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  • Ngige: APC’ll give Ndigbo platform they’ve craved for

    Ngige: APC’ll give Ndigbo platform they’ve craved for

    Senator Chris Ngige, former governor of Anambra State, and senator representing Anambra Central Zone in this interview with reporters in Awka speaks on the governorship election in Osun, 2015 General Elections and Igbo presidency, pointing out that All Progressive Congress (APC) will give Ndigbo the platform they have craved for in the country. Nwanosike Onu was there. 

    In the last governorship election in Osun State, your party, APC, won.  What is your impression of the election?

    My party won the election convincingly. We defeated our major opponent, who is the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with a wide margin. He scored about 292,000 votes while our candidate scored 394,000 and won overwhelmingly in 23 local governments. Therefore, one would say that because we won, we would not say that that election had pitfalls. Two important things there are that, first and foremost, the state was over militarised and secondly, our strong supporters, the key people who anchored our elections in their local governments were hounded. If you go to Ede North, Senator Adeleke, who was former governor, was hounded.

    They arrested our spokesperson, Alhaji Lai and arrested one other technical person working with us who is an Assistant to former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Mr. Sunday Dare.

    They arrested them for no just cause and without reason.  So, even though Osun people rose up in defence of their votes, in defence of their sovereignty, one would not say that there wasn’t intimidation in Osun State.

    There was a mighty and gargantuan show of force aimed at cowing and intimidating the people because in the main, the people of Osun State were ACN supporters and sympathizers. So, I am telling you on good authority that if we remove those elements of intimidation, our candidate would have gotten double the votes that he got, especially in his area; Ijesha, Ilesha and even in Ebe. And these are the populous areas – Osogbo, Ijesha, Ife and Ede. But if you go to Ife, the PDP candidate had a field day. They allowed his people to come. They allowed them to mix freely with the polling clerks and everybody and you can see the result that they produced from there. So, that result from Ife is a rigged result. It is a rigged result. I mean the result of Ife, the three local governments of Ife.

    How would you assess the logistics for the election in Osun compared to what happened in Anambra?

    In terms of logistics planning, INEC did better than they did in Anambra. Anambra was a colossal failure for INEC in terms of logistics. In terms of staff deployment, personnel deployment for the Anambra election, INEC did not even get pass mark. And in terms of corruption of the electoral process in the Anambra elections, which means colluding with one political party against the others, which means the Resident Electoral Commissioner deploying APGA people as ad-hoc  staff, which also means and connotes and entails disenfranchisement of voters in areas where my party in particular, All Progressives Congress, was strong, in areas of Idemili North, Idemili South, parts of Ogbaru, especially Okpoko, parts of Awka South, especially areas where previous results show that the former ACN had been able to do wonderfully well like Government House area, GRA, St Thomas  Aquinas, Esther Obiakor booths, all those areas were starved  of electoral materials, such that voting could not take place in those places. And then I had to score zero and for them also to score zero. But in the final analysis, our party was the biggest loser. So, compared side by side with what we saw in Osun, where the people were very resolute and were ready to die and confront any security men, I will say that INEC had been pressurized to improve. This improvement, I don’t know whether they can carry it on to 2015.

    We will watch and see what they will do in the bye-election of Adamawa which is coming up in the next two months because Adamawa, as you all know, is an APC -friendly state.

     Why did you say so?

    It is our stronghold. It is an APC state. So, I use this opportunity to congratulate our brother, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

    You talked about militarisation in Osun. Would you say this may have contributed to the loss of Ekiti because APC didn’t envision the large presence of security men and therefore lost as a result?

    Yes, partly, it was one of the major reasons. We were prepared for this over militarisation. I am a member of the National Election Committee of APC and we visited Osun State twice before the election to assess the situation on ground. And in our last visit, the militarisation has started.  So, we did indoctrination and sensitisation of our party members, to the extent that we had a leadership structure in every booth that had alternates. If you arrest one person, there is another person to take over. If you arrest that person that has taken over, there is another person to take over. We did that structure, expecting what had happened and they played that game. And you know that in military warfare, if you know the strength of your enemy, and know the war tactics that he uses, you can be able to confront him, to stop him on his track. So, Osun people were not afraid of all the guns and the hooded and masked people that they saw because we told them that they were coming. But my take again on this is that in the general election, it will not be solitary election. Election will be taking place in all the states of the federation at the same time.

    So, where do you get this number of soldiers or number of police and State Security operatives to pump into one state? May be they can earmark some few states and do the over militarisation there but then, we will again apply our Osun strategy in dealing with such situation. My worry about 2015 is that INEC will not then be in a position to dispense with Resident Electoral Commissioners. Jega will not be able to dispense with them-the commissioners that are corrupt or deemed corrupt or who have compromised themselves with politicians. In Osun, PDP wrote a petition and did press conference and the man was transferred, Akeju and a new person was brought. In Anambra State, the man there had been there before the last general election, conducted general elections, conducted governorship election and conducted bye-elections and everything and he is angling to stay there again and do the next general elections. We are saying no to that. Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra, Onukaogu should leave.

    We know you are now in the Supreme Court, challenging what happened in Anambra. Irrespective of that, what is your assessment of Governor Willie Obiano’s administration so far?

    Well, I won’t be able to do a good assessment for you for two reasons: First, the man who is on the saddle is about 130 days in office. 100 days is about three months. It is not enough for anybody to settle down and do something tangible as such, more so when the person has not been in government. For now, he says the major thing he is doing is security. I won’t also assess him by the number of various Hilux pickups donated to the Nigerian police or given to vigilante services in the state. I will assess him when the results start coming out. For now, kidnapping is still going on. For now, armed robbery is still going on. So, I will be unfair if I start assessing him now. May be I will do that after his one year in office. And I am in court. If I also start doing anything now, I will be a jaundiced assessor. Any assessment that I make, will be jaundiced. And I am jaundiced in my view because I think that he didn’t get in there the proper way. I have nothing against his person. He is an amiable person. And those who dealt with him know him and say he is an honest person. They also say he is frank like me. He talks straight. I don’t do double speak. I don’t do double talk. So, I don’t want to be unfair to him now.

    2015 general election is fast approaching, are you contesting for any office?

    2015 is February/March election and your question is good but if you calculate now, you can see it is about seven months away. And six/seven months away is a lot of time in politics. A lot of things can change.  But we learnt party primaries will hold in October. Primaries start in October. My party will do their presidential primaries first. We are starting with presidential and from there we move to other primaries. Positions that are there to be contested are many. President-I am qualified to be President. I can contest it. It doesn’t then make it an Anambra election. There is also Senate or National Assembly. Well, National Assembly, but I cannot be a Senator and then go back to House of Representatives.

    That again is a seat that is available to be contested for. But more importantly, I am in the court challenging the last governorship election of November 16.  We have just finished at the Court of Appeal. This week, our lawyers have submitted their papers to the Supreme Court and if you look here, you will see my own copy. They just delivered them today. If the Supreme Court says that the election in Anambra State was not right and agrees with APC and PDP that there were electoral flaws that made for non substantial compliance by INEC with the Electoral laws in declaring Governor Willie Obiano as the Governor of the State, and ordering a re-run, then we will go for a re-run to repeat election. If they also finds that Mr. Willie Obiano did multiple registration in two places and also did a transfer of his old registration in Lagos State which is  third registration, and they concur with us and agree with us that he placed two voters cards which to all intents and purposes are voting certificates, voters ID certificates, and extrapolates from there to affidavit he swore in CF001, that we are not presenting any forged certificates because  that is what we asked, if they extrapolates into that and agree with our counsels that these voters cards are voters certificates, voters identification certificates, it then means that one of them was forged. And if it is forged, it has contravened information given in form CF001 because people mistake that area of forged certificate to mean only academic certificates from institutions whereas a certificate is anything that certifies you as Mr. A or Mr. B. of this particular identity. And that is what also we have. It is a voter’s card because it has a VIN number. It identifies you with a voter’s identification number called VIN number. It identifies you with an address. It identifies you with your trade or business. It identifies you with your photographs, everything.

    So, it is a certificate. So, if they agree with us, they will disqualify Willie Obiano as prayed and then order for fresh election. But if they don’t do that, we leave them to God. We leave the whole matter to God for final judgment and in which case if they agree with us like I said, we will re-run the election. And I will be qualified to run. If it were a question of whether I choose to run or I don’t choose to run. It depends on my party.

    From the grapevine, we learnt the Vice Presidential candidate of APC has been reserved for you. Is this true?

    Where did this grape come from and where did the vine come from? In which vineyard is this vine coming from?

    But we thought it has been zoned?

    We have not zoned any position of our party to any zone. We have not. As a matter of fact, organs of our party are now being put in place. After our last convention, what we now have is state, local government and ward executive. But we are going to put in place, our booth executives in the respective states. At the national, what we put in place at the Eagle Square Convention of 12 and 13 June is our working committee. By next week hopefully, according to the timetable drawn up by our National Chairman, we will inaugurate our full NEC, which encompasses all officers in the working committee, their deputies, two Senators per zone, three House of Representatives members per zone, zonal officers of the cadre of youth leaders, women leaders, even the zonal chairman who is also a member of the working committee, zonal secretary and zonal treasurer. These are members of the full NEC and our governors who are sovereign in their respective states. After these, we are also putting our Board of Trustees. Nominations are ongoing now as we speak and members of the national caucus. Luckily, I am a member of all these organs of our party by my being the only Senator from the South-East. I am automatically a member of the NEC of our party.

    I am a former governor. I am automatically a member of the national caucus and the Board of Trustees of our party. So, there will be no decision taken in all these places that I will not be privy to. So, as far as I know, we have not zoned any office. The only zoning that we did was for party offices. In the next few weeks, we will meet as elders of the party and fashion out what we are going to do about our presidential candidate because we don’t have time anymore.

    There is no time. As we sit here, my very good friend, President Jonathan is campaigning every day. In all the media, you will see various groups, transformation agenda, gift, Jonathan for President, over our dead body, if Jonathan doesn’t become President, we shall die, etc. These organisations are there and campaigning. You can’t also stop them because they have not said vote for Jonathan. They are only showing that he did this work, he did that work. But luckily enough our brother in Imo State is also showing his own work now. And when Mandela’s photograph and Obama’s own come out, his own comes out too. So, we as a party, we have realised that we don’t have time. In the next few weeks, it will be run, run, run for us.

    There are speculations that President Jonathan, who is your very good friend, has been prevailing on you to join PDP to run for Senate in 2015. Is this true?

    There is no law that for two persons to be friends forever or continue to maintain their mutuality, they must belong to the same political party. As a matter of fact, you can lose your friend when you go into the same political party. So, to me, our different political parties don’t matter. What matters to me is good governance.

    What is your opinion about the impeachments going on in the country now, especially the ones affecting your party the APC in Nasawara and Adamawa?

    Well, the impeachments have gone down now. As you can see, the impeachment in Nasarawa has fallen like pack of cards. The panel has dismissed the allegations. When the House of Assembly reconvenes, they will get their report and the constitution is clear. When you get such a report, the whole processes have died. You cannot do anything about it anymore. In Adamawa, yes, that one was successful. But the good thing about Adamawa is that we are going for a new election, brand new election and we have put in place, processes for our primaries, to get a solid candidate that will win back the state for us. Do not forget that that state was won by us under ACN when Nyako was PDP. So that our ACN structure that delivered that state to Gundiri is still there. So, we are raving up that structure and we rave that structure, with Atiku Abubakar as the anchor man there, and then we will take over that state in an election. We will go there just like we went to Osun and make sure that our people are not intimidated again and we shall win the election and get back that state.

    In the country, especially in the South East here, we see people calling APC all kinds of names. Some people call it a northern party, others call it Yoruba party. How are you going to convince Ndigbo to vote for APC with all these name tags?

    Some people call it northern party, some people call it Yoruba party, so why is it that the third leg of the tripod in Nigeria, in terms of major tribes in the nation, is not finding that party attractive to go and put their leg there? It then means that the political strategists in that region are not thinking. But some of us who are empirical and analytical, in whatever we do, in line with my principle of not deceiving myself, we decided to go and form that third leg for our people. Nobody knows tomorrow. We are not soothsayers but I know that we have a leg in PDP, therefore why should we not have a leg in the main opposition, because as the Igbo would say it, “tomorrow is pregnant.” Nobody knows tomorrow.  So, we are going to work very hard in the South-East, to convince a lot of our people that we should not put all our eggs in one basket because for us to do that would amount to political suicide.

  • Osun: Aribisala and the fear of APC

    Osun: Aribisala and the fear of APC

    What Nigeria’s brand of politics is a mixed bag of the good, the bad, and of course the ugly tactics of sheer blackmail, barefaced betrayals and subtle subterfuge is stating the obvious. This do-or-die battle field mentality is all because the winner takes it all. Critical observers of the polity should therefore, be driven by the tenets of objectivity and patriotism to say it as it is, and more importantly to make valuable suggestions to fashion the best way out of the political wood.

    It boggles any discerning mind when a citizen, a writer, an associate professor of international affairs and a pastor at that decides willy-nilly, to view a particular political party from the prism of outright hatred and frequent misguided mudslinging. The man in question is none other than Femi Aribisala. The political party that he has chosen, perhaps for pecuniary gains, to be the numero uno traducer is the All Progressives Congress (APC). While more informed minds have hailed its emergence on the nation’s political landscape as a much-needed and timely intervention, to provide a credible opposition and alternative to the behemoth that the PDP has become, Aribisala thinks otherwise.

    If he is not taking on the revered national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a no- holds -barred vitriolic attack asking what more does he really wants, Aribisala would be cooking another poisonous pot fuelled by the wrong reasons why APC is likely to lose Lagos governorship election come 2015. In other climes, his type may be tolerated for providing comic relief as an exception to the rule, but not so in Nigeria. As Vladimir Lenin rightly noted, ‘a lie told often enough becomes the truth’. Our cherished democratic culture cannot afford such political anomaly. Not now. And not ever!

    And that brings us to the recently held gubernatorial election, in the State of  Osun which  incidentally was won by the Independent Newspaper Limited Man-of-the Year and incumbent Governor, Rauf Aregbesola. While not a few political affairs analysts are of the candid opinion that the exemplary preparedness and high level of alertness to plug all loopholes on the part of APC added to the sterling performance of Aregbesola won it for the party, Aribisala has his own theory to it all.

    What he calls ‘crying wolf’ such as the condemnable arrest of the party’s chieftains, including Lai Mohammed, and commissioners on the eve of the election, the harassment of party agents during the exercise and the use of brute force by the security forces against unarmed voters were indeed, all predicted by the APC. It even went further to alert the public to the nefarious collaboration between INEC and the police bulldogs using both the print and electronic media.

    But Aribisala thinks differently. In his words: “Before every election, APC goes to town shouting itself hoarse that the election will be rigged. It brings out all sorts of fictitious documents showing “beyond reasonable doubt” that the PDP, in collusion with the INEC, has perfected outrageous plans to rig the election. Then when it loses, it says “We told you so” and decides to contest the results frivolously in court. Apparently, the only election that is not rigged in Nigeria today is the one that APC wins. At least, we are yet to hear APC say it is going to court to contest the Osun results.”

    How utterly ludicrous one could be! Unknown to him there were conflicting shadows over the purported plan by Iyiola Omisore of the PDP to head to court for redress. He found his defeat under the upper cut blow from the master of the game of politics, Aregbesola too bitter a pill to swallow. But for the prompt acceptance of defeat from the man at Aso Rock, who had a week before raised his hand to the paid crowd and declared him the ‘next governor of Osun’ Omisore would have done so.

    Yet, Aribisala calls it a ‘pyrrhic victory’! Can you beat that? Try to juxtapose this piece with the reality on ground. Said he : “Before the election in Osun, the APC went to town telling the whole world it would be rigged. Every so often, it came out with broadsides as to the discovery of fresh plans to rig the election which it discovered through its detective agency. Its Sherlock Holmes in this regard is Lai Mohammed, its Publicity Secretary. Lai Mohammed has the unique capacity to smell smoke where there is no fire whatsoever. These days, whenever he makes an announcement, it is to cry wolf yet again.”

    Unfortunately he has forgotten the wise counsel from Wendell Philips that: “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”. So good and timely that the APC knew this axiom and put it to full use. Let us consider the nitty-gritty of  Philpot Curran’s statement, “The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he breaks, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt.”

    The APC learnt lasting lessons from this. No more would it want the good people of Osun, nay Nigeria to remain helpless and voiceless slaves to the overbearing PDP-controlled central government that has said more than it has done on the critical issue of transformative leadership. Little wonder its governors are up and doing when it comes to good governance.

    For instance, Governor Aregbesola has discharged his mandate to his people to the best of his government’s capacity and abilities, in spite of the lean purse. He exhibited the rare traits of a politician adequately prepared for the challenging tasks of governance. Also, he is one who thinks and acts outside the box, propelled by high dose of creativity.

    He frontally tackled the monster of youth unemployment with Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (O,YES). That has actively engaged some 40,000 young citizens with 5,000 others trained in ICT. That is no mean feat. His government raised the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from a paltry N300 million to N1.5 billion, without increasing tax. That speaks volumes about a visionary leader. There is also the N4.2 billion fixed in state reserve and the establishment of a Debt Management Office (DMO). That is judicious use of public funds which the corruption-riddled PDP should learn from.

    In addition to the N1 billion support for the rural farmers, about 1,765 hectares of land have been cleared for profitable use. Even the PDP could not accuse him of neglecting ‘stomach infrastructure’, Aregbesola can proudly show them  the daily feeding of over 240,000 Osun Elementary  school children and the economic empowerment of 3,000 caterers.

    Similarly, the giant strides in infrastructural development with durable roads and the Ede Water Works capacity raised from 13 per cent to 30 per cent all stand him in good stead. Add these to the ground-breaking Opo Imo educative tablet for students applauded internationally.

    Osun people can recount similar achievements in the sectors of health care services, agriculture, tourism and transportation which was why they appreciated him through the resounding victory at the polls. With 394,684 representing 55.02 per cent out of 11 parties and beating his closest rival by 101,973 votes, there are lessons for the PDP to learn.

    One is that good and effective leadership is the sine qua non to re-election not propaganda. The second is the need for intra-party unity. While the PDP in Osun State has suffered internal crisis the same cannot be said of the APC. Also important is the need to effectively counter misinformation and all acts of deliberate mischief.

    The likes of Aribisala and his conscienceless sponsors should make out time for sober reflection. If the seed of democracy would flourish and flower to fruition the people’s interests must be uppermost in the minds of all the stakeholders, especially the political leaders. No matter how long it may take truth would always overtake falsehood. Well done, Aregbesola. Well done APC. The tasks ahead are enormous but Osun has set the template for more victories. PDP’s misadventure in the South-West and its desire to win by crook instead of hook would remain nothing but a pipe-dream.

  • Unite to ensure victory for APC in Ondo, Rep urges

    A member of the House of Representatives from Ondo State, Mr. Ifedayo Abegunde, has urged supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to unite and work for the victory of the party in future elections in the State.

    He spoke in Akure, the State Capital, at a rally organised to mark the victory of Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola at the August 9 governorship election in Osun State.

    While expressing delight on the victory, the lawmaker noted that the development would boost the morale of members of the APC in Ondo State, many of whom demoralised due to the loss suffered by the party in the last governorship election held in Ekiti State.

    He charged APC members in Ondo State to be united and ensure that the party records a good outing in the 2015 general elections.

  • APC will wrest power from PDP in 2015

    APC will wrest power from PDP in 2015

    Former Governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki, has expressed optimism that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will wrest power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the federal level in the 2015 general elections.

    He added that the recent victory of the APC in the recent governorship election in Osun State has brightened the chances of the party in the coming general elections.

    Saraki, who is also a chieftain of the APC, said outcome of the election had also showed that no federal might can subvert the popular wish of the people.

    The former governor, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, spoke yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, when he addressed APC supporters.

    According to him, “we’ve now come to an era when the federal might cannot impose candidate on the people, it is the people now that elect leaders of their choice.

    “For politicians in Kwara State who believe Abuja can make the result that does not exist, this is a lesson.”

    He also condemned the practice of arresting opposition leaders before and during elections, stressing that the practice must be stopped because it is undemocratic.

    Saraki said he would respond to calls on him to join the presidential race at the appropriate time, and maintained that his decision to link up with like minds was not for selfish ambition, but for the well-being of all Nigerians.

    He urged party faithful to troop out en-masse for the collection of the permanent voter’s card, which commenced yesterday.

    Earlier, the state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, had enumerated various achievements of his administration, ranging from health, road construction and rehabilitation, agriculture, water, energy, education as well as youth empowerment and employment among others.

    While soliciting the continued support of the people, the governor restated his administration’s commitment to continue to meet their yearnings and aspirations.

    The state chairman of APC, Hon. Ishola Balogun-Fulani, said APC has come to stay in the state, as it keeps playing host to defectors from other political parties on a daily basis.

    He said the party has held meetings with all local government and ward chairmen, secretaries and other stakeholders from each local government area of the state on the need to mobilize APC members to participate in the collection of the permanent voters card and the continuous voters registration exercise.

  • Police stop APC rally in Ondo

    Police stop APC rally in Ondo

    The police in Ondo State stopped yesterday a rally organised to celebrate Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s re-election.

    The rally was organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo Central Senatorial District.

    Excited party loyalists stormed the Arcade Ground in Adegbemile, Akure, the take-off point for the rally, around 7am, but policemen, led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Kunle Akinwale, ordered them to move to the APC secretariat.

    He said: “The command will not entertain any public procession, either political or whatever. You should confine yourself to your party secretariat.

    Akinwale said the action followed the nation’s security challenge.

    Addressing a crowd at the party’s secretariat, APC Vice-Chairman in the senatorial district Prince Adegboyega Adedipe said: “We expected the disruption of the rally. We know we are dealing with adult minors, but people are determined to ensure a positive change, both in Ondo and at the centre in Abuja.

    “We thank God for what happened in Osun State. That is why we are celebrating Aregbesola. We are a matured party and we know light will overcome darkness soon in Ondo State.”

    Another APC leader Chief Tayo Alasoadura debunked a rumour that he wanted to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing the party as “an albatross”.

    He urged APC supporters to turn out well for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) and voter registration today.

    The Chairman, Planning Committee for the rally, Otunba Olubunmi Alo hailed members for turning out largely for the event.

    Police spokesman Wole Ogodo said the rally was stopped to prevent a breach of the peace.

    At an earlier rally organised by a member of the House of Representatives, Mr Ifedayo Abegunde, to celebrate Aregbesola’s re-election, the lawmaker urged APC members to unite and work for the party’s victory in future elections.

  • Where is ex-Governor Sylva’s abducted uncle?

    The is an octogenarian, about 86-year-old. Any hairy part of his head had already turned grey. Adigio-Eseni, a community leader,  no doubt deserves respect, especially from the youths.  The octogenarian is a favourite uncle to former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva.

    On July 28, youths as young as his grandchildren stormed his home in Okpoama, Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, at about 2am, and whisked him away. Without respect to the age of the octogenarian, the armed youths kicked, pushed him and tore his clothes before bundling him away in a speedboat to an unknown place.

    The hoodlums unsettled the community with their sporadic gunshots before and after abducting the grandfather. Two weeks after the incident, nothing was heard from the kidnappers. They kept family members of their victim in the dark and created anxieties over the safety of Adigio-Eseni. Their action created panic among the children of the victim raising suspicion over the motives of the gunmen.

    The affected relatives were in dilemma, especially considering the health condition of their benefactor.

    He has high blood pressure. He was only being sustained by his drugs. His abductors didn’t go with the drug neither did they go with his phone.

    The family thought that they would come out to make their demands . It took over two weeks before the kidnappers asked for ransom. They want N250m to set the old man free. He was also allowed to speak with a family member and the family was relieved, but worried about where to get that kind of money.

    Fabo, the third son in the family, suspects that their father was abducted for political reasons because of his relationship with Sylva, who is now a leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state.

    Apart from being his uncle, Sylva, according to Fabo, was very close to their father.

    He said: “We are suspecting that it is political because of his relationship with former Governor Sylva. Maybe some persons kidnapped him to get at Sylva. We know our dad is not a politician and he has been sick for sometimes.

    “He has been in the house and he hardly goes out even to the church. But he is a very close uncle to Sylva. Any time he (Sylva) comes to the village, his first port of call is my dad’s place.

    “We are down and my step mum is the worst hit. She has been in shock and depressed. She doesn’t know what to do. She has not uttered a word since then. We are even afraid. Everybody is downcast. There is nothing we can do because the old man is the pillar of the family.”

    Just like Fabo said, the 70-year-old wife of Adigio-Eseni has been a ghost of herself since her husband was taken to the kidnappers’ den. But her spirits were lifted a little on Tuesday when she was told that the kidnappers contacted a member of the family. She was also told that her husband’s voice was heard for the first time after about 15 days.

    “I miss my husband. Until l see him l won’t be at rest. I am begging the kidnappers to set him free for me. They should at least consider his old age. Since they took him away from me, my life has not been the same again,”she said.

    But where will the money come from? That is the family’s dilemma.

    Fabo said: “We are a little relieved to learn that our father for the first time spoke. This is an indication that he is still alive. At least negotiation has started.

    “We, however, learnt that his voice was very down perhaps because of his sickness. He should be released to come back to us. Hearing that he is alive makes us happy.

    “Where do they expect us to get that kind of money? We don’t have money. We are appealing to them to release our father on humanitarian ground.”

    Commissioner of Police Mr. Hilary Opara said the command was doing everything possible to rescue the octogenarian. Hilary whose command has been solving many kidnap cases in recent time promised to bring back Adigio-Eseni alive.

    Certainly, the octogenarian does not deserve the kind of treatment being meted out to him. The youths who are holding him should think of their own old age. That is if they leave to even see old age.

  • Amaechi, Wamakko to Nigerians: Vote against bad governance, poverty

    Amaechi, Wamakko to Nigerians: Vote against bad governance, poverty

    Governors Rotimi Ameachi of Rivers and Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto States have called on Nigerians to vote wisely if they want to bid goodbye to poverty, insecurity and bad governance that have characterized development in the country in the last four years.

    The duo spoke separately in Rimawa town, Sokoto, Thursday at the inauguration of a modern agricultural skills acquisition centre constructed by Wamakko’s administration.

    Wamakko said Nigerians should not only be yearning for change but actualise their commitment through votes.

    The governors described current government at the top as weak, inefficient and has failed to deliver in all respects.

    According to them, the All Progressives Congress is ready to change the direction of Nigeria and Nigerians to a secure and better nation in the interest of the citizens.

    Ameachi said there was need for a total departure from where Nigerians are now, adding that “the only treatment that can cure Nigerians of the Peoples Democratic Party is APC.

    “If you remember your childhood days when you have headache, doctors prescribe APC for you and you don’t need any alternative today than APC to bring back the country to life,” he said.

    He described Wamakko as a governor who dispassionately works with honesty and detests corruption to a fault.

    Wamakko said APC as a party was built and focused for a better Nigeria” myself and Ameachi are like mind with similar ideas aimed at promoting and projecting the party in good light.

    “APC is about Nigeria and not ourselves in the interest of transparency, accountability, good governance, food, lives and property security of Nigerians and affordable housing for all,” he stressed.

     

  • APC leaders mount pressure as Ribadu concludes plans to defect

    APC leaders mount pressure as Ribadu concludes plans to defect

    There were strong indications yesterday that former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has concluded plans to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in spite of pressure to shelve such move.

    A source in his campaign organisation said Ribadu might announce his final decision on or before Friday to lay all speculations to rest.

    It was learnt that the initial plan was for Ribadu to defect on Thursday at a mini-rally in Yola, but he decided to hold more consultations following protests from some stakeholders in Adamawa PDP.

    Ribadu was also said to be hurt by alleged blackmail by some of his rivals in PDP, who have drawn a battle line.

    But some leaders of the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC) have held last minutes meeting with Ribadu to plead with him to shelve the plan.

    Another  reliable source said: “Barring any last minute hitch, Ribadu has concluded arrangements to defect to the ruling PDP on or before Friday to settle the controversy trailing his defection once and for all. Meetings to this effect were concluded last weekend.

    “All I can tell you is that Ribadu will make his decision known to Nigerians. He is almost finalising last segment of consultations.

    “The only thing disturbing Ribadu and his team is the increasing mudslinging and attacks on his person.”

    Another source gave insights into the final stage of plans to bring Ribadu on board by some PDP leaders.

    The source said: “In one of the meetings in Abuja, a PDP stakeholder from Adamawa Southern Senatorial District invited a couple of APC chairmen from Adamawa State, together with a handful of former members of the state Assembly during the tenure of former Governor Boni Haruna in the company of three members of the current PDP State Executive Council to a meeting with Ribadu himself in attendance.

    “The stakeholder, who happens to come from the same local government with a top aide to Mr. President, informed the meeting that he was personally directed by Mr. President to invite them to the meeting and inform them that the defection of Ribadu to PDP had the full support of Mr. President.

    “He said what they needed to do was to mobilise the ward delegates in readiness for the party primaries that would soon take place, especially given the fact that apart from those three members of the state PDP Executive Council that were at the meeting, all the others cannot be relied upon.

    “He further told the meeting that Ribadu would be granted a waiver to contest the governorship whether the state chapter of the party liked it or not.”

     

     

    Another source said: “A cabal is behind the coming of Ribadu and the way it is going about it, it cannot impose Ribadu on PDP in Adamawa. We know their game plan.

    “From Kaduna, a very close ally and former minister in the early 80s brokered a meeting between Ribadu, who is his godson with Awwal Tukur, his nephew and son-in law on how to prosecute the Nuhu ticket.

    “From all these and in spite of the stiff opposition from all other major stakeholders of PDP Adamawa, we wait to see how Ribadu can scale through and pick a ticket to run under PDP, a party he had a few months ago called assembly of rogues and a Federal Government  he had run down naked before the nation and international community in his report on the oil sector.”

     

     

  • Osun APC: Omisore is a sore loser

    Osun APC: Omisore is a sore loser

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Saturday’s poll, Senator Iyiola Omisore, lost “fairly”.

    APC was reacting to Omisore’s remarks that his defeat was due to the damage done to him and his party by the former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Rufus Akeju.

    Omisore said: “We had a situation where a clearly partisan REC had opened the entire electoral system to our opponent from the registration stage through data storage to personnel loading… Before he left, he did a lot of harm in the system that would take years to rectify.”

    In a statement yesterday, APC said: “To accuse the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Akeju, especially, is the hallmark of a man in delusional stupor. He has not been able to climb down from his high horse of living a lie.

    “Omisore lost fair and square because the people rejected him for his notoriety as a violently–disposed individual. Secondly, he offered nothing to the people except to promise the destruction of everything the people were enjoying from Aregbesola’s administration. He presented himself to the people as a destroyer, not a builder, and instilled fear in the hearts of Osun people.

    “That was why, in spite of the security apparatus of the Nigerian state put at his disposal and that of Osun PDP; the terrorist marksmen from Bayelsa State brought to Osun by Asari Dokubo and Tompolo; and the army of thugs within the state available to Omisore and the PDP, they could neither persuade nor intimidate the people to vote for them.

    “That Omisore cannot figure out why he suffered such a defeat shows the shallowness of his intellect and the immaturity of his political engagement. We hope the committee he set up to find out why he lost the election will detect the fraud and the lie in which they had lived, deluding themselves that Aregbesola was ‘unpopular’ in the state.

    “Omisore knew when he was about to cast his vote that the odds were against him. In one brief moment, he was forced to say a little prayer (maybe for forgiveness) before he voted.

    “He talked about fraud by INEC without producing a shred of evidence. He is just setting up a committee to look for that fraud. The path of honour, if he has any left, is to accept defeat honourably and move on.”

     

  • My fear for 2015, by Ngige

    •’Only APC can save Ndigbo’

    Former Anambra State Governor Chris Nwabueze Ngige said yesterday that for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to get it right in next year’s general elections, partisan Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) must be removed.

    He alleged that most of the RECs are biased, urging their removal as done in Osun State for the conduct of a free, fair and credible election.

    Ngige, who represents Anambra Central on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke yesterday to reporters at his campaign office in Awka.

    He said the strategy APC used in winning the Osun governorship poll last Saturday would also be used to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) next year.

    Said he: “My worry about the 2015 general elections is that INEC will not dispense with partisan RECs.

    “The Osun election was successful because a petition was written against the REC and he was replaced. That was what we asked for in Anambra, but INEC refused to listen to us.

    “The INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has to do an in-house cleansing, if he wants to get it right in 2015. He needs to assess those who will report to him before and after the elections.”

    The senator said APC has what it takes to improve the lives of Ndigbo more than any other party.

    He denied a claim that the party has given its presidential ticket to any zone.

    “Before we do that we will constitute our Board of Trustees (BOT) and the National Executive Council (NEC), including our National Caucus. The only zoning APC did was for party officials,” Ngige added.

    He said the party must start its campaign like President Goodluck Jonathan, whom he accused of using tactics to campaign.

    His words: “We have no time. Jonathan has started campaigning. In the next few weeks, it will be run, run, run for APC.”

    Ngige said 50 per cent of the Boko-Haram insurgents were unemployed youths in the Northeast, adding that the country needed a government with a human face.

    “A lot of things, such as infrastructure, jobs and electricity are lacking in this country. We need a responsible government to provide these things, which my former party, the PDP, has failed to provide,” he said.