Category: Politics

AT LAST, Mr. Jonathan has bared his fangs. After denying the obvious over and over again, he has now ostensibly acknowledged that he is running the presidential race in 2015.

This, itself, is nothing wrong, whether constitutionally or politically. He has a right to contest in as much as he has only been elected once. In a perfect setting, I have nothing against a man offering himself to the electorate for an office. However, everything should be done in accordance with rules and with decorum.

It is unfortunate that our president thinks the only way he could grope to office is by identifying those who may not align with his interest and use the powers of state to break their heads. It is in this light that I fight the politics of Mr. President despicable. Only a naïve analysts would fail to realize what the move against Governor Rotimi Amaechi is about. The Rivers State governor is a man who has panache. He has the charisma and ideas. He has seen his office as chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum as a pedestal to stand and peep at the promised land as 2015 is within grasp. Jonathan understands this. He too wants to be returned to office. Both men are from the oil-rich Niger Delta region and there is only one slot. To make matters worse, they are aspiring to the only ticket available to the Peoples Democratic Party.

Were Amaechi from the North, there could have been attempts to prevail on him to take the Vice Presidency. But this is not so.

President Jonathan has shown how desperate he is to hold on to power. One thing he has demonstrated since he happened on power in 2010 s his appreciation of the use and abuse of power. He knows what it takes to disorganize a political party, create confusion and seek to impose order. He is a matter in playing Machiavelli.

But, unfortunately, is that what Nigeria deserves now? We have a president who has no idea what it takes to run a country. A president who sees power as an end in itself. We have a man who understands that many people underestimate him and turns that to his strength. If he were doing that to better the lot of the people, I guess we would all be jumping now that the good Lord has sent us a messiah.

Truly, Jonathan is a disappointment to all those who had thought he was the best alternative available in 2011. Many voted for him because they thought his doctorate degree would count for something. I am yet to see the discipline and adroitness of a doctoral candidate in Jonathan. I challenge any of his men to come up with any sector that the president has turned around or is about to change positively. The power sector that he is quick to tout as a success story has collapsed again. His information minister labaran Maku has treated the public to the gospel of deceit that the railway is about to run. So did Obasanjo in all of eight years.

What is the state of federal roads? The Jonathan response to the challenge in the higher education sector is perhaps the most ludicrous. Despite having ministers and advisers who ought to know what is desirable, he has launched into the establishment of so-called federal universities. He believes that establishing universities in states that could not fill their quotas in the existing universities is one way to revamp the sector and promote ground breaking researches.

Rather than concentrate on fighting imaginary foes like Amaechi, Jonathan should begin to spare some thought for his place in history. What is the meaning of creating a PDP Governors Forum just to deal with Amaechi? He is merely cutting his nose to spite the face. I am almost sure that at the rate that the president is going and with the groundswell of opposition against him, he would pull down the PDP house on himself and characters like Akpabio, Seriake Dickson, bamanga Tukur and Mr. Anenih.

What really does he think Anenih has to offer again? Here was a man who was thoroughly floored and disgraced in his home state. Yet, he touts himself as a master tactician. I sincerely look forward to the All Progressives Party coming on stream soon enough to aid the awaited implosion in the ruling party. Meanwhile, those who have the ears of the president should draw him close and warn that he is treading on a dangerous ground. He who has ears, let him hear.

It is on record, and an historical fact, that Ibrahim Babangida’s engineering of two parties – one, “a little to the right”, and the other, “a little to the left,” which produced Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Convention (NRC) that contested the presidential election in 1993, was the best political arrangement Nigeria ever had.

The arrangement killed the fortunes of political jobbers who were always waiting on the wings to form mushroom political parties for the sole purpose of collecting grants from government, only to run away with the money with their “offices” located in odd places like the vulcanisers’ shanties and uncompleted buildings just to justify their unwholesome existence. With the formation of SDP and NRC as progressive and conservative parties, there was no hiding place for political jobbers and prostitutes. You either belonged to SDP or NRC but not both. You were of course free to belong to none of them.

The system was so neat, simple and easy to manage by the electoral officers that, with only two party symbols and logos on the voters’ cards, the elections were tidy and smooth. At the polling stations, there were agents of only two parties, and electoral frauds were easy to detect and curtail. MKO Abiola made sure he deployed his agents to all the polling stations in the federation, sometime conveying them by air.

At the polling booths, there was no confusion about where to thumbprint before you cast your vote. It was either “a little to the right” or “a little to the left” scenario. No middle course and no confusion. The result of the election at every polling station demonstrated one indisputable fact: the majority of Nigerian electorate are predominantly progressives, and that included those political jobbers who would have gone ahead to form political parties just to collect grant from government and later have the prefix of “presidential candidate” added to their names. After the election in which they really did not feature except on paper, they enjoyed being called former presidential candidates. Charlatans loaded with empty stuff! All the phantasmagoria of deceit had vanished with the formation of two political parties where only two serious presidential candidates emerged” MKO Abiola (SDP) and Alhaji Baba Torfa (NRC). That was the dawn of a true democratic election.

However, the political landscape turned to a free for all political bad business at the 1999 election, when anybody who cared could just wake up and declare himself/herself a presidential candidate of a Kangaroo political party, just to catch public attention and run away with a part of the national cake. The motive was not to campaign, let alone win a single seat either in the national or state assemblies. The scenario itself was so stupid, primitive, rowdy and expensive that a single long sheet of paper could not contain the extended names of political parties. Many people, especially the illiterates, went into hell and back before they could identify certain political parties beside which they were to thumbprint. In the end, they misthumbprinted!

The criminally cumbersome process delayed voting in all the polling stations to the extent that many hours were lost and many people painfully disenfranchised under that primitive arrangement by people of primitive mentality.

From the look of things now, it appears that nature is taking its sweet revenge by the merging of major political parties into one formidable party namely, the All Progressive Congress (APC), mainly from the opposition, to banish mushroom political parties and, in its place, install a coalition of these opposing political parties into a formidable and earthshaking one, like the old Social Democratic Party (SDP), a combination of all progressive politicians across the country, regardless of caste, creed or tribe. That coalition produced MKO of the progressive stamp. In the end, not only did the progressives win the presidential election with a handsome majority, the conservative presidential candidate of the NRC, Alhaji Torfa, lost in his Kano constituency. Such was the revelation of the powers of the coalition of the progressives and grassroots politics in Nigeria.

If anything will work, the formation of APC will, and should, even now, as it was in the past. Therefore, the merger of ACN, CPC, ANPP, APGA and possibly some others will, and must, work. In philosophy, this statement is called “pragmatic”” “if anything will work, induction will”. It is in fact inevitable that the APC, the offspring of a prudential merger of progressives all over the country, like the old SDP, will work, and must work. It is just a matter of time for more parties to join the progressive coalition. Remember NADECO and its awesome influence on driving away a mad government from the Nigerian political space.

In the next few months, the progressives in the PDP would join the fray, to the amazement of PDP as a dying political party, serially infected with human AIDs. Already, 70 PDP legislators in the National Assembly are reported to be on their voyage to the new Eldorado.

Are they running away from a terminal disease? Already, the governor of Niger State, Alhaji Babangida Aliyu, (and later, Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, in his “no room for one party-system”, Nation 20/02/13, p43) had swiftly congratulated the merging opposition parties (not from a slip of tongue) which he honestly sees as a good thing for democracy.

Whatever his (Aliyu’s) motive is, his statement speaks volumes about the beauty of the merging scenario. The ground of possible defection from PDP to the all embracing APC rests on the ineffectiveness, wickedness, regime of lies, looting, characteristic of the PDP in all spheres of governance and its unprecedented bad leadership. With Nigeria as seen as one of the most miserable nations and of worst inflation (exorbitant fuel, electricity, goods and services prices), high jobless rate, frequent violence and insecurity of lives and properties, its dismal records in fighting corruption like graft, embezzlement and systematic looting of the treasury, leading to a criminal neglect of the poor electorates, it is virtually impossible for the ruling party to atone for its sins of commissions and omissions since 1999.  This must have become obvious to the progressives in the PDP.

Therefore, the emergence of APC may have come at the right time in the nation’s political history. Because of its serious implication for the ruling party that had boasted it would rule Nigeria forever, desperate and even deadly attempts would be made to frustrate the merger plan.

But this largely depends on the resolve of the merging parties, who must remember the wise saying: united we stand, divided we fall. If they unite and fight together today, they will together reap the benefit of their unity of purpose tomorrow. On the other hand, if they allow themselves to be divided, they will suffer defeat together” all of them without remainder. What is before them is either victory or defeat. The choice is theirs. If they allow individual ambition to wreck a possible success of the merger plan, then the political stakeholders would only have themselves to blame. It is more expedient for the APC to plan to win the presidential election than for its leaders to harp on sharing positions before the chickens are hatched. If truly their aim is to rescue Nigerians from its ugly past as well as from our present political madness, they should focus on things that would lead us to the promised land and not just what is in there for individuals to grab for, as one commentator wrote, “APC is hope of the nation.”(Nation, 21 February, 3013, p.20).

The issue of sharing political offices may work against the merger if stakeholders are not careful, or if they take things for granted. The most important position are those of the President, Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker, Chairmen of the party and BOT, National Secretary and other officers who would play prominent roles in providing good governance for the country as from 2015. Since the APC is meant to be a truly national party, offices should reflect the different geopolitical zones of the federation. All this should be settled before the commencement of elections, from the State Assemblies through the National Assembly to the governorship and presidential elections. The South-East must be pacified with a position that would give them hope for the future, while the major parties in the APC should be rewarded for their numerical powers. Under no circumstances should positions be given to just “for the boys” or cronies but should be given purely on competence and ability to deliver in a party aiming at good governance.

All these things must be taken into account when distribution (not sharing) of political offices are being considered. Above all, everybody in the party and every other Nigerian has something for him/her in a government founded under the sound ideology of egalitarianism (the greatest good of the greatest number), and life more abundant for all citizens, especially as I believe that APC stands for justice, freedom, true democracy and good governance.

As for the big one, i.e. the president, it appears there is already a consensus about its location among the geopolitical zones. So far, General Muhammadu Buhari from the North is on the radar as a possible presidential candidate, owing to his strong followership in the North and his record as an incorruptible and disciplined human being. Seeing that the major problem of this country is the hydra-headed corruption, which affects all other things like the economy, inflation, utilization of our national and human resources, social welfare and standard of living in an extremely oil rich country, some have seen Buhari through his War Against Indiscipline and corruption (WAI) as one who would not condone indiscipline and corruption of any kind in the system.

Lately, while making a direct reference to Rawlings and the aftermath of his revolution which has reshaped the destiny of Ghana in the international community, somebody on the television even went as far as saying we should give Buhari only six months to clean corruption, corrupt and undisciplined people from the system, and that there may be no hiding place for corrupt politicians, past and present, and that people would learn how not to jump the queue anymore. All this is heart warming, provided Buhari would remember those things that nearly caused him disaffection, especially in the South-West, during his regime. But he still remains the best candidate whose nomination would strike fear in the minds of the PDP and corrupt Nigerians.

As for the other posts, from the Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker etc to the officers of the APC, care should be taken in order to balance the equation among geopolitical zones and accommodate the views of smaller opposition parties, especially if such parties have a sizeable number of followers in some of the geo- political zones.

This is where deft political moves are necessary in order to give every zone a sense of belonging, especially as the party must take a positive and an unassailable step to win massive votes from every zone of the federation. This is the bottom line and the only magic needed for wrestling power from the ruling party whose prayer, from now on, is to see a possible crack that would put spanner in the veritable union of progressive politicians in the country.

This is why the new party must beware of saboteurs and moles in the APC political machine. The APC MUST re-enact the political feat of the SDP as a true coalition of the progressives under MKO Abiola of blessed memory.

For the new party, APC, the sky is its limit and no progressive politician would like to be left behind in this dawn of a new political era in Nigeria. It is a once and for all life opportunity for all well-meaning Nigerians to grasp, with all their might, as potentially victorious electorates in the coming new dispensation. Therefore, all God fearing people, lovers of freedom, justice and good governance should pray for APC on their rescue mission, which Nigeria badly needs at this point in time of its history and destiny.

Nigeria has for a long time been reeling in pains. Nature has now prescribed a potent APC for its permanent relief.

– Professor Makinde is the DG/CEO, Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance, Osun State, Osogbo.

Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has explained that his decision to pitch tent with All Progressives Congress (APC) is because the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), of which he was a founding member, has disappointed the people of South-East and Nigerians.

Okorocha, who made this statement while addressing newsmen in Government House Owerri, said he has nothing against President Goodluck Jonathan but his party the PDP.

According to Okorocha, “there is need for a better change, Nigerians are tired of Peoples Democratic Party, which is no longer what it used to be after failing to address the needs of Nigerians, ‘ he said.

Declaring his interest and support for the merger and the new All Progressive Congress (APC), Okorocha described the political party as a child of necessity, capable of providing the much needed change in the South-East geo-political zone.

Pledging to win the South-East zone for APC, Okorocha said the party would be good for democracy and for the Nigerian people.

He recalled that the nation had dwelled long on coalition government which could not guarantee uniformism, arguing that introduction of two party system would enable Nigerians to strike a balance in governance. He also stated that any ruling party that is not doing well is waiting to be changed.

According to Okorocha, APC will promote internal democracy since it does not support imposition of candidates.

He was of the opinion that if the country must have all round development at the state and local government levels, people of the rural community must be allowed to partake in decisions on the affairs that concern them.

To this end, he identified community government as the way forward, pointing out that although the introduction of CGC in the state has received criticisms and lots of challenges, it has not deterred the rescue mission administration from carrying out plans already set out for success of the new government.

He stated that the CGC is the pivot upon which the wheels of rescue mission rotates, disclosing that the state Executive Council has ratified the approval of Government Liaison Officers (GLOs) made up of eminent leaders from various communities who are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that each community has at least a mini industry to create jobs for their unemployed youths.

On the rescue mission administration, Okorocha said the government is on course to deliver democracy dividends to the people of the state as promised during election.

He made reference to the achievements of his government which include 305 school projects on-going in the electoral wards, 27 general Hospital projects, 1000km of roads and dualisation of Anara-Okigwe road, Airport Road, Owerri- Orlu roads.

Recent factionalisation of terrorist group, Boko Haram, has created fresh worries in Nigeria, reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan.

There are fresh fears in the restive northern parts of the country that the cracks within the ranks of dreaded Boko Haram sect will further escalate the already complicated security situation in the area.

This is coming as experts say efforts aimed at curbing the violence unleashed on the region by the sect will come to naught if the alleged factionalisation of the Islamic sect proves to be true.

Recent reports indicate that Yusufiyya Islamiyya and Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan are two new militant Islamic sects believed to have emerged from the factionalisation of Boko Haram, following ideological and operational disagreements among the commanders of the dreaded group.

Also believed to have caused the crack in the wall of the militants is the inability of the commanders to agree on whether to resume the abandoned dialogue it was having with the federal government or not.

Investigations showed that there is concern among leaders and elites of the troubled region over what they described as a dangerous drift towards total terrorism with the likelihood of plunging the entire country into widespread anarchy.

It was gathered that following the factionalisation of the violent sect into about three different groups in recent times, there has been a new wave of concern amidst fears that the development may plunge the region into the throes of uncontrollable terrorism.

At a recent stakeholders meeting held in Kano, the alleged factionalisation of the sect topped the agenda. For hours, leaders and elites of the region discussed the implications of the development and came to the conclusion that it is not in the interest of peace.

Alhaji Sanni Abba Yerima, a chieftain of the Northern Union, who was at the meeting, said. “The fear now is that it will be practically impossible to trail or trace the activities of these people. Before now, the sect is known to always claim responsibility for its attacks. But if you take a good look, you will discover that nobody has come out to claim responsibility for recent attacks. This is because the sect is now in factions.

‘With this situation, the issue of dialogue as a way out of the crisis is becoming difficult. Which of these groups will government dialogue with? If we claim to know how to reach the leadership of Boko Haram, how do we reach the leadership of the other groups?

“What do you think will happen if these groups engage themselves in violent clashes in the region? The development is a serious threat to peace as it is capable of throwing the whole northern Nigeria into violence and anarchy. It was difficult coping with Boko Haram alone. Now that the sects are three or four, what do you think can happen if the situation is not quickly addressed?

“That is why we are meeting to discuss the situation and how best to intervene now before the whole region is enveloped in crisis.”

Another source at the meeting said it was resolved that a committee of traditional rulers, eminent personalities and religious leaders should be set up to try and reach out to the commanders of the sect with a view to persuading them to remain united and embrace the dialogue option offered by the federal government.

“The decision became necessary after it was unanimously agreed that the factionalisation of the sect will make the attainment of a peaceful resolution of the Boko Haram crisis impossible.

“The argument is that if allowed to go on, the division in the sect will give room for further proliferation of violent groups within the region. The implication of this is that the north may be consumed by violence in no distant time. We are tired of the killings and bombing and we want peace to return to the region.

“The challenge now is how to reach the group. The committee is expected to consult widely with government and other agencies that have been involved in the Boko Haram issue with a view to finding a way of mediating in the alleged crisis within the sect.”

We believe that if the sect remains one, it will be easy to dialogue with them and bring the mayhem in the north to a quick end,” our source said.

The Boko Haram sect has been engaged in a bloody campaign of bombings and killings in parts of northern Nigeria in the past few years. In response, the Nigeria Police and the armed forces under the aegis of the Joint Task Force mounted a crackdown on suspected members of the sect across the northern part of the country.

After more than a year of clampdown on the sect, the federal government last year acceded to a request from the sect, calling for dialogue with the authorities as a way of ending the reign of terror.

A senior member of the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, Sheik Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulazeez, had in November 2012 requested talks with the government, with a claim that he was speaking on behalf of Abubakar Shekau, the sect’s leader.

The group set conditions for peace talks and even nominated mediators. It also requested that the talk take place outside the country. Sources close to the two divides claimed discussion was actually opened between them. One of such dialogue, The Nation learnt, took place in Dubai where parties agreed on the modalities for the eventual meetings. It was learnt that both the sect and the authorities were well represented at the Dubai talk.

But the talks were allegedly stalled when late last year, not less than three factions of the Boko Haram sect emerged. One of the splinter groups, Yusufiyya Islamiyya, publicly distanced itself from the effort to resolve the face-off through dialogue.

Yussufuyya, is said to be under the leadership of Sheik Abu Usamata Al’Ansari, who before now is well known as the commander of Boko Haram in Kano. Sources even described him as the sect’s leader in the Northwest, comprising Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi and Jigawa States.

Another faction of the sect calls itself ‘Ansaru.’ In a statement it circulated late last year in Kano, Ansaru gave its full name as ‘Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan,’ meaning Vanguards for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa.

Its motto is “Jihad Fi Sabilillah,’ meaning it is fighting and sacrificing for Allah’s cause.  The statement was signed by one Abu Usamata Al’Ansari, who claimed to be its leader.

Few weeks back, Ansaru expressed displeasure with Boko Haram’s style of operations, which it described as inhuman to the Muslim Ummah.  It vowed to restore dignity and sanity to “the lost dignity of Muslims in black Africa” and to bring back the dignity of Islam in Nigeria and the Sokoto Caliphate, founded by Othman Dan Fodio in 1804, which spread across Niger Republic, Cameroon and some other West African countries.

Ansaru’s logo shows the Qur’an, with a gun on both sides. Attached to the guns are black flags with the inscription, “There is no deity but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger.”

Kyari Mohammed, who heads the Centre for Peace and Security Studies at Modibbo Adama University of Technology, has studied Boko Haram closely and he is of the opinion that the factionalisation of the sect is no good omen for the region and the country as a whole.

House of Representatives member Abiodun Faleke (Ikeja Constituency) is the Chairman of the  House Committee on Anti-Corruption, Values and Ethics. He spoke with Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi  on the local government autonomy, constitution review and other issues.

As a former council chairman, what is your reaction to the agitation for local government autonomy?

I am the former chairman of Ojodu LCDA, Lagos. I served for two terms. Coming to the issue of autonomy for local government, I think the problem we have really has to do with those operating it; whether you have autonomy or you don’t have autonomy, it is the person that is operating the law that really matters. What I have observed generally is that, we tend to bend the rules, we tend to bend the laws to favour us personally. If you have the interest of the people at heart as an elected local government chairman, you will definitely perform. So, the issue of local government autonomy that we are pushing in the House, it has to do with the experience in other states. As far as Lagos State is concerned, we can clearly say that we are free, we are not under the state government’s total control. It is normal for the state government to want to know what you are doing with the funds that is allocated to the council. It is normal for the state to supervise the job you have done with quality in mind, rather than just do a shoddy job. In Lagos State, my own experience was that, each time we had our monthly allocation meetings, the state ensured that we used our funds for what they were meant for, rather than diverting the funds to personal pocket or doing shoddy jobs or programmes. Basically, my experience across this country and what some of my colleagues in other states told me, is that their governors do not even allow them (local governments) to have access to the funds, because when they (governors) get the money (monthly allocation), they just give them money to pay salaries and that is all. In the northern part of this country, I am made to understand that the chairmen and councilors only go to the office at the end of every month when there is allocation. So, the interest of the people, in term of project development and community development, is not there and that brought this idea of local government autonomy. They should be getting their money directly from the Federation Account.

Are you in support of autonomy?

The local governments make up the state; the state cannot operate without local governments. So, if you give the local government autonomy, it means that the local government chairman will just see the state as nothing, they do not work together, they don’t plan together. Meanwhile, the state may have its own overall plan, town planning issues, structural designs that should be done. For example, in Lagos State, you cannot just come and build a school anyhow, it must be of a standard. If you don’t allow the state to have a say, then, it becomes a problem,. A local government chairman can just come and say no, you cannot control me, this is what I want to do because I receive my money directly from Abuja. So, what is the essence of this federating unit? Are we talking about federal, state and local government or is it federal and state? Because, constitutionally, as it is today, it is the state that controls the local governments. The creation of the local government by the constitution and the funding are controlled by the Houses of Assembly. So, I still don’t see what we have to gain or what we have to lose because the people operating the constitution is what we need to address.

Do you also think that the House of Assembly should enjoy independence from the executive?

In Lagos State, the House of Assembly has its own freedom. Its fund is on the first line charge and it has been able to achieve that because true democracy is been practiced there. The situation where the governor is too over-bearing or powerful, that if you argue with the governor, you may not return. But I think, as at the time the Sixth National Assembly approved financial independence for the state Assemblies, they were afraid of those governors. They don’t know their rights. Honestly speaking, I strongly believe that the legislature should be on its own. That is the reason for checks and balance in the constitution.

Are you saying that the agitation for council autonomy lacks justification?

We once had autonomy at the local government and the situation then was that funds were being diverted to private pockets. If you create the autonomy today, it’s the people that actually operate it. Many people come into the office with the objective of just making money and not serving the people. And so many people come into office with the mind set to develop their local government so that their name can be written in gold thereafter. What I am saying is that, whether we give them autonomy or not, honestly speaking, it is the person elected that matters, even if you send money straight from Abuja. It is sad that when you go to some local governments, you just discover that the state has stifled them of funds. As it is today, my own understanding is this: the local government in a state does not have boundaries different from the boundaries of the state. So, if you give them autonomy, are you going to give them autonomy of boundary also? Is it just funding or the existence itself? This is my own personal opinion. Of course, the House has resolved that there should be autonomy for them, which I have to follow as a true democrat. But the issue of autonomy for local governments will complicate so many things. For example, the Lagos State House of Assembly passed a law banning Okada and a local government chairman can come up and say, “ no, as far this constitution is concerned, I have my own independence, that law cannot be effective”. It is not going to be issue of funds alone by the time this law come into effect, so many local government will go to court and say, “no you cannot put that law on me I am independent”. That is the area I am looking at.

The members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State have protested the return of the former governor, Chief Orji Kalu, to the party.

The protesters, who came from the 17 local governments, demonstrated at the Government House, Umuahia, urging Governor Theodore Orji to convey their feelings to the national leadership of the party.

The spokesman for the protesters, Mr. Emma Ukwu, said Kalu’s return would spell doom for the party in the state.

Ukwu said Governor Orji had liberated the state from a particular family that had held the state to ransom, adding that,if Kalu is allowed to return, he would bring confusion to the chapter.

He said that, since Governor Orji assumed the reins, “the relationship with the federal government had produced good results and dividends of democracy for the state unlike before”.

Ukwu said: “Orji Kalu is a man who was defeated during the last general election when he vied for the senate in the Abia North and he was roundly defeated. Now, he wants to lead Ndigbo through his Njiko Igbo. A man who cannot get a senate seat wants to lead Igbo people”.

Ukwu urged the governor to inform the PDP national leadership about the protest “so that they will know that it is not a Bendel affair, but that the entire Abia PDP are against Kalu’s return”.

He added: “With the peace that exists in the party now, which the governor had brought to the party, we do not want confusion again as doing that will take us back to the dark days of the state, which we do not want to go back to”.

Responding on the governor’s behalf, the Chief of Staff, Cosmos Ndukwe, assured that their message would be delivered to Governor Orji. He charged them to maintain peace

He said: “The crowd that came has shown that the party members know what they want. Your actions and protests will be forwarded to the party office in Abuja for proper action. Popularity in politics is tested on the election day. This man was defeated during the last election. So, he has no political relevance again.”

The Vice President of the Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Youth Vanguard, Mrs Oluyomi Coker, has called for the restructuring of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). She said INEC policy should exclude it from sharing offices with local government secretariat.

She said the commission should set up its offices in neutral premises outside the control of local government.

She said: “The electoral commission shall not share office accommodation or premises with any other government or non-governmental establishment.”

She remarked that, if INEC separate its offices from council secretariats, the undue influences they face during elections will reduce and it would give credibility to elections.

She added: “It will further boost the public confidence and affirm integrity of the commission.

A human rights activist, Comrade Linus Okoroji, has urged the labour, civil society, and other non-governmental organisations to support the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said the merger, which was borne out of the need to get the country back on track, would succeed, if the pro-democracy movements team up with the new party.

Okoroji, who spoke with our correspondent, commended the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) for forming a united front to wrest power from the ruling party at the centre.

He said that, with formation of APC, Nigeria was set to regain its lost glory, stressing that Nigeria has suffered from 14 years of maladministration.

Okoroji called on APGA leadership to urgently put its house in order so that the party would not be left behind. He said APC will resolve insecurity, infrastructural decay and corruption in the country.

He said: “I congratulate APGA for the vision and boldness it took to join the merger. APGA is a progressive party and it should work in the interest of the nation. It should not take side with those who are blind with material acquisition.”

The rights activist said that Governors Rochas Okorocha and Peter Obi should consider the interest of the people before making any political move. He warned against threading the path of doom.

He said: “As long as their pockets are full, some people don’t care whether anybody goes to bed with empty stomach. For this reason, all the progressives must come together to restore the dignity of man and put the country back on course.”

Okoroji said that the merger should be concerned with how to save the country, instead of sectional or ethnic fulfilments. He added: “I think there should be no parochial motivation in the merger. Governor Obi and Okorocha are one, but I think that Peter Obi has sympathy for President Goodluck Jonathan.”

The former PRONACO chieftain maintained that, if the labour and the civil societies are brought into the merger, the new party will make a great impact during elections.

ormer Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mallam Nasir el-Rufai spoke with JEREMIAH OKE on the Jonathan Administration and prospects of the new party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Do you think that the APC has what its takes to tackle the PDP in 2015, considering the power of incumbency wielded by President Goodluck Jonathan?

The APC will not only withstand the so-called power of incumbency and harassment of the PDP in 2015, but it will flush them away. The money they are looting in preparation for the 2015 elections will amount to nothing. The people of Nigeria have learned their lesson from their error and mistakes of the past and they are determined to change their ways. You cannot give them a peanut and steal trillions when you get to the office. Our people have realised this mistake and they are ready to change for the good of the nation. Nigerians have been pushed to the wall by the PDP and I think the end of the PDP is very near.

People said your recent attack on former President Obasanjo in your book shows that you are an ingrate biting the finger that fed you because you came into limelight under his administration. How will you react to this?

I don’t react to the people’s opinion because everybody has the right to say whatever he thinks is right. I worked for the federal government of Nigeria and not in Obasanjo’s farm. Obasanjo farm is Obasanjo’s personal business and the federal government of Nigeria is everybody’s problem. People that think that because President Obasanjo gave me a job, then, I am a slave for life and I don’t have the right to think on my own, I think they should go and repent. Relationship and fidelity are separate concepts. Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion. But let me reiterate here that my book is not an attack on anybody, but it is a statement of fact that happened. I have nothing against anybody and I don’t care what people say about me as long as I am doing what will make Nigeria a better country to live.

The federal government has given itself a pass mark. But do you think the administration has really performed, considering the indices of economic performance, anti-corruption war and fighting other social vices?

Don’t mind them. Do you believe them? Has electricity improved? Are you more secured? Has the level of corruption gone down? Can they compare it with what they met on ground? These are questions we don’t just need to answer because you will find out that it is mere propaganda. Nigerians are not daft; they are very intelligent people and nobody can fool them. We go to the market and we buy things on daily basis and, instead of prices to go down, prices are going higher on the daily basis. So, I am sure every Nigerian should be able to determine whether the economy is improving or not. Even, small children will tell you nothing is working again in the country. They can tell you where we are in this country. That is why APC is coming to despatch the propagandists from office in the 2015 general elections. I can bet it with you, 2015 election is the end of the PDP in this country.

People said you are among the people behind the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) pending in the House of Representative…

What is my business with PIB? I am not in government and I am not in the legislature. I don’t have any influence in the House of Representatives. The bill has been pending in the National Assembly since 2009. So, what is now my business with that? I think when some people’s wives don’t get pregnant, they will blame it on me. Please, let them look for another reason for the passage of the PIB or non-passage of the PIB and they should let me be. They should not push it to some of us that we are minding our business and not having anything to do with the government.

Your attack on former President Obasanjo in your recent book is believed by Nigerians to be connected with your struggle to position yourself as a presidential candidate in 2015. What is your reaction?

If they don’t know how Presidents emerge in Nigeria, that is their business. I want them to tell me which former President has ever written a book before he became the President? People think because Obama wrote a book two years before his election, and that anybody that writes a book is interested in running for office. In my book, I have demystified all the godfathers in Nigeria’s politics. People still think I did that for a political advancement, but it is absolutely wrong because people who contest for elections in Nigeria, they keep quiet and praise all their political godfathers. They don’t do what I have done. My book is a contrary statement and I disclosed what will make the country better and not to blackmail anybody. I don’t have any presidential ambition. And if people don’t understand that, they should tell me how many presidential candidates in the past had written a book before elections and tell me who had upset every political godfather in Nigeria and yet became the President.

You said that you are not eyeing the Presidency. As 2015 is fast approaching, what political role do you intend to play?

2015 is still far because some people will still die in 2013, 2014 and even in 2015. Look, I don’t understand why people are still talking about 2015. You don’t know if the economy will survive this year or not. Just last week, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) issued a statement that the economy could collapse this year the way the federal government is running the government. I don’t know whether people have noticed it or not, but I know it is dangerous. We may not have an economy running before the end of the year, according to the ACN, and they are thinking of 2015. They are stealing in anticipation of the 2015 elections. They don’t even know whether they will survive 2013. I think we have serious challenges, which we need to address first before the 2015. I can understand that politicians make calculations in the advance of their dreams, but they don’t take cognisance of the fact that Rome is burning and, like Nero, they are doing something else.