The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Accord

  • Baraje faction romances Accord

    Baraje faction romances Accord

    The Baraje faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have begun consultations with the Accord on how to use its platform for the 2015 elections, it was learnt yesterday.

    A source said cracks have emerged in the faction, following the objection of governors loyal to former President Olusegun Obasanjo to any close association with the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM). The PDM is believed to have links with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who was a key leader of the group under the leadership of the late Maj.-Gen. Sheu Yar’Adua.

    Accord was registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the Obasanjo administration.

    Its Oyo State leader, former Governor Rashidi Ladoja, opted for the party instead of defecting to the defunct Action Congress (AC), so that he would not incur the wrath of Obasanjo, who was the PDP national leader.

    Since its inception, aggrieved PDP chieftains, who lost out at the primaries, have always sought refuge in the Accord, especially in Delta and Oyo states.

    Recently, Ladoja told reporters in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, that the Accord’s doors were open to aggrieved PDP chieftains.

    The source said members of the Baraje faction were considering the Accord option and were not interested in reconciling with the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur faction. He said the aggrieved governors and their associates were in regular contact with Ladoja.

    The source said: “The Baraje group is demanding the removal of Tukur as the PDP chairman. The chairman is a trusted ally of the president. This cannot be possible. They are also saying the president should not re-contest, even though he has the constitutional right to do so. But, more importantly, they are saying that they should not be investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). They know their demands cannot be met.

    “The faction has a slim chance. If they return to the mainstream PDP, things cannot be the same again. I know that some of them, especially the arrowheads, may not opt for the APC. Those loyal to Obasanjo will not follow Atiku to the PDM. I think that is why they are making Accord their Plan B.”

  • Accord party petitions INEC over Labour Party interference

    National Vice-chairman of Accord Party (AP), South East zone, Mr. Inno Igboekwe, yesterday petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) urging the commission not to recognise the Chief Barth Igwedibia-led Anambra State executive of the party.

    Igbokwe in his petition to the INEC dated August 19, 2013, made available to The Nation which reads in part, stated that “The state chapter which has been waiting for directives to conduct its ward and local government congresses was not given dates for the aforementioned congresses and was overlooked and not informed of the purported congress that has been supposedly held and we were faced with a situation whereby a few unscrupulous politicians alien to Accord gathered to proclaim themselves newly elected members of the state Exco of the party.

    “Considering that the Electoral Act made it categorically clear that ward and local government congresses should precede the state congress, it is obvious that the event of 17th August was a mere sham as there were no ward and local government congresses before the said state congress.”

     

     

     

  • ‘We didn’t supervise attack on Accord members’

    The Oyo State Joint Task Force, Operation Burst, yesterday debunked the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) allegation that it was being used to witch-hunt government’s enemies.

    In a national newspaper on Monday, the PDP alleged that the task force supervised last week’s attack on Accord members by hoodlums.

    The attack occurred at Olomi in Ibadan, the state capital, at a ceremony where the Accord was receiving new members into the party.

    The PDP also alleged that the security outfit disrupted a meeting of a faction of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) led by Chief Michael Koleoso in Saki in January.

    Operation Burst said it had nothing to do with the incidents.

    In a statement by Mr. Agboola Waheed on behalf of the Commander, LC ILO, Operation Burst said: “Following a distress call received by this outfit, patrol teams were deployed in the area to contain any escalation or breakdown of law and order.

    “Since inception, we have never carried out any operation in Saki as mentioned in the publication. Our operation has been restricted to Ibadan and Ibarapa zone.

    “Operation Burst is a disciplined organisation, which distances itself from partisan issues. It is committed to containing crime and has successfully done so. The outfit will continue to provide security for all residents.”

     

  • Oyo PDP, Accord members defect to ACN

    Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Accord from the 12 wards in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State yesterday defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    Six hundred former Accord members, led by Alhaji Ismaila Afobaje and other 450 ex-PDP members, led by Chief Rafiu Ajao, were received into the ACN by the party’s State Chairman, Chief Akin Oke.

    Oke advocated mutual co-existence among old and new members, urging the defectors not to feel alienated, but to see themselves as members of the family.

    He said the defection was an attestation of the ACN’s determination to ameliorate the age-long impoverishment of residents by the past PDP-led administration.

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who was represented by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Isaac Omodewu, assured the defectors that they would be treated equally in the party.

    The Transition Committee Chairman of Akinyele Local Government, Alhaji Mukaila Ambali, said the defectors were convinced by the quality of projects the ACN has been executing.

    He said: “I want all of you to unite with us, because this is a collective government and you shall hence forth be treated as one of us.”

    The lawmaker representing Akinyele Constituency II in the House of Assembly, Mr. Ahmed Adigun said the defection has proved that the Ajimobi administration is performing.

    Afobaje, who spoke on behalf of the defectors, said they were inspired by the performance of Ajimobi and Ambali to join the ACN .

    He said: ”I left the Accord because there was no unity among members. We have all seen what Ajimobi has been doing to transform this state, especially his urban renewal programme. We support him because it is not necessary to oppose a progressive administration.”

    Ajao said they were tired of the leadership tussle in the PDP. “That is why we have come to join the progressives,” he added.

  • Guard’s murder: Oyo ACN, Accord disagree

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Accord in Oyo State yesterday disagreed on the murder of the security guard of a former Secretary of the State Government (SSG), Mr. Ayodele Adigun.

    Adigun’s guard was killed last Tuesday by gunmen, who invaded his (Adigun’s) home at night. It was learnt that the hoodlums did not steal anything from the house.

    Reacting to speculations that the murder might be politically-motivated, ACN, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kolawole Dauda, said the incident was a ploy to make the people believe the state has returned to the old days of violence and blood shed.

    It said: “Seeing that in the last two years, there has been unprecedented peace and quiet in our state, we cannot rule out the fact that they may have martyred that hapless night guard to pollute our river of peace in order to score a point that we are not different from them. This should be a great lead for the police investigators.”

    Adigun decried the ACN’s position on the murder.

    He said: “That I stage-managed the death of my guard, who had worked with me for 12 years, to gain publicity for the Accord, a party where I lead the mobilisation committee, is uncharitable.

    “As a practising Roman Catholic, I value the sanctity of human life and take politics as a hobby, not a do-or-die affair.”

  • Accord to verify Ladoja’s membership

    The Accord has said it will meet with former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja to resolve issues of leadership crisis and clarify whether the former governor wants to remain in the party.

    This was contained in a sattement issued by the Accord’s National Executive Council (NEC) after its meeting in Benin, the Edo State capital.

    The National Secretary, Samson Isibor, who read the statement, said a delegation would be sent to meet with Ladoja.

    Isibor said they decided to visit Ladoja because they are repositioning the party for the 2015 general election.

    The party accused Ladoja of using its name to negotiate with other political parties in Oyo State, especially the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Isibor said Accord National Chairman Dr. Isaac Adeniyi was absent from the meeting due to ill health.