The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • NASS versus Presidency: The unending row

    NASS versus Presidency: The unending row

    The crisis of confidence between the National Assembly and the Presidency over budget implementation is not abating, with the legislators alleging that some presidential aides are stoking the fire. Assistant Editor Onyedi Ojiabor, who covers the Senate, reports.

     

    AT the inception of this administration, it was expected that the executive and the legislature would work hamoniously in the national interest. However, the war of words between the two arms of government over budget implementation indicates that this is far from the case.Utterances by some presidential aides since the presentation of the budget have sent signals that the future holds less promise of a smooth relationship between the two politically active arms of government.

    What should be the appropriate oil benchmark? This is at the heart of the rift that is threatening the relationship between the two institutions and causing the fate of the Appropriation Bill to hang in the balance.

    Although the 2013 Appropriation Bill has scaled the second reading in the Senate, and has since been passed to the Joint Committee on Appropriation and Finance, analysts are of the opinion that budget defence by ministries, departments and agencies (MDA) might be turbulent.

    Some observers insist the lawmakers have not scrutinized government’s spending as closely as they should, probably because of inadequate expertise, time and resources at the disposal of the parliamentarians. The apparent disdainful attitude of some presidential aides towards the National Assembly has been fingered as one of the sore points in the relationship between the two arms.

    Members of the National Assembly have had cause to complain openly that presidential aides are plotting to set them on collision course with Mr. President. When Senate President David Mark described the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, and Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, as “fifth columnists” working at cross purposes with President Goodluck Jonathan, many thought the message would sink. It did not.

    Mark was contributing to a motion on alleged inflammatory comments against the National Assembly by ministers and some presidential aides. It was a single prayer motion sponsored by no less a person than the Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Abdul Ningi. The Senate had earlier, through its Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, descended on Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, for dismissing resolutions of the National Assembly as mere advisory and not binding on President Jonathan.

    Senators took offence that a minister who did not pass through the severity of election could dismiss their resolution with a wave of the hand. Maku was therefore nvited by the Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe-led Committee to explain himself. Recognising that he was wrong, Maku apologised to the Senate. The minister was left to go and sin no more.

    Ningi in his lead debate on the motion tagged: “Inflammatory statements against the National Assembly by ministers and aides of Mr. President” observed with “dismay, the regular attacks on the legislature by ministers and aides of President Jonathan.”

    The Bauchi Central Senator said he was “scandalised by the most recent one” in which Ahmed Gulak “threw all caution to the wind and remarked that members of the National Assembly were ‘talking like illiterates’.” He said he was provoked that Gulak added that the National Assembly was “passing laws that are not implementable.”

    Other Senators including Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, Mohammed Ndume, James Manager, Smart Adeyemi, Awaisu Kuta, and Olushola Adeyeye, did not find the outburst by the presidential aide funny. For them, Gulak’s outburst was a direct affront on the integrity of the National Assembly. But Mark, in his characteristic style of calling a spade by its name, took it further.

    The Senate President posited, with a dint of sadness in his voice, that presidential aides are gradually but steadily, leading President Jonathan on a collision course with the National Assembly.

    “We all feel very hurt and very bad about it. We say this against the backdrop of the fact that Mr. President, as a person, is a gentleman. Nobody can fault him. If you have a personal interaction with him, you will know that he is a gentleman. But, what is disturbing is that he has surrounded himself with aides that are not gentlemen in any respect.

    “Aides who have failed woefully to do what they are supposed to do and because they are totally incapable, mentally and otherwise in doing their work, they are finding a way to please Mr. President. They think they can please him by attacking the National Assembly, disparaging the National Assembly and trying to belittle us. Giving an impression that we don’t know what we are doing is extremely unfortunate.

    “These are people who should really try to build bridges between the executive and the legislature but they are doing the exact opposite. Any bridge that is existing now they want to totally demolish it so that they can be on their own and in the process take advantage and give the President an impression that he needs to do something through them.

    Mark berated the idea of always finding occassion to belittle the lawmakers. He accused them of working against the interest of Mr. President.

    “We don’t want intermediaries between us and the executive and they are not capable of doing that either. Like all of you here, I am not aware of any aide who has gone and won an election in his local government. Not one. And yet they find it very easy to make comments about members of the National Assembly.

    “I think Victor (Ndoma-Egba) hit it squarely on the head by saying they are fifth columnists who don’t want the President to succeed. But, on the other hand, we will not allow detractors to force us away from the course that we set our radar. We mean well for this country. The fact of the matter is, if Gulak is serious about his advice, we will take it in good faith and act on his advice. Here is an aide who is actually advising his own principal on a collision course; who is going out of his way to tell the people on the other side that you are not firing enough shots.

    “I think by now, truly, Gulak has no business in the Villa anymore. But since it is not our duty to employ people for Mr. President, it is not our duty to sack his aides either. By now, I think he ought to know what to do with his aides who are putting him on a collision course with the National Assembly. They certainly can’t be described as good and helpful aides. I also believe that two wrongs cannot make a right.”

    Senators unanimously adopted the only prayer of the motion to urge President Jonathan, to “caution his ministers, special advisers and other aides making inflammatory statements against the legislature to avoid straining the cordial relations between the legislature and the executive.”

    If you thought one or two lessons were learnt from the motion, that was not to be. In a bid to devise a cover for the remark that members of the National Assembly were “talking like illiterates”, Gulak claimed it was Ekweremadu who called his colleagues illiterates.

    The presidential aide claimed in an interview that he did not call National Assembly members a bunch of illiterates. Observers feel that Gulak’s defence is an after thought.

    The Political Adviser said, “I didn’t call them illiterates. Let me tell you,: just yesterday, I was reading in the papers that the Deputy Senate President, that is Senator Ekweremadu, said some legislators can barely write their names. He said so. He said so. I did not say it. So, if most of them can barely write their names, then how will they understand the intricacies of budget?

    “I did not say it. It is the Deputy Senate President that said it and if he really said it, so, it means the National Assembly has a long way to go. Some observers described Gulak’s claim that Ekweremadu called most National Assembly members illiterates is “spurious.”

    Ekweremadu, who spoke on the topic “The political ideology of the Great Zik of Africa and challenges of leadership in Nigeria” at the 2nd Zik annual lecture series of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Awka, capital of Anambra State, stressed the fact that the 21st century Nigeria needed knowledgeable leadership at all levels to effectively drive development to realise the lofty dreams of the nation’s founding fathers.

    What is more, analysts say Ekweremadu never spoke about the whole of National Assembly members but concentrated on the South East representation at the National Assembly in his lecture.

    Ekweremadu’s frustration over poor representation by South East parliamentarians may have been borne out of the fact that he is the highest political office holder from the zone. Even at that, Ekweremadu was said to have spoken specifically about two states, specifically, Ebonyi State where a certain former senator was so overwhelmed by parliamentary processes that he failed to make any meaningful contribution for the four years he sat as a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    Ekweremadu rightly believed that if the quality of representation from the South East continued that way, the zone would continue to lose out in the scheme of things in the country. Of course, Ekweremadu must have appreciated the fact that representatives like Senators Uche Chukwumerije, Chris Anyanwu, Ayogu Eze, Enyinnaya Abaribe, Chris Ngige, Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejiocha and a few others who are considered first eleven are also from the South East.

    But is that enough, especially for a zone that has produced some of the best brains in the country, including the Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe himself and Dr. Chuba Okadigbo?

    Observers posited that if the quality of Zik and Okadigbo’s representation during their days as lawmakers is juxtaposed with the quality of most of the latter day representatives from the region, the frustration of Ekweremadu would be better understood.

    A point of reference, observers say was a certain Senator from Ebonyi State who repeatedly told his stunned colleagues during the thirdTerm Debate that he was “finished.”

    The frustration could have influenced attempts by the National Assembly to amend sections of the Constitution on the academic qualifications for the office of the President, Vice President, Governor, Deputy Governor, federal and state legislators from West African School Certificate to tertiary education. This has however been killed in the House of Representatives. The Senate passed the amendment.

    Special Adviser on Political Matters to the Deputy Senate President, Hon. Okey Ozoani described Gulak’s outburst in the interview as “another feat of thoughtless and disparaging statements directed at the National Assembly and its officers.”

    Gulak, in the said interview, claimed that the National Assembly should be blamed for poor budget implementation, accusing the institution of late passage of Appropriation Bill.

    But Ozoani said that it is not surprising that Gulak has found pleasure in courting trouble for the President by “his reckless statements on not just the National Assembly and its officers, but also on respected elder statesmen.”

    For him, while Ekweremadu would not want to join issues with Gulak, it is necessary for him (Gulak) to know the limit of his “importance-seeking, fawning, and trouble-courting fits.”

    Ozoani continued, “First, it is unfortunate that Gulak is quick to point out when the 2012 budget was passed without also stating when it was submitted to the National Assembly.

    “The 2012 Appropriation Bill was submitted in December 2011 and passed by the National Assembly in March 2012. Gulak’s claim that enough work goes into the Appropriation Bills before submission to the National Assembly does not in any way preclude the Parliament as co-managers of the economy from subjecting such budget estimates to legislative scrutiny and due process.

    “It is also gratifying that the President had taken into account the observations of the National Assembly on the need for early submission of budget estimates by submitting the 2013 Appropriation Bill earlier this time, in the month of October. While it is gratifying that the President has recently had cause to disown Gulak over his poor conducts and unguarded statements hauled at the National Assembly and its officers, for the umpteenth time, it s advisable for Mr. President to review the stewardship and real inner motives of Mr. Ahmed Gulak whom, either oblivious of his job schedule or lacking the competence to undertake it, is preoccupied with fomenting trouble for his Administration.”

    The last has not been heard on the crisis of confidence brewing between the two arms of government. But, it is the prayer of many Nigerians that the altercations would turn a blessing for the people as it could mean that the legislature would perform its constitutional role of oversight over executive bodies more effectively.

     

  • Call for more states gathers steam

    Call for more states gathers steam

    Agitators for more states are working round the clock to ensure that their demands receive favourable consideration by the National Assembly. Senate President David Mark is under pressure from the Idoma to deliver on Apa State. His deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, who presides over the Constitution amendment process, has been given a pan Igbo mandate to ensure the creation of an additional state for the Southeast. Assistant Editor DADA ALADELOKUN reports the intrigues attending the process.

    To those who have remained implacable in their agitation for the creation of Ijebu State out of the present Ogun State, Senate President David Mark made their day last weekend.

    It was at this year’s Ojude-Oba Festival that held at the ancient town of Ijebu-Ode. Ovation rose to high heavens when the Senate President told the mammoth crowd what they had apparently longed to hear, expressing support for agitation for the creation of Ijebu State, among others. He minced no word in assuring that the National Assembly would create additional states in due course.

    Noting that new states would address the issue of marginalisation that is currently torturing minds in many parts of the country today, Mark added: “Creation of additional states can only make government closer to the people, contrary to the view in certain quarters that we do not need additional states in the federation.”

    Mark’s assurance came in obvious response to the quest of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona who, in his welcome address, had beseeched the National Assembly to address the alleged injustice against his kinsmen by ensuring the creation of Ijebu State.

    To drive home his request, the monarch had argued: “We have been on this issue of creation of Ijebu State since 1975. The justification for it is abundantly clear. The most worrisome aspect of it was the total neglect of Ijebu community in the state creation exercises that have taken place.

    “It is lamentable that Ijebu, which in the colonial era was one of the 24 provinces that made up Nigeria, cannot today boast being counted as one of the 36 states that presently constitute the country.”

    It perhaps goes without saying that the prolonged outcry over demand for additional states is a splitting headache for the Joint Committee on Constitution Review (JCCR) with the membership of Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Usman Nafada, and 13 others.

    Not long ago, Ekweremadu disclosed that the committee had been importuned with demand for no fewer than 45 more states from across the country.

    The vexed issue of states creation has remained prominent in virtually every national political discourse since the so-called need to address some perceived imbalance in the nation came into people’s consciousness.

    Human rights activist and legal practitioner of note, Festus Okoye, again, raised the thought-provoking issue at a media dialogue on the constitution amendment process last Tuesday in Lagos.

    The growing requests for additional states in the country, coupled with the way the Senate Constitution Review Committee (SCRC) was going about as though it could single-handedly midwife new states with their votes, must have caused Okoye exasperating angst.

    He had therefore come forth with a poser: “Are there new issues in the constitutional amendment apart from those set out in Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution?” Just what are new constitutional amendment issues?”

    Section 8 sets out the procedures that must be followed by those seeking additional states in their areas.

    The lawyer wondered whether the Committee had problems with those procedures and wants an amendment of such. Perhaps that is why it appears intoxicated with the issue of creating additional states.

    Both the Ekweremadu-led SCRC and the counterpart committee in the House of Representatives headed by Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha once listed creation of additional states as one of the thematic issues. In fact, Ekweremadu it was, who once disclosed that out of the 231 memoranda that the Senate Committee had received, 56 bordered on creation of additional states.

    Premised on the provisions of Section 8 as regards the procedures to be followed in creating new states, many are of the opinion apostles of creation of new states are exercising their fundamental right of drawing attention to their heart desires in the belief that there would be enough national consensus to have it actualised.

    Indeed, Okoye is among them. He argued that to create additional states, there must be sufficient national consensus on the request, otherwise promoters of such ambition might be deemed to be shadow chasers.

    To Okoye and his like, a matter of state creation, according to Section 8 of the constitution, must proceed from the majority of the members representing the area demanding the new state in the Senate, House of Representatives, the House of Assembly and local councils in respect of the area. To them, it is after this that other states of the federation and the National Assembly will decide on the demand.

    Promoters of the new states are always quick to argue that only the military have created states in Nigeria’s history (with fiat, they created the present 36 states). To them, none has been added under any civilian dispensation.

    They are also quick to note that creating more states would, aside from ensuring a balance in the nation’s structure, complement councils’ efforts at bringing governance closer to the grassroots people.

    Sooner than later, proponents of the issue may have cause to smile. Not long ago, the Senate held a retreat at Asaba, Delta State; the issue enjoyed a pride of place in the lawmakers’ talk. So it was in Calabar, Cross River State capital, where a similar retreat was held by members of the House of Representatives.

    As reliably gathered, plans are afoot to create six additional states at last.

    As things stand, the composition of the zones is as follows: North East (Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe); North West (Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, Zamfara); North Central (Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau) & FCT not a state; South East (Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi); South West (Lagos, Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun), and South-South (Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa).

    Now, the plan is aimed at ensuring that all the zones have seven states each, just like the Northeast that already has seven. But will it go down well with some of the zones that boast superior numerical strength? That may remain another hard nut for the authorities to crack when their efforts finally crystalise.

     

     

  • Delta 2015: The factors at play

    Delta 2015: The factors at play

    Although 2015 is still about 30 months away, politicking is already underway across the country. In this report, Assistant Editor AUGUSTINE AVWODE examines the situation in Delta State.

     

    DELTA State Governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan is only 18 months into his current tenure, but would-be successors have started jostling for tickets of the various political parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The governor ends his mandatory two-term tenure on May, 29, 2015. It promises to be as intense as it would be interesting to watch.

    The elections of 2015 will be determined largely by many factors, primary among which is the ability of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) to keep and maintain its preeminent position in the state and more importantly, maintain a united front. The PDP has ruled the state from 1999 when the country returned to the path of democratic governance with near absolute monopoly.

    However, the party felt the heat of the presence of the opposition in the April 2011 general election. But even at that, the governor still triumphed and subsequent court cases instituted by Chief Great Ogboru of the Democratic Peoples Party ( DPP)’ the main opposition in the state have so far failed to change the situation. But the DPP made such a phenomenal showing, especially in most populous senatorial district, Delta Central, where it produced the only senator of the party throughout the country in the person of Senator Pius Ewherido.

    To that extent, it would be wise for the ruling party to reckon with the potential threat that the DPP poses to its fortunes in the state by ensuring that nothing is done to expose its flanks. Besides, the DPP has not given up its attempt to upturn the victory registered for Uduaghan by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

    Of particular importance in the 2015 contest will be power shift. The clamour is almost sending the roof out of the building for a governor of Anioma extraction to be elected in 2015 in the interest of equity, fairness and justice. The clamour among the Igbo speaking part of the state for the 2015 governorship ticket received a boost last week when traditional rulers and elders in Delta North Senatorial District threw their weight behind the quest.

    The royal fathers under the aegis of Anioma Congress at press conference in Asaba, the state capital, also said that the creation of Anioma State was not negotiable and would be pursued with the vigour and commitment that it deserved. The chairman of Secretariat of the congress and former Deputy Governor of Delta State, Sir Benjamin Elue, who addressed the conference, said the congress “will commence the sensitisation of our people with a mass rally” in Agbor.

    According to him, the programme will focus mainly on the “need for Anioma people to support the creation of Anioma State and in the event of not achieving that, to prepare to take over the governance of Delta State come 2015, through one of their own.”

    He highlighted the various dates and venues that the mobilisation train of Anioma Congress would berth in at the ethnic enclaves that make up Anioma nation, adding that the grand finale will be held on November 17, 2012 in Asaba.

    But will it be easy for Anioma to ensure that indeed, “ one of their own” emerges the governor after Uduaghan’s tenure?

    If the state were to still maintain its uni- party status of the James Ibori days, when there was no visible opposition, it would have been as easy as agreeing to disagree among family members on any issue of importance. It helped in no small way to influence the outcome of the 2007 contest. Today, that has changed and that is why opposition from other ethnic groups especially the Urhobo in the Delta Central senatorial district, will make the quest by Anioma to Government House a bit challenging.

    Anioma ‘s claim to the top job is justifiably hinged on fairness, equity and justice. The most the zone has come is the deputy governor. Both the Central and the South Senatorial District would have had eight years each by 2015 since 1999. The same cannot be said of Delta North.

    When it was announced last week by the national secretary of the PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, that the party wishes to stick to its zoning policy, it was applauded by a political pressure group called the Anioma Agenda. Mr. Alex Onwuadiamu, the interim chairman of the group that is committed to the realisation of the governorship dream of the Anioma people in the Northern Senatorial District described it as sweet music to the ears of all minority groups in the country. Onwuadiamu, former secretary-general of the Anioma Political Forum, said the Aniomas had for long been nursing the governorship ambition, but never succeeded and 21 years of Delta State never held that position before.

    He argues: “The governorship of Delta State has gone to central senatorial zone, it is now in the south senatorial zone and by that principle come 2015, and it will be the turn of Anioma people to produce the governor for Delta state that is all we are asking for”.

    Onwudiamu said no one political zone can win election in the State without the support of other groups, so the imperatives of working with other stakeholders cannot be discounted.

    He said: “How we will go about it is by consultation; we have said that we will consult with our brothers and sisters in the south and central, quite a lot of them are already working with us. We will mobilise our people, we will sensitise the entire populace on the need for equity and justice. Very soon there will be a lot of town hall meetings, seminars, symposia on this same issue. We are not just starting with a road show; we are consulting our people quietly and simultaneously. We are consulting various political stakeholders on the need for equity, unity and justice in our polity. It is not something we can do alone; Delta State is made up of three senatorial zones and if any zone, like we have seen in the last election, feels that it can do it alone, it will always meet with failure. That is why we will always seek for reasonable partnership from the south and central. That is how elections are won in Delta State. This one is not going to be an exception”.

    Notwithstanding, the Urhobo group has not hidden its desire to reclaim the governorship position since Chief James Ibori left office and has left no one in doubt in that regard. Many groups have suddenly sprung up in the last few months. They include groups like Urhobo Political Forum (UPF), led by Chief Ighoyota Amori ,Urhobo Political Congress (UPC) headed by Sir Tom Amioku and the Delta Central Political Movement (DCPM) with Olori Magege as Protem Chairman. Interestingly, these are chieftains of the PDP and that is where the keeping the bonds of unity within the party is seen by many analysts as a key factor if it wishes to retain the governorship.

    Though the Central zone poses the most formidable threat to the PDP, it is held in many quarters that if the ruling party can read the writing on the wall correctly, and throws its weight behind a formidable candidate from the Anioma axis, with the support of the South Senatorial district, it stands the chance of preventing protest vote from a section of the state that is particular in producing the governor to satisfy the yearning for a sense of belonging.

    As for the South Senatorial district there is the allegation that the Minister of Niger-Delta Affairs,Elder Godsday Orubebe may be nursing the ambition to be the next y not help the cause of the Aniomas.

     

    Unity as watchword

     

    Analysts are of the view that for the Anioma dream to come true, the first step would be to forge a united front. They argue that a situation where there is a is considerable large number of wealthy and influential aspirants within the PDP who may refuse to step down for one another, may lead to another round of bitterness and rancor within the Party, a situation the PDP can I’ll afford.

    Although none has declared his intentions publicly, some big wigs have been linked with the top job.

    These include current Speaker of Delta legislature Victor Ochei, member representing Aniocha North, Ndudi Elumelu, member representing Aniocha/ Oshimili Federal constituency, Senator Arthur Okowa representing Delta North in the NASS, ex-presidential aide and ex-federal legislator, Dr Cairo Ojougboh, and Chief Godson Obielum.

    Also the current Chief of Staff to Governor Uduaghan and ex-Information Commissioner, Dr Festus Okubor is also said to be nursing a gubernatorial ambition.

    Others from different political parties are multi millionaire businessman Okocha and Democratic People’s Party candidate in the 2010 senatorial election Mr. Ned Nwoko.

    Political observers say this may not augur well for the zone asthese individuals will seek to out done one another.

    Of more importance is the fact that the chairman of the major opposition party, the DPP, Chief Tony Ezeagwu is an Anioma son.

    He refused to be swayed by the zoning and rotation sentiments being held aloft by his brothers. He was quoted as delaring that his party will support any Deltan that emerges through a democratic process, stressing that DPP will not turn back any aspirant on the basis of ethnic consideration as the DPP does not recognise the principle of zoning within its ranks.

    His words, “Well, I am a man with a very broad mind. When you talk about Anioma people clamouring, I will not say what anybody is doing is wrong or right or I am supporting or not supporting. The issue is I am in DPP and the state chairman for that matter. You know that it has been clamoured long ago in PDP that Anioma man must be their candidate based on their zoning arrangement which I am not part of. As far I am concerned if an Anioma man comes to my party to take form, I will not deny him. And if an Urhobo man comes to take form, I will not deny him either because in my party there is no zoning arrangement for now, our party is open for all Deltans. What we believe in is not even who governs the state but who gives the people what they want, dividends of democracy. When you clamour Anioma, Anioma, Anioma, are you telling that Anioma people were not in Ibori’s government?

    Besides, the determination of Ogboru to pursue his petition at the Supreme Court may also be a major decider. Analysts say whether Ogboru wins or not, if he maintains a constant presence in the state and imbues the opposition with equal visibility, like it was in the campaign and election days, he may exert a lot of influence on the outcome of the 2015 election. A chieftain of the DPP, who pleaded for anonymity, however, said most of the party faithful are not happy with the “vanishing act” which Ogboru is said to always exhibit immediately after elections.

    “He did it the other time; this time he has also done it it. He needs to be round to give presence of mind to the boys and followers in the state. People like the party in the state but it seems as if there is no formidable leadership”’ the source explained.

    Many people have also read meanings into what happened last Monday in the ongoing legal battle over the last governorship election. In what seemed a predetermined decision, Ogboru’s counsel, Sebastian Hon (SAN) had shockingly withdrawn Ogboru’s case, asking the Supreme Court to reverse its earlier decision which struck out Ogboru’s appeal against the decision of the appellate court.

    A source in the state said the development would make the opposition more determined than ever. “The lawyer’s decision to withdraw the case came to many observers, especially Ogboru’s team of lawyers and supporters, as a rude shock given the lawyer’s upbeat mood and re-assurance just before the court hearing.

    Ogboru’s camp was dazed by this unhelpful decision as they had no intention to withdraw the case. There were also no orders to the lawyer to withdraw it. Hence their shock and anger over what appear to be an unprecedented complicity with the enemy more so when they (the Ogboru camp) were sure of winning the case. To many legal experts, the only way Ogboru could lose the case was if the case was not heard at all.

    Whatever the case is, the race to Government House Asaba has started and it will take more than just being the majority ethnic group or the appeal to the sentiment of zoning and rotation to win the race. The party that would win the race will the the cohesive one, the one that is able to balance the delicate political equation in the state that often than not exhibit the volatility of quicksilver and ethnic irredentism.

     

     

     

     

  • ‘National Assembly can’t create states now’

    ‘National Assembly can’t create states now’

    One of the most cerebral Senators recently told Senate correspondents reasons why he is opposed to the creation of new states.

    How would you address the perception of those who want more states on the basis that it brings government closer to the people?

    Where is the evidence? Tell me out of the 36 states of Nigeria if you conduct a referendum now about the impact of government in their current states versus where they were coming from let us know whether there will be a positive affirmation. This is a country where we don’t do enough research. In most regions of the world the public sector, government is the largest consumer of research. This is the kind of question that the Federal Government should seek answer to through research. What do we have a National Bureau of Statistics for? Go and conduct a public poll and present facts and figures before the Presidency, before the Federal Executive Council, before the Economic Council, before the National Security Council and speak on the basis of evidence devoid of any political colouration. We are not doing enough research.

    You moved a landmark motion on the looming danger of bankruptcy in states and the need for fiscal evaluation. What informed your decision to move the motion? The basic consideration for the motion is largely driven by the reality that Nigerians live in states and in local governments and states and local governments are the areas where demands are being made on government for service delivery. Be it infrastructure, be it health services, education, rural roads, they are where people feel the impact of government. Those decisions are taken at the community level. I looked at resource distribution in Nigeria and I realized that the bulk of the resources of the country need to move closer to the people. I wanted to point the attention of Nigerians to the reality that the commonwealth of Nigeria is not servicing majority of Nigerians. That is the essence of the motion.

    The Senate unanimously adopted the motion as moved, but some of the states that were classified as near bankrupt claimed they are not bankrupt. How did you take the reactions of some states to your Bill?

    For me, I don’t engage in opinion peddling. Everything I’m saying is evidence based. So if anybody is saying that that is not the true position his or her state let them produce the evidence. The information that I used came from Governors Forum. It is not my data and I would imagine that no other forum is a better advocate of interest of states more than the forum that was voluntarily established by the governors to advocate for them. The forum conducted this research I only picked a publication of the research and subjected it to levels of analysis and exposed it to the public for Nigerians to know what is going on. So this is not an opinion of Senator Adetunmbi. It is the evidence provided by no less a forum than the Governors Forum to say that they are in distress and that their resources are not coping with their responsibilities, which is largely eroded by their ballooning wage bill and a growing cost of maintenance, the cost of governance at the expense of capital projects and service delivery to millions of Nigerians that reside in the states. You all know that most states, in addressing this resource gap resorted to heavy domestic borrowing and commercial credit. There is hardly any Nigerian state that does not owe banks as we speak. They are also exposed in the capital market where they raised bonds to do things that appropriations coming from the Federation Account and from their internally generated revenue cannot handle. Basically, resources from internally generated revenue and the Federation Account largely for most states are used for wage bills and overhead. For most of their capital projects they borrow either commercial lines of credit or bonds and I stand to be corrected.

    The motion threw up national debate, would you say that it achieved its purpose?

    We cannot continue to balkanize in the name of bringing governance to certain people. Evidence has shown that the three regions were better managed. The four regions were more prosperous. The more states we have, the less the state is able to deliver services. I attended a public school far away in Ifako-Ekiti where I spent the first 17 years of my life in Ekiti State. The first 17 years of my life I spent in the village, St. Michael’s Anglican Primary School. All my siblings, six of us, went through that school. That school is a shadow of itself to day. What we are saying is that the creation of states has tended to stretch the resources that are meant for development to cater for bureaucracy and to pay the wage bill of the civil service whose productivity is on the decline. That is the situation of the country today. In that type of scenario, tell me, does creating more states make sense? If 36 states are groaning under the burden of depletion of funds from the federation, would it be better if we had more than 36 states from the same commonwealth? You set up new Government Houses, new legislatures, new local governments, then you have more Senators, more House of Representatives members coming from areas that were under existing jurisdictions and they are enjoying that same level of representation. People may have legitimate reasons to call for creation of more states, but definitely majority of these requests are frivolous and they are reckless and therefore not in the best interest of Nigeria.

     

  • ACN has provided genuine opposition, says Senator

    ACN has provided genuine opposition, says Senator

    Senator Domingo Obende of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has described the contribution of the opposition to national issues and development of the country at the National Assembly as vibrant.

    The Senator representing Edo North senatorial district on the platform of the ACN, who spoke to The Nation at the weekend, remarked that without meaningful opposition to put government on its toes the affairs of the countries would be tackled with ignominy and such countries would s uffer for it.

    He said: “National Assembly performance by ACN is fantastic; we have intelligent members there and our contribution has been impartial. If you check the contribution of all the members of the National Assembly, you will not see anybody going on party lines, we are one on national issues.”

    The senator noted that genuine opposition was expected to bring development and that in other advanced countries, opposition are even rewarded for their courage because it had led to stability and development.

    In his words: “I think genuine opposition is not just about opposing what is right or wrong. It is about opposing what is wrong and when you oppose it, you must proffer solution and it is your convincing projection that will bring about the understanding of the main ruling body”

    The senator who was on his way to Canada to attend the Inter-parliamentary Union explained that if the opposition was against a wrong decision, it must be prepared to give an option.

    “If the opposition is saying that this decision is not right, they are giving us an option of reasons so let come together and have a common ground. That is why a couple of things have been changing and of course in this seventh assembly. Everybody knows that the National Assembly is full with credible people who are prepared to take Nigeria to the next level.”

    On what to expect from the Inter-parliamentary Union, the senator remarked that it has to do with the regions. This according to him was the European Parliament which major interest was to galvanize legislative activities that would make impact on the affairs of Europe and other regions like the Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS).

    “The ECOWAS Parliament sends representatives and I am one of the people they have sent. There is supposed to be a new executive and this will include what they will do on the region. And of course everybody ought to go and study them and it is way of improving parliamentary activities.”

    “The parliament is expected be very energising and crossbreeding of ideas, this will make us to improve in our legislative function. It is about legislation, what is practicable internationally should be practised in Nigeria, in West Africa and it’s about improvement in legislative function and good governance.”

    Obende who gave kudos to the ACN legislators, explained that true federalism was the way out of the mirage of the problems confronting the country and solicited for more emphasis on this when the constitution was being reviewed.

    “True federalism is the real issue, in a federating state which says that whatever we do should be on equal terms must be reflected in the case of Nigeria. And if you check for instance when you go to the House of Representatives you see that some zone having the membership twice the number of some zones. I do not see any need for that, I believe that if you want us to distribute the liability and wealth of the country it should be evenly shared.”

    He stated that the issue of the Niger Delta could still be looked into because so much money is being made from the area to develop other parts of the country. “How well have we improved the lives of the people of the Niger Delta area? They cannot farm, they cannot fish, yet their roads are not good. Just imagine what is happening now in the flooding arena that we found ourselves, go to Niger Delta it is a terrible situation and there is nothing positively the government is doing about it.”

  • ‘Ondo election is setback to regional integration’

    ‘Ondo election is setback to regional integration’

    Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chieftain, Mr. Kayode Tinubu, has lamented the outcome of the governorship election in Ondo State, saying that it may be a setback to the much-sought integration of the region.

    He urged progressives in the region to intensify their campaigns for regional economic integration so that the Sunshine State can still participate, despite the political differences.

    Tinubu recalled that administrations of the Southwest across the five states have encountered difficulties in convincing the Ondo State government about the need for collaboration and cooperation in the interest of regional development. He said that kind of collaborative efforts had become more compelling at this critical time in the life of the country.

    Tinubu told reporters in Ikeja, Lagos State capital, that the long term interest of the people of the Southwest, including Ondo State, is more important than the transient partisan interest of any politician.

    He said the integration initiative is a continuation of the struggle for regional autonomy and true federalism in Nigeria, stressing that the Southwest had decided to put its destiny in its hands.

    He said:” The need to have solid road networks cut across the Southwest; the need to have a regional rail network, the desire to leverage on each state’s comparative advantage, the desire for a broader market to boost our regional economy are all in the interest of this and future generations.

    “That is why we feel that the outcome of the poll in Ondo State may be a setback to regional integration. Ondo people can never reject regional integration. It is now important that stakeholders in the state should insist on the idea so that the government can develop the political will like its counterparts in the region. The advantages cannot be ignored.

  • Kogi Assembly … the sore festers

    Kogi Assembly … the sore festers

    The controversial suspension of the Kogi State House of Assembly by a House of Representatives’ ad-hoc committee has continued to generate ripples. The lower chamber of the National Parliament had set up the committee to investigate the leadership rocking the state Assembly and report back. The committee followed the purported “sack” of the Speaker of the House, Hon Abdullahi Bello and other principal officers of the House by 12 out of the 25-member House.

    Legal experts, legislators and former lawmakers who spoke with The Nation argue that the group of 12 members acted contrary to Section 92 (2) (C) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which states that “The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly shall vacate his office if he is removed from office by a resolution of the House of Assembly by the votes of not less than two-third majority of all the members of the House.”

    Bello on his part contends that two-third means 17 out of the 25 member House but only 12 members sat with a “Taiwan Mace” in a primary school and claimed to have illegally removed the leadership of the House. Besides, he said, the House was yet to resume from its oversight recess by the time the group illegally convened the House.

    Legal experts and Nigerians across all divide have continued to condemn the use of strong arm and undemocratic tactics to scuttle the smooth functioning of a democratic institution in the state. The Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada has been identified as the man who wrote the script which was acted by the 12 “dissident” members. The governor has vehemently denied it.

    Apart from the man said to have been responsible, Nigerians who have denounced the action as reprehensible and a drawback to the dark days of military jackboot dictatorship in the country, the House of Representatives and the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria (CSSLN) swiftly constituted committees to unravel the situation and advise it on how to ensure that the House, now divided against itself, stands again.

    A non-governmental organisation, the Anti-Corruption Network, leading “Kogi Sons and Daughters in Abuja,” staged a peaceful protest at the headqurters of the Ministry of Justice, calling on the Federal Government to speak before the milk of rule of law is spilled irretrievably in Kogi.

    Leader of the group, Hon. Dino Melaye, said it would amount to complicity on the part of the Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, who is from Kogi State to remain silent while “Rome is burning.”

    As if the group of 12 was out to demonstrate that it was not in hurry to sheathe their swords and allow peace reign in the state, they sent only three of its members to the fact finding meeting called by the House of Representatives committee in Lokoja. The group of 12 could not also present before the committee, the resolution of the House showing they constituted two-third at the sitting where the leadership was removed. The group of 13 loyal to the purportedly removed leadership was said to have been present. Apparently enraged by the intransigence of the 12 , the committee ordered the suspension of all legislative activities in the House of Assembly pending its report.

     

    Politicians decry action

     

    This action has drawn criticisms from Nigerians who view it as unconstitutional even as the Group of 12 have vowed never to abide by the “peace initiative of the committee”. They sat a day after the order was handed down and claimed to have conducted legislative businesses.

    A former Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, described the action of the committee as illegal.

    Mamora said that any matter that violates Section 92 of the Constitution which stipulates that the impeachment of the Speaker of a House of Assembly must be carried out by two-thirds majority of members could only be reversed by a court of competent jurisdiction.

    He insisted that since no state of emergency has been declared in the state, “care must be taken not to give the impression of meddlesomeness.”

    “My understanding,” Mamora continued, “is that it is within the context of declaration of a state of emergency in a state that the National Assembly can legislate for a House of Assembly as it was in the case in Plateau and Ekiti states. What exists in Kogi Assembly is just a skirmish, as it was in the case of Ogun State…The National Assembly did not suspend the House activities.”

    Besides Mamora, analysts have accused the committee of overshooting its runway for not reporting back to the House before unilaterally suspending the Kogi House sittings. Although, they acknowledge the legality of the House’s intervention, they query the power of the Committee to take such a drastic action without an express resolution of the House.

    The critics are further buoyed by provisions of Section 62 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution which stipulates that “The Senate or the House of Representatives may appoint a committee of its members for such special or general purpose as on its opinion would be better regulated and managed by means of such a committee and may by resolution, regulation or otherwise as it deems fit, delegate any functions exercisable by it to any such committee.

    “Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing such House to delegate to a committee the power to decide whether a Bill shall be passed into law or to determine any matter which it is empowered to determine by resolution under the provisions of this Constitution, but the committee may be authorized to make recommendations to the House on any such matter.”

    Many also see the Reps’ intervention in the matter as too hasty and uncalled for. They argue that due process demands that the Bello group approach the court for interpretation of the action of the 12 and whatever the judiciary decides would then be deemed final. According to them, the National Assembly can directly intervene in the affairs of any state legislature only when there is a state of emergency.

    They further argue that Section 11 (4) of the Constitution expressly provides that “at any time when any State House of Assembly of a State is unable to perform its functions by reason of the situation prevailing in the State, the National Assembly may make such laws for the peace, order and good government of that state …as may appear to be necessary or expedient until such a time as the House of Assembly is able to resume its functions…”

     

    Our case, by Reps

     

    The Vice Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Constituency and Outreach Development, Hon Pally Iriase, said the suspension was a first step towards restoring legislative balance to the state. He added that it was in order to prevent confusion and breakdown of law and order. He said it was unwholesome for the two factions to continue to sit in parallel arrangement and carrying out legislative business.

    The lawmaker who represents Owan Federal Constituency in Edo State said the House was not being “meddlesome”, but acted to prevent a repeat of unpalatable history.

    Iriase said: “The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives can intervene and indeed take over the legislative functions of any State Assembly where things are not going well.

    “So, we are not just being meddlesome; we are doing what the constitution enjoins us to do.When the House sets up a committee, that committee is imbued with authority from the House to take action that are not final in nature but hat would ensure that the status quo is maintained in such a way that the issue in contention are not .

    “What that committee has done is very right in the sense that if you allow confusion arising from contending forces deciding to take laws into their hands, the situation could degenerate. So, they said, let us maintain a level headed situation whereby we will be able to report back to the House.

    “So what the House now decides, based on their findings, will be put together in a final resolution of the House and that resolution will be the final decision of the House. What has been done temporarily is to ensure that the situation does not degenerate.”

    On whether it was not too hasty or why the House had to set up the Committee seeing that there is no state of emergency in Kogi State, he said: “We have to be very careful. Let’s not forget history. It is from the corner of a nation that problems that could consume the nation starts. Kogi may be one of the 36 states, but whatever happens in Kogi, if not properly handled, could affect the entire nation.

    “When Nigeria had four regions, this country was looking at the problem of the Western region as confined to Western region. But you know that from history things that happened later took root from what happened in one region.

    “In the same way we must never overlook any threat to democracy in any part of Nigeria. If you hear that the Constitution is being flouted in any part of Nigeria and you say “it is their business, it is not the business of the other part of the nation’ then you cannot blame anybody if the thing engulfs the nation later.

    “Now, you hear that there are 25 members in Kogi State. There are discordant notes. Some say only 12 took part in an exercise that require two-third. Some say it is not so ‘we had the required number.”

    “What were you to do? Just to fold your hands and say it is all a Kogi problem? A state of emergency is a final outcome of a degenerated process.

    “If you allow the situation to degenerate, then you are calling for state of emergency. Nobody wants to get to the stage of a state of emergency before nipping it in the bud. We are saying that look, who among the two groups should be given the room to stay?

    “Or you want a situation that happened in a particular state in the past where eight members out of 20 or thereabout were sitting in the chambers and while those in the majority were sitting under the tree? Come on, we have come a long way. We need not go back to such bad ways.

    “This 7th National Assembly, if you follow our legislative agenda, everything we said we will be doing is what we are doing right now. We want Nigeria to continue to enjoy democracy. We want Nigeria to be peaceful. We want things to be done in an orderly manner but if we think that what they did is right so be it. How long will it take?

    “In any case, today we are on vacation nationally for the Sallah. You may just find out that by the time we resume they would have been ready with the report and nobody will get hurt as a result of what is happening. Rather it will be a win-win situation.”On his part a two time member of the House of Representatives and Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang said the House of Representatives was right to have intervened in the sense that the National Assembly is like the trustee to all legislatures in Nigeria . He added that when they intervene, it is expected that the parties should listen o them.

    “I agree that in matters of their leadership and so on, it is the business of the particular legislature but then the procedure you go on and the precedent you set is a matter of concern for the national legislature.

    “So, whenever you have the type of situation that is happening in Kogi State House of Assembly, what the national parliament should do, like the House of Representatives has done, is to intervene, bring them together, persuade and dissuade the other group.

    “But sometimes this is difficult when there is an intervention by the state chief executive because in that case it would seem that some faction may be working for the Governor while the others are working for another group.”

    On whether the committee has powers to suspend the House’s sitting without recourse to the House which set up the committee, he said: “Well, I think everything is still persuasive and whatever can be done to bring to fruition the kind of peace and amity and returning the Assembly to a one big happy family should be done.”

  • ‘Zoning is sweet music to us’

    ‘Zoning is sweet music to us’

    Last week’s declaration by the National Secretary of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola that the party is committed to its zoning formula in distributing elective positions ahead of the 2015 general election has been described as “sweet music to the ear”.

    A chieftain of the party in Delta State and protem chairman of a political pressure group, Anioma Agenda , Chief Alex Onwuadiamu, told The Nation yesterday that it is also the only hope for minority groups across the country.

    The group has been campaigning for the zoning of the governorship slot of the state to the Anioma speaking people of Delta North senatorial district. According to him, “It is a welcome development because it shows that the PDP leadership is listening to the clamour and yearning of all minority groups across the country. It is sweet music to our ears. We believe that Nigerian democracy is still at infancy; if we continue without zoning and rotation of offices, great injustice would be done to a lot of people across the country and we cannot continue like that”, he said.

    He argued that it only fair and just for the people of the zone to be allowed to produce the governor of the state after two decades of creation.

    “We are urging our brothers and sisters in the South and Central senatorial zones for support and understanding of the quest by the Anioma ethnic nationality for the governorship of Delta State come 2015. The Anioma people are clamouring for the governorship of Delta State principally because there is the need for equity, fairness and justice in any given polity, particularly ours. Delta State is constituted by there senatorial districts and the Anioma people of Delta North are the only senatorial zone that has never occupied the office of Governor since the creation of Delta State”.

    His enthusiasm was not, however, shared by all as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for a correction of the “injustice” done to many loyalists of the party when it jettisoned the principle of zoning in the run up to the 2011 general election.

    In a reaction to questions by The Nation yesterday, Atiku’s media aide Mallam Shehu Garba insisted that the implementation of the principle has been observed more in breach by the party. He therefore called for making serious amends by the leadership of the party by first and foremost publicly admitting that an error had been made.

    According to Atiku, “It is a fact that the issue of zoning is still enshrined in the PDP constitution as amended. However, recall that in the run up to the 2011 election, the principle of zoning as enshrined in the party was implemented in breach.

    “If the current leadership wants to right the wrongs of the past, it has to match its intent with action. It can not be that zoning is right for some people and it is abandoned when it comes to others.

    “You cannot eat your cake and have it. If the leadership is serious about making amends for the injustice of the past, it has to first admit that a wrong had been done and then take appropriate steps to do the right thing. There cannot be atonement without confession. The admission of error is the first step to rectification”.

    The now contentious Section 7 (2) (c) of the PDP Constitution states in part that, “in pursuant of the principles of equity, justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices and it shall be enforced by the appropriate executive committee at all levels” .

    Oyinlola had told newsmen in that it would be politically dangerous to abandon zoning because it is our binding force.

    “What has endeared PDP to the people from all over the country has been the zoning arrangement which has given the hope that those in the minority in the country would have access to power.

    “There is an adage in my language that says when a medicine is working for you, you don’t throw it away. So we will continue with zoning arrangement because it is working very well”, he said.

  • Who is after Ifeanyi Ubah?

    Who is after Ifeanyi Ubah?

    It is no longer news that young businessman, Ifeanyi Ubah, the CEO of Capital Oil and Gas, recently had brushes with the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police, resulting into his being arraigned in court over financial-related offences.

    The latest gist is that Ubah’s ordeal may not be unconnected to his alleged ambition to contest for the Anambra State governorship seat in 2015. The wealthy businessman’s predicament has been allegedly linked to political detractors within the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), on which platform Ubah allegedly intends to contest, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State.

  • Lessons from Ondo poll (1)

    Lessons from Ondo poll (1)

    THE build-up to the October 20 governorship poll in Ondo State held frightening prospects. There were fears that the world could collapse on account of the desperate moves by the participating parties and candidates. As is usual with elections in this clime, it was a zero sum game. The winner would be bequeathed all, and the loser would be left with absolutely nothing.

    In a society where politicians have no other jobs, all legislators, members of the state executive councils, appointed members of the local government councils, members of commissions and boards of parastatals and boards of corporations in Akure and Abuja were even more determined to strengthen their hands by delivering huge votes from their constituencies than the candidates.

    The forces at play were many. The national body of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not see so much at stake. The leaders, including the national secretary, former Osun State governor Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and the zonal leadership, were only interested in stopping the Action Congress of Nigeria from completing the circle in the South West. They could not be bothered whether Labour Party’s candidate, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, was returned or the PDP flagbearer, Olusola Oke, was victorious.

    It was therefore no surprise when the party’s spokesman Olisa Metuh did not stop at congratulating Mimiko on his reelection but went ahead to make scathing remarks about the ACN. And, for the LP that managed to win in only one state, its relevance depended on the outcome of the election. The ACN, too, wanted a total control of the Southwest to allow for seamless integration.

    The state branch of the PDP, and its candidate, have rejected the results released by the election management body. The result showed that Labour Party was in the first position with a little more than 260,000 votes to PDP’s 155,000 and ACN’s 143,000. The state branch of the PDP has given indication that it could approach the election petition tribunal to upturn the result.

    The ACN candidate, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, too, in reviewing the returns, has dismissed it as concocted and contrived. Metuh’s opposite number in the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, aligned himself with the submission of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, arguing that the poll was marred with irregularities, malpractices and widespread violence. The Electoral Act leaves room for petition by aggrieved candidates and parties in an election and these are grounds to challenge the electoral commission and the victorious party.

    IT is the right of the party declared winner to celebrate; it is also the prerogative of the losers to pooh-pooh the results and call the judiciary to duty. After all, Ondo State has a rich history of successfully challenging results declared by the electoral body. So it was in 1983 and 2007. Mimiko was a beneficiary of the process. It is not surprising that the celebration this time has been measured and tame.

    It is beyond the scope of this article to comment on the contentions. What can be said here is that until the tribunal and perhaps the Appeal Court adjudicate the matter, Mimiko who has been handed the Certificate of Returns is the victor. The fact that there has been no spontaneous demonstrations as was the case when the Ajasin victory was handed Omoboriowo in 1983 is an indication that the people are satisfied or could not be bothered. That they are indifferent. So, what happened to the challenges by the PDP and ACN? How did the PDP upstage the ACN, contrary to the pre-election billing to clinch the second position? What did the LP do to ostensibly retain the confidence of the electorate?

    To draw the necessary lessons, it is important to analyse the result. A number of analysts have drawn their own conclusions from the result. Some, looking at the figures, say Mimiko had a landslide victory. Others, still based on the same result, say he has some explaining to do on how he lost the goodwill of a people who freely contributed to the struggle to install him in power in 2009.

    It is my view that the opposition parties, going by precedence, tradition and the law have no point in calling to question the quality of Mimiko’s votes. He did not just poll more than 100,000 votes more than his closest rival; he also won outright in 13 of the 18 local councils. He got the mandatory 25 per cent in all the local government areas and could therefore be said to have shown class as a politician.

    But, other analysts could point out that MImiko should not just go home to gloat over the feat. In the first place, combined, his two main rivals, outpolled him. It is thus, in a sense, correct to say that he benefitted from a loophole in our electoral law. In many other countries, a candidate who fails to win at least a simple majority of the polls cast, must head for a second ballot. But, the point is that Mimiko is not the only beneficiary of this lacuna. In Nasarawa, in the last election, the CPC candidate emerged governor with less than 10,000 votes more than the PDP candidate. In reviewing the constitution, there is a need to ensure that only a candidate with a clear mandate of the people is sworn into elective offices.

    The LP should realise that the people of Ondo State have said through the election that he is the preferred candidate, but his performance has not endeared him enough to a clear majority. For a candidate who has been in office for about four years and has been handed about N150 billion yearly to transform the state, the verdict is that he was expected to have done better.