The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • Ex-police commissioner seeks peaceful poll in Ekiti

    A former Commissioner of Police in Plateau State, Mr Dipo Ayeni, has called for a peaceful poll in Ekiti State on June 21. Ayeni, who is the Special Adviser to Governor Kayode Fayemi on Security, said the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate is dedicated to the cause of transparent and credible poll.

    The retired police commissioner, who spoke in Akure, Ondo State capital,   said efforts are being made to make the state conducive for a freee and fair elections, urging the stakeholders to cooperate with security agencies.

    He also urged the youths to shun violence, saying that it is an ill-wind that does not blow anybody any good.

    Ayemi said that a level playing ground would be provided for the candidates. He warned against any act of violence and brigande, vowing to hand over culprits to security agents.

    Ayeni lamented that Ekiti, which has been peaceful in the last three and half years, is being heated up by ”do-or-die politicians.”

    He said: ”Throughout the campaign tours of Fayemi across the state,I never witnessed any violence. But, we know those who wanted the election to be acrimonious and we are appealing to all security apparatus to curtail their excesses. Fayemi is a peaceful person. He has been preaching peace. His campaigns have been issue-based, particularly on how to further provide dividends of democracy to the people.”

    The former police chief pointed out that sovereignity belongs to the people and not by a fierce battle for power by all means and at all costs. he said that on June 21, electoral manipulation will be resisted in Ekiti State.

    Ayeni urged the stakeholders to fight fraudulent election processes in the interest of democracy.

    He highlighted the achievements of Governor Fayemi, pointing out that he has made impact in the areas of infrastructural development, social security, qualitative education and and healthcare.

    Ayeni, who congratulated Ekiti State for having an intellectual in power, described Fayemi as a highly cerebral and passionate leader who has passion for development.

    He said: ”I don’t use to praise sing. I am not playing to the gallery. It is what I have seen. Fayemi has encouraged democratic governance and provided excellent, purposeful and focused leadership.”

    Urging the people to vote for Fayemi to guarantee the continuity of good governance, he said that,  inspite of Ekiti’s ranking as the 35th state, in terms of the allocation from the Federation Account, the governor successfully imple-mented his eight-point agenda.

    He added: “Fayemi deserves to be re-elected for continuity in prudence, decent and responsive governance”.

  • Bamaiyi’s comment on emergency rule shocking’

    Bamaiyi’s comment on emergency rule shocking’

    Abdullahi Bego is the Special Adviser on Press Affairs and Information to Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam. He spoke with reporters in Damaturu, the state capital, on what the government is doing to restore peace and security  and curtail the Boko Haram insurgency. He also described as shocking and unfortunate comments credited to retired General Bamaiyi on the emergency rule. Managing Editor, Northern Operation, yusuf alli, reports.

    Since the latest extension of  emergency rule in Borno, Yobe  and Adamawa states, the Boko Haram attacks have intensified in the affected states. What’s your take on this?

    Well, we have opposed the latest extension of emergency rule after having supported it the very first time it was declared back in May 2013. Instead, we had asked for a change in strategy with special emphasis on three planks: Robust equipment and technology support for the military, improved intelligence gathering and capability to penetrate digital communications of insurgents and terrorists and a more robust engagement with the civilian populations of the affected states to further mobilize them on behalf of peace and security.

    It is sad that as we speak the hard working military troops and other security agents on the ground in the affected states do not have all the requisite kits and gear they need to subdue the insurgents. Remember that ours is a military which has done wonders in many troubled spots around the world; and they helped to restore peace in places like Liberia and Sierra Leone. They could do even better here at home. I agree that what we face here in the country is an asymmetric warfare. The insurgents do not have known addresses.

    Still, there were plenty of missed opportunities when we could have routed and defeated them and brought their senseless violence to an end. I know you guys in the press have followed all the key happenings here in our region. Since the time when the civilian population in Damaturu and our other major towns started to use their mobile phones to report to the security agents about the presence of any suspected criminals or insurgents in town, almost all of the insurgents and criminals left town to the bushes fearing the people would expose them. The same thing happened in Borno State with the emergence of ‘civilian JTF’. That was when we started hearing that the insurgents have moved to and are operating from Sambisa Forest.

    Now, that’s a known address! Sambisa Forest is a known address. I am not a security expert but I believe strongly that as asymmetric as the current war with Boko Haram is, the very fact that they have been narrowed to a location – Sambisa Forest – where the civilian population close by is not nearly as concentrated means that we have plenty of opportunity to devise more effective strategies to deal with them. I still hope our security forces can deal decisively with them going forward. But, as we have seen, Boko Haram has continued to undertake their ruthless and senseless campaign of violence. Very recently, about 24 of our security forces were sadly killed in Buni Yadi in an encounter with terrorists.

    So, the emergency rule extension has got to be better. This time, it should be different and more substantive. The federal government should do everything it takes to provide any and every piece of hardware and support to the security forces which would help bring this madness to an end.

    Some people believe have said that the declaration of the emergency meant that government has failed..

    Let’s talk about the role of the affected state governments. What are you doing to support and advance the quest for peace because recently, a retired Chief of Army Staff, General Ishaya Bamaiyi,  said he declaration of the state of emergency meant that governors of the affected states have failed…

    I have read Bamaiyi’s interview and I am particularly piqued by his rather uninformed views about emergency rule. They are shocking and unfortunate. First, our constitution has never contemplated the appointment of sole administrators simply because an emergency rule is declared. So, his statement of question to the affected governors “what am I doing there?” as governor of a state where emergency rule is declared does not hold water. The governors have to be there because they were democratically elected by their people just as the president.

    Bamaiyi’s reference to the time of former President Obasanjo is also ill-informed not just on the questionable legal basis of Obasanjo’s action but also because the situations in Ekiti and Plateau States at the time and Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states now are completely different. To say that emergency rule was declared because the governors of the northeast states have failed is to suggest that the control of the armed forces and police and other security and intelligence agencies is in the hands of the governors and not the president or the federal government. It is amazing that a retired army general would equate emergency rule declaration in our three states with failure of the affected governors.

    Well, for emphasis, I want to state that our governors have not failed. In fact, under the circumstances they are going over and beyond the call of duty to do their part to support the security forces and the quest for peace. And they have always done so.

    For instance, in Yobe State, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has used every available platform to remind and call on people to support security agents and to remain vigilant in their localities and to pray in mosques and churches and homes for Almighty Allah to help restore peace.

    He has also provided thousands of our youth and women with direct employment and employment opportunities to help channel their energies to productive use. And the Yobe State Government continues to spend heavily to provide for the security forces on the ground.

    It is the same with the governors of Borno and Adamawa States. They are also doing their part and their best and it is my considered opinion that anyone who truly knows the issues should commend and not disparage these governors.

    What are your main challenges in the state now? You said you are spending so much on security and yet you have to provide social services for the people…

    That’s very true. We have to provide social services and we are providing to our people and we will continue to provide going forward.

    For example, we have made remarkable progress linking our communities with roads. We have drilled thousands of boreholes and sunk thousands of wells to provide clean and potable drinking water. We have improved on the conditions in our schools and are doing more. We have improved on healthcare and took steps to attract more medical personnel including doctors. And we have taken all-of-the-above strategy to make life a little easier for our people.

    Our major challenge is that we continue to divert funds we could have used to do more for our people to support security. But we are not regretting. Security is the number one responsibility of government. So, we will stay the course and hope that it will not be long before peace returns to our states and country as a whole.

  • 2015: Zealot(s) of no-faith and bigots on errand

    The opportunist of providence is on a revolt. He is grizzling about another man’s fate with a no-faith declaration. His vantage point is the exalted throne of power that now intoxicates him. Frustrated by the deplumation of his authority to invest his own, our stuck-up personage leads a rebellion of hate against providence and its style. He is making reflective enquiries that are subsumed in percipient undertone. The Chibok distraction has not hindered his campaign. His own focus is 2015. Despite the limitation of his existence in power, he still wants to be cloned. He has suddenly become a zealot of no-faith in governance. Why do we have distinction in governance when we can have a man of distinction in government? he blurted at a function. Here is a man whose fate was resolved by his faith, yet he claims there is no faith in governance. He claims he is the godfather because the man in power is his son. How come a father is plotting against his son with other rebels that are after his son? If he worships the real GOD, and not the iron god, why did he have to swear not to forgive a son he made? It is very strange. Stranger still was his adamant posturing.

     Those who hear him speak of no-faith would think he believed in it. He is a galah hoodwinking people with his strange persona. It is a common character: our politicians’ doublespeak. They play Jekyll and Hyde for and at their convenience. They exploit our innocence and our constraint to fame. They say nonsense and expect us to draw some sense from it, and, arrogantly, they call themselves men of example.

    Raddled by the burden of power that has afflicted our subject with some grey contents, the blunder of assuming that there is a fountain of wisdom is feasible and visible. But this is not so: it is simply the swaggering of a parvenu. Now he has sufficient resource contents, procured with studied industry from our collective larder, to talk and act like a god. Unworried about his common-knowledge empire of pride, our subject is now the emperor of words spitting fire on national discourse to invoke relevance in the twilight of his reign. There is something about power that is curious: it tyrannises the soul that is weak in fraternity. Man’s sojourn in the mansion of power—short or long—is mocked by the reality of life’s vanity.

    The mathematics of his tenure is indisputable. When a man climbs to the top with a ladder and decides to destroy the ladder, he is only facilitating his suicide from power. If he does not find a ladder to ease his drop, he may have to jump to aid his fall. Now that he is almost like us, our friend is letting loose his dogs. They are wagging tails, barking threats and biting dust: the sick dogs. Men who lack fame and name; men who indulge in name-dropping; men with records of historical indignity; men who are troubled by character somersault; men who are blessed with depreciated rectitude; men who are sinking in questionable parentage; men who have diffident personality are the bigots. Better still, they are the dogs on errand that are ruining our society. These are the bigots on errand. Our man must win again. He deserves another term. Forget about the abduction of the 200 plus something Chibok girls. Life must go on. The vehicle of life is constantly on the move. It waits for no one. If they like, let them sing “Bring Back Our Girls” till eternity, the search for power must go on. Who else can run this country better than me? I am tested and trusted. I am the Messiah.

    The dogs are on the prowl looking for whom to devour. Oh , famished things. Always hungry. Always barking. Always biting. Helpless things! Hopeless things! These are special dogs re-animated by pecuniary bait to bite the fingers that fed them. These are the here(rats) and there(birds) dogs running helter and skelter to protect their shelter. How can the society progress when these dishonourable dogs are destroying our treasure of honour and removing the wheels of progress? Who expects dogs to have dignity? Yes, we expect dogs to lack integrity.

    The Confab in Abuja needs to fix these dogs, otherwise they labour in vain that build the house. These dogs are the major problems. They are all over. They ruin the system: they destroy the values; they violate the laws and cover up the evils of their masters. They are dogs whose past has destroyed our present. They are dogs whose present is threatening our future. They are dogs chained and embroiled in eternal morass. Regularly, they mope in the seclusion of their individuality convicted by the pressure on their conscience as to the innocence of their victims.

    Every day we ask ourselves in our moments of reflection why our country is not moving forward. The evils of these dogs and their masters have overwhelmed the mobility of the society. When good men are persecuted for their progress-friendliness, is it the evil men that will prosecute the imperatives of progress? Until all evil consciences are tortured to submission, no amount of transformative agenda can engender peace and progress for our nation. It is sickening and revolting that since 1960 these dogs have been allowed to flourish and function with impunity. We have allowed them to activate their mercantilist ventures to a level we can no longer control. Though it is puzzling that we have dogs who seek survival and prosperity through image assassination and physical damage, our vanishing, and diminishing values are too weak to sustain this moral prognosis.

    Abstracted for days on the falsehoods and untruths that permeate our national life and our desperation to survive at all cost not minding what effect it has on fellow human beings, I chuckle at the celerity at which morality is receding in our public space.  Dogs, as earlier stated, consider morality secondary in order of survival strategy. But how can a man enjoy the wealth that is a burden on his conscience? Which man on earth can survive the trauma and the prosecution of a troubled conscience?

    The conspiracy between the zealots and the bigots portends an enduring danger to the survival of the society and its system. Until we decree a dysfunction into their midst, and demobilise their organised tyranny, this nation cannot move forward. If we cannot subdue the zealots because of their exalted position and influence in the society, we can at least deal with the bigots by cutting their warped tongues and extracting their teeth of greed. Dogs are less dangerous when they are made impotent in all functional departments.

  • Plateau 2015: Jang battles Abuja-based politicians

    Plateau 2015: Jang battles Abuja-based politicians

    Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State is up in arms against prominent politicians as the 2015 governoship contest in the state gather momentum, writes Yusuf Aminu Idegu

    The tenure of Governor Jonah David Jang as governor of Plateau State will come to an end on the 29th of May 2015. Jang became governor of the state in 2007 when he succeeded Chief Joshua Dariye.

    As a build up to the change of leadership, political horse-trading has begun in earnest. Plateau politicians are beginning to scheme against one another so as to realise their individual and collective interests in the affairs of the state. Though Gov Jang will not contest again, he is not ready to let go the party structure, or allow other politicians to play the game. He is still battling others so as to remain relevant when he is out of office.

    At the early stage of the build-up towards 2015 general election, two major political camps have been identified as major players in the political game. The groups are Plateau politicians that are based in Abuja and the group of politicians loyal to Gov Jang and are based in the state. The political group operating from Abuja is led by former governor of the state, Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun. While the Plateau-based group of politicians is led by Gov Jang himself.

    The Abuja-based Plateau politicians comprises prominent politicians like former governor of the state, Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun, former deputy governor of the state, Dame Pauline Tallen, Senator Joshua Dariye, Senator Timothy Adudu, Arch. John Alkali, etc.

    The Plateau-based politicians include Gov Jonah Jang and all his political appointees, including the deputy governor, Ambas Ignatius Longjan, the secretary to the state government, Prof Shedrack Best, state PDP chairman, Dr. Haruna Dabin,  local government chairmen as well as politicians loyal to the government of Gov Jang. Among the home-based politicians too are people like Hezechiah Dimka, a retired police commissioner who is back home for politics. There is also Prof Longmas Wapmuk who is about to retire as the Chief Executive of Industrial Training Fund (ITF).

    These two political camps, as influential as they are, have succeeded in polarising the entire state. Citizens of the state have deliberately or ignorantly found themselves aligning their interests with either of these two political camps. It is obvious that the next governor of the state must come from one of these two camps as it has been the trend since 1979.

    The emergence of these home-based against Abuja-based political groups as determinant of political power in Plateau State became outstanding since the beginning of the current democratic dispensation in 1999. As soon as Joshua Dariye became governor in 1999, those crops of politicians who lost out in the political contest converted themselves to opposition party. Sooner or later, most members of such opposition group will find the state so hot for comfort and they will relocate to Abuja from where they will be secured to play active opposition roll.

    During any election, these Abuja-based politicians often come home to sponsor one of their own in an effort to wrest power from the incumbent.

    The same scenario is currently playing out in the build up towards 2015 governorship election in the state. The battle between the incumbent Gov Jang and the Abuja-based politicians is steaming up. Those from Abuja like the second civilian governor of Plateau State, Sir Fidelis Tapgun, former deputy governor, Dame Pauline Tallen, former deputy senate president, Nasiru Ibrahim Mantu, and their likes are already battling to become relevant in the state, come 2015.

    Interestingly, both political camps look up to the central seat of power in Abuja for support to achieve their ambition. Both groups are seeking recognition and endorsement of Aso Rock (presidency) and Wadata House (PDP national secretariat).

    The political scheming for 2015 among the two groups of politicians started in 2011.

    According to Sir Fidelis Tapgun: “Due to the government of exclusion of Gov Jang, we went into opposition party on protest, and I was ready to return to the party, I followed the due process laid down by the party. I went back to my ward level in Shendam to re-register, I was accepted there. I then proceeded to the local government level of the party to formalise my membership and I was welcomed and I completed the necessary processes. But coming to the state level of the party, I handed over my particulars which I obtained from the ward and local government to the state party chairman for registration. The state chairman, Dr. Haruna Dabin, said he needed to do some consultations before approving my request and asked me to give him time as he promised to get back to me. But it has been two years after, he has not communicated to me as to whether I have been registered or not.”

    Though Tapgun and his likes were rejected at home, they were accommodated by the national secretariat of the party and they have been serving the party in various capacities.

    The two political blocks from Plateau have not only polarised citizens of the state, they have got the mind of President Jonathan divided. They have also sharply divided members of the national working committee of the party.

    The presidency is already troubled on the request by the group of Fidelis Tapgun to formally return as members of the PDP, a move that has been countered vehemently by. Gov Jang. Tapgun’s group in Abuja has been able to convince the president that their formal return to the party will boost his presidential bid in 2015. But Gov Jang warned the presidency and the national chairman of PDP of the danger of accepting them back into the Plateau State chapter of the party.

    A source close to the national secretariat of the party revealed that the national chairman of the party, Adamu Muazu, has made a move to organise a reception in Jos where the former members will be formally received back into the party. Jang was also said to have opposed the move, insisting that the constitution of the party has no room for such members who left at a point to work against the interest of the party. Jang insisted that their coming back into the party seems selfish and if they fail to achieve their selfish desire, they would create serious problems for the party as they did in 2011.

    But according to Tapgun, “Gov Jang himself had left the PDP to contest governorship of the state on the platform of the ANPP when he lost in the primary election to Dariye. Gov Jang had contested the governorship position on the platform of the ANPP in 2003. It was former President Obasanjo that smuggled Jang back into the party when Dariye was suspended during the state of emergency in 2004 to contest the governorship. So, Jang has become a saint today to preach against who left the party in protest and wish to return. Is this not funny?” he asked.

    However, the presidency and the national working committee of PDP are being cautious in the handling of the crisis so as not to jeopardise the chance of the ruling party in 2015. The national chairman of PDP believes that the party needs everyone on board to work for the success of the party in the 2015 presidential election. But Gov Jang stood his ground, insisting that the Tapgun group has no political value in Plateau State.

    Jang is quoted to have said that “Anyone interested in my seat must show loyalty to me, that is the only way you will get my support. But of you if think you can ignore me and get it, you are wasting your time.”

    On the other hand, the Abuja-based politicians have Fidelis Tapgun as their joker. Tapgun is seen as possessing a huge experience having served as second elected governor of the state after Solomon Lar. Evidently, both Longjan and Tapgun are from southern plateau which most plateau citizens believe is the zone to produce the next governor for the state.

  • Ogun: Before we forget!

    Ogun: Before we forget!

    The pressure on governments in our country to document,dramatise, advertise and celebrate their achievements, no matter how modest or little, stems from the tendency of our people to easily and quickly forget the difference which such achievements have brought to their lives. Often, our people shake off the effects of what used to be and live what presently obtains as if the present condition has always been the norm.

    The difference between the old times and the present situation easily pales into insignificance. The result is that governments at local, state or federal levels are tempted to spend significant time and resources to put on record what positive difference they have brought to the people. It is the era of what government information organs now call the ‘before and after’. Officials of these organs are constantly reminded, even by members of the public, of the need to ensure that they record what the old structure or situation is and place it side by side the new ones so that people can appreciate what the incumbent government has achieved.

    While seeking to satisfy this demand for ‘before and after’, some governments end up spending more money than the cost of a new project to advertise or commission it. Perhaps, this is one of the prices we need to pay as our democracy trudges on into maturity stage. However, let me also use this medium to demonstrate how easy it is for our people to forget what used to be and live today as if there was never a yesterday. At several fora, the present government in my state led by Senator Ibikunle Amosun is often commended for its achievements in rebuilding the infrastructure, democratising access to education and returning quality to the sector, making the state an investors’ destination of choice, thereby creating employment opportunities, growing the internally generated revenue and aggressively creating new opportunities in the housing and urban development sector.

    However, it usually baffles me how such commentators take for granted the efforts of the government in creating a safe, secure and conducive environment for people to live, do business and recreate. For those who know what obtained in Ogun State, particularly between 2006 and 2011, one of the remarkable achievements of the Amosun administration should be that it returned sanity to the state and ended

    the era where violence enjoyed official endorsement.

    In the pre-Amosun Ogun State, violent crimes directed at people, their property and psyche was the order of the day. Top government officials undisguisedly promoted and sponsored cult groups in higher institutions. People were openly attacked and a culture of silence was imposed on the people. The official name of the head of government was ‘the Lion’ and many of his key aides claim to be ‘tigers’, making deliberate attempt to spread fear among the people.

    During those dark days, hit men were constantly recruited among cult groups on campuses in the state tertiary institutions, security agencies, unofficial security groups and others. It was then easy to buy guns in Ogun State as it was easy to buy cans of coca-cola. Many government officials could produce different brands of guns from their vehicles and they use them to terrorise innocent people at the slightest provocation.

    Those who believe I am exaggerating should read the book by a senior official of that government and a close confidant of the then governor.

    The author detailed series of violent events staged with official support. The doubting thomases should also check out the views of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, an army General and war veteran while speaking at the state’s Christmas Carol service held in Abeokuta on December 22, 2013. The former president, while stating that ‘things are getting better in Ogun State’, narrated how he often watched with dismay from his hilltop residence, how dead bodies were daily evacuated from the premises of the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Abeokuta,  before the present administration came into office.

    Though most of these violent activities were organised for political purposes – to silence the opposition and perpetuate the reigning tendency- they have serious economic implications for the state. The proliferation of guns and the official protection for criminals upped the rate of robbery across the state. It scared many indigenes away from home. The situation was so bad then. So bad, that banks located in some sections of Ogun State, particularly the eastern and western parts, refused to open to customers. They closed their doors after suffering several robbery attacks. People were forced to come to the state capital for financial transactions. Many of such people ended up being robbed on their way back home.

    So, what exactly did the present government do to change the situation? It used a combination of strategic deployment of resources and official change of attitude. The first thing the Amosun government did was to make heavy investment in security apparatus after a comprehensive need assessment made in collaboration with security agencies in the state. This resulted in the purchase of 13 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), over 200 Hilux vans equipped with communication equipment and supply of other necessary security gadgets to the security agencies.

    The government secured the posting of more mobile policemen to the state and therefore formed a new anti-crime unit called Op-Mesa. A joint police-military patrol operations team was also created. The anti-crime operation is being specially funded by the state government. The government also launched a Security Trust Fund to create regular source of funding. The fund is headed by Col. Kayode Areh, a former Director General of the State Security Service (SSS).

    Again, the government sent a clear signal that there will be no form of patronage for cultists or thugs in the state. So, whoever runs foul of the law will face the consequence of his or her temerity. More importantly, the government deliberately re-orientated the people and created a relaxed atmosphere across the state. Apart from the governor, deputy governor, speaker and maybe two other people, no other government official has any form of security arrangement around them. Top government officials submit themselves to general security arrangement as is available to other residents and visitors to the state.

    Even the Governor drives himself around town and mingles with the ordinary folks as he daily inspects different on-going projects. Neither the Governor nor other officials is allowed to use siren. All these symbolic representations have assured the people that it is a new dawn and the government is people-friendly. Now, the opposition and other critics can freely express their opinions. It is now a contest of ideas and healthy exchange of words, no exchange of gun-shots. The state-owned media is now open to all

    political tendencies. The culture of violence and silence is dead. There is now an open, free and orderly society in Ogun Perhaps, before we forget, I should remind commentators on developments in Ogun State that it is not just about physical transformation. The sub-structure of the on-going Mission to Rebuild our state is the safe environment created by the present government.

    •Olaniyonu is Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Ogun

    State.  

  • 2015: Can PDP break Zamfara jinx?

    2015: Can PDP break Zamfara jinx?

    The battle for the political soul of Zamfara State is getting fiercier. Assistant Editor Remi Adelowo reports that the opposition Peoples Decmorcatic Party (PDP) is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to displace the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)

    Having been kept out of the control of the Government House in Gusau for 14 uninterrupted years, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it is poised to change the tide come 2015.

    But can the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) break the jinx of its consistent electoral drubbing since the advent of democratic rule in 1999?

    This is the big question on the lips of ordinary people and influential stakeholders in Zamfara State at the moment.

    Out of the seven states in the North West geo-political zone, Zamfara has been the only state in the zone that the PDP has not succeeded in winning its governorship election since 1999.

    But for the defection of two of its governors-Aliyu Wammako of Sokoto and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano to the All Progressives Congress (APC) sometime last year, the PDP has remained the dominant party in the zone at least from 2007 till date. Currently, the party calls the shots in Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina and Kebbi.

    With the exception of Jigawa, Kebbi and Sokoto, which was ruled by the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (now APC) for eight years from 1999 to 2007, the PDP has held sway in Kaduna and Katsina since 1999.

    As the 2015 general election draws nearer coupled with INEC’s announcement of election timetable, the political atmosphere of Zamfara politics has heightened, particularly with reference to the race to Gusau Government House.

    Presently, three political parties and their aspirants are in hot contention for the governorship position.

    The parties are the All Progressives Congress (APC), the People Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    Since the 1999 general elections during which the candidate of the defunct All Peoples Party, Ahmed Sani Yerima defeated his PDP counterpart, Ambassador Mohammed Anka, the PDP has remained the whipping boy in the state’s governorship contests.

    Notwithstanding the setback, the PDP returned to the drawing board determined to get its pound of flesh in the 2003 general elections.

    But it suffered the same fate, with the APP renamed as All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) emerging victorious again.

    In the election, the PDP candidate, Col. Bala Mande (rtd), who is a former Military Governor of Nasarawa State, lost to ANPP’s Ahmed Sani Yerima.

    The 2007 election was not any different. Effectively taking advantage of his cult-like status in the State, Yerima successfully ensured that his then deputy, Mahmud Ali Shinkafi, defeated the PDP governorship candidate, Malam Yahaya Abdulkarim, who is a former governor of the old Sokoto State.

    However, not long after he was sworn-in as governor, Shinkafi parted ways with his former boss and subsequently defected to the PDP in 2008.

    Again, history repeated itself in the 2011 general elections as the Zamfara electorate defied the power of incumbency of Shinkafi and elected the ANPP candidate and current Governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, a close political associate of Yerima.

    Prior to his election as governor, Yari was a member of the House of Representatives. He, alongside Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State, were the two members of the Lower House who became governors in 2007.

    With the 2015 elections fast approaching, the major gladiators in Zamfara PDP are already scheming to test their strengths and popularity with the electorates again.

    The Nation gathered that five governorship aspirants have emerged in the PDP.

    They include former Governor Shinkafi, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, a member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Sagir Hamidu, a retired Director of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in Abuja, Alhaji Bashir Adamu, popularly known as Bashir IMAD and Engr. Ibrahim Shehu, a member of the House of Representatives recently defected from the APC to the PDP.

    Except for the ex-National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Alhaji Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, who has reportedly declared interest in the contest, no other person from the smaller political parties has indicated interest.

    The APGA former scribe, who contested the same position in the 2011 elections on the platform of the party, has since flooded Gusau, the capital city of the state with his posters announcing that he was keen on realising his governorship ambition.

    Shinkafi, who lost the exalted seat to his son in-law and incumbent governor, Abdul’aziz Yari in the 2011 polls, hails from Zamfara North Senatorial District.

    Within the PDP, sources claim Yerima appears the aspirant to beat for the party’s governorship ticket. Part of his strength, it was gathered, is his political structure, which has remained intact in the past three years.

    Also in strong contention is Matawalle, who hails from Zamfara West Senatorial Zone. The third term member of the National Assembly represents Bakura/Maradun Federal Constituency and is currently the Chairman, House Committee on Security and Intelligence.

    Matawalle started politics by vying for the chairmanship of a local government. He also served for four years as Commissioner during the administration of Ahmed Sani Yerima.

    Matawale joined the PDP following his loss of the defunct ANPP’s governorship ticket to the incumbent governor in 2011.

    Factors for and against Matawalle

    One of the factors reportedly counting in his favour is his generosity in financing activities of his party. But his major drawback is his lack of a formidable political structure to enable him put up a strong fight for his party’s ticket.

    Other strong aspirants

    A philanthropist from Gusau Central Senatorial Zone, Alhaji Bashir Adamu, is also being mentioned in political circles as an aspirant to watch.

    A big player in the oil and gas, transportation and real estate sectors, Adamu allegedly enjoys the support of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.

    Another aspirant from PDP is Eng. Ibrahim Shehu also from Gusau Central Senatorial District. A member of the House of Representatives and Chairman, House Committee on Information Computer Technology (ICT), Shehu was in APC before some irreconcilable differences he had with his former boss, Yerima, led to his defection to the PDP.

    Like Bashir Adamu, the major factor working in Shehu’s favour is the fact that the senatorial zone where he comes from, Gusau Central, has never produced the state governor since 1999.

    A new breed politician, Alhaji Sagir Hamidu, who sources say is highly connected to PDP hierarchy, has been busy setting up structures across the Sstate to enable him actualise his governorship aspiration.

    PDP’s new strategy

    An indication of the renewed determination of the PDP to win next year’s governorship election in Zamfara is the desire of the five PDP aspirants to work together following a recent meeting of their five campaign coordinators to harmonise their activities.

    There are also reports of several other meetings convened in Kaduna and Abuja where the five PDP gubernatorial aspirants were alleged to come up with strategies on how to unseat Governor Abdul’aziz Yari in 2015.

    A source said the PDP governorship aspirants have resolved to sink their differences and ambition to ensure that they are united behind whoever emerges the candidate of the party in 2015.

    Despite all the schemings from PDP aspirants eyeing his seat, Governor Yari, according to sources, is confident of winning a second term next year.

    Banking on his achievements so far, Yari’s confidence of retaining his exalted seat also stems from the fact that he still enjoys the confidence of his political mentor, Ahmed Sani Yerima, whose political influence in the State seems to be waxing stronger every passing day.

  • 2015: PDP chieftains set to battle presidency, Muazu over imposition

    2015: PDP chieftains set to battle presidency, Muazu over imposition

    Chieftains of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  across the country are preparing to resist all forms of imposition of candidates ahead of the 2015 general elections, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan

    There are indications that a fresh wave of crisis is brewing within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the forthcoming 2015 general elections. Sources within the party told The Nation that following allegations that the presidency handpicked current gubernatorial candidates of the party in Osun and Ekiti States, chieftains of the party in many other states are now poised to resist what they described as undue interference in the politics of the states by President Goodluck Jonathan and the national leadership of the party.

    Reliable sources further added that across the states of the federation, party leaders and chieftains are plotting modalities to ensure that members of the party in their various states are allowed to decide the fate of governorship aspirants through free and fair primary elections.

    “There is serious anxiety in the PDP across the states following disturbing examples from Anambra, Ekiti and now Osun in the way gubernatorial candidates were imposed on the states by the powers that be in Abuja. As leaders and chieftains of the party in the states, we are the ones closer to the people; we are the ones they always see and ask questions. If we allow such brazen imposition to continue, we will soon lose the confidence and followership of the people.

    This explains why we are meeting and discussing on how to help the party remain strong. By this, I mean if the party is to win elections, imposition must stop. And for this to stop, we must speak out. This is not an issue in my state here alone, but across the country. The national leadership must be told in clear terms that the peoples’ choice must be respected. Those who are banking on Abuja to get the tickets of the party in 2015 must be disappointed,” a chieftain of the party in Lagos State said.

    Allegations of imposition marred the emergence of former Governor Ayo Fayose and Senator Iyiola Omisore as governorship candidates of the ruling party in Ekiti and Osun States respectively. The development led to crises within the two state chapters that saw some prominent chieftains of the party, including former Governors Segun Oni and Isiaka Adeleke dumping the party for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Back then in Ekiti, following the resolve of 13 aggrieved governorship aspirants of the PDP to reject the alleged imposition of Fayose, one of them, Senator Gbenga Aluko, was chosen as the consensus candidate of the party. Aluko’s emergence came seven days after the party chose Fayose as the governorship candidate.

    One of the aspirants, Mr. Peter Obafemi, said Aluko emerged the winner of the election done among the 12 aspirants. He said all the 11 aspirants congratulated him and assured him of their support for the June 21 governorship election in the state. Obafemi said he had hoped to win but was happy because another credible and experienced aspirant won the election and said he was sure Aluko would win the governorship election for the PDP.

    Aluko later affirmed that the Chairman of the PDP in Ekiti State, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, supervised the election which produced him (Aluko) as the consensus candidate of the the party. He said, “Everybody was asked to vote for themselves and one other aspirant. I thank God and my colleagues that I emerged the candidate. We are going to meet the President and the group would present our the consensus candidate to him.”

    But in spite of the pieces of evidence that leading chieftains of the party like Abiodun Aluko, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (retd), Mr. Deji Ajayi, Peter Obafemi among other aggrieved aspirants participated in the voting that produced Aluko, the national leadership of the party insisted on Fayose as the flag bearer.

    In Osun, where leading chieftains of the party faulted the process that produced Omisore, the national leadership of the PDP ignored all complaints and crowned Omisore’s alleged rigging of the primaries with a nomination certificate few days after the controversial election.

    Adeleke, who contested the nomination with Omisore, had said of the outcome of the election, “I started this journey when the leaders of our party realised that PDP might produce a candidate, who may eventually lose the governorship election. All the aspirants have forwarded petitions and complaints to the national headquarters of the PDP and the election petition panel and they have confirmed receipt of our grievances and promised to look into it.

    Our position is that the process that produced Omisore is highly flawed. Our petitions have been acknowledged by the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, the Presidency and security agencies and we have the hope that action would be taken over the matter.”

    But like it happened in Ekiti, nothing came out of the struggle to upturn the emergence of Omisore. Consequently, Adeleke and numerous other chieftain of the party left the party.

    Today, in states like Oyo, Lagos, Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Bauchi, and Kwara States, there are insinuations that the presidency may have anointed some aspirants as governorship candidates. This is already creating ripples in the affected states. Determined to ensure that the alleged imposition of candidates witnessed in Osun and Ekiti is not repeated, chieftains of the party in the states are ganging up to reject the anointed candidates.

    A highly-placed source with deep insight into the crisis in Kwara State said: “We have a crisis at hand, pitching us as chieftains of the party in our various states against some forces in Abuja over alleged plans to impose candidates on us in 2015. It is a very serious issue which will soon become a major one, if the presidency and the national leadership of the party is not proactive.

    “Here in Kwara, the people want to be able to choose their leaders after many years of imposition. The party is being restructured to ensure that but with the fear that candidates may be imposed for certain reasons, the trust and confidence which we have been able to build since we started this new journey may be eroded soon.”

    PDP elders and stakeholders in Akwa Ibom State recently said they would not accept imposition of candidates for 2015 governorship election in the state. At a town hall meeting  in Uyo, the state capital, the elders and stakeholders asked the national leadership of the party  to caution those planning to impose candidates on the people of the state as such would be fiercely resisted.

    According to the visibly agitated party elders, governorship election in the state had always been an open contest and not for the select few. The senator representing Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, Sen. Aloysius Etok, asked  the PDP national leadership not to deny  the people the power to choose their leaders. Etok noted that the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mua’zu, on assumption of office promised that primaries across the state would be free and fair.

    He said,  “I have come today to say that this town hall meeting of elders and stakeholders is a necessity and is timely. I have come today to say that the cries of Akwa Ibom people are heard. I have come today to say that Abuja will not deny Akwa Ibom people what is rightfully theirs.

    “I have come today to tell you that your will is stronger than AK47. I have come today to tell you that even if this assembly is scattered now, your will would  not be scattered. I have come to tell you that heaven and earth will pass away but the word of God will not pass away: that power belongs to God.”

    After the meeting, the PDP leaders sent a letter of their resolutions to the national leadership of the party and the presidency as a way of showing their determination to resist imposition in whatever form ahead of the 2015 general election.

    Adding his voice to the move against imposition, Oyo State PDP chieftain, Alhaji Adebisi Olopoenia, said the presidency or the national body cannot nominate the party’s candidate in the state for next year’s governorship election. He was reacting to reports that some aspirants had been lobbying party stakeholders in Abuja for the ticket. Olopoenia, who  spoke during the week in Ibadan, the state capital, said the era of imposition is over in the party.

    He said it was the responsibility of Oyo PDP leaders to nominate a credible candidate for the election, adding: “Nobody in Abuja can pick a consensus candidate for us without our consent. None of the over 10 aspirants is anointed either by the presidency or the national body. Anyone trying to lobby or influence his candidacy is just wasting his time and money.” Olopoenia said he was confident that a credible candidate would emerge at the party’s primary election.

    The politician urged aspirants in the state to be prepared to seek the ticket from the members of the party and not from any powers that be in Abuja or anywhere else.

    Also recently, the Rivers State chapter of the PDP warned the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, of the implication of imposing the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, on the party as the candidate for the 2015 governorship election. A member of the Elders Forum and party stalwart, Anabs Sara-Igbe, who gave the warning, also cautioned the party’s national leadership that PDP would lose scandalously to the All Progressives Congress (APC) if it fields Wike in next year’s governorship poll.

    “I don’t want to join issues with my sister because I know that she will go where the Rivers people are going. Don’t forget that the First Lady also endorsed Timipre Silva and many others including the Minister of FCT, Bala Mohammed .

    “She is just a First Lady while we are the foot soldiers, who go to the trenches and warfronts. Whatever she says is just an individual opinion not the opinion of Rivers people or Nigerians. If you allow her, she would want her husband to go for third term. It is her right to say whatever she likes but it is a wishful thinking because she cannot impose Wike on Rivers people.

    Ikweres’ have had their share for eight years. We clustered Rivers into nine zones because we have 25 ethnic groups. We believe that governorship slot should go round in the state. If you know the peculiar nature of Rivers State, those who produce the oil are not benefitting because their sons are not neither governors nor anything near power. We are not even benefitting from the 30 percent derivation. We don’t see any major infrastructure and this is a community Bayelsa and Rivers are fighting to control and none of these governors have visited the area,” Sara-Igbe said.

    I want to warn that if the PDP imposes Wike as the candidate, the party will run the risk of losing the governorship seat to APC. It is annoying that a group of persons who have not ruled for so many years were given opportunity and they want to take it all,” he noted.

    In Bauchi, Governor Isa Yuguda is allegedly battling suspected plans by the presidency and the National Chairman of the party, Adamu Muazu, to impose the Minister of FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed, as governor. The governor has the support of the leadership of the party in the state in his struggle to stop the imposition of the Minister.

    “We may witness a repeat of what happened in Bauchi State in 2007 if Mohammed is eventually made the candidate without Yuguda’s support. The opposition will gain from it just like it happened back then. PDP will lose because the leaders of the party here are opposed to all forms of external interference. We want to be able to choose who governs our state at all times,” Bala Abu Fari, a chieftain of the party said.

    “Like every other outgoing Governor, Yuguda wants to to have a say in who becomes his successor but Muazu may not allow this as he sees the 2015 election as an opportunity to take control of affairs of both the party and the state once again. Their renewed rivalry is not healthy for the party. However, the people are behind the Governor because of the issues of imposition,” he added.

    In spite of the widespread allegations of plots to impose candidates on the state chapters of the party in 2015, President Goodluck Jonathan continue to assure members of the PDP that the leadership of the party will not impose candidates ahead of the 2015 general election. He said members would be free to aspire to any position and test their popularities.

    According to President Jonathan, who recently addressed the issue of imposition of candidates, the era of godfatherism and brazen imposition of candidates was over in the ruling party. He also added that there was no room for dictatorship in the party any longer.

    “PDP is not for a dictator because it encompasses all Nigerians irrespective of his or her status and also has members in every voting unit across the country. PDP is not for an individual, it is not for a dictator, there is no more godfatherism and no more imposition in the party.

    “We will ensure this is in place in order to allow the people to enjoy the dividends of democracy. It is the people that matter in politics and not an individual because when you get into politics, you have to think of people who voted for you and not be thinking about yourself. If you are to get involved in politics, it is your people that matter, not yourself.

    “To get involved in politics, you have to think about your people and not yourself. People who think about the people follow the people’s party and PDP is the only people’s party. PDP is the party that even if you go outside Nigeria, you ask which the political parties you have in Nigeria are, you will say PDP and others because it is only in PDP that every polling unit, not just wards, that you have PDP members. We don’t have dictators in PDP. No more imposition, no more godfatherism,” the President said recently in Kwara State.

    As the battle rages” within the ruling party, it is left to be seen if Mr. President will save the day by matching his rhetorics with action when the time to choose flag bearers of the party for the 2015 general elections across the country come. Then and only then would it be easy to say whether this is indeed a new era for the PDP.

  • Alamieyeseigha’s senatorial bid suffers setbacks

    Alamieyeseigha’s senatorial bid suffers setbacks

    Following reports of mounting opposition to his 2015 Senatorial ambition, efforts by former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, to revive his political career appear doomed, reports Sunday Oguntola

    Former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, is desperate to revive his political career by vying for a senatorial seat in 2015. But his popularity and current political permutations have pitched him against certain presidential forces.

    His supporters could not wait. Even his promoters and godfathers were anxious. Just five days after his curious state pardon on March 12, 2013, campaign posters of former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, flooded the streets of Yenagoa, the capital. The retired Air Force officer, it emerged, will vie for the senatorial ticket of the Bayelsa Central District come 2015.

    A little over a year later, the speculation remains rife. Political observers believe the Amassoma-born politician will soon declare for the seat. They are of the opinion that the posters pasted way back in 2013 were to sound voters out and test the waters. To make matters worse, Alamieyeseigha has refused to comment on his ambition. He has neither denied nor confirmed the speculation.

    In a curious but weighty political calculation, the former governor had decided to keep mum. This, in itself, political analysts say, tells a lot about his moves. He has chosen to enjoy the permutations, allowing him ample opportunities to gauge public opinion and sentiments.

    Fiercely loved by his kinsmen, Alamieyeseigha, in the prime of his political career, was fondly referred to as the leader of the Ijaw nation. He was seen as the face of the region, a dogged fighter that could deliver federal attention to the Niger Delta. His impeachment by former President Olusegun Obasanjo-powered federal forces put paid to this dream.

    When he was convicted on corruption charges and sentenced, he appeared to have been confined to permanent political solitude. But the ebullient politician showed the fighter in him. In a clever manouvre reminiscent of the resurrection feat, Alamieyeseigha returned with a state pardon. Though widely criticised by Nigerians and the international community, the presidential pardon was packaged in a way that it couldn’t be jettisoned.

    Presidential aides said the pardon was not the first. Nothing was special about it, they argued. According to them, Alamieyeseigha was not the first politician to benefit from such largesse. The late Premier of the defunct Western region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was pardoned by the Gen. Yakubu Gowon regime. The administration of Shehu Shagari pardoned Gowon and Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, who returned and immediately joined politics.

    In 1999, the Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar regime pardoned Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who was convicted and given a long prison sentence by the Sani Abacha junta for treason. Obasanjo emerged from prison to contest and win the 1999 presidential election, they pointed out. Even Obasanjo himself pardoned former Speaker Salihu Buhari. For political historians, the facts are incontestable, the circumstances strikingly similar.

    Presidential pact

    Though the former governor has not openly declared his intention to contest the senatorial race, sources close to him said the ambition is alive. One of his aides, who spoke with our correspondent, said: “If you consider the political climate and his body language, you just know it is the perfect time for him to show up. He has packaged everything to come well this far and things are falling in line for this ambition for now.”

    The aide pointed to an alleged pact between President Goodluck Jonathan and the senatorial hopeful to help his former benefactor regain relevance. According to the aide, President Jonathan has a commitment to ensure Alamieyeseigha is politically resurrected and rebranded for the next level. This, he confided, is why the state pardon was surreptitiously kept in the wraps until the last minute of the pronouncement.

    The pardon over, he said, the next step is to mobilise resources to support the senatorial ambition. This, it was gathered, is why the ex-governor is participating at the National Conference in Abuja as an elder from Bayelsa. Investigations revealed that the current occupant, Senator Emmanuel Izibefien, has been told to concede the seat to the former governor. It could not, however, be confirmed if the senator has agreed to such demand. The Alamieyeseigha’s camp believes their principal is more than eminently qualified for the seat, owing to his contributions to the Niger Delta as governor from 1999-2005.

    A deal gone awry?

    But checks revealed that the last few months have witnessed huge setbacks to the deal to return Alamieyeseigha to political relevance. Investigations revealed that political equations in the state has changed, placing the former Governor’s ambition on the hangers. The president’s camp, it was learnt, has reviewed his supports for key politicians in the state. The review, our correspondent learnt, was to ensure that office holders in the state do not become too independent of the president after he is re-elected.

    This, sources said, was why the President withdrew his backing for Governor Seriake Dickson in favour of his Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Waripamowei Dudafa. His NGO, the New Dawn Initiative Development (NDID) has been gaining grounds in the state, enjoying wave-of-the-moment attention.

    Like Dickson, Alamieyeseigha is caught in the web of intense power play in the state. Should they be elected in 2006 and 2015 respectively, it is believed the governor and the ex-governor will be too powerful for the president to control. Without being in control of governance in his home state, presidential strategies are afraid Jonathan may become too exposed, much like what happened to former President Obasanjo in his first term.

    Inside the plot to stop Alams

    It was gathered that presidential hawks have been instructed to work on the project to stop Alamieyeseigha come 2015 at all costs. The arrowhead, sources said, is the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan. For Dickson, her objection is that he would become the first governor to earn a second term in the history of the state, a feat her husband could not achieve. Jonathan was chosen as Vice President to the late President Musa Yar’Adua in 2007, making him unable to seek a second term in office. For Alamieyeseigha, the First Lady believes his return to political relevance might rob President Jonathan of his status as the undisputed Niger Delta leader.

    Dame Patience, sources in the know, said is wary of the larger-than-life stature of the former governor as well as his grassroots support. Alamieyeseigha enjoys a cult-like leadership in Bayelsa despite his conviction. Ex-militants particularly consider him a father figure based on his agitations during the years of resource control struggle. They believe his return to political power automatically translates to greater enjoyment for them.

    His previous performances in office would make it easier for him to revive his political structures across the state, a development that might make him begin to flex muscles with President Jonathan and even Governor Dickson. This line of thought, sources said, was sold to the presidency by the governor’s camp to checkmate the reawakening influence of Alamieyeseigha. But the same line of thought is working against the governor’s interest too in Abuja.

    A source said: “The First Lady suspects that Alamieyeseigha is already popular and grounded. Should he stage a comeback, he might become the biggest Niger Delta politician despite the presidential powers Jonathan enjoys. That is why she believes Alam should be kept in the cooler for now until the President has consolidated his grip on power in the region and across the nation.

    “That is why Alam’s might be sacrificed and his ambition suspended for now. But should he be stubborn and decide to go on with the race, then there are plans on grounds to ensure he does not win. That will jostle him and bring him back to earth. That way, he will know who is really in charge.”

    Neutralising Abuja forces

    The development, it was gathered, has put the former governor under serious pressure. Sources close to him said this is why he has not declared for the race. For him, going with the race without presidential clearance will pitch him against his benefactor and former godson, Jonathan. He is said to be desperate not to appear overtly ambitious or ungrateful to the Jonathan, who offered him a lifeline again through the presidential pardon.

    “Honestly, he is at a crossroads for now. He wants to revive his political career but is careful not to offend the President, who pardoned him and bought him back from the dead,” an aide close to him hinted last week. He is said to be afraid that not joining the race early might work against him despite his popularity. But he does not want to give the presidency any doubt as to his loyalty or swim against the tide. This was a vital lesson he learnt the last time he confronted federal fireworks in the Obasanjo’s years.

    His camp has told him to keep lying low for now, it was learnt. This, it is gathered, is to enable them neutralise all the Abuja forces and gang-ups against him. Plans are afoot to send emissaries to the First Lady, whose opposition to the senatorial bid has become pronounced and public knowledge. Alamieyeseigha, sources said, is reaching out to traditional rulers to help convince Dame Patience of his “eternal gratitude and loyalty to the First Family regardless of political calculations”.

    With the coasts uncleared, Alamieyeseigha’s bid to return to political relevance and the senate in 2015 remains in limbo. Only a dramatic turn in events, like the presidential pardon, could bring him back to reckoning.

  • Ondo: Disquiet as lawmakers, party chieftains allege victimisation

    Intrigues continue to trail the emergence of new leadership at the Ondo State House of Assembly. Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan reports that Governor Olusegun Mimiko and some aggrieved lawmaker are now on war path

    Crisis is looming within the ruling party in Ondo State over alleged plot by the government and leadership of the Labour Party (LP) to deal with lawmakers and other chieftains of the party suspected to be critical of the administration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

    Although there has been indications that all is not well between the Governor and some chieftains of the party for a while now, the latest pointer to the fact that the party may be set to witness a serious internal crisis is the  dissolution of the House Committees by the new Speaker of the State House of Assembly,Princess Jumoke Akindele shortly after her election last week Tuesday.

    Sources within the party say the action has been interpreted as a move by the Governor and his cohorts to pay some lawmakers who refused to toe the same line with the governor over party and government decisions, back in their own coins.

    Already, the ‘G92  lawmakers who voted for Mr Oyebo Aladetan against the new Speaker, Princess Jumoke Akindele, who is widely believed to be Governor Mimiko’s candidate for the position, have gone to town with allegations that they are being targeted for victimisation.

    “The situation in the party now is that some people are saying the dissolution of House committees is the first step in a plot that will see lawmakers who opposed the Governor’s choice being removed from choice positions. It is the first step before the more serious punishment of denying many of them return tickets to the House in 2015. This is why they are alleging that they are being targeted .

    Many of them who before now are in juicy committees like Cash Allocation,Finance & Appropriation,Tender,Works,and Human Capital Committees may be removed to pave way for the “loyal” members as ordered from above,” our source claimed.

    The loyal members are those who supported Mimiko’s decisions. They include those who voted for Akindele and those who were present at the controversial budget presentation earlier in the year. Those to be dealt with, according to sources are those who supported Aladetan’s decision to contest the Speakership in spite of instructions by the Governor and the party leadership that he shouldn’t.

    Also said to be on the list of “offenders” are the unrepentant ones among lawmakers who boycotted the budget presentation. While a good number of those who were absent at the presentation have apologised to the governor, a few are still insisting that the presentation was illegally done.

    “These are lawmakers whose hope of returning to the Assembly on the platform of the ruling party are already sealed. Of course, they will be denied return tickets. Of course, they will not get good positions whenever the House committees are reconstituted.

    They know all these too and they are ready for the looming showdown. Knowing many of them for what they are, it is unlikely that they will go down without a fight. Also, many of them are being punished because of disagreements between the Ggovernor and their perceived godfathers or leaders. such godfathers and leaders too are expected to rise in defense of their wards.

    The situation is such that a serious internal crisis may rock the ruling party soon. Unless some sort of miracle happens soon, these gladiators may throw the party up in flames,” a source, who is an official of the party in Ilaje Ese-Odo L.G.A, said.

    The Nation also learnt that G9 lawmakers in the House have rejected efforts by some concerned stakeholders in the party to call for reconciliation after the election of the new speaker. One of the G9 members said “We are awaiting the announcement of the new House committee members. It is then we will know whether there will be reconciliation among lawmakers in the parliament or not.

    “We are heavyweights in our own rights. we are no push- over at all. The new leadership must realise that first for any peace move to be meaningful and effective here. They may have the backing of whoever and whatever, but the business of lawmaking cannot be influenced that easily. We will all be here to see to that.”

    The Nation also leant that the process leading to the emergence of Akindele has also pitched the Governor against some prominent leaders of the party who had opposed her choice. “These leaders directed their representatives in the House to vote against her choice. They also backed the decision of Aladetan to contest the position.

    Now, these leaders and the governor are not on the same wave length within the party. It is expected that the development may have created unnecessary rivalry between them. Now, every action of the Governor is being interpreted as targeted against these leaders,” a source said.

    Akindele’s election followed the death of the former speaker, the late Samuel Ajayi Adesina, who died in February after a protracted illness. Following his death, in spite of an agreement that the post should be retained in the southern senatorial district of the state since the governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, is from the central senatorial district, and his deputy, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, is from the northern senatorial district of the state, various camps emerged to canvas for different candidates for the job.

    Of all the eight LP members from the southern district, only Oyebo Aladetan from Ilaje State Constituency I and Victor Akinwe from Odigbo State Constituency I are second term legislators. Consequently, many had thought the contest would be between the duo as ranking lawmakers. But Mimiko and the party leadership allegedly backed Akindele for the job in spite of her status as a first term legislator.

    And while Akinwe chose to abide by the decision of the Governor, Aladetan, backed by the G9 lawmakers and some prominent party chieftains, decided to go all the way and contest the election against Akindele. Although this was on many occasions denied by the spokespersons of the governor and the government, it soon became public knowledge that the Mimiko administration would rather have Akindele as against Aladetan as speaker.

    The new speaker’s unalloyed loyalty to the Governor and the party is believed to have worked strongly in her favor to clinch the job. Also, some analysts say the decision of the governor to ensure that no critic of the government emerge as the speaker worked against Aladetan, who is seen as too independent -minded.

    Also while Akindele is a foundation member of the LP, Aladetan, who is a prince of Ugbo kingdom, the oil -producing community of the state, joined the LP from the PDP. He was first elected into the house on the platform of the PDP in 2007 but defected to the LP towards the end of his first term on the seat and was able to secure the ticket of the LP to run for another term.

    Of note is also Aladetan’s role in the crisis of the presentation of the 2014 appropriation bill by Mimiko before the house. He was one of those that stayed away on December 31, 2013 when the bill was presented. It is believed Governor Mimiko and the party are yet to forgive the offending lawmakers for that singular act.

    A source told The Nation on Akindele’s emergence that “She is a loyal party member. As a foundation member of the party, she has always supported the government and the party. She is somebody that is so passionate about whatever she believes in and she is not one to unnecessarily rock the boat. She is reliable and dependable. There is no doubt that her emergence will bring stability the house.”

    This is not the first time the unity of the ruling party would be threatened by rift between the governor and the lawmakers. In November 2012, tension rose between the leadership of Ondo State House of Assembly and the executive over the sack of nine local government caretaker chairmen in the state. The council chairmen were removed from office for their refusal to submit staff audit in their councils, and other related offences.

    But Mimiko, apparently unhappy with the state legislators’ decision, condemned the action of the State Assembly for sacking the former council bosses. At a meeting summoned by an aide of the governor, the new caretaker chairmen were allegedly ordered not to resume office until Mimiko returns from his overseas trip.

    Aladetan, who was at the time, the Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Information, , said the House took the decision in accordance with the nation’s constitution. He said the decision to sanction the council bosses was taken to put them on their toes and make them accountable to the people. However, one of the sacked Chairmen, Femi Ofakurin, said the decision of the House was not taken in good fate.

    The crisis was eventually resolved following interventions by party chieftains and elder statesmen, including the national leadership of the party.

    But by December 2013, 17 out of the 26 lawmakers elected into the Ondo State House of Assembly, shunned Mimiko’s 2014 budget presentation, sending signal of another breakdown in the relationship between the governor and the lawmakers. Only nine lawmakers were present at the Assembly. It was gathered that majority of the lawmakers who shunned the presentation did so out of grudge, particularly over what they described as poor implementation of the 2013 budget.

    The minority leader, Akpoebi Lubi, did not hide his feelings over the crisis. He rated the 2013 budget implementation in the state as 30 percent. He added that the House rejected the governor’s request for a review of the 2013 budget in December. Lubi said, “The budget presentation ceremony was illegal,” submitting that the governor needed a two-third majority of the members of the House to present the budget.

    The state Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, while reacting to the charge back then, said the budget represented the hope for the development of Ondo State and its people. He argued that the people could not be kept waiting and their yearnings threatened by any form of politics. According to him, there was no need to overheat the polity, because the governor was in a hurry to deliver projects that would transform the lives of the people.

    Akinmade explained that the seeming conflict would certainly be resolved, but the state would need stability for robust politics. Somehow, the issue was resolved and the party appeared to have returned to its peaceful ways until the recent standoff reared its head, threatening to tear the ruling party apart.

  • Abia 2015: Controversy over zoning

    Abia 2015: Controversy over zoning

    The succession battle is raging in Abia State. The bone of contention is zoning. Which senatorial district should produce the next governor? EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the claims and counter-claims of the three zones competing for power.

    Next year, Abia State Governor Theodore Orji will vacate the State House, after completing two terms. Ahead of the 2015 polls, the governor has said that power should shift to the Ukwa/Ngwa Zone in the spirit of fairness and justice.

    As the contest gathers momentum, one salient issue that will shape the exercise is zoning. Now, the bone of contention is the controversial ‘Abia Charter of Equity.’

    Many observers believe that the zoning pact was exhumed to give an undue advantage to the Ukwa/Ngwa at the expense of credible contestants from other zones.

    Orji, who has endorsed the zoning, emphasised that it will give the zones a sense of belonging and reduce the fear of domination and margina-lisation. But, a partisan group, the Abia Consultative Forum, disagreed. Its Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Rita Okpalaugo, said that zoning is tantamount to the exclusion of qualified people from the contest without justification. “ it is analogous to a situation where a few oligarchs seize the structures of power and cause much alienation and discontent among the people. Since the creation of Abia State in 1991 and the return to civil rule in 1999, participatory democracy has been the norm, she added.”

    Abia is a heterogeneous state. The diverse ethnic nationalities are lumped together in three senatorial districts, despite their cultural and linguistic differences. Thus, competition for amenities and political appointments is stiff in the Southeast state. For example, the people of Isuikwuato and Umunneochi councils, which make up the  Isuikwuato District, have rejected the agitation for power shift to Ukwa/Ngwa, saying that it is their turn to produce the governor. In a statement by its leaders, the district pointed out that the agitation has the backing of the law, adding that the ethnic group has been marginalised in the Abia North Senatorial District.

    Last week, the leaders of Isuikwuato requested an indigene, Gen. Chibuzor Ihejirika to declare interest in the governorship.

    To avoid acrimony and disunity, Abia Consultative Forum maintained that the race should be thrown open to the three districts. “This will prevent the manipulation of ethnic politics and foster equity”, said Okpalaguo, who added: “The best candidate will emerge in a free and fair contest.”

    Eminent indigenes agree that, historically, this has always been so. Since the state was created on on August 17, 1991, the people have always elected their governors in an all-inclusive race without complaints by any zone.

    In 1991,  Dr Ogbonnaya Onu from Ohaozara, Afikpo Zone, won the governorship on the platform of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC). His rivals were Mr Gershon Amuta from Isiala Ngwa South(Ukwa/Ngwa Zone), Dr Chris Ukpabi from Arochukwu (old Bende Zone),a nd Chief Lambert Nmecha from Ukwa East (UKWA Ngwa). Also, Chief Samuel Eke  from old Bende, Chief Empire Kanu  (Umuahia, Abia Central), Augustine Alaribe, and Isiala Ngwa contested on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) without let or hindrance.  In that aborted Third Republic, zoning was a non-issue.

    Onu ceased to be the governor on November 17, 1993, following the military coup by the late General Sani Abacha, which threw out democratic structures,and sacked the Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government (ING).

    Following the carving out of the old Afikpo Zone from Abia State to Ebonyi State, in build up to the 1999 contest, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu from Bende North (Peoples Democratic Party), Chief Chris Ukpabi from Arochukwu also of the PDP, Chief Iboko Imo Iboko (Bende North) Mr Dan Nwakwo, also aspirant  candidate, from Obingwa  South, Mr Ike Orika from Umunneochi and Sonny Iroche all threw their hats into the ring for the primaries. Kalu became the flag bearer.

    In the defunct All Peoples Party (APP) the three zones put up their best forward for the primaries.   The aspirants included  Chief Vincent Ogbulafor from  Umuahia South, Chief Chukwunwachuku from Isiala Ngwa, South District, Max Nduaguibe (Isiala Ngwa, South District), and Senator Onyeka Okoroafor (Ohafia).  Ogbulafor,  who won the primaries, competed for the number one seat with Kalu, who was  declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In 2003, gladiators from the three zones showed interest in the governorship primaries in the ruling PDP. They included Kalu (Abia North), Austin Akobundu (Ikwuano), Enyinnaya Abaribe (Obingwa) Henry Ikoh (Ikwuano) Dan Nwakwo (Obingwa) and Onwuka Kalu (Ohafia). After the Primaries, came the main election. Similarly, candidates from the three zones participated in the election on April 19. They were Kalu (PDP), Enyi Abaribe(ANPP), Onwuka Kalu (APGA), and Henry Ikoh (UNPP). Kalu of the PDP was  re-elected.

    In 2007, no zone was exluded from the primaries and general elections.  The aspirants were Onyema Ugochukwu from Umuahia North, Theodore Orji Uzor, Ikechi Emenike, and Uzodinma Okpara.  From Ngwaland came Isiguzoro (Obingwa South) and Ihenacho Okezie Orji (Obingwa South).   Okey Nwadiuko, Capt Ogbonna. Emeka Atuma (Ikwuano) Henry Ikoh (Ikwuano) and Chinonye Macebuh (Ukwa) came from Isiukwuato.

    After the primaries, Orji (PPA),   Onyema Ugochukwu (PDP), Ikechi Emenike (ANPP), and Uzodimma Okpara (APGA) locked horns at the poll. Orji, who won the election, was not endorsed by any zone.

    In 2011, it was a big fight among  Chris Akomas (Obingwa), Paul Ikonne (Aba North), Regan Ufomba (Isiala Ngwa North), Bob Ogu (Isiala Ngwa), and Orji (Umuahia North). Orji was re-elected.

    Dismissing zoning as a factor, Okpalaugo maintained that Orji was not a beneficiary of zoning.

    She added: “The zoning of elective position is a recipe for mediocrity in a state that is brimming with star professionals, politicians and egg heads. We do no desire a situation where power is delivered  to surrogates under the guise of zoning”