The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • PPA candidate unfolds manifestos

    PPA candidate unfolds manifestos

    Anambra State Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA) governorship candidate Mr. Godwin Ezeemohas promised to transform the state, if elected as governor on November 16.

    He said job creation, promotion of education, social welfare and industrialisation will be his priority.

    Ezeemo, who defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PPA, said that he will also focus on security by preventing kidnapping of people. The governorship candidate described insecurity as a threat to peaceful living, adding that business can also not thrive without a conducive environment.

    Ezeemo visited the Onitsha Market, which was razed by fire. He sympathised with the trader and promised to give them succour.

    The politician lamented that the issues germane to safety and security at the market may have been ignored by the government.

    He said the industrial concerns that create jobs and means of livelihood for the youths will be given top priority by his administration.

    Ezeemo promised to look into the conditions of the market, assuring that a better accommodation would be provided for the traders, if elected as the governor.

  • ‘DAWN designed to quicken development’

    ‘DAWN designed to quicken development’

    Mr Dipo Famakinwa is the Director-General of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission. In this interview with BISI OLADELE and TAYO JOHNSON,  the development expert speaks on the evolution, structure  priorities  and prospects of the commission. 

    WHAT is the objective of the DAWN Commission?

    The DAWN refers to the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission. I had been in the private sector for 20 years before I started getting involved in development issues. And, primarily, I am concerned about the development of Western Nigeria. my development work led me to believe that Western part of Nigeria has very limitless capability for development. I think it is in the process of getting engaged in proving that reality that I got involved with the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) which is the Yoruba group that comprises individuals, professionals, politicians, technocrats from all walks of life with the primary concern for the development of the Yoruba race. That concern led us to start looking for a frame work whereby the Yoruba people who are more than 50 million worldwide can develop at their own pace. While more than 40 million are living in Nigeria, the rest in other parts of the world, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America. We feel that we need to start harnessing the limitless capability, talents of these people for development. ARG pushed me forward to begin to work along the line of finding the methodology for integrating the states in region, especially integrating their development plans, development programs and finding the mechanism for them to work together, and it is that activity that led us to the preparation of the document that is now called DAWN which we presented to the people of the region at the City Hall in 2012, and since then it has now become a strategic document that everybody has begun to look forward to for development of western Nigeria. All what we have done as a group or individuals, all the governors in southwest feel that the strategic plan put together in that framework will work for the progress of the region.

    ARG seems to be the brain behind DAWN. ARG on its own looks like a group with political affiliation. Is there a way DAWN intends to create a platform for all Yorubas, irrespective of their political lineage, to participate in this group’s effort to develop the region?

    ARG played a role in putting this document together. It is actually a document that consolidates what we can describe as the aspiration of the whole Yoruba people. It is not colored in any political or ethnic shade. It is just to fix the language of development, it is just talking about the development of the Yoruba people. It will interest you to know that in 2010, the ARG along with some self determination groups in Yoruba land and the Diaspora, organised what we call the Yoruba Development Summit. at that time the current governors of Osun and Ekiti states were not yet in power, and it was from that summit that the idea of regional integration came in. The aspiration was that whoever came into saddle of governance in the region would have a strategy road map that will speak to the integration of the region, especially integration of our economy and development of infrastructures. So, it was not meant for a political party. It is part of the Yoruba desire to develop their region.

    How do you intend to collate ideas across the region to form the basis for accomplishing your agenda?

    Let me start by giving you the trajectory of this project. When the desire became very strong, the realization that we need to begin to do thing differently dawned on everybody. The Afenifere Renewal Group then gave the Yoruba Academy Group a remit to do a study of the feasibility of what we are talking about. Is it possible for us to integrate our economy? Is it possible for us to integrate our development plan and our development programs? Is it possible for us to integrate our aspirations as a region? And the Academy did a study of the feasibility of that process and it was proven the group, but we need to put another a dimension into things that can be done and not things that are hanging in the air. A group of Yoruba technocrats and professionals from all walks of life, most of them not politicians but those who have worked in the development sectors, then had a retreat in University of Ibadan and it was from that retreat we came up with DAWN strategic document, and in putting together that strategic document, all views from everywhere, from the street level, policy level, political level, all views were put together to form the basis for preparing the strategic document.

    What structure are you developing to achieve your aim?

    The governors of the region are very committed in the development of this region and they have expressed this commitment in many areas and dimensions. The first meeting they had regarding the regional integration agenda was held in Ekiti State. All the governors were present except Osun State governor who was represented by his deputy and they expressed a very strong desire and intent to work together as a region to achieve their development plans and program. It was at that meeting they made their desire to do that. Also follow-up meeting held at Abeokuta, Ogun State. It was at that meeting they agreed that they would put together a technical committee, that each state would send members into a technical committee that would then midwife the process of ensuring that we have an institutional structure and foundation for advancing the development agenda. In May 2012, the technical committee was inaugurated by the Ekiti State governor in Ado-Ekiti. The technical committee comprise a representative of each state in the region and it was also at that meeting in Abeokuta that they said that there must be a commission to ensure that this is not just an express desire but to move it from the level of desire to actualization. So when the technical committee met, they highlighted the areas that are needed to be focused on to be able to give life to this agenda. They went round all the states of the region, met all the governors and had different technical strategy sessions, and came out with the final implementation document. It is like a light plan for guiding the activities of the commission. All the governors also expressed their desire to have an institutional framework to ensure that this document doesn’t just go off, they decided to put in place a commission which is now called DAWN. If you recall at the presentation of the DAWN strategic documents at the City Hall in Lagos, the governors announced that they have secured a space at 10th floor Cocoa House for the office of the commission and it is very historical for us as a people, that we can even use Cocoa House for our office is very commendable, and we the Yoruba race should be proud that Cocoa House is still standing and it can still continue to function for a dedicated centre for Yoruba development.

    Let’s look at the main focus of DAWN. What areas of development are you focusing on; economic, cultural, political?

    In putting together our framework of action, we anchored them on what we call some strategic pillars, and part of what informed the construction of those pillars was the realization that we needed to be very focused. We, therefore, sensed that if we get things right in some areas, we can move development forward in Yoruba land. We have five critical pillars. One of them is economic competitiveness. We want to compete with the rest of the world. We believe that an economy where you have more than 40 million people , bigger than most countries in Africa and Europe, very vibrant, dedicated people who are forward looking to development, we must build a pillar for economic competitiveness that would enable us to continue to compete with the rest of the world. We must go back to agriculture, which is very crucial, not agriculture in the way that it has been done before. We need to look at the critical value chains in agriculture, look at agriculture as business. How do we find the link to do agriculture business like the rest of the world? How do we find the funding? How do we find the finance? How do we build the institutional and infrastructural support for agriculture? We are looking at Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. The idea is that we must build an economy that employs our people. We must build an economy where our young ones can explore their talents. For instance, youths all over the world are doing fantastic things in ICT, we need to look at ways we can leverage ICT, develop our economy and employ our people. We need to look for means to reform our commerce and trading system and critically attain revenue dignity, because we believe as a people it is an insult for us to continue to go to Abuja every month to go and be asking for allocation. How do we generate our own revenue?

  • What is Amaechi still doing in PDP?

    What is Amaechi still doing in PDP?

    Hon. Bimbo Daramola is the Vice Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) has described Rivers State  Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s membership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as a man in a wrong bus.  Precious  Igbonwelundu reports.

    What is your assessment of the Jonathan Administration?

    The economy is going bad. As a member of the opposition, I am not just in opposition party because it is inherent in the opposition to criticise. I remember that President Goodluck Jonathan believes in his two year score card that perhaps, he has done well and he asked Nigerians to judge him, that his period in office has been eventful and impactful. But, if you ask me, I see a man struggling to win the trust and confidence of the people again. He met issues on ground and he assured Nigerians that he would address and deal with the issues and now, he is returning back to Nigerians like saying ‘’go and judge the marking scheme to mark the exam that you set for me’’. The teacher cannot tell the students to come and mark the exams he set. That, to me is a role reversal. He made those promises that he would deliver, but an average Nigerian knows that his life has not been positively affected with what the government is professing or brandishing as its achievement. There is also the politics of the majority party. Take, for instance, party saying that, because a governor did not take a phone call from the national chairman of the party, so, he got suspended. Another governor ran into problem for holding different views with its leadership. So they had to employ the instrumentality of the state to frustrate him. They have alluded so much to growth in terms of figures; they will show you beautiful graphs, the nation’s GDP is growing above our population but you don’t find a corollary to buttress their claim when you look at the people and the majority is still living in abject poverty. Look, if your car does not have fuel and you say it is still a beautiful car, that beautiful car cannot take you to your destination.

    They will give themselves high mark, but the masses are still wallowing in poverty. I am surprised that an Okonjo Iweala, our Finance and Co-ordinating Minister who would have been the head of the world bank is saying that there is no relationship between the figures being bandied about and job creation. In the two years of Jonathan’s government, we should by now take a stock on how many companies or industries have come back to the system. The industries, sadly enough, are re-locating even to African countries that we should be far ahead of. We are cruising at a very high speed and I hope somebody calls them to caution. What we are having or getting is disappointing, given the our resources that abound.

    Can the opposition make the difference?

    2015 provides for us the opportunity to critically take stock and say enough is enough. It is a time to say we have played party loyalty for too long, we have played active politics for too long and it’s about time to now ask ourselves as individuals and as Nigerians whether we are better off than we were in 2011. Is the country better off as it was in 2011? Do we have better roads now than what we had in 2011? Do we have more infrastructures now? Is life better now than what we had in 2011? These are the questions that must bother us. When you vote a government and put that government in power, we expect real impact, real changes. It is amazing that, as individual we do stock taking but as a nation, we refuse to take stock. So, 2015 provides an opportunity for a turn around to be able to ask ourselves, if are better now. No matter how long you have gone on a wrong direction, you will never get to your destination until you make a turn around. The destination, we are talking about is improved society, improved security, improved social infrastructure, improved life etc, these are the indices that you must look at to begin to assess whether a government is working or not.

    Are you saying that the PDP is the problem?

    Well, I am not going to sound puritanical and say everybody in PDP is bad. There are pockets of them that are good. For instance Governor Rotimi Amaechi is good.

    But he is almost an opposition member

    If you say so. It’s a truism in life. Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are. You cannot be found in the company of armed robbers and you will be leading praise and worship in the church on Sunday. When you lie with dogs, you wake up with flies. If you get into a car going to another place, what do you do? You simply tell the driver you have entered the wrong bus and you come down. People who have chosen to identify with the politics of the opposition must have seen something diametrically different. Don’t forget that there is the politics of service and of the people and the politics of the stomach. Some politicians can masquerade politics of stomach and you may think that they are for the people. Even in the Bible, the holy book, Jesus said at the last day when the Son of Man shall come, he will condemn some people and those people will come to him and ask Him if He is making a mistake because they will tell him they cast out demons and healed in His name. But he will ask them to go away because they were workers of iniquity.

  • Ilaka: AP in alliance talks with Alao-Akala, not PDP

    Ilaka: AP in alliance talks with Alao-Akala, not PDP

    Former Accord Party (AP) senatorial candidate in Oyo North District Chief Oyebisi Ilaka spoke on the Ajimobi Administration, prospects of AP and proposed alliance bewteen the party and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.

    What is the future of Accord Party in Oyo State?

    The future of the Accord Party in the state is bright. Since the birth of the party, we have been playing the role of the opposition. Before we came, it has always been the two horse race between the PDP and the ACN, now the APC. We have tried both parties in the states and they have not actually brought succour to our people. We represent the new order, in terms of political philosophy. If you are well aware, you will notice that the party was brought to the state, shortly before the 2011 election. Literarily, it was about three months to the election. Since then, the party has been waxing stronger and on monthly basis, we have been having people defecting to the party. And the trend will continue because we really believe that as they come, they will reap the benefit of their inclusion.

    Some people have a lot of reservations about the leadership style of the AP National Leader, Senator Rashidi Ladoja. What is your view?

    When he got elected in 2003,the challenge he had then was the distinction between the party and government. the issues he had with Baba Adedibu and former President Olusegun Obasanjo really stopped him from delivering on what he set out to deliver, but in the state today, people still reminisce on what he did. They remember then, that classrooms were not as overcrowded as we have now, it was then 30 students per class, civil servants were well treated, there were job creation, industries were sited in the state and there was a coherence philosophy and ideology, which was articulated to all and sundry. Even beyond that, I have met some of those people who worked with him then. They described his government as more inclusive, that they discussed issues as they arrived and he did not run a one man government. In a nutshell, his style was not napoleonic. He does not rule as if he is an emperor. For instance, I have to introduce some things into the party which he really appreciated and imbibed. He remains a major innovator and I think this is what we need in the state. In Oyo state, what we need is an agenda for reform. What we have as at now does not fit the challenges of the age we live in.

    If the APC makes overtures to the Accord Party for the renewal of the alliance, what will be your reaction?

    I think those overtures don’t have any wing to fly. Such a proposition, as far as I am concerned, is dead. We are the only opposition to them in the state and, if we really want a plural society, things should remain as they are now.

    We heard that former Governor Ladoja and his erstwhile deputy, former Governor Alao-Akala, have resolved their differences. Does that translate into a romance between Accord and PDP?

    No, their differences had been resolved. Not only did they work together as governor and deputy, they had a brotherly relationship. Those issues have been resolved, but on the political front, there are discussions. Consultations are still going on, but they haven’t been finallised. Let me add here that the discussion is between Accord and Alao-Akala and not PDP. Yes, we are in alliance talks with him. We recognised him as a political force in the state, particularly in the Ogbomosho and Oke-Ogun areas. We believed that having contested two elections in the state, he has followership across the state. Ours is a party that seeks to grow organically. So, if, in the path of our growth, we consummate this affinity, I think there is nothing bad in it but we are not in any discussion with PDP.

    My assessment is that the government is not coherent and it is strictly disjointed. More so, there is a major disconnection between this administration and the people. But our government in Accord is going to be a government that will have a human face and take into consideration what the electorate wants. We will connect with them at all level. We have also said that our elected officials will live within where they were elected.

    This administration constantly feels that its agenda is contract-driven and not people-driven. So, this is where we have major ideological differences. They are talking about urban renewal, but our philosophy is that, until we fix the rural area, until we develop our agricultural sector, until we develop our industrial sector, until we have proper job creating initiatives, which are enduring, not dead end jobs. We understand that jobs will not only give you a way, but help you build and sustain your family. We are not talking about dead end Oyes jobs, where half of the time, they don’t get paid for it. We have a vision. They call us dreamers, but we have a vision of where we want Oyo State to be. We want people to see what our dreams for the state are and show them our pathway.

    You have traversed three parties within one year because they refused to give you ticket. What will happen, if Accord equally fails to give you the ticket?

    I am in Accord Party for the long run. I left, PDP for the same reason. I and brothers and fellow-travellers left either for the ACN or Accord. I first left for the ACN. Now, I am in the Accord for the long run, for the foreseeable future.

    Many have said that Governor Ajimobi has lived up to expectation. Do you believe in this assertion?

    The state has a team that is not our third eleven, but a mosquito team. They do not have a plan because, when you have a plan and you get to office, what you have to do is to immediately begin to delegate responsibility. We have heard a lot about that executive council. When somebody said people do not contribute, yes it is true, because they do not want to be shouted at by the chief executive, who knows all. The bulk stops on his table because he chose those who work with him.

  • Who succeeds Orji in Abia?

    Who succeeds Orji in Abia?

    Abia State Governor Theodore Orji will complete his second term  in 2015. Correspondent UGOCHUKWU UGOJI-EKE writes on the succession battle in the state chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Six years ago, Abia State Governor Theodore Orji succeeded his former boss, Chief Orji Kalu, against all odds. He was in detention when he won the governorship election. In two years, he will face the same challenge of succession. The resolution of the challenge, observers contend, will be crucial to his post-2015 political calculations.

    Since the state was created, Abia North District has monopolised the number one seat. The first governor, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, hails from Uburu in the present day Ebonyi State. The second governor, Dr. Kalu, hails from Uburu, Bende Local Government. Orji, a native of Ibeku Kingdom, served him as the Chief of Staff.

    Following the protracted feud between Kalu and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the former governor defected from the PDP to the Progressive Peoples Party (PPA), on which platform Orji was elected. But when crisis broke out between Kalu and Orji, the latter defected to the PDP. Although Kalu has also returned to the PDP, the crisis between them has not abated. Today, in Abia State, the internal opposition leader in the ruling PDP is the former governor.

    Both Kalu and Orji are from the Bende Division. Therefore, as agreed by the founding fathers of the state, power should rotate to the Old Aba Division, which is the Ngwa/Ukwa axis.

    Party sources said that Orji is interested in implementing the rotational agreement between the Old Aba and Bende. However, there are some hurdles to cross. Despite the fact that the governor had assured the people of old Aba division that a man from that area will succeed him, some politicians from the South are still itching to succeed the governor. Their argument is that, when Kalu and Orji were struggling to become governors, the people of the Bende Division also showed interest in the race.

    The governor has insisted on the previous agreement. At a recent meeting with the traditional rulers from Isiala Ngwa, Orji said: “Mark my words, the people of Abia South are going to produce the next governor of the state”.

    The assurance has become a tonic for the PDP chiefs from the Abia South. Traditional rulers from the zone have also added their voice. The Umuola Egbelu monarch, Eze Love Wogu, called on the political parties zone the governorship to the district in the interest of equity, justice and fair play. He said there is no shortage of competent politicians to fill the slot. Eze Wogu said that it will be wrong for the position to go to another district in 2015, urging the Ukwa/Ngwa people to also put their house in order.

    The monarch said that the leaders of the area will back any candidate from the zone. “So long as he or she comes from Ukwa/Ngwa area, we are ready to back the candidate”, he maintained.

    The traditional ruler recalled that the state had subscribed to “a charter of equity” as its guiding principle, which says that elective positions would be shared between the old Aba and old Bende, adding that the charter must be obeyed in the interest of political stability.

    Eze Wogu said that, since the creation of the state 22 years ago, the people of Old Bende have ruled the state. “Therefore, it is expedient that power should rotate to Ukwa/Ngwa for the political stability of the state”, he stressed.

    The monarch praised the governor for endorsing power shift. He said that courage is rare in politics, urging him to maintain that integrity till the end of his tenure. The state has two blocs, the old Bende and old Aba, and not the senatorial zones. This issue of senatorial zones should be discarded. The Ukwa/Ngwa people should be allowed to compete for the post of the governor. The people of the old Aba are one happy family”, he said.

    On whether the zone can agree on a consensus candidate, Eze Wogu said that decision cannot be taken by traditional rulers. “But, it is the right of the political parties to do that through their primaries or congress and not the people or the Ezes”, he added.

    He noted that the governor had already made a promise to his people that he would want the governor of Ukwa/Ngwa extraction to succeed him, “We are expecting the governor to fulfill his promise to this group of people, as a promise is like a debt, which must be paid”, Eze Wogu said.

    The traditional ruler said that as the people of Ukwa/Ngwa clamour for power shift, they should also remain dedicated to the struggle for the creation of Aba State. He said, if the new state is created, there will be a balanced equilibrium among the six geo-political zones.

    So far, six governorship aspirants are on the track. Although they have not openly declared their intention, they are holding consultations with the stakeholders. They have been visiting home more regularly in recent times. All of them are from the old Aba Division. They are Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Senator Nkechi Nwogu, Chris Nkwonta, Labour and Productivity Minister Emeka Wogu, Acho Nwakanma, and F. Nwoso, a lawyer. Others may still join the race next year.

    Nwoso is an experienced lawyer and friend of the governor. He has handed some legal briefs for the PDP. Many party chieftains admire him for his humility and dedication to the PDP cause. But, he is not perceived as a politician in the real sense of the word.

    Wogu is a popular politician and he enjoys intimacy with the governor. He also seems to have political structure. But his close associates denied his ambition, saying that he prefer to focus on his ministerial job for now.

    Abaribe has a good profile. In the Senate, he is not a bench warmer. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media.

    Nwogu is an Amazon. She has the supporters of the women and youths. She also has a grassroots appeal.

    Nwakanma is a former deputy governor. He also close to the governor.

    However, a source said that, since Orji will want to remain relevant in the state after his tenure, he may support a candidate, who will do his bidding, defend his legacies; a candidate who will accord him the respect of a leader. However, many people fear that this may not be possible because permanent political loyalty is a scare commodity in Abia politics.

  • ‘Conference should have no-go areas’

    ‘Conference should have no-go areas’

    Hon. Jonathan Asake represented  Zangon Kataf/Jaba Constituency in the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003. He also served as a Senior Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The National Youth Leader of the Middle Belt Forum spoke  with TONY AKOWE on the proposed national conference, national security and other issues.

    President Goodluck Jonathan has proposed a national conference.

    What is your reaction?

    First, I want to commend the President for this act of courage, foresight and yielding to the yearnings of the majority of Nigerians for a national dialogue to discuss the very basis for our corporate existence, to discuss the challenges that are facing this nation and explore the avenue for greater cohesive living. If an opportunity can be created for this, I think that it is a great act of patriotism and courage. I want to say that the committee that was inaugurated was carefully selected by the President and given the mandate to work out a frame work for the conference, which I think is a good and positive step. As Middle Belters, we have already made known what we expect. We expect them to design a framework such that the conference will not be like other conferences before it.

    The conference deliberations should have no-go areas like before. Let Nigerians talk on issues that bother on our collective existence as a nation. Let everything be brought before the conference for discussion. In addition, all stakeholders in this country must be invited. All interest groups such as socio-cultural and socio-political groups like Ohanaze Idi-igbo, Arewa Consultative Forum, Afenifere, Middle Belt Forum and Southsouth Peoples Assembly should be able to have very strong representation.

    We should also have ethnic nationalities in attendance because that is where the problem lies. In the North, we have ethnic nationalities that are considered minorities, who have continued to suffer deprivation since the amalgamation of this country and subdued to injustice and oppression as well as extreme marginalisation. Since then, nothing has changed because the colonialists, when they came, brought in the indirect rule system and subjugated most of these tribes under the majority Hausa/Fulani and what came out of that was the injustices and imbalances you have today, the discrimination, the oppression and it is clear that these structures can no longer hold because the people are agitated and an opportunity must be given to these ethnic groups in the north and those of the south as well as all ethnic nationalities in the country to come together and be part of this discussion on how to make the Nigeria state a more virile and stronger state for everybody.

    Critics of the President believe that what the President has done is just a Greek gift and that it will not address the issues on ground…

    The truth is that, in every given situation, you will always have sceptics, who will never believe that anything is genuine, who will never believe the sincerity of purpose for any action taken. You will always have such people. On the other hand, you will always have distractors operating side by side with those sceptics. The distractors are those who will never see anything in its real value. If you kill a lion, they will say you have killed a cat and will never applaud any effort. So, I believe that we have sceptics and distractors of the present government, who will never believe in the sincerity of purpose of anything the President does; while the distractors, combine with the opposition, especially those within his party and government will, always undermine whatever he does.

    For us in the Middle Belt, we know that we don’t need the verdict of the sceptics or that of the distractors or that of any other person to tell us that the time is ripe for a national dialogue or that the time is ripe for a conference that will discuss the situation that Nigeria finds itself as well as the challenges that are facing us today. So, if they are saying that it is a Greek gift from the President, let them wait and see what will happen because we believe there is sincerity of purpose in the convocation of this conference. Again, if you look at the impunity that is happening in the country today, you will discover that life has virtually become meaningless for every Nigeria, particularly in the north. You can be walking on the street and somebody will come and cut your head, which is criminal in nature, but he can decide to use religion and he is let off the hook. For how long are we going to continue with that impunity?

    We have to come together and discuss that, if we are living under the constitution, let the constitution be supreme. If we are not living under the constitution because some people don’t want to, let us agree that we will not. but those that agree to live under the constitution where the rule of law abound, should be allowed to live under the constitution, which will be a ground norm. These are the issues and so, I don’t believe that it is a Greek gift; I don’t believe that it is there to divert attention as some people would want to believe. I do believe that the time is ripe and the symptoms are there that the Nigerian nation is a patient that needs serious medical attention; that needs serious physicians to take a critical look at it and proffer solution on how to cure it.

    There is this fear, especially in the north, that the national dialogue will divide the country. Do you share this view?

    That is laughable. It is laughable when somebody wakes up and makes a sweeping statement without any proof as to why he is making such a statement. Why will a dialogue divide a nation? Imagine you have a house where you have a major crisis. It is left for you as the head of the house to call a meeting of your household to say, come let us reason together. It is actually when there is a bad situation that you call for a dialogue and not that dialogue leads to a bad situation. It is a warp logic that someone is thinking that dialogue will lead to confusion.

    It is only when you have an atmosphere of confusion that you call for dialogue so that you can have a calm atmosphere that is condusive for everybopdy. Those saying so have not substantiated their claim and I believe that this dialogue will not cause disintegration. it is Nigeria that is about to disintegrate because of the impunity, because of the challenges; because of the threat that are coming and because of the weak structures that we have that cannot fight some of these challenges. We have very weak structures that cannot fight corruption and unemployment as well as the vices that we have today and fight insecurity effectively.

    Look at the fight against Boko Haram. It has been reported time and time again that there are saboteurs within the security circle sabotaging the efforts of the security agencies. In Nigeria, we cannot count the number of highly trained security agents we have lost since this fight started. The number can only be comparable to a war situation. So, we need to talk about this. So, instead of somebody looking at it as dividing the country, we should look at it as bringing the country together and see reason why we should dialogue on why we must be under the constitution, wipe out corruption, create employment for the teeming youths that are readily available for recruitment into these militant groups, whether in the south or in the north.

    It is going to give us reasons why our schools should be reopened and why we must go back to the good old days when you don’t have to send your children to private schools. Today, if you don’t send your child to a private school, that child cannot get the best education and it is not everybody that can send his child to the private school. So, we need to come together and ask the question, what brought the decay in our educational system so that we bring the schools back. That is what dialogue will do for us. So, I believe that dialogue will bring cohesion.

    Your party, the PDP, is in crisis and many believe that the 2015 presidential election is at the heart of this crisis. What is your take on this?

    Certainly, it is about 2015. On behalf of the Middle Belt, I have said it over and over again. First, since 2011, when President Jonathan was contesting, certain people in the north insisted that he must not contest, which was a clear violation of his constitutional right to contest because he was qualified to contest. Even though the constitution qualified him to contest, they were using a gentleman agreement of the PDP, which itself is under the constitution.

    Now the constitution guarantee that he can recontest for a second term and those same people are coming to say that there was an agreement and Mr. President has continued to insist that there was no such agreement. They are at it again, over heating the system, deceiving Nigerians and telling Nigerians that there was such an agreement. Now, let us be careful with what we are doing in this country. President Goodluck Jonathan comes from a section of this country, the south-south that has never had this Presidency since independence. For the first time, a person from that section of the country is President and you are asking him to run for only one term.

    You are not using the constitution to disqualify him; but using your own privileged position of coming from another region to disqualify him. It is not acceptable. Secondly, he is a minority and comes from a section of the country that is regarded as a minorities; the block outside the Hausa/Fulani extractions. There are minorities in this country who are actually the majority. We have them in the north, the south and the Middle Belt and we associate with President Jonathan because he is a minority because we are also minorities. So, whoever tells President Jonathan that he cannot run in 2015 is telling the south-south people that they are not qualified to contest the Presidency of this country; you are telling the Middle Belters and indeed the entire minorities of this country by your own words and not by the constitution that they cannot contest and we think that this is unacceptable.

    Goodluck Jonathan is qualified to contest and he will run for the 2015 elections and we are ready to give him our votes. If we don’t want him, it means that he has not performed and we will do what democracy proscribed by voting him out and elect somebody that we think can do the job. Tell me which President before him has made effort to ensure that the Nigerian nation is cohesively bound together like President Jonathan. With the challenges we have had, if it were another President, this country would have been at war. But he has the calmness of spirit that is needed of a leader to hold this country together. He has gone ahead to say we cannot continue to be at war with each other, let us come and reason together. Look at those who are asking the President not to contest in 2015. The G7 governors and their antecedents. Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger state was a Permanent Secretary in the Federal Capital Territory Administration. Go and check how he became the flag bearer of the PDP in Niger state and suddenly, he is the one leading this opposition against the President.

    Even within the party, they have explore mechanism to settle whatever grievances they have and because most of them are in their second terms, they are thinking where do we go from here. Murtala Nyako of Adamawa state was in ANPP when they brought him to the PDP to become the flag bearer and instead of being grateful about that, he is overheating the party. The same applies to Wammako in Sokoto state and we all know we already had a candidate in the former Minister of Water resources, Mukthari Shagari, a refined gentleman before Wammako was brought in. Wammako was deputy to Bafarawa of the ANPP before he was brought to take the PDP ticket and he is the one destroying the party. Now, they are using the name of the north, saying that they want the north to be incharge. I have not even spoken about Kwankwaso who, when he was campaigning for governorship was campaigning for the CPC candidate as President which violates the party constitution. There is no way this rascality could have been allowed, but they were allowed. If you look at the provisions of our party constitution, all these are punishable.

    These rascality in the party should be punished, but the President and the party chairman has a large heart and has been following them with that large heart, pleading that we should not destroy the party, build join hands to build it. So, what are they looking for? They want to take over power. Go to their states and see what they have done with the money they collect. Must they become President before they perform for their people. If you put together what those states has received in the last six and half years, it is not commensurate with the performance you see on ground. Where are they taking that money to? The north is highly backward and underdeveloped because of such kind of leaders that we have and the youth of the north are sick and tired of them and we know that it deception all the way. What they are doing is for self-aggrandisement and because of their greed and not power to develop the north. They are not looking for power to unite the north or to develop the north. Where were they when this Boko Haram insurgency are being perpetrated in the north. In their individual states of the north, what measures did they take to assist the federal government to deal with the Boko Haram insecurity in the north? They have continued to conspire and keep quite. There is a conspiracy of silence by most of these governors. Maybe they want the President to fail so that they will have a reason. So they are watching instead of working as co-partners to create job opportunities, being co-partners to arrest youth restiveness and upgrade the standard of women in our society. In most of their states today, people cannot stay there, but are drifting into Abuja and other states that are safe. They have not told Nigerians what they are doing with the money they are receiving and that is why we are saying that if it is about 2015, they cannot sell. That is why I believe that they are selfish, greedy and the Nigerian people have long understood that.

    Prof Ango Abdullahi and his Northern Elders Forum as well as the Arewa Consultative Forum believe that the Presidency should come to the north in 2015 and that the President is oblige to honour the agreement he entered into with the north to return power to them, in 2015.

    It is their belief and not the belief of the entire. I have told you that northerners are democrats and who are the northerners he is talking about? Is it Ango Abdullahi and his colleagues that are the northerners or Babangida Aliyu and his G7 governors? Majority of northerners are aware that whoever is emerging as leader should emerge based on the provisions of the constitution. Is the person qualified to contest? Whether he is from the north or from the south, once he emerges, all the people wants is the restoration of power, improved security situation, improved agricultural production. Before now, about 80 percent of Ministers of Agriculture have been from the north. Where are the groundnut pyramid we use to pride ourselves about? Now, we have a minister who is not even from the north that efforts is being made to take us back to our glory. This is an open secret that everybody knows. So, if they are talking about power coming back to the north, yes, we want power to come back to the north, but based on constitutional provisions. If it is based on constitutional provisions, it will come to real and patriotic northerners who love the north and loved Nigeria and will come and improve on the lot of the north and use the resources of the north to develop the north and not to develop their own greed and selfishness. Most of these people take their wealth abroad, leaving northerners to languish in poverty. Go the core north and see almajiris that are lined up on the street without going to school. It is President Goodluck Jonathan that came up with a policy of educating the almajiris and has released over N5 billion for that purpose. Which of the northern President has looked at that and done such to improve on the wellbeing of the north? That is what is causing security. If they give these almajiris education, both western and Islamic, they will not be readily available for recruitment into militancy. What are those governors doing? Are they buying into that almajiri programme in their states? Are they creating schools to take them off the street? Instead, they have refused to stay in their states, but coming to the centre daily. Ask them where they sleep every night and you will discover that they are always in Abuja. They will tell you that they are fighting for the Presidency to go to the north. What do they want to do with the presidency when it comes to the north? They have also not told northerners what they did with the presidency that has been ion the north all these years because we still have poverty on the ground. We are still the most background section of the country in terms of education.

    Communities in southern Kaduna where you come from have in recent times been attacked by unknown gun and this has led to the call for the establishment of a military base in the area. Do you think this is the solution to the problem?

    The truth is that I don’t know much about military operations; but one thing I know is that there have been several attacks in the southern part of Kaduna. The attacks were not there before. We were hearing of these attacks in neigbouring Plateau state. What we use to hear about the attackers when caught is that they use to say that they are tracing their cows that were rustled from them and that they traced the cows to the houses where they made the attacks. It was when they started carrying out these attacks in southern Kaduna that we realised that all these was hogwash, that they were cooked stories. First, the Fulanis who are carrying out these attacks are carrying out a programme based on a specific design. They claimed that their cattle were being rustled by the natives which is not true because the natives are also grazing cattle in large number. I have a friend who is a retired Naval Commander who also have a farm in Zonkwa. About two months ago, they went into the farm while he was away in Abuja and took over 40 of his cattle. The following week, they went to another farm not too far from his farm and took away over 150 cattle. It was while on their way that the youths engaged them and recover most of those cattle with casualties on both sides. If those people were caught alive, the will say that the cattle were their own and that they were tracing them and were able to trace them to those farms which is not true. It is a ground conspiracy. So, most of these attacks are coming from that first category of pure bandits, criminals that are specialised in cattle rustling and many of them, are coming from the borders of this nation and they are being pushed by their internal conspirators. We have heard the claim that they said cattle rearing is not for any other tribe but the Fulanis and therefore, they will frustrate all other tribes from rearing cattle. We have done our research in Southern Kaduna Indigenous Forum and came up with this finding. The second category is doing with the Janjaweed did in Sudan where communities are targeted at night while they are asleep and hack them down with their children and their old ones and destroy their farm land. They do that to frustrate the communities so that they can chase them away and take over precious land. If you look at those areas in the Plateau and southern Kaduna, you will see that they are very good grazing areas with good mountainous region which is very excellent for grazing cattle. These militias are doing this with the aim of taking over the land from the communities and settle there. Infact, if you go to Fadan Attakar, you will discover that the Fulani invaders have called their fellow fulanis to come and settle there. The third category is the political category. People are sponsored to go and stage these attacks so that they can score political points and make noise that there is insecurity in the land. Closely attached to that is the monetary aspect because when you create an atmosphere of insecurity, money will roll out and some people are great beneficiaries of the insecurity that abound in the north today or even in the south. If the problem of Boko Haram or these militia within the north is solved, some people’s ways of making cheap money will be gone and they don’t want that to be closed. So, they will continue to subvert all efforts by government to solve the problem. This also add to the issue of national dialogue. It is unfair for some people to be armed, come by night and hack down an entire community and when those communities will keep bows and arrows to defend themselves, they will go by day and say some communities have bows and arrows as well as dane guns and security agents will go and seize those things from the communities only to pave way for an attack the following night by armed people who are not controlled. These people carry AK47 with their cattle and they go through these grazing routes and frustrate security agencies from discovering these places. But when they are discovered, they are given another coloration that they are not terrorists and defend them because it is a well conspired chain within the system and that is why the attacks continue to persist. That underscore the main reason why we must face ourselves and talk.

    So, what are the people of southern Kaduna doing about these attacks?

    What can the people of southern Kaduna and be extension, the Middle Belt do? the truth is that we have a government in place and what we need to do is to tell the authorities. Can we take to arms? If you take to arms, you are doing so against the provisions of the constitution and the authorities and so, the best thing to do is to report. For those calling for the establishment of military base in the area, may be that is how they think that problem can be solved. But personally, I think that the establishment of military base will not solve the problem because since the post election violence, the entire Plateau and southern Kaduna has been taken over by military check points. But you will see attacks taking place near such check points. So, what has happened? So, I think that the establishment of military base may not even solve the problem. We just need to talk and see how and why these things are happening especially with the element of sabotage and internal conspiracy.

    For peace to reign in Kaduna state, the north and Nigeria, what is your advise to government.

    My advice to the Kaduna state government is that they should take steps to build confidence and trust among the people because all these attacks is further breaking trust and confidence and the people are beginning to have doubt about the capacity of the state to defend them. The situation should not be allowed to degenerate into a situation of chaos where people will begin to look for ways to defend themselves. If we degenerate into a situation where people no longer trust the capacity of government to defend them, it will be a bad situation. I must say that they Kaduna state government has been trying because anytime there is an attack, the governor visits them and plead with the people not to take the laws into their hands and I think that is the best they can do. But I think they can do better than that by creating other measures to protect the people and synegise with the federal government and ensure that all the structu4res of securing the communities are taken care of. Like it happened after the Sharia crisis in 2000, I know that the then governor, Makarfi synegised with the federal government and Rapid Response squad were established in all flash points and that brought about peace. So, the government should develop a deliberate strategy that will ensure that all flash points across the state are adequately taken care of. Intelligence gathering and information dissemination should be improved upon especially in areas where these attacks are taking place because you may discover that it is the same set of people that are doing these things. But when they are nabbed and properly dealt with, you will find out that the thing will come down.

    ENDS

     

  • Can PDP avoid rancorous convention?

    Can PDP avoid rancorous convention?

    The special national convention of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  will take place next month in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN writes on the controversy surrounding the convention.

    Will the special national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) achieve the desired objective? Will the convention committee abide by the guidelines? Is it possible to resolve the internal crises before the convention? To observers, these questions must be addressed, if the PDP is plans to conduct a credible convention.

    Analysts contend that the proposed convention is a formality because virtually all the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) who resigned their positions last month are likely to return.

    This is evident by the statement of the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who is the the convention committee Secretary. He said that the zones and the states where the previous members that resigned came from will fill the slots.

    “We are going to keep all the positions within the zones. If there is any strong reason for us to change a particular candidate, that will happen. But for now, we are going to keep all the positions in the zones that keep them presently. We are not changing the zoning formula we are reopening nominations. This is a new convention. They will pay; it is not the old convention.”

    The implication of Ekweremadu’s explanation is that the office of the National Publicity Secretary is retained in Anambra State while Imo state will produce the National Woman Leader. The office of the National Legal Adviser is retained in Plateau state; the National Treasurer will come from Kebbi State, Rivers state will still produce Deputy National Chairman. The National Organising Secretary is retained in Kaduna state while Ebonyi state will still produce the Deputy National Secretary.

     

    Why special convention?

     

    The election of some national officers, which was held in March last year was faulted by the INEC a year after. INEC clearly stated that the mode of election of some of the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) was not acceptable. INEC in its report signed by Col M. K. Hammanga (rtd), the team leader to the PDP national convention held on March 24, 2012, at Eagle Square, Abuja, said the mode of election facilty.

    “The mode of election of election adopted for single candidates was not in accordance with the mode of election stipulated in paragraph 6.5 (i) of the guidelines for the conduct of the 2012 congresses and national convention and therefore not acceptable to the Commission”, the report stated.

    Consequently, the elections of the following officers were voided: The Deputy National Chaairman, Dr Sam Sam Jaja; National Organising Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha; National Youth Leader, Alhaji Garba Chiza; Deputy National Youth Leader, Dennis Alonge Niyi; National Auditor, Senator Umar Ibrahim; Deputy National Woman Leader, Hanatu Ulam; National Woman Leader. Kema Chikwe; Deputy National Organising Secretary, Okechukwu Nnadozie; Deputy National Treasurer Claudius Inengas; National Legal Adviser , Victor Kwom; National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Methu and the Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Binta Goje.

    INEC that their elections improper despite the fact that these single candidates were duly nominated and their candidature ratified by a majority voice vote at the convention.

    The commission also noted that the open secret ballot system was adopted for the election into the offices of the national Chairman , Auditor, Financial Secretary, Treasurer and Deputy Treasurer, in accordance with paragraph 6.5 (I) of the guidelines. It stated that all other positions had single candidates and were affirmed by motions, except for the position of the National Chairman, which was put to vote by open secret ballot, despite the fact that only one candidate was in contention.

    INEC also pointed out that the elections to the PDP congresseswere not properly conducted in some states. A letter signed by the INEC Secretary Abdullahi Kaugama, listed the affected states to include Sokoto, Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Lagos, Anambra and Katisna.

     

    Special convention guidelines

     

    To avoid INEC sledge hammer, the Chairman of the Special Convention Planning Committee, Prof. Jerry Gana, said the election is open to all the qualified members of the party.

    According to the new convention guidelines released by the committee, all the delegates that took part in the March 24, 2012 national convention are expected to attend the special convention. The process shall be by secret ballot where the candidate is unopposed by voice vote. In the event of tie, a run- off election shall be immediately conducted between the candidates with the highest equal number of votes.

    The guidelines further stated that: “Election of zonal officers shall recognise the principles of zoning and spread of the party and public offices. Each candidate seeking election must be nominated by 20 registered members from the two-thirds of the states in the zone. Election shall be by simple majority to produce the officers of the zone.

    “Election of national officers shall recognise the principle of zoning and be conducted on the basis of existing zoning formula as amended by the National Executive Committee of the party. Each candidate shall be nominated by at least 20 registered members, five of whom must come from the aspirant’s zone.”

    The guideline further emphasised that all the members seeking elections into the various offices must be registered members for, at least, two years.

     

    Tukur/Gana feud

     

    From all indications the party is going for the convention as a divided fold. The acrimony that majority of the stakeholders may carry to the convention, portends danger. The special convention was heading for the rock last week when the National Working Committee announced the suspension of the convention. Tukur and other members of the NWC directed the Convention Committee headed by Prof. Jerry Gana to suspend all the actions on the convention, which was earlier fixed for August 31.

    However, the suspension order did not go down well with the committee as its members including the Secretary, Senator Ekweremadu, were said to have reported the matter to President Goodluck Jonathan . The complaint made the President to invite Tukur for a meeting where issues bordering on the convention were discussed. The President’s intervention has led to peace in the battle of wits between the Tukur-led NWC and the Convention committee. Already, the President has directed that the convention date as announced by the convention committee be retained.

    A presidential source, who was at the meeting, said the deal the President had with both Tukur and Gana was that the Special National Convention will still hold on August 31 and the Southwest congress will also take place on August 24. To appease the angry NWC members, the President, according to the source, directed that the Gana committee should allow the members of the NWC to chair some of the sub-committees in the convention committee.

    The source said the NWC members were not happy that the headship of the sub-committees, including the Publicity, which was supposed be reserved for the National Publicity Secretary, was given to another person by the Gana committee. The NWC also complained that the National Organising Secretary was not even mentioned as the chairman of any committee, while the Woman Leader, who is the traditional person in charge of welfare was merely made a member of the welfare committee.

    Whether the peace brokered between Tukur and Gana by the Presidency will endure or not, time will tell.

     

    Crises tearing PDP apart

     

    There is no geo-political zone in the country where the PDP is crisis-free. The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) crisis that has polarised the governors into pro-Amaechi and Jang supporters, an attempt by the presidency to destabilise Northern Governors Forum and the lingering Rivers crisis that has pitched Governor Rotimi Amaechi against President Jonathan and his wife.

    The party is bitterly factionalised in the Southwest. In ogun state, PDP is divided alongside many factions. There is a faction loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The Buruji Kashamu group is in control of party machinery in the state. The recommendation of the reconciliation committee set up by the national secretariat of the party that the state executive be shared between the two groups was rejected by the Kashamu group. The Obasajo group has lost out completely in the struggle for the soul of the party. The battle of supremacy consumed Chief Bode Mustapha as the National Auditor of the party. He was replaced by Adeyanju Olawale from Kashamu group.

    The Southwest zone held a special congress recently in Ibadan to nominate a replacement for Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the erstwhile national secretary, whose appointment was nullified by the court on the ground that the congress that produced him was illegal. According to a release issued after the meeting, the delegates unanimously approved the nomination of Professor Wale Oladipo as the Acting National Secretary. The position was zoned to Osun state and Oladipo hails from Osun.

    Forty eight hours after the announcement, a group, the Osun PDP Concerned forum kicked against Oladipo’s nomination. In an advertorial signed by the representatives from the 30 local governments in the state, the forum stated that the said selection and the mode of the selection did not conform with the constitution of the PDP and does not enjoy the support and goodwill of the majority. Rather than deepen peace and unity the announcement has stirred disunity disenchantment and mutual suspicion, the statement added.

    But the Chairman of Ogun State chapter, Chief Bayo Dayo, who attended the zonal congress, told The Nation that the selection of Prof. Oladipo was open and transparent. According to him, there were two candidates. The other candidate stepped down for Oladipo to emerge as the unanimous candidate.

     

    Stalled reconciliation

     

    Ekiti State PDP was embroiled in a fresh crisis last week, following the suspension of the party chairman, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, by a faction loyal to former Governor Ayo Fayose. There was commotion at the party secretariat in Ado-Ekiti when some aggrieved members met and announced the suspension of the chairman. Ogundipe was accused of misappropriation of funds, corruption, and failure to carry along members of the Central Working Committee. He was also accused of constituting unilaterally the screening committee to pick the governorship candidate for the next year governorship election. The Ogundipe group has also suspended Fayose and some officers. Already, the party is balkanised into splinter groups loyal to various chieftains, including the former governor, Mr Segun Oni, Fayose, and the Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd). All efforts to reconcile the factions by the national leadership have failed.

    A chieftain of the party, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, admitted that there was crisis in the chapter which according to him, is not peculiar to PDP. He told our correspondent that, in a big party like PDP, the likelihood of disagreement on issues is possible. Adeyeye said Ogundipe, is still the chairman. An individual cannot on his volition suspend the chairman. There is a procedure to follow, he added.

    Lagos is also not insulated from the crisis as some chieftains of the party have approached the Federal High Court seeking an order to disqualify the former chairman of the party in the Southwest, Chief Bode George, as a member of the Board of Trustees. The plaintiffs, Alhaji Badmus Agboola and Dauda Atomoh, contend that George, having been convicted in 2009, is not qualified to hold office. The suit was filed on the heels of purported reconciliation between George and Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, a PDP chieftain and a challenger to George’s leadership.

    Ondo State chapter is also not at peace with itself. The elders of the party are not in good terms with the governorship, candidate in last governorship election, Chief Olusola Oke, who is also the former National Legal Adviser of the party. The elders were alleged to have shifted allegiance to the Labour party, thereby ensuring Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s re-election.

  • Why I’m going to Tribunal — Dafinone

    The DPP senatorial candidate for Delta Central, Chief Ede Dafinone has explained why he wants to approach the Election Tribunal to contest the victory of Mr. Emmanuel Aguariavwodo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the by-election  for Delta Central Senatorial District.

    The DPP in Delta State last Thursday announced its decision to contest the outcome of the poll at the Election Petition Tribunal.

    Offering insight into his party’s resolve to challenge the outcome of the election, the DPP senatorial candidate described the April 12 bye- election as political denial perpetrated against the Urhobo people.

    “In spite of being the fifth largest ethnic group in Nigeria, there is little recognition of Urhobo at the federal and state levels in terms of appointments and positions.

    Similarly, the interference in the last election, where the candidate foisted on the PDP in Delta State is again foisted and this time forcefully on the people of Delta Central”.

    The DPP candidate who is not pleased with the result of the election where PDP was declared winner flayed the exercise which he alleged was not free and fair and was enmeshed in violence and intimidation of voters.

    He condemned the reckless desperation, the sheer treachery and lawlessness of leaders of the PDP in the state. He also accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of overturning the rule of fairness and allocating victory to the PDP.

    “We reject this outright robbery of the people’s will. We condemn this grievous injustice, this unconscionable mockery of all that is decent, of all that is fair and just.

    The army and INEC, both Federal Government institutions worked with the PDP’s candidate to ensure his victory. The PDP used the army to unleash terror on the people of Delta Central. For hours, gun shots rent the air and the people were clobbered.

    Also, the announced result shows PDP in first place. As if that is not bad enough, the result shows All Progressives Congress (APC) in second place with DPP, the populist party in the third place. All that combine to make the whole result laughable,” Dafinone said.

    He added that the party’s legal team is preparing to head to the poll tribunal.

    “As law abiding citizens, we intend to explore all legal means to ensure this sham of an election is cancelled. We shall be proceeding to the election petition tribunal to present our case,” he emphasised.

  • ‘And the women endorse Obiano’

    The issue of endorsement continued during the week as the Women for National Rebirth unequivocally endorse the candidacy of Chief Willie Obiano of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    In an official statement, signed by Mrs. Barong Moffat, the group’s National Coordinator, and Mrs. Esther Dalang, the National Publicity Secretary, WNR said, “We have perused Willie Obiano’s 10-point agenda, 4-Cs programme of Continue, Complete, Commission and Commencement of new projects vis-à-vis Governor Peter Obi’s gender friendly progressive governance and have no doubt that Obiano will exceed Obi’s achievements if he emerges governor in the forthcoming poll. The era of godfatherism, hooliganism, fascism and kidnapping of a sitting governor is over. It is a new dawn, Nigerian women are set to participate in politics and national leadership to achieve national rebirth that will put Nigeria on the path of rectitude and growth ahead of 2014 centenary celebration.”

    The group also took a stand in other national issues: “Women for National Rebirth demands for a Sovereign National Conference in place of President Goodluck Jonathan’s proposed national dialogue which resolutions will be ratified by the National Assembly. It is obvious that the National Assembly is not gender friendly and cannot be trusted to ratify women related issues including 40% affirmative action, girl-child education policy, opposition to child marriage, child labour, implementation of Child Rights Acts, violence against women, women trafficking, among others, the group will canvass for in a sovereign national conference.

    “The recent obnoxious consideration of child marriage by the Senate is a classical expression of male chauvinism and machismo. It is unfair, unjust and unacceptable in our collective quest at building a decent egalitarian society.

    Women for National Rebirth warns politicians against heating up the polity ahead of 2015 presidential election. President Jonathan should not be distracted from his constitutional responsibilities by unpatriotic elements masquerading as democrats. National interest should override partisan politics. Accordingly, we support Jonathan’s re-election bid with the understanding that he will choose a woman as a running mate. We call on Nigerian women to wake up and be counted in the long march to national rebirth.

    “Women for National Rebirth frowns at the elongated ASUU strike and urge the Federal Government and the academic Union to shift grounds with a view to resolving the quagmire in the interest of the suffering students. As mothers we feel the pains of the students as well as the lecturers and understand the Federal Government’s financial constraint; and call for a truce.

    “We commend efforts by security agents in the war against Boko Haram and other insurgencies in the country. We urge the Federal Government to adequately equip all security agencies to enable them control crime to the barest minimum.

    Women for National Rebirth is alarmed by the high rate of unemployment in the country which has led our youths to various crimes including armed robbery, kidnapping, terrorism, and prostitution. Governments at all levels should take appropriate actions to employ these youths to avoid disgruntled politicians using them to rig elections and foment trouble in the country. A stitch in time saves nine.

    We enjoin Federal and States Ministry of Women Affairs and Local Government Councils to work out monthly welfare materials to motherless babies homes across the country. The need to maintain these babies cannot be overemphasized. It is a service to God and humanity.

    “There cannot be a national rebirth without a spiritual rebirth. We urge Nigerians to be prayerful, turn from evil and do the will of God always. We are optimistic that Nigeria shall be great. The election of Nigeria into United Nations Security Council seat is a pointer that the nation will overcome its challenges and honoured in the comity of nations. Together we shall build a strong, virile, and decent democratic society.”

  • ‘No crisis in Benue APC’

    In a brief chat with Uja Emmanuel in Makurdi, Benue State, All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Aame Diga, said there is no crisis in the state chapter of the party.

    A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Aamme Aakpa Diga, said the party will  send the Peoples Democratic Party(PD) packing  out of Aso Rock  and in Benue State come 2015.

    In an exclusive interview with The Nation  in his Otukpo residence, in Benue South Senatorial District, Aame Diga, who is a registered member of the British Labour Party, stated that the APC will never repeat the  mistake of 2011  general election where it relied  on the judiciary, which allegedly connived with the rulling party to steal its mandate.

    “The APC is on ground in the entire country. In 2015, massive votes will come from the North-East and from South-West. Governor Rochas Okorocha holds swayl in the South-East. The North-Central states  will complement the votes that will send President Goodluck  Jonathan and his PDP away from Aso Rock,” he said.

    He described the proposed National Dialogue as “irritant” because the National Assembly  is there representing the entire nation.

    “ National Dialogue is not necessary, for example in my state like Benue, we have three senators and House of Representatives covering each local government, clan and ward, so what is that they would not discuss in the National  Assembly, what are they doing?” asked Aame.

    Aame, a former lecturer and Head of Joseph Lancaster School in London, accused Jonathan of compromising the security of the nation by handing over oil and maritime security contract to an  ex militant, Chief Government Tompolo.

    “ I was shocked to hear that President Goodluck Jonathan withdrew the bill which the late President Musa Yar’Adua sent to the National Assembly for the setting up of Coast Guard, to tackle the perennial problem of oil theft and pipe line vandalization. It is like asking an armed robber to be a night guard at the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he lamented.

    Aame, however, said, “APC government at the centre will empower Nigerian security agency to tackle oil theft and other security challenges instead of encouraging militancy.”

    According to him, “come 2015, APC will take over Benue State, including Benue South Senatorial District as David Mark will never be allowed to spend 20 years in the senate.”

    On the reported crisis in Benue APC, the former FEDECO officer dismissed it as imaginary because Senator George Akume, Audu Ogbeh, Nelson Alapa, Benson Abounu and Chief J.K. Waku remain the leaders of the party and they will re-enact the 2011 election magic that saw ACN won a senate seat, three House Representatives  and 10 House of Assembly in less than two months.

    “Ask those who are in contention of this fact to show us their electoral value from their polling unit, ward and state, “Aame challenged.

    He insisted that given the realities on the ground, APC will take over Benue State and boost agriculture so that Nigeria will stop over-dependence on oil.