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Tag: APC

  • A’Ibom APC disowns anti-Akpabio group

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State has disowned a group, Ibom Integrity and Servant Leadership Culture Initiative, for embarking on smear campaigns against Senator Godswill Akpabio.

    The group, which claims to be part of the APC, penultimate week written to President Muhammadu Buhari, asking him not to consider Akpabio for any ministerial appointment on account of alleged corruption.

    A statement by the Publicity Secretary, Nkereuwem, said the group is not known to the party.

    The statement reads: “The State Working Committee has noted one faceless Elders’ group- Ibom Integrity and Servant Leadership Culture Initiative, parading and arrogating to itself the power of condemnation and recommendation as quite worrisome, embarrassing and unacceptable.

    Read Also: PDP caucus to members: support any APC candidate of your choice

    “We confirm that the self acclaimed leader of the group, Dr Asuquo Edidem Etim, is a disclaimer and not APC member and we have no such group in our APC groups’ Registration Register in Akwa Ibom State.

    “The party condemns the disparaging campaign against Senator Godswill Akpabio as evil fireworks meant to generate bad blood and disaffection in our party. Accordingly, the party warns such non-existent group, claiming to be an affiliate of APC, to desist forthwith as there is no provision in the APC constitution that grants such power(s) to anyone or group to dabble into the function, which is solely the prerogative of the State Working Committee (SWC).”

    The party maintained that such letters of condemnation and recommendation stand annulled with immediate effect.

    “On the weight of this release, President, Muhammadu Buhari, APC National Chairman Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyary and the public are hereby advised to discountenance any such correspondence(s) as it not from the Akwa Ibom state secretariat,” Nkereuwem added.

  • Oshiomhole cleaning your mess, APC replies Oyegun

    AFTER days of studied silence, the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday spoke on the face-off between its former National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and the incumbent Adams Oshiomhole.

    Odigie-Oyegun accused the former Edo State governor of lacking the temperament to lead a political party.

    But the party hit back at the former party leader, saying the APC had been battling to clear the mess left behind by his administration.

    According to the party, Odigie-Oyegun has a reputation for condoning indiscipline.

    It said “that the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots, who could not operate by party rules, created the problems which the Oshiomhole led leadership is currently grappling with.”

    Reacting to a statement credited to the former chairman accusing Oshiomhole of lacking the capacity to lead, APC National Publicity Secretary Lanre Issa-Onilu joined issues with the former leader.

    He blamed the effect of widespread indiscipline across party ranks, lack of respect for party supremacy as witnessed in the Eighth National Assembly leadership and its overall inability to align the varying interests of the legacy parties that came together to form the APC in 2014, on the immediate past leadership.

    Issa-Onilu, who noted that under the Odigie-Oyegun leadership, members merely saw the APC as a vehicle for acquiring political offices, said:  ”Members who are not comfortable with the on-going party reforms are free to join the PDP and other opposition parties.

    Read also: APC: Ex-chairman handed over party without blemish, says aide

    “Let me agree that the National Working Committee (NWC) that led the party into the 2015 elections and continued till June 2018 did nothing different from what you would find in PDP. It was a period the party was seen as a mere vehicle to attain political office.

    “The system accommodated impunity as certain members appeared to be superior to the party. Their interests were far more important than the collective interests of the APC, even when most times such interests were at variance with the ideals the party stands for.

    “You would recall that it was under that leadership that some impudent members of APC called the bluff of the party by imposing themselves on the National Assembly as leaders, contrary to the position of the party. Where was the party? Where was the discipline when this happened?

    “It would be difficult to calculate what lack of courage to assert the party supremacy cost APC over that period. The consequences of the inaction of the party were unimaginable. We all saw the consequences on governance as the National Assembly practically held our government to ransom.

    “The impunity, which President Muhammadu Buhari has rightly described as lack of patriotism, constituted an unfortunate hindrance to the smooth running of government.

    “The leadership under Chief Oyegun, with due respect to him, condoned all sorts of acts of indiscipline from certain members. It is not surprising that the current NWC inherited such a huge mess, where the party was struggling to differentiate itself from the delinquent PDP.

    “We all know that PDP was practically dead following the devastating defeat of 2015. The PDP bounced back not because the party has changed its insidious way or did anything different, but because APC did not live up to expectations.

    “It goes without saying that when an organisation is unable to enforce its own rules, it would suffer the consequences sooner than later. We should not be ashamed to say that our party’s leadership under Chief Oyegun lacked the courage required to confront the pockets of political despots who could not operate by the party’s rules.”

    Speaking on the defeat suffered by the party in some states, Issa-Onilu said there were peculiar issues in the states lost by the party that accounted for how the APC lost them rather than the voters preferring PDP.

    He said: “If Oyo, Imo, Bauchi, Adamawa and Zamfara states were taken one by one, it will be discovered that there were peculiar issues in the respective states that accounted for how the APC lost them rather than the voters preferring the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “I would put the painful outcomes broadly under two reasons. One is indiscipline on the part of some members of our party in most of the states. The second reason is that the party leadership did not do much between 2015 and 2018 to move the party from being an amalgam of different political parties to become a truly blended progressive political party.”

    The APC spokesman said the next three years are very important as the APC, under the leadership of the Adams Oshiomhole, will continue to strengthen compliance with the rules, build support structures for democracy, ensures discipline across board, and deliver good governance for the benefits of all Nigerians.

    He said: “We expect members who have different agenda to join their kind in PDP. We will welcome with open arms those who share our progressive ideals, so that by 2022, we will have a party whose members are truly progressives.”

    On the letter written by Senator Lawal Shuaibu to the National Chairman, Issa-Onilu said what the Deputy National Chairman succeeded in doing was to portray members of the NWC as a bunch of cowards, adding that he was only looking for a scapegoat to pass on the blame following undesired results in his home Zamfara State.

    He said: “When he, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, alleged that the national chairman is running the party like a sole administrator, does that mean the rest of us are incompetent? I doubt if he would have many members of the NWC supporting him in this.

    “The ability to face up to the challenges and to take responsibility for mistakes are important qualities of a leader. If the NWC had taken any action that did not produce the desired result, it would be plain cowardice to look for a scapegoat or pass on the blame to another person.

    “Since the Comrade Oshiomhole-led NWC came to office, we have been doing our best to institutionalise the best ideals of progressive politics. We understand that we must bring everyone under the fold of the party, where all of us would be subject to our party’s rules and conventions.

    “We understand that impunity can provide temporary advantage and even successes. But ultimately, those successes would be short-lived. PDP is a living example of the inherent calamity of impunity.

    “The PDP era brought calamity to the country and ultimately led to the loss of power. What I read from that letter is a call to continue along that trend. With due respect, that is not what APC stands for.”

  • Breaking: APC expels Yari, Shuaibu over Zamfara electoral misfortune

    The immediate past governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, has been expelled from the All Progressives Congress (APC) for allegedly scuttling the party’s chances in Zamfara State.

    Also expel is the Deputy National Chairman (North) of the APC, Lawali Shuaibu for allegedly conniving with Yari to sabotage the National Working Committee of the party during the botched primary Elections of the state.

    The decision to expel the former governor and the Deputy National Chairman was taken at the end of an emergency meeting held in Gusau, the Zamfara state capital.

    A statement jointly signed by the chairman of the party in Zamfara, Alhaji Surajo Garba Mai Katako and the Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Bello Bakyasuwa, said the expulsion was sequel to the electoral misfortune, “Yari and his co-travellers exposed the party to in Zamfara state.”

    Read also: Zamfara APC expels Marafa, others

    The party recalled how “the former governor frustrated its efforts to conduct primaries last year, thus laying the foundation for the electoral misfortune that befell it in the state.”

    The statement made available to reporters in Abuja said: “After reviewing the outing of our party in the last general election and the outcome of the Supreme Court Judgement, we hereby dismiss the former governor of Zamfara state, Abdulaziz Yari and the Deputy National Chairman Sen Lawali Shuaibu from the APC.

    “ Following this development, we are urging them to immediately surrender all the belongings of the party in their possession including funds.

    “ Yari and his boys scuttled the efforts of our national headquarters to conduct primaries on the 3rd and 7th of October 2018. His nefarious activities led to the death of six persons and over 200 others were injured.”

    The party said the expulsion would be communicated to its national headquarters for appropriate action on Thursday after the Sallah break.

  • 58 APC senators backing Lawan, says Kalu

    IF the words of former Abia State governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) senator-elect Orji Uzor Kalu are anything to go by, all the 58 progressive senators-elect and the only Young Progressive Party (YPP) senator-elect are backing Senate Leader Ahmed Lawan.

    Lawan is seeking to occupy the Senate President’s seat when the Ninth National Assembly opens on June 11.

    According to Kalu, the identified senators have signed up in support of the Senate Leader.

    Besides, Kalu said that any APC member opposed to the emergence of Senator Ahmed Lawan and House Leader Femi Gbajabiamila as Senate President and House of Representatives will be fighting the wish of President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerians.

    The former governor, who spoke when he received Gbajabiamila at his Abuja home, said the two positions were the only ones the President has shown interest in, adding that it will be wrong to conclude that Gbajabiamila is the candidate of APC stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu because he hails from Lagos.

    According to him, President Buhari has interest in the two candidates because theydefended the party.

    He said even though the party has the required number to produce the Senate President, it is still working on a bipartisan approach so as not to have a divided Senate on the day of inauguration.

    Kalu hopes that in the coming days, the leadership of the party will also plan for a smooth process to pick the Speaker through a bipartisan arrangement.

    He said: “Fifty-eight senators have signed for Ahmed Lawan and when you add YPP, you have 59. But we still need other parties to join us for bipartisanship so that there will be no division in the Senate.

    Read also: Lawan, Ndume step up race for Senate president

    On the candidacy of the House Leader, Kalu said: “There is no doubt that people have been blackmailing you. The President has told all of us collectively and individually that you are not Tinubu’s candidate. It is a mistake. You are endorsed by the Commander-in-Chief and President of Nigeria. He told us that in an open place and he told all members of the House of Representatives and members of the Senate.

    “Apart from that, just on Monday (last week), I had a private session with the President and asked him what we are going to do. He said the only two people he wanted are Lawan and Gbajabiamila.

    “You people can take every other thing. This is the truth. I am quoting him correctly. He said I only asked them to give me Lawan and Femi because I see them defending the interest of the party.

    “So, if Mr. President said so, it means you are not a candidate of Bola Tinubu. You are a candidate of the APC and a bipartisan candidate. You are a candidate of every party that is represented in the National Assembly.

    “I am not going to speak too much because action speaks louder. On the voting day, we will be there and I am assuring you that I have spoken on bipartisan level to almost every member of the House from my zone and beyond. So, I can assure you that they will vote for you because this is a serious business.

    “You have been endorsed by the President and the National Working Committee (as well as the progressive governors and I have no regret in endorsing you. What we have done in the Senate will happen in the House of Representatives.

    “We have concluded the issue of the Senate and within the next four days, we will conclude the issue of the House of Representatives.

    “What happened in 2015 cannot happen again. In a normal democracy, you don’t need to contest with anybody because you are already Majority Leader.”

    Gbajabiamila said he had been going round the country to seek the support of well-meaning Nigerians for his ambition.

    He said: “We have gone round soliciting for support and that is why we are here to seek you support and blessing. Wase and I come to the table with about 30 years’ cumulative legislative experience. He is serving his fourth term and I am serving my fifth term and you cannot buy experience.

  • Face-off: APC NWC members back Oshiomhole

    The Deputy National Chairman (North) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Lawal Shuaibu  may have lost his battle to get Comrade Adams Oshiomhole sacked as the party’s national chairman.

    Shuaibu who launched an Oshimhole –must-resign campaign last week, does not have the support of the majority of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) members save for one or two.

    Chairmen of the party in the Southsouth states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers, have given him a seven-day ultimatum to apologise to Oshiomhole or incur the wrath of the people of the zone.

    Some members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the party also do not agree with the deputy national chairman on his position.

    But a defiant Shuaibu asked those criticizing him to say whether “they at happy with what is happening in the party.”

    Sources said the NWC members opted to back Oshiomhole because some key opposition figures have been implicated in a plot to cause crisis in APC.

    It was also gathered that four key issues brought about Shuaibu’s disagreement with Oshiomhole.

    These issues are: reforms of the APC, alleged leadership style of Oshiomhole, mutual suspicion and allegation that Shuaibu ran a parallel campaign structure in 2019.

    Investigation revealed that most of the NWC members knew about the cold war between the APC National chairman and his deputy as far back as last year, and have become indifferent to it.

    Some of the NWC members, sources said, refused to support Shuaibu because of the information at their disposal that some key opposition figures have been plotting to create crisis in APC.

    A member of the NWC said: “We have far deeper information on the face-off between the two leaders. With the exception of one or two NWC members, most of us do not support Shuaibu.

    “His letter was not new because even when Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was in charge of the APC as the national chairman, he had issues with him.

    “So, we have decided to see the fight   strictly as a personal affair than a party matter. Attempts have been made to cause disunity and mutiny in APC. So, we decided to support the national chairman of the party in the overall interest and the survival of APC.

    “We cannot be dragged into this matter and we cannot be used to cause revolt in APC.”

    Another source said: “The truth is that Oshiomhole came with some reforms to do things differently in the party but Shuaibu prefers the old order.

    “The APC chairman came with an agenda to cleanse the system and anyone who does not key into his style is usually shoved aside.

    “ Shuaibu however insisted that Oshiomhole cannot uproot what he inherited. He is of the opinion that the APC chairman should have a blend of the old order and the new order. He asked for consultations and not a bulldozer style.

    “But Oshiomhole suspected some moles in the system and he does things with surprise to avoid leakage. He could not trust some of his lieutenants because the opposition was after APC.

    “Were it not for the hide and seek strategy of Oshiomhole, PDP would have successfully infiltrated APC and got its strategy for the 2019 polls.

    “Oshiomhole- Shuaibu ‘s relationship has been a ding- dong affair. This manifested during the primaries for 2019 poll when the party stood its ground on many issues, especially the fielding of candidates.

    “Shuaibu resisted Oshiomhole’s decisions on critical challenges like defections and primaries in some states but he never had his way. As the oldest NWC member, he thought he could provide guidance for Oshiomhole but Shuaibu alleged that he was treated with disdain.

    “For instance, Shuaibu wanted the party to pander to the conditions given by defectors from APC to PDP. Oshiomhole drew the battle line with the defectors to instil party discipline.

    “Although Shuaibu complained about APC losing some states , if you review the 2019 polls, you will see that there was wisdom in asserting party’s supremacy. Most of the defectors lost. In the House of Representatives, only about 67 members got second term ticket.

    “When Shuaibu spearheaded negotiation with rAPC (defectors), the party national chairman and most APC leaders knew nothing would  come out of it. Oshiomhole was suspicious of Shuaibu ‘s links with ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and other rAPC leaders. They saw the negotiation as sheer ego boosting.

    Read also: APC south-south chairmen pass vote of confidence on Oshiomhole

    “As a matter of fact, Shuaibu was not expected to be returned to office at the last elective convention of APC but Saraki and other APC defectors pulled the strings to sway votes in his favour to retain his seat in the NWC.

    “The matter became worse when some former governors  who were against Oshiomhole  were having the ear of Shuaibu, especially Owelle Rochas Okorocha ( Imo),  Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) and Abdulaziz Yari ( Zamfara).

    “So, it is usually dramatic at the NWC meeting. While Oshiomhole will go one way, Shuaibu will think otherwise.

    “Oshiomhole fingered some governors and members of the NWC in his questioning by the Department of State Security Service. It was an ambush and he almost lost his coveted seat. Therefore, he does not ignore threats from either Shuaibu or members of the NWC and the party.

    “The frosty relationship between Shuaibu and Oshiomhole got to a head when the Deputy National Chairman (North) was acting like an opposition leader in the NWC. He crossed the red line and Shuaibu became isolated by most NWC members.”

    Shuaibu was also accused of running a parallel structure during the 2019 polls campaign.

    Apart from forming a group, he was accused of running his own campaign.

    “He was aggrieved that he was not properly integrated in the scheme of things and he wasted no time in working for President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election through his own pseudo-political group.”

    Findings confirmed that both leaders later disagreed on the party’s candidates for the Office of the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the coming 9th National Assembly.

    Another source added: “As a Senator, Shuaibu felt the party should throw the contest open for fairness and equity but the party’s leadership however opted to do the bidding of President Muhammadu Buhari who prefers Dr. Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila.

    “ Shuaibu and most APC leaders did not know that Buhari was the driver of Lawan and Gbajabiamila projects but he only used Oshiomhole as a shield in deference to all APC Senators and House members-elect.”

    Responding to a question, a leader of the APC said the party could not afford to take chances against the background of alleged moves by some opposition leaders to split it.

    “We had barely won the 2019 poll when they started talking of the 2023 general elections,” the source said.

    “We don’t know what Shuaibu is up to but we are watching him in order not to be caught unawares.”

    When contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu declared that the party should not be brought into the matter.

    “It is not a party issue, it is between the chairman and his deputy. We are too focused to be delving into the issue between two of our leaders,” he said.

    Reps condemn call for Oshiomhole’s resignation

    Some members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the APC are also against Shuaibu’s call for Oshiomhole’s resignation.

    They are of the view that the party chair should be encouraged to see through his effort to rebuild the APC.

    Ademorin Kuye,   an incoming Rep  from Lagos  said: “the call is uncalled for, unreasonable and unacceptable because Oshiomhole  has performed well, he has achieved victory even in the face of stiff opposition from PDP and he has helped restored dignity to the party.

    “What those calling for his resignation should note is that Oshiomhole has done well since coming on board and his rebuilding efforts must have, as a matter fact, led to stepping on toes. It’s going to be tough, but the fact remains that it’s going to be better for all of us.

    “Rather than call for his resignation, the parry leaders should rally round him. This is because those that have always been in control of everything may feel insulted for being queried by the party chairman, but is paramount that the effort of rebuilding the party and institutionalizing party supremacy should be supported by all.”

    A returning member, Nuhu Dau Magaji (Adamawa) said  those calling for Oshiomhole’s removal failed to take the interest of the party into consideration.

    “The only message I have for those calling for our party chairman’s sack is that they have to wait for the next four year because there is a procedure through which such action can be taken.

    “We have a constitution, the way they are going about it is not in consonance with our Constitution.

    “They are just bad losers, we are 100 percent behind him, he is our hero,” he said.

    Abdulrazak Namdas (Adamawa) ,another  re-elected Rep  warned  that  the PDP  would take advantage of the situation to infiltrate the party.

    “Personally, I don’t think this is the time to call for the resignation of any party leader because when we have issues the party has several ways of resolving them,” he said.

    “My advice is that they should remember that we are human beings and bound to make mistakes. Besides, and more importantly, we should be careful about making this kind of divisive statements in public. Rather we should wait and see how we rebound from the loss and chart ways of avoiding it in future.

    “Calling for the resignation at this time is capable of creating cracks through which the opposition would infiltrate us and cause more damages for our party. We should not give any room for the opposition to have a go at us.”

    Olumuyiwa Folarin (Ondo) said the party chairman should not be singled out for any blame.

    His words: “As far as I’m concerned, I see those calling for the Chairman’s resignation as a group of people overreacting to issues.

    “Oshiomhole is a human being, and like all beings, he cannot be perfect. As such, mistakes are bound to be made by him just like everyone else.

    “My take is that to single him out for blame is unfair and a subtle way of blackmailing him and buck passing because he is not the only one in the executive committee. Other people are there to take  decisions with him, so everyone should be blamed together for whatever setback we suffered  in this election.

    “Also, what is happening is the  states is something we have to  look at holistically. As national chairman, imposing his will or compelling the governors to do his bidding is one thing that should not happen but to single the party chairman out alone for blame is not justifiable.

    “As far as I’m concerned, Oshiomhole has not done anything wrong.”

    South-south APC Chairmen warn Shuaibu

    Chairmen of the APC in the Southsouth states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers have given Alhaji Shuaibu, a seven-day ultimatum to apologise to Comrade Oshiomhole  or incur the wrath of the people of the zone.

    The chairmen said Shuaibu’s statement that Oshiomhole should resign was both irresponsible and mischievous.

    Ini T. Okopido (Akwa – Ibom), Amos Lalabunafa ( Bayelsa), John Ochalla (Cross Rivers), Prophet Jones Ode Erue (Delta), Aslem U. Ojezua (Edo) and Ojukaye Flag Amachree  (Rivers), said in  a communiqué in Abuja that Shuaibu, as a senior party official, “ought to be well acquainted with the provisions of the party’s constitution regarding how to channel perceived grievances if any exist.”

    They described said Shuaibu letter as a  “personal opinion on perceived issues which is not a reflection of the views of the generality of party stakeholders who are yet to find anything on toward in the stewardship of the party’s National Chairman His Excellency, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.”

    They added: “The State Chairmen further disagreed with Senator Lawal Shuaibu’s claims that the action  of the National Chairman was responsible for multiplicity of court cases bedevilling various State chapters of the party

    “Rather , they asserted it was the landmines created by his predecessor who was bent on destroying the party before departing that fuelled the unfortunate situation and wondered why Senator Lawal Shuaibu is just realizing the issues he raised barely few days after the NWC set up a committee to look into petitions against highly placed party stakeholders who were glaringly involved in anti-party activities which was responsible for the loss of the number of states mentioned in his letter vis a – viz the depletion also in the numbers of elected Senators in the just concluded 2019 elections.

    “The State Chairmen also debunked the allegations of high-handedness against the National Chairman with particular reference to the altering of National Working Committee decisions as a veil plot to crucify the National Chairman over his uncompromising stance on truth against elements bent on destroying the party from within.

    “They however, urged for restraint on the part of Senator Lawal Shuaibu asking him to employ more civilized ways of expressing whatever private grievance he has against the National Chairman instead of playing to the gallery by granting interviews to launch unprovoked attacks on the National Chairman and by extension, the very party he claims to love.

    “The State Chairmen wondered whose interest the media outburst seeks to serve and its original intendment stating unequivocally that  the National Chairman cannot be removed on the pages of newspapers because the constitution of the party which Senator Lawal Shuaibu subscribed to, as a member of the NWC, clearly guarantees the tenure of office of the party’s National Chairman and the processes of removing him from office.

    “The Deputy National Chairman North is hereby given seven days to apologise to the National Chairman in order not to receive the wrath of party members in the Southsouth.

    “The State Chairmen also frowned at the intermittent and most unjustifiable attacks on the National Chairman who have maintained unblemished records since joining active politics and has ensured internal democratic norms are entrenched in the party since his assumption of office.

    “The State Chairmen observed that what the Deputy National Chairman, North has done is tantamount to creating disaffection amongst party faithful. This they said, is very offensive to the constitution of our great party.

    “The Chairmen thereafter passed a vote of confidence on the National Chairman and vowed to resist any attempt to blackmail him out of office for standing against injustice that has hitherto been the hallmark of his predecessor which was the only legacy he left behind.”

    Shuaibu: ‘Who is happy with what is happening in the party?

    Contacted by The Nation on Friday, a defiant Shuaibu said: “Those who are saying that I am being used to create problem, are they saying they at happy with what is happening in the party?

    “I can tell you that nobody is happy with the developments in the party and that is why I advised him (Oshiomhole).

    “What is the connection with what I have said? I just advices the Chairman based on the issues I observed and raised to resign in the interest of the party.

    “It is for him to react to what I have said and let me tell you that I stand by what I have said. Go and look for the Chairman to react to the issues I have raised.

    “Tell me who is the person accusing me? I am sure that nobody is accusing me. It is just a way you journalists use to get information from people. That is why you are saying I am being accused. Why should anybody accuse me? Go and meet the Chairman to react to what I have said and not for you to ask me to react.”

    On the allegation that he ran a parallel campaign for the last polls, Shuaibu said: “What I did was just like what the Vice President did: I went round the country with branded vehicles. I just didn’t want to fly around the country with the President. So, how can anybody accuse me of running a parallel campaign.”

    Shuaibu, in a May 28, 2019 letter  to Oshiomhole and entitled  ‘APC: Its fortunes versus misfortunes, time to act,’ had claimed that   the electoral fortunes of the APC went  down on account of the chairman’s leadership style.

    Oshiomhole, he alleged, is fond of conducting NWC meetings at a private residence instead of the party’s national secretariat.

    He said: “We had 23 states in 2015, but after the 2019 elections we lost seven states! We also had 60 senators in 2015 at the end of the elections; we now end up with 57 senators in 2019! You were not brought in to lose election. It is absolutely unacceptable!

    “What this entails is that for any senator to become a presiding officer he needs to go and kneel down before the PDP senators and beg for support! And to make things worse, you announced that the APC will not allow any PDP senator to be appointed as committee chairman except the committees statutorily meant for the opposition members of the Senate. That is never the tradition of the legislature anywhere! The legislature is the house of collaboration and lobby and you can never succeed with hostile approach, you must lobby to seek for cooperation of members across party divides.

    “If you don’t know, you have made the situation worse than it seems. Try and use your calculator and you will find that as at now, if anybody, backed by the PDP members, wants to become the Senate President, all he needs is the support of only six APC senators to win the election on the floor of the Senate! Chairman, strategies are not announced on television, they are discussed at caucuses.”

  • Why it both matters and does not matter to say APC is center-right and PDP is hard right

    “A little to the right and a little to the left” – Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, 1990

    Who was it who said that in their ideologies and economic programs, the APC is center-right and the PDP right-wing? I was the one who said so last week in this very column. It was not the first time of my saying so in the column. And in all certainly, it probably will not be the last time either. But why am I making this an issue in today’s column? The answer to this question says a lot about how retrograde political journalism in general has become in Nigeria in the last three to four decades.

    I take no satisfaction from the fact, but today, I am one of the very few columnists that use such terms as “center-right”, “hard right” and “centrist” in my newspaper writings. This is remarkably different from what the situation was in the 1970s, 80s and 90s when writing about politics in newspapers and other news media in our country was saturated by constant and even invariant mention or discussion of political tendencies, policies and politicians as being either leftist, centrist or rightist. Indeed, one could rightly say that the deployment of the terms became so common, so over-used that the terms came close to being emptied of their meanings and connotations in other countries of our continent and the world.

    One famous or, perhaps infamous instance of this sort of widespread but empty use of “right” and “left” in Nigerian politics about three decades ago is the one indicated in the epigraph for this essay: “a little to the right and a little to the left”. As those old enough and well-informed about the period know, Babangida made the statement when he formed the two parties that eventually contested the fateful June 1993 elections, the National Republican Convention(NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Babangida formed the two parties as the cornerstone of his ultimately deceptive and bankrupt “Democracy Project” that was intended to usher in a civilian democratic government that would take over from the military.

    With advice and guidance from respected and influential political scientists from our universities and foreign, mostly Western advisers, Babangida and his regime wanted the two parties to be completely detribalized and centrist, with one party being a “little to the right” and the other “a little to the left”. Everyone knew that by these terms, Babangida intended that one party, the NRC, would be pro-capitalist and pro-business while the other party, the SDP, would be  pro-socialist, pro-workers and devoted to the interests of the poor of the urban and rural communities. But as we all now know, even though the SDP survives till today, nothing but the national betrayal and great calamity of the annulment of the June 1993 electoral victory of the SDP and M.K.O. Abiola came from Babangida’s formation of these two parties of the “right” and the “left”. But this is not the focus of this piece today. What then is our focus?

    I will give a short and precise answer to that question: in 1990 when Babangida made that “a little to the right and a little to the left” remark, ideology, economic programs and policy initiatives completely dominated all political discussions in Nigeria; today, the more you look for ideology, for economic and political visions guiding and distinguishing our political parties from one another, the less you see. In plain terms and not to mince words at all, between the early to mid-70s to the mid-90s in Nigeria, capitalist ideology and its vision of development were under severe scrutiny and contestation. In the universities especially but also in the arts, literature and popular culture, national conversation about the past, the present and the future in our country and continent was almost totally dominated by a radical, some would say – and actually did say – “extremist” critique of capitalism. As a consequence of this, virtually all the defenders of capitalism were welfarist – for the simple reason that an outright defense of hard, conservative right-wing capitalism seemed futile and self-defeating at the time. From this we can derive a very important principle of all modern political discourse: anywhere in the world where you hear or read of terms like “right”, “left”, “center”, “center-right” and center-left”, it means that in that context or space, the dominance, the hegemony of capitalism is seriously under scrutiny and challenge; conversely, anywhere in the world where these terms are noticeably absent, it means that the dominance of capitalism is taken for granted and other ideologies – ethnic-irredentist, religious-fundamentalist or regional-revanchist – take over and hide, if not completely eclipse the dominance of capitalism. Such a nation-space or historical context is what we have in the current PDP-APC era in Nigeria.

    Will this era last? I do not think so. Definitely, I hope not! Very well: when will it end, when will its lurching from one crisis to another endlessly come to an end, one way or another? I do not know the answer to this question either. What I do know, with considerable confidence in my projection into the future on this particular issue, is that the uncontested dominance of capitalism of the present PDP-APC era will come to an end and this sooner rather than later. Why do I think so; what is the basis of my certitude, my seeming over-confidence on this observation, this claim? Good question! The answer, quite simply, is that throughout the whole world, the dominance, the hegemony of capitalism is being challenged by both left-of-center social democracy and solid leftist anti-capitalist movements of the poor and their supporters. Thus, Nigeria is not and cannot be isolated forever from these currents of contemporary global politics.

    Permit me to break this assertion down to easily demonstrated and understood propositions: in the name of saving our planet from extinction, in the name of ending the widening and deepening gaps between the rich and the poor of all the nations and regions of the world, in the name of creating more and more jobs for exploding population growths in most parts of the planet, and in the name of unborn generations that will come after us, social-democratic and anti-capitalist movements throughout the world are challenging the dominance of unregulated and unregulatable capitalism. How can any thinking person believe that we in this country will not ultimately be swept into the vortex of these global and regional currents and movements of politics and history, compatriots? As a matter of fact, is it not the case that we have already been swept into the vortex, as witnessed by the number of our youths that are part of the waves of migrants streaming endlessly into the global North and perishing tragically in the attempts? Or the growing communities of the Nigerian diaspora on the African continent itself, especially in South Africa upon whom, periodically, are visited great violence as the scapegoats of the failing policies of that country’s post-apartheid state?

    Against the background of these immediately preceding questions and observations, it matters a lot that we should say of our two dominant political parties, the APC and the PDP, that they are, respectively, center-right and hard right. To state this observation in its most easily understood formulation, think, compatriots, of the following incontrovertible declaration: if Atiku Abubakar and the PDP had won the recent presidential elections, it would have taken a few months, perhaps a few weeks and most definitely not years, for them to sell off the NNPC, the nation’s cash cow, to complete private ownership. In contrast to this, Buhari, we know both from his recent presidential campaign and several statements he had made in the past, is staunchly resistant to the idea of selling the NNPC to private moguls in his party and the other ruling class parties that are only waiting, waiting for the right moment to sell that national ATM machine to themselves once and forever, amen! In this context, Atiku and the PDP can be said to be for complete private ownership and control of the means of production – the classical definition of capitalism – while Buhari and the APC would seem to be for state control of important areas of the production process, side by side with private ownership of parts of the total machinery of production and distribution.

    What of aspects of economic production in our country that are very important for the well-being or indeed the survival of working and non-working Nigerians, aspects like oil subsidy and deregulation of the provision of amenities and services like electricity, water, education, health, collection of taxes and revenues? In all of these, the PDP is for complete deregulation so that private investors and operators can be free of so-called state interference. In contrast, Buhari remains committed to oil subsidies though he is clearly wavering and may give in to the tremendous pressure building up, not only among all the other ruling class parties but within his own party, the APC. The stand of the PDP in all these aspects of economic production in Nigeria is that of the hard right, pro-capitalist parties of the world, especially of the Western countries. And this is why just before the last presidential elections, Atiku suddenly became “attractive” to the Americans to whom, previously and for a long time, he had been an undeclared persona non grata.  As for Buhari and the Americans, it is an open secret that our President’s obsequious longing for their love, their approval has been persistently and coldly rebuffed.

    Bringing these reflections to a close, it is important for me to stress that as long as Nigerians recognize that the PDP aspires to be a solid alternative to the APC with regard to the crucial ideological and economic terms we have discussed in this piece, so long will it be important to be aware, be very aware, that one party, the APC, is center-right while the other party, the PDP, is hard right. This is not a vote, not a plea for the APC, compatriots. Far from that, my stand really is – a pox on both of their houses! For the truth is that ultimately, between the center-right and the right, the difference is like the difference between getting a dangerous viral fever and cold and getting pneumonia: both can kill. If you wish to have the analogy in a somewhat more neutral or even benign form, the difference between the APC and the PDP, that is to say the difference between center-right and hard right, is the difference between a capitalism with the guilty conscience of rich folks whose bellies are full while the bellies of most of the population are empty and the capitalism of rich folks who say, without any sentiment at all, that it is not their fault that some are rich and most are poor.

    No, compatriots, ultimately, it does not matter in the least that APC is center-right and PDP is hard right. This is because while in theory and in sloganeering they may express different views about such things as public control of the crucial means of production, provision of subsidies for utilities and services, or regulation of both public and private enterprises, in practice and in reality, the APC and the PDP are doing the same things: looting the nation and its resources dry and busy transferring our collective assets and resources to themselves. For both parties, the debates going on in most of the other nations and regions of the world between capitalism and social-democratic and anti-capitalist movements and forces don’t apply here at all. What we want, what we should talk about in Nigeria is long, list of moralistic and sentimental objectives: provide good leadership; respect our diversity; unite us in spite of our differences; substantially curb or altogether eliminate corruption; stem the unending decay or malfunctioning of our institutions; correct the decay, the devaluation of our educational systems; restructure and redistribute the resources and responsibilities that the central government in Abuja controls jealously. Do all of this while you take for granted, while you take as natural and incontestable the capitalism of both the hard right and the center-right!

    A futile wish! Why so? Because capitalism is not an emanation of nature. It is always and forever facing challenges, revaluations, revolutionary transformations, regressions, etc., etc. Who says, who thinks that our capitalism is unique and will be different from all the other capitalisms in our world?

     

    • Biodun Jeyifo

    bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

  • APC suspends ex-Rep Daramola for supporting Atiku

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended former lawmaker, Mr. Bimbo Daramola for alleged involvement in anti-party activities.

    The party gave the suspension order in a letter dated 28th May, 2019 and addressed to Daramola.

    The letter was signed by the chairman and secretary of Ire ward II, Dipo Bejide and Adeola Sefunmi respectively.

    The party earlier summoned the APC chieftain to defend himself against allegation levelled by some party members.

    The summon by APC executives in Ire ward 2 was contained in a letter dated May, 16 2019 signed by Ward chairman and Ward Secretary.

    The party said it took the action over failure of the chieftain to submit and appear before the ward executive to clear the allegations.

    The party alleged the ex-lawmaker openly mobilised support for Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of PDP in the last Presidential and National Assembly election.

    It added he also instituted a court case against the party’s candidate, Hon. Peter Owolabi in the last National Assembly election.

    The letter reads: “From the tone and style of your letter dated 20 May, it is apparent that you are only interested in causing division and disunity in the party by raising mundane, rumoured and unsubstantiated allegation aimed at setting the members at each other.

    “To this effect and based on your reply, we wish to put forward to you, what the wards deem as your anti-party activities.

    “That on the eve of the 2019 election, you used your house to accommodate PDP thugs, those who eventually unleash mayhem on members of our party, APC.

    “That on the eve of the election, you visited the palace of the Onire of Ire where you openly canvassed for PDP presidential candidate, Alh. Atiku Abubakar whom you openly described as your mentor and benefactor.

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    “That the party from at your response to your letter where you failed to address any of the above listed anti-party activities.

    “Rather you exhibited pride and arrogance and went to the extent of asking if there were party primary in the ward at the last House of Representatives election.

    “In view of the above violation and based on the fact that you are not ready to submit yourself to constituted authority of the party.

    “We wish to convey the decision of the party to suspend you indefinitely from the party indefinitely.”

  • Slow and unsteady loses the race – Buhari’s and APC’s unregulatable nationalist capitalism

    Do you remember, compatriots? In 2015, at the beginning of his first term as an elected civilian president, it took Muhammadu Buhari five months to form his cabinet. As we can all recollect, this record-breaking slowness took all of us by surprise, especially as Buhari and the APC came to power on the basis of a vigorous and successful campaign of – change! The surprise, the disappointment was greatly enhanced by the fact that when Buhari finally announced his cabinet, with only a couple of exceptions, it was a lackluster ministerial cabinet, one of the most mediocre in our country in the last few decades.

    Buhari is a complex man. In only one term in office as an elected president, he has managed to emerge as perhaps the slowest and laziest head of state we have had in the post-independence era. On the security front, he has woefully underperformed. All over the country today, life is more unsafe, more onerous and insecure for most Nigerians than at any other time in the  last five decades, always excepting the period before and leading to the civil war. And as if that was not enough, Buhari’s underperformance in the security front is tinged with undisguised expressions of sectionalism and ethnocentrism. And yet, he retains a large measure of his charisma with the masses and his mystique for millions of his followers, especially in the North, but not excluding parts of the South. His administration, including the presidency itself, has been rocked by corruption scandals; but at the same, Buhari’s reputation for personal moral integrity remains wondrously unquestioned.

    A few days ago, I was stunned by television broadcasts of the last cabinet meeting of the president’s first term as, one by one, all the minsters gave lavish and obsequious praise of Buhari, as the man himself smiled from ear to ear in open acknowledgement of the verbal songs of praise being showered on him. All the virtues in the holy books of the Abrahamic religions were asserted as Buhari’s valid and inspiring qualities. One minister said that the president’s love of humanity was unequalled. Another said that it was Buhari’s simplicity, his total lack of pretension that had most impressed him. A female member of the cabinet asserted that “Mr. President” was very interested in women’s welfare and affairs, against widespread perceptions of Buhari as being not particularly politically correct in women’s issues. Chris Ngige’s praise was particularly colourful. “Mr. President”, the outgoing Labour Minister said, “when I tell people that you love humour, that you crack jokes, that you even raise one leg while laughing, they don’t believe me!”

    Bearing all these contradictory things about Buhari in mind, are you, dear reader, among those who are anxiously awaiting the announcement of the cabinet for the president’s second and final term in office? Well, if you are, I am not! Why not? Because, in spite of his complexity, in spite of his mix of good and bad qualities, Buhari is very predictable, so much so that, give or take a few unknowable possibilities, the outline of what his last term in office will be is fairly clear. To put the matter as succinctly as possible, I predict, quite confidently, that the president’s laziness will continue and that together with this slothfulness, his sectionalism will combine with his centrist ideological beliefs and attitudes toward capitalism to make the road ahead as tough for most Nigerians as they have been in the first four years of his first term. In other words, beside his personal qualities and predilections, there are also the ideological and political tendencies of Buhari’s party, the APC that I for one characterize as center-right. Taken together, it is the combination of, on the one hand, Buhari’s personality and moral worldview and, on the other hand, his party’s policies and programs, it is their combination that makes it possible for us to predict where Buhari will take the country in the next four years. In my view, this is not a good place at all, to put it mildly.

    Before going in detail to this assertion, this prediction, permit me to say that I take no satisfaction at all in making the prediction. This is because I do wish the president to succeed in his final term for the simple reason that his success will be the success of the country. Who wishes the mass killings in many parts of the country to continue? Who wants the widespread insecurity of life, .limbs and possessions to continue unabated? Who wants the rising tide of hatred and intemperate animosities among our peoples to continue? I think I can say with a measure of confidence that definitely, Buhari, the president himself, does not want these terrible things to continue happening in the collective, associated experience of our peoples. How do I know this? In responding to this question, let us return to the major part of the title of this piece: slow and unsteady loses the race.

    Of course, this a reference to the moral of one of the most popular fables of Aesop, that of the hare and the tortoise. In the fable, the two animals enter into a race to see which of them would first get to the finish line. The result of the race seemed foregone, for who does not know that the hare is infinitely faster than the tortoise? But the foregone assumption about who would be the winner of the race failed as the hare became so complacent about the certainty of his winning the race that he took time to rest before reaching the finish line. A fatal error, for the hare fell asleep and the tortoise, who had all the while been slow but quite steady in his slothful pace, wins the race. If you wish to express the moral of the fable with a dialectical negative, you could say that victory does not always go to the fastest; sometimes, it goes to the slowest, the most persistent, the most steady. But please note: slowness combined with unsteadiness is a fatal combination.

    Do not forget, compatriots, that Musa Yar’ Adua was given the nickname, “Baba Go Slow”. That was before Muhammadu Buhari’s second coming as an elected civilian president. As we now know, if Yar’ Adua was slow, Buhari is super-slow; he is supremely unhurried. He is notorious for taking long, unhurried time to read reports whose ramifications need urgent attention and/or action. He takes all the time in the world to respond to questions arising from controversial actions or statements credited, either to him or to leading members of his administration. Indeed, things may be falling around him in either the presidency or the ruling party, but Muhammadu Buhari, imperturbability personified, remains stolidly unconcerned. If one can talk of a negative dialectic to imperturbability, one can say of the president that he has turned unaccountability into a virtue. What is truly, truly amazing is the fact that quite often, Buhari’s virtuous unaccountability and unresponsiveness pertain to loss of lives, loss of hundreds of lives. Slow and unsteady loses the race…

    The unsteadiness stretches right across the length and breadth of Buhari in office as both unelected military autocrat and elected civilian in mufti, in baba riga. Fortuitously for Buhari, Nigerians have a short memory span and we tend to remember the past rather selectively. Thus, where there are no fundamental differences between Buhari as military dictator and as democratically elected president, most Nigerians see a big difference, a difference that shows the younger despot as a man of quick and decisive action and the old and aging, super-slow “Sai Baba” as a ruler surrounded by people he cannot control. But this ignores the fact that as both military and civilian head of state, Buhari has shown a tendency not to distance himself from his erring or even thieving subordinates, that is as long as they remain personally loyal to him. And if that means that he loses face and credibility with the mass of ordinary Nigerians, so be it. Thus it is that both as a military ruler and civilian president, the man with the myth of incorruptibility was and is surrounded by officials and practices of morally dubious intent. To cap it all, to those who have decried the contradictions in his rule and personality, Buhari has been completely indifferent. Thus, there is a great steadiness in his unsteadiness.

    For me, the real import of this steady unsteadiness can be found in one of the least understood or even acknowledged aspects of Buhari as a ruler. This is his populist and centrist ideological relationship to capitalism. As military ruler, he was very forthright, very insistent in his opposition to usurious capitalism. Indeed, so forthcoming was he on this point that he did not balk from alarming Nigerian Christians as a community by declaring that his economic policies would gradually shift from unregulated capitalism to the principles and practices of “Islamic banking” which, famously, is against exorbitant interest rates, the cornerstone of the profit motive and surplus extraction in all modern capitalisms. Indeed, it was with the utopia of “Islamic banking” in mind that, upon seizing power from Shehu Shagari in December 1983, Buhari embarked on an ambitious project of a very rapid repayment of all of Nigeria’s sovereign or external debts. At the time, there was little doubt that had he not been overthrown by IBB, Buhari and his regime would almost certainly have fulfilled that mission.

    Fast forward, compatriots, to the present. Beyond their personalities and past experiences as ambitious politicians, the thing that distinguished Buhari from Atiku Abubakar in the last presidential elections was their respective ideological visions of the future of capitalism in our country, our continent and the world. To simplify a lot, let us go to the most essential, the most symbolic expression of this difference: Buhari promised not sell off the NNPC and most of the profitable public ventures of the Nigerian nation and people; Atiku vowed that if it was the very last thing he would do, selling off the NNPC was the greatest aspiration of himself and his party, the PDP. More expansively, Atiku and the PDP promised that they would effectively wipe out all vestiges of opposition to the complete privatization and deregulation of the Nigerian economy, from its commanding heights to the valleys of small and medium scale enterprises. And especially, Atiku promised that extremely favorable terms of trade would be offered to investors from any part of the world to come and do business in Nigeria.

    Compatriots, if you are looking for the crucial differences that mark the APC as center-right and the PDP as vigorous or hard right, these are the expressions. But only as abstractions, alas. This is because in practice, in reality, all the big stalwarts in both the APC and the PDP are for unregulated and perhaps even unregulatable capitalism. The two parties, together with all the other ruling class parties and politicians are for the free-for-all capitalism based on merciless primitive accumulation that is in force in the economy and polity in Nigeria at the present time. Perhaps the most telling expression of the unregulatable nature of Nigerian capitalism in the PDP-APC era is the unregulated and seemingly unregulatable nature of the salaries, bonuses and emoluments paid to our legislators by, of course, the lawmakers themselves.

    This legislative predatoriness sets the example and the tone for everything else in the rampant unequal distribution of wealth in our society, compatriots. Without a doubt, when the economic and social history of the present era comes to be written, the most important development will be found to be the massive transfer of public wealth to the private ownership of a class of Nigerians who themselves produced no appreciable wealth to speak of that could be equitably redistributed to all or most Nigerians. How supremely ironic that a man like Buhari who has cast a large shadow as a disciplined and virtuous ruler should be so lacking in the capacity and the will to regulate the agbero capitalism that is eating away at the foundations of our society and polity.

    • Biodun Jeyifo

    bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu  

  • 2019 polls: APC suffers reverses in Zamfara

    THE Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress was hit by a legal Tsunami yesterday as the Supreme Court voided the election of all the party’s candidates elected into various offices in the just concluded general elections.

    Affected by the judgment are the governor-elect, Alhaji Bello Matawalle; three senators-elect, namely Tijjani Yahaya (Zamfara North) Aliyu Bilbis (Zamfara Central) and the incumbent governor, Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara West).

    Also to forfeit their mandates in the just concluded elections are seven House of Reps members-elect and 24 memberselect of the state’s House of Assembly.

    A five-man panel of the Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgment yesterday, held that the APC in Zamfara State did not conduct valid primaries from which its candidates emerged.

    The panel, led by Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, held that the APC had no valid candidates for the elections.

    It declared that the first runners-up, who scored the second highest votes and the required spread are winners.

    Candidates of the APC had won all the seats contested, including the outgoing governor, Abdulaziz Yari, who won a senatorial seat, with candidates of the PDP emerging first runner-ups in most cases.

    In the lead judgment by Justice Paul Galumje, the court upheld the earlier judgment by the Court of Appeal in Sokoto and dismiss the three appeals the affected APC candidates filed.

    The Court of Appeal in Sokoto had, in its March 25, 2019 judgment, set aside the judgement of the High Court of Zamfara. The Appeal Court, Sokoto was of the view that the APC did not conduct valid primary elections for the last general elections, and as such had no candidate for any of the polls in the state.

    Yesterday, Justice Galumje held that since the APC had no valid candidates, having not conducted valid primaries, the votes recorded by its candidates are wasted votes.

    The judge said: “I find and hold that the 1st appellant (APC) never conducted primary elections. I come to the conclusion that this appeal, as constituted, has no merit.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the party

    that had no candidate in the 2019 general elections cannot win.

    “This makes all the votes credited to the candidates of the 1st appellant (APC) in the 2019 general elections in Zamfara State wasted votes.

    “For that reason, it is hereby ordered that candidates of the parties other than the 1st appellant (APC), that polled the highest number of votes and the required spread, stand elected into the various offices contested for in Zamfara State in the 2019 general elections.

    “I award the cost of N10 million against the appellants in favour of the 1st to 140th respondents as well as the 180th respondents, and the cost shall be paid by the appellants.”

    Justice Galumje warned politicians to always play by the rules, noting that “the democratic system in this country was borrowed from the United States of America.

    “Those from whom we borrowed have forged ahead and developed into an economically viable nation,” he said.

    The judge expressed disappointment that “for this our dear country” out of the ignorance or mischief of politicians, Nigeria continued to be held down.

    REad also: Zamfara: INEC meets on Supreme Court judgment

    Justice Galumje cautioned that “if care is not taken, the class of politicians we have today will take this country back to the stone age, which will consume all of us.

    “I urge all to always play the game according to the rules.”

    Justices Muhammad, Olukayode Ariwoola, John Okoro and Uwani Abba-Aji, who were also members of the panel, agreed with the lead judgment.

    Reacting to the judgement, lawyer to some respondents in the appeals, who

    are mainly of the Senator Kabir Marafa faction of the Zamfara APC – Mike Ozekhome (SAN) – praised the Supreme Court for its decision.

    Ozekhome said: “What the apex court has done today is to deepen, widen and strengthen democracy and our democratic precepts.

    “It shows that parties must maintain internal democracy and cannot whimsically, capriciously and arbitrarily operate outside their constitution, guidelines, the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the country.

    “The Supreme Court has redefined our jurisprudence, showing that when a party damages its primaries, it can never reap the proceeds of its illegalities.

    “That is why and how the PDP that came second has today produced the governor, all Senators, all House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates today in one fell swoop. “All Glory and full adoration belong to God.”

    Judgment sweet, bitter, says Marafa

    Reacting to the judgment yesterday, Zamfara Central senator and Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum, Senator Kabiru Marafa, regarded as the main brains behind the suit, described it as both sweet and bitter,. He reckoned, however, that it was a huge victory for democracy, Zamfara State and the country as a whole.

    Marafa, in what he described as his “interim reaction” to the Supreme Court judgment, noted that “no matter how long, truth will always prevail over falsehood.”

    Marafa said: “Today’s (yesterday’s) judgment is a victory for democracy, triumph of truth over falsehood and redeemer of the integrity of the judiciary.

    “As we all know, the APC was unable to conduct primaries in Zamfara State, following (Abdulaziz) Yari’s thuggery and violent machinations.

    “With this, lesson has been served that only strict adherence to rule of law and due process will take the country to the next level as being advocated by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “This Judgment has shown that the President is religiously sincere with his non-interference stance on the functions of other arms of government.

    “He has further endeared himself to Nigerians and the world for resisting all efforts by Abdulaziz Yari to force him to interfere in the judgment.”

    Marafa urged his adversaries to take the judgment as the will of Allah and a lesson that only Allah, the Almighty, can crown a king.

    Commending the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad for leading the Justices aright, he said that the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man.

    Atiku, Dickson hail judgment

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, and Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, both hailed yesterday’s judgment in different statements yesterday.

    Atiku, in a statement issued by his media adviser, Mr Paul Ibe, commended the judgment, saying it has upheld the rule of law and done justice by declaring the PDP as winner of the three categories of election.

    “Nothing is as pleasing to the ears of believers as justice being served in the holy month of Ramadan, Atiku said. He commended the Lord Justices for putting aside the interests of the powerful and upholding the interests of Nigeria and Nigerians, adding, “God first, Nigeria second must be our priority as trustees of the people.

    “When justice prevails, the people rejoice, chains are broken, freedom is multiplied and society is enriched,” the statement added. Atiku, whose election petition against President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the presidential election is pending be fore the Court of Appeal, expressed optimism on favourable judgement in the petition.

    He commended the apex court for siding with justice and congratulated the governor-elect of the PDP, Mr. Bello Matawalle and the people of Zamfara.

    He assured that the Zamfara people will finally have a government that will address the issues that have made life an ordeal in the state.

    “The storm is over and peace and calm are coming to Zamfara.

    “May God bless the Supreme Court of Nigeria. May God bless Zamfara State and may God bless Nigeria, now and forever,” the statement said.

    Dickson on his part congratulated Dr. Bello Mohammed Mutawalle, who he said has become the governor-elect of Zamfara by virtue of the judgment.

    In a statement by his Media Adviser, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, the governor also congratulated the leaders of the PDP and its supporters in Zamfara for their dedication, commitment and resilience, which culminated in the party’s eventual victory.

    Governor Dickson, who is the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, thanked the Judiciary for standing up to the expectations of all well-meaning Nigerians as an impartial arbiter of justice.

    He said that it was rather reassuring and commendable for the judiciary to display such a high level of courage and professionalism, especially given the unusual times.

    Congratulating Mutawalle, Dickson said: “I also commend the leaders of the PDP and the teeming supporters of the party in Zamfara for their dedication and resilience.

    “And very importantly, I thank the Judiciary, once again, for standing up to the expectations of the well-meaning Nigerian public as a strong, impartial arbiter that could be trusted.

    “This landmark judgment is victory for justice and indeed democracy in action.”

    Oshiomhole mum on judgment as APC holds emergency NWC meeting

    The national Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was in a sober mood yesterday as the news filtered in on the Supreme Court judgment sacking all its elected candidates in Zamfara State.

    An emergency meeting of the National Working Committee presided over by the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was summoned and lasted for about two hours without any statement from the party on the outcome.

    An inaugural press conference by the new Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu, had to be called off as he led other governors on sympathy visit to Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari, who was also affected by the judgment.

    National officers of the party were seen discussing the development, with the Deputy National Chairman, South, Otumba Niyi Adebayo, heard saying, “It is a bad day for the party,” while the Organising Secretary, Emma Ibediro, was also heard saying, “Why won’t we agonise?”

    Comrade Oshiomhole, who presided over the emergency meeting however left without saying anything to anxious newsmen who were waiting to get his reaction on the Zamfara judgment.

    Reacting to the development, National Vice Chairman, South-South, Utufam Hilliard Eta, described the development as sad, saying, “It’s a sad day for every member of the APC. It’s a very sad day for us.”

    Eta would however not agree that the party failed to manage the Zamfara situation well, saying: “I don’t think that the party mismanaged the crises in our Zamfara State chapter.

    “We don’t have any option but to accept the judgement of the Supreme Court and go ahead and learn some lessons from it. That is what I can say for now.

    “For me, I am a democrat. The issue of internal democracy is a serious problem in our country, but it is work in progress. We have made a lot of stride in the party.”

  • Oshiomhole, other APC NWC meet over Zamfara ruling

    The National Working Committee of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) summoned an emergency meeting over the ruling of the Supreme Court which sacked all it’s elected representatives in Zamfara state and handed over the seats to the Peoples Democratic Party.

    The meeting lasted for about two hours without any statement from the party in the outcome.

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    An inaugural press conference by the new Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Kebbi state governor, Atiku Bagudu had to be called off as he led other governors on a sympathy visit to the Zamfara state governor, Abdulaziz Yari who was also affected by the judgement.

    Details soon…