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Tag: 2019 ELECTIONS

  • 2019 elections: Buratai warns soldiers against partisan politics

    •Court martial to prosecute disobedient officers

    CHIEF of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has warned officers and men of the Army to steer clear from the 2019 general elections, warning that anyone who compromises his calling will face the full wrath of the law.

    Buratai gave the warning yesterday during the COAS First Quarter Conference at the Army Command Officers Mess, Abuja.

    He announced that a Special Standing Court Martial that would prosecute officers and men dabbling into politics, compromising military ethics or playing a role in the forthcoming general elections would be set up.

    The COAS decried criticisms that have trailed some of the interventions and operations of the Army in some parts of the country, asserting that officers and men of the army are mandated to stay away from meddling in the 2019 general elections.

    Buratai said: “The NA must remain apolitical and professionally responsive in the discharge of its constitutional duties. GOCs and Field Commanders at all levels are, therefore, warned that anyone that runs afoul of his professional ethics will be appropriately dealt with.

    “You are all enjoined to continue to remind officers and soldiers under your command to remain non-partisan and be guided by the stipulated code of conduct and rules of engagement in the discharge of their duties, particularly in the coming 2019 general elections.

    “I have directed for a Special Standing Court Martial to be set up in preparation for the coming 2019 elections. I must warn that any NA personnel found hobnobbing with politicians or being partisan will be investigated and sent to the Special Standing Court Martial.

    “I must state that any officer or soldier who wishes to be sympathetic to a political, religious or ethnic group should voluntarily retire from the NA.

    “Further, all are reminded on the ban on any form of worship outside the barracks, except those permitted for wedding and other social events.”

    According to him “officers and soldiers must restrain themselves from any act of political, religious or ethnic patronisation as these would attract severe consequences. The fate of the 38 officers who were retired is still fresh in our memories.”

    “In this regard, issues of murder, arson and other serious crimes perpetrated by ethnic and local militias, criminals and miscreants must be dealt with decisively.  Commanders would be held responsible for any lapses arising from their actions or inactions,” the COAS stated.

    He said the army high command is aware of the constraints affecting some of the operations, stating that plans were underway to improve on the situation, particularly on procurement issues relating to the 2018 budget releases.

    Buratai said to cut cost, the Army would continue to patronise Nigerian-made hardware such as Innoson Motors, Proforce Nigeria and Nigerian Machine Tools among others.

    He also spoke on the partnership with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government on leadership to be held at Harvard University, Boston, United States.

    Chief of Policy and Plans (COPP) Major-General R.O. Yusuf noted that the “Nigerian Army has continued to receive encomiums from several quarters on its performance in Operations Lafiya Dole, Sharan Daji and MESA”.

     

  • 2019 Elections: Nigerian women campaign for Female President

    As the 2019 elections edges closer, prominent Nigerian women across various sectors of the economy are brimming with confidence and enthusiasm as they long for the emergence of the nation’s first female president.

    This hope was re-echoed by several notable guests on Thursday, last week at the MMS Hall of Famers’ Day and Charity Night organized by MMS Woman of Fortune Hall of Fame (WoFHoF) Initiative to mark the 2018 United Nation’s International Women’s Day (IWD).

    Drawing inspiration from other African leaders like; Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma also known as ‘Mama Zuma’, first female chairman of the African Union (AU) who initiated WIMA (African Women in Maritime), and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former President of Liberia, most women at the MMS WoFHoF event said that a Nigerian woman can rise up to emerge President.

    Speaking with The Nation newspaper on the opportunities for women in 2019 general elections, Barr. Jean-Chiazor Anishere, Principal Counsel, Jean Chiazor & Co. (Ofianyi Chambers) said she expected more women who have the pedigree and capability to come out for the position of President and governorship candidacy.

    “I look forward to see a scenario where we have a female governor and a man as deputy. Nigerian women should also be bold enough to contest for the Presidency. We have people to look up to, like the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel; the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May and in the African continent; women like Ellen Sirleaf, former President of Liberia and Mama Zuma who boldly came out to run for the Presidency in South Africa” Anishere said.

    Anishere, a 2012 MMS Plus Hall of Famer, also commended the organizers of the event for taking the initiative to promote and celebrate the female brand, even as she noted that the onus lies on the women who have been identified as leaders to discover other women, inspire and mentor them.

    Meanwhile, the Board of Trustees, Chairperson, MMS WoFHoF Initiative, Barr. (Mrs.) Margaret Orakwusi said Nigerian women should go into the next elections with a mindset to take-over because their numerical advantage.

    “Women should aspire to play a more significant role and show their capabilities. It is not going to be an election where everything would be about money. Several other factors would play crucial roles in the elections and most of these factors favour women”

    Orakwusi, who was recently appointed as a member of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) Board of Directors, commended men who stood up to support women. According to her, the call for women to take up opportunities at various levels of corporate governance and public service was to complement the men and not unsolicited competition.

    “Women aren’t substandard. We aren’t second-class citizens. I don’t like being handed things to; a woman has to work because I believe she should deserve whatever is given to her. This makes you gain acceptability and respect from men”, she added.

    Another MMS WoFHoF, BoT member, Mrs. Promise Anaroke expressed confidence that 2019 general elections would roll out surprises for men because women have realized that they have been dormant for too long especially as they turn out more than men to vote.

    She said; “During elections you find that most men stay at home to relax with friends while the women actually go out to vote and remain there until their votes are counted. Yet, they vote for men who end up disappointing them. This time around women have decided that they would no longer be disappointed. We wouldn’t disappoint ourselves because we would turn out en masse to vote for women irrespective of the party you come from”

    Mrs. Promise Anaroke who is also the wife of the Founder of MMS WoFHoF Initiative, Mr. Kingsley Anaroke, was delighted at the turn out of women to support themselves at the event.

    However, expressing worry over the recurring incidents of kidnapped school girls in the North Eastern part of the country by Boko Haram insurgents, she said it was unfortunate that men should display their strength on defenseless girls.

    “As far I’m concerned, this act that the abductors see as their strength is actually a weakness because they shouldn’t display their strength by attacking helpless girls” she stated.

    On her part, Mrs. Ihuoma Onyearugha, a member of the Governing Council of MMS WoFHoF Initiative, admonished Nigerian women to take the acquisition of voter’s cards sacrosanct if they intend to maximize their numerical power at the polls.

    “Women all over the world are doing big things and I see the same happening in Nigeria. I see a woman becoming the President and the men better watch out” she said.

    Ihuoma, who is the Director, Human Resources and Medical – ‎Chevron Nigeria Limited, subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, urged women to not only vote women because of their gender but look out for those who actually have the ability and resolve to work for the nation.

    The event with the theme; “#Pressforprogress” also featured a fund raising segment for the less privileged who need about N10million. Although most of the participants supported this initiative generously, the amount raised fell short of the target and more sponsors are expected to participate.

    The convener, Mr. Kingsley Anaroke also admonished women to be keen on mentoring the younger generation as he lamented that the top women across various sectors of the nation’s economy are ageing and they barely have mentees.

    Mr. Anaroke stressed that this knowledge and experience gap was what gave birth to the MMS WoFHoF mentorship initiative “Women In Leadership and Career Empowerment Programme (WILCEP)” which subsequently led to the production of a book; “MENTORSHIP: The Link to Effective Leadership”. The book is a collection of the presentations of talented women who have stories to tell, with a guide to effective leadership across various sectors.

  • 2019 elections: Nigerians urged to exercise franchise

    Director of Kresta Laurel Ltd, Maryland, Lagos, Mr. Dideolu Falobi, has urged Nigerians to register and vote in next year’s general election.

    Falobi, an engineer, who spoke at the weekend, at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, as a guest speaker at the 1st Annual General Meeting (AGM) and 2nd   Alumni Lecture of the Faculty of Engineering Alumni Association; said he has started a campaign to ensure people register and vote.

    He said: “Nigerians have apathy to party membership, registration for election and voting on election day. We cannot continue to complain when we have the opportunity to act. Most of our youths do not register. Even when they do, they don’t vote on election day.

    “Social media criticism is useless without an affirmative action. I appeal to all of us to mobilise others to register and vote. Our vote is our voice and power.”

    Falobi, who spoke on the topic:  ‘Alumni Association: A Veritable Tool for Networking and Promotion of Professionalism’, said the association should understand and provide for the needs of members and the faculty.

    He added: “Networking facilitates and enhances our success. As alumni, we need relationship and connection to become successful engineers. As professionals, high level of excellence and efficiency are expected of us. A professional association like ours mentors and counsels members to excel in their careers. It provides opportunity for leadership training. I hope our association will become a reference point to others.”

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, enjoined the alumni to make the university unique because it belonged to them.

    He said: “Engineering now is about turning ideas into realities. Making graduates entrepreneurs should be our priority. University of Lagos should have a refinery where our petroleum and chemical engineering students will do practical. I know ex-Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Group Managing Director Funsho Kupolokun, an alumnus, will assist us.”

    The Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the association, Dr. Oye Eribake, said the faculty, since its inception in 1964, had delivered on its mandate by producing graduates, who were making giant strides in their careers.

    The Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Funso Falade, hailed the association for supporting the faculty and contributing to its development.

    The highlight of the event was the presentation of the first edition of the association’s newsletter, inauguration of the faculty’s Industrial Advisory Board and election of executives.

     

  • 2019: Youth group target two million votes for Ambode

    As the 2019 elections beckon, a youth group, The Asiwaju Redrive Youth Initiative (TARYI) has set a target to get two million votes for Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, who looks set to throw in his hat for a second term.

    Coordinator of the group, Mr. Bukayo Adesanya who spoke during the launch of the group in Lagos Thursday said the drive behind the initiative was to create a citizen-uplift mechanism that would bring awareness to social growth in areas where society has slipped into oblivescence.

    He said TARYI studied the life and activities of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and arrived at an operational theme of ‘Effusive Youthful Commitment, Society’s Better Placement’

    As a germane project, Adesanya said his group has identified the imbalance between the number of registered voters and the number of people that actually vote at elections.

    Their research revealed various elements feeding this disparity, and they have embarked on therapeutic measures that would put the electoral process in good stead, beneficial to all.

    Beyond the election, another project top on the agenda for TARYI is the grassroot scouring of talents, identifying their deficiencies and arming them with means of overcoming these deficiencies, thereby yielding a blossoming of their talents.

    These, Adesanya said are amidst myriads of proposed activities, that the group intends to pursue going forward.

    “Life has those who wait for it, and those who go and take it. In recent times and across different climes, there is a growing tendency of the younger generations filling leadership positions, either waited for or purposefully taken.

    “I have decided to embrace leadership and contribute positively to society and this is what inspired me to set up the TARYI.  I have the passion and zest to deliver, and TARYI provides the viable platform to run the gauntlet with the mentorship and support of Mr. Idris Aregbe, David Agboifo, Hon. Taiwo Ayedun, amongst others. Lagos and Nigeria are about to feel the bliss of the breeze,” Adesanya said.

    Read Also: 2019: Market women, men endorse Ambode

  • The church and 2019 elections

    The Church, right from the medieval times, performed the role of the main stabilising force in Western Europe. Not only did it provide religious leadership, it also offered the world secular leadership as well. Through the Roman Catholic Church, the Church satisfied the spiritual needs of the medieval society. The Pope, who headed the Roman Catholic Church, offered ordinary folks of the time earthly and spiritual comforts in troubled times. Since it was the largest landholder in Europe at this period, the Church also possessed wide-ranging and significant economic powers. It played a very dominant role in reviving, as well as preserving, ancient Greek and Roman texts.

    In Africa, the church was no less dominant in the lives of the people. It played a formidable role in speeding up the end of colonialism and was responsible for the stoppage of slavery and apartheid in Africa, especially, its role in pushing up the internal contradictions of colonialism which led to the nationalist struggle for independence. The modern church has even played a greater role, especially in the mounting secular challenges of the 21st-century, most significantly, the increasing attempt by science and technology to swap the place of faith and the role of God in the lives of the human being.

    In my estimation, the greatest challenge for the church is the quality and inner constitution of elected representatives who would carry the baton of power from 2019 and beyond. For, if Nigeria is not successful in electing God-fearing men and women into positions of power in 2019, who will in turn ameliorate the social burdens that have consequentially become the heavy load which the church carries today, the pressure on the church would multiply, probably leading to a revolt of immense proportion.

    The first challenge which the church has to confront is the need for it to wake up from its apathy and lethargy of the past towards politics and the process of acquiring political power. You cannot blame the church wholesale for this. The church had been driven away from having anything to do with the process of seeking power. The backstabbing, murder, corruption, occultist search for power and sundry vices of politicking in Nigeria would make anyone who has integrity to protect to see politics and politicians as lepers. An average Nigerian politician will kill his father and rope his mother for the murder once it leads to political office. This has been on since the 1950s when indigenous party politics took over in the country. It has driven away many God-fearing people who had the heart of bringing meaningful changes into governance.

    Over the years however, due to the abdication of space by the righteous for the unrighteous to reign, the worst of us have superintended over the best of us, while the collective keeps silent. Nigeria has been battling challenges of corruption, nepotism, selfish leadership, ethnic irredentism and cronyism, among sundry others. These challenges are brought about by the executive who execute haphazard and self-centered policies which have kept Nigeria down; as well as the legislators who legislate unrighteousness as the credo of Nigeria’s legal code. So, for how long will the righteous stay on the sideline and allow the heathens take up the space to foul up Nigeria? This perhaps is the greatest challenge which confronts the church as Nigeria marches to the 2019 elections.

    The first way out is that the church must purge itself of its ancient allergy to politics. Not only must it come out of its hiding place, the church must take full and undisguised interest in who runs for offices, from the minutest to the biggest office in the land. Due to its closeness to the congregation, who make up the electorate and the people at the grassroots, the church has an understanding of who the nefarious people in communities and society as a whole are. It must move against the reprehensible set of people who contest elective offices and who have, over the years, drawn Nigeria backwards. The church must also wholeheartedly goad on and support the few good ones in society who demonstrate purity of mind and character.

    Even though the time is very short, the time to begin this task is now. My personal take is that the church must however be religion-blind in this task. This is because there are several people out there of different and even nil faiths but whose purity of mind is not in doubt. The church must embark on a methodic process of identifying them and parceling them for the process of seeking political power. The same zeal with which the church evangelizes for lost souls must be deployed in searching for the thousands of pure souls who can be encouraged to change the already messed up status-quo. Even though there cannot be any logical expectation that the church would be hundred per cent successful in getting righteous men to be in power in 2019, whatever strides it makes could be the foundation for future attempts.

    The church must also encourage the calls for a return to full-blown democracy in political parties. As it is now, the political parties are in the hands of a very few cabals who do not mean well for Nigeria but who crave a rehash of the same political party system with which they promote charlatans and never-do-wells to political relevance. This has resulted in the unmitigated disaster of governance in Nigeria. Governors, ministers and other political party barons have hijacked the parties, the only vehicle through which anyone who wants to contest political office can deploy. The result is that, if party politics is this uncharted and atrocious, it would be difficult to change the status quo from what it is to what the church and Nigerians in general want it to be, so as to better the lot of the common man on the streets.

    Party members must collect their parties from moneybags who run them today and this can be done by fastidiously paying their tokens at party meetings. We must also ensure that only those who have verifiable means of livelihood are nominated for party offices. The mistake of electing those who do not have verifiable means of livelihood is that, they become easily purchasable and worsen the take for the Nigerian people.

    Perhaps the most important challenge for the church is how to mobilize its members and communities within its jurisdiction to collect the Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC). This is an urgent imperative. Due to its age-long apathy towards the process of acquiring political power, the church has shown little interest in this core area of electioneering. For 2019, there must be an urgent reversal of this mindset. Since PVC ownership is a sine qua non for electing persons into office, other tasks earlier enunciated seem to be secondary when compared to the urgent need to collect the voter’s card. It would not be out of tune if the church dedicates some days to encouraging its members to collect the PVCs. It is when the church has ensured that members have sufficiently procured PVCs that it could go ahead with other strategic plans of securing the buying-in of its worthy sons and daughters into the task of vying for elections.

    Even though Christians and politics are uneasy partners, we must begin to befriend politics. Of a truth, philosophers like Nietzsche believe that this kind of alliance could lead to crisis, but the facts of our current helplessness as a people dictate that the church must take more than a passing interest in politics. Nietzsche had said that we must be careful, lest in fighting the dragon, we become the dragon but doesn’t the church possess the fire of the Holy Spirit any longer? Should the fire that the dragon spits frighten the church?

    The task of befriending politics in the build-up to 2019 for the church is very crucial. It is indeed in the interest of the church to so do. Otherwise, there may be a revolt among the congregation at their worsening plights.

     

    • Abridged version of a lecture delivered by Dr. Adedayo at the Ibadan Anglican Church Diocese’s Clergy Seminar on March 6.

  • Ekweremadu: nobody can rig 2019 elections

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has said that rigging of election is impossible, if the youths are vigilant and ready to defend the sanctity of the ballot box.

    He also said that the National Assembly Caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will  resist intimidation as it holds the government accountable for its actions. .

    Ekweremadu said the PDP will  always be alive to its responsibility as an opposition party.

    He spoke in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) while receiving national, zonal, and state youth leaders of the PDP in his office.

    The Deputy Senate President said: “Nobody should be deceived that they will rig elections in 2019. The international community will also be watching, and like the late Sam Mbakwe said ‘if you are awake, the rat would never take your fish.’  So if we ‘shine’ our eyes; nobody will rig us out.

    Ekweremadu clarified that he never called for a coup, lamenting that he was misquoted.

    He said: “I’m sure some of you are now conversant with the misrepresentation of my statement on the floor of the Senate last week where I cautioned against brigandage, impunity and thuggery and I said as leaders and politicians, we must do the correct thing before we endanger our democracy. That is what I said.

    “Never bother about their propaganda. We will continue to speak the truth. We will continue to defend our democracy and urge our leaders to always do the right thing.

    “Sometimes, we may be misunderstood, but we will remain unrelenting. It was the great Nnamdi Azikiwe, who said that the best judge of human conduct is conscience. Keep saying the right thing. The person you are speaking to is hearing you; someday his conscience will prick him and he will do the right thing.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • New body out to mobilise women for 2019 elections

    A new non-political women group emerged in Lagos with a mission to mobilize Nigerian Women to register and vote en masse in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

    The group, named Our Women Now (OWN), was founded by Mrs. Saidat Odoffin-Benjamin.

    While speaking at a press conference in Lagos, the founder said the OWN’s vision “is to position every woman and her child of voting age to have access to voters’ education and political enlightenment that will make them politically relevant and  responsible citizens”.

    Mrs. Odoffin-Benjamin said the group decided that Nigerian women should not sit on the fence and should be “part of decision-making process by coming out en masse to vote for the party of their choice in 2019 general elections”.

    Mrs. Odoffin-Benjamin, flanked by the Chairman of the group and the National Coordinator, North Central, Mrs. Ngozi Uche-Oji and Barrister (Mrs) Juliana Shan respectively, said the group was ready to reach out to traditional rulers, market women, corporate organizations, churches, mosques and so on “to sensitize them in order to restore lost hope and fight the apathy of Nigerian women to the election process”.

    She noted that the group would use social media, print media and town criers to make the campaign impactful, adding that “the group’s slogan, ‘Make it happen’, is focused first and foremost on political enlightenment and voters’ education of women and every child of voting age”.

    Also speaking at the conference, Mrs. Uche-Oji reiterated the stand of the group that “our interest is non-partisan, non-political and non-religious, adding that “voters’ education, political socialization and enlightenment are important in our electioneering process”.

    Barrister Shan said the group’s mission “is to make Nigerian women politically relevant and responsible citizens and build powerful coalitions and grow the grassroots to achieve meaningful reforms in the electioneering process and ensure that women join voting process safely”.

    She further said: “We are going to tell the women that if politicians come with bags of rice and money, they should take them, but vote according to their conscience”.

  • 2019: Yakubu charges RECs to be firm, avoid controversies

    2019: Yakubu charges RECs to be firm, avoid controversies

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has charged the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on the need to be firm and avoid needless controversies ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Yakubu charged them to be firm on the side of the law and the people as they work towards ensuring free, fair and transparent general elections.

    Besides, he also warned the RECs of the antics of politicians who would want to distract them through partisan comments as the polls approaches.

    He also reminded them that their roles are pivotal to the success of the elections and hence the commission can never be compromised.

    He spoke Tuesday at the first Consultative meeting between the INEC management and the RECs held at the INEC National Headquarters, Abuja. This is the third meeting the commission will be holding within the last 48 hours with stakeholders. The Commission on Monday met with the media and the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).  RECs are charged with the responsibility of coordinating INEC activities at the state levels.

    He said, “As I welcome you to this meeting and as we approach the 2019 general elections, I wish to draw your attention to the necessity that you stand firm. Be very firm on the side of the law and on the side of the people of Nigeria who deserves nothing less than free and fair elections.

    “We should not be distracted, especially by partisan comments from any quarter. As the 2019 elections draw closer, there will be attempts to draw the Commission into needless controversies. You must not descend into the arena.

    “Remain focus on the role of serving Nigerians consciously, transparently, committed, doggedly, and always in accordance to the law. Our responsibility to the nation can never be compromised.”

    The meeting with RECs, INEC boss said was to review the activities planned for the coming next year general elections.

    “This meeting is to take stock as we move from planning to implementation of our plans, especially as we move towards the 2019 general elections. For INEC, the Resident Electoral Commissioners are responsible for coordinating the implementation of the commission’s policies and programmes at state levels.

    “Your roles are pivotal to the success of the elections. The feedbacks we receive from you is also essential to the fine tuning of policies and in this way,  this will help the states work in synergy on matters of policies and practice,” he added.

    He also noted that some states have started to respond to the task and responsibilities shared in the last two retreats held by the commission ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Read Also:INEC will not disappoint Nigeria in 2019 – Yakubu

  • Saraki and order of 2019 elections

    Saraki and order of 2019 elections

    NOT too long from now, the National Assembly (NASS) will transmit the harmonised version of the Electoral Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill to the president for his assent. The bill altered the order of elections from two-tier in 2015, beginning with the presidential/NASS elections and ending with governorship and state elections, to three-tier, starting with National Assembly and on to governorship and state assemblies, and then finally to presidential in 2019. The change is believed in some quarters to be targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari whose re-election, should that improbably take place, might inflict terrible electoral losses on those who will be standing for elections in 2019 but who are not in his good books. It is not clear whether the president believes that ominous and overdramatised scenario.

    Despite the brouhaha triggered by the successful passage of the bill in the national legislature, the lawmakers fully expect that the president would assent to the bill. If he does not, they plan nevertheless to override his veto and make the new order of elections a part of the Electoral Act. No one knows whether the president has enough foot soldiers to raise a credible and impactful opposition to the bill, whether before or after he has vetoed it, but it seems certain that the whole issue will pass as nothing but a storm in a teacup. The president might, however, surprise everyone by assenting to the bill, especially if he and his men judge that opposing the bill would be a fruitless exercise. For, despite his legendary stubbornness, there is nothing to suggest that the president would not shirk a fight if he sensed blood.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has promised to implement the law once it is passed, though they argue that the order of elections has not changed since 1999. They of course have no choice but to embrace the law, whether it is passed by the president’s simple assent or by a veto override. The law is, after all, the law, even if it galls the presidency, INEC and a substantial segment of the electorate. But INEC is wrong to suggest that the elections had always been conducted on a two-tier basis since 1999. As recent as the 2011 general elections, the polls were conducted on three tiers, starting with parliamentary poll (April 9, 2011), to presidential (April 16), and finally governorship and state assemblies (April 26).

    There is in fact nothing sacrosanct about the order of elections, as indeed many permutations have been tried since the return to democratic rule in 1979. In that year, the elections were held over four tiers, and in 2007 and 2015 over two tiers, with the order even reversed. At the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999, the order of elections was arranged along three tiers, starting from governorship and state assemblies, to National Assembly, and then on to presidential. In short, 2019 will not be the first time the presidential election will be conducted last in the order. In 1979, 1999 and 2007, the presidential poll came up last.

    The attempt by groups of politicians and idle civil society organisations to make a big issue out of the rearrangement of the order of elections is disingenuous and a sentimental attempt to polarise the country, blatantly ingratiate themselves with President Buhari, and further lather the country with bad faith. Their effort should not be countenanced by the electorate, even if the pro-status quo people have genuine reasons to fear the motives of the National Assembly headed by the imperious and sometimes intransigent Senate President Bukola Saraki and the quietly resolute Speaker Yakubu Dogara. It is indeed possible that top lawmakers and their legislative converts fear that the old order of elections could create a bandwagon effect that would unseat them. But even if this motive is proved, there is nothing to suggest that a new order of elections cannot backfire. Remember that as a consequence of the many defections that ravaged the former ruling PDP in 2014 and 2015, the Goodluck Jonathan government, either directly or indirectly, caused the order of elections to be changed from the one inherited from 2011 when elections began with parliamentary, moved on to presidential, and then ended with governorship and state assemblies. In the end, putting the presidential poll first in 2015, from which the Jonathan government hoped to gain some advantage and possibly bandwagon effect, simply led instead to dominoes falling.

    President Buhari will be wise to sign the bill and put that controversy behind him. He should resist the goody two-shoes in his government who are unbelievably attempting to politicise and interpret it as a ploy by the president’s enemies to undermine his re-election chances. Those parliamentary leaders, including the former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdulahi Adamu, a senator, who are championing the retention of the old order of elections are simply idle hands searching for relevance. The president has given the impression that his popularity is unaffected by his lopsided appointments, jaded policies, inconsistencies, and poor judgement in the case of the herdsmen killings. He should have confidence in his popularity and be ready to put it to the test. He has no business seeking for an advantage that is otherwise not existing in the old order of elections. And if indeed there is any advantage in the new order of elections for Dr Saraki and his cohorts, there is nothing to indicate that it cannot backfire when the electoral battle is finally joined at the ballots in 2019.

  • Police ready for 2019 elections, says IG

    Police ready for 2019 elections, says IG

    The police are ready for the 2019 elections, Inspector-General of Police  (IG) Ibrahim Idris said yesterday.

    The elections will hold in February and March.

    He said: “We are prepared for the elections. We have the men and we have the materials (logistics) to carry out our duties successfully before, during and after the elections.”

    The IG spoke in Lagos after the public presentation of his book: Security and justice: The pathway for peace and reconciliation in Nigeria.

    The 292-page book has 18 chapters and proffers solutions to violence, corruption and other societae menace.

    The police chief said there was need for justice and reconciliation to ensure meaningful development.

    Idris noted that the country’s security challenges would be contained if Nigerians pursued true reconciliation and shunned inflammatory comments.

    “The challenges we are having with these herdsmen have gone down. In Benue, we have 15 units on ground and I have been monitoring their successes.

    “I was in Benue and we have been having stakeholders’ meetings and we have been discussing.

    “Based on that, people have been coming openly to state their problems and it is through this that we can understand each other and reconcile our differences.

    “The role of traditional rulers in this reconciliation process cannot be over-emphasised because most of them have the ears of their people. When you have political disagreement in these communities, these traditional rulers are handy.”

    Dedicating his book to his men, Idris said proceeds from its sale would be used to fund the Security and Justice Initiative, a foundation being established for the promotion of peace, security and reconciliation in Nigeria.

    He said his experience over the years, with the United Nations headquarters in New York, peace keeping operations in other countries and as IG, had “taught me that internal peace is a pivotal element for instituting and sustaining democratic government.

    “I have watched with troubled heart the security challenges confronting this country. The challenges of Boko Haram in the North East, kidnappings and armed robberies, cattle rustling and militancy in virtually all parts of Nigeria.

    “The farmers/herders clashes, assassination for various reasons, conflicts among the divergent communities, which often take dangerous dimensions and occur along the fault lines of ethnic, religious, regional and political differences.

    “These challenges if not properly managed at the pace we are going, coupled with inflammatory and inciting statements will tear this country apart and drag us into unending crises.

    “It is my conviction that when there is security, justice, peace and reconciliation in any nation, civil strife will be avoided. The civil war of 1967 to 1970 perhaps turned out as the first major and catostrophic crisis in the record of our national experience.

    “This civil war occurred based on perceived ethnic and political differences and a feeling of injustice.”

    In attendance were Secretary to Lagos State Government Tunji Bello, Oba of Lagos Rilwanu Akiolu, former Minister of State Defence Musiliu Obanikoro, former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba, Chairman Police Service Commission Mike Okiro, former IG Sunday Ehindero, former head of Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Aderemi Makanjuola,  consulars and high commissioners/ambassadors of about 20 countries. There were also heads of military and paramilitary services.

    Oba Akiolu praised the police chief for the book and blamed the porous borders and unattended forests for the lingering herders/farmers clashes in some parts of the country.

    He called for better funding for the police, noting: “This IG is an exposed and experienced officer and so, he is in a better position to tackle insecurity.”

    The monarch announced his second term endorsement for Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and warned that anyone who contested against him would fail.

    Osoba, an accomplished journalist and former Managing Director of The Daily Times, said the first step to reconciliation was devolution of power, adding that any reconciliation that failed to recognise the need for decentralisation of power would not succeed.

    Makanjuola said: “The book could not have come at a better time. You will find a lot of things that are not new but will also find a lot of solutions you never knew. He touched every facet of the country in the book.

    “I commend the police because before people are scared to go out at night but now, that has changed as people freely move about.”