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Tag: 2019

  • 2019: ‘Sheriff, my former boss, wants to manipulate Buhari, Oshiomhole to anoint next governor’

    Alhaji Shettima Dibal, the Wazirin Biu, was deputy to former Governor Ali Modu-Sheriff from 2003 to 2011. In rare comments about his former boss, Dibal spoke to reporters in Abuja on recent political developments in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Borno State. Managing Editor, Northern Operations Yusuf Ali was there.

    Former Governor Ali Modu-Sheriff whom you served as deputy for eight years has returned to the APC recently. First of all, why didn’t you follow him to the PDP ahead of the 2015 election?

    To start with, I have always been in politics of purpose and conviction. I don’t do blind politics. I think if I was going to join the PDP that should have been when Goodluck Jonathan became the President in 2010, because we had some familiarity when both of us served as deputy governors. Jonathan is a humble and nice man, yet even when he was President and I was doing nothing around 2011, I wasn’t attracted to the PDP. I think the worst thing that can happen to any reasonable politician is to forget what works in his own base. From 1999 to date, Borno and Yobe are the only two states in the whole of northern Nigeria where the PDP has never been in control, whether by election or defection of a sitting governor. If you look at all the 19 states in the North, you will discover that the PDP has at one time or the other been in control of state government, whether through election or the defection of an incumbent governor from another party. But, in the case of Borno and Yobe, we have never had anything to do with the PDP at the state government level. Borno and Yobe have always been under the APP that later became the ANPP and now the APC. If you recall, in the build up to the 2003 election, the then Governor Mala Kachallah of blessed memory defected from the APP to the AD; the soul of the then AD is part of the APC today. One would have expected Kachallah to join the PDP for his re-election in 2003. I mean, the PDP at that time controlled the Presidency, the security agencies and INEC, but he didn’t do that, because he knows that the people of Borno will never vote PDP into office. Going to the PDP in Borno and Yobe is suicidal. I know that and my politics is always about our people and what they want.

    Why then do you think Sheriff joined the PDP? Didn’t he try to persuade you and other associates?

    I think Sheriff went into the PDP because he is always afraid of being in opposite political direction with every sitting President. He usually tries to manoeuvre his way to the heart of every sitting President. When he is in the opposition, many people accuse him of working for the sitting President in another party. However, for the 2015 election, he lost influence in the APC. He was not in position to influence anything for Jonathan and the PDP; that is why he left the APC and he did so because he never believed it was possible for a sitting President would lose the election. He did everything to drag Governor Kashim Shettima and all of us in the APC to follow him to the PDP, so that we can work against the victory of Buhari. At some point Kashim  Shettima was seriously harassed, intimidated, blackmailed and even threatened to make him leave  the APC and go to PDP. But, the governor was very strong. I will tell you that I was surprised by his strength. He stood firm in the APC and he mobilised everyone in Borno and across the Northeast for Buhari’s victory. He did so much behind the scene.

    Now that Sheriff is back to the APC, will you say he made the right choice in line with the political philosophy of Borno people or do you think he came with a different motive?

    I think Sheriff’s return to the APC has nothing to do with right or wrong. It was about his survival. He returned because he didn’t have any option and, like I said, he always wants to manoeuvre his way to the Presidency. But, then, politics is about growing numbers and whoever joins the APC is ordinarily a plus. However, it will depend on sincerity of purpose or the opposite.

    Are you saying Sheriff is not sincere, because he is now promising high votes for Buhari in Borno State in 2019?

    Making bogus promises to presidents is not new to Sheriff. After the 2007 election, when the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua came to Maiduguri for a state visit, Sheriff said publicly without any prompting that he was going to work for Yar’adua’s re-election. At that time, Sheriff was in the ANPP and Buhari was the ANPP’s presidential candidate and he was still in court challenging Yar’adua’s election. Sheriff didn’t care about Buhari’s interest; he was trying to find a way to penetrate Yar’Adua. Don’t also forget that when Buhari lost election to Yar’Adua in 2007, the ANPP national leaders came to Maiduguri and held a closed door meeting at the Government House which was hosted by Sheriff. One of the outcomes of that meeting was that the ANPP should not go to court to challenge Yar’Adua’s victory. The ANPP took the decision without consulting Buhari who was our candidate. The party decided to abandon Buhari to his fate and he went to court without the ANPP’s support. I believe it was part of that reason and more that Buhari left the ANPP to form the CPC. After the 2007 election, Sheriff was one of the major beneficiaries of the Yar’Adua/Jonathan government. He was a governor on the platform of the ANPP, but his sister-in-law was appointed a Minister by President Jonathan. So, making promises is not new in his tactics.

    The argument of Sheriff is that in 2003, 2007 and 2011 Buhari got around one million votes in Borno, but in 2015 he got around 600,000 votes. Sheriff is now promising to ensure Buhari gets more than one million votes in Borno State by 2019. What’s your reaction?

    I think the most annoying political analysis is to compare Borno’s 2015 election with the results of 2003, 2007, 2011 or with the upcoming 2019. It is the height of insult to people’s intelligence. Look, in 2015, about 20 local government areas held their elections in IDP camps in Maiduguri. Initially, many people thought election was not going to take place in Borno, because the Sheriff’s faction of the PDP kept on spreading fake information that it was not going to take place and because of that voters didn’t turn out for the presidential and National Assembly elections as they did for the governorship and the state assembly. In the first election, presidential and National Assembly in IDP camps, some local governments in northern Borno did not produce more than 2,000 votes each. There is a member of House Reps in the APC that won his election with less than 7,000 votes, as the total votes from four local government areas and the election took place in the IDP camps. Almost two million of our citizens from 20 local government areas were scattered around neighbouring countries like Niger, Cameroon and Chad and states like Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Abuja and some went to Lagos. They all ran for their lives due to killings. After Buhari won, some of these people became energised and they came to Borno to take part in the governorship and state assembly elections. So, 2015 was a different thing entirely. However, for 2019, the governor and all of us have been mobilising people to come out and register, so that they can vote. I remember last year he released funds to stakeholders to go to their communities and mobilise citizens to get their PVCs. In fact, most of the time when the governor visits any place, he demands that people should show him their PVCs. A lot of women in Borno whenever they see the governor driving, will show him their PVCs and he stops and give them some help. This is of public knowledge. Borno today has more than two million registered voters and this happened when Sheriff was still fighting for his chair in the PDP. He came only three months ago. He knows the number of registered voters, he didn’t play any role on that, but now he wants to steal the show. Typical of him.

    Are you saying Sheriff’s promise to deliver more than one million votes for Buhari is mere political rhetoric?

    It is not rhetoric; it is rather a political antic that is calculated to manipulate and deceive President Muhammadu Buhari, the new National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and the entire Presidency. What Sheriff wants is for the Presidency and the APC headquarters to make him the arrowhead of Buhari’s campaign in Borno State. By that, he will get some mileage, access to security and resources principally for him to anoint the next governor of Borno State. He is angry with those who didn’t follow him to the PDP before 2015 election and he wants the next governor to fight them. The same Sheriff said on January 24, 2015 during PDP presidential campaign in Maiduguri that he was going to ensure Buhari’s defeat in Borno State. He said Jonathan should hold him personally responsible if the PDP fails to win Borno State. Of course, the PDP lost woefully. I think if we are to even look at Buhari’s election record in Borno State from 2003 to date, I will say his best was in 2015.

    Why will you say so?

    In all the previous elections that Buhari took part, whether it was 2003, 2007 and 2011, results in Borno showed that Buhari’s opponents in the PDP from Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan all got the component of 25 per cent of votes needed to defeat Buhari. And you know, sometimes the only thing the PDP presidential candidates need from opposition state is to get 25 per cent votes. PDP candidates have always secured more than 25 per cent in Borno, except in 2015 under Governor Kashim Shettima as leader of the APC. So, whereas Buhari recorded higher votes in previous elections, his opponent got what they wanted from Borno under Sheriff. The greatest mistake PMB or Oshiomhole will make is to ignore those who remained with the APC under intense atmosphere of intimidation to embrace someone who joined the party only three months ago and mind you, he joined not because of conviction and interest in the President, but because he lost grip in the PDP.

  • 2019: Buhari will win, says group

    The national coordinator of the Buhari–Osinbajo Mandate Group, Prince Ebunola Martins, has predicted that President Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, would win the 2019 presidential poll.

    Martins, who addressed reporters in Lagos, said the achievements of the Buhari administration in the past three years have increased the popularity of the president among the Nigerian people. According to him, Buhari has done more than previous administrations within three years. He has been able to block all loop holes through which looters siphon the money meant for the provision of basic amenities for the people.

    He lamented that the $42 billion in the national foreign reserve was squandered by former President Goodluck Jonathan before he left office in 2015. “All incomes generated by Customs Service, proceeds from Value Added Tax (VAT) and excess earning from crude export when crude oil was selling for over $100 per barrel were not saved for the raining day by the Jonathan administration.

    “But, under Buhari when the crude is selling for about $50 the national reserve has risen to $52 billion today. With little resources President Buhari has embarked on road constructions across the six geo political zones. About 56 projects are on-going in the South-East and South-South regions. The second Niger Bridge; the Enugu –Port Harcourt road and many other roads in the country that had been abandoned over the years by the previous administrations are now under reconstruction. The refineries are working; the power supply has improved considerably all over the country”.

    He said that the emergence of many presidential aspirants from the north was being driven by selfish interest. According to him, “the aspirants knew if Buhari wins in 2019, the presidency would go to the South in 2023; that is to say, the northern aspirants would have to wait for another 12 years to contest, he fear is that they would be out of equation by then”.

    On security challenges in the country, he said it was unfair to say Buhari was not doing anything to arrest the situation or that the Fulani herdsmen were responsible for the killings in the country.

    He said “those who killed the Reverend Fathers in Benue State were not Fulanis. One of them was a political aide of Governor Sam Ortom. The suspects are in police custody. Are the Fulanis responsible for arms and ammunitions seized by Customs at the airports including a Nigerian bound ship loaded with ammunition from Russia which was intercepted in South Africa? We need to tell ourselves the truth.  Non-Fulani are involved in the senseless killings of innocent Nigerians.

  • 2019: Buhari ‘ll win, says campaign group

    The National Coordinator of the Buhari/Osinbajo Mandate Group, Prince Ebunola Martins, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will win the 2019 presidential election.

    Martins, who addressed a press conference in Lagos yesterday, said the president’s performance in the last three years had made him popular among Nigerians.

    He said the president had used the little resources available to impact positively on the lives of the ordinary Nigerians through the provision of infrastructure.

    He said: “Many roads that had been abandoned all over the country by the previous administrations are being constructed by the Buhari administration”.

    He said the Federal Government had embarked on 56 projects in the South East and South South zones. He cited the second Niger Bridge and Enugu-Port Harcourt road, among others.

    He said the emergence of many aspirants from the north to contest against Buhari in 2019 was informed by the fear that “if Buhari wins and rules for another four years, the presidency will go to the south in 2023. By the time the south would have ruled for eight years, most of the northern aspirants would be out of equation”.

    Martins said most of the opposition elements had dined with every government in the past 30 years.

    He said they had been frustrated by the Buhari administration that had plugged the loopholes through which the looters steal the public funds meant for infrastructure development.

    Martins advised Nigerians to go out and collect their permanent voter cards to enable them vote for the candidates of their choice in 2019.

    The Lagos State Coordinator, Mr Olukayode Salako, said the campaign group would succeed in the task of ensuring the revalidation of people’s mandate given Buhari/Osinbajo in 2015 so that they can continue the rescue mission.

  • 2019: Edo APC battling with defection

    Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC) has been hit by a gale of defections. Correspondent OSAGIE OTABOR examines the challenge of reconciliation in the chapter.

    There is an uneasy calm in the ruling All Progressives Congress in Edo State. The party leadership has been rattled by the gale of defections that has hit the party in the last two weeks. Many party leaders who have grudges with Governor Godwin Obaseki’s style of governance and lack of political patronage are gradually leaving the APC. There are fears that the defection may cause implosion in Edo APC.

    Besides, aggrieved APC chieftains and some political appointees, especially commissioners, are also not happy with Obaseki. To many of them, they are just overseeing ministries while Special Advisers are given more privileges and recognition.

    During last year’s celebration of Obaseki’s one year anniversary, APC members openly demanded for stomach infrastructure. In fact, many of them walked away when Obaseki mounted the podium to speak.

    Obaseki had made a bold statement when he came to power that he would separate politics from governance. He told APC leaders that the Government House was not a bank and a place to discuss or settle party matters. He also barred politicians from entering Government House without invitation. One of the reasons the former Deputy Woman of the APC, Mrs. Tina Agbarha, gave for defecting to the PDP was that she cannot see the Governor.

    Those that have defected included Chief Osamede Adun, popularly known as Bob Izua, a former member of the House of Representatives, Harrison Omagbon and his wife, Lucy and immediate past Chairman of Ovia Northeast Local Government Area.

    The defectors who are members of the Edo Kwankwasiyan Movement did not wait for the reconciliation proposed by former Governor Adams Oshiomhole. Omagbon however, said  Oshiomhole tried to reconcile aggrieved members, but that things became worst as hard as Oshiomhole tried.

    The former council boss said some persons were bent on destroying the APC, which was why she returned to her former party.

    She said: “I don’t have anything against the person of Adams Oshiomhole. It has happened. He has so many issues to concern himself with. He has tried to do his best in reconciling every one in Edo. The more he tries, but the moment he leaves, the worst it becomes.

    “Self respect matters a lot in politics. We got to the APC but we discovered that what we were subjected to was unimaginable.

    “We were marginalised and did not know what was happening in the scheme of things. We did not know what was happening in various wards and local government. I didn’t have answers to my people on what was happening.”

    In June, a chieftain of the APC in Uhunmwode and former Political Adviser to Oshiomhole, Mr. Charles Idahosa, made the first move by announcing his suspension of further participation in APC activities. Idahosa in a statement he said, he was not dumping the APC, but take a break “in order to carry out a deeper surgical analysis from a detached point of view”.

    Idahosa noted that the facts that informed the actions of the Edo APC in recent times were strange to him and that he had struggled to come to terms with those facts and the consequential actions of the party.

    He said: “Given the present state of affairs, I have decided to suspend active political partisan participation in the state. I believe the period will afford me the opportunity to seek an enlightened perspective of the issues, consult widely for clarifications where need be and take more informed position on the politics of Edo state.

    “For every decision, there are consequences and possibilities. Yet, when a dog begins to bark at its owner, the dog owner should strut around in caution. That is the sobering epiphany of the present time.”

    Idahosa later rescinded his decision after intervention by Oshiomhole. In a chat with reporters in Bénin City, the state capital, last week Idahosa, who begged aggrieved APC members not to defect, said the APC needed to work towards winning next year’s election now that Oshiomhole is the national chairman of the party.

    Idahosa said it was a shame that people are defecting from the APC when President Mohammadu Buhari is performing, adding that the solution to political problems is not defection, but reconciliation for future victory.

    He said: “Nobody should start threatening that we want to leave because we have a lot of work to do, considering the fact that the President of this country, Muhammadu Buhari, is doing very well.

    “Whether kings are dying or queens are mourning, Buhari is coming back as president of this country come 2019. Our son, Adams Oshiomhole, is the national chairman. What shame will it be, if he succeeds in doing all the job in 36 states of the federation and Edo State is in disarray?

    “You cannot leave this party for anybody because it is not their property when we voted. Did you see anybody’s name in the ballot paper? There is no Independent candidature here. All these things we are seeing is temporary and not enough to destroy the party.

    Idahosa added: “I have heard all kinds of rumours that Charles Idahosa wants to leave the party. Who am I going to leave the party for when I am a founding member of this party? That we disagree does not necessary decamping and all the rest of them. This party is not owned by anybody. Nobody is bigger than the party, the party is owned by the members and the leadership.

    “Those in government, those running the party from the secretariat are not the owners of this party and I want our people to know that the party belong to us. Those of us who started this party way back in 2004 as AD, AC, ACN, we knew what we went through to get here so we are not going to fold our arms and allow the behaviour of a few individuals to bring down the party and rubbish all the successes we have achieved over the years.”

    The lawmaker representing Ikpoba-Okha/Egor in the House of Representatives, Hon Ehiozuwa Agbonnayima who also appealed to the aggrieved leaders not to defect, said the time of harvest is already near.

    Agbonnayima said the Edo APC has been infiltrated by some members of PDP who are causing trouble.

    His words: “There are also some genuine APC members who are aggrieved. It is a matter of time.

    “We have to let our members know that they have to be patience. The governor is working and a lot of opportunities will come. They should not leave now that harvest time is here. They have worked and sweated for the party and the food has matured.

    “There are many job opportunities available; a lot of contracts to be awarded. The Governor has said they should wait. Oshiomhole as the National Chairman will create opportunity for Edo people.

    “There are a lot of opportunities, especially the space filled by PDP members. APC is in government, but PDP is the one ruling. That is why they are derailing the will of progress of Mr. President. They are still doing the PDP agenda. That agenda is to pocket the money to the detriment of all Nigerians. I am appealing to them to be patient.”

    The grouse of the aggrieved APC leaders, according to sources, include alleged abandonment by Obaseki, hijacking of the party structures in their locality, non-constitution board members in ministries and MDAs, non-payment for jobs done for previous administrations and giving jobs to people who do not pay taxes in the state.

    Last month, a former revenue agent to the government, Mr. Tony Kabaka, led hundreds of APC youths to speak out against Obaseki and warned him not to allow the APC loose future elections in the state because of his style of governance and policies.

    Kabaka said that no neglected party members would want to work for the APC.

    He added: “Everything that the Oba of Bénin told Obaseki to do by creating jobs through good agricultural policies and neighborhood watch.

    “Oshiomhole will only threaten to jail you but, under Obaseki, many APC leaders have been sent to prison before questions are asked.

    “What happened in Ekiti should be an example to Obaseki. All the jobs in the state have no local contents. They are given to foreigners. If Odubu were governor, we would not have received these insults.”

    A chieftain of the APC, who pleaded anonymity, described the gang up against Obaseki as a terrible situation. He said it is difficult to access the governor or demand for payment for the jobs they have done.

    According to him, “Our politics is leadership driven. These leaders Obaseki is ignoring have followers. They depend on politics to survive. How do they go to their communities to ask people to vote for the APC. A lot of them are regretting not voting in Odubu or Ogiemwonyi.”

    Obaseki’s supporters however, said those aggrieved are change. They said the old order of Adams Oshiomhole era cannot work in present day realities.

    A top government official, who asked not to be named, said Obaseki is unperturbed by the rantings of the aggrieved APC members. He explained that Oshiomhole adopted a style now being used to measure  Obaseki because of the need to dismantle the opposition.

    The official noted that, if Oshiomhole had not succeeded in dismantling the opposition, Obaseki would not have been enjoying the present political environment.

    State Secretary of the APC secretary, Lawrence Okah, said the party machinery would sort the issues out, but warned that it would not be business as usual.

    He said: “To correct things is not easy. Some people are not used to change. We will sort it out. We are working on reconciliation and harmonisation.

    “It is difficult for people to embrace change. When there is a change in the system, people will find it a problem to enbrace that. We cannot continue with the way things were done in the past because it cannot take us anywhere. A situation where somebody will sit down somewhere and be expecting largesse without working. Enabling environment has been created and is still being created.

    The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Jimoh Ijegbai, said a situation where somebody thinks himself a grand commander of some youths and therefore will get free money is gone and gone forever.

    “Look at the industrial park and the estate we are building, people are going to work there. Last year, we decided to use technology to drive collection of revenue. We have crossed the N200m mark monthly from N30m. These are monies some persons think  it was their right to collect.”

  • 2019: Aspirants promise to abide by party directives

    Some aspirants seeking the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest next year’s general elections in Edo State have promised to abide by the directives of the party leadership on the conduct of primaries.

    The assurance is coming against the background of the division in the APC over the options to adopt for the conduct of the primaries.

    While some party members are seeking for consensus arrangement, others are insisting on direct primary that was used recently in Osun State.

    The APC National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and Governor Godwin Obaseki are said to have divergent views on the option to adopt.

    Party sources said Obaseki is lobbying party leaders to accept the use of consensus arrangement against the use of direct primary being championed by Oshiomhole.

    The aspirants who spoke to our reporter said they were loyal party members and that they would abide by whatever options the party decides to use.

    They said the crucial thing is to produce candidates that are capable of winning during the general elections.

    The lawmaker representing Estako Central Federal Constituency, Hon. Johnson Oghuma, said he would support any option approved by Oshiomhole, because he is a loyal party man.

    Hon. Peter Akpatason who represents Akoko-Edo said the ability of candidates to win elections is beyond party primaries.

    Akpatason noted that the important thing for the party is to get credible candidates  with good pedigree and have the ability to win elections.

  • 2019 Election would test Nigeria’s democracy – Abubakar

    Former Head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar has said the 2019 general elections would be a test case that Nigeria democracy has come of age.

    Fielding questions from newsmen at the Minna Central mosque shortly after the Eid-el-Kabir prayers on Tuesday, Abdulsalami stressed on the need for politicians to play by the rules.

    He pointed out that politicians must shun do-or-die politics for the nations’s democracy to advance while urging Nigerians to put aside their differences by ensuring a hitch free polls.

    The former leader lamented that Nigeria’s political space is been needlessly heated up by politicians adding that enduring political culture can only be built when politicians adhere to the rules of the game.

    He then urged Muslims to imbibe the exemplary life style of Prophet Muhammad and the lessons of Eid el Kabir by living in peace with people of other faiths.

    Read Also: 2019: Presidency replies Tambuwal as Buhari treks 800 metres

    Niger state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Ketso called on those who registered in the just concluded Continuous Voters Registration exercise by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to make effort to obtain their Permanent Voters Card to enable them elect credible leaders of their choice in the 2019 general elections.

    The Chief Imam of Minna Central Mosque Mallam Isa Fari charged enjoined all Muslim faithful to internalize and practice the innate and core lessons of the festival which essentially reinforces the spirit of sacrifice, tolerance, sympathy, empathy, devotion to duty, and the promotion of harmonious coexistence.

    He also enjoined the wealthy Muslims to assist the needy and vulnerable in the spirit of love and brotherhood that Islam stands for.

  • 2019: Fight for political offices, Youths urged

    Youths in Ondo state have been charged to actively participate in politics and be part of stakeholders in the decision-making to overhaul the future of the country.

    The state chairman of the Social Democratic Party(SDP), Korede Duyile, gave the charge at the official declaration of a youth leader, Tajudeen Adefisoye for the seat of Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency in the 2019 election.

    Duyile said the masses were tired of voting the old set of people with the same ideology.

    The chairman said SDP was on ground and most people that had shown interest in various positions were from notable and credible families that were well known to him as an indigene of Idanre himself.

    Read Also: Youth Party removes barrier for aspiring youths

    He said “Our membership is already increasing in Idanre and in the state, more people are seeing our party as a credible platform,especially the youths, to fulfil their dreams”.

    Adefisoye, who is in his mid-thirties, said he decided to run on the platform of SDP, because it had plans to allow youths to seek political positions.

    Adefisoye said he decided to be part of the real change and liberate the people of Idanre and Ifedore by bringing meaningful development to the constituency.

    According to him,” I am already assured of victory,there is no development in this town, we can’t be sending same old men to be representing us always.”

    The Aspirant was later presented with the flag of the party and urged to continue promoting the party within and outside the state.

  • 2019: Widows in Cross River root for Ayade

    A  non governmental organisation, Association of Widows in Cross River, has endorsed Governor Ben Ayade for a second term.

    The association commended the governor for the election of one of their own, Mrs  Abbey Ukpukpen into theHouse of Assembly to replace her late husband, Steven Ukpukpen.

    They spoke in Calabar, the capital, through their president, Mrs Grace Out, during a solidarity meeting with the governor.

    According to Otu, “we sincerely thank Professor Ayade for supporting the election of a widow to take over the seat of her late husband at the House of Assembly.”

    She added:” Today, we have one of us who truly understands our plight and will ensure that our interests is protected, and in appreciation, we  declare support for the second term bid of our digital governor to enable him complete the work he has started.”

    Mrs Otu said Ayade had impacted positively on widows since assumption of office in May, 2015, noting that it will be unfair not to back his second term ambition.

    Ayade, she said, was the only governor in the state that has demonstrated interest in their wellbeing as evident in the garment factory employing over 80 per cent widows and their children, the creation of a dedicated office, and a personal assistant to interface with them.

    The leader urged the people not to waiver in their support for Ayade’s polices and his re-election bid.

    Responding, Commissioner for Women Affairs Mrs Stella Odey, who described the election of Mrs Ukpukpen as a demonstration of Ayade’s magnanimity, love and passion for widows, thanked them for reciprocating the gesture through their endorsement.

    Odey, who stood in for the governor, said: “Ayade is a governor with a human face who is always seeking ways to better the lots of widows across the state through initiation of several empowerment programmes. These initiatives and programmes have transformed many widows which he passionately does not because he has so much but because he cares enough.”

    She urged others to emulate the governor, who according to her, came with a clean heart to serve with a vision to transform the socio-economic landscape of the state.

  • 2019: Saraki’s presidential ambition alters calculations in PDP

    Recent hint  by Senate President Bukola Saraki  about the possibility of he joining the 2019 presidential  race is now causing ripples in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to which he defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Saraki told Bloomberg on Tuesday that he was “consulting and actively considering” throwing his hat in the ring for presidency.

    His comment,The Nation, gathered has upset calculations in the PDP about the chances of the various presidential aspirants.

    Other PDP members who are seeking the party’s presidential ticket include former Vice President  Atiku Abubakar; Governor  Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State; Governor  Ibrahim Dankwabo of Gombe State; a former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Turaki and a former governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Maikarfi.

    The rest are two former governors of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and  Alhaji  Ibrahim Shekarau; former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa; former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido; and an industrialist, Dr. Baba Datti Ahmed.

    Saraki may be aspirant No.11 if he eventually makes up his mind to go for it.

    Party leaders are already expressing deep concern over the large number of the presidential aspirants.

    Party sources said Tambuwal in  particular  feels disappointed that  Saraki  may join the race after allegedly promising to support the former Sokoto governor.

    Sources close to Tambuwal claimed that Saraki had previously given a commitment to back the governor’s aspiration.

    The source, who asked not to be named, further revealed that the  ‘understanding’  which the Tambuwal considered sealed and irrevocable, was one of the factors that encouraged the governor to join the race.

    The pact was said to have been reached when the two were still in APC  but had concluded their defection plans.

    Sources in Saraki’s camp  said the Senate President might have been spurred on by the July 22 ruling  of the Supreme Court which dismissed the asset declaration charges against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

    The Federal Government, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed 18 counts against Saraki over alleged default in asset declaration when  he was governor of Kwara State from 2003 to 2011.

    Riding on the crest of his freedom from legal encumbrances, Saraki announced his defection from the APC to the PDP a few days after the Supreme Court’s acquittal.

    Some PDP stakeholders are uncomfortable with the  number of aspirants in the race.

    They fear that the outcome of the primary election could trigger discontent among some key aspirants.

    This, according to them, might affect party loyalty and cohesion, a situation that could jeopardise the chances of the PDP in next year’s  election.

    But the leadership of the party has dismissed the fears, saying such a situation would not arise in the PDP again as  the party has learned its lessons from the fallout of the 2015 presidential election and the consequent loss of power at the centre.

    Spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan,  told The Nation yesterday that  the party has a mechanism to guarantee a level playing field for all its aspirants in the primary election.

    Ologbondiyan said that Saraki was yet to inform the party of his intention to vie for the ticket, stressing however that he would be welcome into the race anytime he decides to join, just like others.

    The party spokesman said: “Dr Saraki will officially notify the party whenever he decides to join the race,” adding that as a Nigerian, it is his right to aspire to any elective position of his choice.

    He ruled out the possibility of discontentment arising from the selection process, saying the party would not give any of the aspirants reasons to complain.

    “The eventual winner will emerge through a free, fair and transparent primary election that will be attested to by all the participants.

    “We believe that at the end of the exercise, the best candidate who knows the nuances of our country and who can defeat President Muhammadu Buhari will emerge through a transparent process,” Ologbondiyan said.

    Saraki, shortly after his defection, visited former military president Ibrahim Babangida in Minna and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta in what observers say is part of the ‘consultations’ about his aspiration.

    He was also in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State yesterday.

  • We’ll deliver credible elections in 2019 – Osinbajo

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday assured Nigerians that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration would deliver free, fair and credible elections next year.

    Osinbajo, who was represented by the Special Adviser on Political Affairs to the President, Babafemi Ojodu, at the Annual Nigeria Political Parties Summit organised by the Political Parties Leadership and Policy Development Centre of the National Institute for a Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), said no individual interest would be allowed to override the nation’s interest.

    He said all activities ahead of the 2019 elections must be approached with the highest level of decorum and strict adherence to rules of the game as enshrined in the constitution, the electoral act and indeed the code of conduct which the political parties freely put in place.

    He said: “The interest of Nigeria is higher than the individual interest of any person or group of persons no matter how highly placed. It is our duty to protect and defend the life of every Nigerian while exercising his right to vote.

    “We must never allow anyone or anything to derail our match to progress. We must refrain from actions that are capable of threatening the security of this country, particularly hate speeches and attitude to intolerance and division. Let us stand together on the common action of love, unity and stability to salvage Nigeria.

    “This political summit offers an opportunity for the political parties to dialogue and take stock of our activities. The absence of dialogue among political parties in the past led to conflict and polarization among political leaders and consequently bitter developments.

    “Trust and cooperation between political parties is imperative between political parties for democracy and development. In this respect, I want to commend the political parties for strengthening the Interparty Advisory Council to have a common platform for all political parties to articulate their common problems and deepen democracy. Inter party cooperation in these days is essential for democratic consolidation and national stability.

    “Today, I pledge to Nigeria, my country to promote free, fair and credible election devoid of any form of interference in the activities of INEC, to ensure security and promote a violence free election devoid of animosity and hate speeches, to abide by the extant laws governing political parties and adhere strictly to the code of conduct of political parties in Nigeria.”