The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • APC: Fantastic future or fatality?

    APC: Fantastic future or fatality?

    The events preceding and culminating in the formation or amalgamation (some do not want the use of the latter) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are interesting as well as intriguing to an inquiring and analytical mind. While there is the need for Nigeria’s fledgling democracy to have a strong opposition to curtail and checkmate the excesses and seeming impunity of the ruling party at the centre, the coming together of parties: ACN, ANPP, CPC and a faction of APGA to form the APC was unexpected by many Nigerians. Much more so, the speed and timing of its formation caught many napping, especially in the ruling party. It was the thought of many political pundits and analysts that leaders of these erstwhile parties in the ally will truncate the process because of their ambitions. However, it is worth commending that the leaders involved in the merger put their act together against skeptics to initiate the formation of the APC.

    Looking at the whole scenario with another lens, some opinionated that the merger is the coming together of strange bed fellows which may soon develop fractures and be fragmented into different political parties before the next general elections in 2015. In fact, to talk of the amassing of human resources, the APC currently boasts of many erudite as well as exposed, equipped and enlightened minds criss-crossing the Nigerian landscape. This is one crux of the matter. The writer, as an organisation leadership researcher, will want to analyse the present and future while not losing a vital gaze of the pedigree of the dramatis personae involved in the merger process. The top leaders definitely have more work to do to convince many Nigerians that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not the same as the APC, as some are already insinuating, especially with defections from the new PDP to the APC. The loss of five governors from the PDP to APC has really caused nightmarish insomnia for the ruling party at the centre, especially with the recalcitrant, albeit immature, attitude of the leaders of the Senate to let go of defecting Senators from the PDP to APC as the issue has been taken to court.

    Inculcating the four I’s

    It is the opinion of this writer that for APC to have a sustainable and desirable future envisaged by the founding fathers, it is high time the leaders, given consideration to broad-based consultation with the followers (members of the party at all levels), began to initiate a process of inculcating the four I’s: Identity, Ideology, Induction and Institutionalisation. The time is short. However, with a sagacious strategic leader like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the fold and with other cerebral minds, a lot of ground can still be covered in a few months with a dint of hard work.

    Identity

    It is not only a good development but a farsighted one that the APC initiated a process of party membership registration throughout all the wards, local government areas, and states of the federation. As at the time of writing this article, the registration is still on-going. It was indeed a formal way of real members identifying with the party irrespective of their social status. However, to identify with any group, some factors come into play like who are the members of the group, or cherished norms of the group or objectives of the group, etc. Hitherto, the broom is the most popular of the emblems representing the APC as a party largely taken from the erstwhile ACN logo. It is a slogan of the then ACN that the intention of the party was to sweep away the epileptic and inefficient government of the PDP. However, especially with defectors in droves from the PDP to APC, this is the moment for the APC to bear a unique identity that will make and mark them distinctively different from the PDP. For instance, I remember, in Singapore, the ruling party, People’s Action Party (PAP), has a unique identification of wearing white as the party uniform to denounce and exhibit zero tolerance for corruption at all levels in the polity. This is a form of identity that is unique and catchy. The APC will need to do more that flashing or wielding the broom to convince Nigeria that the party is here to herald the real change yearned or longed for by the citizens.

    Ideology

    From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, ideology can be defined as “the set of ideas and beliefs of a group or political party.” Alternatively, it is seen as “a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture.” In essence, there is the urgent imperativeness for the top leaders in conjunction and consultation with members to define and depict in clear cut manner the real, pragmatic and all-embracing ideas, beliefs and line of thought unique to the APC as a political party that all members know, understand and can exploit to woo others into the fold. For instance, for those of us alive in the Second Republic, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) under the leadership of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, had the four cardinal programmes: Free Education, Free Medical Services, Gainful Employment and Integrated Rural Development. These were once acknowledged by the then UK Government of Harold Wilson administration. Recently, Senator Olusola Saraki came out with some hastily and hurriedly crafted programmes for the APC. For the APC to have a sustainable future and avoid fatality at an early stage, it is imperative for the top leaders to constitute a cerebral and level-headed committee to fashion out a robust and realistic ideology that is sellable to Nigerians in all the six geopolitical zones not just within APC members if the party will want to win at the centre not only in 2015 but to sustain the winning streak like the People’s Action Party (PAP) in Singapore and the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in Malaysia.

    Induction

    While it is worth commending for members to register, it is much more vital for the APC to properly induct its members. In essence, inducting members will be a formal process of making someone a proper member of the party. The process in modern day organisations is to set aside weeks of capacity building for new employees for them to know, imbibe and internalise core values and culture of their organisations so that the new inductees will function in accord or harmony with old hands without friction thus ensuring and engendering organisational effectiveness. The APC needs this more than any other party now if the leaders desire right attitudinal approach, discipline and healthy organic growth. To this end, the APC, in these days of digital technology, can latch onto online platform to educate, enlighten and equip members at all levels. It is also essential to organise at local government, state or federal level leadership and followership training programmes such as seminars, workshop and conference inculcating the party’s ideology, constitution, history, partisan politics in Nigeria, theory and practice of social inclusion, religious and social harmony, servant leadership, exemplary and courageous followership, etc.

    Institutionalisation

    The last but not the least is institutionalisation. It is instructive to point out that after proper means of identification; carving or crafting a befitting ideology; imbibing or internalising core values and culture of the party through well thought out and tailor-made capacity building, the top leaders should envisage a way of building the APC to becoming a national institution that is colossus in status just like UMNO is in Malaysia. For instance, it is impossible for anyone entering Kuala Lumpur, the capital city, not to notice the presence of the ruling party in the Central Business District (CBD) with the UMNO building hosting the party secretariat and providing spaces for other corporate organisations to do their businesses. No doubt in Malaysia, the UMNO has passed the stage of just being a ruling political party to an institution. The APC can strategically think and tinker in a creative process towards becoming a notable and noticeable institution within our clime. I am yet to see one political party from independence till date exhibiting any trait of an institution within Nigeria’s polity. The pervading and prevailing attitude has largely been to grab power and share our common wealth. In line with this line of thought, the APC should begin to head hunt internally for cerebral minds to craft a well robust, sustainable, practicable, adaptable and amenable Strategic Change Plan (SCP) covering a period of five to ten years if the party intends to foist feasible change that is peaceful, proactive, passionate and progressive on the psyche of the Nigerian nation.

    Conclusion

    The APC has a golden opportunity to make a real change through servant-leading that can result in real transformational changes that are all-encompassing. Followers all over the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and also Nigerians in the Diaspora are watching and waiting to see if they will ever witness a paradigm shift from this mess of cantankerous corruption ravaging the soul of the Nigerian nation to an egalitarian society where poverty will be alleviated. May this golden opportunity not be marred by sheer greed, blind ambition, ethnic jingoism, religious bigotry, rivalry, etc. The leaders must roll up their sleeves to work assiduously, optimising the avalanche of resources within the party. The top leaders should continually demand and value genuine feedback from followers. This should be imputed into the decision-making process of the party. Issues such as conduct of primaries, internal democracy within the party, discipline, nomination, etc should be clearly spelt out in the party’s constitution.

    -Dr. Ekundayo, a researcher and organisational management consultant, resides in Lagos.

  • ‘Critics of APC registration exercise are lazy‘

    Member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Ikorodu Constituency I, Sanai Agunbiade, in this interview with Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, spoke on the APC membership registration exercise and other issues. Excerpts.

    Your party, the All Peoples Congress (APC) recently embarked on nationwide registration exercise. How has the exercise been in your estimation?

    It has been wonderful. The turnout has been impressive. The enthusiasm shown by Nigerians towards the party is such that we are encouraged to believe that the time for change has really come. It is such that I can conveniently tell you that the APC is the rave of the moment and would be for a long time to come. The transparency with which the exercise was also conducted across the country also endeared the party to many people.

    In a move that is quite unusual and very brilliant, the party leadership identified delineated places used for voting during elections long before now in all the wards across the country and directed that people should go there and get registered as members of our party. This is a very logical move that has made the registration exercise very easy and simple. The location became easily identifiable, the process of data collection became easy to do and difficult to falsify.

    But the use of those polling units have been widely criticised by some people especially in the ruling party.

    I say that is sheer propaganda and lazy talk. The use of those locations has nothing to do with INEC. No INEC logo was displayed anywhere near the registration centers this time. The party did not at any time tell the people this is INEC registration. APC merely used the polling units as catchment areas for its registration. Why did INEC identify those places in the first place? It was because it considered population and location. So, if it is now convenient for us as a party to use these locations for our party registration exercise too, why should that become an issue?  People will always find ways to discredit what they don’t like. What APC did is something very creative. Other parties are free to copy this innovation if they so wish instead of engaging in lazy talks. The units are not permanent properties of INEC. So I think it is unnecessary to glorify such criticism with too much attention.

    There are also talks about people being forced to register in some states.

    Still lazy talk. I will say this is an unfair comment from the callous figment in the imagination of some disgruntled elements. Baffled by the huge turnout of the people to be part of the movement towers change, these people are grumbling. People were not forced in anyway. They came out happily and willingly to register. Statements like these  only provide proofs that the government at the centre is jittery. Were the 26 lawmakers in Kano State forced to join APC. Were the governors forced? were the councillors and council chairmen in Kwara State forced? This registration is a voluntary thing and those doing it are doing so voluntarily. The high turnout is out of the peoples love for APC.

    As a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, you are championing a bill meant to protect citizens against forceful takeover of properties. Can you shed some light on this?

    The constituency I represent is one that is very notorious for violent land scuffles. unfortunately, this is not because the people are violent but because the mainland of Lagos is occupied and the residual of land is left in our axis of the state. And you know how important land is to us here in Lagos. Land is to us what oil is to them in the south South. The demand is high while the supply is now very low. The consequence is that people now sell and resell land at will. This brings about conflicts. With our values eroded and greed taking over our societal lives, we begin to see so many cases of forcible take over of properties across the state. You find young jobless people across the state being equipped to fight one another and destroy lives and properties. You even find the Police and other agencies collaborating to enforce fake judgements. You find lawyers writing fake petitions just to get people threatened into relinquishing their properties unjustifiably. We received a lot of petitions on this in our committee. We saw people storming the Assembly with gunshot wounds.  We heard of cases of rape, vandalisation and other such acts of brigandage unleashed on innocent people by criminals in their bid to forcefully take possession of properties. That was when the Speaker tasked our committee to come up with a bill that will wholesomely address the menace. That led the bill before the house today.

    What has been the response to the bill, especially from alleged godfathers of violent land speculators?

    Of course we know the danger inherent in the assignment we were given. We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy job but we were determined to do something about the menace of land grabbers. Out take is that if you stand up for the people, you are standing up for God and if you stand up for God, he will protect you. Our intention is not to put anybody in trouble but to protect all stakeholders in the property business. We are not against individuals but against criminalities. This bill aims to protect everybody, even those engaged in forcible take overs too. The target really is to stop all acts of illegal extortions. It is to protect the average individual from illegalities.

    How optimistic are you that the bill will become law?

    I am very optimistic that it will scale all hurdles soon so that we can send a clean copy to the Governor for his assent. The people who came for the public hearing were largely supportive of the bill. They just wanted us to be cautious in a few places. Aside that, the people of the state also want the bill to become law.

    What has been your experience as a two-term legislator in the Asemnbly?

    You used the word experience. I want to tell you that it has been wonderful. One thing i have come to realise is that one needs to learn the rope e to be able to come to term with the procedures. You can be in the house for four years and still not get your bearing in the art of lawmaking. Even four-term legislators cannot claim to know it all. It is not just good english that makes you a good legislator. It goes beyond that. Doggedness, team work, perseverance, willingness and other things like these are most needed for you to succeed as a lawmaker. This is why I have come to agree with the concept that the longer you stay in the house as a legislator, the better for legislation and legislature. I now see the reasons why in the advance country, the strength of the legislature is measured by the experience of the legislators. This enriches the legislature so much that the laws that are churned out are robust and wonderful. Unlike here where we want to change our lawmakers every term on the flimsiest excuses without looking at the effect on the institution. Of course, the lawmaker too must be  a worthy representative of his people. He must be a good lawmaker and he must also be able to bend backward and give back to his people in some ways so as to get their nod for more terms. To God be the glory, I have made my impact in all these areas i’ve mentioned. To mention a few, I’ve empowered about 625 youths. I’ve been able to get 10 of my constituents into government employment. Also I got private jobs for six people. We had over 400 students go through our free computer trainingI’ve also through my activities as a legislator facilitated the rehabilitation of roads in the constituency. I have participated in debates, motions, bills etc for years as a legislator. I attend plenary promptly and regularly. With all these, I am now more experienced.

    So what is your next political aspiration?

    Everybody has a desire and ambition. A man without ambition is a dead man. But as a politician, your aspiration must always tally with the aspiration of your people. It must also conform with the belief of your party. As an individual, if I have my way, I will like to continue the good work I am doing in the Lagos State House of Assembly for another term. It is my desire and I am daily encouraged by my people to still represent them for another term. So, if my party deems this fit, I will want to remain a lawmaker. But if the party feels otherwise, the decision of the party is binding on me. But it is my opinion that experience, passion,antecedent and temperament must not be scarified for anything in making political choices.

  • Who killed Bola Ige?

    Who killed Bola Ige?

    When last week I wrote about unresolved murders probably masterminded by political considerations, the most prominent figure whose assassination was cited was the late Chief Bola Ige. He was an ebullient politician, an orator, a redoubtable debater and perhaps the most colourful politician in the South West at the time he was killed. Today, as was the refrain then, the question remains: who killed Bola Ige?

    Little did I know last Sunday that the question would prop up during the screening of ministers by the Senate. As the ministerial nominee from Osun State appeared before the upper legislative chamber, the question was asked from the most unexpected quarter. Senator Uzamere who had just defected from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had to fight to put the poser to the nominee. He wanted to know what role Awosiyan played in the sensational murder. He wanted to know why the man had been linked with Ige’s murder. He wanted to know why the man was detained for more than three years for allegedly enlisting the men who pumped hot lead into the Cicero of Esa Oke.

    Some PDP Senators, in sympathy with the man and invoking party solidarity, tried to shield the nominee from answering the billion dollar question. The more they tried to do so, the more Uzamere insisted. Awosiyan, as could be expected, denied. His supporters in the Senate said he could not be sworn on the Quran, but he said he would not mind if one could be found. He said he had no reason to kill Ige who was his mentor. He said Ige had sponsored his education and was a benefactor to his entire family. He then gave way to emotion. The man cried.

    The point here is not whether he was actually guilty as charged. Uzamere probably knew that could not be achieved at that point. His objective must have been to tell the world that the matter would not die until the criminals are apprehended and put through the mill of justice. The Senator wanted the world to know that Awosiyan had, at a point, been linked with the high-profile assassination of the former Attorney General of the Federation. He probably wanted to remind the security forces that the matter could never be swept under the carpet; that it is one case whose file should never be closed until the killers are found. And he achieved that much.

    Those of us who believe in justice and believe that injustice to one is injustice to all, owe Uzamere gratitude for bringing up the matter. Does it really matter is Awosiyan sails through? In any case, having been freed by the law, unless there is fresh evidence linking him to the death, he cannot be stopped on that score. However, it is not only in the interest of Ige’s political associates and the general public that the murderers be unveiled. It is in the interest of all those mentioned and detained for the murder, too. Until the killers are unmasked, they remain suspects in the eyes of the public.

    Who killed Ige? To what avail? Who was so desperate to ensure that Ige did not mount the soap box to campaign against the PDP? Why and on whose instruction did the Police arrest some mad men alongside strong suspects perhaps to discredit the entire investigation process and set the stage for setting all suspects free? Did the Oyo State government diligently handle the case? Given the fact that he was still a top official of the federal government at the time, did the Obasanjo administration do enough to get to the root of the matter?

    It is a shame that Ige and Obasanjo were such good friends. He was a great fighter while alive. His wife could not believe that such a cruel fate could befall her darling husband. From the way she saw the prosecution of suspects handled, she lost the will to live. She simply gave up on the Nigerian society. As a judge of the Court of Appeal, she knew the prosecution could not obtain justice the way the matter was being tried. It was no surprise when she died in the process. The woman died.

    More than a decade after, the assassins must think it is all over. They are now occupying important offices in the land. They are preparing for even more important ones at different levels. We may not know who killed Ige; at least for now. The courts may not be in position to pronounce anyone guilty. The Police may be unwilling to arrest and arraign the real killers again. The state, in view of the masterminds and backers of the crime may be unable to institute thorough probe into the matter. But, it must be observed that what man cannot see, God can. Whom man cannot apprehend, God, the ultimate judge, will. Only a myopic person would believe that the matter is over. It is not. Ige fought all through life. Even now, he continues to fight. And, victory is certain.

    The struggle for a better Nigeria definitely continues.

  • Industrialisation, key to Ekiti development-Aluko

    Industrialisation, key to Ekiti development-Aluko

    A governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Senator Gbenga Aluko, has restated that industrialisation is the key to the economic development of Ekiti State.

    In a statement in Ado Ekiti, Aluko, who is the son of the late prominent economist, Prof Sam Aluko, said sustainable development of the state could not be achieved by monthly dependence on federal allocation.

    According to him, what a serious administration should do is to develop the resources of the people in such a way as to gainfully employ the youths. This he said could be done by establishing at least a factory in each of the local government areas in the state.

    Citing the example of his billion naira factory, which he established in Ode Ekiti, Gbonyin Local Government Area of the state, Aluko promised that if voted to power, he would ensure that he established one factory in each local government area of the state.

    Regretting that the only factories found in Ekiti State were water packaging companies and bakeries, Aluko, while applauding the strides the state had made in the field of education, stated that education should, however not be seen as an end in itself, but a means to an end, which is to liberate the people from the shackles of poverty and want.

  • Epic battle in Kwara PDP

    Epic battle in Kwara PDP

    The defection of the former Governor of Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and his supporters from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), has left a big vacuum in the Kwara PDP, with some of its stakeholders currently embroiled in a fierce battle for relevance. Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo, reports the scenario playing out and other developments in the state politics

    The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is still reeling from the shock of the defection of the former state governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki,  to the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    On the heels of Saraki’s defection was the decision of state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, two senators, all members of the House of Representatives – all PDP members (except one) in the state House of Assembly, the 18 local government chairmen and over a 100 councilors in the state – to join APC in solidarity with the former governor who currently represents Kwara Central in the Senate.

    Widely acclaimed as the political leader of the state, Saraki’s exit from the PDP has expectedly created a void in the PDP, according to sources within the party.

    The Nation gathered that while the Kwara PDP still boasts of prominent stakeholders, including the Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Prof. Abdulrahman Oba; former Minister of Transport, Ibrahim Bio; Senator representing Kwara South, Simeon Ajibola, and Senator Gbemi Saraki, as members, a leadership tussle has ensued amongst these stakeholders over who takes charge of the party in the state.

    An indication that all was not well with the party came to the fore last week during the formal return of Gbemi Saraki, the younger sister of Bukola Saraki, to the PDP from the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) on which platform she contested the 2011 governorship election.

    Sources revealed that in spite of the invitation extended to other stakeholders of the party, including Oba, Bio and Ajibola, they were conspicuously absent, a development not unconnected to the brewing battle for supremacy and the control of the party in the state.

    Long before Gbemi Saraki returned to the PDP, there had been a silent but fierce battle among Oba, Bio and Ajibola for the soul of the party with all efforts to achieve a consensus allegedly spurned by the key stakeholders.

    To stem the ugly tide, the national leadership of the party, then led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, inaugurated an interim executive headed by a former member of the House of Representatives from Delta State, Hon. Solomon Edoja, with Alhaji Jubril Bala Jos as Secretary to run the affairs of the party in the state.

    Sources revealed that the infighting in the party may not end anytime soon, as Gbemi Saraki, Bio and Oba in the crisis are allegedly working behind the scene to win the party’s governorship ticket for the 2015 general elections.

    While this crisis remains unresolved, The Nation gathered that both the national leadership of the party and the presidency are working on the option of picking the party’s 2015 governorship candidate from the Central Senatorial Zone, which controls 55 percent of the state’s voting population since the incumbent governor, who is likely to be nominated for a second term in office by the APC comes from the South Senatorial zone.

    This permutation leaves Oba and Gbemi Saraki in contention for the party’s ticket since Bio hails from Kwara North, a zone that last produced the governor from 1999 to 1993 in the person of Alhaji Shaaba Lafiagi, who is the incumbent senator representing the zone at the National Assembly.

    Bukola, Gbemi Saraki feud deepens

    Against all expectations that the death of the patriarch of Kwara politics, Dr. Olusola Saraki, could be the catalyst for reconciliation between his warring children, Bukola and Gbemi Saraki, The Nation learnt that the feud has further deepened despite the intervention of some influential Nigerians.

    Gbemi’s formal return to the PDP some days ago at a rally which was also attended by her younger siblings, Laolu and Tope Edu, gave the clearest indication that the centre could no longer hold within the Saraki family.

    But sources in the state revealed that the gang-up by Gbemi and her siblings rather than diminish Bukola Saraki’s political standing has further shored up his image in the state.

    Even among PDP members in the state, questions are being asked as to the intention of Gbemi in painting the picture of a gang-up against her elder brother, with not a few doubting the trio’s capacity to challenge the leadership of their brother in the state politics.

    Credible sources claim that shortly after Dr. Olusola Saraki passed on, a billionaire industrialist made efforts to broker a truce between Bukola and Gbemi to no avail.

    During one of such meetings, the businessman was alleged to have impressed it on Gbemi to make peace with her brother, which he claimed was one of the unfulfilled wishes of their father. But the former senator in her response was alleged to have said that her rift with her brother was more of personal than political differences.

    Why Ajibola remains in PDP

    The refusal of the Senator representing Kwara South, Simeon Ajibola, to defect to the APC along with the majority of former PDP members, led by Bukola Saraki, has not ceased to confound watchers of Kwara politics.

    Ajibola’s decision to ditch Saraki might not be unconnected to feelers that he may not be fielded for another term in the Senate following his fall-out with some influential stakeholders in his senatorial district over his alleged unsatisfactory performance.

    Ajibola, it was gathered, had also read the body language of Saraki, who was said to have bowed to pressure not to support Ajibola’s re-election in 2015.

    Belgore’s defection to PDP

    A few days ago, the former governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Kwara State, Mr. Dele Belgore, defected from the APC to PDP in a move that did not come to many as a surprise.

    His move to the ruling party, sources alleged, was premised on the offer of the 2015 governorship ticket made to him by key presidency officials and national officers of the party.

    Belgore’s move to the PDP has fuelled speculations that the powers-that-be may have opted to pick the party’s 2015 governorship candidate from Kwara Central, the largest voting bloc in the state as against the APC, which is likely to nominate the incumbent governor who hails from Kwara South.

    But the big posers are: will the old PDP members in the state, some of whom are also interested in unseating the incumbent governor, support the alleged governorship aspiration of Belgore in 2015? Will Belgore also not be seen as an interloper by old PDP members just as he labelled Saraki?

    The likely scenario in the politics of Kwara State in the run-down to the 2015 general elections sure portends an interesting spectacle.

  • ‘Mark hasn’t fulfilled promises made to Idoma nation’

    Chief Madaki Omadachi Ameh is a chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Benue State. He recently declared his intention to contest for the Benue South Senatorial District (Zone C), the same constituency with the Senate President, Sen. David Mark.  In this interview with Precious Dikewoha in Port Harcourt, he described Mark’s 16 years in the senate as a wasteful venture.  

    You are from the same senatorial district with the Senate President, David Mark. Why did you declare your intention or are you not afraid that the Senator President may seek re-election?

    My aspiration is premised on the failure of Senator David Mark to deliver anything meaningful to the Idoma people for 16 years he has occupied that position. Since 1999, Senator David Mark has been deceiving us, leading to deep frustrations and hopelessness on the part of the people and their yearnings for positive change.  It has become obvious that his often-touted promise has become a recycled promise, which will never come to fruition, and which he can no longer use to manipulate the people to his advantage. The time for that change is now. He has not fulfilled any of the promises he made to the Idoma nation. We all know that one of the major planks of his campaign has been his promise to facilitate the creation of Apa State for the Idoma people, a subject so dear to the Idoma nation because of the challenges we face within the context of our current existence since the creation of Benue State in 1976. Not only has he contested and gone to that office for the past four consecutive terms on the strength of this promise, he has also occupied this position as a conventional Senator for eight years and as Senate President for another eight years

    How did your people receive the news of your intention to run for the Senate?

    The declaration of my candidature for the Benue South Senatorial District’s contest on 26th January 2014 has elicited a lot of interest and ardent followership by Idomas and non-Idomas alike.  Many have wondered what inspired this decision, especially in the face of the apparent aversion of other Idoma sons and daughters. I mean those who are equally qualified, but have refrained from expressing interest in vying for this office which has been occupied by one individual since inception of the current political dispensation.  To address these inquiries, I have outlined in my several discussions with some Idoma people why I think the incumbent holder of that office should no longer continue in that office when his current tenure expires on 29th May 2015.  It should be clear to him by now that, having occupied the highest possible office he can aspire to within the Senate, and not having been able to deliver on this promise during the past 16 years, another term of four years to make a record of 20 years in that same office will not make any difference.  The Idomas now know better that they can no longer be hoodwinked into believing another round of recycled promise of Apa State, because the process of state creation is a herculean task within a complicated federal structure like ours in Nigeria, and no single person, no matter how well connected, can make it happen except by the collective will of the people.

    You seem not to believe in the creation of Apa State, or is it because it was being championed by David Mark?

    The creation of Apa State is achievable, but should not be used as a deceitful material against the people you claim to be representing. As I said, the creation of Apa State has been a campaign strategy for David Mark. So, people like us in Benue State are saying he should stop pledging what he knows he cannot redeem. We are no longer kids in the field of politics, Idoma people are not happy over his attitude, especially the wasted years in the Senate.

    Are you saying David Mark’s 16 years as a senator is a wasteful venture?

    Yes, the Idomas cannot point to any meaningful achievement the incumbent Senator has done since he became a Senator.  All roads in Idoma are in bad shape or poorly constructed. Even the road that leads to his home town, Akpegede community, is worse than any other road in the state.  The only new federal project in the state is the re-construction of the Otukpo-Oweto Road, which was inexplicably terminated at Iga-Okpaya, leaving out much of the rest of Apa Local Government Area and the entire Agatu Local Government Area, both of which have hardly seen any form of government presence since time immemorial.  This road, which terminates at Oweto, provides a very short access to Abuja. Even though a contract has reportedly been awarded for the construction of the bridge and preliminary works are said to have commenced, no one knows when this project will be completed, if at all, judging from the penchant for abandoned projects in Nigeria. Considering the enormous influence the Senate President wields over the budgetary process, he could have included any project within his constituency in the federal budget. But this has not happened, and will not happen no matter how much longer he stays in that office. In fact, I have it on high authority, that some federal projects earmarked for Zone C, such as the Makurdi – Naka – Adoka – Ankpa road, which was included in the 2009 draft Federal Budget, was deliberately removed from the final budget document by the Senate President because he said that Adoka people do not usually vote for him during elections.  Even the Otobi Dam project, which held out significant promise for provision of much-needed potable water in Otukpo and the surrounding communities, has become a white elephant project.

    A lot of politicians have said what you are saying today but when they got there they turned their back on the people. What is the hope for the people of your constituency when you become a Senator?

    A true leader shows empathy for his people, no matter their circumstances, he will always expand the frontiers of opportunities for his people, without undue favouritism or nepotism.  This trend, which is fast becoming the norm among political leaders in Idoma Land and elsewhere, needs to be consciously discouraged. Of course, not all of us can have our elder brothers or sisters in high offices for us to be able to enjoy the basic benefits of governance, such as employment for people who are amply qualified.  Our teeming youths still remain unemployed and frustrated, in spite of their enormous talents and high level of intellect. This is because they have no hope to access government appointments and other services as to enjoy the benefits of citizenship of this great country.  Let me assure you that this campaign will never resort to denigration of the person of the Senate President, because it is in our collective interest for him to continue to enjoy the high esteem in which he is held at the national level. After all, as the saying goes, “if you do not want your brother to be king, you will never be the brother or sister of a king.” But we must also not shy away from telling the truth to the constituted authority, especially where such people hold positions in trust for the people.

    When did the dream of serving your people start?

    For more than 30 years, I have been dreaming to become the governor of Benue State. I went into politics in 2009/ 2010 and I contested at the last general election for Federal House of Representative. But more interestingly, they said I have not done my internship, which is the style of the Peoples Democratic Party. In the PDP, if you have not done that, no matter how good your intensions are, you cannot come into the party and begin to contest election because they believe that there are candidates who were there before you came.  Even though I was a favoured candidate, I was asked to step down.

    During the primary, it was a tough one as things were not done the way they should be done.  Because of the experience, when my people decided to search for someone to serve them at the Senate, I decided that I will go to the APC to contest under the platform. That was how I joined the party today.  With what is happening in the APC, it is clear that our democracy is getting a better shape, a political party is not anybody’s father’s name.  It is a platform to achieve a political aim. I don’t want to compete with those in the PDP, who don’t have political value even when they cannot win election in their own ward. Some people are worried that I moved to the APC but why would I stay in the PDP; why would I stay in a party that enjoys impunity?

    How close are you to the grassroots?

    I am a grassroots man, some politicians or privileged individuals are running away from their communities because they do not belong to the grassroots. I love my people, I love my village, that was why I built in my village instead of my local government because it is always good to connect with the people at the grassroots and when that happens, the people get closer to you and the more they do the more you know their problems. Politicians are running away from their villages, believing that the villagers are poor and maybe disturbing or harassing them to get money from their pockets. But the truth is that they need money but money is not their problem. If you give them N1billion, it will disappear in their hand before two months and they will go back to the same life. The major problem is to assist them develop the right psyche that will enable them utilise whatever is given to them.  In my community, farmers sell their yam prematurely when it has not been harvested with N200 for five heaps.  It is the buyer who now enjoys the fruit of their labour because the buyer now waits until the yam matured. So if the school fees of their children are their problem they will sell their property.  I am from Adoka, I am telling you this because I know my people. I sleep in my village always whenever I am in town.  My campaign slogan is that everybody should deliver on their campaign promises. I am not poor and I am not also a rich man but I have made money. I spent them on community development. My interest is how to change the lives of my people and make them to be comfortable and not to be building houses, buying cars. I told my people to send me, I also told them that if they have a candidate that is better than me, they should please support the person.

    Election manipulation and rigging have denied many good candidates of getting into power, do you think 2015 will usher in a new experience in our political system?

    The 2015 election will be more peaceful; we are developing politically, we are about ending an era where a criminal will jump into politics believing that he will deceive the people and get away with it. A leader must prepare for leadership, if not, he will make a mistake.  I encourage competition. I want my people to compete with me. We have got to a stage where before the next candidate from the other party will make a move to rig, you already know what he is about to do. I want to think the leader of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jaga, is trying. He is in a difficult terrain. I think we are going towards the point of balance of power where no individual can hijack the election result.  That is why we need the kind of defection from the PDP to the APC in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The threat that those who are cross carpeting to the APC will lose their job is false. I have been a lawyer for more than 15 years. The constitution provides that when there is a crisis in your party, you are free to move to any other party. People have been moving from one party to the other and nobody has taken them to court, why now? The party is just a platform on which you can contest an election and if you lose, embrace the winner. That is what I am expecting Senator David Mark to do in the next general election if he decides to contest again. It is not a do-or-die affair; if he wins, I will embrace him too.

    What is your pedigree as to face the challenges of your ambition?

    I didn’t come from a wealthy background, my parents are hard working. They tried earnestly to train us in school.  My father was a civil servant and my mother a trader. We allowed her to be trading because that is what she loves doing. I hold a Bachelor of Laws LL.B (Hons) degree from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria in 1988 where I graduated as the best all-round student with Second Class Honours (Upper Division), after which I proceeded to the Nigerian Law School, Lagos in 1989, where I also graduated with Second Class Honours (Upper Division), and was duly called to the Nigerian Bar in December 1989.  I obtained a Masters in Energy Law and Policy with distinction from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom as a British Chevening Scholar in 2006.  I have worked in different organisations in the private sector, including top law firms in Nigeria and Brazil, the world renowned Consulting Firm of Arthur Andersen and more recently, with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, where I held different management positions, including that of Legal Adviser, Head, Land Acquisition and Claims, Head, Security Planning & Strategy, and Managing Counsel, Legislative Development. I am currently engaged in Oil and Gas consulting as Managing Partner, Bbh Consulting, based in Abuja, with offices and partners in Lagos, London and Guangzhou, China. I am also engaged in legal practice as Senior Partner, Energy, Oil and Gas with Bbh Legal Practitioners, Abuja.

  • 2015: Anxiety over Chime’s absence

    2015: Anxiety over Chime’s absence

    The sudden departure of Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State for another round of medical treatment may lead to a constitutional crisis with dire consequences for the 2015 elections in the state, reports Sunday Oguntola

    When the Enugu State governor, Sullivan Chime, left the shores of the country on February 4, 2014, shortly after a Council of State meeting in Abuja, which he could not attend owing to a deteriorating health condition, tongues started wagging again. Government’s sources said the governor is expected to be out of the country for at least three months during which he will undergo chemotherapy sessions.

    The governor, who is battling cancer of the nose, went on a similar routine medical check on September 19, 2012. He never returned until 141 days after recovering from the debilitating cancerous growth. There are fears in Enugu that the current trip might extend that long again. This is based on the way the governor left the country hurriedly.

    Impeccable sources said Chime hosted the meeting of the South-East Governors’ Forum at the Governor’s Lodge, Enugu on February 2. He looked quite healthy and unruffled, exchanging banters with his colleagues. It was gathered that he left for Abuja on the morning of February 3 for the Council of State Meeting the following day. However, the governor reportedly developed worsening health condition a few hours to the meeting.

    He was said to have stayed back in his official residence in Abuja, unwell to join his colleagues at the council meeting. After doctors failed to take care of the situation, sources said he was hurriedly flown abroad for further treatment. The governor left unable to tighten many loose ends or determine when he will return.

    Who is in charge?

    Of grave concern to political stakeholders in the coal-rich state is the issue of how long Chime will be away. There are fears he failed to handover officially to his estranged deputy, Sunday Onyebuchi, with whom he had fallen apart. The frosty relationship between the duo is believed to have made the possibility of a due handover difficult. Without a proper handover and the governor away, it is feared that governance might suffer serious setbacks in Enugu. Political associates of the governor are also anxious that the absence of their principal might impair their chances come 2015.

    Investigations revealed that Chime is indisposed to putting his deputy in charge, a development that might precipitate a political crisis witnessed in Taraba and at the federal level when the late President Umaru Yar’Adua was lying on his sick bed. Unlike the previous medical trip that lasted for four-and-half months during which Onyebuchi took over as Acting Governor, investigations revealed that Chime cannot trust his deputy again to hold fort in his absence.

    This is because of the ill-feelings between them, arising from the suspicion that the deputy might have been hobnobbing with the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, whom the governor has declared as a political enemy. Chime, it was gathered, is upset Onyebuchi is romancing with Ekweremadu’s camp, ostensibly to form a political alliance that could put paid to his supremacy.

    Though Onyebuchi has reportedly denied such romance in private sessions with the governor, Chime is believed to have held on to his conviction. He is much more incensed that the deputy is said to be eyeing the governorship slot despite the zoning of the ticket to Enugu North, otherwise known as the Nsukka zone.

    Should the governor be unable to return until the minimum 65 days acceptable by the constitution, the state might be thrown into a round of political-cum-constitutional crisis, observers believe. The development might also have telling effects on 2015 elections in the state.

    Section 190 Sub-section 1 of the 1999 Constitution as amended provides: “Whenever the governor is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he shall transmit a written declaration to the Speaker of the House of Assembly to that effect, and until he transmits to the Speaker of the House of Assembly a written declaration to the contrary, the Deputy Governor shall perform the functions of the Governor as Acting Governor.”

    Chime’s Chief Press Secretary, Chukwudi Achife, explained that the governor travelled overseas “as part of his routine medical check-up.” But he denied insinuations the governor would be out of the country for three months.

    Aides of the deputy governor are already reportedly prevailing on him to take over the rein of office, according to constitutional provision. They are also said to be talking to the House of Assembly to declare Onyebuchi the Acting Governor since Chime is away and unable to discharge his official duties.

    But Chime’s associates, who are jittery that the absence of their principal might spell doom for them come 2015, are already perfecting strategies to neutralise plans to whittle down the governor’s influence. They are said to have argued that the governor did not transmit a letter indicating he is unable to perform executive duties, a development they contend means he is still in charge. One of them who spoke in confidence said: “Since the governor did not transmit any letter and has not said he is unable to perform, it means he is in charge. He is only away. He will be back before anyone knows it.”

    A bad timing

    Some of the governor’s aides are said to be lamenting the absence, which is coming at a most inauspicious time. Chime is locked in many political battles to still be relevant after handing over in 2015. The first battle, his aides say, is the neutralisation of Onyebuchi’s plans to replace him. Onyebuchi, they argue, has since grown from the loyal deputy, who remained committed to Chime, despite his long absence last year.

    This, it was gathered, was why the governor quickly zoned the emergence of his successor to Nsukka zone. Onyebuchi is from Nkanu in Enugu East, which effectively rules him out of contention based on the Chime’s zoning succession plan. But Onyebuchi is said to have the support of Ekweremadu to gun for the governorship slot. With the deputy as governor, Ekweremadu’s grip on the state will be more than secured.

    The recent invasion of the deputy governor’s residence, leading to the carting away of over 3,000 egg layers and about 40 crates of eggs from his poultry over alleged violation of environmental laws, is part of the ploy to put Onyebuchi where he belongs, it was gathered. The deputy governor himself alluded to this in his reaction, stating that the action was to prove he is politically impotent.

    The next important battle is to replace Ekweremadu at the Senate. Chime, who has never hidden his ambition, is going for the deputy Senate president’s jugular. He hails from Enugu West with Ekweremadu, who is currently representing the zone. Investigations revealed that Chime is hell-bent on claiming the ticket despite the acclaimed performances of the current occupier. The governor’s absence, however, appears ill-timed to fight what many consider the greatest political battle of his life.

    Yet, Chime needs the seat as fast as possible. Without it, he won’t be in the system again in a clime where office occupiers crave for relevance. With the Senate becoming the haven for ex-governors, Chime wants to join the exclusive league and secure sitting allowances at the hallowed chambers. Already, Ekweremadu is fighting back, knowing he is up against a formidable opponent. The third-termer believes losing to Chime will lead to his political retirement and possible extinction.

    For now, the governor’s aides are confident he would be back as soon as possible to assume his predominance in the politics of the state. But should this trip be prolonged, the state will surely be in for long battles, with the winners and losers difficult to predict.

  • Confab: Oyo Muslims slam Afenifere

    Muslims in Oyo State under the aegis of the Muslim Community of Oyo State (MUSCOYS) has warned President Goodluck Jonathan and handlers of the planned National Conference to be wary of Afenifere leaders, saying they are not representing the overall interest of the Yoruba people.

    Led by its chairman, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, MUSCOYS addressed a news conference in Ibadan and said the group is not in tandem with the positions being canvassed by leaders of the pan Yoruba organisation as the agenda of the Yoruba race for the conference.

    Wondering how Afenifere leaders could leave out Muslims, including personalities like Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Chief Kola Daisi, Prof. Daud Noibi, Shuaib Oyedokun, Dr Jubril Martins-Kuye,  among others, from the proposed Yoruba Constitutional Conference, the group said at best, the group of leaders who gathered in Ishara last week are Christian Yoruba leaders.

    “The so-called Yoruba leaders, gallivanting all over the place, are at best Christian Yoruba leaders. How can you talk of Yoruba leaders in Yoruba land where at least 70 per cent of the population are Muslims without a single Muslim in their midst.

    These people have been going in and out of Aso Rock to curry favours for themselves, not for the generality of the Yoruba’’, alleged.

    He said that those championing the proposed Yoruba Constitutional Conference through a nebulous Yoruba agenda should be regarded as “Yoruba dealers and not leaders’’.

    The group appealed to Nigerians to see the positions and resolutions of the Afenifere leaders as self -serving and unrepresentative. Sanni, while speaking to newsmen after the press conference said the leaders could not be serving the interest of the Yoruba people let alone the Muslim Community in the Yoruba-speaking states without ensuring that their gatherings are representative enough to cater for the interest of all groups and sections of the geo-political zone.

  • National conference: making Nigeria work

    National conference: making Nigeria work

    Text of a speech by National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu at the eighth anniversary of the late human rights activist Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti on Monday.

    The man we celebrate today, Dr. Bekolari Ransome-Kuti remains an icon undiminished in death and unrivalled in courage and tenacity. He is the sad reminder though of how Nigeria wastes some of her best and brightest. He died fighting for us all. For a Nigeria that works. For a democracy that guarantees freedom. justice and fairness and for a government that is responsible and accountable.

    That he died in the midst of the battle to liberate our country was a big loss. We however, have a lot to learn from his life and times. We have a lot to work with in the principles he espoused. He was a decent man. A core professional who sacrificed his professional career in the struggle to liberate his people.

    The things he fought for, the kind of country he wanted and the cause to which he dedicated his life gives us an idea of what needs to be fixed for this country to excel. Nigeria is assailed on many sides by an inept leadership, corruption and funds miss-management and collapse of public infrastructure. The climbing unemployment level speaks to the disarticulated economy we operate as a country. Lack of economic freedom has made Nigerians vulnerable to all sorts of government pranks. Nigeria can no longer continue on this sorry and uncertain path. There must be a change in governance and general orientation.

    Let me however, return to the issue of the national conference and the attempt to hoodwink Nigerians that the “Jonathan Conference” is what will be the panacea to our problems.

    On the issue of National Conference. I have been consistent. I have always maintained that the call for the convocation of a national conference to give to Nigeria and Nigerians a people’s constitution is justified. It is not only the process of the enactment of the 1999 Constitution that is faulty and undemocratic, the contents of the constitution are also inimical to the operation of democratic governance and the realization of the aspirations of the federating units and the peoples of Nigeria

    A Sovereign Conference is an idea Beko during his lifetime championed. Several others and myself through PRONACO and similar platforms have actively promoted, supported and advocated the same idea of a Sovereign Conference. To insinuate that I will of all people be opposed to the convocation of a national conference that meets the prescription we have advocated is mischievous and totally untrue. The Jonathan Conference is not what we have continuously agitated for.

    My opposition to the Jonathan Conference is anchored on principle. In October 2013, after a deep review of the Jonathan Conference proposal, I told Nigerians that the conference is not what Nigerians had advocated for. I warned that booby traps lay ahead. Though I remain an unrepentant supporter of a genuinely Sovereign National Conference, I am suspicious of this present concoction because it is half- baked and fully deceptive. Government’s sincerity is questionable, the timing is also suspect. Now that this government is sinking in a pool of political and economic hot water of its own making, it seizes hold of the national conference idea as if it were a life jacket.

    Today, there are enough contradictions and confusion to sink the conference even before it starts. Yet the government forges on. In that same October 2013 write up which I made public, I articulated my position on the national conference being organized by the Jonathan government. The issues I raised remain. The fears I mentioned abide and the demands I made on the Jonathan government to treat some long standing issues before rushing us into another jamboree are fundamental to moving this country forward. For the benefit of this important occasion and audience here today, let me repeat some of what I said.

    “This government has not the honesty, foresight, tolerance and objectivity to hold a National Conference of any type. This government is so partisan and parochial it can’t even hold its own party together how dare it even think it can organize a national conference that lives up to its name by being truly representative of all the nation’s constituent parts. At most, all they can conduct is a conference comprised of one section of their party and those shell, artificial civil society groups that purport to reflect the public’s mind yet do nothing but spew government propaganda and get paid good naira for their service. This government cannot hold a National Conference anymore than a comatose man can stand and hold up a candle that the rest of us might see our way to a better Nigeria.

    Before embarking on new public relations ploys to whitewash its tarnished record, the government should treat some long outstanding issues and matters. This government cannot give what it does not have.

    If the conference must be held now, we must return to the spade work already done by the Obasanjo government in the aspect of constitutional review. Let the Jonathan government bring it out, remove the third term toxic component and set up a technical review committee to examine the 118 recommendations therein. We must continue from where we disagreed. Nation building is a progressive work and to totally jettison the considerable spade work already done is to set back the hands of the clock. Time is not on our side.

    Secondly, this government should implement the Uwais recommendations on electoral reforms. That report was the work of imminent Nigerians and it was done after widespread consultations to constituencies far and wide. We all know that our electoral system is broken and unfair. If the President has done nothing to fully implement this corrective report that would fix a system so blatantly broken, why would he implement recommendations of national conference if those recommendations do not suit his narrow purposes? The government should first implement this important work in order to demonstrate to Nigerians that it can hold and honor the outcome of a National dialogue.

    This government should do so to show that it has nothing to hide and is willing to engage in the upcoming electoral contest on a level playing field.

    This government must first show good faith for Nigerians to believe them. President Jonathan is not the man to give Nigerians a true National Conference. He can only give us a “Jonathan conference” as bitter icing on the sour cake his government has become. This government lacks the presence of mind and the decency to implement a national conference.

    This administration has not achieved any tangible transformation because it has no concrete goals. Now it tilts and staggers under the weight of insecurity. Claims of transformation and of building an economy that is robust and institutions of democracy, by the President shows someone who believes fiction is more important than fact and imagination is more genuine than reality.

    Both in timing and in style, previous administrations adopted the same tricks of National Conference as a framework to structure their agenda to which people presented memoranda and attended plenaries before realising it was a trick.

    This government’s offer of a National Conference is a wingless bird. It will not fly. The report and recommendations of the Senator Okunronmu advisory committee is now the subject of raging controversy because it failed to the aspirations of Nigerians. Rather than bring clarity, it has brought confusion. The structure and mechanism of the process in that report confirms my assertion that we are on a journey with no destination save the wall of futility.

    Yes, we need to talk. However, we need a national conference that is truly sovereign and not one dictated by the reactionary and regressive elements of the ruling party. This is not the way to clear Nigeria from danger. This is a selfish ploy that will place the nation deeper in darkness and indirection.

    Nigeria is adrift and unless we start a discourse aimed at updating and improving our political economy and its structures, we might wake up one day from a night devoid of dreams because we have turned into a nation devoid of hope.

    However, an imposed national conference by individuals who have shown total disdain for anything nationalistic that does not unduly benefit them and who have demonstrated lack of respect for the opinions of others because they are in “Power” will have little success. It will be an empty and expensive futility with no true dividends for a people wanting their leaders to show them a way out of the pit and not a way deeper into it.

    So, how can we make Nigeria work? First, government must devise a system by which it can deal with the issues that readily confront the Nigerian State and also the constituting ethnic nationalities. This is fundamental. Equally, there can be no short cuts if Nigeria is to be liberated from its present quagmire. Here is a prescription:

    • Overhaul Government-get competent and knowledgeable in key positions to conceive and execute dynamic policies

    • Diversify the economy, revitalize agriculture to create jobs and create wealth

    • Combat corruption by plugging loop holes and government wastages

    • Provide adequate energy to power homes, industries and businesses

    • Subcribe to the rule of law and ensure there is justice for all and not just a few

    • Fiscal/true federalism must be practiced in all ramifications.

    These suggestions are by no means exhaustive, but Nigeria most first confront the known demons that have held it back.

    Today as we pay glowing tributes to an extra –ordinary activist, a patriot of great repute and de-trabalized Nigerian, I call upon us all to honor him by fighting for the ideas he promoted and defending the principles he sought to promote: a truly democratic society.

  • APC changes permutation in Jonathan’s home state

    APC changes permutation in Jonathan’s home state

    It was carnival-like rally for the home-boy. Former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva rode into Yenagoa, the state capital, with funfair. Associates, friends and relations were on hand to welcome him. Exuding confidence, the former governor declared that the days of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were numbered, the All Progressives Congress (APC), he said, will bring succour to the people.

    The temporary headquarters of the opposition party along Enepa-Yenizuegene street was aglow with festivities. The crowd was in a joyous mood. Brooms, the symbol of the APC, filled the air. “We are tired of the PDP. We want the APC”, exclaimed a youth as he waved his broom.

    When the APC leaders alighted from the convoy of cars, there was jubilation. On sighting Hon.Tiwe Orunimighe, the youths shouted the slogan of change. Orunnimighe is the former Chairman of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. He is also the former leader of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON). The politician is an ally of Sylva, who stood by him in the period of tribulation. He is now the APC interim chairman.

    The former governor was also accompanied by the former Special Adviser on Youth Affairs and Chief of Staff, Samuel Ogbuku. Also at the rally was a member of the APC Interm Executive Committee, Mr. Miriki Ebikibina, Elder Chris Alagoa and Mr. Aroz Zuokomor.

    The rally was organised to sentitise members of the party to the importance of the membership registration. The exercise was later conducted by the members of the APC Registration Committee led by an activist and lawyer from Cross River State, Mr. Obono Obla. Other members are Mr. Adokeye Ameye and Preye Aganaba.

    Orunnimighe described the PDP as the party of anti-democrats. He said the party will not retain power in 2015, urging the people to join the APC.

    The politician urged the Southsouth stakeholders to do away with sentiments. He said President Goodluck Jonathan has not lived up to expectation. though from the Niger Delta region had failed to guarantee their future.

    he added: “They have always said our son is the President. Yes, we agree. But, you and l know that, as youths, you don’t have a future under the PDP, which has been hijacked. Those who hijacked it are now lording it over the members.

    “Have you ever seen where sitting governors abandoned their party to embrace the opposition? This is to tell you the level of impunity that exists in the PDP.”

    Orunnimighe drew attention to the performance of the APC governors in 16 states. He said, if the party gets to the centre, it will change the face of the country.

    Urging the people to register as APC members, he said: “This exercise is different from that of the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Our party, the APC, has seen the future because, in the nearest future, we will be going digital. So, your passport is required for registration.

    “Even though the INEC comes with electronic voting and any kind of voting, we are set. The party will bear the burden and cost of providing passports. Photographers have been deployed to take passports of willing members.

    “We will manage to go to your places, get your passports and attach them to your forms. We need your signature on the form or your thumbprint. Don’t allow anybody to take your form. It is what qualifies you as a member of the party”.

    Orunnimighe added: “In the next one year, the APC will be the government of the day. The former Vice President of the country, who is the number one founding member of the PC, Atiku Abubakar, has gone to APC.

    “Have you ever heard in the history of this country that elected members of a party abandoned the party and defected to another party? This is to tell you the direction that we are going. As we speak, APC states are 16 and, by the census of this country, the population of those states are two times the states controlled by the PDP.”

    The politician assured that the APC will provide equal opportunity for members to pursue their aspirations.

    He said: “They used to say that the APC is a ghost party in Bayelsa. Now, you can identify the people behind the party in the state. Everybody has an opportunity to register as a member. With your membership cards, you are equal to any of our party chieftains and you can contest for any position”.

    Obla urged the people to participate in the registration. He said: “I am happy that the revolution is starting from Bayelsa State. I now know that the APC has come to stay. From today, no more CPC, no more new PDP, no more ACN and no more APGA.

    Obla added: “It is a very simple exercise. Go to your polling units. All you need is two passport photograph. Meet your registration officer. He will give you a form. Fill your name, your phone number, sign or thumbprint.

    “The form is in two parts. One will be detached and given to you the other one will be sent to Abuja. The one given to you will be your temporary membership card, until about two months when a permanent card will be sent to you. The registration is open to all Nigerians from 18 years old and above.”