The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • Abiola, June 12 and the Paschal question

    Abiola, June 12 and the Paschal question

    On July 7, 1998, they brought Chief Moshood Abiola home in a body bag. That was not what we expected, but that was what we got. The they was the military junta led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar. Abubakar had become head of the junta following the sudden death of his boss, General Sani Abacha on June 7, 1998. Excited Nigerians, rejoicing at the sudden death of the tyrant, had dubbed the event miracle ’98. Abubakar, a suave and morose military officer, went ahead to brighten the political space, but then inexplicably delayed in freeing Abiola, the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, who had become Abacha’s most famous prisoner. Also detained like Abiola were scores of political and military leaders including General Olusegun Obasanjo, the soldier who ended 13 years of military rule when he handed over power to elected President Shehu Shagari in 1979 and Beko Ransome-Kuti, the physician chairman of Campaign for Democracy, CD. Obasanjo’s erstwhile deputy, General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua had also died in Abacha’s prison.

    Abubakar freed many of our leaders and colleagues who were in the gulag including the likes of Chief Bola Ige, first elected governor of old Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina, who was destined to become the next elected governor of Oyo State, Dr Ransome-Kuti, Mrs Chris Anyanwu, the publisher of TSM magazine, George Mba of TELL, Ben Charles-Obi, Kunle Ajibade of the TheNews and many others, but not the great man, Moshood Abiola.

    We called a meeting of the Idile Oodua, the leading underground group during the fight against Abacha, at Onyx Plaza, Ikeja, to deliberate on developments. We were all enthusiastic that Abiola would soon be released and then we would insist on an immediate exit of the military. We resolved that Abubakar must be compelled to hand over power to the President-presumptive. We expected Abiola to form an all inclusive national government. We were in high spirit.

    “What if Abiola too should die like Abacha?”

    The question had been posed by Prince Paschal Adeleke Idowu, a man of steel built in elegant form. He was a management staff of Royal Exchange Assurance Plc and one the most steadfast and bravest patriots of The Resistance. Heavy silence fell on our meeting. This was followed by an animated debate. Our conclusion: Abiola cannot die in detention. Our country, our people and history were waiting for him.

    The following week, we held a meeting in the Ibadan home of Chief Bola Ige, the deputy leader of Afenifere, who had just returned triumphantly from Makurdi Prisons in Benue State. Ige was the chairman of Alpha, where I served as the secretary. It was composed mostly of leaders and representatives of different groups. Few weeks ago, one of the leaders of that group, Dr Wahab Dosumu, Second Republic Minister of Housing and member of the Senate between 1999 and 2003, died, bringing home to us why the story of that dark era needs to be told. Dosumu was one of our outstanding leaders and he attended that important meeting in Ige’s house in 1998.

    Ige explained to us that Ababakar appeared to be an Omoluabi who may be willing to distance himself from the evil ways of his predecessor. He said the leadership of Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba political and cultural movement, was in constant touch with the new junta. He spoke glowingly of its pointsman, Major-General Leo Ajiborisa, first military governor of Osun State. He was sure Abiola would be released “within days!”

    “What if Abiola dies?” we gingerly posed the Paschal Question? There was again an animated debate. The meeting’s conclusion: Abiola dare not die in detention!

    Few days later, they brought Abiola home from Abuja in a body bag.

    Senator Abraham Adesanya, the leader of Afenifere, was inconsolable after the death of Abiola. “Where did we go wrong?” He would ask again and again. “We must have made errors!” He would end his lamentation with his famous prayer: Ki Olorun ma k’odi aimose siwa. (May God not turn our efforts into errors).

    Could the June 12 story have ended in a different way with Abiola coming home in triumph?

    Some of the old men who led the battle for June 12 are still with us. They have fought their battles, the war has ended, (has it ended indeed?) but they have not won the war. The war was fought so that Yoruba land can make certain demands on the Nigerian Commonwealth and that Nigeria can become what our leaders termed “a proper federation.” Some of these demands are being met. Most remain unmet because there is no elite consensus to even articulate these demands and create a coherent strategy to pursue and attain them. Yet 2015 is around the corner, with its historic opportunities for the fulfillment of ancient responsibilities and modern desires.

    The June 12 war was waged while the Commander-in-Chief was in captivity. I have often wondered if events could have taken a different course if Abiola had, from the onset, refused to cooperate with Abacha. How would history have responded if the great man had been opened to a different kind of advice instead of the one that led him into a fatal embrace of the Abacha dictatorship in its nascent days? But we know, a leader is really a prisoner of his advisers, his inner court, the ministers, the paladins, the jesters and the palace guards. It is for him to rise above them and distil from the cacophony the ultimate melody that would lead him to the embrace of Destiny and of greatness.

    The turning point for us was the November night in 1993 when Abiola visited Abacha in Lagos. We saw the gray footage on national television. It sent a confusing signal and we did not really know how to respond. After that meeting some of Abiola’s top men including the Vice-President elect, Babagana Kingibe and Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the former Action governor of Lagos State, were appointed ministers. Some months later, I met a sober Abiola in his Ikeja home. On the rise to his first floor sitting room were still the large pictures of Abiola and his “friends” like Babangida and Abacha. He was getting discouraging signals from the Abacha camp. The new military ruler did not appoint civilian deputy-governors for states as he had earlier promised. Kingibe, the vice-president-presumptive, was now enjoying his new pedestal as the Minister of Internal Affairs. He was thoroughly disappointed, but nonetheless, in a defiant mood. It was to be our last meeting.

    While Abiola was in detention, the June 12 struggle was led by the last brigade of the Awoist vanguard, those intrepid warriors who dedicated their lives to the ideals of freedom and justice; Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Senator Adesanya, Chief Alfred Rewane, Chief Anthony Enahoro, Chief Bola Ige, Senator Jonathan Odebiyi, Archdeacon Emmanuel Alayande, Dr N.F. Aina, Otunba Solanke Onasanya, Alhaji Ganiyu Dawudu, Senator Cornelius Adebayo, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Chief Olu Falae, Senator Ayo Fasanmi, Chief Ayo Opadokun and many others. They were hardy men, tested by fire, forged in the furnace of adversity, unblinking in their stare at danger and unshakable in their faith about the rightness of their cause. They believe that the spirit of Awolowo was still guiding them and they would want to confirm that by what they called the Awo Credo. Let me give only three illustrations.

    In 1994, I had gone to the Ikeja GRA home of Pa Alfred Rewane in the company of Funminiyi Afuye. Rewane was an ebullient old man, full of humour and good grace. A very successful and wealthy businessman, he had served as Awolowo private secretary during the golden era of the 1950s. Each time he mentioned Awo’s name, he would always remove his cap as a sign of respect!

    Sometimes in 1997, I had led my colleagues in the Idile to hold a meeting with the conclave of Afenifere leadership. The Idile delegation included Bayo Adenekan, Afuye, Adedokun Abolarin, (now our royal father, the Orangun of Oke-Ila in Osun State), Dayo Adeyeye, Biodun Bankefa (now known as Pastor Biodun Bamdupe), Kayode Anwo and Paschal Idowu. Most of the leaders of Afenifere were present. We were in the midst of a heated discussion when silence suddenly fell on the group. It was 3 p.m. Sir Olanihun Ajayi explained to us: “Our leader has instructed us that we must always pray for Nigeria and Yoruba land at 3 p.m daily wherever we are.” Ganiyu Dawudu was then asked to pray.

    Late 1998, it was clear that Chief Ige was eyeing the Presidency. The Metropolitan Club, Lagos, had invited him to come and deliver a speech which we expected would signify his intention to the Nigerian public. The death of Abiola had cleared the road to that possibility. Originally, Ige had said if Chief Enahoro, the leader of the opposition National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, was interested in the Presidency, then he would not run. (“Nobody understands Nigeria better than Tony,” said Ige.) Indeed, Ige had asked Professor Wole Soyinka to sound out Enahoro on this. Enahoro had declined, insisting that Nigerians needed to agree on a post-military era Constitution first before we decide on who will be President. With the coast almost clear for him, some of us; his younger friends; felt Ige should open a campaign office.

    “Our leader would not like that,” he said. That was more than 11 years after the death of Awolowo. Ige said he needed to wait for the decision of Afenifere.

    Those were the era of believers. We now have politics without belief and religion without godliness.

    Now 2015 beckons and there is a lot of tactical movements in Yorubaland, especially among leaders of the two main political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN (or its newly adopted name, APC). It is disturbing that Yoruba political leaders are behaving as if Yorubaland is an island unto itself, unrelated to the larger political alchemy of the larger Nigerian state. We only need to reflect on contemporary Nigerian history to know that this trend of parallel operations among our leaders have always worked against our people. Chief Enahoro, in a moment of reflective frustration had declared: “the Yoruba in politics as well as in religion, prefers to worship many gods.”

    Yet at this point again, we are confronted with the Pascal Question. Though our leaders may differ in tactical approach to national politics, there is the need to have a set of unanimous strategic objectives. As events unfold, we need to think of options that would serve the best interest of Nigeria and the Yoruba people. Like during the Resistance, I am convinced if our leaders have been prepared for the Paschal Question, the situation may have been different. Then we were not prepared to think of the dark twist of history. It is this lack of strategic thinking that has plaqued Yoruba politics and it is again casting a negative influence on national affairs.

    In 2011, the PDP had zoned the speakership of the House of Representatives to the South-West. The party had zeroed in on Honourable Mulikat Akande Adeola from Oyo State to get the job. However, a rebel faction of the PDP defied the party leadership and elected Waziri Aminu Tambuwal instead. They got this done with the critical support of the representatives of the South-West in the House of Representatives who are mostly members of the ACN. It is not clear what strategic objective or goals those leaders of the ACN wanted to achieve by ensuring that the leadership of the National Assembly comes from only the Northern part of Nigeria, while Yorubaland is left high and dry. What was the purpose of this tactical blunder: freedom or slavery? Good or evil? Think of cutting your nose to spite your face!

    Last month, the June 12 anniversary was celebrated with fan-fare in many state capitals of the South-West. Even to underscore the importance of that day, Labaran Maku, the Minister of Information, joined us in Lagos to pay tribute to Abiola. If Abiola was this important to our democracy that we continue to mark the anniversary of his voided victory, why was there so much outcry when President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan decided to honour him with the re-naming of the University of Lagos? If the truth must be told, the June 12 celebration had a tinge of hypocrisy to it.

    How many books and documentaries have been commissioned on the life of the great man by those who claimed to love Abiola? (We thank God for Wale Osun, whose June 12: Clapping With One Hand provides a brilliant insight). How many of those who have been propelled to power by Abiola’s heroic sacrifice have bothered about his immediate and extended (and extensive) family? Where are the thousands of men and women who enjoyed Abiola’s scholarships to further and complete their education? Where are the members of the army of supplicants and beneficiaries who daily throng Abiola’s Ikeja palace? How many of these men and women who benefitted so much from Abiola’s expansive munificence have bothered to find out how the wives and children are coping since the passage of the man in 1998? The truth is that our collective memory is poor and our sense of history is worse. There is a chilling reality that the Nigerian people, especially the youths, do not fully appreciate the enormity of Abiola’s sacrifice and the centrality of that sacrifice to the current democratic dispensation.

    Had Abiola taken a different route and not plunge into politics, may be the history of our great country may have been different. Most likely he would have built his own university and if he likes, named it after himself. I hope those men and women of power who profess to love Abiola would follow the example of President Jonathan and take time to remember his profound sacrifice and the debilitating impact of this sacrifice on his immediate family.

    As we remember Abiola, we should also not forget why he died. One great tribute we could pay him is for the true leaders of our people never to be caught off-guard again so that they can understand the imperative of elite consensus in reaching for and achieving collective strategic goals. This elite consensus is necessary to preserve the legacy of democracy and justice that Abiola died for. Remember the Paschal Question!

    Perhaps Abiola could not escape the heavy hand of fate because he was too trusting, too human and too loving to understand the deep guile of a desperate and complicated man like Abacha. He fell, not because he was weak or greedy or afraid, but because he was human in the full ecclesiastical meaning of the word. It is this deep humanity that confirms his greatness.

    Babarinsa, journalist and author, is the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Gaskia Media Limited.

  • Jonathan v Amaechi: The final intrigues

    Jonathan v Amaechi: The final intrigues

    Intrigues and verbal exchanges between the two camps confirm that the face- off between President Goodluck Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party and Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State will soon come to a head, reports Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu

    Then President Goodluck Jonathan, penultimate Saturday, warmly greeted Governor Chibudom Rotimi Amaechi, at the Port-Harcourt Airport, many casual observers contended he and the ruling party had finally forgiven the Rivers State governor. This impression was further boosted soon after, when the party reportedly gave the embattled governor condition for reconciliation and peace. He was asked to apologise to the president and the party leadership.

    But barely a week after this public show of reconciliation, the intrigues in the two camps and the verbal fireworks later this week, both from Mr. President and from close associates of the governor, confirm that for now, reconciliation may only be in the realm of speculation. The facts rather suggest that the frayed relationship may have gone beyond repairs, thus the current secret preparations for the final separation.

    The Nation learnt that Amaechi’s close associates, convinced that Mr. President is bent on dealing with the governor and all his identifiable associates, have been meeting regularly in Abuja, Lagos and Port-Harcourt to decide on the way out both for the governor and for his associates.

    For example, The Nation learnt that more decisive pro-Amaechi meetings were held between Friday and today, mainly because of the outcome of the meeting in Aso Rock with Rivers PDP delegation.

    One Amaechi’s associate, who attended an emergency meeting in Lagos on Friday, hours after the Aso Rock meeting, said it is clear the battle line is finally drawn. Although he refused to confirm the allegation that some Amaechi associates, with the support of the governor, have finally resolved to move over to a particular opposition party, he told The Nation in Lagos that they will not wait to be crushed. “If you have followed the whole saga, you will agree with me that Governor Amaechi and his victimised associates have not wronged the powerful people in Abuja in any way. Someone is just being petty and vengeful. Since we have done all within our power to ensure reconciliation and peace, it would not be reasonable to wait for a bulldozer to crush you, before you find a way of surviving,” he said.

    He said Amaechi has said it clearly that if we are unjustly suffocated, we would not have any option than to move.”

    Asked if the destination has been clarified, he said, “We may not have been directed to move to any particular opposition party, but you would not expect Amaechi and his supporters to move to an insignificant party. No. We will move in mass but in a well mapped out scheme in order to make the expected impact. We are no longer begging the question. What we are discussing now, in Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt is how to move,” he concluded.

    Even at the other camp, no one is pretending any more that the broken relationship would be mended easily. It would be recalled that Jonathan, in the meeting with the Rivers PDP delegation had come out plainly to say that indiscipline would no longer be tolerated in the party.

    As he puts it: “Rivers State is a key state to Southeasterners. It is a key state that needs very strong, focused, committed leadership and maximum political unity and stability. Otherwise, anything could happen and affect the whole country.

    “For us to have a stable democracy, we have to have a strong political party. And that is why we get worried when we notice some of the indiscipline in some of the political parties. And the new PDP that we are all working together for will no longer tolerate indiscipline.

    “All over the world, parties are supposed to build on ideological differences. These may be close. If you look at the classical case of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) that were created by the military, their ideologies were a little to the right and a little to the left.

    “That is the essence of politics. But, in a situation where somebody is in a particular political party but his faith is in another political party… For those who are not holding political offices, yes you can excuse…But if you are holding an elective office, you won’t be in that party and be working for another party. Otherwise, why are you there?”

    With this definitive statement from Mr. President, key actors in the two camps are already using their tongues to count their teeth.

    The Nation learnt that Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, who has been seen as the arrowhead of the President’s men in Rivers state, was again briefed during the week to take charge.

    As we reported recently, since things fell apart between Amaechi and Wike, observers, who have been following the political footpaths of the minister, especially his growing friendship with the country’s first family, have speculated on his future political roles in Rivers.

    Although such observers argued clearly that Wike would most likely be one of Mr. President’s jokers in his alleged bid to control the politics of the oil-rich South-South state, not many reckoned on the pace the 2015 governorship tussle in the state is going. What was easily discernible right from onset was that Wike has won the heart of President Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan.

    Even some insiders in the People’s Democratic Party in the state, who relied on the once cosy relationship between Wike and Amaechi, when they served as political children of former governor Peter Odili, had insisted that the face-off between Amaechi and Wike would be resolved eventually and that it would never degenerate to an open political battle between the governor and the minister.

    To these set of people, according to Mr. Wuzo Chume, a grassroots political leader, the belief was that the governor and Wike would soon be reconciled by the elders.

    Chume told The Nation in Port-Harcourt recently that those of them who doubted the suggestion that the battle line was already drawn however got the message during the well attended recent wedding of a member of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Evans Bipi and Rhoda Sika. At that wedding, attended by the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, Chume recalled, “we were all shocked when the First Lady not only praised the roles allegedly played by the minister to high heavens but also described him as the uniting force in Rivers politics.”

    The President’s wife, who was the mother of the day at the event, said it was Wike that made it possible “for various groups in the state to unite.”

    For example, Chume recalled, ” Mrs Jonathan pointed out that her presence and that of former governors of the state at the event was made possible by the minister.”

    Mrs Jonathan had said, “I grew up in Rivers State, but I have never seen a gathering of the movers and shakers of this state (Rivers) in this way. When I say I love Wike, people don’t understand. If not for him, I would not have this opportunity to be here.

    “It is good to be good. Both Rivers and Bayelsa are one because Bayelsa was created out of the old Rivers State and nobody can separate the two states. But the people must come together in peace and speak with one voice.

    “Wike has brought us together and let us thank him and I doff my hat for him (Wike) and I thank Rivers people too,” she said.

    The referred former governors of the state, who attended the wedding with Dame Jonathan, The Nation learnt, were Dr. Peter Odili, Chief Rufus Ada George and Celestine Omehia.

    After that public endorsement by the First Lady, at the time the President and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, were embroiled in serious political battle for the soul of Rivers State politics, it has become easier to guess where Wike would fit into in the complex political chessboard.

    Today, sources close to the presidency said Wike has been further empowered to lead the party in the state, now that his loyalists, particularly Chief Felix Obuah and Walter Ibibia have been enthroned as Chairman and Secretary of the state chapter of the party, respectively.

    Amaechi’s game plan

    Since Amaechi told a gathering at a thanksgiving service of the former president of Nigeria Bar Association, O.C.J. Okocha, that he would dump PDP if the leaders continue to suffocate him, many have been expecting mass decamping to an opposition party from Amaechi’s camp. But a source close to the government house in Port-Harcourt told The Nation on Friday that Amaechi and his supporters will not be hasty in their reaction to the political development. “The plan is to exhaust all available reconciliatory means, and if and when we want to move, it would massive but well thought out.”

    Another source at the Rivers State House of Assembly said, “What is happening will result to a fundamental change in the politics of Rivers. You must be aware that our lawmakers are with the governor and there is every possibility they would move with him hen it comes to that.”

    The drawn battle line is now visible to all. What remains to be seen is the result of the intrigues

  • What about the state of the nation?

    In the noisy debate over the necessity to have the President address the National Assembly on the State of the Nation annually, fundamental issues are, once again, being ignored and the ridiculous being elevated. The federal lawmakers, in their wisdom, passed a Bill mandating the head of the executive branch to address both chambers once annually on the state or health of the country. S/he is to bring out salient issues, dissect them and provide answers to burning questions. It is expected that such an opportunity would afford the legislators the opportunity to ask and obtain answers to burning issues of national importance.

    Under the Parliamentary System, since the Chief Executive and his assistants are all recruited from the Parliament and continue to sit in the chambers, the Question Time affords the lawmakers to hold the executive accountable to the people through them. There is no doubt then that the most important arm of government is the legislature. This is not so under the Presidential System where the Chief Executive performs a range of functions that could sometimes lead him to believing that he is omnipotent.

    The kernel of the submission in asking the President to brief the lawmakers is that the Parliament is made up of representatives of the people and when the president addresses it, he accepts that he does not submit to the overriding Will of the People only during elections. The intendment is thus noble. However, does it really matter?

    What have the legislators done with the powers conferred on them in debating the general outlay of a president’s tenure at inauguration of the National Assembly? What has the federal legislature done with the power to debate and act on the Appropriation Bill? What have the representatives of the people done to ensure that only competent Nigerians are elected to key executive bodies? How thorough have the legislators screened those nominated as judicial officers? What has been done to amend the constitution to ensure that partisanship is shut out of the appointment of electoral and judicial bodies?

    It is funny that the Senators could, in one breath abdicate their responsibilities and in another attempt to assert themselves. The President is, in the first place, too powerful under the constitution and this is what the correspondence on the State of the Nation Address Bill has brought to the fore. President Goodluck Jonathan is right in saying he has power to scrutinize any bill forwarded to him. The constitution did not envisage that the Nigerian President would play the part of the British Monarch in assenting to Bills. Under the 1999 Constitution, as it was in 1979, the President is indeed the Chief Legislator. He initiates the most important bills and his signature is required in the process of transforming a Bill to an Act of Parliament. This is a fact that even senator Ita Enang, the ebullient Chairman of the Rules and Business Committee cannot contest.

    If the President must sign a Bill into law, then he could as well satisfy himself that it serves the nation well and, where he has an objection, he simply withholds his assent by sending it back to the legislature. It does not matter whether, in the process, he suggests an amendment or simply declines. It is his prerogative. The legislators also have the right and power to override that veto. This is the only response expected. It is political, not legal. Asking the Supreme Court to review the exercise of the President’s veto is begging the question.

    It does not require a judicial pronouncement to bring the President down to earth. He says he does not feel comfortable with certain sections of the proposed law and has pointed them out. The lawmakers have a duty to weigh his objections and see if they have merit. If two-thirds of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives think he has acted wrongly, his abjections are dismissed and the Bill is passed into law. At that point, it must be obeyed by even the President. But, where the numbers to do this are unavailable, the battle is lost.

    It is that simple. What would anyone gain by dragging the Supreme Court into this? At best, the Justices would rule that the President has acted ultra vires, not by returning the Bill, but by adducing reasons for doing so. So, what next? Does that transform the Bill into law? He still goes ahead and simply declines his assent? And what would the legislators and the nation have gained thereby? What we expect of these men who sit on top of cash in the chambers is ensure that the powers they have are well used.

    What well meaning Nigerians expect of their lawmakers is to use their powers in amending the constitution to ensure that only men f honour and integrity who truly obtained the mandate of the people in free and fair elections sit on the Presidential throne. They should ensure that never again are clueless men or women allowed to insult this great country by their performance. This they can do and must do if they do not want to be insulted over and over again.

  • 2015: Benue-South demands governorship slot

    2015: Benue-South demands governorship slot

    As 2015 general election draws closer, the question on the minds of the people of Benue-South senatorial district, otherwise known as Zone C, comprising mainly Idoma ethnic group, is when will power ever shift to the zone, reports Uja Emmanuel in Makurdi.

    Today, the people of Benue-south senatorial district, are haunted by one political reality, which is that it may take a biblical carmel to pass through the eye of needle before their Apa state, as promised by Senate President, David Mark, would be created.

    If the recent media statements credited to the deputy senate president, who is also the co-chairman of the constitutional amendment, are anything to go by, there seem to be no hope that Apa state would be a reality before 2015 general election.

    The people of Zone C, who are mainly of Idoma ethnic group, reportedly demanded the creation of Apa state, to be carved out of Benue, as a compensation for an alleged marginalisation by their Tiv brothers since the creation of Benue from plateau states more than 40 years ago.

    But now that it seems the hope for Apa state is dashed, all political actors in Benue-south have gone back to the drawing board to strategise on how the zone would produce the next governor of Benue State, for the first time.

    Benue-south senatorial district, where the Idoma people are in the clear majority, has a total of nine (9) local government areas. Out this number, Igede people, another minority tribe, dominate two (2) local government areas (Oju and Obi LGS), leaving Idoma proper with seven (7).

    But as the underground alignments and strategies are being perfected, the million questions in the lips of observers is, can Benue-south get it right this time in their quest to rule the state?

    It is difficult to predict whether the people of Benue south would occupy the Government House Makurdi, come 2015, because their Tiv brothers who had produced all the governorship positions are in the majority with two senatorial zones (A and B) spread in fourteen (14) local government areas .

    There is also a cat and mouse relationship between the Tivs and Idomas. While the former are in the clear majority, the later effectively seems to be in total control of power at the federal levels, as such, the Tivs are alleged to be convinced it would be dangerous to relinquish power at the state level to Zone C brothers.

    Notwithstanding, the people of Zone C have already started campaigns for the 2015 governorship election.

    Notable among the aspirants are Chief Steven Lawani. He is the deputy governor of Benue State since 2007, and has reportedly been very patient and loyal to Governor Suswam. This is the first time that a deputy governor of Benue State has openly declared his intention to succeed his boss.

    Chief Lawan hails from Ogbadigbo Local Government. He contested the 2007 governorship primaries on the ticket of PDP alongside Governor Suswam. He came third but the party chose him as running mate to Suswam.

    Since then, he has waxed stronger politically in Benue-south and the entire Benue State.There is the belief that if elected, he would continue with the programme of Suswam. For this reaon, there is the belief that his candidacy may receive the blessing of the governor.

    Paul Hariis Ogbole: A member of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and former chairman, Otukpo Local Government Area, he is said to be a close confidant of Governor Suswam.

    Ogbole has carved a niche for himself and established a relationship with the three senatorial zones in Benue State. Many believe that with his humble character, he stand a chance of bridging the gab between Tiv and Idoma.

    Sam Ode: A former minister of state for Niger Delta and a onetime special adviser to Governor Suswam on local government on chieftaincy affiars, he is a core politician and his strength is said to be the youths as he has empowered many youths during his period as minister and adviser. He also commands large followers among Tiv and Idoma people.

    Despite the array of aspirants from Benue-south, it remains to be seen whether their Tiv brothers, who are in the majority in the state, would relinquish power to the

  • Cross River LG polls: Ripples over timetable adjustment

    Cross River LG polls: Ripples over timetable adjustment

    Opposition political parties have questioned the motive behind Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission’s adjustment of the timetable for the September 21 local council primaries, alleging that the People’s Democratic Party was behind the move, reports Nicholas Kalu from Calabar

    The PDP in the state has been accused of lacking the culture of due process because of perceived absence of a strong opposition in the past. But following its bitter experience in the build-up to the 2011 general elections, when it had a major face-off with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for not conducting primaries and the threat that it would not present any candidate in the election, the party had tried to turn over a new leaf by making sure all the appropriate things are done despite the advantages it believes it has in the state.

    State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Obi Bissong, in an interview with The Nation in Calabar said it was in the party’s recognition of the need to observe due process that it went ahead to conduct proper primaries for its councillorship and chairmanship candidates although each ward and local government area produced just one chairman each, following the consensus method they adopted.

    However, in spite of the alleged proper primaries the party recently concluded, it may just have let its guard down a bit, a reality the opposition parties are said to have perfected plans to take advantage of by not complying with the timetable of the electoral umpire, the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC).

    According to the timetable of the commission, the date for submission of candidates was between May 17 to June 17. But the PDP had their primaries for councillors on June 18 and for chairmen on June 24.

    CROSIEC chairman, Patrick Otu, told The Nation the deadline for submission of candidates by various political parties to the commission had been extended to the first week of July. This he said followed a meeting with political parties where they agreed that the extension should be allowed to accommodate the merger attempt by some political parties.

    According to Otu, if by the end of the first week of July, the merger arrangement is not concluded, then concerned political parties would send in their candidates in their present capacities.

    But the development is already raising dust as it was gathered opposition in the state are questioning the “suspicious benevolence” of the electoral umpire.

    They question that if the ruling party had submitted their list of candidates within the time initially given by the electoral body, would there have been any such extension under the pretence of accommodating the merger efforts of some political parties.

    “Does the law permit such adjustment with the timetable and even so, without the proper documentation and notice to political parties? If CROSIEC does not work with rules and regulations, then what is the purpose of the timetable in the first place, whose items are backed by law? Even then, when you shift the date for submission of names, shouldn’t the date of the election itself be shifted by the same margin?”

    But Otu argued that the timetable is not rigid and the CROSIEC law accommodates the adjustment.

    His words, “In our election timetable, the submission of list of timetable was supposed to be from May 17 to June 17. So that we now have sales of nomination forms from May 20 to June 21 and we know these two items are backed by CROSIEC law.

    “But the basic thing is that these items must take place and are accommodated by our laws. We only fixed the date so that parties can work fast and send in their candidates to us. However in our last meeting with political parties we agreed that for the sake of the parties that are thinking of merger, we said well for the fact that we are all working as a team, we cannot work in isolation so we work with the parties as a team. So we agreed to shift these two items to the first week of July because after the first week, if there is nothing like APC, registered parties concerned in the merger would participate in their present capacities which they have accepted.

    “One cannot hold onto that. The allowance is for all political parties and not just one. The commission allows for that. It must not be rigid. The relationship between political parties and the electoral bodies is that of war but it is the body’s duty to guide the parties towards the proper way of conducting elections. If we discover political parties are not in line, we caution them and they will adjust. We have to encourage participation in election.”

    As the debate rages on ahead the elections , it seems clear the timetable adjustment has become one knotty demon PDP must effectively grapple with.

  • Fayose in dilemma over PDP ticket

    Fayose in dilemma over PDP ticket

    Until a few days ago, former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, carried himself as the man to beat in the contest for the 2014 Ekiti PDP governorship ticket. But with the recent decision by the leadership of the party to concede the ticket to Ekiti North senatorial zone, Ripples gathered confusion of sorts has hit Fayose’s camp.

    Offering the governorship ticket to Ekiti North, in the calculations of PDP power brokers, will erode whatever advantage the incumbent governor of the state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi (who also hails from the zone) may have at the polls taking place next year.

    If this decision is adhered to, sources say another governorship aspirant, Ayo Arise, may be the greatest beneficiary.

  • George’s plot for leadership unsettles South West PDP

    After a long silence in the affairs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South West, one of its chieftains, Chief Olabode George, appears to be steadily worming his way back to reckoning even as his opponents are kicking against his moves, reports Remi Adelowo

    Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, seems to have rediscovered his swagger in recent times.

    For about two years after he served his jail term at the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons in Lagos, following his conviction by a Lagos High Court for abuse of office as the former Chairman of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), the retired Navy Commodore has not really been his usual boisterous self.

    In between this period, his comments on his party, which are quite few and far between, are usually measured and subdued.

    George’s stance, it was learnt, was a strategy to reintegrate himself back into the party and avoid unnecessary controversies.

    That strategy seems to be paying off, if George’s recent activities in the party are anything to go by.

    At the recent mid-term and reconcilition dinner hosted by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Banquet Hall inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja, George, who was one of the party chieftains present, made his presence felt.

    His vivacious mood was a sharp contrast to that of the former National Secretary of the PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who sat transfixed to his seat while the event lasted.

    Several days later, during the meeting of the highest decision making organ of PDP, National Executive Council (NEC) held at its national headquarters in Abuja, sources disclosed that George played what was considered a masterstroke when he proposed that a vote of confidence be passed on President Goodluck Jonathan, a suggestion that was quickly approved by the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

    However, the task of raising the motion was handed over to the former Deputy President of the Senate, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu.

    The Nation gathered that the initial plan was for George to handle the task, but that was shelved for what our source called ‘obvious reasons’.

    With this move, sources revealed that George further warmed his way into the hearts of the party leadership and the president.

    Back in Lagos, the PDP chieftain quickly convened a meeting of his party stakeholders in the South West at his Ikoyi residence to deliberate on germane issues affecting the party in the South West zone.

    Some of these issues include the gradual but steadily declining fortunes of the party in the zone; the intra-party crisis among key members and preparations for the 2015 general elections, to mention but a few.

    Present at the closed-door meeting were members from all the South West states.

    They include three former governors-Gbenga Daniel (Ogun) and Adebayo Alao-Akala (Oyo) and Ayodele Fayose (Ekiti). Others are former Minister of Works, Adeseye Ogunlewe; member, PDP Board of Trustees, Alhaji Shuab Oyedokun; two former senators, Iyiola Omisore and Ayo Arise; a governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Dayo Adeyeye; the party’s Lagos governorship candidate in the 2011 general electons, Dr. Ade Dosunmu, amongst others.

    At the end of the almost three-hour meeting, some of the resolutions reached include the urgent need to start preparations for the 2014 governorship elections coming up in Ekiti and Osun States respectively; nomination of two candidates that would be elected into the positions of the National Secretary and National Auditor, hitherto occupied by Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Bode Mustapha respectively at the next mini-convention of the party.

    The meeting also reached a consensus that more subtle and concerted pressure be put on the president to appoint more indigenes of the South West into key federal appointments.

    Those present at the meeting, according to sources, were allegedly of the opinion that one of the major reasons why the PDP has suffered in the South West is the lack of federal patronage for members. Appointment of PDP members to strategic federal positions, they reasoned, will correct this anomaly.

    Expectedly, it was not long before the meeting convened by George began to attract crticisms from other stakeholders in the party.

    First to react was the interim National Vice Chairman of the party in the South West, Chief Ishola Filani, who reportedly questioned George’s locus standi to call the meeting without his (Filani’s) approval.

    Sources revealed that so peeved was Filani by George’s action that he allegedly considered making a formal report on the issue to the party’s National Chairman, but was prevailed upon to stay action following hints he received that George may not have acted without the tacit support of the national leadership of the party and the Presidency.

    The Nation gathered that Filani’s fear stemmed from the fact that George may take over the control of the party in the South West and render him virtually irrelevant in the scheme of things.

    But from all indications, Filani may eventually lose out in the battle for the control of South West with George.

    Findings revealed most prominent members of the party in the zone have refused to defer to Filani’s authority based on the premise that he lacks the stature to lead and pull the party together at this critical period.

    Other sources revealed that these members are also aware of George’s closeness with the powers-that-be, a factor they reckon will come in handy in the fulfilment of their political ambition in the next dispensation.

    A pointer to this notion is the presence of Adeyeye, Dosunmu and Omisore, all of whom will be contesting for the PDP governorship tickets in Ekiti, Lagos and Osun states respectively at the meeting hosted by George a few weeks ago.

    For Gbenga Daniel and Akala, who were also at the meeting, there are also strong indications that they are warming up to contest for the Senate in their respective states in 2015.

    In the case of a former Minister of Sports, Professor Taoheed Adedoja, who was also visible at the meeting, his name is being bandied as a contender for the position of the PDP National Secretary, which is currently vacant.

    But not all PDP stakeholders in the South West are ready to bow to George’s leadership willynilly.

    Some of these people are members loyal to ex-president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who appears to have lost out in the power game in the party.

    The likes of Oyinlola, former National Vice Chairman of the party in the South West, Engr. Olusegun Oni and the party’s governorship candidate in the 2007 general elections, Ambassador Musiliu Obanikoro, were believed to have shunned the meeting at George’s residence apparently in solidarity with Obasanjo.

    Another source however revealed that George’s recent activities in the party may be a clever ploy to preempt an alleged plan by the Presidency to handover the structures of the PDP to the Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.

    Though a member of the Labour Party (LP), Mimiko’s closeness to the Presidency has fuelled speculations in the last few months that he is being prevailed upon to return to PDP and spearhead the president’s alleged re-election campaign in the South West.

    Within the president’s kitchen cabinet, sources disclosed that majority of the members are in support of the ‘Bring Mimiko back to PDP’ project.

    Their argument is that George has a moral burden hanging on his neck; a factor they believe could negatively affect the fortunes of the party at the polls.

    But in the meantime, Chief Olabode Ibiyinka George appears to be back in charge of South West PDP. How long this would last remains a matter for conjecture.

  • NGF crisis and Gov Jang’s Plateau

    NGF crisis and Gov Jang’s Plateau

    Plateau State is fast returning to its old identity as a killing field. The troubled state witnessed some respite recently, thanks to a widely acclaimed co-operation between the state government and the armed forces. The arrangement helped to better police the state and keep marauders at bay.

    Governor Jonah Jang got immense commendations for that and trust the old man, he basked in the euphoria of the praises to the high heavens. Perhaps it was on the strength of that he got tipped for the job of factional chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).

    But in recent weeks, news from the state showed that the killing has resumed as the marauders are back in town unchecked. Feelers from the state also suggest that the co-operation being enjoyed by the armed forces from the Jang-led administration has waned considerably.

    In all these, the governor, according to sources back home, is more interested in ‘fighting till the end’ over his questionable chairmanship of the NGF than returning to the drawing board with security operatives to discuss how to stem the tide of the renewed killings in his domain. Is this a case of an Emperor fiddling while his empire burns?

  • Tukur and principle of internal democracy in PDP

    Tukur and principle of internal democracy in PDP

    There comes a time in the life of a leader, when he should be assessed. So many facts show that the likes of Alhaji (Dr.) Bamanga Tukur, the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are vanishing and veritably scarce in Nigeria’s political horizon and hemisphere.

    My knowledge of Dr Tukur is the he is a man who is always habouring thoughts on Nigeria and how to move the nation forward and make her assume her rightful place in the community of industrialised and developed nations.

    Whether in government or out it, Tukur’s contributions to the advancement of Nigeria have been outstanding.

    It is to his credit that his party men and women found him worthy in character, learning and disposition to elect him as the National Chairma of PDP. At a time when the party was in dire need of a servant leader, a unifying force and a rallying point, Tukur was found to be a worthy and dependable figure to occupy the position.

    Since then, he has not disappointed his admirers and supporters across the country and within the PDP. He came to Wadata House at a time when the party needed a man of strong character, wide experience and someone who does not only command respect but has a commanding presence to pick the bits and pieces of the party together and reposition it. What has happened in the party since then testify that he is a strong political force, capable of challenges in elections at any point in time and winning votes from the electorates with ease.

    Perhaps one of Tukur’s greatest assets is his humility even in the face of monumental successes and achievements. Unlike others, who could be swayed by their personal achievements and who may thereby become arrogant, Alhaji Bamanga is a complete gentleman, an amiable, disciplined and refined gentleman who cannot hurt a fly.

    A good mixer and a political strategist of outstanding proportion, Alhaji Bamanga is a blessing to the PDP, a gift to the Nigerian political class and a divine favour to Nigeria. There are very few Bamanga Tukurs out there.

    This is why Dr. Bamanga ought to be appreciated, if not celebrated. He was a founding member of the PDP. He was one of those who believed that the military has no part or portion in governance. With people of like-minds, the PDP was midwifed. Today, the party, now under the chairmanship and leadership of Tukur, sits atop the federal government and majority of the state governments all over the federation.

    This is replicated in the local government areas across the country. It is to the credit of Tukur and the political colossus known as the PDP that republicanism and democracy have continued to flourish in the country and enliven the hopes and aspirations of the citizenry.

    The wisemen whose idea gave birth to the PDP are those who should be given kudos for our present democracy. They are the great men of vision, mission and wisdom, who saw tomorrow and envisioned how to make it better for the masses of this country. Dr. Tukur was among the wisemen. A man of peace and patience, Tukur has given the PDP a distinctive feature of character and discipline since he took over the reins in the party.

    The man, Tukur, cannot be celebrated without articulating his proactive activities and programmes as the National Chairman of the PDP. He has brought unity to the PDP. He also brought discipline and a sense of purpose to the organisation.

    He has united the executive, legislature and the judiciary. The various organs of the party have been strengthened. The principles of internal democracy have been put into action and effects. Party members are now more united than ever before. His tour of the states helped to rekindle hope in the party’s faithfuls across the country.

    The PDP has become a stronger political force and organisation under the leadership of Alhaji Bamanga. The PDP has remained the party to beat in any election. Whilst the opposition continued to gang up and/or align forces, the PDP has continued to stay afloat politically. It has continued to expand her network.

    That the opposition ever thought of coming together is because they appreciate the home truth they cannot stand the PDP in any contest individually. Even as they have purported to come together, the PDP under Tukur will dwarf all of them put together and prevail over them.

    Mention must be made of Alhaji Tukur’s leadership style. It is a style devoid of autocracy and dictatorship. A natural democrat, Dr. Bamanga is not one to wield the big stick. He relishes dialogue and listens to opposing views. Any wonder, then, that he has so effortlessly carried everybody along in his party. His avuncular and father-figure mien and attitude are some of his solid attributes and qualities which have endeared him to his party men and women and to the generality of Nigerians.

    In his leadership, Tukur has brought to the fore his wide experience in business and government. He has worked in both the public and private sectors of the economy. He was a former governor of old Gongola State and an erstwhile minister. As the Chairman of the African Business Roundtable, Tukur has had very wide experience in business locally and internationally.

    A well-rounded politician, Dr. Bamanga has seen it all and made his wealth long ago. He is, therefore, in politics not to make money or to explore connections. He is rather in politics to serve, develop the nation and to contribute his quarter towards the success of the transformation agenda of the federal government under President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

    * Okpala is the Special Assistant on Media to the National Chairman of PDP

  • NWC crisis: Not yet Uhuru for PDP

    NWC crisis: Not yet Uhuru for PDP

    With sections of the South-west chapter of Peoples Democratic Party threatening court action, it seems the problem rocking the party’s National Working Committee is yet to be resolved, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan

    In spite of several efforts on the part of the presidency and party leadership to resolve the many political and legal crises rocking the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), there are indications that the party is still far from finding a solution to its problems.

    The resignation of 16 members of the party’s NWC based on a report by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that they were not properly elected at the 2012 National Convention of the PDP and the appointment other officials into their positions to run the party in acting capacity was seen by many as the end of the problem within the NWC.

    To further confirm its readiness to resolve the logjam in the NWC, the party announced that it will hold a special convention to elect new members into the working committee on July 15.

    The party also constituted a convention committee headed by former information minister, Professor Jerry Gana with Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio as his deputy. Deputy Senate president, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, was nominated to serve as the secretary of the special convention committee.

    Although the party few days back announced the indefinite postponement of the planned convention, investigation by The Nation revealed that some former NWC members have already obtained nomination forms to seek returns to the committee whenever the convention is held.

    Sources within the Prof. Jerry Gana-led Special National Convention said former NWC members who picked forms to re-contest their positions include the former deputy national chairman, Dr. Sam Sam Jaja and former National Organising Secretary, Abubakar Mustapha.

    The former Youth Leader of PDP, Umar Chizea, from Niger State has also picked his nomination form to contest for the same office. Olisa Metuh, former publicity secretary of the party, is also among those said to have picked nomination forms last week.

    But according to sources within the party, if recent developments within the party are anything to go by, then the PDP still have a long way to go in its search for peace within its NWC ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    The Nation gathered that the planned convention may have been postponed due to the inability of the party to immediately determine how to handle some recent development over the resignation of the NWC members and the appointment of acting officials by the party.

    “The postponement of the convention was necessitated by the need for the party to urgently address some worrisome development. The idea of the convention is such that after it, all issues surrounding the legitimacy or otherwise of the membership of the NWC.

    The truth is that once we get the composition of the NWC right, we would have solved a big problem ahead of the 2015 general election. It will be disastrous if we wait until INEC rejects our nominations during the general election before heeding the commission’s warning.

    It is also important for us to take step to stop the various legal battles raging over the NWC. But some recent actions by some groups and individuals within the party since the inception of the convention committee is threatening this assurance of a peaceful NWC after the mini convention,” a member of the convention planning committee said.

    According to the very reliable source, one major reason why the convention was postponed was the receipt of several protest letters by the committee over the composition of the interim NWC headed by Bamanga Tukur and the modalities to be adopted in conducting the election of new NWC members.

    “The peaceful and crises-free NWC we are anticipating after the convention is threatened by certain developments. First, there is the legal threat of contempt of court hanging over the entire party leadership over the appointment of Dr. Remi Akintoye as the acting National Secretary of the party.

    A group within the party is accusing the leadership of defying a court order by appointing Akintoye. The argument is that the judgement that removed Oyinlola stated explicitly that he can only be replaced through a valid party convention. The appointment of an acting National Secretary, they said, contravenes this order,” our source said.

    The development, The Nation learnt, forced the party’s legal advisers to re-examine the court order. The outcome of the re-examination, according to party sources, left the leadership of the ruling party uncertain of how best to handle the matter.

    Already, a group within the party in Ogun State has threatened to institute a contempt of court charge against the party if it fails to remove Akitoye from office as PDP’s acting National Secretary immediately.

    The party is said to have been advised to resolve the legal implications of Akintoyye’s appointment before taking any step towards replacing the NWC members who resigned their positions.

    “This is one major reason why the planned convention had to be postponed,” our source said.

    Aside the confusion over Akitoye’s nomination, there is also the agitation from the southwest chapter of the party over the same National Secretary’s office. While the Jerry Gana committee is planning to elect the party’s Scribe at the mini national convention, chieftains of the party in the southwest say the next National Secretary must emerge from its zonal convention.

    According to the guidelines released by the convention planning committee, a special congress for the South-west zone of the party will hold in Ibadan, capital of Oyo State, to elect 12 members of the zonal executive committee. The congress earlier conducted was disputed and was later annulled by the court.

    The officers to be elected at the congress are four ex-officio members of the party zoned to the South-west, zonal chairman, zonal secretary, zonal treasurer, zonal financial secretary, zonal organising secretary, zonal legal adviser and zonal publicity secretary. Others are the zonal auditor, zonal women leader, zonal youth leader and one ex-officio member from each of the state in the zone.

    The position of national secretary, which is zoned to the southwest chapter of the party, is among those to be elected at the special national convention of the party, according to the guidelines. This is the bone of contention between the national leadership of the party and the southwest chapter.

    The plaintiffs in the case against Oyinlola have petitioned the party leadership claiming that the judgment that sacked the former Osun State governor stated that he should be replaced via a valid nominee of the South-west zone. They also warned the party against conducting any election at the national convention to replace Oyinlola if the party is truly in search of a united and acceptable NWC after its convention.

    “We urge you to shelve the idea of an election to the office of national secretary at the forthcoming national convention. The party should await the emergence of the nominee of the Southwest zone at its forthcoming zonal congress, who should then merely be sworn in as national secretary on the basis of the valid election already conducted into that office at the national convention of the party in March 2012” the plaintiffs said.

    But Oyinlola, who is still challenging his removal, faulted the claims of the plaintiffs. According to him, the PDP constitution does not give room for the emergence of national officers from the zones of the country but from the national convention.

    He has also asked the party not to conduct another election for the office. Oyinlola had gone to the Court of Appeal after his removal, and awaiting judgment. He said he was the rightful national secretary of the party and no new election should be conducted.

    “”I have been reliably informed of the intention of the National Convention Committee, appointed to conduct a mini-national convention to elect some national officers of the Peoples Democratic Party, whose elections were invalidated by the report of INEC on the conduct of the national convention of March 24, 2012.

    “It is abundantly evident that INEC cleared my election as the PDP National Secretary, a position from which I assert and maintain, that I was unjustly and unconstitutionally removed by a January 11, 2013 ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja delivered by the Hon. Justice Abdu Kafarati.

    “I have read series of media reports which indicate that the position of the National Secretary would be contested at the upcoming national convention of our great party. Let me say that I was taken aback by the pronouncement of the former National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, who declared, in a briefing of journalists after a meeting of the National Working Committee with His Excellency, Mr. President, last week that the position of the National Secretary was vacant, giving indications that it would be contested.

    “I state with every humility that Chapter VII (3) of the PDP Constitution states. ‘The guidelines for elections to any office of the party shall be approved at the National Executive Committee of the Party, in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

    “This implies that even if the PDP NEC, or any other body decided that an election should be conducted into any office of the Party, such an election must be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the extant PDP Constitution.

    “The PDP Constitution does not give room for the emergence of national officers from the zones of the country; but from the national convention.

    “It is most regrettable that some occurrences of the past few months at the national secretariat of our great party have given cause to suspicion that I am being unduly persecuted for no just cause.”

    He reminded the committee that he was removed by a Federal High Court order which he said was being vigorously challenged at the Court of Appeal,” Oyinlola said.

    There are also speculations that the Gana committee and some of the 37 state chapters of the party are yet to agree on how delegates to the planned conventions will emerge.

    While the special convention committee had said states should present the same delegates as voted in the last convention, some state chapters are bent on electing new delegates to both the zonal and national conventions. A source told The Nation that the committee has reported some state chapters to the party over their insistence to elect new delegates to the convention.

    “The committee’s fear is that the Court may once again reject the outcome of the convention if new delegates are allowed to participate. To this end, Gana and his men are determined to get the disagreeing state chapters to tow its line on the matter.