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Tag: All Progressives Congress

  • 2019: Amaechi, other Rivers APC leaders adopt Sahara Oil boss Tonye Cole for governorship

    Oil magnate, Tonye Dele-Cole, is poised to fly the flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Rivers State governorship election next year, following the adoption of his candidacy by stakeholders at their apex leadership caucus meeting in Lagos on Thursday.

    Observers had expected the ticket to be a straight fight between the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr.Dakuku Peterside and Senator Magnus Abe.

    That, however, was not to be as the Lagos meeting, presided over by Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, who doubles as APC leader in Rivers State, gave Cole the nod.

    Other party leaders at the Lagos meeting included oil magnate, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs; the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside; a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, Chief Sam Jaja and Senator Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East).

    Informed sources said that Amaechi wanted a ‘neutral’ candidate that would be largely acceptable to the mainstream APC in the state as well as the Abe faction of the party.

    Amaechi has been pushing for a candidate from the riverine part of the state to take over from the incumbent governor, Nyesom Wike. The riverine area has not produced governor since 1999.

    Cole, an architect and Chief Executive of Sahara Energy, is a son of Dr. Partick Dele Cole, a former managing director of Daily Times and a former ambassador of Nigeria to Brazil.

    He is from Abonnema-Kalabari, headquarters of Akuku-Toru (rivernine) Local Government Area.

    He attended the Lagos meeting along with Peterside who was the party’s candidate in the 2015 election.

    The NIMASA boss welcomed Cole’s endorsement yesterday as did Abe, who was not at the meeting. But Abe said he was not aware that Cole was an APC member.

    Peterside, in his response, said: “Our leader, Rt. Hon. Amaechi,” whose leadership they all subscribed to, made a decision on who members of the party in Rivers State should back for the office of governor of Rivers State in 2019, with the lot falling on his friend and brother in Christ (Cole).

    “I made a commitment to the group earlier to stand by whatever decision the leader makes in the overall interest of the party and Rivers State. I reiterated my position yesterday (on Thursday) in the leadership meeting. I thus stand by the decision on Tonye Cole.

    “We have toiled from 2013 to date (a period of five years) and have made sacrifices and lost lives in the course of enthroning the kind of government we want in Rivers State; a government that will guarantee peace, unity and prosperity. In the course of the struggle, we bonded as one indivisible family under God.

    “The decision by the leader has been met with mixed reactions, which is expected. My appeal is that we allow the greater interest of APC and Rivers State to prevail.

    “To those who believe in the vision I shared in the past five years, the leadership I gave at various times and the path of loyalty to the cause I have chosen over time, I urge you all to stand by the Leader, the party and the ordinary people of Rivers State in support of Tonye Cole.

    “I personally pledge my loyalty to the Leader (who is to me family) and the decision he has made. I enjoin all my supporters to queue behind our leader (Amaechi) and ensure total victory for our party.”

    Peterside also prayed for unity among the members of APC and victory in the 2019 elections.

    Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), who hails from Bera-Ogoni in the upland part, said on the phone yesterday that he was “not aware of any meeting of APC stakeholders in Rivers State that has been held and endorsed anybody.”

    He added: “I have said it on several occasions that anyone who is interested in serving Rivers people should come forward and offer themselves and make their plans known.

    “If a Tonye Cole has been so endorsed, it is a very welcome development. He should come forward and offer himself and make himself known to Rivers people.

    “I, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, have said I am going to vie for the governorship ticket of our party, the APC, and I want to repeat that I will vie for the governorship ticket of APC.

    “Every other Rivers son or daughter who believes that he or she has the capacity and the experience to offer the needed services that our state needs at this time is welcome.

    “As far as I know, I have not known Tonye Cole to be a member of the party (APC). But if he has decided to join the party as to contest for the governorship, it is a welcome development.”

  • Uduaghan in APC: The shape of things to come

    It is no longer news that Dr Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan has switched political camps, having dumped the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC). The presence of the former governor of Delta State at the national caucus meeting of the APC hosted by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday, put to rest months of speculation as to whether he would leave his former party or not. What is new, however, is that the movement of Uduaghan to the APC is generating reactions.

    In one of such reactions, a spokesperson for the incumbent governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, said the defection will not affect the fortunes of his principal’s party, the PDP, in the 2019 elections at the state at federal levels. That reactions are trailing the exit of the former governor from the ruling party is not unexpected.

    Uduaghan is not a small politician. He is one of the biggest politicians ever to emerge not only from Delta State but also from the Niger Delta. Having been a Commissioner and then climbed the political ladder of Delta to become the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), from where he was elected governor, whatever he does or does not do is bound to generate reactions. But no matter what anybody may say to the contrary, the defection of Uduaghan is bound to rub off negatively on the PDP in Delta.

    And the beneficiary of that development is his new party, the APC, which will reap bountifully from it. Since 1999 when Nigeria returned to democratic rule from military dictatorship, the PDP had held sway in Delta. In essence, the party has held on to power in the state for 19 years notwithstanding the efforts of the opposition forces, including Chief Great Ogboru, who has serially contested for governorship, to dislodge it.

    With the benefit of hindsight, Uduaghan is one of those who made it possible for the PDP to have a firm grip on the state. Now that he has exited the PDP, one does not need a seer to foretell that the army of loyalists that he has built on the political terrain over the past 19 years will follow him to the APC. The former governor, in fact, hinted of the mass defection that may soon hit the PDP in Delta in a statement to announce his crossing to the APC when he said that after explaining some of the deeper issues that motivated his decision to his followers, who had been urging him to stay on in the PDP, most of them agreed to join the APC in the near future. Consequently, he made it clear that he was going into APC as “’John the Baptist’ to the numerous Deltans that are coming in (to APC) soon – very soon”.

    The forthcoming 2019 elections promise to be the time to showcase how much damage the exit of the former governor has done to the strength of the PDP to win elections in Delta, especially in Delta South where Uduaghan hails from and where many believe he is likely to pick the ticket to run for the Senate. Meanwhile, those who are close to the former governor say he is not a frivolous politician who will exit a political platform without a good reason to do so, or the sort of politician that will act in a manner unless it is for public good.

    According to the sources, the former Delta chief helmsman weighed carefully the options of staying back in the PDP and thus remaining incapacitated in contributing to the efforts to move Delta and the rest of the Niger Delta forward, or joining forces with the APC which government at the federal level has, over the past three years, proved that it is committed to addressing the challenges of the oil rich region through its engagements with stakeholders and the deployment of social and infrastructural projects. He chose the latter.

     

    • Ejuwa, a marketing executive, sent this piece from Warri

     

     

  • Your PVCs your power —APC aspirant

    An All Progressives Congress (APC) Lagos State House of Assembly aspirant in Ifako/Ijaiye Local Government, Mutairu Balogun, has urged Lagos residents to exercise their voting rights by collecting their permanent voter cards (PVCs).

    ‘’The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said the application for the PVCs will come to an end on August 31. Unfortunately, it’s around the festive period. We all should remember that our future lies in the PVCs. Let’s go out en masse immediately after the festive celebration to get our PVCs,’’Balogun said.

    Balogun commended Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for the tremendous infrastructural development of the state.

    ‘’Governor Ambode has recorded tremendous achievements in the areas of infrastructural development, human capacity development and provision of basic social amenities, among others.

    ‘’The strides achieved by his administration have become a reference point among his contemporaries and politicians, hence the need to support him for another term.’’

  • 2019: It’s direct primaries for all polls —APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) will adopt direct primaries in choosing its candidates for all of next year’s elections, contrary to earlier reports that it had opted for the indirect mode for elections other than the presidency.

    Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, who briefed reporters at the end of Thursday’s sixth meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), had said the meeting agreed to use direct primary only in picking the APC presidential candidate and indirect primary for other candidates—state/national assemblies and governorship.

    Lalong was, however, contradicted yesterday by the party’s Acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, who told reporters that the APC NEC actually resolved to use direct primary in all cases while also allowing states who prefer indirect primaries to convene a stakeholders meeting and agree on it.

    He said: “The 30th August, 2018 resolution of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Executive Committee (NEC) on the mode of primary election has been subject to inference and misleading interpretations.

    “As an update to the earlier released statement, we wish to make the following clarifications on NEC’s resolutions on mode of primary election:

    • Primary elections into all elective offices shall be by direct primaries.
    • NEC resolved to adopt direct primaries for the nomination of the presidential candidate and all other primaries.
    • The party’s constitution though provides for indirect election and consensus, however, the use of indirect primaries is conditional and dependent on logistic impediments, peculiarities and need of a given state that makes it unable to use direct primaries.
    • The State Executive Committee (SEC) shall in consultation with aspirants and other critical stakeholders of the party in a given state forward for the consideration and approval by the National Working Committee (NWC) if indirect primary is to be adopted. The adopted mode shall now be applied to all categories of the party’s primary elections i.e. state assembly, Senate, House of Representatives and for the governorship elections.
    • The request for indirect primaries must be signed by majority of the State Executive Committee and critical stakeholders in attendance at the meeting where such resolution is reached.

    He added: “Direct Primaries will, among others, ensure fairness, create a level playing ground for contestants, eliminate corrupt tendencies usually associated with the delegates system and ultimately ensure full participation of party members at all levels.”

    Governors elected on the platform of the party and state chairmen are strongly in favour of indirect primaries which confer on them tremendous influence to determine who gets nominated.

    On the other hand, majority of the party’s legislators, particularly those who are not in the good books of their governors, are rooting for direct primaries.

    Some of the lawmakers told The Nation that many of the governors are more interested in wielding influence at the expense of party cohesion.

    On Thursday, one of them said: “It will be dangerous to have APC senators who don’t have return tickets, especially in view of the current development in the Senate.

    “It will be a disaster to have senators who are interested in retaining their seats but don’t have return tickets because the governors are allowed to manipulate the process to favour their choices.

    “Why are the governors afraid of direct primaries?

    “They have control of the party structures in their states but should allow the will of the people to prevail. If they are true democrats and progressives, they should not try to impose their candidates on the people.

    “We are waiting to see how the party will address this issue in the coming days.

    “But I must tell you that if they deny legislators who stand by the President and the party in these trying times, they would have started what they cannot finish, because in future, nobody will make that sacrifice again.

    “If the party allows the governors to manipulate the process in favour of their candidates, they would have told us in clear terms that loyalty does not pay. And you know what that means.”

    The Nation gathered that barring any last-minute change, President Muhammadu Buhari may have to pay N55 million to obtain the nomination form for the presidential contest of the party.

    The nomination fee was part of the proposals presented to the party’s NEC at Thursday’s meeting.

    The Nation gathered that although the proposal was not immediately approved by the NEC, it was extensively discussed.

    The National Working Committee was mandated to review the figure in line with the Electoral Act.

    The President and others who contested the party’s presidential primaries in November 2014 paid N27.5 million each to procure the nomination form.

    In the latest proposals, governorship aspirants are to pay N22.5 million each, up from the current N5.5 million, while senatorial aspirants are to pay N8.5 million as against the current N3.3 million.

    Aspirants for the House of Representatives may be required to cough out N3.5 million as against the current N2.2 million while aspirants for the State House of Assembly may be required to cough out N1.1 million as against the existing N550,000.

    The proposed guidelines require each aspirant to sign an undertaking to be of good behaviour and to be vicariously liable for the action of his supporters.

    One provision says: “Where it is established that an aspirant and/or his supporters are responsible for breaches of the peace and or law, the aspirant may be disqualified from participating in the nomination exercise and in serious cases prosecuted.”

    The Nation gathered that the new fees were vigorously debated at the meeting.

    It resolved to allow the National Working Committee take a further look at the figures and agree on how much should be paid for nomination.

    Governor Lalong confirmed that leaders present at the meeting expressed concern over the high fees and the need to review them.

    He said: “We debated the cost of nomination and left it to the National Working Committee to take into consideration some of the views expressed and come out with a reasonable figure. Any figure they bring will be acceptable and we don’t need to come back to NEC to ratify it.”

     

  • Oshiomhole: Saraki’s ambition almost destroyed APC

    Says ‘I have been vindicated by his presidential bid’

     

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has said that he has been vindicated about his comments that Senate President left the Party because of his personal ambition and not because he had the interest of the nation at heart.

    He said that Saraki’s personal ambition almost destroyed the APC, pointing out that it was a good thing that the Senate President has moved on.

    Oshiomhole who met with APC leaders from Kwara State said the the declaration of the senate President to contest the presidential ticket on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party has vindicated him and charged APC members in Kwara State to jettison their personal ambitions and work towards ending the reign of Saraki in Kwara politics.

    Chief Press Secretary to Oshiomhole, Simon Ebegbulem quote the APC Chairman as saying “when I was saying that all these defections is not about APC but the personal ambition of these people, they took hired writers to say I was being too hard. But Saraki’s declaration has vindicated me.

    “Thank God he has moved on because his inordinate ambition was almost destroying our party but he has failed. These are not principled politicians but bread and butter politicians who can go extra miles to pursue their selfish ambition and never think about the well-being of Nigerians.

    “As things stands today, APC remains the darling of the Nigeria people. Because PDP was the vomit of yesterday, our people will not chew it back today, not under three and half years. People have not forgotten and people will never forget. In fact what a senior palace chief in Nigeria said, he said this generation of Nigerians will not forgive the PDP in a hurry. Even to say you want to forgive you must do reparation.

    “The damage they did to our economy, the damage they did to our electoral process, even the culture of rigging was institutionalized by them. They introduced do or die politics. They are the ones buying weapons for young people to go into thuggery while their own children are schooling abroad. They introduced all these vices”.

    He said that reclaiming Kwara state from the grip of Saraki is a task that must be done, and asked APC leaders to ensure they conclude the election of executives from the wards to the state this weekend.

    Read Also: Oshiomhole inaugurates Cross River APC committee

    He said “the last time I spoke with the Minister he told me we have accomplished 80 or 85 per cent, that for me is not good enough because we don’t have more time. So this week we must achieve hundred per cent by whatever means. If you can’t do it, we have to help you get it done.

    “The two Deputy National chairmen working with the National Organizing Secretary and the North central Vice Chairman constitute a committee to complete whatever is left. It will not exceed Sunday this week.

    “I also want to appeal very strongly, that at this hour, we don’t want a situation where because of what is happening in Kwara, people who ordinarily will be quite happy to be a strong pillar of support, everybody want to be a governor, everybody want to be a Senator or in the House of Reps.

    “Our party is a party of change and we want to discourage people from putting their personal interest over and above the interest of the people of Kwara state. I am able to say under the leadership of the Minister, he has repeatedly said it that his interest is not for him to contest for the governorship of Kwara state or any elective office. I don’t think it can be more selfless than that.

    “I am very impressed with the enthusiasm of the people of Kwara state. They are experiencing a new dawn, a new sense of freedom and a sense of ownership of the APC where we are trying to do bottom up rather than top down.

    “Where we have politics of inclusion, no god father, everybody matters. Now I superintend over the liquidation of god fathers in Edo state, now I will not be here and allow and support the emergence of a new god father.

    “When we vanquished the god fathers we created a level playing field for equal opportunity to participate and that is what I think we have achieved so far and we need to take full advantage of that to do what need to be done for us to get on with the job of organizing, mobilizing.

    “I believe all of us, the APC leadership, we are anxious to come to Kwara state, to interface with the great people of Kwara state, beyond llorin to other major cities in Kwara.

    “Let them know and carry the message of change and use the broom to sweep away the past, including the thorn umbrella.  The task of sweeping away the past and rebuilding a new Kwara is a task that must be done.

    “That should give you the energy, the incentive and the appropriate spirit to work together so that victory will be ours, not for our own good but for the good of the great people of Kwara state who have been oppressed for such a long long time. Like they say they can be many days for the thief one day for the owner”.

  • APC resists plans to convert Tinapa to university

    The All Progressives Congress in Cross River State has resisted plans by the state government to convert the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort to a university.

    The party described the idea as “laughable and the height of hallucination.”

    Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade had in a television programme recently mooted the idea of turning the resort into a “first class university.”

    A statement by the State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Bassey Ita, made available to The Nation in Calabar on Thursday, read, “Ayade will not stop amusing Cross River people. The people of Cross River are daily inundated with promises of this or that, which have all remained only in the realm of imagination.

    Read Also: APC primaries: Edo aspirant seeks direct primaries

    “We just begin to laugh each time Ayade makes his promises of constructing this or that. Yes we laugh over it because there are just products of hallucination. Each time he travels abroad and thinks of a story beyond MOUs, he comes back with the idea of another empty promise. Cross Riverians are now too wise to believe these antics”.

    “It is really amusing that a government which cannot subvent the only State University, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) to take care of its accreditation and other academic challenges, can be talking of constructing a research-based university. Such pronouncement confirms our fear of hallucination as being at the centre of these empty promises”.

    “We urge the Governor to convince us of its seriousness with the project, by firstly subventing CRUTECH, paying pension arrears, completing the superhighway, deep seaport, among other projects he earlier promised but abandoned before turning Tinapa to a University.”

    The statement urged the Governor not to tamper with the Tinapa Resort because “APC has great plans coupled with the goodwill of the President Buhari led administration to revive the resort and make it work”.

  • 2019: Turaki, Bafarawa pick PDP presidential forms

    A former Special Duties Minister, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki and a former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa on Wednesday picked the presidential nomination forms of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    The two aspirants expressed the hope that the PDP will defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the 2019 presidential elections.

    Ruling out the prospects of stepping down for one of the 12 PDP aspirants in the race as consensus candidate, the aspirants however said any of the aspirants could willingly withdraw from the race.

    Turaki said, “If we say that we are going for consensus, what are we going to do with it? We agree we are all brothers. We see it as a game. Therefore, if anybody is interested in withdrawing from the race, it’s a welcome idea.

    “But talking of consensus, you are going to fall like the All Progressives Congress (APC) where we are going to have a one-man show. We don’t want to go for one-man show. We want to practise democracy so that people will choose their own better candidate.

    “For example, if APC is playing democracy, they will allow at least three to four aspirants to aspire for the position. But because the party is a limited liability company, while PDP is a public limited company, it is welcome by everybody”.

    Turaki’s nomination documents were picked on his behalf by the Director of Media of his campaign organisation, Mr. Sola Atere.

    On his part, Bafarawa, who came to pick his nomination papers in person, said he was encouraged by the number of aspirants in the race, stressing that it was an indication of acceptability of the PDP among Nigerians.

    Read Also: Nigerian leaders should emulate Ayade, says Turaki

    “That is why people are aspiring, more are interested in joining the party unlike other parties where they run a one-man show. So, it’s very encouraging to all of us who are aspiring for this seat.

    “We are brothers, we are family. Our ambition is to get rid of APC. Therefore forget about the number of aspirants of the PDP. At the end of the day, we are all democrats, we must accept (the outcome of the primary, win or lose.

    “Therefore, anybody who wins, I believe collectively we are going to work together and see that we save this country from this mess”, Bafarawa said.

  • Oil sector reform has made more money available to government – APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that the reforms in the nation’s oil sector has made more money available for government to address the social and infrastructural needs of the country while encouraging increased private sector participation in the sector.

    Reacting to allegations made by the main opposition, Acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena said the reform in the sector is a clear indication that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has not copied the corrupt template past PDP-led administrations used to criminally siphon oil revenues.

    He said “The oil sector reforms has provided government more revenue to address social and infrastructural needs of the country; is curbing the perennial fuel scarcities; increased private sector participation and resulted remarkable investments in both Refineries and Retails. The country is now poised to achieve self-sufficiency in terms of refining petroleum.”

    The statement said that the issues being raised by the opposition include “Leaked memo detailing alleged underhand oil contracts to the tune of N9 trillion at the NNPC and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, which are under the direct supervision of Mr President.

    “The subject of a leaked memo purportedly written by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources to the President which came to the fore sometime in October 2017 has since been overtaken by events. It is a matter of public knowledge that the author of the memo openly proclaimed that the issues raised in the letter were not on fraud, but on governance and suggested ways to go about it.”

    Nabena quoted the Minister as saying “I think a lot of people got it wrong. People dwell much on issues of sensationalism and leave the main substance.”

    He said further that “it was clearly stated then by the NNPC in response to the leaked document that apart from the 618km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Corporation (NPDC) production service contracts: All the other transactions mentioned in the memo were not procurement contracts. The NPDC production service contracts have undergone due process, while the AKK contract had not reached the stage of contract award”.

    Read Also: PDP suffering from selective amnesia, says APC

    According to the APC spokesman, the NNPC also stated then that: “It should be noted that for both the Crude Term Contract and the Direct Sale and Direct Purchase (DSDP) agreements, there are no specific values attached to each transaction to warrant the values of $10billion and $5billion respectively placed on them in the leaked document”.

    In view of the explanation offered by the corporation, Nabena said it was inappropriate to attach arbitrary values to the shortlists with the aim of classifying the transactions as contracts when they are merely the short listing of prospective off-takers of crude oil and suppliers of petroleum products under agreed terms.

    On the allegation of diversion of crude oil worth N1.1tr, using 18 unregistered companies, he said “It also in the public domain that within the last three years, there have been massive and verifiable reforms in the sales, marketing and general management of the various grades of Nigeria’s equity crude oil.

    “The reforms have manifested in the now popular public opening of bids for the sales and purchase of Nigerian crude grades in what is known as annual crude term contract.

    “As at last check, the Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD) of the NNPC had achieved 98 per cent automation of all transactions involving the supply, marketing and sale of the various grades and blends of Nigeria’s crude oil across the world.

    “The automation has also helped in the following: enabled the open bid process of customer selection for lifting and purchase of Nigeria’s crude oil grades, emplacement of efficient crude for product import processes, leading to savings of $1 billion in one year as well as the introduction of improved pricing system, which has evolved into a robust and auditable pricing mechanism.

    “Based on what we have today, the NNPC COMD is enabled to achieve an end-to-end monitoring of every barrel of crude oil sold in the country. At a click of a button, the NNPC can tell you how much crude oil is sold, at what price, who bought it and where it has gone to etc. It is therefore inconceivable that the PDP or anybody could ascribe such patently bogus transaction to NNPC.”

    On the alleged billions of unremitted revenue from sale of crude which has led to deadlock at the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) severally, especially the last deadlock which was largely triggered by the contentious June 2018 monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting, he said “it is imperative to state that current NNPC Management assumed office a few years ago with a clear mandate to promote accountability and ensure efficiency in the running of the affairs of the Corporation.

    “The remittances to the Federation Account have never been flat as asserted. While the provision of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) were based on plans on the assumption of 2.3 million barrels/day (industry wide) and $50 crude oil price, actual production has averaged 1.9 million barrels/day (industry wide) and the average crude oil price has fluctuated between $50-$70.

    “Therefore remittances to the Federation Account have been based on actual monthly performance for crude oil production and price as dictated by international market forces.

    “The Corporation during the FAAC meeting presents relevant data to support amounts remitted to the Federation Account which is verifiable. This increase in price was the major reason for NNPC remittance to the Federation Account in June 2018 despite 400,000 barrels/day below projected production for the month.

    “To conclude, going by the current oil sector reforms, it is clear that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has not copied the corrupt template past PDP-led administrations used to criminally siphon oil revenues.

    “The oil sector reforms has provided government more revenue to address social and infrastructural needs of the country; is curbing the perennial fuel scarcities; increased private sector participation and resulted remarkable investments in both Refineries and Retails. The country is now poised to achieve self-sufficiency in terms of refining petroleum.”

  • Osinbajo in the saddle

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the past 10 working days was clearly calling the shots as Acting President.

    He stepped in as President Muhammadu Buhari embarked on holiday in London on Friday, August 3.

    Osinbajo was not new to the terrain as he has been Acting President for a longer period last year.

    What is new now is that his impact and authority were more felt while the President was away.

    To digress a bit, just before the President left Nigeria for London on August 3, there was a strong rumour that the holiday was just a plot to allow Buhari’s men to clamp down on the National Assembly.

    It was said that the period will be used to specifically to impeach the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki in order to give the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) control of the legislative arm of government.

    But with the 10-day holiday over, the rumour never came to reality while Osinbajo was in the saddle.

    Instead of facing the legislature as was rumoured before Buhari’s trip to London, Osinbajo’s impact, authority and drastic changes were felt and seen more in the executive arm of government.

    As a starter, Osinbajo on his third working day as Acting President, that is on August 7, terminated the appointment of the immediate past Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Musa Daura.

    Daura had stormed the National Assembly with armed and masked DSS security personnel without the knowledge or approval of the Presidency.

    He prevented lawmakers, journalists and management and staff from accessing the complex.

    Not a few Nigerians were happy and surprised at the same time when Osinbajo immediately announced Daura’s sack after the National Assembly blockage.

    That Osinbajo’s action alone on that Tuesday was believed to have sent warning signals to every top government officials in the executive arm of government.

    The clear message from Osinbajo’s action was that no nonsense, undemocratic and illegal practices would be entertained under his watch.

    Members of the cabinet, including ministers, were also believed to have adjusted to the new order.

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held the following day after Daura’s sack provided the opportunity for Nigerians to see what the body languages of the cabinet members would be to the new order.

    For the first time since Osinbajo was presiding over FEC as Acting President or Vice President, a higher number of ministers were at the Council chamber when the meeting started around 10a.m on the 8th of August 2018.

    Twenty-three ministers out of thirty-four ministers (apart from the President who doubles as Petroleum Minister and former Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed who left for United Nations’ job) were in attendance during the rendition of the National anthem on that Wednesday.

    That figure was a sharp contrast to what normally played out anytime Osinbajo was presiding over FEC when the President was outside the country.

    Apart from special FEC meetings to prepare for annual Federal Government budget before the document is sent to the National Assembly for consideration, many ministers were believed to always find one reason or the other to stay away from such FEC meetings chaired by Osinbajo.

    Some ministers not listed to be on trip with the President when he embarks on official engagements abroad were also mostly unaccounted for during Osinbajo led-FEC meetings.

    They had their field days last year when Osinbajo was Acting President for some months when the President was on medical vacation in London.

    But Osinbajo’s new no nonsense stance  was again re-echoed as Acting President last week Tuesday, 14th August, 2018.

    He ordered immediate overhaul of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police.

    A statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Laolu Akande, reads: “Following persistent complaints and reports on the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) that border on allegations of human rights violations, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to, with immediate effect, overhaul the management and activities of SARS and ensure that any Unit that will emerge from the process, will be intelligence-driven and restricted to the prevention and detection of armed robbery and kidnapping, and apprehension of offenders linked to the stated offences, and nothing more.

    “The Acting President has also directed the IGP to ensure that all operatives in the emerging Unit conduct their operations in strict adherence to the rule of law and with due regard to International Human Rights Law and the constitutionally guaranteed rights of suspects.

    “The operatives should also bear proper identification anytime they are on duty.

    “In the meantime, the Acting President has directed the National Human Rights Commission to set up a Special Panel that will conduct an investigation of the alleged unlawful activities of SARS in order to afford members of the general public the opportunity to present their grievances with a view to ensuring redress,” he stated

    That order again came a day before the next FEC meeting of 15th August 2018.

    Directly or indirectly responding to the new developments, the attendance at the commencement of the FEC meeting on 15th August again improved over the FEC meeting of 8th of August, 2018.

    Twenty-eight ministers were in attendance when the last FEC meeting started.

    The ministers who were in the Council chamber during rendition of the National anthem at the opening ceremony of FEC last Wednesday included Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Minister of State for Health, Minister of Water Resources.

    Others were Minister of Women Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Power, Works and Housing and the two minister of State in the ministry.

    Also in attendance were Minister of State for Agriculture, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Minister of State for Mines and Steel, Minister of State for Education, Minister of Information.

    Others included Minister of Defence, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Minister of Science and Technology, Minister of Trade and Investment.

    Also at the Council chamber at the commencement of the meeting were Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Minister of Sports, Minister of Finance.

    Others were Minister of Labour, Minister of State for Environment, Minister of Transportation, Minister of Communication, Minister of Federal Capital Territory.

    Also at the meeting were the Minister of State for Aviation and Minister of State for Labour.

    With the new trend and the ministers turn up, almost 100% attendance (with the exception of the President who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum Resources and former Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed) would have been achieved if Osinbajo had more time to remain as Acting President.

    The Osinbajo led National Economic Council (NEC) meeting last Thursday also decided to set up a committee headed by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to decentralize Police operations towards tackling insecurity in the country.

    The frequent news of killings in parts of the country also somehow reduced drastically during the 10-working days.

    With the President back in the country, it is hoped that the new momentum and order will be sustained.

    • This piece waas billed for publication last week

  • PDP faults Buhari’s position on rule of law

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s position that the rule of law could be subsumed under the “national interest.”

    In a statement on Monday by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the opposition party said the President’s position was strange to the nation’s laws and completely unacceptable.

    The party described the President’s position as a direct trademark of despotic rulers and as such cannot find expression or accommodation in a democratic setting of a contemporary nation.

    It expressed readiness to rally Nigerians to reject every attempt by President Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to introduce the long forgotten trappings of military dictatorship into democratic rule, which the party said, Nigerians laboured for many years to attain.

    The PDP further stated that it would not stop at anything legitimate to ensure that the International Criminal Court (ICC) holds President Buhari responsible for violations of the rule of law and criminal abuse of human rights committed under his rule in the last three years.

    Read Also: PDP challenges Buhari to debate on good governance

    The statement said, “It is instructive to note that contrary to claims by Mr. President, there is no pronouncement by the Supreme Court that subjugates constitutional rule of law and rights of citizens to the whims, caprices and dictatorial impulses of any President.

    “Our national interest is thoroughly embedded, protected, expressed and enforced only under the rule of law as provided by our constitution and there is no how Nigerians can allow an individual to superimpose or override the constitution with his personal whims and impulses; a pattern that is characteristic of known dictators all over the world, as expressed in the obnoxious Executive Order 6, designed to justify a complete clamp down of political opponents ahead of 2019 general elections.

    “President Buhari should therefore be made to answer for the litany of human rights violations in Nigeria, including documented disobedience to court orders, extra-judicial and arbitrary executions, unlawful arrests and political detentions, killing of persons in custody, torture and excessive use of force by security forces on innocent citizens, destruction of property, restriction of free speech, press, official corruption and lack of accountability as detailed in report by various international bodies, including Transparency International (TI), Amnesty International (AI) and US Department of States.

    “This is in addition to the quest to forcefully remove the leadership of the National Assembly, the blockade of the National Assembly and siege of the official residences of the Senate President and Deputy Senate President by Presidency controlled-security forces.

    “We know that President Buhari is apprehensive of the electoral defeat that awaits him in February 2019 for which he is seeking ways to subvert the system, but we caution that in this desperation to hold unto to power, he must not seek to again, subvert our constitutional order as he will be firmly resisted by Nigerians.

    “The PDP therefore calls on all Nigerians, particularly the Judiciary and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to speak out against this direct assault on our democracy as a nation before it is too late”.