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Tag: ANN

  • ANN elects Dania as national chairman

    •Olawepo: We are the third force

    The Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) yesterday elected Emmanuel Dania, an information technologist, as its national chairman at its national convention in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), attended by delegates from 36 states.

    He succeeded the Interim Chairman, Dr Osi Samuels, who became the Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), having declined to seek a fresh term.

    The party officers were elected unopposed through affirmation vote, following a motion for the review of the party constitution to permit voice vote.

    However, an election was conducted into the office of National Publicity Secretary, following the refusal of aspirants to step down for one another.

    At the Nicon Luxury, venue of the convention, two presidential aspirants-Dr Dan Musa and Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim-described ANN as the credible alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    However, two presidential aspirants- Fela Durotoye and Dr Esha Ideh- were not at the intra-party poll.

    Thanking God for the existence of the party, Olawepo-Hashim observed that Nigeria was at the eve of a new Nigeria.

    He hailed Samuels for stepping down for Dania, urging those in government to emulate him to permit new blood in national governance

    Describing ANN as the third force, Olawepo-Hashim said the party will fulfil its promises to the electorate, if they endorse the platform in next year’s polls.

    He stressed: “The GDP of Nigeria will grow seven fold. We will stop the killings in the land. We will bring Nigeria together again. The North voted for MKO Abiola and not Bashir Tofa. Venue voted for Kashim Ibrahim to go to the House of Assembly. Enugu once voted for a Kogi/Ebira as mayor. Nigeria is divided today. ANN will bring unity.”

    Musa said: “Nigeria is facing challenges; no good school, no work for our children. We want a new Nigeria.”

    The Chairman of the National Convention Committee, Terseer Tsumba, described the exercise as the beginning of a new dawn, adding ANN, which is the party of professionals, will protect the interests of the masses.

    The former chairman, Samuels, said the party is an ideological platform to move the country forward.

    He hailed members for their vision, determination and focus, adding that ANN has a mission to deviate from the past and provide a new generation of leaders.

    Samuels said:” We are fresh, strong and vibrant. It is a party of ideas; a party of youths. We do not have godfathers in ANN. It is a party of equal members. Our godfathers will be the people of Nigeria.

    “We are currently in the wilderness of the APC. ANN will take Nigeria to the promised land.”

     

  • ANN opens Benue State secretariat in Makurdi

    THE Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) has opened its party secretariat in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

    The inauguration was performed by presidential aspirant of the party Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, who urged party members to go back to their wards to intimate  eligible voters to get their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    According to him, the next election would be decided by young people.

    He said: “There are many people who have registered but never voted before and 65 percent of them are young people, knowing fully well that an incumbent president won the election by 11 million against Jonathan’s 9 million and now we have new 9 million that have never voted before and 65 percent of them are young people.

    “Any party that recognises the youths as ANN does, already the party will be victorious in 2019 election.”

    Olawepo-Hashim informed the party faithful that in the past few months, he had visited the state three times, promising to visit the state more three before the general elections.

    “I will come three times more because Benue is the heartbeat of Nigeria, it is the heartbeat of Middle Belt. Benue people fought for national unity and the defence of the unity of this country when it was under threat.

    “The new Nigeria we want to build is a new Nigeria that will give job to the youths not to be giving them miserable money of N1,000 and use them as thugs. But the Nigeria that will create sustainable employment through agriculture that is linked to manufacturing, where manufacturing will become 40 percent of our GDP as it is case in China and 30 percent India, not civil service job but job that is attached to industry and manufacturing.

    ”We want to build a new Nigeria that will support innovative young people so that they can make money from innovation. We will create a very strong patents law that will protect the product of your innovation, that is the country we want to build, a knowledge-based economy.

    The National Chairman of the party, Dr Jay Samuel, whose message was delivered by the Vice National Chairman, North-Central Zone, Alhaji Kanti Uthman, told the party members that if more than one million gather at the party secretariat without PVCs, the gathering was of no meaning.

    The Director-General, Campaign organisation, who was erstwhile speaker of the state House of Assembly, Terseer Tsumba, promised them that their resilience since morning would not go in vain.

    “He cannot make himself a president, he will become the president by the power you people must exercise in 2019.”

    Other dignitaries at the  ceremony include former deputy Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly, who doubles as State chairman of the party, Dr Stephen Onmeje; and former Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to the governor, now State party secretary, Desmond Atov.

  • Why we rejected pro-PDP coalition, by ANN

    The Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), yesterday denied being part of the parties that signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to oust the Buhari government.

    It described the PDP and those parties in the coalition as lacking in ideology.

    ANN National Chairman Dr. Jay Samuels, told party’s presidential aspirant at a meeting with them at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja yesterday, that it would have been a major betrayal for him to be signing agreements withy parties that do not represent what the ANN stands for.

    The major ANN presidential aspirants at the meeting include Mr. Fela Durotoye, Dr. Thomas-Wilson Ikubese and Mrs Eyitayo Musa.

    Samuels said: “I was invited for a meeting and wasn’t properly briefed about the agenda. When I got to the meeting and I saw the attendance and what was being discussed, I wasn’t comfortable because what was being discussed did not represent what Alliance for New Nigeria as a party believes in. So, I decided to take my leave.

    “Alliance for New Nigeria is clearly focussing on what we believe in and why we came up as a party. From the very beginning, we were coming to wrestle with the major political parties whether it is APC or PDP.

    “We wanted to create our plans. Our agenda is to create a new voting bloc not the currently existing crop of leaders and do away with current leaders. What I saw in that room was, the same people that we are committed to retiring. I wasn’t comfortable coming to a room where I saw all the grandfathers and the grand patrons of all and everything that has been wrong with Nigeria politically in a room.

    Samuels assured the presidential aspirants of a level-playing field. He said: “We are coming to disrupt the space and we are not going to do it the way of the old. In our party there is no consensus, the platform is open to all. We would provide a level-playing field for everybody.

    “We need to show Nigerians we are doing something differently and whoever gets our party’s ticket will be the person Nigerians want to vote for. There is no consensus, we are not going to tell anybody to step down for anybody.”

  • Leadership crisis rocks ‘new breed’ party ANN

    A leadership crisis has erupted in the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), one of the new political parties which brands itself as a party of the “new-breed”.

    ANN’s Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Adekoya Adebola Ademola, has taken interim Chairman, Dr. Jay Osi Samuels, to court over alleged plan to remove him from his position.

    In a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Ademola accuses Samuels of orchestrating his removal, contrary to Section 17 (6) of ANN’s constitution.

    He sued Samuels, the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Ademola is asking the court to determine whether Samuels has the powers, as contained under Section 17 (6) of the party’s constitution, to remove him as the party’s BoT chairman.

    He is requesting the court to determine whether Samuels and the party he founded had the powers to remove him from the BoT chair, as contained in the party’s constitution.

    In a written address-in-support of originating summons before the court, Ademola is seeking the following questions for determination, among others.

    • Whether the second defendant (Samuels), being an interim National Chairman of the first defendant (ANN) has the powers under the constitution of the first defendant to summon and preside over a meeting of BoT of the first defendant, pursuant to Section 17 (6) of the first defendant’s constitution.
    • Whether the first and second defendants can remove the plaintiff as the chairman of the BoT of the first defendant in a meeting other than a national convention of the first defendant, pursuant to Section 17 (5) (a) of the first defendant constitution.
    • Whether the plaintiff was right in holding on with the instruments of the registration of the first defendant with the third defendant pursuant to Section 17(4)(e) of the constitution of the first defendant being the interim chairman of BoT and the founder and convener.
    • Whether the defendants can remove the plaintiff as the chairman of the BoT of the 1stdefendant in a meeting other than a convention of the first defendant pursuant to Section 17 (5)(a) of the constitution of the first defendant.

    Ademola is seeking the following reliefs:

    A declaration that the second defendant (Samuels), not being the chairman of BoT of the first defendant, was an incompetent person to summon a meeting of the BoT of ANN, as contained in Section 17(6) of its constitution.

     

  • ANN rejects link with coalition 

    The Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) is not in any coalition ahead of the 2019 general elections, National Chairman Dr. Jay Osi Samuels, said yesterday.

    He was reacting to a story linking the ANN with a coalition involving 15 governors, 80 senators and 15 political parties to form a ‘mega party’.

    Interim National Publicity Secretary Emmanuel Dania in a statement quoted interim National Chairman Samuel as saying the ANN’s alleged involvement in the proposed coalition was nothing but “a figment of the imagination of the party’s detractors.

    He said though there was the need for a true change in 2019 the party was not in any alliance.

    According to him,  joining forces with the same group of people who have morphed into different political parties over the last 18 years of Nigeria’s democratic rule without sound ideological stance or any meaningful and progressive agenda for Nigeria is at variance with the position of the party, its leadership and teeming members.

    He described the intention of most groups and coalitions as nothing but with the purposes of entrenching themselves in order for them to continue in their nefarious acts of corruption, killings, dehumanisation of the Nigeria and looting of the collective wealth which he said are the main reasons for which the ANN waa formed so that a new breed in Nigeria’s political space can emerge.

    He, therefore, reiterated the party’s firm belief in a new Nigeria and informed the media, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigerians and the members of the party across the world that the ANN has not entered into any agreement with any political party and/or movement or any of such ‘mega coalition’.

    He stated that his party is focused on ensuring that a completely different political ideology guides all its activities including the association it keeps. He said joining forces with persons as reported in the media at the weekend was not within the consideration of the leadership of the party.

    The interim national chairman noted that just like as a particular popular movement has shown interest in forging a relationship with ANN by adopting the ANN as the platform to move into, other groups, association and movements are also in talks with the party.

    He stressed that no Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with any movement, association or group in the name of any ‘mega coalition’ with some other political parties and serving Senators and Governors as reported.

    “Although, the ANN by its name ‘alliance’ knew that the party would top the consideration lists of most discussions in different quarters. Notwithstanding, the party will ensure that due process in line with the ethos of the party, its guiding ideology and the focus of seeing a new Nigeria emerge would guide its decision as at when due,” he said.

    He used the opportunity to call on all Nigerians to consciously participate in the electioneering process by registering and collecting their Permanent Voters Card (PVC), particularly the over eight million new voters that were born between 1999 and now.

    Samuels said knowing that the new electorate would be the deciding voices for the next phase of Nigeria, and urged them not sit on the fence as the voter registration exercise continues.

    He said despite the constraints created by the alleged current lopsided process of getting registered and collecting the voters cards, Nigerians should be patient and ensure that they mobilize massively towards 2019 by contributing to bring to power the leader that Nigeria truly deserves.

  • Nigeria should excel in Russia, says ANN

    The Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) has tipped the Super Eagles to excel at the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.

    National Chairman Dr. Jay Osi Samuels, said though 23 players were selected to represent the country, more than 200 million Nigerians at home and abroad are behind them.

    He urged Nigerians to put away political, religious or ethnic affiliations and to align with one voice to cheer the Super Eagles to victory.

    He said as a party with the single focus of seeing a Nigeria where Nigerians are united and can bear each other’s differences while drawing on the beauty of the country’s diversity, the Super Eagles “are the metaphor for that position that the party holds.”

    Samuels added: “We see a team of players from across the Niger, the South-South, the Northern hemisphere and the West of Nigeria where no one has earned a shirt because of quota system. Every member of the Super Eagles has earned a shirt because they deserve it. That’s our concept of a New Nigeria and that’s what we have seen with the Super Eagles.

    “Within the period of the games, we know Nigeria’s unity comes through very strongly. No one cares who scores the goal, no one cares what part of Nigeria the goalkeeper is from. Everyone speaks one language; one language of hope and expectation and the handshakes, hugs, laughter, smiles, shouts, drums and dance that follow every win of the team will attest to the reality of the spirit that binds us together.

    “For us as a party, this is the spirit of Nigeria. The spirit of a people so indivisible and united. The spirit of great neighbourliness and warm friendship and love,” he said.

    Samuels added that in every win or loss, it would not be about a particular part of Nigeria, but the entire country.

    He said all Nigerians would focus their energies and prayers for the Super Eagles to win; Muslims pray and Christians, even in some instances gather to pray together.

    Samuels added: “This is therefore a call to every Nigerian across divides and age to rally round the Super Eagles over the next four weeks as we watch the FIFA World Cup and cheer the Super Eagles to victory.

    “Likewise, we in ANN also hold hands to work towards ensuring we deliver a New Nigeria where we all can be proud to be called Nigerians. To us, the lives of every Nigerian count. As the 2019 approaches, we appeal to every Nigerian to join forces with our party to vote for a New Nigeria.

    “We know that friendship and fair play rule the game of football. We are confident that as a team, our Super Eagles have what it takes to win the World Cup. However, win or lose, we shall celebrate victory because it’s all about fair play at the end.”

  • ‘ANN ‘ll build new generation of leaders’

    ‘ANN ‘ll build new generation of leaders’

    Dr. Jay Osi Samuels is the Interim National Chairman of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), an association seeking registration as a political party. In this interview with LEKE SALAUDEEN, he speaks on the vision of the group and issues that can foster national unity.

    What is your assessment of the political leaders in the country?

    I have come to the conclusion that our crop of leaders does not care about us. All what they care about is themselves, selfish interest because if they care about us, some of these things that we have that are causing problem would not have arisen in the first place. A situation where people go into politics service for pecuniary gains, instead of serving you and I; the fact that they spend so much money to get that political office and they come during election time to distribute money for people to vote for them tells you they don’t want to be held accountable because they can easily tell us that they have paid us. You can see from whatever they are doing. You can imagine recently that somebody in the National Assembly moved a motion to grant amnesty to treasury looters. Among the problems we have in the country, is that a bill that someone should be sponsoring in the National Assembly? We have been hearing about plea bargain. This is a back door way to legalise corruption; this is not fighting corruption because if they have passed that bill into law, that would have made things worse for the country. We are actually entering a dangerous zone where we should be fighting corruption from the roots we should not be encouraging it.

    What do you mean by fighting corruption from the roots?

    Corruption is not alien to Nigeria, even in mature democracies, in civilised world or developed countries, corruption is everywhere. What differentiates them from us is that their systems fight corruption and prevent it, but here we don’t have strong institutions that fight or prevent corruption and that brings us to the method of creating amnesty.

    How many people have really been tried and convicted for corruption? How many years of imprisonment and other penalties? Now we can make corruption unattractive and the first way is making people well paid and making sure your take home can actually take you home.  That also takes us back to the issue of health insurance and mortgage. That is what the government should do and not just building roads and borehole and all that stuffs. When people are well paid you can take care of your basic needs- housing, health and the rest. If government can make the housing and mortgage affordable, the average Nigerian will not be thinking about corruption as a way to make ends meet.  Even it is the minimum wage of N18, 000 you might be able to live quality life because you are not spending on health or home. If government makes houses available by mortgage, and many other things, the average Nigerian will not be looking at corruption as a way to make ends meet. I was born here and I grew up in this country, my dad was a civil servant, he did not have any business and he trained us with his salary, because it was enough.  But now how many civil servants can live on their salary, even non- government workers? And that is even if they get paid at all.  Some people could be owed 18 months’ salary. Let’s make corruption unattractive.

    At what level do you want to serve?

    I will be upfront.  When we started Alliance for New Nigeria, it was not borne out of personal ambition. It was borne out of love and service for the country. Before we start to talk about political ambition, we thought about having a platform that is entirely new where the average Nigerian can see a hope for tomorrow platform. I happen to be one of the faces of one of such vehicles – Alliance for New Nigeria. We started as a group of like-minded Nigerians, most of us are   professionals, technocrats and experts in our own areas. We can’t afford to continue to grumble and complain in our homes and offices something definite needs to be done and the current generation of leaders has failed us. They’ve been recycling and recycling themselves; they keep on telling us what they’ve been telling us for many years now that we are the leaders of tomorrow. Most of us are in our 40s now and some are reaching 50. So when will tomorrow come?

    So, we observe that they lack the idea to really move the country forward but they are not ready to relinquish that chance to us. We came forward to actually push them out. But mind you when we started we didn’t start with elections, especially 2019 elections in our calculations. We are forming a party built on ideology because we didn’t like what we’ve been seeing in Nigeria where there’s no difference other than name in. APC or PDP. You can be PDP today and jump back to APC tomorrow. It’s a shame that our fathers don’t have scruples, no shame at all. That also shows that they don’t have regards for us because they do not put us in their political calculation. But we are coming forward to say that enough is enough, because what has been keeping them going is that a whole lot of us have been too busy with our businesses, secular job, etc to worry about politics.

    In what capacity do you want to serve?

    For me, I am ready to serve in any capacity am called upon, I’m ready to serve, but right now my focus is having a true national party. Alliance for New Nigeria that is represented in all looks and crannies of Nigeria, and devoid of all the negatives and baggage of the current major political parties. We want to make sure that we do things differently and make sure that we be vehicle for getting rid of the current pack of leaders and engendering a new Nigeria, the Nigeria of our dream.  So right now we have members all over the country because our membership is open as long as you identify with our ideals. On our website, we have a registration portal, where people can register and we have members all across. Beyond that we have also invested in technological infrastructure to do massive recruitment of members in every local government in Nigeria.

     What is your appraisal of the health care system in Nigeria?

    The health care system in Nigeria needs to be worked on greatly. I don’t even know whether we have what we can call health care system again, because every aspect we look at seems not to be working. A system where you have people paying out of pocket for medical services is obsolete.  Let me say something, Nigeria has one of the best sets of brains,  in terms of clinical skills, but the environment to use that is not there.  The hospitals are not working as they should be working and the major thing is that out of pocket payment that we see in this country because a people cannot afford a service, it makes it difficult for the doctors to even give the best kind of care. For instance, when somebody comes to you, for you to properly treat the person you have to carry out some diagnosis. Looking at the patient alone, you know that he will not be able to afford the bill. So you won’t want to go the whole HUG of ordering what you should order.

    Then the infrastructural decay is another thing, but with my own experience working with the health system in the Nigeria, there is a whole plethora of problems which cut across the infrastructure, human resource capacity and policies or lack of it, but by far worse is the management mentality. Nigerians are used to a kind of managing pattern where they just chose to accept that ‘things can never get better; lets manage.’ So even when you see a situation where they want to do things better, people are still used of doing things the old way. So it is one thing that we deal with a lot and sometimes it leads to what we call ascorbic capacity.

    Let me give example.  A state government builds a road and made it wider, either three or four lanes, better than what it was. Now you see people turning one of those lanes to market stores.  At the end of the day, the one lane road that was expanded to ease traffic will become congested because of the way people are using it. Nigerians need a lot of re-orientation and is because of this continuous discrimination, continuous mental abuse that we have been used to by our leaders that just make us to do things in disorderly manner. But we have to put a lot of efforts into changing all these things and that will start with changing the current crop of leaders that we have.

    But, can you imagine in Nigeria where an officer is in charge of a budget like that? You can be sure that it won’t be released, But to come out of pocket money, people don’t pay medical bills out of their pocket rather health insurance takes care of that. The effect of a situation where just one section of a hospital is having a budget of that amount, the manufacturer of that equipment will be in business; people are employed and it goes round and round, the money goes on and on.  So we need to look at our insurance system, if we can address that, I am not an expert in health insurance, but with the little I know, it is not rocket science, we just need health insurance to discourage out of pocket payment of medical bills.

  • ‘ANN will rule in 2019’

    ‘ANN will rule in 2019’

    The Coordinator of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), a group seeking registration as a political party, Dr Osi Samuels, spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU on the group’s agenda for a national rebirth.

    Could you shed light on why your ‘party’ is an association of technocrats?

    Technocracy is the management of society by technocrats. W.Smith. in 1930 during the great depression of that time, which was blamed on the failure of political leadership as well as financial institution there was an advocacy for the government of experts and technocrats. Even, technocracy has its own challenges, as an individual, you might have management and leadership triats different from the work you do.

    We are looking at a situation whereby we can encourage a lot technocrats, who also have management and leadership skills. Instead of leaving our country in the hands of professional politicians who their stock in trade is to help themselves and not concerned about the rest of us. For so long we have been watching and seeing that they don’t just care about us and taking us for granted. Some of us

    When I came back from the US, my friends asked me whether I was serious about staying in Nigeria and that I had better go back, but I said I am not going back and that this is my country and that this is where I am going to live. Then they said I had better think of forming my own government! Then I said what do you mean by having your own government? Then they told me you have your own house, your own borehole, your own power and that that is the only way you can survive.

    Some of us have said we will do our business and I will have nothing to do with government. But over the years, the government has been encroaching on our space by not doing the things that they are supposed to do in terms of bad policies and bad policy implementation.

    This country is great, but we can make it better and greater than what it is. but, the people we have committed our country into their hands seem not to be bothered. That is why we have come out at this critical time that we cannot continue to wait.

    What is the focus of your group?

    ANN is to envision the Nigeria of our dreams. Our mantra is Nigeria first and we are looking at being the driver of a new movement to retire and replace the old generation of leaders.

    My coming here today is to call on all well-meaning Nigerians to join in this well-meaning journey. We cannot do it alone; Nigerians complain in the comfort of their homes, but nobody is ready to step forward.

    We are seeing ourselves as the vehicle for the true change that every Nigerian desires. For me stepping out to take up this task was not easy, because I could have stayed in my comfort zone and say I have nothing to lose.

    But, when it comes to Nigeria, our children and our children’s children will have us to blame if we don’t speak up and come out and do something about it.

    In 2015 we were stuck with two alternatives and by all accounts, those two options were not palatable for most of us. But people still made a choice and that choice is the reason why we are here today. Now we are going to 2019 and we may not even be able to have the choice of a platform because we believe that the two major political parties are nonexistent. That is why we are creating a platform to make ANN that credible platform that people can have hope and trust in to lead Nigeria out of the current situation we are in.

    Do you have to be a technocrat to make a change?

    This would not be a party only for technocrats. It is a party for every Nigerian and we are trying to set a difference between us and the professional politicians. When you say technocrats, technocrats are experts. We believe that a technocrat has a better chance of being a good manager of resources of people than somebody who is not.

    People who have been participating in the democratic exercise are less than 30 per cent; so we are looking at those people who have not been participating, more than 70 per cent. Because the feeling is that those who get into politics are those who failed in society, but we believe that by coming out as a group of technocrats, that class of people who do not participate will be motivated to step forward to participate or even to serve.

    The difference between the group we are putting together and the other groups is that the professional politicians that is all they do, they don’t have any other means of livelihood. They want to be put in a particular position, make money and that is it. But we have the perspective of coming to serve; it is open to everybody.

    We are looking at students, young adults and young professionals and they are the ones that form the bulk of the 70 per cent that do not participate and we have strategies already to make them to participate. So, what we are doing is packaging ourselves as a body that will be irresistible to that segment of society.

    But that, even if you are a bricklayer you are still welcomed to be part of the body.

    How do you determine who a professional politician is?

    We are not seeing the APC or PDP as our rivals. We are not. The minister of health is my oga and my friend and I know he is a technocrat.

    The professional politicians are not the lawyers and all those, but those people whose bread and butter comes from politics and they are the ones that run the show all over the country.

    We are coming up to destroy that political space. We are using innovation and technology. We are actively as a first step going to register 10 million members from that group that is not currently participating.

    We are not competing with them for space; we are creating a new space that they don’t have control over. They will not know what hit them and that is what our game plan is.

    Deploying technology so that whatever is done in a state chapter can be viewed at the headquarters in Abuja.

    There is no moneybag, there is no godfather and in fact, we are packaging ourselves as a product that will be appealing and we know for one that Nigerians are disenchanted and that they don’t want to see the same old people in another garb.

    If you are coming to join us and we know that you are a godson to so and so person we are wary of you. There is no political bigwig and we are coming to do something different that Nigerians have never experienced before.

    If we are able to make our membership drive of 10 million and each of them paying N1,000 as membership fee. Beyond that we have members who are contributing their personal finances, members who can easily come up with N50 million or N100 million and we have bundlers, people who within their own network can bring money. So, we know what we are up against. Like I said we are not playing the game their playing, we are playing differently.

  • ‘ANN sure of INEC registration’

    The Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), a political association being promoted by professionals and technocrats, has assured its teeming members that it would get the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) registration to become a political party.

    The INEC last week registered five political associations following which ANN members were wondering why it was not on the list.

    But ANN’s National Coordinator, Dr. Jay Osi Samuels, said there was no cause for alarm adding that the association is on the verge of meeting all the requirements needed to be registered as a political party.

    He said the newly registered parties had been on the registration process since last year.

    Samuels said:  “Our members have nothing to worry about, we are confident of being registered as a political party. Our name, acronym and slogan have been approved and these are major steps towards registration. Those who have just been registered have been on it since last year. That was why they were first to be registered by INEC this year. Therefore, our name will soon be announced as a registered political party after all the necessary documentation has been concluded.”

    Dr. Samuels said INEC is under statutory obligation to register any association or group that meets the set criteria and urged member to continue to spread the message of “technoticianism”, which is “the ideology” of the group.

    The association also called for peaceful coexistence among the nation’s ethnic groups.

    Reacting to the ultimatum given by Arewa youth groups to Igbo to vacate the north, Dr. Samuels said while the ANN understood the ethnic emotions that often ruled the country, war mongering and mutual suspicions amongsthe nation’s ethnic groups remained an ill-wind that would blow no one any good.

    He said the party’s aim remains rallying professionals and technocrats in the country to join the political process and this is not limited to any particular region or tribe but all-inclusive.

  • ‘ANN‘ll serve as alternative to PDP, APC’

    ‘ANN‘ll serve as alternative to PDP, APC’

    A group, the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), has applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for registration as a political party.

    If the group meets the criteria set by the umpire, it will seek presidential power in 2019 and present candidates for state and National Assembly elections.

    Its interim coordinator, Dr. Jay Osi Samuels, told reporters in Lagos at the weekend that the new association will make a difference in its mobilisation, organisation and focus, adding that it will serve as a credible alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The people behind the new group include seasoned bankers, lawyers, medical practitioners, priests and women, who have recorded successes in their professional fields. Samuels said the association has national spread, adding that the membership drive is a continuous exercise. Already, ANN, according to the coordinator, can boast of over 10 million members.

    “We want to encourage technocrats with management acumen and skills to run the country, instead of leaving politics to professional politicians. There is apathy on the part of technocrats, who complain that politics is dirty. This is a new platform for service delivery,” he said.

    Samuels described Nigeria as a great country with vast human potentials and natural endowments. He said the country can become greater, if its leadership question is resolved appropriately. The proposed party of technocrats, he said, will approach politics and governance in a novel way that will make new blood to retire or replace the old brigade.

    “In 2019, there should be a credible alternative to the PDP and the APC, worthy of public trust. But, I like to clarify that, although technocrats are at the vanguard of the new effort, the proposed party will be for all Nigerians. Youths, students, women, professionals will be members. We just want to stand out from professional politicians,” he stressed.

    The coordinator lamented that, in 2015, the country was presented with only two choices. “The choice we made has made us to be where we are,” he said, adding that the scope of choices has now been widened by the ANN’s emergence.

    Samuels claimed that ANN has opened offices is 36 states of the federation. He also said that the association has a protem leadership, a constitution and organisational structures. It is up to the INEC to verify these claims before giving its verdict.

    The coordinator listed thee differences between the old parties and the ANN. “No money bag is behind us,”, he said, adding that no godfather would loom large because it will be a corrective party of equity, fairness and justice.

    He also said that thee party will deploy its innovative and technological arsenal in its membership drive, registration of members, organisation and campaigns.

    Samuels, a medical doctor, alluded to the ANN’s ideology, saying that it is committed to the pursuit of an egalitarian society. He enlisted on the side of the push for the national question, stressing that the party will pursue true federalism, devolution of power, restructuring and state police.

    How will the party resolve the tension between zoning and merit in Nigeria? The coordinator said zoning should be upheld as a principle. “Merit is the overriding factor,” he said. But, in another dimension, Samuels said the dictates of the political environment cannot be ignored in ANN’s quest for the repositioning of the society. Therefore, he acknowledged the need to be sensitive to those factors that may foster national unity in a diverse nation-state.

    If ANN is not registered, what will be the next step? Samuels was optimistic that the association will cross the registration hurdles and get INEC’s nod. “We believe we will be registered. If we are not registered, we will not be deterred. We will play a role in who becomes the next president in 2019,” Samuels said.