2015 ELECTIONS: DANGEROUS SIGNALS IN DELTA STATE!
Uduaghan, Delta Gov, Tompolo Secret Deal Exposed… ‘My Life in Danger’, says Keyamo
*Laments: ‘Nigerians should hold Uduaghan, Tompolo in case I’m murdered’
*Writes Jonathan, Petitions DG-SSS, IGP over threat to Life, Ready for Court Process
*Keyamo’s words: “I received a telephone call from one Mr. Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo) with phone number 08027721208. His Excellency, Governor Uduaghan called me at exactly 10.16pm, and I reported to him what just transpired between Tompolo and myself. I asked Tompolo FIVE TIMES whether, he was, in fact, threatening my life over an open line and he said nobody in the country can do anything about it by the time I am dead”
*Tompolo in Pidgin English: “We dey look for you. Anywhere we see you, whether for Lagos or Abuja or Warri, we go beat you die or we go shoot you. No person fit look my face for Delta”
BY CLEM OHANACHIOR/ASABA, DELTA STATE
DRUMS of war gradually beating in Delta State is an ominous sign of evil that is threatening to bring down a downpour of crisis that may be difficult to contain in the long run. It tends to be a political war with traces of crime if this fiery circumstance is not controlled by all stakeholders of the state to avert ‘bloodbath.’
Ironically, the secret deal between Emmanuel Uduaghan, Governor of Delta State and Government Ekpemupolo, known-militant in Delta State (Tompolo) who often stand within the corridors of power regarding the Senatorial ambition of the incumbent governor in the 2015 Elections, coupled with ‘illegal substitution of Tompolo’s younger brother name-George Ekpemupolo to forcefully become Chairman, Warri South-West L.G.A are the ‘root cause of all the trouble.’
‘My Life in Danger’, screams Keyamo
Festus Keyamo, Naija Standard gathered had allegedly being ‘set-up’ to become the ‘fall-guy’ in this political theatrics. Not only are his movements being monitored, his phone lines are alleged to being bugged by these two-some of Uduaghan and Tompolo.
Keyamo, Lagos human right lawyer from Delta State had to cry out to members of the public so that his eventual death would not be piled among those of unresolved assassination in Nigeria should in case anything untoward happen to him.
His words: “What offence have I committed? At exactly 10:13pm on Tuesday, October 28, 2014, I received a telephone call from one Mr. Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo) with phone number 08027721208. We have been acquaintances in the past, so I know his numbers. After reaffirming that he is Tompolo when I picked his call, he went straight to the point by informing me that he wishes to inform me that he and his “boys” will kill me by beating me to death or shooting me anywhere they can find me. And that the hunt for me is on.
“He said he would kill me because I have decided to take up the matter involving his blood brother, George Ekpemupolo, who was used to illegally substitute another candidate, Weyinmi Omadeli (48 hours to the election) in the Warri South-West L.G.A elections that were concluded last Saturday in Delta State. He said no one has ever challenged his authority in Delta State. On this matter, I wrote to Governor Uduaghan of Delta State yesterday which has sparked Tompolo’s determination to kill me. I asked Tompolo FIVE TIMES whether, he was, in fact, threatening my life over an open line and he said nobody in the country can do anything about it by the time I am dead.
“Co-incidentally, exactly three minutes after Tompolo dropped his line, His Excellency, Governor Uduaghan called me at exactly 10.16pm, and I reported to him what just transpired between Tompolo and myself. The Governor promised to speak with him, but that cannot be reassuring enough, and I know the remedy in law against an intended murderer is not to beg him but to ignite the criminal justice system against him, no matter how comatose that system is.
“I know the subject of this petition, Tompolo, is a favored citizen of this government, and I am not. I know Tompolo is close to those in power at the moment, whereas I am an ordinary citizen. I know Tompolo has money and influence (which are factors that are widely acknowledged to aid a suspect walk away with murder in Nigeria), but I have none of these. I know Tompolo has instrument to kill human beings, and I have none.
“In the circumstance, I am making this petition public so that when you refuse to attend to my complaint and outcry, the ordinary people of this country will, at least, know from where my death came and I will not join the long list of unresolved murders. My killer, should, at least be known.”
‘The True Story’-Keyamo
Afraid that anything could happen in Nigeria, Keyamo in an electronic mail sent to Naija Standard narrated his ‘chilling story.’
Investigation by Naija Standard showed that on Monday, October 27, 2014, Uduaghan called Keyamo over this issue and advised him to look at the matter dispassionately before he takes it up, in which he promised to do just that.
Having investigated the matter thoroughly, he discovered that Uduaghan and Tompolo were playing ‘gods’ on Deltans’ destinies. As such decide to speak his ‘true mind’ on the matter. His said: “I have done so and I regret to say that despite so many sterling decisions you have taken in the past in the governance of our dear State, I am of the firm view that you got this one totally wrong for the following reasons:
(1) For you to summon Mr. Omadeli on the eve of an election and inform him that his name had been replaced smacks of high-level interference with the job of DSIEC. It clearly shows that DSIEC is only an appendage of the Delta State Government. It also depicts the sorry and comatose state of DSIEC in the hands of the State Government (it is the same all over the country, anyway). But, why did DSIEC not have the courtesy to write or summon him to break the news (assuming, but without conceding, that they have the powers to do so?) Sir, you are not the Chairman of DSIEC and you have no business replacing one candidate with another in an election.
(2) Besides the means of communicating the news to Mr. Omadeli, why would a candidate’s name be substituted with another after nominations of candidates by parties had since closed (going by the time-table of DSIEC), and without cogent and verifiable reasons or without the death or decline of the nomination by Mr. Omadeli?
(3) Your Excellency, at the risk of sounding very tribal, you know there has been a delicate balance of power, privileges and opportunities between the Ijaws and Itsekiris in Warri South-West L.G.A over the years. This was occasioned by years of carnage and bloodletting between these tribes. We in Uvwie L.G.A, (their neighbours), sometimes bear some brunt of these problems. However, since the time of the Ibori administration, a truce was reached whereby it was agreed that the Ijaws and Itsekiris would be taking their turns in the governance of Warri South-West L.G.A. Now, the last substantive Chairman of the L.G.A was the same Mr. George Ekpemupolo that has now been returned as Chairman. In the interval between when he left and now, the acting Chairman or administrator of the L.G.A appointed by you was also an Ijaw man. What then is your rationale for this decision? Whom amongst the stakeholders of these two great and illustrious tribes in Delta State did you call to a meeting before this ill-informed decision? What promise or arrangement did you extract from them before this decision?
(4) Your Excellency, in our telephone conversation yesterday, you claimed there were threats from various Ijaw interest groups from the State and beyond, hence the decisions to remove Mr. Omedali’s name. But pray, what is the point in Tompolo claiming to be fighting for the Ijaw race when in fact he keeps returning his blood brother as Chairman of the Council. So is the Ijaw race now synonymous with Tompolo’s family? And as a Chief Executive of a State, did you not see through this subterfuge and charade?
(5) Your Excellency, I hate to say this – but say it, I must: there is a clear picture in the public domain that because you are Itsekiri by tribe and the member representing Warri South-West in the State House of Assembly is also an Itsekiri man, and because you also plan to go to the Senate by 2015, you had no choice but to sacrifice Mr. Omadeli to the Ijaws so that all three slots would not go to Itsekiri. You opted to sacrifice the slot of your Itsekiri tribe to the Ijaws to protect your personal interest. In other words, your Senatorial ambition has a big part to play in this whole mess.
It therefore, appears that between you and Tompolo, both of you are playing ping-pong with affairs of our dear Delta State by promoting personal and family interests, using ethnicity as a façade. Your Excellency, with due respect, we expect more from you.
Uduaghan, Delta Gov, Tompolo Secret Deal Exposed
Naija Standard gathered that the Senatorial ambition of Uduaghan for 2015 has been on-going in the mind of the governor and to ensure he wins in the ‘obviously stiff election’, he had allegedly requested the supportive role of Tompolo in a subtle way to allegedly ‘threaten, put fear in the minds of his co-contestants from Delta State’, to emerge a Senator representing his zone.
In return, Uduaghan by fiat ‘handed-over’ to George, Tompolo’s younger brother Chairmanship of Warri South-West L.G.A., after ‘pocketing Delta State Independent Electoral Commission’ in a ‘kangaroo-election’ that eventually held on Saturday, October 25th, 2014 and George was returned as winner of the Chairmanship position for along with others, he was sworn into office on Monday, October 27, 2014
Laments: ‘Nigerians should hold Uduaghan, Tompolo in case I’m murdered’
Keyamo said: “In the circumstance, I am making this petition public so that when you refuse to attend to my complaint and outcry, the ordinary people of this country will, at least, know from where my death came and I will not join the long list of unresolved murders. My killer, should, at least be known.”
Writes Jonathan, Petitions DG-SSS, IGP over threat to Life, Ready for Court Process
In order not to take any chances, Keyamo writes President Goodluck Jonathan, Director General of State Security Service (SSS) and Inspector General of Police (IGP), so that the issue become of public domain.
Tompolo responds in Threat to kill Keyamo
In his own response, Tompolo said “We dey look for you. Anywhere we see you, whether for Lagos or Abuja or Warri, we go beat you die or we go shoot you. No person fit look my face for Delta. Wetin dey do you sef? We go show you pepper.”
- The Director-General, State Security Services,
State Security Services’ Headquarters,
Abuja.
- The Inspector-General of Police,
Force Headquarters,
Abuja.
Dear Sirs,
THREAT TO KILL MR. FESTUS KEYAMO BY MR. GOVERNMENT EKPEMUPOLO (ALIAS TOMPOLO)
My name is Festus Keyamo. I am a Nigerian citizen and a senior member of the legal profession in Nigeria.
At exactly 10:13pm on Tuesday, October 28, 2014, I received a telephone call from one Mr. Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo) with phone number 08027721208. We have been acquaintances in the past, so I know his numbers. After reaffirming that he is Tompolo when I picked his call, he went straight to the point by informing me that he wishes to inform me that he and his “boys” will kill me by beating me to death or shooting me anywhere they can find me. And that the hunt for me is on. His exact words in pidgin English was “we dey look for you. Anywhere we see you, whether for Lagos or Abuja or Warri, we go beat you die or we go shoot you.”
He said he would kill me because I have decided to take up the matter involving his blood brother, Mr. George Ekpemupolo, who was used to illegally substitute another candidate, Mr. Weyinmi Omadeli (48 hours to the election) in the Warri South-West L.G.A elections that were concluded last Saturday in Delta State. He said no one has ever challenged his authority in Delta State. Kindly find attached the open letter I wrote to Governor Uduaghan of Delta State yesterday which has sparked Tompolo’s determination to kill me.
I asked Tompolo FIVE TIMES whether, he was, in fact, threatening my life over an open line and he said nobody in the country can do anything about it by the time I am dead.
Co-incidentally, exactly three minutes after Tompolo dropped his line, His Excellency, Governor Udaughan called me at exactly 10.16pm, and I reported to him what just transpired between Tompolo and myself. The Governor promised to speak with him, but that cannot be reassuring enough, and I know the remedy in law against an intended murderer is not to beg him but to ignite the criminal justice system against him, no matter how comatose that system is.
I know the subject of this petition, Tompolo, is a favoured citizen of this government, and I am not. I know Tompolo is close to those in power at the moment, whereas I am an ordinary citizen. I know Tompolo has money and influence (which are factors that are widely acknowledged to aid a suspect walk away with murder in Nigeria), but I have none of these. I know Tompolo has instrument to kill human beings, and I have none.
In the circumstance, I am making this petition public so that when you refuse to attend to my complaint and outcry, the ordinary people of this country will, at least, know from where my death came and I will not join the long list of unresolved murders. My killer, should, at least be known.
Thank you for, at least, reading my petition.
Yours sincerely,
FESTUS KEYAMO, ESQ.
Cc:
- President and Commander-in-Chief,
Federal Republic of Nigeria,
Aso-Rock,
Abuja.
- The Executive Governor of Delta State,
Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan
Government House,
Asaba,
Delta State.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan,
(Executive Governor of Delta State),
Government House,
Asaba,
Delta State.
Your Excellency,
OPEN LETTER:
ILLEGAL SUBSTITUTION OF CANDIDATE IN WARRI SOUTH-WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION: YOU GOT THIS ONE VERY WRONG
Sir, you know that I have tremendous respect for you and many people also do. And this is principally because you have managed to meander your way through the thorny paths of heavy ethnic sentiments in the politics of Delta State with grace, calmness and uncommon dignity. But like all humans, you have just shown that you, too, have your own shortcomings. This is because, in the matter of the just concluded Warri South-West Local Government elections, it appears that you may have taken a wrong and dangerous turn in this thorny path you have so well managed in the past. And it is regrettable that this is coming as you near the end of your sojourn in Government House, Asaba.
The facts of the matter at hand as it concerns Warri South-West L.G.A is that on the 9th of August, 2014 Mr. Weyinmi Omadeli emerged as the PDP Chairmanship candidate for that L.G.A after the conduct of the primaries. He was subsequently presented with the PDP party flag and his name forwarded to Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) for the elections slated for October 25th, 2014. For the records, Mr. Weyinmi Omadeli is an Itsekiri by tribe.
However, in a strange twist of fate, you summoned Mr. Omadeli to your private residence in Warri on Thursday, October 23, 2014 (barely 48 hrs to the election) and informed him that you had given orders to DSIEC to replace his name with that of Mr. George Ekpemupolo who is the younger brother to Mr. Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo). For the records also, Mr. George Ekpemupolo is an Ijaw by tribe.
Mr. Omadeli’s name was subsequently withdrawn and replaced with that of George Ekpemupolo. Mr. Omadeli had no time and opportunity to protest this strange substitution before the elections eventually held on Saturday, October 25th, 2014 and Mr. George Ekpemupolo was returned as winner of the Chairmanship position for Warri South-West L.G.A. Along with others, he was sworn into office on Monday, October 27, 2014.
Your Excellency, when you called me on phone on Monday, October 27, 2014 over this issue and advised me to look at this matter dispassionately before I take it up, I promised you I would do so. I have done so and I regret to say that despite so many sterling decisions you have taken in the past in the governance of our dear State, I am of the firm view that you got this one totally wrong for the following reasons:
(1) For you to summon Mr. Omadeli on the eve of an election and inform him that his name had been replaced smacks of high-level interference with the job of DSIEC. It clearly shows that DSIEC is only an appendage of the Delta State Government. It also depicts the sorry and comatose state of DSIEC in the hands of the State Government (it is the same all over the country, anyway). But, why did DSIEC not have the courtesy to write or summon him to break the news (assuming, but without conceding, that they have the powers to do so?) Sir, you are not the Chairman of DSIEC and you have no business replacing one candidate with another in an election.
(2) Besides the means of communicating the news to Mr. Omadeli, why would a candidate’s name be substituted with another after nominations of candidates by parties had since closed (going by the time-table of DSIEC), and without cogent and verifiable reasons or without the death or decline of the nomination by Mr. Omadeli?
(3) Your Excellency, at the risk of sounding very tribal, you know there has been a delicate balance of power, privileges and opportunities between the Ijaws and Itsekiris in Warri South-West L.G.A over the years. This was occasioned by years of carnage and bloodletting between these tribes. We in Uvwie L.G.A, (their neighbours), sometimes bear some brunt of these problems. However, since the time of the Ibori administration, a truce was reached whereby it was agreed that the Ijaws and Itsekiris would be taking their turns in the governance of Warri South-West L.G.A. Now, the last substantive Chairman of the L.G.A was the same Mr. George Ekpemupolo that has now been returned as Chairman. In the interval between when he left and now, the acting Chairman or administrator of the L.G.A appointed by you was also an Ijaw man. What then is your rationale for this decision? Whom amongst the stakeholders of these two great and illustrious tribes in Delta State did you call to a meeting before this ill-informed decision? What promise or arrangement did you extract from them before this decision?
(4) Your Excellency, in our telephone conversation yesterday, you claimed there were threats from various Ijaw interest groups from the State and beyond, hence the decision to remove Mr. Omedali’s name. But pray, what is the point in Tompolo claiming to be fighting for the Ijaw race when in fact he keeps returning his blood brother as Chairman of the Council. So is the Ijaw race now synonymous with Tompolo’s family? And as a Chief Executive of a State, did you not see through this subterfuge and charade?
(5) Your Excellency, I hate to say this – but say it, I must: there is a clear picture in the public domain that because you are Itsekiri by tribe and the member representing Warri South-West in the State House of Assembly is also an Itsekiri man, and because you also plan to go to the Senate by 2015, you had no choice but to sacrifice Mr. Omadeli to the Ijaws so that all three slots would not go to Itsekiri. You opted to sacrifice the slot of your Itsekiri tribe to the Ijaws to protect your personal interest. In other words, your Senatorial ambition has a big part to play in this whole mess.
It therefore, appears that between you and Tompolo, both of you are playing ping-pong with affairs of our dear Delta State by promoting personal and family interests, using ethnicity as a façade. Your Excellency, with due respect, we expect more from you.
Your Excellency, you will realise that I have always restrained myself from joining issues publicly with you, but even when I do, I do so with decorum. When some two years ago, I objected to a section of the Delta State Independent Electoral Commission Law regarding the stipulated age of its Chairman, I proceeded to court over the matter. When you called me to withdraw the matter so that the section would be amended, I obliged you and withdrew the matter, but up till today, nothing has been done over that section. However, I have not complained.
But, on this issue concerning Warri South-West L.G.A, I have no choice but to cry out, because your decision is capable of igniting a crisis that will affect all of us. The decision was taken whimsically and it is unjust, unfair, illegal and ungodly. Consequently, it is unacceptable and will be challenged legally and politically.
In the circumstance, we implore you to be quick in ensuring the setting up of a truly independent Local Government Election Tribunal so that parties can quickly proceed there to vent their grievances instead of resorting to other means. I do not subscribe to such “other means”. I would be prepared to proceed to the tribunal on behalf of Mr. Omadeli for this injustice done to him.
Secondly, sir, you may do the needful by summoning all stakeholders to explain to them and to also extract commitments from them as to the way forward in the delicate power play between the Ijaws and Itsekiris before it leads to uncontrollable conflagration.
I remain.
Your loyal citizen,
FESTUS KEYAMO, ESQ.
