high standards for themselves, I don’t blame them, because there are some guys who like ladies with high expectations.

Her challenges as a non-Yoruba doing Yoruba films,

I don’t know how to speak thorough Yoruba, so, I find saying the proverbs a bit difficult. Though I still pick up roles where I speak thorough Yoruba, saying the proverbs and idioms but I put extra energy into it. There was an epic traditional Yoruba film I did where spoke throughout Yoruba with idioms and proverbs. That was in Adigun Rele Oyinbo, and I played the role of Ibile.

Bleaching craze among actresses

I am a naturally fair person; I don’t need to bleach. If anyone is not pleased with the way they look, they can tone up, if its overdone is when it’s bad.

Her crush in the entertainment industry?

Internationally, it is Will Smith but here in Nigeria my crush is Don Jazzy. I have loved him since the days of ‘Koko’ and I still love him very much.

Yoruba actresses and lack of ‘swag’

They’ve not seen us well. Have you seen Ferrari? Have you seen Sotayo Sobola? Mercy Aigbe, Mide Martins and many others? When you talk of swag, we are simply too much.

Jonathan doesn’t have money — Alamieyeseigha

In his days as the governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, otherwise known as DSP, was fondly referred to as the Governor-General of Izon Nation, because he presided over the only state with entirely Ijaw extraction and was seen as the leader of the struggle for the proverbial Resource Control in the Niger Delta. But his popularity and political career was cut short when he was impeached towards the end of December 2005 and replaced by his then Deputy Governor, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who later became Nigeria’s President following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010.

DSP landed in prison and he was in a sordid state until his godson, Jonathan granted him state pardon, lifting him out of the political doldrums.

Today, Alamieyeseigha still respected in Bayelsa, speaks on Jonathan, Obasanjo , Governor Seriake and Bayelsa State.

Excerpts:

Let’s start by asking what informed your choice of former President Jonathan as your deputy Governor in 1999?

One is that I came from Southern Ijaw Local Government, the largest in the Bayelsa State and may be in the whole country. My political calculation was to pick somebody from the Ogbia axis, that is the Eastern part of the state to balance the political equation. So, I needed Ogbia votes. Number two, I wanted a deputy governor    who had high level of intelligence and stable character like Jonathan.

I also needed an establishment person and somebody who was not too ambitious that if I was out, he could stand in for me and could run the state. I needed somebody, who would not attempt to cause trouble if I traveled out of the state so that I could sleep well.   It was a combination of these factors that made me to choose Jonathan as my deputy then. I set out an objective criteria on the qualities I needed and when the late Chief judge of Bayelsa State recommended him, (I did not know him before), I readily accepted him. In fact, I had to drive in my car to his residence and asked him to resign from the then OMPADEC, where he was working at the time.

Within the period Jonathan worked under you, did you at any point imagine that he would one day become a vice president or president and what were those leadership qualities you identified in him?

Leadership comes from above. No matter how you try, if God almighty does not destine you to lead, you will not be a leader. For Goodluck, I knew that he    was going to be vice president of Nigeria as far back as August 25, 2005.   Former President   Olusegun Obasanjo had once told me that since his former vice, Atiku Abubakar and I wanted to take his job that it would be over his dead body and that unless he died, Atiku would not be president of Nigeria. He told me that since Atiku had picked me as his running mate, he would    disgrace us. He said that he was going to use my deputy to rubbish me before everybody. So, I knew.

But some say, like Balarabe Musa observed recently, that Jonathan was not prepared for leadership and that accounted for the loss of power by the South.

Jonathan and Alamieyeseigha

It is not right because Jonathan is more experienced than any president that has ruled this country in the past. How can you say that somebody who has been in office for 16 years is not qualified? If I may ask, which former president of this country was in power for 16 years? He was in office as deputy governor and was overseeing administration of local governments and was very conversant with the administration of local governments at that level. He was also performing the role of a deputy governor. He became a governor and is also familiar with governance at that level. He became a vice president and later acting president and a president. Which Nigerian has that pedigree? None. So, Balarabe Musa goofed. I am not aware of any special school that people go to become president. Academically, he is more qualified than any of them, and in our local environment at the University of Port Harcourt, he has street knowledge because he is locally bred.

Not everybody will like his style but I can tell you that if you sit down and catalogue what he has done for this country, no other president has done that. But it is his life style; he is a very quiet man, unassuming but with very high intellectual content. If Goodluck believes in something, the house can collapse but he will do what he believes in. He has a very strong character.   It depends on who is looking at him and from which angle. From the beginning, people’s mindset were fixed for him to fail and to manage that perception was another problem. But he did well. All these things that the APC is claiming to have done in 100 days are just claims;   you cannot fix the refinery in three months. Somebody must have done very serious work before. To do turnaround maintenance takes 18 months and not three months.

Some argue that Jonathan’s defeat in the election and the role played by the elite may create bad blood in Nigerian politics. Do you agree and what do you see in the future for Nigeria?

I have very radical views about that and I do not want to share them now. We are watching out what will play out at the national level. Will Nigeria or the ruling party still take us as part of Nigeria? Of course, they know that we are still feeding this nation. So, I think that they are conscious of that and they should also know that even the British could not conquer the Ijaw people.

We have the capacity to defend what belongs to us.  So far, so good, the appointments that they have made, none has come to Bayelsa. The Special Adviser to the president on the Amnesty Programme, Brig-Gen. Boroh, is   just coordinating the programme and I do not consider that as an appointment. Is that what we deserve? The Amnesty programme, we do not know whether it will end in December. We are watching.

The present administration has just completed 100 days in office, what are your reflections?

I have been a governor before and this question keeps coming. One hundred days in the life of a government with a mandate of four years is insignificant. There is always a learning period. You may say he was a military Head of State before but it is different. In military dictatorship there is nothing like the National Assembly; you give orders and nobody will question your orders. But the situation is quite different from a civilian government where you have to lobby. So, I do not want to use 100 days to assess a sitting president. But so far, so good! What is going for Buhari is the perception of Nigerians that he is an incorruptible leader.

The integrity and what he came with to government is what is helping him. If you go to the North and you mention Buhari’s name, ‘’Sai Buhari’’, they come like bees. Some of them do not even know who he is. You can spend money and Buhari will not spend and people will trek 15 kilometers to support him. That is the mystery he has built for himself over the years because people see him as incorruptible and straightforward. With this change mantra that they floated and anti-corruption as the vessel, people seem to believe what he is doing.

And once they say you are corrupt, they first finish you on the pages of newspapers before they start looking for evidence. It is a terrible country that we are in.

You will recall that Buhari had said from the outset that he belonged to nobody but to everybody. But his recent appointments have attracted some criticisms, making some Nigerians to refer to him as the president of the North. What is your reaction to this?

According to former Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, President Buhari is the president of the North.

Some have argued that there are still a lot of appointments to be made. I may not be morally right to comment on this because my brother just left office as president. People may ask what did your brother do?   During President Jonathan’s administration, all the appointments, all the security architecture and all the revenue-generating sectors and almost everything went to the North West. A deity asked for blood and you give him oil, it is blood he wants and not oil. So my brother was giving them oil but the North was interested in taking power.  Jonathan did everything for the north. Despite what Jonathan was doing for the north, their interest was power and they got it.

You were at the stadium where Governor Dickson declared for a second term and former President Goodluck Jonathan openly endorsed him despite the fact that many other aspirants close to him are in the race. Do you think Jonathan was tactful?

At certain stage in life, if you have leadership qualities, your followers should be able to predict you and know where you stand. In politics, there is no neutrality. There is no need romancing with your subjects, quarreling with one another, wasting precious time and resources when you can come out straight as Jonathan did the other day. This would have been done long ago so that people would not waste time and resources by going to pick forms. Jonathan has been here for six and half years as Deputy Governor, governor for one and half years before he went to the federal level. So, this is a familiar terrain. All of us know the players by their first names and without going to the field, you will know who will win election and who will not win election. So, I am glad that at last, he came out openly. It is possible he would have been doing that privately but recently and on the declaration day, he impressed me because he came out openly in support of Governor Dickson. For so many reasons which we know as politicians in the state, having lost at the centre, you cannot protect your house for people to invade your privacy; it is not done.

But with the caliber of people who have indicated interest in the seat from the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), are you not afraid that winning the election might be difficult for Dickson?

Yes, some people use the media to promote themselves as leaders but I know that most of them that have picked forms cannot win in their pooling booths without help. We are also aware that some of them were given positions of responsibility in the past and we know what they did with them; we know their pedigree because by their fruits you know them. If they have made so much money and they want to use the opportunity of the election to spread it, or bring out some money for the electorate, so be it. But I can assure you that such will not win any election. These are people that were in the PDP and they did not take part in the last presidential election. They worked for the PDP against the APC. In the National Assembly elections, they were in PDP and in the state Houses of Assembly, they were also in the PDP. But in the case of the governorship, they want to be governor. So far, about 18 of them have collected forms in the APC and only one of them will become a candidate and these names, some of them are not even known by the APC at the national level. Of course, they know they would fail but the hope is that the APC government at the centre would give them appointments. It is a joke because the party has not been able to satisfy the original APC members not to talk of those opportunists, greedy and ambitious human beings. I do not think they have the interests of the Ijaw nation and Bayelsans at heart. We cannot be deceived because we know them.

 But do you think the average Bayelsa man will support Dickson given their accusation that he does not give them money like typical politicians do?

The election is already won by Dickson, given what he has been able to do in the state. His only offence is that he is not sharing money to people. State money should not be shared but directed to projects that will benefit the generality of the people. Dickson has tried to pay salaries and carry out infrastructural development since he came on board. So, I think that those who want to pull him down don’t even have the strength to do so. They are selfish people who have been enjoying government since 1999 yet they don’t want the younger ones to grow like they have done.

Let’s take you to former President Obasanjo under whose leadership you ran into a murky water. Have you have forgiven him?

Let me make it clear here that I have forgiven all the people who worked against me. It is not only Obasanjo but everybody. This is because everything that happened, who did what, I know? I cannot be living in the past because it does not help. It pains quite well but again, if it was not permitted by God, it would not have happened. And for me to be alive, I thank God. Sometimes when I reflect on where I am coming from, I even at times ask why I am still alive, having passed through what I have passed through. It reminds me of Psalm 23, somebody passing through the valley of the shadow of death. I passed through it several times. For me to be alive, I do not need to have anything in mind.

Have you interacted with Obasanjo since that saga and what was the closest you have been with him since then?

Jonathan and Buhari

I have been at a very close quarters with Obasanjo twice. The first encounter was at the Katsina Airport during the wedding of the daughter of late President Yar’Adua. I did not even know that he was in the VIP lounge.    I wanted to use the rest room and here was Obasanjo directly sitting inside. I was even scared because he almost passed out.

I held his hand and he said DSP what have I done to deserve a handshake from you? There were other people; Kenny Martins and one of his political friends present. I said I was shaking him for two reasons. One was because of the Almighty God who created us. Number two is that tradition demands that we should welcome our visitors. Then Kenny got up and said, great leader, great leader and he came to hug me. The second encounter was when I was going to Dubai and if Obasanjo had known that I was in that aircraft, he would not have entered but I was already seated. We were very few in the aircraft. Because of fear, Obasanjo saw me and hysterically called me Fayose, Fayose and I told him that I was not Fayose. I said former president, Olusegun Matheew Kikiola Aremu Obasanjo, you are a devil incarnate. I said when we were small, our lesson teachers always talked about this devil and this devil and I never knew that the devil is a human being. I told him that you are a direct descendant of the devil. I told him that if you talk, I will throw you out of this aircraft.

I knew of truth that he did not sleep throughout the flight. The only thing he said was DSP, is it only you that entered prison. I too entered prison. He said you entered prison and I entered prison.    He kept quiet and I left. But I have forgiven him and I can even go to Otta. He is an elder. One thing I know of Obasanjo is that you can say anything against Obasanjo but he is a leader. If he says he is going to do this, he will do it. You can call Obasanjo any time of the day or night and he will pick the phone himself. He will be ready to sit down with you to solve any problem even though he will not allow you to talk. He has invited you to seek your opinion on how to solve the problem but he would not allow you to talk and at the end of the day, you begin to wonder why he called you when he already had the solution to the issue. That is the type of character that he is.

I know him. For me to say he is devil incarnate, he is.

What do you think that Jonathan did well and did not do well?

Well, I was not in government and cannot say what he did well and didn’t do well. As far as I am concerned I didn’t lift oil, I did not have oil wells and I didn’t get any contract from anybody.

But you must have received some presidential gifts like cash and other tangible things more valuable than contracts and oil blocks?

Yes, I had unlimited access to Jonathan and I used to have free access to his home. If I met him eating, I would join him and so on. Jonathan has no money. So, if Buhari is looking to extract money from him, he won’t find.

What if the money is hidden somewhere offshore?

That cannot happen anymore in this world.

Are you saying he is a poor man?

No, he is a quiet and highly contented Nigerian but not a rich man

Liverpool in trouble as captain Henderson is out for 8 weeks

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson faces up to eight weeks on the sidelines after suffering a broken foot in training.

The 25-year-old was injured in one of his first training sessions since returning from the United States, where he had undergone a specialist procedure in an attempt to cure an ongoing heel problem.

Henderson is now expected to have surgery on Monday and will be unavailable for England’s final Euro 2016 qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania next month.

“Very disappointed and frustrated with the injury setback but will work hard to be back as quickly as possible,” Henderson wrote on Twitter.

“Will be supporting the team in every way I can while I’m unable to play. Thanks for all of your support.”

No, you can’t replace injured Brazilian Rafinha, FIFA tells Barca

Barcelona’s hopes of being able to register one of their new signings to replace injured Brazilian midfielder Rafinha before their transfer ban is completed have been rejected by FIFA, according to Barca coach Luis Enrique.

Rafinha is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering cruciate ligament damage in the European champions’ 1-1 draw at Roma in midweek.

File: Barca

Barca have been handed a one-year ban on registering new players, effective from January this year, after breaking FIFA rules on the signing of foreign players under the age of 16.

However, the Catalans still signed Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal in the summer transfer window despite the fact they won’t be allowed to play until early next year.

“The club already consulted FIFA a few months ago and the answer was no,” Luis Enrique said on Saturday.

“I can say that we won’t be able to count on the players we have signed until January.”

The lack of options on offer to the Barcelona coach has been exacerbated by a raft of early season injuries as Thomas Vermaelen will also miss Sunday’s visit of Levante, while Gerard Pique completes his four-game suspension.

However, Dani Alves may be fit to return at right-back after a three-week absence as he returned to training on Friday.

Kogi Governor wins PDP primaries

Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada, has won the People's Democratic Party's primaries in the state ahead of the gubernatorial election on November 21.

Wada is rerunning for the seat of the governor in the state.

The results of the primaries, which was held at the Confluence Stadium in Lokoja, shows that Wada won in 20 of the 21 local government areas of the state.

He only lost in Yagba West Local Government Area, where one of his opponents Isah Echocho won. Echocho came second in the primaries.

The third running mate, Moses Ametuo came last in the poll.

This may mean Wada would retain his seat as the Governor of the State as he is unlikely to lose to candidates of other political parties in the November poll.

See full result by local government areas below:

Adavi: Wada – 30, Echocho – 3, Amoto – 0.

Ajaokuta: Wada – 33, Echocho – 5, Amoto – 0.

Ankpa: Wada – 39, Echocho – 0, Amoto – 0.

Bassa: Wada – 19, Echocho – 5, Amoto – 0, Invalid – 4.

Dekina: Wada – 33, Echocho – 3, Amoto – 0.

Ibaji: Wada – 16, Echocho – 8, Amoto – 0.

Idah: Wada – 27, Echocho – 1, Amoto – 0.

Igalamela/Odolu: Wada – 29, Echocho – 0, Amoto – 0.

Ijumu: Wada – 27, Echocho – 17, Amoto – 0.

Kabba/Bunu: Wada – 25, Echocho – 13, Amoto – 0, invalid – 1.

Kogi LGA: Wada – 33, Echocho – 0, Amoto – 0.

Lokoja LGA: Wada – 24, Echocho – 1, Amoto – 0.

Mopamuro: Wada – 28, Echocho – 0, Amoto – 0.

Ofu: Wada – 26, Echocho – 3, Amoto – 0.

Ogori/Magongo: Wada – 27, Echocho – 1, Amoto – 0.

Okehi: Wada – 32, Echocho – 1, Amoto – 0.

Okene: Wada – 27, Echocho – 0, Amoto – 0.

Olamaboro: Wada – 24, Echocho – 0, Amoto – 0.

Omala: Wada – 23, Echocho – 8, Amoto – 0.

Yagba East: Wada – 16, Echocho – 14, Amoto – 0.

Yagba West: Wada – 15, Echocho – 23, Amoto – 0, Invalid – 2.

Former Gov. of Bayelsa state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigharevealed to newsmen that fmr. President Obasanjo pickedGoodluck Jonathan to embarass him.
In an interview with media agents , He said “For Goodluck, I knew that Jonathan was going to be vice president of Nigeria as far back as August 25, 2005.  Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, told me that since  Atiku and I wanted to take his job, that it would be over his dead body; and that unless he died, Atiku cannot be president of Nigeria."

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Adding that “Obasanjo said since Atiku had picked me as his running mate, he would make sure that he dealt with and disgraced us. He said  he was going to use my deputy to rubbish me before everybody. So, I knew.”

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Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha 

According to news agents , he described GEJ as a man of discipline and strong character.

Fmr. Bauchi Governor invited by EFCC over recovered aircraft

A former Commissioner of Information in the State, Alhaji Salisu Ahmad Barau said “We know EFCC has their own law of operations and we believe they are to be fair to all, we know Yuguda when he was a Governor, he did his best; he was fair and just."

Adding that “We believe that if the EFCC should invite him he will answer all the question they will ask him to the best of his ability and by the grace of Allah they will be satisfied."

However, the EFCC spokesman Wilson Iwujeran said he is not aware of the invitation.

Rising in the defence of Yuguda, Barau said the aircraft was never missing.

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Former Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda

 (News Rescue)

Daily Trust also reports that the former commissioner itemised the following facts about the supposed missing aircraft. He said:

1. The aircraft was first leased to Messrs IRS Airlines.

2. Yuguda entered into a fresh lease agreement with the company and Messr Dornier Aviation AIEP as consultants.

3. The lease agreement was later terminated and the aircraft was handed over to the consultants for safe keeping.

4. A fresh agreement was entered with Messrs Hamsal Air Service on a monthly rental fee of N15 million while retaining Messrs Dornier Aviation as consultants.

5. In October 2011, Hamsal Air Services indicated intention to withdraw from the agreement.

6. Outstanding rental fees for the months of August-October, 2011 to the tune of N45 million against Hamsal Air Limited are yet to be settled.

7. The aircraft was then leased to Messrs Associated Aviation Limited on a monthly fee of N17 million.

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Former Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda

 (Today NG)

8. It took the aircraft to Ogma Facility in Portugal for 5 ‘A’ Checks in March 2012 during which it became due for ‘C’ Checks but it requested the Bauchi State government to settle the cost, promising to pay at a later date.

9. Associated Aviation Limited failed to refund to the state Euros 962,293.96 in respect of the 5 ‘A’ Checks and the ‘C’ Checks and other services including Insurance.

10. The aircraft was leased to Messrs Overland Airways Limited to update its records and make it airworthy.

11. Overland took aircraft to the Atlantic Air Industries facility in Morocco and the sum of $ 600,000 was released to the company to facilitate early completion of the work.

12. The sum of $ 214,250 was also released to the company to renew the Insurance Cover of the Aircraft for one year”

INEC and Buhari’s appointments

IT has been repeated in recent times that the problem with President Muhammadu Buhari appointing his supposed sister or sister-in-law, Mrs. Amina Zakari, to head the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has nothing to do with her qualifications but rather the moral burden of having his sister or sister in-law presiding over elections in which himself or his party would be participating against other parties.
Whereas it was not a problem for President Jonathan to appoint her to conduct elections – allegedly as a nominee of Malam El Rufai – with whom Mrs. Zakari had worked as a subordinate at the Federal Capital Territory.
The recommendation by El Rufai is said to have occurred after he returned from self-exile and joined in the support for President Jonathan during the Yar’Adua impasse. However, President Jonathan would have had a similar problem if he had appointed a brother, in-law, sister, friends, party men or kin from the South-South Zone, because Nigerians would have reacted with similar rejection.
At any rate, Mrs. Amina Zakari tried unsuccessfully and unconvincingly to mitigate this concern, with a weak denial of her family relation with the President which has since been clearly defined by Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, a story that has remained unchallenged, even by the President himself.
Alhaji Yakassai informed Nigerians that Mrs. Zakari’s father, the late Emir of Kazaure, married President Buhari’s elder sister, and that President Buhari started his childhood in the late Emir’s house.
He further revealed that, the mother of Amina Zakari was either the first or second wife of the Emir. Also, he informed that Buhari stayed with the Emir for some time in Kazaure declaring that he knew all these because the late Emir, was his friend of many years, having worked with him as his Permanent Secretary before becoming an Emir.
All these issues bordering on law, morality and personal integrity of the President are already being discussed by Nigerians but have now worsened by the President’s recent patterns of appointments that portend a strong tendency for nepotism and tribalism, particularly in utter negation of the political support he received from the South West Zone during the last elections.
Emerging from the recent patterns of the President’s appointments is the tendency to cherry-pick important appointments for his kith and kin, while reserving arduous tasks and positions for zones such as the South-West.
The people of the South West are not a race any individual or group can take for a ride. We have seen clearly the master-slave import of the three appointments given so far to the South West, wherein one of the appointees has to take responsibilities for combating a resilient Boko Haram, the other is burdened with explaining the mistakes or failures of government and its agents, while the third is to become the face of wider tax collections, to generate more revenues to be presided over by those from the North, who have now been put in strategic positions to spend revenues mainly from Southern Nigeria, such as the proposed 10% increase of VAT, wherein Lagos State that generates the highest gets far less in final proportion to what is shared when the shares of states that contribute almost zero are aggregated.
Given these touchy appointments, a vast majority of our people have come to the conclusion that the South West have received nothing but errands, headaches and heartaches for its support for “change”.
To worsen this fear, it has been revealed that party leaders, particularly South West leaders of the APC are “not involved” or are only “marginally involved” or consulted regarding appointments. “Marginal” involvement in this sense being a mild and diplomatic expression for being “bypassed”, or even worse, “ignored;” otherwise how could it be explained that Amina Zakari could be made an “acting chairman” in violation of Sections 154, 155 and 157 of the constitution where a renowned professor of law is a sitting Vice President ?
It, therefore, comes as no surprise that this emergent pattern started with an unconstitutional letter from the Head of Service, appointing Mrs. Amina Zakari as “acting chairman” of INEC, a title unknown to the constitution of the country and illegally persisting since the 30th of June, despite public outcry over this constitutional abomination and a total aberration.
Amina Zakari occupies that office illegally outside the contemplation of the constitution because she is a sister-in-law to the president. This tragedy has been tamely ignored by most civil rights activists who ought to have spoken out while this country is being led on the part of unconstitutionality. Is this because they are expecting appointments and have decided to maintain a loud silence?
By all accounts, Amina Zakari is an undisputed loyalist of the President. Frankly, the task of election supervision does not require loyalist, it requires a neutral, independent-minded, detached, fair and professionally inclined umpire, not someone who grew up with the appointing President as an elderly relative while he lived with her father. There are many Jobs the president can devote to loyalists, but election management is not one of them. For the South West, it will be an excuse for another conflict in the making, a situation that will decimate political groups in the South West, from suspicions over any political victory by groups allied to the President, as occurred with allies of the defunct Northern People’s Congress in the South West during the First Republic.
The Council of State and the Senate that the President must submit the names of INEC nominees to, must be alive to their role as gate keepers of democratic institutions by heeding the wide public rejection of her appointment across the country. The unity of this country is too fragile and our electoral system cannot afford elections that lack credibility even before they are conducted.
It is against this background of an emerging pattern of appointing only loyal and close family members to sensitive positions that the nation must become very wary of the nature of assignment Mrs. Amina Zakari is being promoted to execute. Why is this assignment so important that the President is willing to squander public goodwill and compromise his hard-earned integrity by threading on this part of appointing an electoral commissioner whose legal mandate expired on July 21, 2015 as the “Acting Chairman” of INEC without “consultation with Council of State,” “confirmation by the Senate” as required by Section 154 of the constitution? If this is not the case, what are the legal provisions supporting her present headship of INEC that now lacks the required quorum of five members for valid decisions and how can these be substantiated if any election she presides over unconstitutionally as “acting chairman” such as Kogi and Bayelsa face a legal challenge?
It is indeed a burdensome issue, that a president who is the first major beneficiary of free and fair electoral transition from one political party to another in Nigeria should become the first to undermine INEC’s independence, by making INEC another outpost for regionally biased appointments. The President has not only appointed from his own zone of North-West  but in fact from his household, an appointment that he ought to maintain a respectful distance from the appointee, like President Jonathan bequeathed to the nation, in appointing an INEC chairman not only outside his South South zone but entire southern Nigeria.This is a matter of serious concern for people in the South West who are now wondering if the confiscation and control of INEC is not a final nail in the coffin, that will terminate the right of the South West to choose its leaders in future elections, as we did in 2015.
Even President Buhari’s military colleagues didn’t do what he is doing now;  Gen. Babangida appointed Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, from the South East; Gen. Abdulsalami from the North also appointed Justice Akpata from the South-South. Why is it that President Buhari is finding difficult to make a very sensitive appointment of INEC chairman outside the circles of his household, friends and party members?   This right to freely choose is the most valued and unfettered right in a democracy.