The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • PDP crisis Jonathan’s camp plots new 2015 battle plans

    PDP crisis Jonathan’s camp plots new 2015 battle plans

    Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, unveils new moves by the president’s associates to survive current intrigues

    President Goodluck Jonathan, unable to curtail the G-7 Governors’ challenge and the festering uprising within his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through peace moves, may have consented to a move being mooted by his associates that will see him attempt to take a firmer grip of the party structure at all levels ahead of the 2015 general election.

    The Nation gathered that the move to go all out and take charge, which is being championed by leading allies of the president across the six geo-political zones of the country, came about as a result of suspicion among the president’s men that the opposition within the ruling PDP may be using the ongoing reconciliation parleys to buy time while consolidating its hold on the party structure across the country.

    Sources within the president’s camp said a group of eminent chieftains of the ruling party, loyal to Senator Pius Ayim Pius, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF) first mooted the idea to the president recently when it became obvious that the factionalisation of the party was intended to force Jonathan to dump his re-election bid.

    According to insiders, at a meeting of the group which was held at the Abuja home of a frontline female politician from Lagos State, it was suggested that the president need to re-appraise his plan ahead of the 2015 presidential contest given the unexpected polarisation of his party by leaders of the new PDP.

    “The group is largely made up of politicians and leaders of thought, who along with Anyim, prevailed upon the National Assembly in 2009 to declare Jonathan the acting president. They have remained together ever since, relating closely with the SGF on matters of state and party.

    It was at one of their periodic meetings to appraise the state of the nation and offer critical advice to the presidency that they arrived at the decision to urge Jonathan to give the reconciliation effort within his party a more critical look. Their opinion is that the opposition may be using it to distract the president while they solidify their resistance to a second term for him in 2015.

    The meeting rose with a decision to prevail on the president and his handlers to be more careful in making commitments during the various peace parleys being held to reconcile the warring PDP factions,” a source told The Nation.

    It was, however, gathered that the President was not keen about the idea when he was first informed of it. According to sources, Jonathan was more interested in closing ranks with the Kawu Baraje-led faction of his party before considering any move towards 2015.

    “Initially, he politely turned down the idea. He was optimistic that the factionalisation of his party would not last. He expressed confidence in the ability of the elders to nip the crisis in the bud in a matter of days. He never expected the turn of events of the last weeks,” a source added.

    But following explicit demands by the break-away faction that he should dump his 2015 ambition and resolve the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) crisis in favour of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, the president may have given a listening ear to those urging him to re-tool his plan ahead of 2015.

    “Contrary to the plan of the opposition, the presidency is not going to be caught napping. We have realised the plan of the fifth columnists within PDP, parading themselves as the new PDP. Even President Jonathan is now convinced that the whole crisis in the party is about his second term ambition.

    “For now, I can tell you that we are restrategising with a view to ensuring that we don’t lose any ground to the reconciliation effort currently ongoing within the ruling party. We are still very committed to achieving one peaceful united PDP but at the same time, we are not oblivious of the plot to distract us,” an aide of the president said in Lagos on Thursday.

    The Nation learnt that the group recently met again and considered the president’s readiness to move all out. Far reaching decisions were taken and new members were invited into the fold to enlarge the group and ensure that it spreads across the country as fast as possible.

    Two former Speakers of the House of Representatives from the North and the Southwest were said to have joined the group at the last meeting among other people. Far reaching decisions were taken and a small committee was inaugurated to liaise between the group and the Presidency.

    A source said: “Believe it or not, the group’s recommendations are now being seriously considered in the Presidency. One of such is the need to do away with allies of the rebel governors within the government. Other people with doubtful loyalty are also to be discarded soon.

    “The recent sack of some ministers may not be unconnected with this same 2015 battle plan. A good look at the list of affected ministers will tell you why they have to go.

    “In their place, the president has been advised to appoint loyalists who are also political heavyweights in their own rights. The idea is that these are the type of people who can help him combat the rampaging opposition across the states of the federation.

    “Don’t be surprised to see names like Ghali Umar, Na’aba and Chibudom Nwuche in the next list of ministerial nominees. The president is now ready to confront those who want to stop his re-election bid strength for strength and wits for wits.

    “Another recommendation of the committee is that Jonathan should support and encourage the moves by the PDP leadership to inaugurate a new executive committee for the party in the seven states being governed by the rebel governors.

    “It would be recalled that the Presidency recently halted moves by the national leadership of the PDP to inaugurate a new executive committee for the party in Kano State.

    “Kano State is one of the seven states whose governors belong to the factional PDP opposed to the leadership of Bamanga Tukur. Governor Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State and his counterparts in Kwara, Sokoto, Jigawa, Niger, Rivers and Adamawa joined a former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and other chieftains of the ruling party to float the “new PDP” last August 31.”

    Another source said; “Following the adoption of the group’s recommendation, caretaker committees may be appointed to run the affairs of the party in these states pending the conduct of fresh elections to elect new executive committees. The idea is that it is dangerous to leave party structures in the hands of governors opposed to the President.

    “This may not be too difficult to do as the tenure of most of the committees expired or will soon expire as the case may be. But for the intervention of President Jonathan, this would have been done last week by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.”

    Also, according to a very reliable source, the president has been told to personally reach out to key eminent northern leaders to sell his candidature and correct wrong impressions being created by the opposition about his administration and his 2015 re-election bid.

    “A list of northerner and northern groups that the president will reach out to has been drawn upand work is in progress to facilitate these interactions as soon as possible. The names cut across all political, religious and socio-cultural divides. The bottom line is to ensure that the opposition doesn’t get to meet these people ahead of Jonathan.

    Already, the President has met about six leading northern politicians to discuss the state of the nation and his 2015 ambition. He met former President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and Alhaji Adamu Ciroma recently.

    He also met a former Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN, Alhaji Maitama Sule, a respected former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Junaid Mohammed and Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, among others,” a source said.

  • Niger, another divided house

    Niger, another divided house

    When Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu commandeered Niger State delegates out of the last Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention in Abuja, all but one delegate, Hon. Hussiaini Mai’basira, left the Eagle Square with the self-styled Chief Servant. With the mass pull out of Niger state contingent, political watchers at the convention may have concluded that the state is sold out wholesale to the Kawu Baraje-led fashion.

    Post convention development and unfolding political scenario in the state showed that the mass walk-out was not a true reflection that members of the party in the state are for the Atiku Abubakar group where the state governor is a prominent figure.

    Investigations into the party in the state revealed that many delegates, especially some key officers of the party in the state, were not comfortable with the arrangement. It was gathered that some stakeholders in the state, who were at a loss at the sudden walk out and de-fection, mounted pressure on the state chairman of the party, Alhaji Abdulrahaman Enagi, for explanation on what informed the sudden switch from the mainstream PDP to the “rebel” camp.

    To them the decision to walk out of the convention and teaming up with Baraje faction was solely that of the governor without consultation with party leaders or the delegates.

    This development led to the convocation of stakeholders meeting which had in attendance some national and state assembly members, commissioners and members of the State Working Committee in Minna the other Tuesday where the governor gave reasons why he unilaterally led the walk-out of the state delegates without adequate consultations.

    Addressing the meeting of mostly delegates and other key members, the party chairman diplomatically set the tone of party members’ displeasure to the walk-out and even the pitching of tent with the Baraje group. Speaking, Enagi said the state delegates pulled out of the national convention on the instruction of the governor. “As loyal members, when our leader (governor) asked us to move out, we complied because we believed he must have good reason for that action; we are here today for him to tell us why he took that decision. For us in Niger State, we are still in PDP.”

    This pronouncement showed a serious crack as it became evidently clear that the leadership of the party and indeed delegates were not consulted before the walk out at the convention.

    Trust the outspoken Governor Aliyu who, while addressing members at the meeting, insisted that the main PDP was trying to intimidate and scheme them out of the goings on in the party. He was, however, quick to tell his audience that their decision to walk out of the convention was not actually to pull out of the party as he assured them that negotiations were on to resolve the impasse.

    Aliyu said, “negotiations was lacking in the party. We should rise against intimidating people, we are still in PDP. What happened is part of politics and negotiations is on.”

    He praised the delegates of the state for remaining steadfast with the leadership, assuring that as events unfold, the stakeholders will be briefed accordingly.

    Dousing tension, Aliyu told the meeting that his group met with President Goodluck Jonathan and that elders have intervened, assuring them that the party will call them for what line to take in future.

    Despite the mixed feelings by those present at the meeting, the governor was able to secure a vote of confidence and endorsement for his action from the state working committee, his commissioners and some members of the national and state assemblies.

    However, it was reliably gathered that some notable members, who distanced themselves from Tuesday stakeholders meeting, have pitched their tent with Bamanga Tukur and those elected last weekend as the legitimate leaders of the party. This group have spread across the three geo-political zones of the state.

    Our findings showed that prominent supporters of the Tukur-led PDP in the state include Board of Trustees (BOT) member and the state former governor, Engineer Abdulkadir Kure and all his supporters in the 25 local, government areas of the state.

    A close associate of the former governor, Alhaji Hamisu Ndakostu, said, “Engineer A. A Kure and his supporters in the 25 local government areas of Niger State recognise Bamanga Tukur and all the officers elected last Saturday in Abuja. These are the only leaders recognised by the party’s constitution and even by INEC.”

    Others are the newly elected National Youth Leader of the party, Hon. Hussiaini Mai’basira, the chairman of the just concluded convention, Professor Jerry Gana, Minister of State for Power, Hajiya Zaynab Kuchi, the Executive Secretary Export Promotion Council, Engineer Mustapha Bello, Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta, former deputy governor of the state, Dr. Shem Zagbayi Nuhu and the strongman of Minna, Hon. Nma Kolo.

    Our findings also showed that some members of the state working committee of the party, national and state assemblies members as well as some political appointees for fear of victimisation cannot publicly declare for the Tukur- led PDP.

  • In Kaduna, it’s a waiting game

    In Kaduna, it’s a waiting game

    It is a waiting game in Kaduna as the problem within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party PDP deepens. Political actors in the state are watching the emerging scenerio with keen interest and have refused to be indentified with any of the factions. But one thing that is glaring is the fact that Kaduna PDP is divided into the Sambo and Makarfi camps.

    Even though both of them have been at each other’s neck for a long time, over control of the party, Kaduna state governor, Mukthar Ramalan Yero, recently told members of the party not to abandon the party for the unknown. He said at a birthday dinner for Senator Makarfi that even though there is problem in the house, it will not be ideal for them to abandon the house they helped to build for another whose foundation they knew nothing about. His belief is that it is better to remain and help rebuild the collapsing house. Responding to that request, Senator Makarfi told the governor that it is always better to leave a collapsing house so that it does not consume you.

    One thing that is clear in Kaduna State is the fact that Kaduna PDP is not united at the moment. While the Makarfi group are still mobilising, it is believed that their grouse is against the vice president and his group, whom they believe have not given them the required credit.

    A strong member of the Makarfi group in thr PDP told The Nation that for now, they remain in the PDP, while watching events unfold. “We are in PDP and we remain members of PDP. I don’t know what you are talking about or what you call New PDP. But we are watching events and as time goes on, you will know were we belong.”

    Another member of the party, who worked in the Jonathan campaign organisation in 2011, also spoke in the same vein.

  • 2015 and PDP’s politics of zoning

    2015 and PDP’s politics of zoning

    President Goodluck Jonathan’s supporters are drumming support for his second term ambition in the North to counter the Northern elders’ push for power shift in 2015. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the claims and counter-claims of the pro-zoning and anti-power shift crusaders.

    Former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, started the agitation on the platform of the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF). Since last year, the debate on power shift has polarised the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into pro-zoning camp and anti-power shift supporters. The zoning controversy has led to a split in the party, with the Baraje faction, which is believed to be rooting for power shift to the North, challenging to a duel President Goodluck Jonathan, who is perceived to be nursing a second term.

    The agitators for power shift to the North are leaning on the party’s zoning arrangement. But the President is leaning on the 1999 Constitution, which gives him the right to seek a second term. Besides, his supporters have pointed out that President Jonathan is still in power, based on the “natural zoning” of the slot to the Southsouth, adding that his second term ambition is still within the zoning framework.

    This argument has been rejected by Abdullahi. In his view, the next President should come from the North, based on the previous agreement on zoning in the PDP. He said the region had made a sacrifice by conceding the Presidency to the South, following the death of President Umaru Yar’ Adua, a northerner. The PDP chieftain, who served under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said the country should not entrust Dr. Jonathan with leadership beyond 2015 because he had betrayed the process that brought him into the office.

    The former Special Adviser on Food Security explained that the region expected the President to reciprocate the gesture by refraining from blocking its chance. He blamed Obasanjo for upsetting the party’s zoning formula, adding that President Jonathan’s position on zoning is a fallout of the Obasanjo legacy.

    “When Obasanjo wanted an extension of tenure for a second term under the zoning arrangement, he to came to an extended caucus of the PDP. I remember how people opposed the idea. The late Abubakar Rimi was one of them and he was supported by three others that Obasanjo should not be given an extension and that the Presidency should come to the North for four years before going back to the South.

    “Eventually, about 37 people out of the about 41 present, voted for the extension for Obasanjo to have a second term. Now coming to why we should not trust people who renege on promises. Obasanjo was the first to deny that there was a zoning that brought him to power. He did that and kept doing it and it is most likely it was from him that they learnt what they are doing because he was instrumental to Jonathan becoming the Vice President,” he stressed.

    Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu’s disclosure has also fueled the zoning crisis. He alleged that the President had sealed a pact with some Northern leaders to have one term in office. But he refused to shed light on the details, the signatories to the pact and witnesses. Although he promised that he would let the cat out of the bag, he has not lived up to the threat.

    The zoning argument has not only polarised the PDP, it has also divided the North. Former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Abba-Gana, faulted the Northern Elders’ Forum’s claim. He said many Northerners are rooting for the President’s second term, adding that Abdullahi’s views were personal.

    The Bornu State politician described the NEF as an interest group that has limitations. He said other groups in the region have not endorsed its agitation. In fact, the former minister said that NEF was arrogating to itself the powers of a political party. “I doubt, if Prof. Abdullahi speaks for the North because the political parties are the only recognised institutions through which one can present oneself for an election and not through non-governmental organisations like NEF or the NGF”, he explained. He said the group can pass its suggestion to the PDP or any other party for consideration.

    Abba-Gana, an engineer, said that fairness demanded that Jonathan, who is from a minority ethnic group from the Southsouth, should complete his constitutional two terms. He pointed out that the North had produced more Heads of State and Governments than the South. “Allowing Jonathan another four years will not take anything away from the North. The region has produced about eight or nine former Heads of State and it did not take away poverty from the North. We should not be talking as if the North has never had any President. We have had about eight or nine Presidents, yet poverty, illiteracy and crises are in the North. So, if the previous eight or nine leaders, who are Northerners, did not make any difference, is it the remaining years of Jonathan that will kill the North?, he queried.

    In Abba-Gana’s reckoning, it is dangerous for the PDP to deny an incumbent President, who is interested in a second term, the ticket, especially when his aspiration has not violated the constitution. He said the party will enjoy the power of incumbency, if the President is allowed to run. “If the President says he will seek another term, most of us will support him, because it would be very unwise even for the PDP to bring out another person while Jonathan is still sitting in the Aso Villa. How will you force him to support the new candidate?”, he asked.

    The former minister urged the Northern elders to listen to Gen Theophilus Danjuma’s admonition that the Northern elite should not chase shadows. “Our highly respected statesman has told our Northern elite that the North needs to plan very well, work very hard, relate better and talk less. If you ask me, the North needs another four years to plan, to relate better, to work hard and create a programme, so that this Boko Haram crisis, Jos crisis and so on will be settled. And we should search for and groom a leader from the North, who will unite the region and at the same time give Nigeria a very good leadership. But you can’t do this in a crash programme”, he added

    Former Senate President Ahmed Ebute aligned with Abba-Gana, saying that “God has zoned the Presidency to the Southsouth”, following Yar’Adua’s death. He criticised the NEF’s approach, alleging that the group was clamouring for power shift to the Northwest and not the North. He said the agitation would have received a collective endorsement, if the three zones-Northwest, Northeast and Northcentral-are entitled to vie for the Presidency, if it is zoned to the region. Dismissing the insinuation that President Jonathan is not popular in the North, he said “there are millions of other Northerners that believe in the administration of Goodluck Jonathan”. Ebute also said that the NEF is a minority interest group in the region.

    “But why should the North be disenchanted? President Shehu Shagari was the President for four years. He was elected for a second term before the military took over. Buhari spent one and half years. Babangida spent eight years. Abacha spent five years”, he added.

    Another northerner, Gen. Lawrence Onoja (rtd), said the zoning controversy is unnecessary. He said the Jonathan’s Presidency has opened opportunities for national integration and boosted the confidence of the minority ethnic groups because they now have a sense of belonging. “It would be unfair and injustice to stop him from doing his second term. If he finishes his second term in 2019, then, other areas or blocs can now begin to agitate for power shift”, he added.

    Onoja objected to the claim that the North has a collective interest in post-Ahmadu Bello period. He clarified that the the interest of the Middlebelt, which is a distinct geographical entity, is now different from the interest of the core North. “The demarcation has been there all along. It is just that the leaders that we had before, had the responsibility of making sure that we worked together as the same North. But yesterday is not the same as today. People are educated and exposed. So, if yesterday, some group of persons were dictating to us, today, people will not accept the dictation of anybody again. We, in the Middlebelt, are strong enough to go on our own in any situation”, he stressed.

    The retired General said the so-called agreement between Jonathan and some Northern elders may be a ruse. “I am not privy to any agreement. I do not know if any agreement was signed. And I don’t think Mr. President signed any agreement with anybody. This is politics”, he said.

    Second Republic Senator Chris Ukpabi who hails from Abia State, also faulted the power shift struggle, saying that “the born-to-rule” slogan is outdated. The elder statesman said that the agitation is laughable. “They are merely playing out a script, which had been handed over to them by the late Sarduana of Sokoto. On the October 12, 1960, that highly respected sage said Nigeria was their own private property bequeathed to them by their great grandfather, Usman Danfodio, and that they will resist any change in power, that the minorities of the North will be manipulated and the Southerners will be regarded as conquered territory. Unfortunately, they cannot do that”, he said.

    Ukpabi wondered why a region that had produced civilian and military Heads of State, who had ruled for 38 years, is agitating for power shift, without sensitivity to the feelings of other competing zones. He said power shift should have human face, adding that the Presidency should rotate, not between the North and South, but among the six regions.”This North and South thing is an imaginary demarcation”, he fumed.

    Benue State politician Senator Emmanuel Bwacha agreed with Ukpabi.He urged the minority ethnic groups to rally round Jonathan, who has broken the jinx. He said Providence has made it possible for the President to assume the reins at a time the minority groups were edged out by the large ethnic groups. “If Jonathan who is from the minority Southsouth can become the President, in the nearest future, an indigene of Taraba State can also be President”, he said.

    A PDP chieftain from Bauchi State, Dr. Abdul Jhalil Balewa, lamented that the North/South dichotomy has continued to shape national politics, instead of merit, competence, capacity and track record of performance. He also said that regional outlook has displaced national outlook, stressing that it is a setback for the quest for national integration, unity and harmony. The politician, who is the son of former Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, urged Nigerians to consider the President for a second tern for two reasons. He said the President has the right to re-contest. The politician also said that, judging by the challenges that have confronted his administration, he has done his best.

    “I am a northerner. But it is not true that the North has rejected the President. Many northerners will support him in 2015”, Balewa added.

  • 2015: How feasible is APC, PDM alliance?

    2015: How feasible is APC, PDM alliance?

    Until recently, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) were the two dominant parties warming up for 2015 elections. The registration of more parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may have altered the envisaged two-party system. But will the new opposition parties team up with the APC to confront the ruling party? Correspondent MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE asks.

    When the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) registered the All Progressives Congress (APC), observers contented that Nigeria was heading to a two party system. Their thinking was that the two dominant parties-the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and APC- will fight for presidential power in 2015.

    Two party system is not new in the country. In the Third Republic, the former military leader, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, had foisted the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC) on the polity. The two parties represented the two dominant ideologies- “a little to the right and a little to the left”.

    However, with the registration of more parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the journey to the two party system may have been aborted.

    Historically, political parties have always teamed up to erect two broad platforms to contest the elections. It may not be different in 2015. While smaller parties may endorse President Goodluck Jonathan, the big oposition parties may collaborate during the exercise.

    Analysts are of the opinion that the newly registered parties, particularly the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. Since the aggrieved PDP chieftains may seek refuge under it, it may have support in some states where they hold sway. If the reconciliation in the PDP succeeds, it may be a setback for the PDM. Many of its chieftains may defect back to the ruling party.

    Those behind the PDM are not light weight politicians. The perceived arrowhead is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is a chieftain of the Baraje’s faction of the PDP.

    Other parties and associations, especially the Independent Democrat (ID) and the Voice of the People (VOP), also have links with the aggrieved PDP governors.

    The PDM was registered barely two months after three leading opposition parties – the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress of Progressive Change (CPC) and a faction of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) collapsed into the APC. The PDP leadership has accused the PDM of the betrayal of the cause of its founding fathers.

    As a powerful movement within the PDP, it was instrumental to many successes of the ruling party. The personal appeal of its leader the late General Shehu Yar’Adua has endured.

    However, as the battle draws nearer, an alliance between the APC and PDM may not be ruled out . In politics, there are no permanent enemies but permanent interests.

    As an asociation, PDM has substantial members in the APC. Outside politics, they still relate with their former colleagues. Therefore, consultations may be smooth. For example, Atiku and many APC leaders have been friends since the Third Republic. Among his former associates in the old PDM are Senator Bola Tinubu, Chief Olorunfunmi Basorun and Senator Tony Adefuye,

    The PDM chairman, Bashir Yusuf, appreciated the limitation of the party from the onset. He said the party will consider alliance with the opposition parties. That meant that, from the onset, reality had dawned on the PDM chieftains that it lacked the muscle and network to mobilise support to challenge the PDP, without collaborating with the opposition parties.

    Yusuf recalled that past efforts to register the party in the past failed because the military aborted it. He said: “The registration of the PDM is a good development. We have been trying to register it since 1994, but the military government of the day stood in the way.”

    Yusuf said that politics in Nigeria will never be the same again, saying that PDM will serve as an alternative platform for those opposed to the PDP. “I have no doubt in my mind it will change the present decadent order and try to fix Nigeria for all of us, not section , religion or tribe, but for all of us”, he said.

    However, many have faulted the registration of the PDM by the INEC, which had de-registered seven parties, based on their electoral misfortunes.

    The electoral commission had deregistered the smaller parties parties on the ground that they could not produce a sizable number of legislators at the state and federal levels. However, INEC ran into trouble at the court. The court ruled out that the de-registration was faulty, adding that it violated the freedom of association.

    In the 2015 race PDP, APC and PDM will be in contention. If there must be an alliance, where will PDM pitch its tent? Analysts are building scenario. It is not likely that Atiku’s supporters in the PDP will retrace their steps to the PDP. Sources said that Atiku deliberately supported the Baraje’s faction to weaken the mainsteram PDP led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

    For any alliance to happen between the APC and PDM, certain challenges must be overcome. The defunct ACN chieftains in the APC may be weary. Atiku was the AC presiential candidate in 2007 election. He was supported by the AC leaders. But he lost the presidential election. After the election, he went back to the PDP. Therefore, the APC leaders may execise caution and restraint in sealing an alliance with Atiku’s party.

    Another issue is the role of the former Vice President, if there is an alliance between the APC and PDM. Atiku has presidential ambition. But there are some presidential contenders too in the APC. Although APC will zone its presidential ticket to the North, Atiku may not emerge as its beneficiary. It will unthinkable for the APC to dump Gen. Muhammdu Buhari and other aspirants for for the former Vice President.

    According to analysts, the way out is for the two parties to work out the details of the alliance by evolving a power-sharing formula. This may pose some challenges, but the leaders on both sides can overcome them because they are experienced politicians.

    If these challenges are resolved, APC and PDM alliance will pose a great threat to the PDP in the next general elections.

  • Akwa Ibom PDP: Gathering storm over zoning

    Akwa Ibom State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is being threatened by the party’s zoning policy, writes AUGUSTINE AVWODE.

    Tension is brewing in the Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Before now, Governor Godswill Akpabio is said to be worried about the party’s zoning policy.

    Feelers from Uyo, the capital of the oil-rich Southsouth state, indicate that party members are raising eyebrows over an attempt to impose the governorship candidate for the next election.

    It was learnt that members of the party, who had widely celebrated the sacking of the former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Umana Okon Umana, thinking that it would automatically translate to a level playing ground for every aspirant, are beginning to express apprehension over recent developments. They are worried that a person who never contributed to the development of the party in the past 14 years, may emerge as governorship candidate through imposition.

    The fear of a possible imposition became apparent last week after Governor Akpabio allegedly took steps, which pointed towards the fact that he might be working towards installing the new Secretary to the State Government(SSG), Mr. Emmanuel Udom, as his successor. Some members of the party were said to have been alarmed, when they saw Akpabio on television addressing a gathering of Akwa Ibom State indigenes from the three senatorial districts in a ‘town hall meeting’.

    At the meeting, which held in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Akpabio, called out each of the three senatorial districts and asked the gathering to echo “aye” to the senatorial district that they would prefer for the slot in 2015. At the end of the mock exercise, Eket Senatorial District was pronounced the choice of the people going by the support the zone got. The governor immediately passed the judgment that his successor would come from the Eket Senatorial District. Udom hails from the district.

    In a full page advertorial in national dailies last week, a stakeholder described what happened in Abuja as a “joke, an expensive one at that, at the expense of the good people of Akwa Ibom State.”

    Asked what the solution to the looming crisis might be, a source hinted that it would be better for the governor to abandon any attempt to impose anyone or any senatorial district on the state and allow the people to freely choose their leaders. He noted that Akpabio himself came to power through a liberal process which allowed everyone from every part of the state to be part of the exercise. “He received massive support at the end of the day and we have supported him even until this moment.

    “We call on all people of goodwill, especially leaders of the PDP who have the ears of our governor to advise him properly at this critical moment. Anything otherwise will portend some danger for the unity of the party from what I can see”, he said.

    Part of the advertorial last week read, “We plead that His Excellency, Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio, should not allow himself to be pressured into making hasty decisions and avoidable mistakes that could erase in one day, the legacy he has striven over time to build in Akwa Ibom State. As chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, we are confident that his Excellency would not be a party to anything that might divide our great party, the PDP or throw the state into unnecessary chaos”.

  • ‘PDP may not recover from crisis’

    ‘PDP may not recover from crisis’

    Human rights activist Comrade Phrank Shuaibu spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU on the protracted Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crises and implications for the party in 2015.

    What does the PDP crisisportend for the future of the party?

    The PDP crisis started from Rivers State. It is believed that President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi are at loggerheads. Now, the tension has engulfed the party and the nation. It started with the victimisation of party members. The undemocratic and despotic practices of the party leadership paved the way for the parallel leadership in the party. Tukur-led PDP had been one-sided on many issues affecting the unity of the PDP and the emergence of the Baraje-led PDP is simply a mere expression of members’ right to protest against injustice. An oppressive system builds internal conditions necessary for its implosion. The present leaders of the party under Tukur operated the kind of governance that is oppressive to the members, thereby neglecting the principles of democracy.

    Are you saying that Tukur’s leadership style triggered the explosion?

    The beguiling governor-friends of the President and other political appointees of the President are also behind the division in the PDP. What they sowed in Rivers is what they are reaping bountifully.

    Dr. Jonathan is the President. He has a responsibility not to be petty and to focus on the larger picture for all citizens. One of whom is Rotimi Amaechi. The governor is actually one of the bright spots in the darkness of the People’s Democratic Party and, instead of the Tukur-led leadership to treasure him, they kept on harassing him. Though they said that the President has no hand in the crisis, we see his hands in the utterances of the Minister of State for Education and the President’s wife.

    What is your advice to the President?

    I don’t sympathize with President Goodluck Jonathan in all of this. The Presidency, in a bid to subdue the NGF, embarked on a campaign of calumny against the Rivers State governor and chairman of the NGF over an unfounded speculation that he was eyeing the Vice Presidency. Nigerians know that the Presidency wrote and forced down the script of the present crisis on governors to divide the forum for its self-serving interests. The President showed he was an active participant in the NGF crises through his approval of the Jonah Jang’s faction of the Forum.

    The President owns the patent for the factionalisation and the support for illegality. He created a faction in the Nigeria Governors Forum and openly supported a man who scored 16 votes, instead of the winner, Amaechi. In the Rivers PDP, he created a faction through his Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike. It was so sweet when they introduced the faction in NGF against Amaechi. Governors Akpabio and Jonah Jang opened a parallel NGF Secretariat and Jonathan and Tukur applauded them.

    The moral lesson is that its easier to quarrel with your enemies and get away with it, but when you fight your close friend, he will destroy you because he knows all your secrets, strengths and weaknesses.

    My advise is that President Jonathan should look at the political mirror and see if there is any reflection of a President. The surest way to re-election is achievement and success. A successful one term tenure is better than 15 years on the seat without achievements.

    But the President has many PDP governors backing him…

    Are they behind him? I call them household enemies. Mr President should pray against household enemies. All the people singing his praises today are his real enemies. They are the ones deceiving him and giving him wrong perceptions. He should stop chasing shadows. Governor Rotimi Amaechi is not his problem. His problem are the appointees around him and some governors, who have been trading on fiction and lies to gain political advantage and to have the President’s ears. I doubt if those PDP governors are actually better than Amaechi and his six colleagues because, if Amaechi alone was the problem, no PDP governor would have voted for him in the NGF election after the party and the Presidency had anointed a different candidate. Although some of them are always being portrayed as loyalists, there is danger in relying on people who are quite proficient in adducing weak and feeble reasons for why the assignments failed. If we take the alleged mandate to unseat Amaechi as a working hypothesis, there are too many questions begging for answers. It is true that the party’s anointed candidate changed from time to time, making the party look confused. It is a fact also that, at a point, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State said that Governor Yuguda of Bauchi was picked to replace Governor Shema of Katsina as the President’s choice for the election against Amaechi. But that was not to be as they later changed it to Jonah Jang of Plateau. Isn’t that a poor job? And you think any serious leader should keep seeing such a handler and his team of jesters as his loyalists and trusted friends? If they were serious about the assignment to stop Amaechi, was that not the best reason they should have refused to vote? Instead, after voting, they said they didn’t vote and, when a video of the event surfaced, they said the filming was illegal.

    But there is the sentiment that Amaechi should not have aspired for the Vice Presidency when the Southsouth has the chance of retaining the Presidency…

    When former Governor Tinubu opposed certain undemocratic and anti-people policies of the former President Obasanjo, some gullible Nigerians said he was fighting the President because he wanted to be Vice President to Atiku. They called him traitor in the Southwest. Today, who is more relevant in the polity between Tinubu and Obasanjo? They are only giving a dog a bad name to hang it. Besides, what is wrong if the young man aspires to a higher office?

    But now that PDP is in crisis at the national level, is there any respite in Rivers?

    President Goodluck Jonathan has not stopped to witch-hunt the governor. After the abysmal failure of the plan to impeach the governor, with the help of only five lawmakers, they had a new agenda. There is grand design to use the judiciary to remove Governor Amaechi from office in the month of November.

  • How far can Jonathan go?

    How far can Jonathan go?

    Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN takes a look at the chances of President Goodluck Jonathan, if he decides to seek re-nomination in 2015.

     

     

    President Goodluck Jonathan is likely to seek re-nomination in 2015. His reluctance to make any commitment on his perceived ambition at the peace meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders and the aggrieved governors points to that direction. If the peace moves fail to reconcile the two warring factions, the Abubakar Baraje group, to which the seven governors belong, may align with the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) or the All Progressive Congress (APC) to ensure electoral victory for the opposition. The President may emerge unchallenged as the standard bearer of the PDP under the leadership of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

     

    Can Jonathan win 2015 election?

     

    Prior to the protracted crises, PDP had a broad political base, which was responsible for its winning streak since 1999, when civil rule was restored. In the 1999 elections, the party won a majority of seats in the legislature and its standard bearer, Chief Olusegun Obasano, was elected as the President. It was the same scenario in 2003. In 2007, late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua emerged as the party’s presidential candidate. Dr. Jonathan was his running mate. In 2010, power shifted to Jonathan, who became the Acting President and later, President, following the death of President Yar’ Adua.

    When Jonathan announced in September 2010 that he would run for the Presidency, it generated controversy. The party chieftains went to the primaries with acrimony. However, his victory over his challenger, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, gave the impression that he had considerable support in many Northern states, in spite of the fact that his candidacy was a deviation from the party’s rotational policy. Jonathan was victorious in the 2011 presidential election, which the international observers said was free and fair.

    But the volcanic eruption within the PDP has now weakened the party. In the National Assembly, PDP is no more a dominant party. The party split at its recent convention in Abuja, with seven governors forming a faction headed by Alhaji Kawu Baraje.

    The arrowhead of the group is the former Vice President. Already 22 senators have pitched their tent with the Baraje faction. Prior to the escalation of the crisis, the party had 74 members in the Upper Chamber; the Tukur faction is left with 52 senators. The Presidency may lose control over the Senate, if the 22 new PDP senators decide to team up with the opposition, which has 31 senators. Therefore, the opposition may be in the majority, with 53 as against 52 for PDP. Similarly, 57 members of the House of Representatives have pulled out of the Tukur group and aligned with its rival. Given this development,President Jonathan’s faction of the PDP has lost control over the National Assembly and some states. The implication is that the President’s popularity has shrunk.

    Besides, the President, to observers, has not lived up to expectation. The transformation agenda of the administration is not producing positive results. Former Kano State Governor Ibrahim Shekarau has called on Nigerians to brace up for the challenge of unseating the President in 2015. He said Jonathan has failed woefully and does not deserve re-election.

    Shekarau, who was a member of the merger committee of the All Progressive Congress (APC), took a critical appraisal of the Jonathan. He said: “My assessment is that the government is a total failure. It is not about projects, but about the wellbeing and safety of the people.”

    Former Aviation Minster, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode said Nigeria deserves a new President, if the country must progress. He said: “We should have a new President in 2015, if we want Nigeria to do well. If we don’t have a new President by then, if we have the same President we have today and, if he doesn’t change drastically, do a new thing, build bridges, make peace with everyone and build up a serious team of competent people around him, I don’t think that he has much of a hope of winning the next election. And, if he continues like this and return in 2015, Nigeria would be finished within two years.

    “My worst fear is that, by then, the damage he would have inflicted on this nation would have been so bad that it would be irretrievable. Nigeria would eventually turn into something of Banana Republic and a failed state. That is what is likely to happen, if Jonathan comes back in 2015 and if he’s given a new mandate. This is my greatest fear for our country and that is why we must stop him.

    “Today we have more division in terms of religion, ethnicity and more mutual suspicion than at any time in our history apart from during the civil war. This is what President Jonathan and his team have done to Nigeria. Everything has been ethnicised”.

    The way forward, according to Shekarau, is to get the right people to take over. He added: “ The electorate have a very big role to play because the people must have a change. The change we are advocating in APC is not change of government but change of attitude and people must vote according to their belief and consciousness of accepting who will do the right thing”.

    A chieftain of APC in Niger State, Alhaji Yusuf Lawal, has advised President Jonathan to accept the reality that his second term ambition will hit the rock because he will not have a formidable platform to lean upon in 2015.

    According to Lawal, the PDP may not recover from its crisis adding that the split in the party has marked the downfall of the acclaimed largest party in Africa. He noted that the PDP has inflicted pains on the people in the last 14 years and added that the governments it produced had failed the nation.

    He said: “President Jonathan should forget about 2015. He should heed the advice of “The Patriots” that he should not re-contest. He should be ready to be a statesman as from 2015”.

    Can his performance save him?

    President Jonathan won the 2011 poll, not because of his popularity, but because Nigerians insisted on voting for a candidate from the minority ethnic group. In 2015, Jonathan may not have the luxury of leveraging on the same sentiments. He may not be able to whip up emotions, based on his recall of poverty-striken childhood, which made the masses to think that he would transform the country.

    A political analyst, Dr Bernard Briggs, said the President’s performance makes him vulnerable to defeat in a free and fair election. “He has not lived up to the expectations of Nigerians. The President and his party are in for a surprise in 2015, when Nigerians will witness the power of their votes. The power of incumbency will not matter in 2015 because the President is poised to lose the election”.

    Briggs added: “President Jonathan should not blame anybody for his predicament, if he loses. He is the architect of his own misfortune as a President. For the President to have squandered the enormous goodwill and support from Nigerians is evidence of opportunities gone awry. It will dawn on his praise singers from his ethnic group who have been hailing him for doing nothing.

    An applicant from Akwa Ibom, John Akpan, is opposed to second term for President Jonathan. He said that, being an indigene of Southsouth, he should support Jonathan for a second term bid. But he prefers to differ on this issue. According to him, Jonathan has not proved himself to be a man that can take Nigeria out of insecurity, poverty, deprivation, joblessness, and corruption.

    Akpan said the President that can wake up one day and increase pump price of fuel . “Jonathan has failed the Southsouth with his purposeless leadership and his inability to fight corruption. He is being swung around like “barber’s chair” by his ethnic leaders and numerous advisers making his government unpopular.

    “The unfortunate thing is that Jonathan has laid a bad precedence for the Southsouth and it will be extremely difficult for another Southsouth person to get to that position in the future. It is either the PDP dumps Jonathan and remain relevant in 2015 or retain Jonathan and go into extinction in 2015”, he added.

    Briggs said President Jonathan has a case to answer. “In 2015, Nigerians will ask Jonathan why corruption, which he promised to tackle in his inaugural speech, has become a hydra-headed monster in his administration. He will have to explain why his administration has not secured convictions, in spite of massive corruption in the land. Nigerians will in 2015, ask the President why cases of corruption involving his aides have been swept under the carpet. The impunity that has become a norm in this country today is because the President has not been decisive in the fight against corruption.

    “The President will also explain why millions of Nigerian youths cannot find jobs, despite the concocted story of the economy growing at an unbelievable rate being dished out by government officials. The 2015 election should be about performance and the President has a lot of questions to answer about his stewardship. Unless something drastic happens between now and the election date, President Jonathan will be heading back to his hometown in Otuoke on May 29, 2015,” he said..

     

  • Jonathan, Obasanjo: Torn apart by 2015 calculations

    Jonathan, Obasanjo: Torn apart by 2015 calculations

    President Goodluck Jonathan and his benefactor and godfather, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, are now working at cross-purpose in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The President is perceived to be nursing a second term ambition. But the former President has his eyes on another candidate. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes on the antagonistic permutations of the two leaders, ahead of the 2015 elections.

     

     

    Before Dr. Goodluck Jonathan became the VicePresident in 2007, the relationship between him and former President Olusegun Obasanjo was like a father-son relationship. But the former President is now fighting the President by proxy.

    Obasanjo greatly admired the Ijaw technocrat and politician, who was a loyal deputy governor under former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Alamieye-seigha. The fondness was attributed to the fact that Jonathan neither undermined nor subverted his boss, until the governor was shoved aside, following the his face-off with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The relationship was cordial when Dr. Jonathan, in quick succession, became the Vice President, Acting President and President, following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua.

    When the President contested for the highest office in 2011, Obasanjo was also a pillar of support for his administration. He mobilised support for him to defeat former Vice President Atiku Abubakar at the PDP primaries and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential election.

    The relationship has now turned sour. The President and the former President are divided by 2015 calculations. President Jonathan is perceived to be nursing a second term in office. But Obasanjo is looking at another direction. At critical moments, when the former President was expected to stand behind the President like the wall of Gibraltar, he was found in the company of those opposed to the President’s ambition. As the pro-Jonathan forces continue to push for his re-nomination, Obasanjo is propping up another aspirant to challenge him to a duel.

    The turn of events is worrisome to some admirers of Obasanjo in Jonathan’s camp. Efforts to broker reconciliation between the two leaders have failed. Although President Jonathan had visited Obasanjo in his Abeokuta, Ogun State residence, it has not led to a truce. The former President has also visited Dr. Jonathan in Aso Rock. But the visits have not endangered mutual confidence.

    Since 1999, when he assumed the reins as the President, Obasanjo has been playing the role of a godfather in the ruling PDP. As the PDP National Leader, the General decided who got what and how in the party for eight years. He brooked no opposition and his word was law.

    After completing his second term in office, Obasanjo reflected on the burning issue of succession. As a former military leader and civilian Head of State, he was not indifferent to the nature, tendency and sentiment of his successor. Thus, in 2007, he threw up former Katsina State Governor Yar’Adua as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer. But another issue that came up at the convention of the party was the choice of the running mate. The former President, who had a running battle with his deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, wanted a cool-headed politician as the vice presidential candidate. After careful consideration, he picked former Bayelsa State Governor Jonathan for the role.

    After two and half years, President Yar’adua died. During his long absence, a cabal initially prevented Jonathan from stepping in as the Acting President. Obasanjo was among the eminent Nigerians who insisted that the 1999 Constitution should be followed in resolving the logjam. The former President even said that his successor should have thrown in the towel, owing to his incapacitation. When Yar’Adua died, the same forces were at work, until the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ was invoked to pave the way for Jonathan’s emergence as the President. In those trying period, Obasanjo stood with the President.

    The relationship between Jonathan and Obasanjo was cordial, until his resignation as the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman. It was believed that Obasanjo displaced another party elder, Chief Tony Anenih. A source said that the former President was dazed by Jonathan’s reaction. Instead of prevailing on the former President not to abdicate from the powerful and influential party structure, Jonathan simply welcomed the resignation and wished him the best in his future endeavours.

    From that moment, the source said, Obasanjo started to review his relationship with the President. But open confrontation was avoided. The resumption of hostilities came, following the removal of Obasanjo’s men from the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party. The sack affected the National Secretary, Gen. Olagunsoye Oyinlola, National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Mr. Segun Oni, and National Auditor, Gbenga Mustapha. They were national officers from the Southwest Zone.

    Gen. Oyinlola had a ruptured relationship with the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. When crisis broke out between the Chairman and Secretary, Tukur’s Chief of Staff, Abu Fari, was shown the way out. The former Osun State governor alleged that Fari had hijacked his duties and preventing access to the chairman. But the heat was later turned on Oyinlola, following persistent pressures from party chieftains from his home state and other Southwest states for his removal. They complained that he did not properly emerge as the secretary. But Oyinlola’s election was not voided by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which voided the election of other 16 national officers. When Tukur refused to reinstate him, Obasanjo’s camp took up the battle, claiming that it was an orchestrated plan to reduce the former President’s influence by eliminating his supporters from the organs of the party.

    Obasanjo has other grudges. He had taken side in the war of attrition rocking the Ogun PDP chapter. In hot competition for the soul of the party in the Gateway State were the Senator Dipo Odujinrin and Adebayo Dayo factions. Obasanjo supported the former. Following the collapse of reconciliation, the two parties went to the court. The temple of justice affirmed Dayo, an engineer, as the authentic chairman. Thus, the hands if the National Working Committee (NWC) were tied. Tukur had no option than to give recognition to the State Executive Committee headed by Dayo. The implication was that the control of the Ogun PDP slipped away from Obasanjo. It was a victory for his foes in the troubled chapter, who are financed by the billionaire businessman, Kashamu Buruji.

    The former President is not a coward who will run away from battles. He gathered his army and fired salvos at the President. As the relationship between Obasanjo and Jonathan deteriorated, relations between the embattled President and Nigerians who voted en mass for him over two years ago had strained. Their hope was raised by the transformation agenda. But, two years after, soaring unemployment, collapsed infrastructure, power outage, and poverty have created a deep hollow in the administration’s record. Gradually, the President begun to lose the goodwill and solidarity of the voters, owing to their inability to marry expectation with reality. Thus, Obasanjo secured a vantage position to attack the inept government, berating it for shortfall in focus and capacity.

    In fact, the former President wrote off the younger generation, which is exemplified Dr. Jonathan. Delivering a lecture at Ibadan, Oyo State, he said the generation has failed the nation, unlike his own generation, which he said, erected lasting legacies.

    Observers contend that the missiles at Ibadan were reserved by Obasanjo, who had earlier passed a vote of no confidence on the President when he shunned this year’s ‘Democracy Day’ at Abuja. Obasanjo was said to have been invited to the occasion where President Jonathan released his mid-term score card. He declined the invitation. Instead, the former President went to Dutse, capital of Jigawa State, on the invitation of Governor Sule Lamido. After commissioning some projects by the governor, Obasanjo praised him to high heavens. The extraordinary encomium was perceived as an endorsement of Lamido for the Presidency in 2015 by Obasanjo.

    Also, to underscore his disapproval of the party’s recent special convention at the Eagles Squares, Abuja, Obasanjo stayed away, to the consternation of the President. Mid way into the convention, seven governors walked out on the President and Tukur, citing irregularities in the conduct of the exercise. Among them are the five aggrieved governors, who are loyal to Obasanjo. They repudiated the convention and demanded for Tukur’s resignation from office.

    Obasanjo was instrumental to the installation of the ‘G5″ members as governors. He had directed Admiral Muritala Nyako to vie for the Adamawa State governorship in 2007 to checkmate Atiku. When Kano State Governor Musa Kwakwanso was dislodged by Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), the former President appointed him as the Defence Minister. Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu was a Federal Permanent Secretary before his election. In 2007, Obasanjo advised Aliyu Wamakko to defect from the ANPP to become the governor of Sokoto State under the PDP. Kano State Governor Lamido was Obasanjo’s first Minister of Foreign Affairs. All of them have remained loyal to the former President. In fact, before they announced a parallel executive, they had visited Obasanjo to complain to him about the way Jonathan and Tukur have been managing the party. Their visit to Obasanjo in Abeokuta coincided with the President’s visit. But, following a tip off, they dodged the President.

    When the ‘G5’ teamed up with other aggrieved PDP chieftains to form a faction led by the former Acting National Chairman, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, many believed that Obasanjo was not kept in the dark. A source said that was responsible for why Jonathan’s camp was weary of Obasanjo’s reconciliation initiative, following the split in the crisis-ridden party. Since they believe that the Ota farmer is not neutral in the crisis, the President’s associates feared that Obasanjo, who is unpredictable and cunning, had come up with his antics to pull the rug off the feet of his perceived enemy.

    Party insiders said that, ini-

    tially, the President wanted to

    keep Obasanjo at arm length. But key chieftains loyal to him stressed the importance of reconciliation to prevent the escalation of the crisis. But when the President’s disposition to the Obasanjo effort was unraveled, many party elders shunned the reconciliation meeting at Abuja. It was evident that the elders have been polarised by the protracted crisis into pro-Jonathan and anti-Jonathan forces. Apart from Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and Col. Ahmadu Ali, who had worked under him as the military Head of State, other notable elders at the venue were Senator Barnabas Gemade and Anenih, who was the link between the reconciliation meeting and Presidency. However, key elders, including former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, Chief Solomon Lar, Mrs. Titi Ajanaku, Prof. Jibril Aminu, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, General Yakubu Danjuma, Chief S.K. Babalola, former Anambra State Governor Jim Nwobodo, Alhaji Mohammed Abba-Gana, Gen. Ike Nwachukwu, Chief Tunde Osunrinde, Senator Ahmed Ebute, former Information Minister Chief Edwin Clark, Commodore Bode George, Chief Peter Odili, Senator Olofintuyi, Chief Shuaib Oyedokun, Gen. David Jemibewon, Senator Olu Alabi, Chief Alaba Williams, Alabo Ghram Douglas, Alhaji Hassan Adamu, Chief Dapo Sarunmi, Dr. Umaru Dikko, and Senator Yinka Omilani, were absent.

    Jonathan’s camp faces a big hurdle, ahead of 2015. Ebullient and fork-tongued Governor Aliyu had canvassed for power shift to the North, claiming that the President had a pact with some Northern leaders on presidential zoning in 2011. He said the inexplicable pact should be honoured. When Obasanjo visited Jigawa and showered encomium on Lamido, it was interpreted as a subtle endorsement for power shift.

    Sources said that the President’s associates were infuriated by the recommendations of the elders’ committee-led by Obasanjo. The proposals favoured the ‘G5’, which is Obasanjo’s machinery, and other chieftains, who are united in their bitterness against the President and Tukur, his dependable ally. The President, the source added, may reject the proposals.

    Under this prevailing atmosphere of mistrust and mutual suspicion between the President and his erstwhile benefactor, the perceived hidden agenda of Obasanjo may unfold. But the former President also faces some challenges in his perceived bid to edge out Jonathan from the exalted office.

    Obviously, Obasanjo is not happy with President Jonathan. But, judging by his outburst at Ibadan, it is doubtful that the former President will endorse Atiku for the Presidency in 2015, although the former Vice President appears to be the arrowhead of the onslaught against the President and Tukur. There is no proof that the former leader will combine forces with Buhari, a likely presidential aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC). It may be suicidal. Also, the newly registered Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), which is believed to be fronting for the former Vice President, is ruled out in Obasanjo’s calculations. If he eventually settles for Lamido, Aliyu or any other candidate for the Presidency, will he have the last laugh?

     

  • Reconciliation possible in Anamabra PDP, says Nwankpo

    Reconciliation possible in Anamabra PDP, says Nwankpo

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Anambra State, Chief Nze Nwankpo was a governorship aspirant for the November 16 election. He spoke with AUGUSTINE AVWODE at the weekend in Lagos on the division in the party, the primaries, zoning and what the in-coming governor of the state must focus on.

     

     

     

     

    Don’t you think that the division in the Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will spell doom for it in the November 16 governorship election?

    Well, you can say that again, but I have learnt over the years that it is not over until it is over. As far as I am concerned, nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it. I want to say this with all sense of responsibility, that the people involved in the crisis are human beings, they are sons and daughters of Anambra State. Don’t forget that everyone of us declared our intentions to lead the state and went into the primaries of the party with just one thing at the back of his or her mind; and that is to serve Anambra State, lift Anambra, develop Anambra and make the state a better place for Anambrarians where life is meaningful. I think that is the main reason behind the expression of the desire to lead the state.

    We all know that only one person can be governor at a time, and couple with the fact that, all we want is the best for the people and the state rather than ourselves, I see a situation where all the protagonists will, in the interest of the people and the state, let go and a reconciliation will happen.

    Are you saying that reconciliation is possible in the state chapter of the PDP given the recent happenings in the party?

    That is exactly what I am saying, reconciliation is very possible. We still have two months to that election day. In politics, 24 hours is a very long time. It will be wrong for anybody to write us off, and conclude that oh, Anambra PDP has thrown away the governorship because they could not agree. There is no where in the world where there are no frictions. Mr. A says he can do the job better, Mr. B says, no, I am the better person to do it. Put differently, Mr. A says this is the best method, and Mr. B says, no, that method is flawed, let us do it this way. Is this not the bottom line of all the argument? And is that what we cannot resolve? I said reconciliation in this party is very possible before that day.

    Are you surprised at the outcome of the PDP primaries in which you were an aspirant?

    The people have spoken. And don’t forget that we all pledged to abide by the outcome of the primaries to be conducted by the party. What I think we should focus on now is the fact that the state needs all of us to grow it. God loves Anambra State, take a look at the state, you have some of the best human beings from the state and that is why we are all passionate about serving the state. What is left for us now is to join our hands together and ensure that our party comes into power. That is the platform through which we can serve the people and serve the state. Anambra is a special state. That is why it is called the “The Light of the Nation” and truly so because it is the home of numerous legends, who in their various careers, have carried bright torches across the nation and the world. The roll call is incredible and their footprints are massive. From Nwafor Orizu, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Blessed Michael Iwene Tansi, the great Odimegwu-Ojukwu, Kenneth Dike, Sir Louis Mbanefo, Chinua Achebe, Dr. Pius Okigbo, Dr Chike Obi and so on.

    So, you can see that what the state needs is a facilitator. A man, who will facilitate development, because our people are self-driven. You don’t need to tell Anambra people ‘this is what you do to be successful’. God has endowed us in an exceptional way. Sometimes I have wondered why God put so many talents in one location, so much wealth in one location, so much energy in one location. So, Anambra needs a quiet facilitator, someone who understands what is required and the fundamentals. Anambra is indeed one of the few States in Nigeria where conditions exist for spectacular economic growth. It has become important and urgent to overcome the several challenges presently drawing Anambra State back from realizing its very tremendous potential. I aspired to be the governor of Anambra State because I understand these facts and the potential of the state. The primaries have come and gone and we must be gentlemen, who say something and abide by it.

    What are those things the next governor in the state should focus on?

    That is fairly easy to answer. I have spoken about the type of people that are in the state – highly endowed and resourceful. Therefore, Anambra need somebody who will provide an enabling environment fo0r the people to be able to harness all their abilities and potential for growth and development. Without doubt, the incumbent governor has tried but there is still a lot of room for improvement in such sectors as security of lives and properties, infrastructure development and upgrading, quality health care delivery, availability and accessibility of qualitative education. Then there is urgent need for socio-moral orientation.

    The next governor of the state should focus on employment generation from the angle of enterprise promotion. In Anambra State we are business people. The idea here is to recognize that fact, work with our market and business communities and apply the leverage of Government in syndicating funds for driving rapid growth of small and medium scale enterprises. Right now our mentor system has basically collapsed. In those good old days young people go and sit with their masters in the markets, who trained them overtime and then gave them money to do business. But desperation has destroyed that today. We need to find a way to recover that system.

    The next governor of the state must be able to look into the vast arable land that is available in the state and put it into proper use in the areas of land for investments, agriculture and agro- allied business. If any state wants to develop, the first thing is to find the means and ways to feed its people. The next governor of the state should be able to provide an appropriate enabling environment to support the achievement of food sufficiency in Anambra State by intervening in the following specific relevant areas; agricultural mechanization, production and distribution of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, and improved varieties of commercial seeds, seedlings, brood stock and fingerlings under government certification and quality control, supported with a virile and effective extension service.

    The governor should be able to pay attention to the environment by aggressively tackling erosion and dealing with the issue of waste management.

    What do you make of the sharp division in your party at the national level?

    It is not unexpected. That there will be misunderstanding and disagreement in a party as big and large as the PDP is taken for granted. The first thing that should tell you that things will be sorted out amicably is the fact that those who revolted or stormed out in anger, up till now as we speak, have not labbelled themselves as a different party. They claimed to be the authentic PDP, while our national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has advised them to stop parading themselves as a breakaway group.

    The second thing is that, since the incident happened at the Eagle Square in Abuja, almost who is who in the party has got down to business to say no, this misunderstanding and disagreement must be resolved. I tell you the truth; all of us know what is involved. We all know the implication o9f what is going on and that is why I can safely tell you that nobody would do anything to jeopardize the chances of the party in the 2015 general elections. And to be successful in 2015, it should begin today.