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Category: Politics

Ogun APC: Fence mending after congress upheavals

Correspondent ERNEST NWOKOLO writes on efforts by the Ogun State All Progressives Congress (APC) to resolve the acrimony generated by its recent congress.

Ogun State All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders are making frantic efforts to resolve the crisis trailing its congress.

Two chieftains-Alhaji Roqeeb Adeniji from Ogun West Senatorial District and Olu Agemo, also from Ogun West- are parading themselves as chairmen. The implication is that there are two parallel executive committees fighting for the leadership of the chapter, reminiscent of 2011, when two factional chairmen emerged in the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

On April 26, National Assembly members, including Senators Gbenga Kaka(Ogun East), Akin Odunsi(Ogun West) and Gbenga Obadara(Ogun Central), held a separate congress at the Quarry area of Abeokuta. But, the officially recognised congress, which was attended by Governor Ibikunke Amosun, took place at the MKO Abiola Stadium.

At the stadium, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials monitored the exercise. The officials were Alhaji Ahmed Bashir (National Headquarters) Titilayo Akinola, Ahmed Memudu, Tunrayo Ayinde, Layi Oluyode, Sam Olumekun, Atiba Leonard, and Yetunde Adams. Also, the Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), State Security Service (SSS) and other Paramilitary agencies provided security.

The emergence of parallel executives was the climax of the crisis and frosty relationship between Amosun and Aremo Olusegun Osoba, the party leader.

A chieftain of the APC, who craved anonymity, said the animosity between the governor and Osoba started in 2003 when Amosun mobilised the PDP to uproot the Alliance for Democracy (AD) from the State House. When the two leaders became members of the same party, the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which defected the PDP at the polls in 2011, the past suspicion did not fizzle out.

A source said that, that friction was evident during the preparation for the ACN governorship primaries. Although Amosun was the most acceptable aspirant, he passed through hell to emerge as the candidate. But, Osoba’s men got other tickets, including the three senatorial seats, nine House of Representatives tickets and 23 out of the 26 House of Assembly tickets. The remaining three tickets went to people believed to be loyal to Amosun.

Following Amosun’s inauguration as governor, there were discordant tunes in the party. Crisis broke out over the choice of commissioners and other members of the state executive council. It was alleged that Amosun had planned to sideline those he met in the party. The governor therefore, offered appointments to some of them, including the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Muyiwa Oladipo, senatorial chairmen of the defunct ACN in Ogun West and Ogun East districts, Hon. Falilu Sabitu and Mr Daniel Adejobi, Ayo Olubori, Olu Odeyemi and Chief Sam Ayedogbon.

Other loyalists of Osoba-Chief Mufutau Ajibola and Chief Poju Adeyemi- also got appointments. The governor also appointed some party men as Special Advisers and Chairmen and members of boards, parastatals and agencies.

However, that move did not stop the allegation of marginalisation. Osoba’s men complained that, during the last local government elections, they were not given enough councillorship and chairmanship slots. According to them, the distribution was grossly lopsided in favour of Amosun and his supporters.

Despite the fusion of the partied into the APC, the cold war has not stopped. The pro-Osoba legislators formed a group, “Mat’agbamole” (don’t step on elder), claiming that Osoba was not accorded his proper place. But, the governor disagreed, saying that Osoba is his leader.

Many chieftains of the party have objected to the steps taken by the aggrieved legislators. Osoba has also said that there is unity in the fold. Not a few are beginning to question the sincerity and motive of the NASS members, saying it is just self-serving, perhaps trying to use the name of the ex-governor to curry personal political capital. He said: “There is harmony between Governor Amosun and I. He is our governor and he is my own governor and there is no other Governor.”

Trouble started in the chapter when the interim leadership was to be constituted. There was commotion at the party office along Abiola Way, Abeokuta. Hoodlums invaded the secretariat, sacking the party chieftains who turned up for a political meeting convened by Kaka. During the party membership registration, the senator alleged that the governor wanted to hijack the exercise. But, Amosun denied it, saying that the National Assembly members were only crying wolves where there was none as the exercise went seamlessly in the 236 wards.

Also, preparations towards the ward congresses were not without its hiccups. To address the mistrust, a Stakeholders’ Meetings was held on April 3 and April 4 where it was agreed that party members should work for unity. Amosun, Osoba and the federal legislators witnessed the exercise. After the exercise, Osoba said:”We met to put the house together and strengthen its unity to ensure that the APC remains in charge in Ogun State and for peaceful congresses.”

The governor also made efforts to foster unity and understanding. He met with chieftains across the 236 wards and ensured that disagreements were ironed out amicably and harmonized in wards where they could not agree on their lists. Osoba and Amosun monitored the exercise in many wards. The governor’s camp described it as an all-inclusive ward congress. However, Kaka alleged in a petition that it was a foul play.

An appeal panel was sent from Abuja to adjudicate on the petition. The panel led by former Minister of State for Information Hon. Ilkar Bilbis listened to complaints from the aggrieved and the party leaders.

But as the Appeal was still sitting, former federal lawmaker, Onadeko Onamusi, was said to have been injured and hospitalised, following the eruption of violence. Also, Kaka was assaulted by a mob as a fight broke out between the supporters of Amosun and Osoba. Before the panel, Kaka had called for a fresh exercise. At that point, the Senior Special Adviser to Amosun on Political Affairs, Mr Tunji Egbetokun, interjected and drew Kaka’s attention to the fact that the session was meant to look at the appeal before the Committee on the ward and local government

congresses and not to draw the party backward. This infuriated a House of Representatives member, Hon. Olumide Osoba, who berated Egbetokun for interrupting Kaka’s speech. Tension rose as Senator Gbenga Obadara and the Chairman Ijebu East Local Government, Solomon Ogunde exchanged hot words.

The loyalists of Osoba, includong Hon. Kunle Adeyemi, Hon. Tunde Abudu-Balogun, and Sen. Akin Odunsi left the panel sitting in annoyance for Osoba’s private residence in Ibara, Abeokuta.

However, sources close to the panel said the Appeal Committee gave a pass mark to the State Congress Committee (SCC) on the conduct of the ward and Local Government congresses.

But, while the party was yet to resolve the crisis trailing the ward and local government congresses, the gladiators were spoiling for war over the approaching state congress. During the exercise, the two divides opted for parallel congresses.

An Ijebu-Ode lawyer, Mr Adewale Adefulu, who described the development as disturbing, lamented that the governor’s critics are from his party, adding the division may distract the government’s development programmes.

However, APC leaders are now closing ranks. They have realised that a crack on the wall may pave the way for the PDP to bounce back. The interim national leadership, a source said, is not happy about the turn of events in Ogun. It has mandated the zonal leader, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, to find a lasting solution to the crisis.

There are indications that the party leaders are also ready for a truce. Amosun is said to be reaching out to Osoba for the amicable resolution. Last week, Kaka also spoke on the need for peace. He said: “We will explore all possible avenues of internal mechanism to resolve our differences, we are trying to build the party on justice.”

May 6, 2014
Adamawa PDP celebrates Tukur

It is said that a prophet is with honour except in his own home. This laden verity and axiom was, however, put to serious question recently at Yola, Adamawa State when the erstwhile National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Dr. Bamanga Tukur, was received at a civic occasion by the Adamawa State Chapter of the PDP.

The people of Adamawa turned out in their hundreds of thousands to accord a warm and tumultuous welcome to their son, elder statesman and a political heavy weight of the time.

The reception was spontaneous and full of warmth and appreciation. An unprecedented crowd and sea of heads lined all the roads to welcome Tukur and catch a glimpse of him.

The rousing reception marked a glorious home-coming, a re-union of sorts and a triumphant re-entry into Adamawa State for Tukur.

The arrangement was that only the state executive members of the PDP and known stakeholders would be at the airport in Yola to welcome the former National Chairman before the reception proper, but the crowd of supporters, party members and admirers of Tukur refused to heed to the directives and thronged the airport tarmac to receive their son and to express their appreciation for his many years of indefectible and selfless service to Adamawa State and Nigeria.

The large turnout at the reception was such that, the police, the SSS and other security organs present had an uphill task in controlling the surging crowd.

At the reception proper, the people of Adamawa eulogised him and his achievements and poured encomiums on him. It became apparent that Dr. Bamanga Tukur was deeply attached to his people and his home state, in spite of his many years of sojourn outside the state, either as a politician, a public office holder, a business tycoon or in the service of the nation.

As one of the wise men who gallantly challenged military dictatorship in Nigeria and almost paid with their lives, Tukur cherishes and relishes liberal democracy which is vanishing in today’s Nigerian politics. Tukur is a bridge-builder who believes in the Nigerian project; he is an unrepentant democrat who believes in election rather than selection and a thorough disciplinarian. Truly, Alhaji Tukur is one prophet who has been honoured in his home town.

— Okpala is a Special Assistant to Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

May 4, 2014
Ndigbo honour Obi, Ihejirika, others

As Ndigbo Lagos honours nine Igbo elites who recently left top public positions this week, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports that the event is being packaged as part of a new sensitisation module for Ndigbo in the unfolding Nigerian power game

Lagos State will on Saturday, May 10, 2014 witness a unique gathering of Igbo socio-political and economic elite as they arrive the mega city from different parts of the country to honour eight of their sons and a daughter who recently left public office.

The event, according to insiders, is part of a new sensitisation module packaged to empower Igbo present and future leaders on how to impact on their people and their communities, how to use power and how to excel in the unfolding Nigerian power game.

The nine distinguished Ndigbo who will receive meritorious awards at the event to be chaired by the former- Secretary-General of the Common Wealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, are the former governor of Anambra State, Chief Peter Obi, the former Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika, former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Dele Ezeoba, former Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, former Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, former Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Reginald Chike Stanley, former Chief Executive of NLNG, Chima Ibeneche, former Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank, Reginald Ihejiahi and former Chief Executive of Price Waterhouse Coopers, Ron Igbokwe.

Organised by Ndigbo Lagos, the apex body of all Ndigbo Cultural Organisations in Lagos, the event, scheduled to hold at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, has as special guests of honour, governors Theodore Orji of Abia State, Willie Obiano of Anambra State, Martins Elechi of Ebonyi State, Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, Rochas Okorocha of Imo State and Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, while Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe (Agbogigi), the Obi of Onitsha is the Royal Father of the day.

Explaining why each of the recipients were selected for the honour, the Chief Host and President-General of Ndigbo Lagos, Prof. Anya O Anya, said in a press conference he addressed in Lagos at the weekend: “We have in decades past witnessed many Nigerian men and women who left office without leveraging opportunities of their positions to positively impact on the nation and communities they served.

“Former Governor Peter Obi, not only brought the discipline and prudence of corporate governance into public service but through the simplicity of his lifestyle removed the pernicious ogre of domineering arrogance which others in such positions have been identified with over these three years.”

On the former Chiefs of Army and Naval Staffs he said: “General Azubuike Ihejirika and Admiral Dele Ezeoba are proud officers and gentlemen, who, even as they respectively commanded the Nigerian Army and Navy over the last few years brought humility, loyalty and dignity to the service of their fatherland.”

On the former Minister of Aviation, Anya said: “Princess Stella is a unique example of a visionary organiser and implementer of the first order. We, Ndigbo, can state without equivocation that her impact on the Nigerian Aviation industry in such a short period is without equal in the annals of the industry. She not only created a well defined strategic direction for the industry but historically opened the South-East to world aviation.”

Anya, who admitted that the event and the timing have wider political and socio-political relevance, said Ndigbo are proud to celebrate their achievers not when they are in office but after they have impacted on the society through their offices and have left such offices because it will help to pass a message to serving office holders and the future generation that there is a standard that we would appreciate and insist on.

He added that part of the essence of the strategic sensitisation is to pass a message that in spite of politically motivated media lynching of some of their children in office, “Ndigbo cannot throw away their own. We must look beyond politics and other ulterior motives and assess the performance of our children on merit. Politics in Nigeria has changed a great deal and Ndigbo, as major stakeholders in the Nigerian project must act as one for the benefit of Igbo people, Igbo land and Nigeria.”

May 4, 2014
How South, North delegates resolved resource control question

Assistant Editor, Onyedi Ojiabor and Dele Anofi got two members of the Committee on Devolution of Power at the ongoing National Conference, Prof. Godwin Darah and Senator Ibrahim Mantu, who revealed how the committee resolved the resource control debate before submitting their recommendation this week

After days of rancorous debate and bitter disagreements, the National Conference Committee on Devolution of Power struck a compromise on Wednesday on the necessity to modify Item 39 of the Exclusive Legislative List.

The discussion on the contentious item almost degenerated into a free-for-all fight between south and north delegates in the committee until wise counsel prevailed on Wednesday.

The item deals with the exclusive rights of the federal government to legislate on issues regarding “mines and minerals, including oil fields, oil mining, geological surveys and natural gas.”

The thrust of the modification says that in carrying out mining activities anywhere in the country by the federal government, government of states where such natural resources are found shall be involved.

Members of the committee reached consensus on the modification of the item at a closed door session that lasted over three hours.

Professor Nsongurua Udombana, a delegate from Akwa Ibom State, was said to have moved the motion for the modification.

The co-Chairman of the committee and former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, told journalists that the item was reframed to read: “Mines and all minerals, including oil fields, oil mining, geological surveys and natural gas, provided that: (A) The government of the state where mining activities take place shall be involved in matters relating hereto; (B) The government of the federation shall make special grants to develop mines and minerals in states where such resources are undeveloped.”

Some delegates described the modification as the democratisation and decentralisation of industrial development through strategic mining of mineral resources nationwide.

Prof. Godwin Darah, a delegate, and Senator Ibrahim Mantu, another delegate, came out midway into the discussion to speak about how the committee weathered the storm on resource control.

Prof. Darah: Patriotic proposals for resolving the matter finally won the acceptance of all delegates in our committee. We are 30 in the committee and there were no dissenting voice. In fact, as soon as the decision was reached, we applauded ourselves. We clapped because there has been a logjam on the matter and it was understandable.

Item 39 on the Exclusive Legislative List illegally, unjustly and inequitably confined the power to mine minerals, mineral oil, natural gas, bitumen, gold, diamond, uranium, tantalum, and others. Only the federal government was given authority to mine them. What has happened? The federal government receives cheap money from oil and gas developed by foreigners, not Nigerians. The federal government has 60 percent equity in those companies. So, everyday money is flowing in dollars. Therefore, they have ignored the development of the other essential minerals on the excuse that they have no money to do it.

What we did now is that Item 39 remains a federal legislative monopoly.

It is the federal government that will make laws and grant licence if you want to mine gold or bitumen in any part of the country.

So, by this action we have taken today, we have opened Nigeria to a new industrial revolution and civilisation. We have added a clause that federal government will grant licence to anybody who wants to exploit minerals. If I want to raise a company to explore minerals in Nasarawa State, the federal government will grant me the licence. But the state government shall have power to participate in the exploitation and development of the minerals found in its own area.

The second addition is that the government of the federation of Nigeria shall set aside a special fund like the Sovereign Wealth Fund that will be used to deliberately develop these minerals that have been abandoned for so long. In other words, there will be no more excuse of saying there is no money to mine the gold. The federal government has for a long time locked up its own wealth just because it does not want to use the oil money to develop other sources of wealth. This committee has broken that jinx today by empowering the states to be involved in exploration. If a state does not have the resources, it can get foreign investors from Australia, South Africa or China to mine the minerals.

Senator Mantu: We came back this morning to look at the issues once and for all with national interest in mind. We have to thank God for what He has done. Everybody came back this morning to contribute in a patriotic manner.

The good news is that we have been able to cross the hurdle that looked impossible in the last few days. We have now been able to reach a compromise as to where mineral resources should be; whether they should be under the Exclusive or Concurrent Legislative List. We have unanimously agreed that mineral resources, including oil, coal. bitumen or gold, should remain on the Exclusive Legislative List, which means that the federal government will take full control of the management of the resources. But we also said that we need to make provision for the exploitation of all the natural endowments in this country. You are aware that every state in this country is blessed with one natural resource or the other and we have neglected the development of these resources because of oil and the mentality of food-is-ready. The federal government has neglected the development of all the solid minerals like bitumen which are in abundance in some parts of the country.

We have now put a proviso in our own recommendation to the effect that the state should be involved in the development, extraction or exploitation of these minerals because at present, the states where these minerals come from are not having any say at all in exploitation of these minerals found in their states.

We also said that the federal government should set up a special fund for the development of these other resources so that at the end of the day, every part of the country will be bringing something to the table and at that time we will see ourselves as partners and not some people seeing others as just consumers or parasites.

May 4, 2014
Impeachment plot thickens against Shagari, Ngilari

Despite claims to the contrary, all may not be well with the relationship between the governors of Adamawa, Nasarawa and Sokoto states and their deputies, reports Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo

Until the defection of the Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, along with his Nasarawa and Sokoto States counterparts, Tanko Almakura and Aliyu Wammako respectively, from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), their relationships with their deputies were very cordial.

However, ambition and permutations for the 2015 general elections within the three states and at the presidency, sources disclosed to The Nation, have created a wide gulf between Nyako and his deputy, Bala James Ngilari.

The same scenario is also prevalent in Sokoto and Nasarawa States where governors Wammako and Almakura are no longer on good terms with their deputies, Mukhtar Shagari and Damishi Luka Barau respectively.

The decision of Ngilari, Shagari and Barau to remain in the PDP, according to informed sources, is causing serious tension in Government Houses in Yola, Sokoto and Lafia, as close political associates and supporters of the governors are calling for their impeachments.

About one year ago when the governors defected to the APC without their deputies, concerned stakeholders in their states had expressed anxiety over the likely fallout in their relationships, a situation they feared could affect the smooth running of the states.

But the personalities had dismissed such fears, while giving assurances that their political differences notwithstanding, they would avoid any act capable of adversely affecting their respective states.

The reassuring statements, it was learnt, were intended to douse tension among the supporters of the governors and their deputies, a development that could have caused a breach of the peace in the three states.

In the last few months, The Nation gathered that Nyako, Almakura and Wammako have been subjected to intense pressure from their supporters to sanction the impeachments of their deputies, who are all allegedly nursing governorship ambitions in 2015.

For Ngilari, whose name did not feature prominently as a possible governorship candidate prior to his boss’ defection to the APC, the presidency is reportedly backing him to become the PDP governorship candidate as compensation for ‘his loyalty to the party.

Ditto Mukhtar Shagari, whose governorship ambition predates his election as deputy governor in 2007. The former Minister of Water Resources and Rural Development in the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, it would be recalled, had emerged as the PDP governorship candidate in 2007, but was prevailed upon by party leaders to step down for the then deputy governor, Aliyu Wammako, who had defected to the PDP from the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) after falling out with ex-Governor Attahiru Bafarawa.

Following Wammako’s defection to the APC, Shagari rekindled his governorship ambition in the PDP and is currently the leading frontrunner for his party’s ticket.

In the case of Barau, who had initially joined the APC, sources revealed that while he is not interested in the governorship race at least for now, his decision to ditch the major opposition party may not be unconnected to pressures from the presidency and some major stakeholders in the state who are backing the much speculated re-election ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Latest feelers, however, indicate that Nyako and his two colleagues are seriously considering the option of moving against their deputies following security reports that they are being used by powerful forces to undermine their administration.

There are also unconfirmed reports that political leaders have instructed both Governors Nyako and Wamakko to immediately commence impeachment processes against their deputies.

The Nation gathered that a recent meeting of the leadership of the party had resolved that for the governors to be in the firm grip of their respective states ahead of the 2015 election, now is the time to get rid of their deputies.

Sources also said that the decision was borne out of the need to ensure that second term governors in the fold of the APC were able to produce their successors.

Another source stated that the party had reviewed the situation in these two states and resolved that the way out for Nyako and Wamakko was to replace Ngilari and Shagari in order to consolidate their hold on the respective states.

At a recent meeting convened to appraise the situation, one of the party leaders advised the governors to take a cue from what happened to former governors of Kano and Sokoto States, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and Attahiru Bafarawa, who could not produce their successors.

The source quipped, “If Shekarau and Bafarawa had learnt from the example of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in Lagos and produced their successors; they would have maintained political relevance in the states.

“APC governors, especially those in their second term, have been directed to ensure they strategise for the electoral success of their anointed successors.”

But another source informed that while the APC leadership in Sokoto State wants an accelerated impeachment of Shagari, the Adamawa State chapter of the party has asked Nyako to place his deputy on a watch list for the next few months.

The situation in Nasarawa State seems more complicated. Governor Almakura and APC leaders are said to be treading with caution, as the opposition party in the state, PDP, constitutes the majority in the state House of Assembly.

Based on this numerical strength, the presidency and the national leadership of the PDP had a few months ago allegedly toyed with the idea of impeaching Almakura, whose election on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) in 2011 upturned the political configuration of the state.

To thwart any move against Almakura, his foot soldiers have allegedly been working behind the scene to woo some PDP lawmakers in the House of Assembly to the APC. A former governor of the state, Abdullahi Adamu, who is currently a senator, is also reported to be reaching out to some members of the PDP in the House to embrace the APC.

Against the backdrop of the frosty relationship existing between these governors and their deputies, there are unconfirmed reports that the latter now spend the better part of their time in Abuja, even as sources allege that they have been relieved of sensitive assignments by their bosses.

As the uncertainty on the fate of Ngilari, Shagari and Barau in the next few months intensify, it remains to be seen whether or not they will see out their tenures in 2015.

May 4, 2014
Cross-River 2015: Battle for Imoke’s seat gathers steam

The battle for the governorship ticket of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River State has become more intense as speaker an NNPC top-shot square up with other aspirants for Governor Liyel Imoke’s job, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan

Ahead of the 2015 gubernatorial election in Cross Rivers State, the battle for the governorship ticket of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has become intense with candidates squaring up in a fierce fight for the control of the party from the wards to state levels.

According to sources within the party, the severe agitation by aspirants, especially from the northern zone of the state for the party’s ticket, stem from several announcements by Governor Liyel Imoke that he is committed to ensuring equity and fairness by ensuring that his successor emerges from the Northern Senatorial District that is yet to produce a governor for the state.

Speaking on the matter during a media parley recently, Imoke reminded his listeners that Cross River has three senatorial districts. “Two senatorial districts have produced, by the grace of God, governors. One has not. Would it be fair for us not to allow the other senatorial district a governor? Will it be fair?

“This is a just a question of simple fairness. Just like we had president from the North, then, South West, now from South-South, there is no big deal. It is a natural sequence. That is why I support it openly. Some people have been asking ‘Oga, keep quiet over this matter. This is not how to do it.’ I say I don’t know how to deal with what is honest, sincere, correct and right.”

And in a move that suggests that the leadership of the party in the state may be thinking in the same direction as the governor, the party recently de-emphasised the position of the governor.

According to a release by the party, the Southern Senatorial District had Donald Duke as governor from May 1999 to May 2007 and at the moment, Imoke from the Central Senatorial District is in charge of affairs in the state. So, in its view, Imoke was right in stating his support for the emergence of his successor from the northern zone of the state.

But in spite of the early signs that the party will favour candidates from the north for the job, not many aspirants went public with their aspirations at the initial stage. Save for Godwin Apple Agim, who openly signified interest for the job as far back as 2011. Others chose to keep their cards to their chest until recently when a deluge of aspirants went to town with their aspiration to succeed Imoke.

Stating his reason for enlisting in the race then, Agim said, “my aspiration is anchored on the principle of zonal rotation of the state’s governorship with Cross River North being the unquestionable zone to produce the incumbent’s successor in 2015 after successive stints by the South and the (ongoing) Central, especially considering that, since the state’s creation, the North has never produced the governor, except on an administrative basis.

“I am very aware that many household names from Cross River North are being touted as likely and, in a few cases, significantly qualified to become the next governor. “However, being a former political office holder, particularly under the status-quo, as many of such persons are, is not necessarily an asset at a time like this when our state needs a new and holistic leadership reorientation – along lines of pragmatism and consummate diligence.

“It is my earnest thinking, and I am sure many objective persons will agree with me, that Cross River needs a thorough-bred entrepreneur who will lead the state with the gumption and industriousness that it truly deserves. Not only do I humbly and readily fit that description, but it has come through the added advantage of having a business experience in Finland, one of the foremost European states and one with a striking similitude to our state’s greatest aspirations.”

But the contest is now fiercer than it was when Agim dreamt up his aspiration. Already jostling for the coveted position is an array of influential and powerful politicians from various parts of the state. They include Mr. Goddy Agba, the General Manager Crude, NNPC, Professor Ben Ayade, the Senator representing the Northern Senatorial District, Mr. John Odey, former Minster of Environment, Mr. Larry Odey, Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Mr. Fidel Egoro, Deputy State Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Mr Tanko Ashong, Legal Adviser NEMA, Mr. Legor Idagbo, Commissioner for Works and Mr. Fidel Ugbo, the serving Secretary of National Planning Commission.

With the new array of aspirants, some observers are wondering if Agim would be dwarfed. But sources within his camp say the Finland-based politician is not giving up just yet. “He wants to see the contest to the very end,” a source said.

The entrance of Hon. Larry Odey, former Acting Governor and now Speaker of the House of Assembly in Cross River State, into the 2015 governorship race has further changed earlier equations. But he has remained behind the scene until recently when he suddenly announced his interest. Sources say the very healthy relationship he enjoys with Imoke and some powerful PDP leaders at the national level may work in the favour of the Speaker.

Odey, who represents Yala State Constituency in the state Assembly, said he is the most qualified aspirant for Imoke’s job. He is seeking to contest on the ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The Speaker said he is vying because, according to him, the PDP caucus in the state has unanimously zoned the 2015 governorship slot to his zone, the Northern Senatorial District of the state.

Describing himself as the most qualified candidate, Odey told journalists last week: “I have been the acting governor of the state for three months when the Appeal Court nullified the mandate of Gov. Liyel Imoke in 2012. Haven’t been the acting governor, and currently serving as Speaker of Cross River State House of Assembly, I have the capacity, experience and pedigree to contest the 2015 in the state.

“I have been in the umbrella party for a long time now and at that level, I am not lacking any quality not to contest the polls,’’ he said. On his agenda, Odey said: “My primary motivation for the race is to promote educational and economic development of the state and to serve the good people of Cross River with dignity, transparency, and accountability.

“Cross River is blessed with natural and human resources, with the support of all stakeholders, we can move the state to a greater height. The choice of the people matters most in politics, your opponents do not really matter, anyone who thinks he has something good to offer the people can as well run for the polls,’’ he said.

But pundits say it may not be an easy ride for the Speaker. According to watchers of the politics of the state, unless the Speaker gets the backing of the powerful blocs within the state, he is not much of a political heavyweight to go it all alone with or without some stakeholders.

“In spite of his pedigree politically, Odey is not that strong to say he will be governor on his own merit. We know those who can say such in the politics of Cross Rivers state,” a party chieftain said.

There is also a lot of talk about the frenzy within the political camp of Jeddy Agba, outgoing General Manager Crude, NNPC, as The Nation learnt that he has sent in his resignation letter to the management of the corporation. His disengagement from NNPC, according to insiders’ report, is expected to take effect in a couple of months. “He is resigning so as to concentrate all his energy on his governorship ambition,” a source said.

Sources in Calabar, the state capital, said Agba is putting a lot of energy and resources into his campaign effort with regular visits to the state in recent weeks. According to reports, the politician, hoping to take advantage of the zoning arrangement with the ruling party as announced by the governor, is reaching out to party leaders and members across the divisions of the state.

“Agba is not taking the contest with kids’ glove. He appears to be ready for the political dog fight that is sure to trail the contest for the party’s ticket ahead of the 2015 general election. He is fast popularising himself among politicians. This is easy because he has a large political war chest and he seems poised to use all available resources to see his ambition through.

“As party leaders, we are open to all the aspirants and ready to listen to them all. That is what you are witnessing. The fact that Agba is going round the party leaders and telling them of his ambition is not enough for his people to claim that he has our endorsement. Even if he doles out money to politicians as they claim he is doing, the party will still allow the people to decide who they want,” a chieftain of the party said.

Unconfirmed report has it that some unnamed party chieftains have already benefitted some largesse from the Agba Campaign Organisation as part of efforts to familiarise the aspirant with the leadership of the party at both state and grassroots levels.

“The philanthropic gesture on the part of the aspirant is not just because of the 2015 election. Check the records; he has always been giving to people. Of course, people are seeing what he is doing now because it is election time,” a close source said.

But observers of the unfolding political scenarios say it is going to be difficult for Agba to go far in the race given some salient factors militating against his ambition. One of such factors is that he was unknown politically in the state before now.

“Agba was not known to us before now. The story making the round is that he is relying on some powers from above to make him governor. Yes, he is spending money on his ambition but our people know their leaders. We are used to following the direction our leaders outline for us. Unless he gets the support of the leaders of the key power blocs within the state, I doubt if he will go far in his aspiration,” Gershom Atsu, coordinator of the New Era Movement (NEM), a group within the ruling party in the state, said.

Another problem is the repeated talk of the alleged missing N20billion in NNPC. Agba, who is a prince in line to the throne of his father, Uti JD Agba, the Paramount Ruler of Obudu, holds very sensitive position in the company and his political opponents are therefore not wasting time to remind whoever wishes to hear of the missing money, notwithstanding that it has not been traced to him.

“With news that he is one of those answering questions in Abuja over the N20billion saga, the people of the state are sure to be cautious about receiving him as a governorship aspirant. This is not about whether he will win; it is first about how we view him as an aspirant. I think he has a lot of explanations to make before he can be seen as an aspirant. We are not saying he is guilty as charged but we are saying we need to know all about our aspirants before accepting their aspirations,” Atsu said.

But former PDP National Director of Publicity, Barrister Venatius Ikem, thinks otherwise. In his opinion, Jeddy Agba can govern Cross River State. “First, I consider him eminently qualified by his career experience, having worked in the public service of Nigeria for over 20 years, spanning the Ministries of FCT, Foreign Affairs and currently, Petroleum Resources, where he had served with distinction, earning a National Honour for his efforts. Secondly, he hails from Cross River North Senatorial District, where, by popular understanding, the next governor is expected to emerge from,” had said of the NNPC top shot.

But arguing on the propriety or otherwise of Agba’s ambition, frontline lawyer and political analyst, Modupe Oduguwa, stated: “If indeed he is one of those being quizzed about the missing NNPC fund, then his gubernatorial ambition is an affront on the intelligence of the people of his state. It is enough to tell him to go answer the allegations first and forget about seeking to be governor.”

The frenzy in the state is not just about the three aspirants mentioned above. Across the state, mobilisation efforts are ongoing for numerous other aspirants who are equally ready to give the frontrunners a good fight for their money and pedigree.

Recently, a group, Cross River State Youths Forum, (CRSYF) added drama to the scenario when it threatened to take legal action against Senator Ben Ayade if he refuses to run as Governor of Cross River State in the 2015 governorship race in the state.

The president of the group, Comrade Joseph Ishajie, who made the disclosure during an interactive session with journalists in Calabar, berated politicians against making unguarded utterances that the old Ogoja (the North) has no credible candidates, neither do they ever speak with one voice in matters as this.

He said “We, the youths of Cross River, are out to give our total support to Senator Ayade and urge him to hasten up and declare to run for the governorship seat zoned to his area. And if he fails to contest, we will compel him by mobilising over one million youths to his house at Obudu. Surely, when he sees such action, he would be forced to declare. It is on record that he has empowered the youths more than any of his predecessors. He has recommended youths for jobs, sent some abroad for training and given financial assistance running into millions of naira for entrepreneurship scheme,” Ishajie added.

May 4, 2014
Oyo: Why Ajimobi must not come back

Oyo is a very peculiar state in Nigeria. Huge in endowments, natural and human, it also prides itself as a state that had once witnessed the midas-touch of development, while parading the footpaths of iconic figures of modern history. One of such was Obafemi Awolowo who sat in Ibadan to midwife all those milestones that the Yoruba man flaunts today as his pedigree of civilization. Such footpaths include the first television station, the first skyscraper, the first stadium and the Ibadan University, for which Oyo State preens itself as the intellectual capital of Nigeria.

Except for handful visionary leaders it has had since inception, Oyo has, however, been a largely unlucky state. Agrarian, with a huge illiterate population, the political class exploits the limitations of the people to the full to hoodwink them. The state’s ill-luck has been largely compounded since the advent of civil rule in 1999. In terms of development, it witnessed Spartan progress and is held on the jugular by the politics and machinations of a few.

No calamity could be said to have befallen Oyo’s development as much as the politics of the Lamidi Adedibu era. It was an era marked by politics of violence, tokenism for political followers at the expense of state progress and ascendance of an illiterate clique that determines the contour of state politics. Unfortunately, what tickles the fancies of this few is not development or societal uplift. Thus, leaders after leaders spend their tenure just giving the people tokens, massaging the mundane egos of the elite and leaving the dais with an impoverished people and a climate barely different from what it used to be.

Before now, the order was government constructing roads that lasted less than six months. Right now, anyone who had stayed two years out of Oyo State would certainly not be able to recognize the state capital any longer and many other towns in the state. An aggressive road dualization is ongoing, which baffles many. The roads and their quality are alien to the geography of Oyo; they are indeed the type our people see in the Federal Capital Territory. This atypical progress is replicated in virtually all sectors of the state.

Perhaps the most instructive of the changes in Oyo State is the style of leadership. The late Adedibu mirrored the minds of the ruling elite when he asked Rashidi Ladoja to bring the state’s security votes to him as he was the numero-uno security. What this means is that the elite’s interest, and not the people’s, dictated the temperature of leadership. Once a leadership is at cross purposes with the elite and those who decide the pendulum of power, it is incinerated without a care in the world. This was why Lam Adesina, in spite of his simplicity, focus and determination to bring development to the state, had his government peremptorily sacrificed for one that would drag back the fortunes of the state.

Abiola Ajimobi is a different ball game from the crop of governors Oyo used to know. Urbane and a hater of violence with passion, he does not suffer fools gladly and is blunt to a fault, while not believing in the politician’s lexicon of dressing a mule to look like a gazelle. His passion for change is legendary, so much that when driving on the streets of Ibadan, he stops by to drive away those desecrating the roads with filth. These and a few others, some of which this writer will itemize presently, constitute the charges against him by the ruling elite for which many have sworn he would not be re-elected.

If you take the time to study the mantra of a few who have either left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) or declared hostility against the governor, none has faulted the fact that, in the history of Oyo State, no governor has brought this level of massive development to the state as Ajimobi is doing, with the potentials that these could quadruple if he stays in the saddle for the next term in office. The accusations range from the mundane to the selfish, the laughable to the uninformed.

One is that Ajimobi clings to his wife, Florence too much. This is excusable, however. In the history of Oyo State, especially since civil rule, the state had witnessed the reign of Chief Executives who were serial polygamists for whom monogamy was like a perfidy. The state even paraded one who was allegedly so randy that hundreds of leading city university girls, like the Bill Clinton Monica-gate scandal, could describe his genitalia at the blink of an eye. In a state that is highly patriarchal, many of these leaders cannot stomach a ‘me and my wife’ governor who ‘must have been charmed’ by his wife for always underscoring the sacredness of the conjugal relationship that exists between them. In the estimation of this crop of people, Ajimobi deserves the boot for loving his wife too much.

Second reason why, in the estimation of this set of people, Ajimobi must not return to Agodi Government House, is that he is not a politician and does not know how to shroud his passion. Simplistic as this may sound, it has provoked the ire of the group so much. Most Nigerian politicians, with due respect, thrive on deceit and subterfuge. Truth is the very first casualty of any association with them. Anyone felt to be straightforward is seen not to possess the wherewithal of a politician. Ajimobi always says that, having been in the corporate world for 32 years where the greatest demand therein is trust and dependability, he could not begin to cultivate the serpentine attitude of politicians.

Third charge is that Ajimobi has failed to democratize the largesse of government. This, in transparency parlance, is corruption. Many of the politicians, who are said to have disagreed with the governor, if you ask them, did so on the allegation of not ‘eating enough.’ Not one of them will say that, for the future development of the state and it’s positioning on the radar of comity of states that they, their children and children’s children can be proud of, Ajimobi is not the hope of Oyo State. Frustrated that they haven’t ‘eaten enough’, many of them have even moved into political parties where they feel they could muster a pliable candidate who would open the state’s vault for them to feed fat on.

Fourth is that there is a myth that no governor has ever governed Oyo State twice and Ajimobi should not be an exception. The mythical arrogance of this claim is fuelled by the opposition, many of whom claim that though Ajimobi has done exceptionally well in developing the state, he should not be honoured with breaking this jinx. Former SSG, Dr. Dejo Raimi, said this much on a recent radio programme.

Fifth reason why it is dangerous for Ajimobi to come back as a second term governor is that it will wipe off the political careers of many governors and politicians before him and bury the political future of many. The refrain in the state, on sighting the various developmental milestones of Ajimobi, is that he must have borrowed the whole world to implement them. When told that the government has not borrowed a dime, residents conclude that he is either a developmental wizard or his predecessors were funneling the state money into a God-knows-where. If such a man comes back for another four-year term, his predecessors risk being pelted with stones. It is the reason why all apparatus of decimation, fair or foul, is being deployed to halt the moving machine of Oyo’s development.

But Ajimobi keeps developing the state like a man for whom there is no tomorrow but today. His benchmark is Awolowo and he is hungry to be invested a place in the pantheon of developmental wizards. The question many ask is, would Oyo leave a man who has re-written their name in gold and scamper after the architects of their inglorious recent past?

*Adedayo is Special Adviser (Media) to the governor of Oyo State.

May 4, 2014
Jonathan should beware of Ekiti

What the presidency will take more than a passing interest in the coming governorship polls in Ekiti and Osun in view of the 2015 election is expected. However, to profit from the state elections, President Goodluck Jonathan and his team have to make the right choices.

From all indications – from the non-transparent PDP nomination processes to the body language of the presidency, it seems that they are missing the plot. The recent statement attributed to Vice-President Namadi Sambo makes it therefore very urgent to warn the president against making a grave mistake that will undoubtedly prove fatal to his prospects for re-election next year.

Sambo’s statement likening the election in Ekiti to a war that has to be won at all costs indicates that the federal ruling party will shy away from nothing, including illegalities, to ensure the victory of its candidate on 21 June in Ekiti. That is a bad omen both for Ekiti people and Nigeria as a whole.

The national leadership of the PDP, whose ultimate goal is Dr Jonathan’s victory at next year’s presidential election, is getting its strategy wrong. By imposing Ayo Fayose as its flagbearer in Ekiti, it is obvious that the party leaders do not know the state very well and are in fact ignorant of its political history.

Fayose’s tenure as governor of Ekiti was prematurely terminated in 2006 by a lawful impeachment, for wrongdoings in office, by a house of assembly dominated by members of his party, showing that he carries a heavy, debilitating baggage that should have disqualified him for consideration as a candidate in the first place. That the PDP forced him on its members in the state shows that it was determined to disregard Fayose’s unpopularity even among his fellow party men and women.

The PDP leaders in Abuja also seem to be ignorant of the records of the former governor in office, a period when insecurity ruled in the state, when economic activities were at their lowest ebb and unemployment reached new heights – in fact, a period bereft of any meaningful development that most Ekitis would rather not remember.

The PDP bosses also disregarded the fact that Fayose could not win his senatorial zone at the last general election; in fact, out of the five local governments that make up the zone, he did not win a single one!

Given Fayose’s proven unpopularity even in his home area of the state, who do the PDP generalissimos expect to vote for him on 21 June?

Is it Ado people, whose sense of cultural pride Fayose during his inglorious reign as governor repeatedly hurt through an open, brazen and serial denigration of the revered office of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti?

Is it Ikerre people, whose children – students of the College of Education – were shot by one of Fayose’s henchmen while participating in a peaceful protest, or whose traditional ruler, the highly respected Ogoga, the PDP flagbearer abused openly?

Where, then, in the state that Fayose turned into a theatre of political violence during his infamous tenure, is Abuja expecting the votes for its man to come from?

It is very obvious, therefore, that the PDP generals are not courting Ekiti people for their mandate. They intend to seize it.

History has shown, however, that Ekiti, whose people are renowned for their fierce independent spirit, is a very bad place to rig elections. Since 1964, resistance to electoral fraud in Yorubaland has been hottest in Ekiti.

It must not be forgotten that the Southwest is the most peaceful region in the country at the moment and any attempts to manipulate the Ekiti polls will add to the security troubles of the president. A chaotic election in Ekiti, therefore, will not only increase national instability but also hurt the president’s standing in the international community at a time when he needs global support to win the ongoing battle against the murderous Boko Haram terrorists.

It must be emphasised here again that the Ekiti polls is not a test run of the presidential election. The election is about the decision of Ekiti people over who governs their state. Given the many positive changes in the state in the past three and half years, it is very obvious even to a casual observer how Ekiti people will vote on 21 June.

However, the verdict of the Ekitis at the governorship election is not necessarily an indication of how they will vote at next year’s presidential election. Ekitis are not the kind of electorate that vote for a party irrespective of the candidate, which is why President Jonathan won in the state in 2011 even though the state’s then ruling party ACN fielded a candidate. This is a point that deserves serious consideration by the president and his advisers.

Nobody should underestimate the resolve and capacity of Ekiti people to resist imposition. It is palpable in the air that the people are firmly and resolutely resolved to respond to any attempts to steal their votes with the decisive force of popular resistance. This is a sign that any efforts to manipulate the election can only result in a disaster.

Ekiti 2014 is about the future of Ekiti and its people should not be hindered in any way from freely and peacefully deciding that future. In fact, a free, credible and transparent Ekiti polls – whatever the outcome – will be a boost to President Jonathan’s chances next year and will bolster his image in the international community. There are enough killing fields in Nigeria; we cannot afford a new trouble spot in Ekiti.

* Femi Awoniyi, an indigene of Ekiti State, is the publisher of the Germany-based bimonthly magazine, The African Courier

May 4, 2014
The booby traps ahead

The news that the span of the Jonathan National Conference had been extended meant nothing to many Nigerians. As usual, some, including the highly educated and conscious, merely shrugged it off. “What really does it mean?” they asked. Some had written it off before it started and could not be moved by whatever else the administration could be up to. Others rationalized the action, having initially argued that three months would be inadequate to handle the tasks set for the conference. Many others saw nothing wrong with a slight adjustment of just six weeks if it would lead to permanent solution to the age-long problems of the society.

Despite my suspicion about the sudden conversion of the President to the idea, I refused to accept that he chose the path to entrench himself in power. But, I am beginning to believe he is up to some game, probably following in the steps of General Ibrahim Babangida. What in real terms does the extension mean with regard to the 2015 general elections. It would be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission has released the dates for the federal and state elections next year. The presidential and national assembly elections are to hold on February 14, while the governorship and state assemblies would have their date with the electorate two weeks later.

The timelines to be released later would then follow the dictates of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). By law, formal campaigns would start by November. In that month, it should be expected that congresses and conventions would be held within the same month. As it goes, real politicking and campaigns would have started at least two months before the formal take-off in November. Political parties, politicians, aspirants and current office holders would have been soaked in the exercise and the country agog and seized by electoral matters only. Yet, the national conference would be submitting its report by the end of July.

Following submission of the report, the President is likely to subject it to review and consideration by a body of the executive. That could be expected to take a minimum of two weeks. Then, it has to be forwarded to either the National Assembly for review and approval, or INEC for a nation-wide referendum. How long does the President expect this process to take? Could it be accommodated within the hectic electoral schedule that includes registration or update of the electoral register, the submission of same to the political parties, its display and consideration of objections?

If ever I had doubt about the second term ambition of President Jonathan, it has long evaporated. The man is set to damn all consequences and do everything to scale all legitimate hurdles on his path. All the activities would be going on just as insecurity remains a major challenge and the welfare of the people take the back seat.

The President should not plead ignorance of the consequences of his actions. It is well planned and choreographed. When a nonagenarian like Pa Edwin Clark and another serial loser like Pa Tanko Yakasai are Presidential Political advisers, what should one expect?

It is very obvious that the outcome of the election is already compromised. Those working out the programme might have reckoned that an ensuing confusion would make holding it impossible, thus a call for a shift is considered inevitable; moving the inauguration date back to October 1. Those determined to see the President exit Aso Rock would kick and fight the dubious move. Where does that leave Nigeria and Nigerians?

The script writers obviously do not wish the country well. Plunging the country into crisis now is an ill-wind that will do no one any good. When conflicts arise, the principal characters are only in position to know the start, the course and ultimate resolution point is never certain. In 1962, the ruling Northern Peoples Congress chose to eliminate the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo from the political stage. The conspiracy led to the treasonable felony trial and conviction, as well as indictment by the Coker Commission of Inquiry. Ultimately, the pillars of the Republic were pulled down on the political establishment.

The fate of the Second Republic was no better. The ruling National Party of Nigeria decided to annihilate the other political parties at the 1983 poll. The result: the whirlwind swept all, including the ruling party off. Babangida was architect of the Third Republic doom. He also lost out.

Anything that would prolong the span of this administration is unacceptable to a majority of the people. I hope the President and his advisers, official and unofficial, take heed.

May 4, 2014
2015: South-South trouble spots for Jonathan

Although the South-South geo-political zone is considered President Goodluck Jonathan’s strong base, there are some organised groups and spots within the zone, whose dissatisfaction with People’s Democratic Party (PDP) may pose as stumbling blocks for Jonathan’s 2015 presidential ambition, reports Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu

In Human Rights Day, Tuesday, December 10, 2013, Ogoni people of Rivers State, in the South-South geo-political zone openly demonstrated their dissatisfaction with Dr. Goodluck Jonathan-led federal government, when they shut down the Eleme axis of the East-West Road to protest against what they described as the federal government’s non-implementation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on the devastation of Ogoniland.

On that fateful day, as early as 7am, a mammoth crowd of Ogoni people, including their traditional rulers, women and elders, led by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) and the Ogoni Solidarity Forum, blocked the highway somewhere between Port Harcourt Refinery, the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone and the Indorama-Eleme Petrochemical Company at the Akpajo junction of the East-West Road.

Most of the protesters carried placards, some of which read: ‘Federal government save our lives; ‘Ogoniland is now a death zone.”

President of MOSOP, Mr. Legborsi Pyagbara, who addressed journalists after the protest, said they used Tuesday, December 10, being, to express their displeasure over the federal government’s continued refusal to implement the UNEP report two years after it was submitted.

Pyagbara said: “We are here today in commemoration of the Human Rights Day and the Ogoni people are using this day to express their disapproval of the federal government’s inaction to the implementation of the UNEP report. So what we are doing is part of a global process.

“As I speak, there are people in Germany, in London, USA doing a similar thing in solidarity with the Ogoni people. The UNEP report is like a death sentence passed on the Ogoni people and we are telling President Goodluck Jonathan that he has no time again. He should swing into action to implement the report and save the Ogoni people.”

Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the Ogoni Salidarity Forum, Celestine Akpobari, said: “The protest was successful. It went the way we planned it. The aim was to compel the federal government to implement the UNEP report through this non-violent protest.

“Before this time, we gave the federal government a 90-day ultimatum to implement the report, but as at November 10 this year when we (Ogoni people) celebrated the 18th anniversary of the death of Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni compatriots, nothing has been done about the report,” Akpoborai said.

Barely a month after that expression of dissatisfaction, on the second week of January 2014, angry Ogoni youths, while protesting police shooting of their kinsman and lawmaker representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe, also blocked the Elelenwo Junction area of the same East-West Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The Sunday before the protest, Abe was shot with what the police described as rubber bullets at the venue of a rally organised by the Save Rivers Movement, a mobilisation group of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Also, the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) condemned the role of the police at the rally, blaming it on politics.

The MOSOP President, Mr. Legborsi Pyagbara, reportedly said, “We had hoped that politics in this dispensation would be played with civility, decency and devoid of political violence. The current level of political intolerance in the country, and in Rivers State in particular, is deeply troubling and condemnable.

”Recognising that the Ogoni had made so much sacrifice for democracy, which is being enjoyed in the country today and for which we have not benefited commensurably, we deplore the situation where any Ogoni man would be sacrificed on the altar of political acrimony or political violence in Rivers State.”

That sentiment against the Jonathan-led federal government by some groups and individual stakeholders in the South-South who do not want to be associated with his re-election campaign also manifested clearly in February this year as the zone prepared for the National Conference.

It manifested during the Pre-National Conference meeting of the South-South, organised by the South-South People’s Assembly at Ashbury Hall of the Mirage Hotel, Calabar. Trouble started when the chairman of the meeting, Dr. Emmanuel Nsan, a former Minister of Health, allegedly suggested that President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid be endorsed at the meeting as one of the proposals the South-South delegates would present at the National Assembly.

That suggestion caused a major division as some members of the Pre-National Conference, including Dr. Peter Mede, who moved the counter motion and Jonas Chugo, the President of Eleme People’s Assembly stoutly opposed it.

At a point, the matter was put to vote. Although, supporters of Jonathan’s re-election agenda at the meeting carried the day, his opponents put up a determined fight, alleging that they were tricked to the pre-conference meeting to endorse Jonathan’s re-election ambition when the meeting should, as was the case in other zones, concentrate on issues of strategic importance to the zone.

Rivers, main battlefield

The long political battle between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, which culminated in Amaechi’s decision to dump PDP for APC has made Rivers State the central battlefield for Jonathan’s 2015 presidential ambition.

Acknowledging Amaechi’s popularity in the state, Jonathan’s associates have allegedly empowered Chief Nyesom Wike, Amaechi’s former Chief of Staff to vie for the governorship ticket of PDP in 2015.

The strategic implication of this battle for the political control of Rivers State, according to an insider is that if PDP allows Amaechi’s APC to take everything, Jonathan may not secure even the required 25 percent vote from the state during the presidential election. “This is not acceptable to the presidency and to the PDP. Jonathan cannot afford not to get the required votes in any of the South-South states.”

To confirm Mr. President’s determination to win the Rivers political battle, just last April, First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, while reacting to a report that claimed she was planning to install three governors in Bauchi, Bayelsa and Rivers states, said in a statement signed by her media assistant, Ayo Adewuyi, that:“While we consider this a figment of the imagination of the writers of the spurious story, it is also expedient to state clearly that the First Lady does not meddle in the affairs and selection process of the ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party.

“Consequently, there is no way she can dictate or install anybody into political offices.

“In the case of Rivers State, the First Lady wishes to state categorically that the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike is the leader of PDP in Rivers State and he enjoys the followership of the people of the state. The First Lady is solidly behind Chief Wike.

“The people of Rivers State are also solidly behind Chief Wike and are prepared to follow him… “Mrs. Jonathan has not withdrawn her support for Chief Wike at any time and will always work for the interest and the good of Rivers people. As far as the First Lady is concerned, there is no shaking in Rivers State,” Mrs. Jonathan said.

On that issue, ex-militant and leader of leader of outlawed Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujahedeen Asari Dokubo, an ardent supporter of Jonathan’s 2015 presidency differed sharply. Reacting to reports on First Lady’s support for Wike’s governorship ambition, Dokubo was quoted as saying the Ogoni should be supported to produce the next governor in the interest of justice and fair play.

“As far as we all know, there are three ethnic clusters in Rivers State: the Ijaws, the Igbos (Ikwerre is part of the Igbo cluster) and the Ogonis. After Bayelsa was excised from Rivers State, the Igbos have ruled for many years. Odili was an Idoni Igbo; he ruled for eight years. Omehia/Amaechi, who is also Ikwerres, by 2015, would have ruled for more than eight years, making over 16 years.

“It is morally wrong for any anybody to say that Igbo cluster should produce the next governor in 2015. I am an Igbo man also, by virtue of my origin, and so I am not against the Ikwerre people or against the Igbo. I repeat, I am an Igbo man; I can narrow it down: I have Ikwerre blood flowing in my veins.

“Having said that, the next cluster are the Ijaws, made up of the Kalabaris, the Obolo and Ibani people, the Wakrike; Okirika is just one town in Wakrike, Ukoro and others. These people have produced a governor. In terms of local government spread, they are in 11 local government areas out of the 23 local government areas; the Igbos are spread in eight and the Ogonis in four local government areas.

“In terms of population, when you remove the cosmopolitan population of Port Harcourt and Obiakpor, which is about 80 per cent of the population, is non-indigenous of those local governments. That is old non-Rivers indigenes and Rivers indigenes, who are not indigenes of Port Harcourt and Obiakpor local governments. If you remove those populations, the Ijaws are the majority as a single block.

“When you look at that, for somebody to say another Ikwerre man should become governor is wrong. Yes, constitutionally, he has a right to aspire, everybody is free to aspire, but it is not moral, it is not right. Something can be legally right but it might not be morally right,” he said.

As the battle for Rivers State political control rage, insiders say PDP top leadership in Abuja is highly worried at Amaechi’s firm control of the critical political machinery and is ready to pay any price not to lose out completely in 2015 presidential election.

Edo State: Edo State is another South-South state where Jonathan is fighting hard to secure the required votes during the presidential election.

In fact, since Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his All Progressives Congress took over power in Edo State, the near mythical influence of Chief Tony Anenih, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and that of the other powerful PDP chieftains in the state has been badly dealt with in the former PDP stronghold.

During the last governorship poll in the state, Anenih in particular had assured the worried Presidency that PDP will take back the state. This was not to be as Oshiomhole and his APC’s political party not only retained his seat but also cleared all the 18 local government areas of the state.

“So, as the 2015 elections draw nearer, it has become clear that all that Jonathan and PDP would hope for during the presidential election is to get about 20 or 25 percent of the votes on sentimental ground,” said Chief James Edosoma, a community leader

Still loved by many in South-South

The trouble areas and pockets of stiff opposition notwithstanding, Jonathan still enjoys majority support in his home zone, the South-South. In fact, majority of the leading PDP chieftains in the region, who are alleged to have benefitted personally from his presidency are so passionate about his re-election that they are ready to bet their lives on it. Such supporters are led by Chief Clerk and ex-militant Asari Dokubo. Such supporters have openly defended the re-election bid declaring that it is a must.

Former Minister of Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, is another top politician from the zone that would not tolerate anything stopping Jonathan from re-contesting. In a recent interview he said: “President Jonathan has a constitutional right as a Nigerian to seek re-election. I do not know what qualifies, Tafawa Balewa, Shehu Shagari and Olusegun Obasanjo to seek office for second term that Jonathan does not have. Obasanjo from the South-West ran for two terms and nobody challenged his right to go for second term. Shagari from North-West contested election, completed his first term and ran for second term and was sworn-in but the military truncated his second term. But nobody challenged his constitutional right to go for re-election. Nobody also challenged Tafawa Balewa.

“If late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was alive, nobody would have challenged him if he wanted to go for second term. Nobody has stopped a serving president in Nigeria, Africa, America, from seeking re-election unless he was defeated at the election. I do not agree that the proponents of asking Jonathan not to re-contest make any legal, political and historical sense.

“However, should they feel that Jonathan has not done well, which is a matter of mathematics; what did Jonathan as president get overall, what has he been able to achieve? What did Jonathan get overall and how much has he used to prosecute Boko Haram war with the army and what is left for executing projects? What did he get with regard to a level playing ground of a peaceful existence as a nation as opposed to what other presidents got? We must have a benchmark to assess all the presidents to know how they have performed.

“Having said so, it is not to say Jonathan should not contest. Jonathan should contest, Jonathan must contest. If those who don’t want him to re-contest know what they are doing, they should mobilise and stop him at the election.

“If because of this predominantly northern opposition Jonathan did not contest, he cannot come back to the South-south, we will chase him away. It is not Jonathan’s mandate; it is South-South’s mandate. We cannot be made second class citizens in our country. He cannot dare to say he will not re-contest. He will be shocked with the answers he will get. His mandate is a collective mandate of the South-South led by our hero, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who paid with his blood.”

So except there are major strategic changes before the 2015 presidential election, it seems certain that Jonathan also has serious political battles to win in the South-South zone. It is a development the president is deeply concerned about.

May 4, 2014