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Tag: Aliyu

  • nPDP: We are more than seven governors, says Gov Aliyu

    nPDP: We are more than seven governors, says Gov Aliyu

    Niger state governor and member of the G7 governors, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has  said that Bamanga Tukur led Peoples Democratic Party would be shocked to know that the Kawu Baraje-led fraction has more than the identified  seven governors.

    He said other governors have deliberately chosen to silently support the nPDP.

    Speaking in Minna while receiving the Executive Director of the Sir.  Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Aliyu who refused to disclosed the identity of the ‘silent members’, said, “there are many members of the G7 who intends to remain silent. They are silent members.”

    He explained that people only identify the G7 because they (the G7 governors) are the ones most visible explaining  that there are some other governors who are in support of them.

    The governor enjoined the Sarduana Foundation to ensure that they carry on the good work and promote unity in the north.

    He urged the foundation to work in collaboration with other bodies to harness income and improve the lot of northern Nigeria.

    He assured  the foundation that he would plead with  other state governors who have not redeemed their pledges to the foundation.

    Earlier, the Executive Director of the Foundation, Dr. Shettima Ajayi disclosed that the foundation has  trained 350 women and youths in vocational and entrepreneurship programs adding that most of the trainees have started their own businesses.

    He said the foundation  has reached  out to some northern states affected with insecurity and has  been able to give some form of compensation to them.

    Ajayi further expressed his appreciation to the Niger state governor for his support to the foundation as the foundation has been able to make impact to the people of the north in all its programmes.

  • North not afraid of confab, says Aliyu

    North not afraid of confab, says Aliyu

    The North is not afraid of national conference contrary to insinuations, Niger State Governors Babangida Aliyu said yesterday in Minna.

    Aliyu, who is also the chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum, however, flayed the call for a sovereign national conference, saying it is not tenable in a democracy .

    The governor spoke against the background of Tuesday’s call by Senate President David Mark for a national conference, which he said should not be sovereign.

    Mark spoke at the opening session of the new Senate session in Abuja.

    But the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) flayed Mark’s call, saying any conference that is devoid of sovereignty would be illegitimate.

    Aliyu, who spoke at the opening of a workshop organised by the state’s Ministry of Tertiary Education for students, with the theme “A new focus for NANIS”, said: “Those calling for sovereign national conference must understand the implication of that. You cannot have two sovereignties in one state.

    “If anybody says he is going to organise a sovereign national conference, all of us in government must resign our jobs and then transfer the sovereignty of the country to the committee that is going to discuss the sovereignty of the country.”

    The governor, however, added: “A national conference? Yes, we can organise it and then send it (the outcome) to the appropriate organ to deliberate upon.”

    Setting agenda for his preferred conference, Aliyu said: “I will love a national conference that will look at our constitution and really give us justice, equity and fairness in our body politic and in our national life”.

    He maintained that the convocation of a national conference will move the country forward.

    “Many people are trying to make it look like Northern states are afraid of conference; we are not. Let us come and talk; let us come and look at our problems. If it means restructuring the country, let us come and do it, but we must not be hoodwinked.

    “If people want to secede, let them secede and then we see under which constitution they are seceding. Let us not be intimated. In fact, we cannot be intimated because intimidation will not give us good policies; intimidation will not give us good nation, Intimidation will not give us any progress,” he insisted.

    The ARG, in a statement, condemned Mark’s “morbid obsession” for the false inviolability of 1999 Constitution, a recurring theme in his speech. “We wish to restate, for the umpteenth time, that Nigerians are not made for the law and, as such, their fate cannot be sealed, as Mark wants, by the Constitution. His job will be more fruitful, if he directs the affairs of his office by the conviction that NASS represents the people and not the constitution,” the group said, adding:

    “We also found it distasteful for Mark to condescendingly regard leaders of ethnic nationalities as ‘an unpredictable mass’, a description that shows he still bears vestiges of military dictatorship, even after more than a decade as the custodian of the nation’s democratic institution.

    “The ARG believes the constitution derives its powers from the sovereignty of the people and not the other way round, as Mark wants us to believe. Another wrong notion in Mark’s speech was his claim that SNC is a sectional agenda, instead of national panacea. We do not believe that SNC will serve Yoruba interest the most. In fact, the Ijaw stand to benefit more. But of what use is prosperity when there is no peace? It. Therefore, makes sense for peace that the Ijaw keep their oil proceeds and pay royalty to the Federal Government.”

    It went on: “Mark’s proposed conference also stripped it of its God-given sovereignty. He offered no reason for this democratic robbery other than his morbid fear that doing so can lead to fragmentation of the country. However, the current situation in the country is such that the constituent ethnic nations do not need Mark’s sermon to agree to stay together as a nation and he cannot stop them if they decide to part ways.

    The ARG added: “The lot of this country will not change for good until we find the courage to summon all ethnic nations to the table of brotherhood to fashion out a new constitution as the current effort at constitutional review is a futile exercise that can never foster our nationhood.”

  • Presidency’s plot to checkmate Kwankwaso, Aliyu

    Presidency’s plot to checkmate Kwankwaso, Aliyu

    Though final reconciliatory talks with aggrieved PDP governors are scheduled for today, the Presidency, while not foreclosing a truce with the party’s new faction’s arrowheads,  is considering other options, reports Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo

    It was one move that caught almost every member of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) napping.

    For the ministers who were relieved of their jobs by President Goodluck Jonathan, the announcement of their sack by the president himself shortly after the weekly deliberations ended was as shocking as it was unexpected-at least on that fateful day.

    The Nation gathered that the decision to fire the affected ministers was decided at a strategy meeting held on Tuesday night (a day before the FEC meeting).

    Present at the meeting were the president, his trusted aide, Oronto Douglas the Chief of Staff to Jonathan, Mike Ogiadhome and two other persons whose identity could not be confirmed.

    At the end of the almost three hour meeting, nine ministers, including Professor Ruqqayatu Rufai (Education) Olugbenga Ashiru (Ogun) Shamsudeen Usman (National Planning); Amma Pepple (Rivers) Hadiza Mailafa (Environment); Ita Ewa (Science and Technology) Olusola Obada (Defence) Zainab Kuchi (Power) and Tijani Bukar (Borno), were relived of their plum jobs.

    A source privy to the meeting told The Nation that beyond the reason of alleged non-performance by the former ministers, their sack may also not be unconnected to the president’s firm resolve to adopt a counter-offensive against the arrowheads of ‘rebel’ governors who have set up another faction of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Abubakar Kawu Baraje.

    The source added that after a careful appraisal of the current crisis bedevilling the party, the meeting allegedly reached a consensus that the nine ministers cannot fit into the plot to serve as foot soldiers of the president in some states considered as ‘strategic’ by the president’s kitchen cabinet. These states include Kano, Jigawa, Niger and Kwara.

    Na’Abba may checkmate Kwankwaso

    The sack of Dr. Shamsideen Usman, who hails from Kano as the Minister of National Planning was a big surprise to his former colleagues in the FEC.

    Just some days ago, the former minister, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), received commendation from the president over how he successfully formulated a strategic masterplan for the nation’s economy. Usman has also been credited with the initiative of the formulation of the performance benchmark set for each minister about one year ago.

    And so, it was assumed that his job was safe. But sources say Usman had to go to realise the short term political objectives of the president, who is alleged to be interested in securing a second term in office come 2015.

    With Usman out of the way, there are unconfirmed speculations that the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, is highly favoured to fill the Kano State slot.

    “Usman did quite well, no doubt, but what the president needs now are politically grounded individuals who can project his interests at these challenging times,”said a source.

    Some days ago, Na’Abba in company of some stakeholders in the Kano State chapter of the PDP had visited the party’s national headquarters in Abuja to lodge a protest against the incumbent state executive council, which tenure they reportedly argued, had since lapsed.

    They further urged the national leadership of the party to constitute a new council to oversee the affairs of the party in the North West state.

    Sources say by this action, Na’Abba was allegedly acting a script of some powerful forces, which are said to be uncomfortable with the strangle-like hold of Governor Kwankwaso on Kano PDP.

    In the calculations of these forces, the former speaker fits the bill of a tough politician who can give Kwankwaso a run for his money in the unfolding battle for the soul of Kano PDP.

    Another factor that is working in Na’Abba’s favour is his no-love-lost relationship with ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo while he served as the nation’s number four citizen. The former president is considered as Kwankwaso’s political mentor.

    Besides considering appointing Na’Abba as minister, plans are also afoot to dissolve the Kano State council of PDP, which members are loyalists of Kwankwaso and set up an interim council that will work for the president’s interests.

    Jigawa’s peculiar case

    But unlike in Kano where the Presidency has found willing members of the party to challenge the governor’s authority, the situation is a bit complicated in Jigawa State.

    As at the time of filing this report, the Presidency is reportedly still searching for a popular politician who can carry out its bidding in the state. But the situtation, it was gathered, is not helped by the fact that practically the entire members of the PDP in the state, including elected state and federal officials are solidly in support of the state governor, Sule Lamido.

    Apart from Rufai, who was removed as minister a few days ago, the other minister from the state is Senator Kabiru Taminu Turaki in charge of Special Duties portfolio. He is also the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Conflicts.

    Aside being preoccupied with his latter assignment, Taminu, who is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, in the thinking of the president’s strategists, lacks the stature to ruffle Lamido’s political feathers. But the Presidency, according to sources, is reportedly hopeful that it will soon come up with a strategy to neutralise Lamido’s alleged larger-than-life image in Jigawa.

    Why Abdullahi was retained and Abdulrahman Oba’s option

    One minister whose retention was not surprising is Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi. That the Minister of Sports and the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) has performed well above average is not in dispute.

    Abdullahi was nominated as minister by the former governor of Kwara State and now a senator, Dr. Bukola Saraki, whose relationship with the Presidency has been far from cordial.

    The Presidency’s grouse against Saraki is his role in the new PDP and his alleged backing for the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, despite several entreaties to him to dump the governor.

    Also, Saraki’s protégé, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, is among the G7 governors opposed to the president.

    And because of Saraki’s disposition to the Presidency, not a few people had assumed that Abdullahi may be given the boot by the, president. The Nation however gathered that Abdullahi’s deft handling of his relationship with Saraki and not his performance as minister may have saved him his job.

    Sources claimed that the search on who will take on Saraki’s dominance of Kwara politics may have been narrowed down to Professor Abdulrahman Oba, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, who currently chairs the Federal Character Commission (FCC), whose relationship with Saraki has been frosty in recent times.

    Can Gana deliver Niger for Jonathan?

    In recent times, former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, has been a regular visitor of the president.

    Gana, who was the chairman of the PDP mini convention, which held few weeks ago, has been a staunch ally of Jonathan in spite of his state governor, Babangida Aliyu’s ‘rebellious’ stance against the president.

    There are unconfirmed speculations that Gana may be handed the brief to deliver the state’s support for the president as the 2015 elections approaches and to counter the gameplan of the governor’s camp.

    But can Gana deliver Niger State, which boasts two former Nigerian leaders, General Ibrahim Babangia and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, whose body languages lately suggest that they may not be huge fans of the president currently.

    But on a final analysis, it remans to be seen how the Presidency will hijack the party structures from these governors whose support are key for the president to realise his speculated second term agenda.

  • PDP crisis: Jonathan, Aliyu, Lamido, Nyako meet

    PDP crisis: Jonathan, Aliyu, Lamido, Nyako meet

    •Babangida, Ali also at Villa

    President Goodluck Jonathan was meeting last night with some of the aggrieved governors in a bid to end the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crises.

    The meeting was ongoing at the First Lady’s conference room in the State House as at 10:30pm.

    Reporters were barred from the venue of the meeting, but it was gathered that Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) were at the meeting.

    It could not be confirmed whether Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi was there, but a source said Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso could not attend because they were abroad on official assignments.

    The aggrieved governors on August 31 broke away to form the “New PDP” under the chairmanship of Kawu Baraje.

    Reporters monitored the movement of the governors’ vehicles from a distance of about 600 metres.

    Earlier in the day as part of the peace efforts, some elders of the party, including former Military President Ibrahim Babangida and former PDP Chairman Ahmadu Ali met yesterday with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa.

    Other party leaders at the meeting could not be ascertained as at press time.

    The PDP faction led by Kawu Baraje emerged on August 31 when former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and seven governors announced the splinter group after storming out of the mini-convention in Abuja.

    It could not be confirmed yesterday whether former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is the arrow head of the reconciliation move, attended the meeting held at House 7 in the State House.

    Reporters were eaqually barred from the venue of that meeting, which lasted for about one hour. They were also not briefed on the outcome. Besides, no statement was issued.

    The meeting was, however, said to be a preparatoryto last night’s meeting.

    Some governors were seen at the Presidential Villa before the meeting. They include Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Gabriel Suswam (Benue).

     

  • It is not impossible to remove Tukur, says Aliyu

    It is not impossible to remove Tukur, says Aliyu

    The battle for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Bamanga Tukur’s removal seems to be getting bigger, with Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu saying “it is not impossible to remove Tukur or any member of the party”.

    Fielding questions from reporters after a stakeholders’ meeting of the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Minna yesterday, Aliyu faulted the Special Adviser to the President on Politics, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, who said the party chairman could not be removed.

    According to Aliyu, the party’s constitution clearly spells out how officials can be removed. “In the constitution of our party, there are ways of removing people, so nobody can say it is impossible to remove anybody,” he said.

    The governor identified Gulak as one of the major problems of the party. According to Aliyu, instead of the adviser to gauge the mood of the people and feed his principal with their feelings, he went ahead to mislead his principal and abused perceived enemies.

    Earlier at the meeting, Aliyu explained to party members that the G-7 PDP governors walked out of the national convention in Abuja because they were being systematically schemed out of the party.

    Aliyu said the action of the G7 PDP governors should not be seen as factionalising the party, but a move to show their displeasure on certain decisions. The group is open to reconciliation, he said.

     

     

     

  • Aliyu to Fed Govt: honour agreement with ASUU

    Aliyu to Fed Govt: honour agreement with ASUU

    •Govt urged to implement pact 

    The Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) and Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, yesterday urged the Federal Government to honour the 2009 agreement reached with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the interest of the students.

    He frowned at the annual nine per cent national budgetary allocation to the education sector as against the 26 per cent benchmark approved by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

    Aliyu described the development as “unfortunate”.

    Speaking after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UNICEF, he said: “We should not enter into an agreement we know we are incapable of fulfilling.”

    Aliyu said the agreement was binding on the Federal Government and ASUU.

    According to him, “no matter the agreement, once it is signed, we must keep to it.”

    He said it was sad that in the past, university students spent more time than necessary in school due to persistent strikes by lecturers, adding that this is not in the interest of the country.

    The governor appealed to the lecturers to reconsider their stand by going back into negotiation with the government in the interest of their students and the nation.

    The NSGF chair lamented that over the years, the country had not met the 26 per cent budgetary allocation to the education sector, rather a paltry nine per cent had been allocated to the sector.

    Said he: “With all our oil money, it is sad that education gets less than nine per cent of our national budget. It is very sad and unfortunate that our university lecturers are on strike.”

    Governor Aliyu said for the country to join the league of developed nations, education must be given priority.

    He described as unacceptable, a trend where 14 of 19 states in the North have over 70 per cent of their children out of school.

    He attributed the achievements in the Southwest to the vision of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who introduced free education in the defunct Western Region and allocated over 50 per cent of the region’s resources to education.

    The UNICEF’s Country Representative, Mrs. Jean Gough, said with the resources available in the country, there is no justification for any child to be out of school.

    She promised that UNICEF would support Niger State to realise its vision 3:2020, especially in the area of education.

    Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, has said the only way to save higher education is for the Federal Government to implement the agreement it reached with ASUU in 2009.

    He said unless the agreement is respected, tertiary education is doomed.

    Aturu made the declaration in a statement he issued in Lagos yesterday, titled: “Implementation of FGN-ASUU agreement-the only way to save higher education in Nigeria”.

    He noted: “We may have to return to the suggestion made by Prof. Wole Soyinka many years ago that we should close down the universities and declare a state of emergency.

    “When he first made that suggestion, it looked unrealistic and alarmist. Now, it is clear that we are pretending to have higher education.

    “What takes place in our dilapidated universities is a little better than kindergarten education, if we must be honest with ourselves.”

    Aturu said it was unacceptable that the Federal Government should attempt to bully ASUU to renege on the agreement.

    He said the expenditure profile of the government and politicians does not show that it cannot meet the financial requirements of the agreement.

  • Aliyu cautions politicians

    Aliyu cautions politicians

    The Chairman of Northern States’ Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu yesterday cautioned politicians against overheating the polity.

    The governor said politicians need to place national interest above personal or primordial sentiments.

    Aliyu spoke in Minna, the state capital, when he presented cheques of N5.74 billion, donated by Federal Government, to victims of the 2011 post-election violence in Niger and eight other states.

    The giovernor, who spoke through his deputy governor, Ahmed Musa Ibeto, noted that the survival of the nation should be paramount to leaders.

    He said great nations are built by patriotic citizens who dedicate their lives to the development of their countries.

    Aliyu said: “Let me call on the political class in this country to exercise utmost caution and high sense of responsibilities in all our actions and utterances.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Buhari, Tambuwal, governors attend Fashola father’s Fidau prayers

    Buhari, Tambuwal, governors attend Fashola father’s Fidau prayers

    Former Head of State, General Muhammadul Buhari (rtd) and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and ten governors led the list of prominent personalities who gathered on Tuesday to pay their last respect to late Alhaji Ibrahim Demola Fashola, father of Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN).

    The event which was the 8th Fidau Prayers for Pa Fashola held at the Tafawa Balewa Square drew an array of personalities and large turnout of guests dressed in red and yellow head gears and caps and was held amidst tight security.

    The arrival of Governor Fashola, his siblings and other dignitaries signalled the start of the event at about 2pm.

    The large tents were beautifully decorated with yellow and red colours and a big banner bearing the photograph of the deceased with the inscription, “Farewell Papa.”

    Governors present at the event are – Comrade Adams Oshiomole of Edo State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti ), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Senator Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) , Senator Abiola Ajumobi (Oyo), Aliyu Babangida (Niger), Muritala Nyako (Adamawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Captain Idris Wada (Kogi), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and the Deputy Governor of Imo State.

    Other dignitaries present include, former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Secretary to the Federal Government, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, members of the Diplomatic Corps, members of the National and State Assemblies and members of the Lagos State Executive Council, amongst other top government functionaries.

    Leading the Fidau, an Islamic Cleric, Alhaji Muheedeen Bello, offered prayers for the repose of the soul of the deceased as well as members of the Fashola family.

     

  • PDP crisis: Tukur blasts Aliyu, Lamido, Wamakko, others

    PDP crisis: Tukur blasts Aliyu, Lamido, Wamakko, others

    The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, has taken a swipe at five northern governors for allegedly calling for his removal from office.

    Tukur described Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); Babangida Aliyu (Niger); Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto); and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) as lacking in wisdom, caution, prudence and good counsel.

    The PDP chairman’s reaction was based on reports in some national dailies that the governors had demanded his removal from office at a private meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan last weekend.

    In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Prince Olver Okpala, on Tuesday, Tukur said the actions and unguarded utterances of the governors were capable of heightening political tension in the land.

    The statement said: “The recent visit by some governors from the north to the President has raised furore, although the discussion between the President and the governors was held behind closed-doors, the media has been awash with the news of the meeting and the issues discussed.

    “Media reports have it that the four governors who had earlier visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo and two former military heads of state demanded the removal of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the national chairman of the PDP.

    “We do not know the veracity of this claim, suffice it to say however that, the governors have the fundamental right to meet and discuss among themselves and whomsoever they like and may also have the fundamental right to freedom of speech and to air their views on any issue of national importance.

    “However, in so doing one would expect them to make comments with decorum, humility and caution. As leaders whom the general public look upon as role models, they are expected to show respect for constituted authority and the elders, which include Alhaji Bamanga Tukur who have contributed immensely to the peace, progress, development and advancement of this country.

     

    “Much as the constitution guarantees certain fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of speech and assembly, there are constitutional limitations to these freedoms.

    “The leaders should show wisdom, caution, prudence and good counsel in their comments on national issues as their unguarded utterances and calls can cause unnecessary political tension.”

     

  • Aliyu alleges plan to inflate census figures

    The Chairman of the Northern States’ Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has decried plans by some officials of the National Population Commission (NPC) to inflate the population figures of a geo-political zone during the next national census.

    The governor spoke yesterday in Minna, the state capital, at the passing out ceremony of 300 members of Chanchaga Local Government Area’s vigilance group.

    He said such move would put a question mark on the exercise.

    Aliyu alleged that some workers of the commission have pre-determined the outcome of the head count before it is conducted.

    The governor cautioned that “since 1960, we have not had a generally acceptable figure and it will be wrong if we already have a pre-determined figure before the exercise…”