The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • Ikuru, a deputy indeed

    His Excellency, Engineer Tele Ikuru is the deputy governor of Rivers State. He deputises embattled Governor Rotimi Amaechi who is currently battling for his political life following a face-off with President Goodluck Jonathan.

    While Amaechi has been suspended by the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a very controversial manner, Ikuru is being wooed by Amaechi’s opponents to dump the governor’s camp and support an alleged impeachment plot that will see him (Ikuru) become governor instead.

    Ikuru, who is not a stranger to intra-party squabbles, was the deputy governor to ex-Governor Celestine Omehia in 2007 before the election was nullified by the court.

    Ikuru survived the crisis and paired up with Amaechi in 2011 for a fresh mandate.

    He is being asked to return to his pre-2007 political camp “to deal with” his boss. Ikuru has, however, decided to stand by his boss. He has refused to make any commitment to the anti-Amaechi forces.

    For his decision to stand by his boss at a time like this, many observers of the politics of the oil-rich state are hailing the Engineer-turned politician as a deputy indeed.

  • Threat from Pakistan

    Threat from Pakistan

    Families of the five Pakistani nationals on board an oil vessel, Mt Matrix 1, abducted last Saturday at 40 nautical miles off the Bayelsa coast have promised to take revenge on Nigerians in their hundreds in Pakistan, if any of the victims was killed.

    The development means Nigerians living in that Asian country may soon be made to pay with their lives for the sins of some criminally minded Nigerians back home. It also means that the hitherto cordial relationship between the two countries may soon give way to diplomatic face-off.

    Though sources claim government and the employers of the victims had begun negotiation with the abductors, details of negotiations as regards ransom were not disclosed.

    What is left to be seen is whether the threat from Pakistan will make the kidnappers have a rethink and release their victims soon or they will simply see it as mere cries of concerned relatives.

  • Letter to Governor Jang

    Letter to Governor Jang

    My dear governor, I had seen you as one to be respected because, on account of age, alongside Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Martin Elechi of Ebonyi, you are the oldest in the Club of 36. You also won my sympathy when the federal government sought to clobber you to submission, especially during the Yar’Adua administration. I loved the courage you displayed in the face of barefaced persecution and the resistance you put up when the federal authorities attempted to snatch the state from you. I thought your military background was being put to positive use.

    I had therefore thought that, given your own experience, when the same federal authorities decided to pick on another target, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State , you would stand with the victim. Rather, you chose to support the oppressors. I was stunned.

    It is really out of character as the history of the Benue-Plateau people is that of progressive politics and resistance of evil. In the period leading to independence and in the First Republic , the late Chief Joseph Tarka put up a heroic battle resisting feudalists who wanted to subjugate the people of the Middle Belt. If it were possible for Tarka to look back today, I would not be surprised if he began another movement against people like you who have chosen to denigrate and desecrate the consistent stand of the people for justice.

    Dear governor, what really do you need again? What do you stand to lose? Twice, as a military man, you were appointed state governor. You retired as a one-start General and, since taking to politics, you have been elected governor twice. After your current tenure, you are barred from serving in that office again. All you could aspire to is a seat in the Senate or appointment as minister. Is that worth the reputation of your people, even if you no longer care about yours.

    Next year, Mr. Governor, you will be marking your 70th birthday. I would have thought it is about time to start planning how to mark it with dignity and honour; as a hero of your people and the Nigerian nation. Your latest activities in not only contributing to the destruction of the NGF, but actually yelding yourself as an instrument to bring it about is about the most shameful I have seen in recent times.

    How could a body of 36 so-called elders of the political system, go into their closet with a view to electing a chairman and come up with two different results? The report presented by the NGF Director General and supported by a video recording of the meeting and a survey of participants indicate that Amaechi was the preferred choice, but because the President is He-who-must-be-obeyed, the President’s men swung into action and setteled for you as their whip.

    Again, I ask, what could be your motive for accepting this odious task? Could it be that the EFCC’s hold on you is so tight that you had to act against your conscience? Could it be that your desire to move to another plane in your political pursuit is so consuming that you had to appease the god of PDP to give you a chance?

    Whatever may be your reason for accepting the dirty assignment, I am convinced that the last has not been heard of the episode. I had thought that elders like you would be bringing similar episodes in our past to the attention of younger ones like us. You probably think this is all about Amaechi. No, it is about Nigeria . You have set in motion a chain of events. If by your action, you set off an explosive and bring the roof down on us all, the future generation would remember you for the part you played.

    At first, I was tempted to write President Goodluck Jonathan who obviously is the man behind the crisis rocking. But, because so far, he has continued to deny this self-evident fact, and is too steeped in the juice to change his way, I have chosen to address you, believing that as one who claims to be a Christian, you could still turn back. I hope your own conscience is not like Madam Ayoka’s who tried to hand a people’s victory to usurpers. Elder, it is not too late to denounce falsehood and embrace the truth. It is not too late to wash your hands off this iniquitous act. It is not too late to enroll in the rank of heroes and quit the side of villain. At the very least, you could join the likes of Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed in calling for a truce.

    Sir, I wish you well.

  • 2015: Fresh fears in Jonathan’s camp over govs

    2015: Fresh fears in Jonathan’s camp over govs

    • Amaechi’s men in search for alternative party

    Some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors have reiterated their calls for the convening of National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party barely a week after Governor Rotimi Amaechi defied opposition from the presidency to get re-elected as the Nigeria Governor’s forum (NGF) chairman. Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports the effect of the development on President Goodluck Jonathan’s camp.

     

     

    The ongoing insistence by some governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the immediate convening of a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the party and last week’s re-election of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State as chairman of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum (NGF) in spite of glaring opposition to his choice by the presidency has sparked fresh fears among the various pro-Goodluck Jonathan groups across the country over the 2015 presidential election.

    While the presidency says it is not bothered by the developments, inside sources say the governors’ call for a NEC meeting barely a week after the victory of the Rivers State helmsman, who has been at logger-head with the President in recent months, is making the President’s men uncomfortable.

    The Nation also gathered that most of the support groups, stakeholders and other politicians rooting for President Jonathan ahead of the 2015 presidential election were highly disturbed by the re-election of Amaechi as NGF chairman for another two-year term.

    “Following the announcement of Amaechi’s suspension from the party by the National Working Committee (NWC) some governors have reiterated the need to convene a NEC meeting immediately.

    “The fear in Jonathan’s camp is that the governors plan to use the NEC meeting to upturn the NWC’s decision on Amaechi and take some other far-reaching decisions that will not be in the interest of the President.

    “And given the numerical strength of the governors and their supporters within the NEC, it will not be difficult for them to achieve this. What happened at the Governors’ Forum election has showned that majority of the governors are not to be relied upon totally,” a source said.

    A governor from the northern part of the country, who spoke in confidence to some journalists during the week, said it would be wrong for the leadership of the party to claim ignorance of the law as stipulated in the PDP constitution concerning the party’s NEC.

    According to the governor, Amaechi’s problem with the party started after he presided over the PDP governors’ meetings, where the state chief executives demanded the convening of the NEC meeting.

    “All of us PDP governors, including those mobilising against Amaechi now, ON January 9 this year, at that meeting held at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge at Asokoro, Abuja called for the immediate convening of a NEC meeting in our party.

    “The constitution of the party says NEC meeting must be held at least every quarter. The last meeting held more than ten months ago. We must stop this breach of the party’s constitution,” he said.

    The renewed determination of the governors to force the hands of the party’s leadership to convene a NEC meeting immediately and the seriousness with which they are going about achieving their aim is said to be making the President’s handlers jittery.

    Also, a presidency source, who said aides of the President monitored the NGF election closely, told our correspondent on condition of anonymity, that the President who was away in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend the 21st ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), was greatly upset by the news of Amaechi’s victory.

    According to him, “the President, like every other stakeholder in the matter, never hid his interest in the outcome of the NGF election. In line with this, specific instructions and assignments were given to certain people to ensure that things went according to plan.

    “For us here, we monitored the election and the processes leading to it closely. We were optimistic that things were in order until after the voting proper. The President, though out of the country, is aware of the development and he is not pleased with it.”

    He further explained that aides of the President are miffed by the inability of some people saddled with certain responsibility to deliver on their briefs. “Some people who were expected to get some governors to toe the expected line failed. This is why we are in this situation,” he added.

    A senior party official of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who spoke to The Nation also confirmed the disquiet within the President’s camp saying the re-election of Amaechi by the NGF is perceived as a bad signal by handlers of the President ahead of the 2015 general election.

    The former federal lawmaker said the party is also worried that the development will further polarise the PDP, especially in Rivers State where two factions of the ruling party are already battling it out.

    “The development, though strictly an NGF affair, is creating tension within the PDP. For example, supporters of the President see it as a bad omen ahead of the 2015 elections. They see PDP governors unable to speak with one voice and they are worried this will affect the fortune of the party at the next election.

    We at the secretariat have also given it a thought. Though we are not bothered about the victory of Governor Amaechi or the defeat of Governor Jang, we are not pleased that our governors are still divided, in spite of the many efforts to unite them,” he said.

    Asked why he thinks the PDP governors failed to agree on the same candidate at the NGF election, the party chieftain said it was as a result of the failure of some people to make them resolve certain differences before the election.

    “I am aware that the leadership of the party assigned some people to see to this matter. The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party was already on the matter before the election. It is also true that the Vice President and some other leaders were to meet with northern governors on this issue. The PDP Governors’ Forum also had some work to do. I’m aware of all these.

    “If all these people and organs got their assignment done correctly, maybe we will not be talking about PDP governors going into the NGF election divided. The victory or defeat of one candidate or the other is not our concern. Our worry is that we failed to resolve the differences amongst our governors,” he added.

    Leader of the Goodluck Support Group (GSG) in Ogun State and national publicity secretary of the group, Chief Layi Soluade, while reacting to the development yesterday, said the re-election of Amaechi by the NGF which has PDP governors in clear majority is worrisome.

    The PDP chieftain wondered why the party was unable to rein in the governors to support the President’s choice. He, however expresse happiness that the incident has helped supporters of the President to know the magnitude of work ahead of them.

    “It is sad. It is worrisome that PDP governors who are in a clear majority could not ensure the election of the party’s choice as chairman of the NGF. It is a bad omen as we approach 2015. Except we want to deceive ourselves, we all know Amaechi is not the party’s choice.

    “But be that as it may, though we are worried, it is also good that this is happening now. It has revealed the magnitude of work we have ahead of us if we must deliver on the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan,” Soluade said.

    Another pro-Jonathan Group, Friends of Democracy for Goodluck (FDG), said the re-election of Amaechi by the NGF should gear up all supporters of the President rather than weigh them down.

    Spokesperson of the group, Emma Okoduwa, said the development is a confirmation of the existence of some fifth columnists within the PDP. He, however, expressed optimism that nothing will stop the re-election of President Jonathan in 2015.

    “We are worried that the PDP governors could not deliver on their promises to party leaders. We are bothered that we cannot trust our party men to protect party interest. The re-election of Amaechi is a pointer to the serious division within PDP.

    “But we are sure of securing victory for President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. All these anti-party activities by some PDP leaders cannot stop him,” he said.

    Meanwhile, findings by The Nation revealed that prior to last Friday’s re-election of their principal as NGF, chairman, allies and political associates of Governor Amaechi were frantically searching for an alternative platform to the PDP.

    Sources within the governor’s camp revealed that Amaechi’s associates, who have been mounting pressure on him in recent weeks to pull out of the PDP, were only waiting for the outcome of the NGF election before presenting reports of their searches for an alternative party.

    “Associates of the governor made up their minds weeks back that the PDP can no longer contain both the President and Governor Amaechi and they told him so on many occasion.

    “Several efforts to make him see reasons why he should avoid the mistake made by former Governor Timipre Silva of Bayelsa State failed to convince Amaechi to yield to their request.

    “Finally, following the grounding of his aircraft and the removal of his men as party executives, Amaechi’s men formed a committee saddled with the responsibility of sourcing another political platform for the governor’s political family to move to.

    “The committee has its reports ready but leaders of Amaechi’s camp decided to wait till after the NGF election before raising the issue with the governor again. Somehow, they didn’t think he would win,” our source said.

    Asked what h e thinks would happen now that the Rivers State Governor has won re-election to lead the NGF for another two years, our source said he cannot really say for now.

    “I cannot say what will happen. In fact let me say I don’t know. But what I know is that the governor’s associates are not willing to be caught napping,” he said.

  • Coast clear for Ayogu Eze

    Coast clear for Ayogu Eze

    The alleged ambition of Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekeweremadu, has been torn into shreds with the recent declaration by Enugu State Governor, Sullivan Chime that it is the turn of Enugu North to rule the state in 2015. In the last few months, posters of Ekweremadu have flooded streets within and outside Enugu, indicating his desire to contest the governorship polls in 2015. With his declaration, the governor had put paid to rumours that he is favourably disposed to handing over to Ekweremadu, who hails from Enugu West like Chime’s predecessor, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani. With Ekweremadu out of the 2015 equation, the coast seems clear for Senator Ayogu Eze, an indigene of Nsukka in Enugu North, who is also eyeing Chime’s seat.

     

  • ‘Umeh should bow out’

    ‘Umeh should bow out’

    Ralph Nwosu is the national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the party on which platform Professor Pat Utomi contested for the presidency in 2007. He was a founding member of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) where he held the position of the national treasurer before he left the party for the ADC. In this interview with INNOCENT DURU, he spoke on the APGA crises and urged Chief Victor Umeh, factional leader of the party, to respect the interest of the people and let go of the chairmanship of the party. Excerpts:

     

    What is your take on the problem in APGA?

    What I want to say now is no exaggeration. I gave APGA its name, and I paid the only official fee we had to pay to INEC for registration. I am a strategic builder, and I can build from the scratch at any time. As the founding national treasurer, I spent my own money. I never touched any money from any other person and I ensured that we met all the requirements and got registered.

    All that is now history; usurpers have tried severally to hijack the party. I spent a lot of my hard earned money to build APGA at the national level and to make the party a winning machine in Anambra State before the APGA conspiracy began, and I became the first victim.

    As a matter of fact, I am the only real victim in the APGA imbroglio. I invested time and hundreds of millions of naira, my life savings of many years in the party.

    I poured into the party without looking back. You can see that APGA activities were limited to Anambra since 2002. That was because I took the party to my state to run the governorship election there and made it the number one party.

    And unfortunately all the national executives came to Anambra to trade with the party instead of going to their respective states to make the party vibrant. Frankly, all these other people who have been crying and going from one court to the other were the architects of the problem and it is all about money and power.

    These people I can tell you did not invest any of their personal money in the party; rather all of them have benefitted bountifully from the party. But I leave all of them to their conscience, no animosity towards any.

    For Governor Okorocha and Martins Agboso, they are ‘easy go easy come’, they are never APGA members. I remember that they both were disruptive at the formative level. Comrade Maxi Okwu was there almost from the beginning. He is the only one who can salvage APGA at this point. Chief Victor Umeh does not have any reason to fight Maxi at all; if he thinks back to when he got involved with the party after its registration in 2002, and if he considers the interest of the people, he should let go. After 10years serving at the apex level of the party, not at the formative and struggle stage but after the party has had major investors and stakeholder and eventually two governors, it will be unwise of him to do anything to destabilise the party any further.

    For me, it is time for Chief Umeh to show statesmanship and shake hands with Comrade Maxi Ukwu and wish APGA well. It will be a shame if they continue the fight. And it will be bye bye to APGA. His best bet will be to support Maxi maximally and plan to contest an election to continue to play a relevant role in the political process with all the experiences he has garnered.

    Come 2014, Anambra will go to the polls again. Would you contest again?

    Certainly no. I have contested the governorship twice. I failed. I repeat, I was the first and the only real victim of all the APGA brouhaha, but I feel very comfortable and free in spirit, and have forgiven everyone including Governor Peter Obi. I leave everyone to their conscience where it relates to their attitude towards me. I have moved on. However, I will continue to collaborate with well-meaning people to build Anambra State and any other state in this country with my knowledge and abilities which without being immodest is well grounded in nation building; I have a “let’s go to work” and an empowering spirit.

    The Igbos have always looked forward to getting the presidency. What are their chances of getting it in 2015?

    Clinching the presidency is a political destination; the Igbos are inching towards that already; all these other cleavages in your question are propaganda. If Igbos under President Jonathan have occupied all the positions which hitherto were claimed to be beyond our reach then we have made tremendous political progress.

    Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Army Staff, Minister of Power; still under Jonathan, Internal Affairs, and we have our people working in all the strategic departments of government.

    We have made great progress in just a few years. So the presidency will come if we continue to toe the direction we have recently defined for ourselves. 2015 is an ordinary date; the date is not as important as the event. Therefore, the important thing for Igbos and Nigerians generally is to remain focused and to continue to do the needful to preserve our democracy and the resourcefulness of our people.

    The best cause to work for and focus on is the course of justice; if we remain committed in working for justice, the Igbos and all Nigerians will never be short changed in this nation again.

    With an umbrella group as Ohaneze Ndigbo, why does the region still find it difficult to speak with one voice as far as getting a consensus Igbo candidate is concerned?

    Speaking with one voice is not a wonderfully elegant or super-intellectual proposition.

    Antoine Exupery says that it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, and that what is essential is invisible to the eyes. So the fact that some Nigerians want to see a people speaking with one voice does not make it utmost; rather we should all evaluate our conscience, and allow our heart speak truth to our heads. In that circumstance Nigerians will get to understand justice, fairness, patriotism and love.

    Would it be in the interest of the Ndigbo to support President Goodluck Jonathan if he will contest in 2015?

    That is what I am saying; the question does not arise. President Jonathan has already been adopted by the Igbos. So he is the candidate of the Igbos; nothing has happened for us to change our mind. The Igbos must be mindful, some years ago, people had criticised us that we could not protect our own, rather we pull them down, or all of us want to be in the same position at the same time and we fight irresponsibly. They claim that is why we could not maintain one Senate President, we went from Enwerem, to Chuba Okadigbo, to Pius Anyim, Nwagbara, then Ken Nnamani. This explains why the political power of Ndigbo seems to be dwindling. Therefore, we cannot afford to make another mistake. We have adopted Jonathan, we sink or rise with him.

    We have a candidate in him already; the way Nigeria is today there is every need for us to work hard to maintain this alliance that we have succeeded in rebuilding. Some things that happened during the first republic caused the South South and the South East to doubt each other and that created an unnecessary divide which continued to haunt us, and retarded our political progress. Now, we have mended that wound and constructed a solid bridge over the gulf; we must be mindful and must protect our gains. So just as the Niger Delta-man will say Jonathan na we own, na we put am there we go put am again.

    With the various challenges bedeviling the country, there are speculations that the centenary celebration is an opportunity for Nigerians to decide if they would continue to stay together as we have it today. What is your take on this?

    The decision to stay together is a concluded matter, after one hundred years it is really unfortunate that some people are still on that page. The country has had leadership challenges; and it is still here with us both in micro and macro sense. As a nation we suffer from the neglect of our communities. While we might say that leadership at the national level, state or local council level is not well rooted, it is worse, more pathetic at the community levels. So going our ways is not the solution.

    How do you handle the sharing, if you go ethnic?

    I will show you Somalia, almost a completely homogenous country by any standard – religion, language, name it – but cannot run a good state.

    Any way you look at it we are stronger as a nation staying together. We need to set standards for running our country, and empower our institutions to bark and bite, and be transparent and be just. Celebrations, symbols, festivals, artifacts, and history shape a nation and a people. It will be a great disservice which we shall all regret if a whole centenary of our nationhood is not bountifully marked. The celebration itself is a time for great reflection. On this special anniversary, we must get together and tell ourselves that we can never afford to waste the next 100years, and that every single year of the next one hundred counts. We must take the opportunity to look at where we went wrong as a nation, look ourselves in the eyes and say never again shall all of us conspire against our ourselves, and our nation; never again shall a people and a nation so abundantly blessed collude to deny itself because of the greedy tendencies of a few. For our centennial celebration, it should not be business as usual, not for committee members to be falling over each other and defecating in more corruption and contracting scandal. This time, we do, not just say, but we should envision what we want each decade of the next century to be, and put in place strategies to accomplishing our vision.

     

  • Delta 2015: It’s Okowa versus Ochei in PDP

    Delta 2015: It’s Okowa versus Ochei in PDP

    In the last few weeks, several persons have been touted as the most likely successor to Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, in 2015. Out of the lot, two men stand out. Remi Adelowo reports

     

     

     

    About two months ago, some major political stakeholders had gathered at the Isoko country home of the former Chairman of Guinness Plc, Chief Abel Ubeku, in Delta State, for a social cum thanksgiving service.

    Present at the occasion included the Secretary to the Delta State Government, Comrade Ovuozorue Macaulay, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei, to mention but a few.

    As it is common with events of such nature, it soon turned political with the endorsement by a group named Isoko Development Union (IDU) of Ochei’s alleged 2015 governorship ambition.

    But less than 48hours later, another political group based in Isoko dissociated itself from Ochei’s endorsement, while accusing Macaulay, who also hails from the town, as the brain behind IDU’s action.

    Weeks later, Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Kiagbare Clark, lent his voice to the ongoing debate on the 2015 governorship race. The elder statesman, in a scathing criticism of Ochei’s purported governorship ambition, accused the speaker of allegedly diverting about N7billion, being the sum of an Integrated Power Project (IPP) contract in Oghara, the hometown of a former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori.

    Known for shooting straight from the hip on issues he is passionate about, Clark also took on the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, who was also reported recently to have indicated his interest to succeed Uduaghan in 2015.

    The former First Republic minister expressed disgust with Orubebe’s alleged ambition, while advising the minister to focus on his current job.

    Not a few people were shocked about his outburst, as he (Clark) is widely believed to be Orubebe’s godfather, who allegedly nominated him as a Minister of State in 2007.

    Ochei has only responded to this allegation through his associates. In a paid advert in a national newspaper recently, the associates urged Clark to ‘refrain from attempts to destroy the integrity and reputation of young and promising politicians who are young enough to be his children and grandchildren.’

    Like Ochei, the minister, through his foot soldiers, urged Clark to face reality that Orubebe has come of age politically, adding that no individual can stop the minister from contesting the 2015 governorship race.

    The above scenarios, observers have pointed out, are a clear indication that the race on who succeeds Uduaghan would be a photo finish among the leading aspirants.

     

    Is Okowa the heir apparent?

    Though he has not spoken publicly about his ambition to contest the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) next year, The Nation gathered that the senator representing Delta North in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, is alleged to be reinvigorating his structures in preparation for the race.

    Sources close to the lawmaker, who is popularly called Ekwueme by his political associates, is seen by major PDP stakeholders in Delta State as the man to beat for the PDP governorship ticket.

    A medical doctor by training, Okowa has, undoubtedly, paid his dues in the politics of the state. His first political position was as a secretary of a local government before he was elected as chairman during the zero party dispensation in the early 90’s.

    At the inception of the Fourth Republic, Okowa was appointed as a commissioner in 1999 by ex-governor Ibori. Between 1999 and 2007, he was in charge of the ministries of health, and local government and chieftaincy affairs.

    At the twilight of Ibori’s tenure, Okowa contested for the PDP governorship primaries and was reported to have won, beating about ten other aspirants. He was, however, asked to step down for another aspirant, Uduaghan, who later emerged victorious at the 2007 general elections.

    Currently the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Okowa, from Agbor, is said to be embarking on wide consultations in the state before throwing his hat into the ring.

     

    Ochei is no pushover

    In his mid-40s, Ochei, an engineer, is another governorship aspirant from Delta North with a large followership.

    A wealthy and charismatic politician, Ochei is believed to be popular among youth in the state, who see him as ‘one of their own.’

    A source, however, told The Nation that what may work against Ochei is the general feeling across the state, especially among PDP stakeholders, that he lacks the experience to rule the state from 2015.

    Opinion are also divided on the speaker’s ambition, with many of his party members alleging that he is contesting for the governorship ticket as a strong bargaining tool in order to remain relevant in post-2015 politics.

     

    Elumelu, an aspirant to watch

    From Oshimili, the three-term member of the House of Representatives is also alleged to be interested in the 2015 PDP governorship ticket.

    The Nation gathered that his name is being mentioned in certain quarters as a possible consensus candidate if the PDP primaries turn out to be acrimonious and inconclusive.

     

    Can Orubebe upset the apple cart?

    Until he publicly declared his ambition some weeks ago, Orubebe, a staunch associate of President Goodluck Jonathan, has been rumoured to be plotting to succeed Uduaghan.

    Sources say he is banking on his closeness to the president, who is allegedly determined to take more than a passing interest in those to succeed second term governors in Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Delta states.

    But those conversant with the politics of Delta State say Orubebe’s lack of grass roots structures and support may turn out to be his Achilles heels when the chips are down.

    Unconfirmed reports have it that the minister may be steeping down from his current job in the next few months to enable him concentrate on the governorship project, which allegedly has received the blessing of the president.

     

    The politics of zoning

    One major factor that may also determine the outcome of the election is the zoning formula, an unwritten political agreement which has ceded the 2015 governorship seat to Delta North.

    Since the creation of the state, no indigene of Delta North has occupied the seat, a development which has further increased the agitation of people of the zone to have their turn in the next dispensation.

    If this agreement is adhered to, observers believe that the contest may turn out to be a straight battle between Okowa and Ochei, while Orubebe’s ambition may be dead even before the race gets underway.

     

    Can the Anioma zone reach a consensus?

    There are strong fears that the Anioma zone (Delta North) may fail to reach a consensus on the best candidate to put forward for the PDP primaries, a lacuna which the other zones (Delta Central and Delta South) may exploit to their advantage.

  • Re-election bid: President dumps S/West PDP

    Re-election bid: President dumps S/West PDP

    Ahead of the 2015 presidential election, President Goodluck Jonathan’s political stategists are urging him to leave the South West chapter of his party out of his re-election plans. Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports.

     

    Ahead of the 2015 presidential election, President Goodluck Jonathan’s camp may have decided not to rely on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southwest in its efforts to penetrate the zone.

    The President and his men may have also opted to broker an alliance among three other political parties with presence in the region as a way of getting access to the votes of the electorate in southwestern Nigeria.

    The move, sources claim, followed indications that the people of the region may be unwilling to risk their support for the President in the forthcoming presidential election.

    According to reliable party sources, the protracted crisis within the PDP in the zone is one other reason why the President’s political strategists are opting for the use of alternative political machineries in the zone.

    It would be recalled that, in 2011, Jonathan won five out of the six states in the region which implied that the people of the geo-political zone voted for the President and not the PDP in the area regarded as a stronghold of the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    But allegations of unfulfilled promises and alleged marginalisation of the zone by the federal government in the last two years may have robbed the President of his popularity amongst the people of the southwest.

    More so, gimmicks allegedly deployed by Jonathan and his men against the success of the emerging All Progressive Congress (APC), which is viewed by the people of the zone as a party with Yoruba-based political philosophy, are also parts of the reasons the southwest may not vote Jonathan in 2015.

    “There are signs that the President is thinking along the line of boycotting the PDP here in the southwest and dealing with other political groups in his effort to win the votes of the people of this zone.

    “We are already aware of meetings between his men and leaders of some other parties like the Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN). I think this is happening because the President thinks the PDP in the southwest is too divided and weakened to prosecute the next general election successfully.

    He is entitled to his opinion and we will not begrudge him for it but I think what we should all do is resolve the crisis in our party. The PDP is bigger and more popular in the southwest than all these parties he is talking to put together,” a chieftain of the PDP in Lagos State told The Nation.

    The Nation gathered that agents of the President, led by a former deputy governor of Osun State, has met with both Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State and former Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State on the possibility of the two politicians coming together to lead Joanthan’s campaign in the zone.

    Mimiko is of the Labour Party while Daniel’s supporters used the PPN’s platform to prosecute the last governorship election in Ogun State. Several meetings have allegedly been held to discuss the possibility of a new political coalition, asides the PDP, emerging to prosecute the President’s re-election bid in the southwest.

    “The President’s men are talking to Mimiko on the need for the LP to be the main political machinery that will champion the re-election bid in 2015. Mimiko is a staunch supporter of the President but the real job here is that they want him to convince the likes of Gbenga Daniel and Rasheed Ladoja who are currently unhappy with the PDP to buy into the project.

    “The idea is a coalition of the political structures of these three leaders who are regarded as heavyweights in the region by the President. Several meetings have been held by the stakeholders in this project and I think talks are still ongoing concerning it,” a chieftain of the LP in Ogun State said.

    The Nation also learnt that the recent defection of some PDP members into the LP across the zone is part of the plot. Supporters of Gbenga Daniel in Ogun State recently joined the LP en mass with rumours rife that the former governor himself is warming up to join them.

    In Oyo, former Governor Rasheed Ladoja abruptly ended a working arrangement between his Accord Party and the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N). Sources claim his action followed discussion with promoters of the planned coalition.

    It was also learnt that the failure of the Chief Ishola Filani-led caretaker committee of the PDP in the southwest to resolve the crises in various state chapters further convinced the President of the need to bypass the party in the zone.

    But observers of the politics within the party say the reconciliation efforts of the PDP in the South-West failed because some of the factions within the zone did not regard the Tukur-led committee as an impartial arbiter.

    The PDP National Working Committee had on March 15 held a truce meeting with its South-West chapter in Ibadan, Oyo State. The battle for the soul of the party in the zone is between groups loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and others which are against the former president.

    The PDP in the South-West has been crisis-ridden since the sacking of a former Osun State Governor, Prince OlagunsoyeOyinlola, as the party’s national secretary.

    The various reconciliation committees constituted by Filani in the zone submitted their reports during the week amidst worsening crises across the states. While the Ondo State reconciliation committee submitted divergent reports to the party leadership, its counterpart in Ogun State could not prevent the defection of several notable PDP leaders a day before it submitted its own report.

    A chieftain of the party in Lagos State, Chief Tunde Alawiye, want the national leadership of the party and the presidency to halt the ongoing reconciliation within the state chapter, saying that it would not yield fruitful results.

    He accused a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George, of hijacking the state executive committee. “How can they talk about reconciliation when about 18 members of the state Working Committee of the party are their members, while we have none? All the board membership has been hijacked by them.”

    The PDP in Lagos has been polarised into two broad camps, “The Establishment” led by George and “The Union” which had other aggrieved leaders of the party as the arrowheads.

    In Ekiti, the party remains factionalised. At least, there are three factions within the fold. Efforts to resolve the leadership crises have failed. To make matters worse, the party has 20 governorship aspirants running on the crisis-ridden platform.

    The governorship aspirants and other chieftains are carrying on as agents of the three leading chieftains locked in a battle of superiority; former Governor Ayodele Fayose, Police Affairs Minister Caleb Olubolade and the deposed governor, Segun Oni.

    Moves by the leaders of the party in the Southwest to resolve the logjam have proved abortive. Party members have given their loyalty, not to the party, but the warlords; Fayose, Akinbolade and Oni.

    Disturbed by the lack of progress, Filani said the PDP in the southwest must be made more cohesive if it is to win elections in the zone.

    “We must make the party more cohesive and this will attract the majority into its fold. We must bring the PDP to every door step and homes. The forthcoming election in Osun and Ekiti States have made it imperative for our party to put its house in order so as to wrestle power from the ACN, or APC if it is registered,” he said.

  • Imo guber race and Ohakim’s volte face

    Imo guber race and Ohakim’s volte face

    The recent attempt by the former Governor of Imo State and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2011 elections, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, to be joined as a party in the suit brought by Senator Ifeanyi Araraume of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) challenging the supplementary elections of May 6th 2011 that brought in Owelle Rochas Okorocha as the state governor could be likened to the biblical old wine in a new wine bottle.

    It would be recalled that immediately after the elections of May 6th and the declaration of Okorocha of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as the valid winner of the rescheduled governorship elections in the state, Ohakim was the first to accept the results of the elections, congratulated Okorocha and pledged not to challenge the election results at the tribunal.

    However, like a leopard that never changes its spots, Ohakim ate his words and went behind to use his party, the PDP, to challenge the elections from the Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal to the Supreme Court where he lost.

    Specifically, the Supreme Court on March 2, 2012, in its judgment affirmed the election of Okorocha as the Governor of Imo State and upheld the judgment of the Imo State Governorship Elections Tribunal that had held that the supplementary elections of May 6th, 2011 as conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was valid.

    Both the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal had upheld Okorocha’s declaration as the winner of the election.

    However, the PDP was not satisfied with these two concurrent judgments of the two lower courts and had since appealed to the Supreme Court.

    The PDP is challenging the judgment of the Appeal Court which, like the elections petition tribunal, dismissed the party’s petition challenging the election of Okorocha as lacking in merit.

    PDP argued that Okorocha ought not to have been declared winner of the governorship election based on two major reasons: One, the party argues that it won the April 26, 2011 election and that its candidate, Ikedi Ohakim, ought to have been declared winner. PDP is specifically claiming that at the end of balloting on April 26, 2011, it polled a total 310,188 votes as against 305,266 polled by Okorocha’s party.

    APGA, however, strongly disputed this claim. PDP further disagreed with INEC that the election of April 26 2011 was inconclusive.

    Apart from arguing that the supplementary election was illegal, the PDP argued that it was held outside the 30 days stipulated by the Constitution for the successor of an incumbent governor to be elected. Consequently, it had urged the court to declare that the May 6, 2011 supplementary election was null and void. Instead, it urged the tribunal to declare its candidate, Ohakim, winner on the basis of the April 26, 2011 election.

    INEC had in declaring the April 26 2011 election “inconclusive,” hinged its position on the non-holding of election in four local government areas namely Ohaji Egbema, Oguta, Mbaitoli and Ngor Okpala. But PDP disputed this claim. It argued that elections took place in the local government areas and that results were given to parties’ agents.

    The commission claimed that the supplementary election held on the 6th of May, 2011 in Imo State was warranted by reasons of cogent and verifiable reasons which include violence and threat of imminent violence which disrupted the election, thus warranting the cancellation and postponement of the elections in the five local government areas. But PDP disagreed. Ohakim’s counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), while arguing his client’s case at the Supreme Court, said: “No cogent and verifiable reason, whatsoever, was given by INEC for the postponement of the election of 26th April, 2011 to 6th May, 2011.”

    According to him, INEC acted arbitrarily, whimsically and without any respect for the law. He admitted that under the present electoral regime, INEC had the powers to postpone elections but that it did not have the powers to cancel elections.

    He noted that INEC announced the postponement of the election on the next day after the elections had already taken place. He said, “The purported cancellation and or postponement was done on 27th April, 2011, a day after the elections were held. The question is, can an election scheduled to be held on 26th April, 2011 be postponed on 27th April, 2011?”

    Although, the case of Agbaso Vs Ohakim decided by the Supreme Court is a binding judicial precedent that cancellation or objection to declaration of an inconclusive election was cognisable as election petition, but the case was not an authority that an election held outside 60 days to the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent was constitutional.

    Apart from the fact that the apex court hardly disturbs the concurrent findings of the two lower courts, it is no longer in doubt that INEC has the power to declare an election inconclusive base on material facts available to it.

     

     

  • PDP, ACN, ANPP: Where is internal democracy?

    PDP, ACN, ANPP: Where is internal democracy?

    Have the political parties added value to democracy? MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE examines the challenges confronting the platforms.

     

    At the blast of the whistle in 1999, three political parties -the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Peoples Party (APP), which later became the All Nigerian People Party (ANPP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) contested the first general elections. However, the number of the parties later increased to 63.

    In the 2011 elections, only 10 of the parties won seats in the National Assembly and Houses of Assembly, a development which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) explained, was not good enough.

    INEC said it was no longer wise for some of these parties to be sustained on tax payers’ money without making impact in the polity. This led to the axing of 28 political parties on December 6, 2012 and went ahead de-registered another seven later.

    Though the decision was criticised, INEC went ahead to justify the action based on the provisions of Section 7 of the Electoral Act, 2011. And currently INEC has not more than 37 political parties in its kitty and more are likely to go as 2015 draws nearer.

    While the INEC is mopping up the political climate to make it healthier, three major political parties; the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress of Progressive Change (CPC), and a faction of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) decided to form a mega party the All Progressives Congress (APC), in order to wrest power from the ruling PDP.

    As theAPC formalises its registration process, another association, All African Congress (APC), said it has forwarded an application to the INEC for registration as a political party.

    Although INEC has explained that the association had not met the requirements for registration, the association had gone to court over the matter and the outcome is being awaited. This and other challenges have dogged the polity and how they would be resolved is generating more interests.

    ACN Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the use of his party acronym by another association though in court, would not in any way affect the registration of APC.

    He said: “I think Nigerians should be properly educated on this matter. As at today, there is no political party that is known with acronym of APC. There is a political association with the name African Peoples Congress (APC) whose application has been received by INEC and INEC says that it had not met certain conditions. Now that the party had gone to court to challenge the power of INEC, I will not want to comment any further.

    Defending its credibility, ANPP chieftain, Mallam Ibrahim Sekarau explained that issues of internal democracy is far from what APC will contend because the party came up in the first place to salvage the country and would not be drawn aback by such narrow interests.

    He said: “APC will fill vacant party offices and those that will contest 2015 election based on geo-political zones. No region or zone would be given the chance to dominate others just for the sake of political domination.”

    Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar at the Golden Jubilee of the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan, lashed out at the major parties for lack of internal democracy.

    He accused them of promoting politics of god-fatherism and dictatorship since the country returned to civil rule in 1999.

    The lack of internal democracy in some of the parties has snowballed into legal battle. For instance, the composition of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) made some members to inevitably go to court to challenge its composition with the electoral umpire saying the PDP did not comply with laid down regulations.

    But the party’s National Vice Chairman Southwest, Ishola Filani debunked the INEC claim.

    “Our party has maintained internal democracy and there is no crisis that we cannot handle. We sit together and discuss matters. Those who went to court have not really come out with any report to justify their position. Anyway, why does it take INEC over One and half year to say that NEC was not properly constituted? Was it not there when the election was conducted?, “ he querried.

    The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) is thorn apart by factions. And except this is resolved within reasonable time, analysts believ it could undermine its chances in future elections.

    Former governor of Kaduna State and the Chairman of Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Alhaji Balabe Musa, said leadership crisis in these parties is pervasive because of self interest. He noted that the leaders of the political parties have not looked beyond personal aggrandisement.

    “Let me say the formation APC is just one step now. They are now moving to the harder part which must also entail party discipline. We must learn from the previous political parties like PPA, PPP and SDP.”

    “Some of these political parties like SDP under Chief Tony Anenih could not muster sufficient courage to stand by Chief M.K.O Abiola who won the 1993 presidential election. He was not declared winner and was killed in the process. It was expected that the leadership of the party should stand by him but that was not the case.”

    It is held by analysts that one of the ways to encourage internal democracy in political parties is to allow independent candidature. Political observers noted that if independent candidate s are allowed to contest elections, some individuals who do not believe in the ideologies of the existing parties, would have the chance to serve the country.

    But Professor Abubabar Momoh who teaches Political Science at the Lagos State University (LASU) in his view explained that the system would be hijacked by money bags which will make the exercise a jamboree.

    “All the parties we have now have the same ideological stand. They are not fundamentally different. The same people are moving from one party to another emerging parties and all they are interested in is just to have power”. and not that they have some fundamental principles or ideas they want to put forward.”