Category: Featured

A former federal lawmaker, Dr. Usman Bugaje has declared that the crop of leadership currently leading the nation lacks knowledge, experience and character which he emphasized must be the measuring stick for the selection of next leaders. He also said that restructuring is not the solution to Nigeria’s problem saying that competent leadership would address the many challenges facing the country. Speaking during the Maitama Sule Leadership lecture series organized by the Students Wing Coalition of Northern Groups in Minna, Bugaje stated that twenty years into democracy, there is no more trust between the government and the citizens.

“Twenty years into democracy, the scale of corruption and poverty is flabbergasting. We ask ourselves, why is democracy not working, why is it not delivering what we want? Something needs to be done urgently and that is not about restructuring but a change in leadership,” he lamented. The former gubernatorial aspirant in Kastina state urged the youths not to vote and support any politician blindly, stressing the need for them to go for people who have knowledge, experience and character.

“In Nigeria today, politics is not stable. The APC and PDP are the same. That is why one would defect from one party to another and be comfortable there. I want you youths not to go into the 2023 elections blindly. We cannot continue with this type of politics, we can’t continue with this kind of democracy. The greatest task ahead of us is to elect leaders who have knowledge, experience and character to lead us because the majority of the leaders we have now have no knowledge, experience and character. We should not be fools to allow the same type of people to lead us.

Read Also: PDP: Southern leaders at war over zoning, presidential ticket

“Our leaders have not solved insecurity, poverty, corruption and unemployment, so it is time for a change. We will not allow political parties to bring the same type of people to rule us. Political parties have to ensure that there are criteria for leadership recruitment, if any party does not have any criteria, they should be forgotten”, Bugaje stated. Bugaje, who is the convener of Arewa Research Development Projects (ARDP), further called on the youths to mobilize en masse and vote for the right leader during the 2023 elections.

In his keynote address, a member of the Northern Elders Forum, Dr. Saddiq Umar Abubakar said that for the next election, the north would support any Nigerian that has character, knowledge and leadership qualities irrespective of the state he comes from. “We are not particular about a northern leader, Muslim or Christian leader, the leader we will support would have character, capacity and knowledge to drive the nation. We will vote any Nigerian of any extraction who has the competence, courage, and knowledge to move Nigeria forward.”

Saddiq asked Nigerians who blame the north for most of the woes of the country to respect the north as the people have sacrificed a lot for the development of the country. “We want Nigerians to respect the north; we want to be respected in this country where we have contributed so much. It is unfair to blame us for the problems of the country.” The North Central Coordinator of the Coalition of Northern Groups, Comrade Muhammad Muhammad, said that the purpose of the lecture is to set an agenda for the way forward in leadership and governance in northern Nigeria.

 

Ahead of the rescheduled nationwide state congresses of the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) ‘Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, reports that the lingering crisis within the Kwara State chapter of the party is not ebbing.

Last week, the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) announced that it has rescheduled its nationwide State Congresses earlier slated for October 2. Following the new arrangement, the congresses are now expected to hold nationwide on Saturday, October 16, 2021. Though the national leadership of the party said it shifted the congresses to honour the country’s 61st independence anniversary, some reliable party sources revealed that the shift was due to logistic challenges and the need to carry every stakeholder along.

Secretary of the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Sen John James Akpanudoedehe, while explaining the shift, had said “The need to honour the country’s 61st Independence anniversary, which holds a day before the initial date fixed for the state congresses, informed the new date. Governors, ministers, and party members will be involved in the Independence celebrations in their various states. The party decided to reschedule the state congresses to allow all our members to participate in the Independence celebration.”

But party sources said that the exercise was postponed due to obvious problems of logistics and also to create room for reconciliation in some flashpoint states to avoid further crisis and even cancellation of the poll results. “Beyond the reason adduced for the shift, there are still problems in some state chapters that require some attention. More so, there are still major problems as regards the logistics that should be in place for the exercise to hold smoothly across the country. These are the real reasons for the shift,” a source claimed.

Kwara state appears to be one of such states where the party is having problems ahead of the rescheduled state congresses. Rather than abate, the crisis rocking the state chapter of the ruling party is festering with observers saying the forthcoming congress may be the last straw that will break the camel’s back and worsen the situation within the party beyond redemption. This is because in spite of several efforts to reconcile them, the two warring factions within the APC in the state are adamant in their stances.

As the state congresses draw closer, then two factions are still at war over the concluded ward and local government congresses held in the state. While the faction loyal to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq insists that the congresses were free, fair and credible, the faction led by Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, is unrelenting in its rejection of the entire processes. This is even after the national secretariat has ordered the swearing in of ward and local government party officials elected at the two congresses in the state.

Speaking on the forthcoming congress in the state, Samari Abdulahi, acting State Chairman, said “We conducted ward and local government congresses peacefully in Kwara State before and I believe the state congress too will also be peaceful.” But Hassan Saad-Danladi, chieftain of the APC and former state secretary of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), told The Nation that the planned state congress cannot be satisfactory. “Just as the congresses held so far were unsatisfactory, the state congress will do more harm to the unity of the party than good unless certain issues are addressed urgently,” he said.

Parallel congresses

Last July, the two major warring factions of the APC in Kwara State, held their separate ward congresses across the 193 wards of the state, in spite of stern warning by the national leadership of the party against parallel congresses. The faction loyal to Governor Abdulrazaq elected its new ward party executives through consensus and affirmation. The exercise was described as hugely successful at various designated venues. Samari said “Our men went to the field with the objective of consensus all through as a preference that will further unite the APC family and exactly that is what we had today.”

But the Lai Mohammed and Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa’s faction in the party also held its own ward congresses in the 193 wards of the state. Bolarinwa, while speaking to The Nation after the exercise, described the exercise as successful and peaceful. “Our ward congresses were peaceful and perfect, we elected ward executives in all the 193 wards and all the names have been submitted to the state party secretariat in Ilorin,” he added. The Minister also attested to the success of the ward congresses saying the members of the party have chosen their leaders peacefully across the state.

The local government congresses too were held at the LG secretariats of the two factions across the 16 local government areas of the state, to elect their executives. Both factions adopted consensus arrangements for the congresses as encouraged by the national secretariat. Samaila Ibrahim, a chieftain of the APC loyal to the Information Minister, led by Bolarinwa, himself a former chairman of the party in the state, insisted that the faction held peaceful exercises across the state. He said all officers of the party in the local government were elected through consensus arrangement.

Similarly, the faction loyal to Governor AbdulRazaq, headed by Samari, claimed it conducted its primaries across the state smoothly. Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, recalled that the congresses took off amidst fanfare. He said delegates for the congress were peaceful in electing new leaders through the affirmation of consensus list earlier agreed to by all the stakeholders. “The delegates’ election started in every part of the state under a peaceful atmosphere and close supervision by the APC team from Abuja and INEC officials deployed for the exercise,” he said.

Consequent to the parallel congresses in Kwara, the party’s Appeal Committee on Local Government Congress from the National Secretariat last month assured that none of the aggrieved members of the party will be shut out from the ruling party. The appeal committee, therefore, called on the members that have genuine petitions against the last local government congress of the party not to hesitate to present them for proper attention. The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Taminu Adabson, gave the assurance in Ilorin during the APC state stakeholders committee meeting held at Banquet Hall, Government House, Ilorin, the state capital.

But Checks by The Nation revealed that while the results of the two congresses held by the faction loyal to the governor appear to have been accepted with officers elected at their own congresses sworn in, chieftains of the other faction remain aggrieved and unwilling to accept what they described as gross injustices on the part of the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led national caretaker committee of the APC. “As it is, many party chieftains and members are waiting for the state congress in Kwara state to show the whole world that they are not ready to accept what is going on,” Saad-Danladi told our correspondent on Thursday.

Widening cracks

Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, a chieftain of the party in the State, again on Tuesday accused the governor of being the main threat to peace within the party. Oyedepo warned that there is no way the party can move forward in Kwara as it was presently constituted. “There are too many irreconcilable differences. It is not just to talk about reconciliation. Only one person is destroying the party and that’s the governor himself. If you have the courage to say this, I will appreciate it. He’s the only one destroying the party,” he said.

“If the APC should retain Kwara in the 2023 elections, the leadership of the party must make sure Abdulrazaq didn’t re-contest. If the APC leadership still wants Kwara to be won by the party, the first thing they should do is to remove Abdulrahman and don’t allow him to contest in 202. The national secretariat of the party must ensure that Governor Abdulrazaq conducts free, fair and transparent elections within the party. If that one isn’t done if Abdulrazaq is still the governor, there would be no way for APC in the state,” he added.

Describing the performance of the governor as below par, Oyedepo added that, “I didn’t see anything that he’s doing that’s so exciting, which makes him remarkably different from the people we uprooted. We complain that the past administration wasn’t doing local government elections; I was on the radio several times, this one is even worse. If they fail to remove Abdulrahman or permit us to remove him on our own, I’m not saying they should remove him undemocratically. I’m saying they should organise a free, fair and transparent congress, which would eventually get him removed.”

However, Samari said it is not true that the crisis within the party cannot be resolved through dialogue. He expressed confidence that reconciliation is possible. “APC as a party, we are certainly not going to close our doors to resolving any genuine internal grievances, if any, in strict compliance to the party’s laid-down rules. Bonafide members should therefore avail of crisis resolution mechanisms and the time-honoured golden rules of the party, and not allow themselves to be used to mislead the public for the selfish interest of anyone.

Strangely, while conceding that the party witnessed two congresses in the July 31st ward congress, Samari insisted that no parallel congress took place during the local government congresses of the party in the state, contrary to claims by chieftains of the other faction. “Unlike the ward congress which involved all party members, the local congress was not an all-comers’ affair. It was strictly a delegates’ election in which only accredited delegates, including elected statutory delegates, are allowed to take part. It is in fact a constitutional requirement for the delegates’ list to be made available to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), police prior to the commencement of voting at the congress venue. The exercise must also be conducted by accredited party officials and duly monitored by INEC to be called a lawful congress.

“This is exactly the procedures we followed as a party. Any group of persons who claimed to conduct anything contrary to this in Kwara or anywhere else are just a bunch of jokers and mischief makers who should never be taken serious. We are glad that the national secretariat of our party has also made this very clear, especially in the light of some misleading reports on the congress. The party’s rules and guidelines are very clear. The consequences for anyone flouting the guidelines, thereby bringing the party to ridicule for their own selfish agenda, are also very clear and we are glad the national secretariat of the party has also spoken in this regard.

But speaking recently on the crisis within the party, the Integrity Group within the APC said it will not work with the governor’s faction of the party. Represented by the Vice Chairman, Isiaka Alao, the group declared that “We are not, and shall not be part of the unilateral “consensus” arrangement being proposed by the governor’s group. The beauty of democracy is in allowing minority to have their say, even when majority have their way. The only civilised way to prove our numerical values is through congresses, not by any proxy.

Read Also: PDP: Southern leaders at war over zoning, presidential ticket

“With regret, it has become an open secret that our governing party in this state is critically ill, lying in the operation theatre for surgery. We hereby express our confidence and unflinching support for Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Senator Gbemisola Ruqayyat Saraki for being good ambassadors of Kwara State as Honourable Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We deeply and passionately appreciate their contributions to upholding the honour and glory of APC in this state. We cannot but eulogise Hon. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa for his sense of maturity, sacrifices and uprightness that have been sustaining the party till date,” he added.

Can peace be restored?

Commenting on the disagreement within the Kwara state chapter of the APC recently, Governor Buni, chairman of the national caretaker committee of the party, was quoted as saying the leadership of the party is focused on building a strong and united party, and as such, will do everything possible to reconcile the warring factions in the state. But pundits say months after he made the promise, there is nothing to show that efforts are being made to bring peace to Kwara APC.

“The national leadership of the party will continue to support unity and progress of APC in Kwara state. As you are aware; the Caretaker Committee is repositioning the party, reconciling differing opinions to build strong and united membership that will improve the fortunes of our party. The leadership of the party has great respect for due process, discipline and all programmes that will contribute to making it stronger,” the Yobe State governor was quoted as saying.

Days after Buni’s assurance, the APC suspended eleven members of the party believed to be loyalists of Lai Mohammed for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities. The suspension letter, dated February 5, 2021, was signed by the National Secretary, Caretaker/Extra-ordinary National Convention Planning Committee, Sen. James Akpanudoedehe. They were punished for dragging the Samari and the party to court. The eleven party men had approached the court to demand the removal of Samari as state chairman.

Those affected are Joseph Tsado, Bamidele Ogunbayo, Issa Fulani, Imam Abdulkadir, Morufu Olaniyi Yusuf, Saludeen Lukman, Kerebu Fatai, Bola Ajani, Nurudeen Fasasi, Salman Shehu Babatunde and Abdullateef Ahmed Kolawole. The Minister’s group had opposed the removal of Bolarinwa as the caretaker chairman of the party in Kwara state and his replacement with Samari, his erstwhile deputy.

Speaking recently on the crisis, former governorship aspirant of the APC in Kwara State, Mallam Saliu Mustapha assured that peace can still be restored in the ruling party. Recalling that the crisis started too early in the life of the current administration, he expressed confidence that chieftains and members can still resolve all contending issues once they are willing.

“The crisis stems from a battle of supremacy between two blocs. It was, however, heightened after the purported removal of Alhaji Bashir Bolarinwa as the state chairman of the party. It’s quite unfortunate that Kwara APC has to find itself in this kind of situation; it is uncalled for; it’s unnecessary because it started way too early. But it’s understandable that in politics, there will always be a divergence of opinions, views and interests.

But Vice Chairman of the party in the state who doubles as the APC Chairman in Kwara North Senatorial District, Chief Sunday Oyebiyi, is afraid that the crisis has been left unattended to for too long.

“The cause of the crisis is the inability of the said leader to accommodate people who have worked for the party. He does not want to recognise those who worked for the success of the party during the last election and he is not ready to involve them in governance. The party is polarised because some people grouped themselves as AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq group, while those of us who stay with the party still belong to the APC. The polarity can be seen clearly along the lines of those following individuals and those following the party.

Suggesting a way to resolve the crisis Oyebiyi said “I think the crisis would have been settled before the election, if the governor has a rethink because he is the one fighting the party. We are not fighting him and I think it will be in his own interest if the crisis is resolved; and it will also be in the interest of the party and the people of the state,” he said.

This is just as Samari absolves the governor of any wrong doing in the crisis rocking the party. According to the factional party leader, “the said the only link the governor may have with the internal crisis was him standing by us to call for accountability and transparency and that was after listening to all the sides from within the APC state executive council.” He appealed to aggrieved party members to make themselves available for genuine reconciliation currently ongoing in the party and stop alleging the governor wrongly.

“As far as we are concerned, we couldn’t have asked for a better government because the Governor has made a huge difference in every part of the state. In my local government in Baruten, no less than six different projects have been executed. What the Governor has done so far has been stellar. I have heard the same stories from other local government areas. So, the Governor has represented us well. He has been relating with us greatly. We were always consulted and called to make inputs in many of the things the government is doing, so we only need to support him,” he said.

A fresh crisis is brewing within the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the decision of the leadership of the party to zone the National Chairman position to the North without clarifying whether the 2023 presidential ticket of the party would be zoned to the South or thrown open.

At its 94th NEC meeting held in Abuja during the week, the party adopted the zoning of its national chairman position to the North, upholding the recommendations of the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi-led zoning committee.

However, it did not foreclose that the much-coveted 2023 presidency would be zoned to the South as the party announced that a separate National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting will be convened at a later date to discuss the report of the Governor Bala Mohammed-led committee which had earlier recommended that the Presidency be thrown open to all the six geopolitical zones of the country.

The Nation gathered that leaders and chieftains of the PDP in the southern zones are now at loggerheads over the developments.

Highly placed sources confided in our correspondent that aside from a serious struggle among leaders of the party in the south over which zone should get what from the National Working Committee (NWC) positions ceded to the region in the zoning arrangement adopted by the NEC, there is a sharp disagreement amongst stakeholders of the party in the south over whether the region should go to the convention that will elect new party leaders without the topical issue of zoning the presidential ticket being addressed the same way the matter of where the next national chairman should come from was laid to rest.

With the National Chairman position going to the North, all other NWC positions currently in the South will also be ceded to the North while all the positions currently occupied by northerners can only be contested for by southerners at the next convention.

Thus, 11 NWC positions will be coming to the South. They are Deputy National Chairman (South), National Secretary, Woman Leader, Publicity Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Financial Secretary, Auditor, Deputy Treasurer, Deputy Legal Adviser, Deputy Youth Leader and Deputy Organising Secretary.

Another source, who preferred anonymity because he was not authorised to speak, said there is currently a tussle among leaders of the three zones in the region on how the positions of Deputy National Chairman (South) and National Secretary should be zoned.

The Nation also gathered that interest groups within the party in the South are also scheming to corner some of the positions for themselves ahead of the national convention.

“It would have been quite easy to micro-zone the positions, but I can tell you that with zonal interests and group interests currently clashing across the south, tension is in the air and a crisis appears imminent over the positions,” our source said.

It was gathered that while a group of Southwest PDP stakeholders loyal to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State are angling for the zone to get the National Secretary position along with a couple of other positions, another group within the zone, said to be working to ensure that Elder Yemi Akinwonmi retains his place in the NWC, are negotiating for the position of Deputy National Chairman and any other positions as may be deemed fit for the Southwest.

This group reportedly enjoys the support of ex-governor Ayo Fayose and Hon. Ladi Adebutu. By convention, the Southwest can only get one of the two positions.

Similarly, checks by The Nation revealed that Governor Nyesom Wike and other leaders of the PDP in the South-South have their eyes on the position of the National Secretary and have told other leaders of the party from the two other zones in the region to cede the position to the South-South.

But it was gathered that a group of powerful chieftains of the party from within and outside the South are backing former Osun State governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, for the same position. Oyinlola is from the Southwest.

“The South-South wants the National Secretary post, and many stakeholders in the South feel it is not a bad idea owing to the fact that the zone will be losing the national chairmanship position.

“But with another powerful bloc within the party backing Oyinlola for the position, it has become difficult for leaders of the party in the South to agree on where the position should go.

“As at last Friday, not much progress had been made on the micro-zoning of the positions largely because agreements could not be reached on the two topical positions of Deputy National Chairman (South) and National Secretary,” a source added.

It was gathered that the Makinde group may have Eyitayo Jegede from Ondo State in mind for the position of National Secretary, while some sources claimed that Governors Wike and Governor Godwin Obaseki are allegedly not on the same page over the former’s choice of candidate for the position of National Secretary. Details of their disagreement were still sketchy at press time.

The Nation also gathered that leaders of the three zones of Southwest, South-South and Southeast are at loggerheads on how to share the two positions.

 

“Given the strategic places of the two positions in the NWC, all the three zones are claiming entitlement to one of Deputy National Chairman (South) and National Secretary. And since it is impossible for three people to stand in twos, the disagreement may linger.

“And some party leaders like Governor Makinde are saying the PDP’s silence on where the presidential ticket will go is contributing to the difficulty in deciding how the positions should be micro-zoned.

“If there is a categorical position on the presidential ticket, the zone getting it can easily be asked to forget any of the two key positions in contention.

“But with everybody scared that the recommendation of the Governor Bala Mohammed committee may still be adopted by the NEC, it is difficult to persuade any of the zones to let go anything as the south attempts to micro-zone the NWC positions in its kitty.

“Recall that the NEC specifically concluded to convene at a later date to discuss the report of the Governor Bala Mohammed-led committee that had earlier recommended that the Presidency be thrown open to all the six geopolitical zones of the country,” our source explained.

Our correspondent also learnt during the week that a group of southern governors and party leaders may have also resolved to push for a resolution of the presidential ticket zoning controversy before the PDP national convention.

According to feelers from the Southern PDP Governors’ Forum, the party leaders are worried about the possibility of the ticket being thrown open for all contenders after the North would have pocketed the national chairmanship position.

This possibility is fueled by the resuscitation of the Bala Mohammed committee report during the last NEC meeting of the party, our correspondent gathered.

“It may not be right to say the issues surrounding the zoning of the NWC positions have been concluded. This is because following the importance accorded the Bala Mohammed committee report during our NEC meeting, leaders of the PDP in the South are asking questions about what the future holds for the region in the party.

“What happens if the North gets the national chairmanship of the party now and the presidential ticket is thrown open for all comers? What happens if a northerner wins the presidential ticket again? What effect will that have on the party’s chances at the 2023 elections?

“These are questions we want answers for before the convention,” a source said.

But a former governor from the South dismissed calls that the zoning of the presidential ticket must be resolved before the convention, urging members of the party to allow for genuine healing going forward.

According to the governor, “there are many issues to be addressed and we cannot address them all at once. With the National Chairman zoned to the north, we all know the conventions in our party.

“If we start sounding like we are forcing other zones to agree with us, we may create more problems. But I will want us all to refrain from talking too much about our challenges.

“We must give hope to those following us. I think our governors understand this and will not heat up the polity unnecessarily.”

 

Zoning of PDP chair to North final, says Gov Fintiri

Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State declared yesterday that the decision to zone the chairmanship seat of the PDP to the North is final.

Fintiri, who stated this at the Abuja PDP national secretariat, said with last Thursday’s approval of the zoning arrangement by the NEC, the decision is binding on all stakeholders.

“The highest decision making organ of the party, which is the NEC, has taken a decision, and I think that decision is final. It is binding on all of us members, and we will abide by it. And that is what we are working on”, the governor said.

Fintiri, who is the chairman of the PDP National Convention Committee, added that the sale of nomination forms and screening of chairmanship aspirants would commence anytime soon, stressing that the October 30-31 convention date remained sacrosanct.

Continuing, the governor said: “The zoning committee has completed their job. We have revised our timetable, and we will start selling of (nomination) forms on Monday.

“The screening and appeal is expected to end on or before next week, by the revised timetable. They (aspirants) will be free to start campaigning across the country for us to have a convention on the 30th of October.

“The Electoral Committee has been sensitised. They will be trained at the most appropriate time for them to be abreast of their job, so that we can have the best convention that every Nigerian is waiting for, which will be the most democratic.

“We have come with all our members to brainstorm and for us to strategise and take better decision as to the preparation and arrangement that we need to deliver on the expectations of our teeming supporters and members across the country who have given us this assignment for the best way out.

Read Also: Defection: PDP urges court to sack Cross River governor, deputy

“And we have put them at speed, also as to what is expected of them as their own assignments so that we can have the convention of our dreams, for us to prepare and get the All Progressives Congress (APC) out of government in 2023.

“The date of the convention still remains, which is the 30th and 31st of October. That has not changed and we don’t think there is any reason for it to be changed despite the fact that the Zoning Committee just concluded their job, which was only approved by NEC on Thursday.

“The venue has been secured; that is the Eagle Square. We have equally secured the Area 10 Parade Ground, which will serve the purpose of accreditation, and our delegates across the country are being sensitised.

“We expect that sale of forms will commence on Monday and we also expect that the screening committee should also commence and conclude their work on or before the end of next week, so that those who are vying will go about and do their campaign.

“We have received budgets from all the subcommittees and we are in the process of streamlining the budgets because there are areas that submissions are conflicting.

“We are all working to achieve one convention, which is the 2021 convention.

“As soon as we finished this meeting we shall approve the budgets based on the availability of funds. And early next week, precisely between Monday and Tuesday, some of the committees will start receiving their budget support so that they can start their work in earnest for us to have a successful convention.”

Corroborating Fintiri’s position on zoning, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, in a separate interview, said the PDP had moved beyond zoning of party offices and that any issues arising there from would be resolved amicably.

Bala said: “We have resolved the issue of zoning. The PDP is a mature party. We have always done our things with the experience we have garnered over the years and what we have been able to do for this country.

“We have learnt our mistakes. We are not going to play to the gallery the way and manner our detractors or our competitors want us to. We will always resolve our issues. So zoning is over. We have really gone over this issue. What we are looking forward to is the emergence of a National Chairman from the North, who will give us a leadership that we require to form a government in 2023”.

Asked if the party would consider consensus options, especially for the chairmanship position, Fintiri and Mohammed did not rule out the option, provided all the aspirants in the race agree on it.

Fintiri said: “I think it is too early for us to discus consensus at this stage, because this is a democratic party. It is open for contest, and if the issue of consensus arises, it is captured in our constitution.”

Bala Mohammed also said: “Consensus is normally a process of democratic consultation, because democracy is about consensus. Certainly, the electoral process can be reduced by having a converging point on an individual and that would have reduced the desperation issues within the party.

“I would say we should have a consensus candidate, but where we do not, we will not practice imposition.”

 

Northern coalition kicks against PDP’s zoning arrangement

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) yesterday frowned at the resolution taken at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) zoning the national chairman position to the North, describing it as a contradictory threat to the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria.

Spokesperson of CNG, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, while responding to reporters’ questions in Kaduna, said it is contradictory and deceptive for the PDP NEC to leave the contest for the party’s presidential ticket open to all while restricting the national championship position to the North.

According to him, “it is as much an abuse of acceptable democratic process as it is contradictory, deceptive, ultra vires and alien to political party traditions everywhere.

“One fails to understand why the PDP would rather exclude the entire Southern Nigeria and deny them the right to vote and be voted for in a free and fair process for the highest position in the party and at the same time, allow open contest for the presidential ticket.

“This is only a veiled tactic to deceive the North into ultimately ceding the presidential slot, which must be rejected by insisting on an inclusive process for all party and offices in all the parties.

“It is unfortunate that the PDP after the humiliation of 2015 has still not learnt from lessons of history and is still bent on enforcing arbitrary, undemocratic practices that are harmful to internal party democracy and potentially threaten the consolidation of democracy in the country.

“We at the CNG are insisting on the emergence of a purposeful, credible, capable, and result-oriented leadership that would be achieved through a free, fair and inclusive process and not by deceit, blackmail, threat or grandstanding.

“We therefore reiterate our call for all the political parties to internal democratic processes to prevail in the selection of both party and elective positions freely and fairly without the need to disenfranchise any group of people or tribe for whatever intent and purpose.

“We therefore warm that any party that attempts to disenfranchise any group or section of the country stands to be roundly rejected by the North.”

The federal government is set to create a debt recovery unit next year to help it recover debts amounting to N5.2 trillion.

According to the details of the 2022 Budget, the debt recovery unit will be domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Finance from where it will “consolidate on the current efforts to recover government debts owed through its MDAs”.

To breathe life into the unit, the federal government has earmarked the sum of N63 million in the 2022 budget.

The Nation learnt that the unit will work with Project Lighthouse, another entity domiciled in the Ministry of Finance.

Project Lighthouse boasts on its website that “the debt recovery capability of Lighthouse provides the government with up-to-date records into its credit status by harmonising debt records across all MDAs within the country, give debtors access to a platform to view and offset debt in a seamless and secured manner as well as strengthen the institutional framework for enforcement and management of the Federal Debt Recovery plan”.

Efforts made by our correspondent yesterday to get ministry officials to identify the debtors hit a brick wall as some of the officials approached kept sealed lips while one said “disclosing the debtors now will ruffle feathers”.

Finance minister, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, had revealed recently that the federal government had “been able to aggregate N5.2 trillion worth of debts owed to Government by third parties, of which N49.7 billion of this amount has been recovered”.

Also contained in the 2022 budget details is the fact that the federal government has set aside the sum of N115 billion for Operation Lafia Dole and other military operations of the armed forces. This amount is different from the N2.4 trillion for defence and security matters in 2022.

Under the Service Wide Vote heading of the budget, government has earmarked N24,733,742,477 for group life assurance for all MDAs including DSS/Insurance of sensitive assets/corpers plus administration and monitoring.

Next year, the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) will be recapitalised to the tune of N20 billion.

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Government also plans to spend N100 billion on Zonal Intervention Projects, and refund N17,899,000,000 to a Special Account.

Under the Service Wide Vote, provision has been made for N25 billion to pay off the debts owed local contractors.

N300 billion will be spent on recurrent expenditure for the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS). On the capital side for the NPRGS, N100 billion has been budgeted for “FGN Commitment, including NSIP upscaling”.

If passed by the National Assembly, N10 billion will be spent to restructure/recapitalize NIPOST while another N50 billion has been budgeted for Health Workers Hazard Allowance.

The Federal Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning has an expenditure envelope of N282,548,005,655. From this amount, N82,030,000,000 will be spent to purchase a power generator, N261,500,000 for the purchase of motor vehicles, N36,710,002 for annual budget expenses and administration and N210,000,000 on Human Capital Development.

The Ministry of Finance will in 2022 engage in the draw down of N269,866,395,500 from several multilateral/bilateral projects-tied loans. The budget details shows that N82,030,000,000 will be drawn from the multilateral/bilateral projects-tied loans for Power Sector Recovery Project (PSRP).

Another multilateral/bilateral projects-tied loans for Family Homes Fund Housing Project, the federal ministry of finance will access a loan of N4,101,500,000. The ministry of finance will also draw down N15,573,395,500 from the Multilateral/Bilateral projects-tied loans for Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project.

Other multilateral/bilateral loans that the government through the federal ministry of finance will access in 2022 include N4,101,500,000 from the Multilateral/Bilateral projects-tied loans for States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability Programme for results (SFTAS), N20,507,500,000 from the multilateral/bilateral projects-tied loans for Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) and another N143,552,500,000 from the multilateral/bilateral projects-tied loans for COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Programme (NCARES).

To automate the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) operations ‘for process optimization and efficiency, improve forecasting capabilities, enhance transparency, better operations and capacity development”, the Federal Ministry of Finance is asking the National Assembly to approve N200,000,000.

The Budget Office of the Federation on its part wants N17 million to redesign and revamp the Budget Office Web Portal.

The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) wants to spend N150 billion on the Power Reform Programme and another N73,993,531 for Financial Advisory Consultancy Services.

 

Veteran Nollywood actor, Chinwetalu Agu, who was arrested by the Nigerian Army on Thursday, for adorning IPOB’s attire, has been released.

This was announced on the verified Instagram page of actress Chizzy Alichi.

The actor, in a viral video, had said he was allegedly arrested at the commercial city of Onitsha in Anambra state while sharing food to less privileged persons wearing an attire of the rising sun, not a Biafran or ESN regalia.

The Army, in a statement by the Director Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, on Thursday, however, said Agu was not subjected to any form of brutalisation.

Actress Chizzy Alichi, while giving an update on the actor’s arrest in a post via her Instagram account, said he has finally been released.

”Uncle Chinwetalu Agu has been released. He is safe and sound.

”All thanks to God and everyone that contributed in one way or the other,” she wrote.