Category: Politics

The Southwest is unarguably the most discerning, sophisticated and politically sensitive part of the country. It has always been. The history of the struggles that truncated the First to Third Republics would bear eloquent testimony to the roles played by the Yoruba in leading the uprising against injustice.

In the First Republic, the Northern Peoples Congress leaders had decimated the Northern minorities’ parties and strongholds in local polls. The party therefore got emboldened to touch the tiger by the tail. It engineered a split in the Action Group by pitching the deputy leader against the leader and sought to profit from the ensuing crisis that engulfed the Western Region.

It was obvious that the Yoruba had rejected Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola’s political scheme and psrty. But, using the federal might, the ruling party imposed Akintola on the people. The result was an explosion louder than a combination of Biafra’s ogbunigwe and Boko Haram’s bombs. About fifty years after, Nigeria is yet to recover from the consequences of the crude, desperate tactics adopted by the NPC then.

After thirteen years of military rule, there was another opportunity for the civilians to make something of the lessons learnt from the giddy events of 1962 to 1966. Under the watch of the military, 1979 went well (at least fairly so). If there was manipulation of the system, it was not brazen. So, all Nigerians could live with that. The West sulked throughout the tenure of Alhaji Shehu Shagari. The people thought they had a better candidate in Chief Obafemi Awolowo, but democracy is no plutocracy. It was not about the best, but the most acceptable ca candidate. It was obvious that Awo was not the choice of the Eastern an Northern states. Even the middle belt that partnered with him earlier had parted ways. JS Tarka had sucked up to the Northern political establishment, a Waziri Ibrahim had emerged in the North East to galvanise the progressive angle of the North into what the people thought was an opposition to the NPN establishment. Aminu Kano held his

own in Kano an needed an alliance with the progressives in the South to take Kaduna.

The progressives all over the country were prepared to leave the battle till another day. They learnt to live through the incompetent handling of national affairs during the Shagari reign. But, by 1983, when the ruling party resorted to desperate tactics to forcibly return the NPN to office, the West raged. The people rose as one, condemned the robbery and chose to keep the federal government dancing like ojuoro (the plant on the river) that is kept ever busy by the waves. The second experiment lasted only three short months.

In the Third Republic, it was a direct affront against the West as MKO Abiola was denied the popular mandate handed him by Nigerians of all hues. The people rose and, despite being a full blown military dictator, Abacha could not sit easy after Babangida had been disgraced out.

The Nigerian political elite and ruling political party have another chance with the approaching Ekiti and Osun elections. We do not need soothsayers to know that whatever becomes of the Ekiti governorship election next week would determine what happens thereafter. The Ekiti are not just sophisticated, but resilient. They would resist injustice with everything. In 2007, they fought for more than 40 months to reclaim a freely won mandate with the courts as the war theatre. This may be a little different as there is a government in power. The theatre may move from the courts.

The dynamics have moved overwhelmingly in one direction and whoever attempts to steal the votes would be given the same treatment as thieves. The defection of Chief Segun Oni to the ruling APC seems to have further sealed it for the incumbent r. Kayode Fayemi. The Oni party has fully mobilise the critical Io Osi for the APC.

The West is waiting. The West is watching. The West is prowling. The ball is in the President’s court. If he walhs the talk of allowing emocracy thrive, it shall be well with all. However, if he chooses to travel the way of his predecessors, he will be pushing Nigeria over the precipice. He would then go own in history as the last President of a united Nigeria.

The events of last Sunday portend no good. It suggests a possible resort to the NPC-NPN-military tactics that burnt the earlier Republics. Ekiti was peaceful until Ayo Fayose was procured to do the battle. Others who had shown interest in running on the PDP platform were shoved aside as they were considered too decent for the task, just as was the case in Osun where Iyiola Omisore was pushed up as candidate against Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

Let it be noted that the West fights sophisticatedly and would brook no injustice. Ekiti is a test case. Let those who have ears hear.

Ahead of the 2015 general election, the ruling party is intensifying efforts to ensure that it continues in office at the federal level. Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, reports that the party, as part of strategies to ensure victory at the general election, is wooing opposition lawmakers at the National Assembly.

The Presidency and the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are reaching out to some opposition lawmakers at the National Assembly, ahead of the 2015 general elections.

Investigations on Friday revealed that the leadership of the party had met severally with some lawmakers elected on the platforms of some opposition parties including the Labour Party (LP) Accord Party (AP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in recent times.

It was reliably gathered that while the meetings did not discuss defections of the said lawmakers into the PDP, parties to the parleys spent ample time talking about how their various parties can collaborate to check the rising influence of the All Progressives Congress in the national Assembly, especially the lower house.

The outcome of the ongoing talks, it was learnt, will see some opposition parties ganging up with the ruling party against the APC in the hallowed chambers ahead of the 2015 general election.

It was also gathered that the opposition lawmakers currently in talks with the PDP leadership may be doing so with the support of the leaderships of their parties as well as some Governors and former Governors.

A party source, who pleaded anonymity, said the talks are aimed at creating ripples at the owe house with a view to possibly changing the leadership of the party before the next general election.

“The PDP, backed by the presidency, is in talks with some opposition legislators. The talks have been ongoing for a while now and the notion behind them is to see how loyal PDP legislators in the House of Representatives can collaborate with ready opposition embers in parties like the AP, LP, APGA etc, to checkmate the growing influence of the APC in the national assembly.

There is a strong fear within the ruling party that the leadership of the lower house is no longer with the party. Although they are still members of the PDP on paper, many of the leaders of the House of Representatives are no longer with the party in principles and practice.

This explains why the APC appear to be having a field day on the floor of the house. It is also the reason for the incessant decamping of PDP lawmakers to the APC in recent times. The APC, though still the minority party in the House, enjoys the sympathy of the leadership of the chamber.

For PDP to change the situation and ensure that it continue to steer the ship of the House, there is need for it to form alliances with other minority parties aside the APC on the floor of the House. And since the APC forms the minority leadership of the House, the PDP is left with no choice that to deal with the legislators individually.

That is what the party has been doing. The Governors and national leaders of the concerned legislators are also part of the ongoing rapprochement. If the deal sails through, the legislators will remain in their parties and champion the cause of the ruling party at all times on the floor of the house.

The basic implication of this would be the balkanisation of the opposition on the floor of the House. One of the immediate outcome of the ongoing talk is the recent botched attempt to change the minority leadership of the house,” our source said.

It would be recalled that motion seeking to have the leadership of the Minority dissolved caused a row a fortnight ago in the House of Representatives. The Nation learnt that the development was a fallout of several meetings between some opposition legislators and the leadership of the ruling party.

The botched motion was raised by the Deputy Majority Leader Leo Ogor (PDP-Delta), to the effect that the APC should relinquish some of the minority positions in the House for other opposition parties to occupy.

Immediately the lawmaker raised the motion, members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Labour Party (LP) and Accord Party (AP) from Ondo, Oyo and Anambra states insisted they should be part of the Minority leadership hierarchy in the House. This led to a rowdy session on the floor as APC legislators rose to the occasion.

Ogor noted that the Minority leadership slots of the House were filled with only All Progressives Congress (APC) members. This, the lawmaker said, was a breach of the House rules, which provide that minority parties – not one of the parties – would form the leadership.

Ogor expressed reservations that all minority leadership slots available were in the hand of APC without the consent and input of the LP, APGA and Accord.

He said: “It behoves on the minority parties, in line with Item 31 of the House Rules, to nominate among themselves a new Minority Leader, Minority Whip, Deputy Minority Leader and Deputy Minority Whip.” Ogor urged the Minority leadership to vacate their seats and give room for a proper nomination.

“The lawmakers sitting on the platform of the APC now were members of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Accord Party and other parties. Therefore, they are unknown to the House. and since they were not a part of the nomination process for the leadership of the Minority, APC members must vacate their seats,” he said.

But Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila (APC-Lagos) dismissed Ogor’s motion as unnecessary and unfounded. The lawmaker said the motion ought to have been raised by an opposition member, instead of a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker.

He said: “Under our rules of privilege, you have to have locus before raising such a motion. If this matter of privilege was raised by a member of the opposition, then it will have locus. Our rules do not create room for meddlesome interlopers. I have seen a letter nominating our leaders sitting here, but I have not seen any letter nominating any PDP member sitting as a principal officer.”

But APGA, Accord and LP members in Anambra, Ondo and Oyo States disagreed with the opposition leader. They insisted on having their shares of the opposition pie.

Bukola Abiola Ajaja (Accord -Oyo) opposed Gbajabiamila’s position.

She said: “I want to say whoever goes to equity, must go with clean hands. Since the formation of APC, we in the opposition have not met to decide who would take positions. Rules 32, 33, 35 and 36 define the roles of different political parties and these provisions provide that all opposition parties must be represented on the leadership of the opposition.”

Another member, Debo Ologunagba (LP-Ondo), noted that the composition of the opposition leadership violates the privileges of Labour Party members.

He said: “It’s a collective privilege of members.”

The rowdy situation was saved when Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, who presided over the plenary, referred the motion to Committees on Rules and Business and Justice for further legislative consideration.

Of course, many believe that is not the end of the matter. Sources within the collaborating parties insist the collaborators will not rest until the minority leadership of the House is altered.

“The idea is not just to make noise. It is actually to kickstart the changes in the lower House by altering the minority leadership first. With the ongoing collaboration between some opposition lawmakers and the PDP, it is unclear how the Femi Gbajabiamila-led minority leadership of the House will survive.

Ogor’s argument has encouraged members of the LP, AOGA and Accord in the House to see that they can actually demand for representation in the minority leadership. This is merely a test case for the bigger push. If their agitation scales through, then the House leadership proper should beware.

The PDP will instruct its lawmakers to back the agitation of the opposition lawmakers against the pact. The House leadership, on its part, will work against such change knowing fully well that it will be the next target. This is the current scenario at the lower House,” our source said.

The Nation also learnt that the APC leadership in the House is aware of the nocturnal dealings between the PDP leadership and some opposition lawmakers.

“We are not unaware of their antics. We are fully abreast of their plots and we cannot be caught unawares. However, one thing we are sure of is that undemocratic forces can never defeat the progressives. We are insisting it is out of place for the PDP to dictate how minority parties will form the minority leadership of the lower house. We are saying we will resist any attempt to impose a leadership on us by the presidency as it is done in the PDP,” another source, a lawmaker said.

Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema of Katsina State has explained how his government was able to increase the girl child school enrollment figures in recent years.  Shema, who says he is not only deeply concerned about the insurgency in some parts of the North but also touched by the plight of the abducted Chibok girls, wants government to take proactive steps in tackling the development.  In this interview with Adetutu Audu, he revealed how his administration has been using agriculture to drive the economy of the state.

Many have argued that your state is an investment destination. Can you confidently attest to this?

Without doubt Katsina State has grown in leaps and bounds since I came in as governor. We are very focused on the need to open our doors wide. There is no serious economy in the world that can hope to grow and prosper at the pace which we hope to grow and prosper without partnering with the private sector. That is why Katsina offers tremendous opportunity in the field of agriculture, soil mineral development, livestock development and other critical areas of infrastructure, education and health.

Tell us the kind of strides you have made in the agriculture sector which engages about 75% of the population of the state.

Absolutely, agriculture engages about 75% of our population. Because of the importance of the sector to our economy, you can’t depend on rain-fed agriculture. We are establishing some kind of synergy between rain-fed agriculture and irrigation. Consequently, you can grow crops from the first day of January to December; when it’s chilly winter in Europe, you can come to Katsina and grow practically anything under the sun. We have five major dams. It is yielding result as we have moved from about 1, 000 cultivation per hectare to more than 13, 000 hectares in the last five years. On top of that, we invested hugely in terms of training, extension services, chemicals, seeds and fertilizer. Of course we established the Shongai farming initiative which is a partnership with some farmers in Porto —Novo in Benin Republic. This initiative is aimed at creating young farmers who not only engage in agriculture produce but also in the utilization of the produce to provide employment for teeming youths in Katsina State and to indeed unbundle the chain of the activities in the agricultural sub-sector and livestock development.  Attached to that closely is the issue of how we can drive production and the agro allied section. We also create market opportunity, market potential for farmers so that at the end of each farming season we buy off their produce. We buy the produce at competitive prices so that the farmer would not lose on the investment he has made that year. We now sell the produce to our consumers at subsidized prices. In that pattern you can see that the farmer does not lose and the consumer equally has access to controlled prices. Besides that, Katsina is the largest reserve for cotton in Nigeria. It is called the Cotton Profession Center of Nigeria. The quality of cotton we produce in Katsina provides raw materials for the textile industry and exportation of cotton related materials.  Side by side with that is the way we move in the direction of livestock development. So, in a nutshell, agriculture remains one of the key fundamental areas for job creation in Nigeria, not only  in Katsina State.

 The produce from the farmers are in large quantities. What are you doing in the areas of storage and preservation?

Preservation is critical in dairy and dairy products because without preservation the entire agricultural process would be in trouble. We have to teach farmers how to preserve their produce and large crop growers and developers how to process and preserve milk. That is what the Shongai initiative is all about. And we are trying to get into partnership with a foreign firm to re-energize what we used to have in Ronki grazing field where we have a diary facility to see how we can make it an effective facility for use by our cattle rearers because the market for diary products in Nigeria is quite large. All our cattle rearers need to do is to be assisted and to be redirected and be guided on how best to manage their cattle and how to engage with other entrepreneurs who have the skill and capacity to grow this critical sector of the economy in our state and our nation.

 One thing I found out is the cost of transportation of the cattle from up North to the South which is a big challenge. Are you doing anything about it?

 Transportation of agriculture produce poses a challenge like any other product in Nigeria because our means of transportation remains the roads and the cost of petroleum products keeps going up. But with the ongoing development of the railway by the Federal Government to move goods in large quantities, in the next couple of years when the railway system is very well established, the cost of transportation of goods will simply come down. But in Katsina State, what we have tried to do is to have infrastructure on a massive scale so that the farmer can have access to road to bring his produce to the market. As I am talking to you, we done over 52 roads and rural feeder roads spanning over 2000km to enable people move their produce from the hinterland to the mainland or to the central market. And we are reaching out to some Chinese companies to see how we can establish a local rail in Katsina State.

Another issue is beef. How is it preserved?

We have centres in Katsina since 2007 where we have facilities for meat processing and freezing for meat and dairy products and we have a large grain center. In addition, we have established a committee headed by a former President of Court of Appeal to look into the possibility of bringing back the marketing board in Katsina, like we had in the days of old so that the farmers don’t just produce but are assisted to access to market within Katsina or market within Nigeria or market outside Nigeria.  Nigeria should come together and address this issue of establishing or reenergizing the market structure for farmers and their produce and how we can process and even export.  Nigeria is a beautiful country; our land is cultivatable from the first day of January to the last day of December. There is no excuse Nigeria cannot feed the rest of Africa.

If I am a young graduate and I don’t want to do any white collar job, I want to go into farming, I will think of land and access to credit facilities. How are you dealing with those two issues to encourage people to go into farming?

One of the approaches we are adopting in Katsina is, after the development into full scale the Shongai initiative, we are waiting; because it’s a modern trend and it is a current way to go for development and training young entrepreneurs. Our intention is to get land; we have in abundance of land and most of it is land that you can cultivate. All the young boys and girls we are training under Shongai in the three senatorial locations in Katsina, when they come out, will be given pieces of land to settle on the type of production they have learnt and they want to pursue in terms of agriculture activity.

Speaking about education, i am looking at some figures and wonder how it was done. I see there was this massive enrollment at primary school level of about 1 million in 2005 now close to 1.5 m in 2011. Some other states have the same free education but they don’t have these figures. What did you do to ensure that this came to be?

Education is number one tool for breaking the cycle of poverty. When I came into office in 2007, I left no one in doubt that my number one priority is education. Without education, no nation can progress; no nation can hope to move to the level of development or success they need to. That is why we unbundled the problems around education and we made sure education is free from primary to secondary and government pays WAEC, NECO, NAPTEC, SSCE fees. And we felt there is a challenged group, young girls in northern Nigeria have little or no opportunity to go to school and, when they do, poverty remains an issue for the parents. So we came up with a strategy, we set up a special department called the Girl-Child Education and Development Department, and I appointed a Special Adviser who is doing a great job. We went out to establish one girl-child school per LGA which of course attracted young girls in the 34 LGAs of the state who are who are doing pretty well. And then we introduced the conditional cash transfer grants. We are working with donor agencies like UNICEF, USAID and others and this conditional cash transfer grants are meant to assist mothers and the kids to stay in school. Stipends are given to the mother every term and the same stipends are given to the girl to stay in school.

You call it conditional.

Yes, conditional cash transfer grant.

Why is it conditional?

They have to remain in school to receive this stipend from government and donor agencies and of course the apparent increase in the number of children that go to school in Katsina is not only because of free education but also the additional facilities. We built over 200 new secondary schools, we expanded our primary schools, we hired more teachers, we bought more teaching aids and equipment and we introduced bus services in some of the LG headquarters to convey our students at 10 naira per drop,  we improved the salary of our teachers because you know they say you can afford to have a school without a classroom but you can’t afford to have a school without a teacher, we increased the salaries of our workers in tertiary institutions I think twice at the end of my first tenure. You cannot run away from giving quality education to the people. The nation, not only Katsina, needs to put together strategic education development plans for the next 40years in order for us to break our people from the cycle of poverty.

You said you made education your number one priority and you have done this for over six years now. Regarding the insurgency in the North-east and the girls who have been kidnapped, Boko Haram doesn’t want them to go to school. This completely is against what you have been doing and maybe what others have been doing. What do you think?

Job creation is a critical tool to break insurgency. My understanding of the insurgency we are experiencing in Nigeria today is that it came from the fact that Nigeria has about five serious challenges that we must face head long: electricity, unemployment, drug addiction, transnational crimes, and indeed the electoral process which brings about perceived injustice. It is a sad story that a beautiful country like Nigeria with tremendous human and material resources and should be the most dynamic business destination in the world is the one suffering insurgency.

Germany-based journalist Femi Awoniyi is one of the members of the Ekiti Diaspora Europe group currently in the country to campaign for the re-election of Governor Kayode Fayemi. In an exclusive interview with Sulaiman Salawudeen, the publisher of bimonthly magazine, The African Courier, talks about the role of the Ekiti diaspora in the state’s coming governorship polls and its experience on the campaign trail. 

What is the support base for Fayemi in the Ekiti diaspora like? 

Huge, really huge. Our support for Fayemi is as enthusiastic as anything you will ever get. And not only among the Ekitis alone but also in the other sections of the Nigerian diaspora community. They are impressed by the Ekiti model of development and they see in Fayemi a national leader of the near future.

How important does the diaspora take the coming election?

The Ekiti diaspora has never been as engaged in an  election in Ekiti as this one because  we believe that the state has finally seen the light and should not  go back into darkness again. We also believe that the 8-point agenda of Governor Fayemi needs to be consolidated to maximise its benefits for Ekiti people.

How? Could you please explain?

Take the Youth-Commercial Agricultural Development Programme. If that programme is diligently pursued for four more years, we would have created in Ekiti a new generation of young educated commercial farmers. We would have then broken the jinx of educated young people not taking interest in agriculture which has been the major hindrance to the development of modern agriculture in the country. Ekiti has already become the largest producer of cassava in the country as a result of that scheme. I believe we can replicate that success in cocoa, oil palm, rice and so on. And processing industries will start setting shop here. In fact, they are already doing so.

Another example is the Ekiti Digital Vision under which laptops were given out to students and teachers in the state and fibre optic cable for broadband access has been laid in Ado. I believe that in the next four years, we would have started seeing the fruits of a digitally native youth who will be taking their skills to the international market without having to leave the country.

I subscribe to the governor’s vision that Ekiti can become the Bangalore of Africa. We must not underestimate how powerful an economic factor the IT sector is. India earns 65 billion US dollars annually from IT services export. According to a recent study by Ford Foundation, the size of the online work in Africa will already exceed 5 billion dollars this year. Ekiti youths can key into the sector which has a high growth potential.

I believe Ekiti is on the right path to developing a strong basis for self-sustaining economic development. We have to stay on that path.

In what forms are Ekitis abroad showing their interest?

They are discussing the election at the home town association meetings and at social gatherings; by staying tuned to various news sites and discussion forums, and via social media campaigns and so on. Our group, the Ekiti Diaspora Europe 2014, is appealing to Ekitis abroad to call our people at home to encourage them to vote on 21 June and do so for Fayemi because he is the best candidate for the state.

Why so much interest this time around?

Remember that for more than seven years before Fayemi became governor, Ekiti knew no peace and no meaningful development took place  there because of political instability and widespread corruption. In fact, because of the insecurity that pervaded the state then, many of us stopped visiting home. And Fayemi turned the state around in less than four years. We now have peace and many things have changed for the better. We’re inspired by what he has achieved given the meagre resources available to the state.

Besides the Fayemi factor, the increasing concerns over the direction in which Nigeria is going is another reason why Ekitis abroad are taking interest in the coming election. There is a growing realisation among the diaspora that they have a responsibility to do something for their country. There is now therefore an increasing determination [in the diaspora] to be part of the political process at home.

How did the diaspora interest in Fayemi happen?

The enthusiasm has been as a result of the great work he has been doing in Ekiti. Of course his pedigree as an internationally renowned activist for democracy and development also plays a role.

I think at last Ekitis around the world feel a pride in the state’s leadership. After a long time we have somebody we can say: Yes, we are with him and he is with us. You don’t have to hang your head in shame like in the past.

How has it been on the campaign trail so far?

Exciting and revealing. Some youths are being misled with cash handouts by some politicians. This should be expected because of their economic vulnerability . However, the majority of Ekiti people are very conscious of the impact the achievements of the Fayemi administration have made in their lives. Most are acutely aware of what was before Fayemi came into office and what presently obtains. And people still vividly remember what the situation of the state was under his main opponent. So they can compare the two of them based on their performance in office. Our experience shows that the majority of Ekiti people are clear about what they want for the state and nobody can deceive them. That gives me confidence that they will vote right on June 21.

What do you tell people when canvassing for Fayemi?

We point out the amazing transformation in the state under this administration and the antecedents of Fayemi’s main opponent. We remind them of the gloomy situation of the state before Fayemi came to office. We explain where the various programmes and projects being undertaken by the government could take the state in another four years. We tell them to choose a hopeful future and reject the gloomy past. We tell our people to vote for Ekiti because a vote for Fayemi is a vote for the future of the state.

Nasarawa State governor, Umaru Al-Makura, has many battles to fight ahead of his reelection bid in 2015, mainly from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has devised well-thought out strategies to outsmart him, reports Sunday Oguntola.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), still smarting from a shocking defeat at the 2011 governorship race in Nasarawa State, is determined to wrestle power from the incumbent, Umaru Al-Makura come 2015.

The game plan codenamed “Operation back to power in 2015” has become popular among leading chieftains of the party. It is anchored on the exigency of the party to assume the governorship seat again at the next election with members promised juicy offers at the federal and state levels.

Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the game plan has been adopted as the blueprint of the party’s electioneering campaign ahead of 2015 with huge resources allocated to making it a huge success.

The ‘power’ of the unseen pact  

The mainstay of the strategy, according to reliable sources, is the alleged pact Governor Al-Makura reportedly signed in the run-off to the 2011 race that he would only run for a term. For several months now, that pact has become the strongest weapon of the PDP in staving off efforts by the governor to seek reelection.

Party sources said Al-Makura entered into the pact in 2011 to curry the favour of Nasarawa North Senatorial District comprising Akwanga, Eggon and Wamba local governments. They said the governor needed the district’s support to dislodge former occupant of the seat, Aliyu Doma, who slumped to a famous defeat to the incumbent.

 The Governor, they alleged, had an understanding with the district as candidate of defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) that he would only run for a term to repay the district’s support in 2015. But his camp has repeatedly denied such an understanding or pact existed. Al-Makura, they said, came to power on the groundswell of supports from across the state and did not need a particular district to assume the governorship.

This line of thought has become popular across the state, especially in the PDP. The Eggon ethnic nation has been most vociferous in this agitation, insisting the governor lacks the moral strength to seek reelection based on this unseen pact. For key strategists in the PDP, it is a masterstroke that will keep the governor on the defensive and attract the sympathy of the politically inclined in the state.

The zoning dimension

The major explanation for the governor’s alleged unseen pact is the need for zoning or rotation of power. Since it was created on 1 October, 1996 by the General Sani Abacha’s junta from neighbouring Plateau State, nobody from Nasarawa North has governed the state. The first governor, Abdullahi Adamu, ruled for eight years, filling the quota of Nasarawa West district.

Doma, according to the zoning agitators, served for four years while Al-Makura will complete the eight-year slot for Nasarawa South. By conceding power in 2015, Al-Makura will allow the governorship slot to go to the North and help promote the zoning arrangement in place, they explain. While it sounds altruistic and fair, the arrangement, according to political analysts, is only a PDP affair that is not binding on other stakeholders. They request for documents backing up the alleged arrangement as well as signatories supporting it.

As far as the governor’s camp and supporters are concerned, he is not bound by such an arrangement that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is not privy to. But the zoning argument resonates with many in the Nasarawa North, who feel marginalised and edged out of the governorship slot. This sentiment is spreading like wild fire in the district, winning many advocates and agitators.

To secure sympathy among voters, the PDP has reportedly zoned its governorship slot to Nasarawa North senatorial district. The move, the party’s chieftains believe will strike a chord among people and portray it as standing for fairness and equity. The deputy governorship, according to PDP sources, is zoned to the Nasarawa West district while the speakership is expected to emerge from the southern zone.

Checks revealed that the zoning arrangement was championed by leading Eggon politicians to shore up their governorship bids and blackmail Al-Makura out of the race. Information Minister, Labaran Maku, Senator Solomon Ewuga, who decamped to the PDP recently and the deputy governor, Dameshi Luka Barau, reportedly bought the issue to the limelight.

Ewuga, speaking on the governor’s unannounced reelection bid, recently said: “Governor Al-Makura told me that he wants to continue in office beyond 2015, and I said to him, ‘look, Your Excellency, I have no problem with you coming back in 2015 but you need to tell me how to approach the people whom you told openly that you would only run for a single term. It is not me. So, if the blame is on me and it is on 2015, it is those who are looking for it that are causing it, not me.”

Playing religious card

Since its creation, Nasarawa has never been governed by a Christian, a development that is becoming politicised by some of the aspirants. Many of them are clamouring for a Christian governor to give the Christian community a sense of belonging and in the spirit of fairness. Professor Onje Gye-Wado, who was deputy to Adamu, openly canvassed for the emergence of a Christian governor.

He said it was unfair that the state has never had a Christian at the helm of affairs, a situation he said makes the Christian community wonder if they are not qualified to lead. Reports indicated that many aspirants have approached churches and their leaders in the state to drum up support for the emergence of a Christian as governor in 2015.

If the card works well, it will suit the PDP since the Nasarawa North, where the Eggons are predominantly located, is mainly Christian. With its governorship slot already zoned to the district, the religious card will work to perfect harmony of the PDP’s dream of having someone from the district as governor to succeed Al-Makura.

The party has also embarked on widespread reconciliation moves to heal the wounds of 2011 and return defectors to its fold. Governor Al-Makura started his governorship race from the PDP before he lost the ticket to Doma. He left for the CPC where he emerged victorious. He is a Muslim and considered part of the state’s tradition. Sources close to him said he is working to diffuse the religious sentiment across the state by holding strategic inter-faith meetings aimed at building consensus.

Prominent among those who have joined the PDP lately include Senator Solomon Ewuga, Damishi Luka and Professor Onje Gye-Wado, among others.

The spate of massive violence across the state has also become a selling point for the PDP, which accused the governor of incompetence in tackling the serious insecurity challenge. The proscribed Ombatse group unleashed violence in the state, killing over 70 security operatives in Alakyo village in Lafia East development area of Lafia local government.

There have also been communal clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Nasarawa South as well as the recent incidents among Odobu, Obi and Assakio communities. The APC has however accused Eggon politicians of inciting the clashes to wrestle power violently, a charge they all denied.

The party is also banking on the support of the Assembly in unsettling the governor. It retains majority of the membership and made a good impression at the last council polls in March though the ruling APC won more seats.

Al-Makura fights back

The governor is however a dogged fighter. He has survived several impeachment plots and remained grounded despite the massive oppositions against his administration. His political sagacity has enabled him to survive among hawks and retained his sanity despite the many killings in the state.

But like most of his colleagues in the APC, his masterstroke is obviously sterling performance and delivery of democratic dividends. Even his cruelest critics acknowledge that he has revolutionised governance through infrastructural development. Major roads in Lafia, the state capital, have been constructed, helping to shake-off the rustic atmosphere of the city.

His administration has also impressed in the area of construction of schools, healthcare delivery and economic empowerment. Many cottage industries have become operational across the state, which has witnessed even distribution of government presence. Though he is yet to declare his intention to seek reelection, his aides said it is only a matter of time. It is believed that his fighting spirit, sharp political navigation and exemplary performances will stand him in good stead should he present himself for re-election. He has the power of incumbency on his side as well as large financial war chest.

Other contenders

Senator Solomon Ewuga: In 2011, he has to align with Governor Al-Makura to win the senatorial election in the north district. He is the leading candidate for the district. Most people from the zone love to imagine him becoming their governor.

He served as deputy to former Governor Adamu in 1999 after he was believed to have won the PDP primary election in a compromise arrangement.

However until 2011, he never won any election. The lawyer is fiercely popular and recently defected to the PDP. Should he contest, he can count on the votes of his district but that certainly cannot take him to the governorship post.

Labaran Maku: The Minister of Information has the PDP structure in his pocket. He is believed to have nominated the current state chairman and enjoys support from the presidency. Also a deputy governor, Maku has to stave off the ambition of Ewuga to really win nomination from the district. Many believe that the PDP might not make any Eggon politician its governorship aspirant so as not to alienate several victims of the Ombatse cult group.

John Danboyi

A gentle politician, Danboyi was in the Senate in 2003. He has been a loyal PDP member since formation and is a strong contender from Mada ethnic nation in the northern senatorial district. His biggest challenge will be how to handle the ambition of Maku and Ewuga, who are from his senatorial zone.

Dameshi B. Luka

The current deputy governor is as daring as endearing. He caused a stir recently when he hoisted the PDP flag in his office despite serving in the government of APC. He was considered a big catch to the PDP when he defected from the APC recently. Many believe he is the anointed candidate of the presidency because it is believed he can give Al-Makura a good fight being an insider.

He is also from the northern district where the party has zoned its governorship slot to. But can he dislodge his boss, who has tolerated his treachery with calmness?

Whichever one considers it, analysts say Al-Makura has to fight many battles within and without to win reelection come 2015.

Festus Okoye, a former National Pubicity Secretary of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), has said only the people of Nigerian should be allowed to determine the fate of the report of the ongoing national conference.  He spoke with Tony Akowe.

The National Conference is currently considering reports of the various committees. What would you say has been the achievement so far considering the positions canvassed by the various interest groups before the conference?

I think that the National conference has entered a critical stage. It has entered a critical stage in the sense that we have finished work at the various committee levels. The 20 committees set up the conference has submitted their reports and we are now considering some of those reports. When we started at the National conference certain individuals and groups came with certain positions that would have, at the end present the conference with a faith accompli. Some of them came with certain fixations, certain conclusions and insisted that it is either they get what they are asking for or the conference can as well close shop.

After about three weeks, people started to drop their hard line positions, having realised that you cannot have a national conference made up of the Nigerian people without engaging in consultations, negotiation, compromise as well as give and take. I think that it is that process of consultation, consensus as well as give and take that has moved the national conference to where we are now.

In arriving at decisions, how has the conference been able to harmonise all the views and positions of the different interest groups?

What the delegates are saying, and the position of patriotic delegates is that they are not going to be fixated to any position and that what should be the over-riding principle in relation to the National Conference will be, what is it that we want for the Nigerian people and not what the position of one section of the country should be. You can see that some of the issues that were very contentious, at the end of the day, civil society groups and organisations, the Labour union and some other patriotic Nigerians engaged in bipartisan consultations that led to some of those issues being resolved. Let me give you an example with three issues.

First is the withdrawal of fuel subsidy. The positions were very high. There were some people that insisted that the only way Nigeria can make progress is if fuel subsidy is removed. Some of us insisted that the removal of fuel subsidy will bring untold hardship on the Nigerian people. At the end of the day, it was a bipartisan position proposed by civil society groups and organisations as well as labour and other patriotic Nigerians that carried the day. We now said that the government should go and fix the refineries and get them to work, improve the general condition of living of the Nigerian people after which you can gradually remove subsidy over a period of three years. That was the bipartisan position everybody agreed on.

The second bipartisan position relate to the constant clashes between farmers and Fulani herdsmen and at the end of the day, we arrived at a bipartisan position saying that a time has come when we must establish grazing reserves especially in states that agreed to it and that over a period of five to ten years, the government of those states and the federal government must establish such reserves in other for us to reduce escalating incidences of people being displaced; people being killed on account of these problems and some of these challenges. The third bipartisan position was the establishment of what we called an equal opportunities commission which we have made a part of the federal character commission so that persons who are disabled, women and other people with challenges can also have an opportunity within the federation rather than reduce the issue of federal character to geography. These are some of the issues that have seen the light of the day at the conference using bipartisan positions. There are other issues that are still outstanding, one of which is whether we should transfer the land use act or expunge it from the constitution. There has not been any resolution regarding that. You also know that we are going to deliberate on issues of state police, whether Nigeria should be made up of three zones, state police among others. I am convinced that with the spirit of bipartisan position at the National Conference, we are going to resolve all these issues in a manner that will be in the best interest of the Nigerian people ad in a manner that will lead to the development of this country. So, for me, I am positive that very positive resolutions will come out of the National Conference and at the end of the day, key stakeholders in the Nigerian project will look at some of the policy issues and implement them, look at some of the administrative issues and implement them and also look at the issues that will require legal and constitutional amendment and attend to them as such so that Nigeria will be the better for it.

From all that you have said, one is tempted to say that it has been hitch free all the way at the conference and that there have been no challenges.

We have been a lot of challenges. One of the key challenges we have is the crisis of imagination. When a country stop thinking, when a country stop taking risk; when a country does not think ahead and does not plan ahead, that country is likely to stagnate and make a lot of mistakes. Other countries are already planning how to deal with pensionable citizens in the next 20 years. Some countries are already looking at the statistics to know how many people will be unemployed in their country in the next 20 years and are putting in mechanism on how to address them. But in Nigeria, we wait for things to take us by surprise before we start putting in place measures and mechanism to address them. I believe that this National Conference is going to put down the template for a greater Nigeria; a Nigeria of the future and will also look at some of those challenges and crisis that has stunted our growth and deal with them. I hope and pray that we should have the political will, the administrative will and the constitutional will to implement some of those recommendations that will come out of the National conference. But one thing I would want to advise is that the Nigerian people must moderate their expectations relating to what is going to come out from the National Conference. The National Conference will not fix Nigeria in one day, but will lay down a template on how to resolve some of the challenges facing the country. So, it does not mean that the moment we conclude the National Conference, all Nigeria’s problems and challenges will disappear. That will not happen and so, I think we should moderate our expectations because some of the recommendations will be futuristic, while some of them will demand immediate implementations and I hope and pray that the political class in this country will have the will and courage to implement some of the recommendations that will come out of the conference.

Do you think the outcome of the conference will take the country to the promises land?

My own take is that the time available for the conference to do its work is too short. It would have been much better to divide members of the conference into the six geo-political zones for them to go to each state of the federation and feel the pulse of the people and get complete feedback from the people so that they will buy into whatever recommendation that comes out of the conference. Secondly, the time available for us to do our committee work was also too short. For instance, I was a member of the committee on Political Parties and Electoral Matters. It would have been better, since we made recommendations on state Independent Electoral Commissions, all the chairmen of the state Independent Electoral Commissions should have appeared before us and justify why the commissions should continue to exist. Local governments are having very serious challenges. I would have preferred a situation where those local government chairpersons appear before us and answer some questions relating to the operation of local government. I would have preferred a situation where we invite the leadership of the various political parties to appear before us and tell us why they think internal party democracy is not working. I would have preferred a situation where the leadership of the police force will come before us the type of challenges they are facing policing election. But because of the time frame available to us, we could not do all that and had to rely on previous reports as well as the imagination of people and the experiences of others in other to arrive at our decision. Now, it would have been better for us to have all these shades of opinion for us to do a good job. But given the time available to us and the conference as well as the reports that has been presented, I think that the committee have done a good job and that if the conference considers those reports in the interest of the Nigerian people, it is possible that implementation of those report will be to the glory of the Nigerian people.

Some people hold the view that the outcome of the National conference will undermine the duties of the National Assembly. What is your take on this?

If you look at the Nigerian constitution, the National Assembly comes first even before the Executive and the Judiciary. If you look at part two of the constitution, the power of the Executive, the power of the Legislature and the power of the Judiciary are grouped as the powers of the federal republic of Nigeria. It is not in the interest of anybody, not in the interest of the delegates, not in the interest of the Executive and not in the interest of key stakeholders in the Nigerian project for anybody to ridicule the law making powers of the National Assembly. We are not in competition with the National Assembly and can never be in competition. I respect both arms of the National Assembly because it is the National Assembly that is supposed to be the tribune of the people. But the truth of the matter is that there are certain policy issues, certain administrative issues, certain issues of perception and politics that has been bugging the Nigerian people and I think that it is when you get people of a rainbow coalition from different background that you can talk sincerely and honestly about those things and try to break down barriers of suspicion and I think that is one of the things that the conference is doing.

Nigeria as a country has always set up committees and hold conferences and reports of such committees and conferences has never been implemented. How sure are we that the report of this conference will be implemented and not abandoned like others?

There are people who have canvassed a position that the moment we conclude our work, the report should be subjected to a referendum and I have said no. I have canvassed a position that the faith of the report of the National Conference will depend on the outcome of the conference. I was a member of the Electoral Reforms Committee. When we submitted our report, it was like the report was thrown out. But today, there is nothing that the National Assembly has done in relation to electoral reform that they have not referred to our report. All the amendments that have been made arose from our report. Prof. Attahiru Jega who was a member of the Electoral Reforms Committee appeared before us and said that since he assumed office, all his actions are based on the report of the Electoral Committee. What that means is that the Nigerian people saw merit in our report and bought the report as their own. That is why, the more the government runs away from the report, the more it follows them. So, everybody is quoting the report. If we do a good job, the Nigerian people will determine the faith of that report and decide whether the report will be implemented or not implemented.

With the 2015 governorship election just eight months away, anxiety on who succeeds Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has reached a crescendo, as leading aspirants in the race intensify a fierce but subtle underground campaign, reports Remi Adelowo

Less than a year to completing his two terms as Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has yet to give the slightest clue on his likely successor.

At several political gatherings involving his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uduaghan has tactically refrained from giving anything away either in his utterances or body language on his 2015 succession plan.

As a source at the Asaba Government House puts it, “Even the governor’s closest aides are in the dark on which among the governorship aspirants he is backing to succeed him come next year.”

As at the last count, over 10 aspirants drawn from the three senatorial districts of the State are currently strategising, consulting, mobilising, aligning and re-aligning to gain advantage at the polls.

These aspirants, it was gathered, are also deploying their pedigree-educational, economic and network of contacts-into the race.

The aspirants include the Senator representing Delta North in the National Assembly, Dr. Ifeanyi Okonwa; a member of the House of Representatives representing Oshimili and Aniocha federal constituency, Ndidi Elumelu; former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe; Presidential Adviser on Monitoring, Prof. Sylvester Monye; a former deputy governor of the State, Ben Elum; two former Speakers of the House of Assembly, Victor Ochei and Sam Obi respectively; Chief of Staff to Uduaghan, Festus Okunbor; a retired Police chief, Godswill Obielum.

Other names being touted as having interest in vying for the exalted seat include Senator James Manager, who currently represents Delta South.

In the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), former governorship candidate, Chief Great Ogboru, is allegedly revving up his political machinery to give the race another shot, while wealthy businessman, Olorogun Otega Emerhor, who contested the Delta Central senatorial bye election last year on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is the party’s only visible governorship aspirant so far.

The big question is: Is Governor Uduaghan looking in the direction of any of these aspirants as his would-be successor?

The zoning controversy  

Since the creation of the state, Delta North has not produced the governor, while Delta Central and South have had turns through Olorogun Felix Ibru, Chief James Ibori and Uduaghan. The strident agitation for power shift to Delta North perhaps explains the high number of governorship aspirants from the area than Delta South, where the incumbent governor hails from and Delta Central senatorial district.

However, a closer look at the pedigree of the leading aspirants from Delta North shows that three of the governorship aspirants; Okonwa, Elumelu and Okunbor stand out.

How the aspirants rate

Considered the frontrunner among the governorship aspirants from Delta North is Senator Okowa, a medical doctor by profession.

Okowa, former local government council chairman and a renowned grassroots mobiliser, Okonwa’s political pedigree has placed him in a vantage position to give the other aspirants a run for their money.

A former Commissioner for Health under the James Ibori administration, Okonwa also serves as Secretary to the State Government during the first term of Uduaghan from 2007 to 2011.

Okonwa’s profile was boosted recently following the passage into law the National Health Bill, which he solely sponsored.

Another notable aspirant is Elumelu, a second term member of the National Assembly.

In the last few months, Elemelu has embarked on intensive consultations with key stakeholders across the State in his bid to enlist the support of the powers that be for his aspiration.

During his first term, Elumelu was the chairman of the House Committee on Power that exposed the fraud in the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP).

The federal lawmaker had earlier being rumoured to be interested in contesting for the Delta North senatorial seat in 2015, but he quickly dispelled the report, even as has not formally declared his governorship ambition.

From the Kwale area in Delta North is Godswill Obielum, a former Assistant Commissioner of Police.

In the run up to the 2007 general elections, Obielum made quite an impact in the PDP governorship primaries which was won by Uduaghan. It is, however, not known whether he still pulls much political weight in the current dispensation.

Monye, a financial guru is a technocrat and currently the Presidential Adviser on Project Monitoring and Evaluation.

Speculations are rife that some leading private sector players who hail from Delta North are propping up Monye to contest the governorship.

The argument by this pressure group, according to sources, is that what Delta needs to move to the next level is a technocrat who can deploy his expertise to address the myriad of challenges confronting the State.

Also in contention in the race is Festus Okunbor, the Chief of Staff to Governor Uduaghan.

Having previously served as a commissioner under Ibori, Okunbor, no doubt, is well grounded in the politics of the State, but not a few PDP members in Delta State have argued that it would take more than experience in politics and perceived closeness to the governor to win the 2015 governorship election.

The only female aspirant from the zone is Mrs. Ngozi Olejeme, a member of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Program (SURE-P).

Alleged to be the preferred choice of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan as Uduaghan’s successor, Olejeme, who is also the Chairperson of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has, in the last couple of months, been garnering the support of stakeholders from the three senatorial zones in the State in the pursuit of her ambition.

Can Delta South retain seat?

The entry of former minister, Godsday Orubebe, in the governorship race has thrown up controversies on whether the much talked about zoning policy in the State is real after all.

Since he resigned from the cabinet a few months ago, Orubebe, an Ijaw from Delta South like the incumbent governor, who however hails from the Itsekiri stock, has doggedly pursued his aspiration unfettered.

Currently on a statewide tour to confer with key opinion leaders in the State, sources however revealed that Orubebe may be using the governorship contest as a bargaining chip for another elective office.

Though those close to him have denied this claim, but Orubebe may also have to contend with other obstacles, major of which is the opposition of his kinsman and leader of the Ijaw nation, Chief Edwin Clark, who has openly canvassed for Delta North to produce the next governor of the State.

Also expected to join the race from Delta South is Senator James Manager, the Chairman, Senate Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The Senator’s alleged interest in the governorship is coming against the backdrop of pressure on the governor to contest for Delta South senatorial seat currently occupied by Manager in 2015.

The governor, according to sources, is being prevailed upon to contest the seat, which has never been occupied by an Itsekiri.

Mrs. Stella Omu from the Isoko area represented the zone from 1999 to 2003 and was replaced by Manager, an Ijaw, who is currently serving his third term.

Politics of zoning in Delta North

Can Delta North speak with one voice in choosing an acceptable candidate among the deluge of aspirants from the zone?

The Nation gathered that rivalry between the Anioma area and the Kwale may, if not handled with tact, scuttle the governorship aspiration of the zone.

Unconfirmed speculations have it that top political stakeholders from the South and Central zones would only agree to a power shift to Delta North only if the candidate comes from the Kwale area comprising three local governments, Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West and Ndokwa North.

The external factors

External forces, according to sources, will play a major role in who wins the 2015 governorship election in Delta State.

Many of the PDP governorship aspirants, it was gathered, are hoping to get the Presidency’s endorsement to further brighten their chances at the party’s primary and the general election.

Who will the lucky aspirant be? The answer to this poser will be provided before the year end.