The Nation Newspaper

Tag: APC

  • Impeachment made vexatiously simple

    Impeachment made vexatiously simple

    NIGERIA is seething with impeachment plots. Designed by framers of the 1999 constitution as an unusual tool for changing malfeasant governments, impeachment was to be deployed sparingly in the rarest of situations only when elected officials engaged in gross subversion of constitutional provisions. But as recent events in many parts of the country show, impeachment has become a fashionable tool for whimsical overthrow of governments in furtherance of private political goals. Adamawa State broke the mould when in a matter of days it overthrew Governor Murtala Nyako, a fiery critic of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, and leading exponent of the All Progressives Congress (APC) style of liberation and radical theology.

    It did not matter that he was swiftly impeached mostly for offences allegedly committed during his days as a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain and governor, nor did it matter that the plot against him was so offensively open that it revealed the private political interests of frontline Adamawa political juggernauts. Nor, still, did it matter that the impeachment was carried out with the annoying accompaniment of a legislative coup, one that involved tricking the simple-minded and ambitious deputy governor, Bala Ngilari, to resign, and the enthronement of the triumphant Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Umaru Fintiri. What mattered was that, at least for now, Governor Nyako was gone, and the state’s leading political lights were rid of his irreverence, provocation and independence.

    The curtain was not yet drawn on the Adamawa spectacle before Nasarawa State began its own political burlesque. Last week, under heavy security, 20 of the state’s 24 legislators brusquely decided to impeach Governor Tanko Al-Makura for offences the lawmakers had to scrounge around to adumbrate. The state’s electorate had spontaneously protested the decision, and poured into the streets to register their disgust against what seemed to them an ill-considered and tedious plot. The state’s opinion leaders and traditional chiefs added their voices to the people’s dismay and remonstrated with the lawmakers to let sleeping dogs lie. But even after some lawmakers were reported to have backed out of the plot, the adamant legislators relocated to Abuja where they proceeded to engineer a stalemate and a sinister subversion of the constitution.

    It is not certain what the outcome of the political struggle in Nasarawa would be. But in faraway Ebonyi, the legislators simply damned civility and common sense and proceeded to impeach their Speaker, Chukwuma Nwazunku, with the kind of casualness that reminded many analysts of the inglorious beginnings of the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency. Then, as if an evil spirit had possessed the land, even the beleaguered state of Borno was last week distracted from its ant-terror campaign by a most noisome rumour of impeachment allegedly inspired by the Majority Leader of the State House of Assembly, Idrissa Jidda. Alhaji Jidda was reported to be the anchor of a change of government drive plotted by the newly recanted former governor of the state, Ali Modu Sheriff, who was until about two or three weeks ago a member of the APC to which he defected from the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). Former Governor Sheriff was said to be eager to get the Governors of Borno and Yobe impeached for no other reason than that he had joined the PDP and needed the two states to shore up both his political base and President Jonathan’s second term bid.

    Not to be outdone, Enugu State, under the uninspiring and irritable Governor Sullivan Chime, felt the hideous need to enact a different perspective to the impeachment drama going on in the country. The state legislature decided to serve the deputy governor, Sunday Onyebuchi, with impeachment notice for reasons that included the comical offence of disrespecting the governor. He is unlikely to survive the conspiracy between the executive and the legislature, who both have constituted themselves into implacable Magdeburg hemispheres.

    Before next year’s general elections, a few more elected officials could still bite the dust. Many of them, it appears, will be unhorsed for wholly capricious reasons, reasons alien to the constitution, the law, simple logic and rudimentary discipline. Similar indiscipline pervaded the Obasanjo years, and it was thought that as year chases year, somehow the nation would become more sophisticated, better organised, disciplined and progressive. Alas, we told ourselves an infernal lie.

  • One dies in APC, PDP clash in Ilesa

    One dies in APC, PDP clash in Ilesa

    One person was killed yesterday in a fracas  between the supporters of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State.

    It was gathered that members of the two political parties resorted to violence   when a group of the PDP members reportedly embarked on destruction of Aregbesola’s bill boards as they were conducting a door-to-door campaign in the area.

    The hoodlums were allegedly led by a former local government chairman.

    The political thugs, who were said to have begun the destruction of the bill boards around 8.00 am, allegedly attacked a supporter of the APC simply identified as Tolu in his residence around the Irojo area of the town.

    It was gathered that one of the hoodlums allegedly fired a gun into the air to scare the people, but a bullet was said to have mistakenly hit Tolu in the chest, and he died on the spot.

    Immediately after discovering that Tolu had been hit by the bullet and died, the hoodlums were said to have left the vicinity and escaped through the Osun Ankara Road and Express Road before the arrival of the policemen from Ayeso Police Station.

    The deceased’s relation, who preferred not to be named, said Tolu was not a politician, but he had at a time publicly declared his support for Aregbesola.

    The Osun State Police Command’s spokesperson, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, confirmed there was a clash in Ilesa. She said the police had commenced an investigation into the matter.

    The APC in the state has condemned the incident, describing it as an open introduction of violence into the politics of the state.

    The party’s Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Barr. Kunle Oyatomi, said the PDP had been “boasting publicly to use every means, including ‘federal might’ that can only be authorized by the presidency to attempt to remove the APC from power in the state.”

    Meanwhile, the APC said:  “The PDP has begun the process of virtually destroying Nigeria, starting from Osun. Once again, we want the presidency to think twice before plunging into this dangerous enterprise because it will significantly destabilise Nigeria, and more importantly truncate democracy.

    “With the introduction of the Joint Task Force into Osun, the Federal Government is putting Osun State on a war footing. Let the Nigerians who love this country prevail on the presidency that this is not a war that the Federal Government can win. It is supposed to be an election in a state that has the reputation of being one of the most peaceful in the country.

    “The necessity for this irrational deployment of the JTF does not exist in Osun, except for the rabid and unbridled ambition of the PDP to capture Nigeria, even if it costs lives.”

  • Onaiyekan, UN, APC: time to cage Boko Haram

    Onaiyekan, UN, APC: time to cage Boko Haram

    The United Nations (UN), All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, have expressed shock over Wednesday’s bomb attacks in Kaduna that targeted Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as well as prominent cleric Dahiru Bauchi.

    APC, in a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, sent its condolences to the families of the victims and pray that God would give them the much-needed strength at times like this, while also wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

    It said the attempted assassination of Gen. Buhari has changed the narrative about the insurgent group and knocked the bottom off the sinister, irresponsible and partisan colouration given to the insurgency by the Federal Government.

    APC said while no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the mere fact that it occurred at all is a lose-lose situation for the Jonathan Administration.

    “Whether it is Boko Haram or not, one thing remains: This government has failed woefully in its core constitutional duty of protecting the security and welfare of the citizenry. And we mean all the citizens, not just the leaders!

    “And contrary to the simplistic and clearly selfish portrayal of the Boko Haram insurgency as a sinister plot to bring down the government of Jonathan, it should now be clear to the FG that has engaged in ceaseless finger-pointing instead of tackling the insurgency headlong that Boko Haram is an enemy of Nigeria and of all of humanity.

    “It is a real problem that is capable of consuming this country if immediate and urgent steps are not made now by the FG to move away from its politicisation of the crisis, its decision to use it as a trump card for President Jonathan’s re-election and exploit it as a ticket to international relevance for the President. If anything untoward had happened to Gen. Buhari on Wednesday, the consequences are only better imagined than witnessed!

    “If indeed the APC is behind Boko Haram and Gen. Buhari is a sympathiser of the evil group, as the FG wants the world to believe, could it be that the insurgents do not know their leaders or sympathisers, assuming they are behind the attack? If they are not responsible for the attack, doesn’t that support the theory in some circles that Boko Haram has become a franchise, hence there is the Boko Haram of Abubakar Shekau and the political Boko Haram?

    “Whatever happens now, the satanic and repulsive theory of the PDP-led FG that the opposition APC is using Boko Haram to truncate the Administration of Jonathan is up in flames. Therefore, it is time for them to change the narrative, see Boko Haram for what it is – an enemy of Nigeria – and rally the citizenry, irrespective of their political, ethnic or religious affiliation, behind the government’s efforts to tackle it decisively,’’ the party said.

    It said as a first step, President Jonathan must stop the wasteful contract he signed with the US-based firm Levick to help demonise the APC as the sponsor of Boko Haram, and to demonise any Nigerian who is perceived to be an enemy of the government.

    The party said: “It is this kind of demonisation, using pseudo and out-of-job analysts, that helped to set the stage for Wednesday’s failed assassination attempt against Gen. Buhari.

    “Then the President must address Nigerians to tell them that Boko Haram is not just an enemy of his government, it is an enemy of the opposition, of Christians, of Muslims and of the different ethnic groups.

    “Instead of dividing Nigerians along religious, ethnic and political lines, President Jonathan should borrow a leaf from his predecessors. Obasanjo never said the Niger Delta militancy was aimed at his government or his people, he tackled it headlong. Yar’Adua it was who finally ended the militancy, without saying it was aimed at his government or his people.”

    The party reiterated its earlier stand that only a non-partisan approach would galvanise Nigerians against Boko Haram, which is rooted more in the years of bad governance that have resulted in mass unemployment, massive corruption, economic imbalances and made the youth to become hopeless, thus creating an army of willing tools for criminal activities

    It repeated its offer to work with the Federal Government to battle Boko Haram and its call for a national stakeholders’ conference to help fashion out a comprehensive counter-insurgent blueprint for the nation.

    APC said rather than just throwing money at what has now become a bottomless pit, rather than creating the avenue for some unpatriotic citizens to feed fat on the insurgency, the FG should engage in new thinking.

    “After almost five years and 14 billion US dollars, Boko Haram is stronger today than ever. Whereas the average death toll in the previous years has been 1,500, more than 3,500 people have been killed so far this year! There is no stronger evidence that what is needed to successfully fight Boko Haram is not just 1 billion dollars, but a comprehensive approach that includes efforts to tackle the social and economic roots of the insurgency,’’ the party said.

     

    Onaiyekan: we mus not

    push our luck too far

     

    Cardinal Onaiyekan said it is time Nigeria tackled Boko Haram menace headlong and avoid pushing its luck too far.

    He said Nigeria had been dancing on the brink of chaos for too long except for the grace of God sustaining it.

    He said the insurgency is a symptom of a wider disease which must be urgently addressed.

    He also warned against sliding the nation’s democracy towards a one-party state.

    He said one-party system had never worked in any part of Africa.

    Onaiyekan gave the warning in an extempore address during a courtesy call on him by a delegation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which was led by its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

    He said: “I believe that God has been with Nigeria for so long. We have been dancing on the brink of chaos and somehow He accepts us not to fall over. But we should not push our luck too far.

    “Boko Haram, in my view, is a symptom of a wider disease and I hope we know that. And if we don’t tackle that wider disease, we might finish with Boko Haram and move on to another.

    “Meanwhile, we should do our best to rid our country of this menace which, as Chief Oyegun said, has taken over all of us. Every part of Nigeria has been taken over even though the epicenter is in a particular angle.

    “I am now 70 years old and I have seen the most important stages in the development of this our country. I was born into the colonial era. I schooled during the transition between the colonial and independent nation.

    “And I have seen all the different changes, tumbling and fumbling that we are going through between the 1960 and to date. One thing that has become clear in my mind is whatever anybody is saying something has happened in this country. We do have a country called Nigeria, and I believe that it is a viable project. There are challenges of course no doubt. There are dislocations, no doubt about it. The fact that there are contradictions, it is very glaring.

    “ Often, deliberately, they injected the contradictions into the system to cause confusion, but once we believe that we want to live in one country, our efforts should be made towards arriving such a way that our differences can be appreciated, and we do all we can, not to disorganize ourselves.

    “Above all, avoid utter chaos. We are looking television to see what happens when things fall apart. Unfortunately when that happens it is not people like you and I that will suffer most, it is the poor people, who have nowhere to run to and who don’t understand why things are not going well.”

    Cardinal Onaiyekan said Nigeria has every cause to have a viable democracy.

    He also warned against the danger of rigging elections claiming that such indulgence is worst than military dictatorship.

    He added: “Democracy has its ways. It is not the only way for ruling. But it is considered the best way. We still have some kind of monarchy like in Britain, Netherlands and Spain. We also have modern democracy involving political parties presenting themselves to people with manifestos which constitute programmes for them.

    “They defend them at all cost because if it is not well defended, you end up with dictatorship. This is why I say rigged elections are worst than military dictatorship for the simple reason that in the military coups somebody take it with the guns. He doesn’t pretend; I put you there. If you rig election, somebody who rigs election takes over and tells the world that I put him there , adding insult to injury.

    “We can and we should be able to achieve a viable democracy in this country if it is our desire to build a country where everybody sees each other as belonging to the same nation. That is one of the reasons why your group has organized itself to form a political party different from the party that is in government.”

    He said Nigeria cannot afford to be a one-party state because the system had never worked in any part of Africa.

    “And I believe that the government should not be surprised that there is another party otherwise we should be told that we are one party state. And one-party system as you know has been thriving in many parts of Africa and we have found it wanting. So, we have to be sincere with ourselves and I keep praying that this sincerity will be carried through.”

    Cardinal Onaiyekan said he would continue to talk until things are put right in the country.

    He said:” As a religious leader I pray, but I don’t only pray, I think and I do not shy away from expressing my mind as a Nigerian because politics is too important to be left to politicians alone. All of us are interested, we are all involved.

    “By the way God has organised and by the rules of my church, I cannot be a member of a political party nor can I be a candidate in any election, my church forbids it for excellent reasons. But I am not indifferent to how my country is ruled. This is why I am very happy to receive the chairman of APC party. I will gladly welcome the chairman of any other party that  may think he wants to pay me a courtesy  visit.

    “I thank you and you political party for coming to my house. Even if you are not a Catholic, I will still pray for you. I will pray for political leaders so that they will be rightly guided so that they may have the grace to do the right thing because there is a difference between being rightly guided and doing the right thing. It is not quite often that you do the right thing that you are guided to do. But it requires God’s grace to be able to do the right thing. We pray we have the patience, courage to do the right thing.”

     

    UN expresses outrage

     

    The UN envoy for West Africa   condemned the latest killing of civilians reportedly by the Boko Haram.

    Said Djinnit, the head of the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWA), expressed profound outrage at the attacks which occurred over the weekend and yesterday, resulting, according to initial reports, in the death of more than 130 people.

    According to a statement released by UNOWA, the violence also forced some 15,000 people to flee to the Borno state capital of Maiduguri as well as to neighbouring towns of Biu and Goniri.

    Mr. Djinnit, who is also the Secretary General’s High Representative to Nigeria, expressed condolences to the bereaved families and called on the Nigerian authorities to do all they can to end the carnage and bring the perpetrators to justice.

    He also reiterated the UN’s support for effective regional efforts to put an end to the terrorism threat and Boko Haram attacks.

  • APC asks Jonathan to probe assassination attempt on Buhari

    APC asks Jonathan to probe assassination attempt on Buhari

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) demanded yesterday a probe of the botched suicide attempt on a former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

    To the APC, there seems to be more to the suicide mission than meets the eye. There must be a “believable and credible enquiry”, it said.

    APC Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun made the demand in a statement and during an interaction with reporters after a visit by the party’s National Executive Committee to the Catholic Bishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan.

    He said: “The APC condemns in strongest terms the abominable spate of bomb blast and almost obvious attempt to take the life of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, (rtd). We understand that the unassuming, peaceful and humble General was on his way to his village, Daura, when a vehicle trailed him.

    “We are grateful to God that Gen. Buhari’s life was spared. Three of his aides were, however, injured in the incident and have been discharged after treatment.

    “We urgently appeal to his supporters nationwide to please remain calm in the face of what seems obvious provocation but strongly urge Mr. President to speedily set up a high-powered probe to unravel those behind the suspicious bomb blast.

    “This incident must not be treated as one of the usual Boko Haram atrocities as there seems to be more to it than meets the eye.”

    The party expressed “heartfelt condolences to those who lost their lives in the first bomb blast which claimed scores of lives in Kaduna”.

    It said: “We join their families in praying to Almighty God for the repose of the souls of the dead and speedy recovery of the injured.

    “We want to reiterate, once again, that because of the innocent lives being lost on daily basis, we committed our great part to full cooperation with the Jonathan administration in seeking solutions to the insurgency.

    “But Jonathan is more intent on politicising the issue to the extent of hiring propagandists from as far away as Russia and United States.”

    The APC, for the umpteenth time urged President Goodluck Jonathan to take the protection of Nigerian lives more seriously and to prudently utilise the “huge” amounts budgeted for security to upgrade our security infrastructure.

    “In addition his administration should fully cooperate with the international community in order to crush the Boko Haram insurgency.”

    Responding to questions from reporters after meeting with Cardinal Onaiyekan, the APC National Chairman said: “What is critical at this time is that we have made a passionate appeal to all the supporters of Buhari to please maintain the peace and not allow this provocation make them do things to the benefit of enemies of this nation.

    “Secondly, particularly to you members of the press, you have noticed recently the tendency of the PDP to want to say that the APC is sponsoring Boko Haram. They have hired people as far away as Russia.  Russians have become security experts who can tell what is happening in Nigeria. Americans have become security experts who can pronounce who is supporting Boko Haram in Nigeria. At least, one member of the British Parliament has also been told to call for an enquiry into this.

    “But yesterday because of the desperation of the ruling party, an attempt was made on one of the key leaders or goal-getters of the APC and it ought to have been clear to all concerned by now that the major states principally affected are APC states.

    “Does somebody set fire on his own house to prove any point? Won’t that be the height of stupidity? And now, the leader of our party is targeted and yet they are still blaming us, telling the world, telling the nation that the APC is a supporter and financier of Boko Haram. Gentlemen, Nigerians are not idiots. Whoever is doing that thinks Nigerians have taken leave of their reasoning ability.

    “It is clear that you do not prove bravery by stabbing yourself. So, the APC cannot prove that it does not like Jonathan by setting APC states on fire. Does that make any sense? So I don’t want to say whose hand is in this pie, whatever the apologists think, let them work. They are the ones who control the security forces.

    “They have spent over $20 billion in the last few years for supposedly providing infrastructure for the security forces. Yet, today, there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever. We are on top of the struggle against Boko Haram. So whose finger is in this pie? I think it is fairly obvious.

    “Well, we have called for an investigation, that is clear. Two things we did – we appealed to his teeming followers and followers of the APC to please maintain the peace. And for peace to reign, we also called on the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately institute a believable and credible enquiry to unearth what is in fact going on. Why do they want to target Gen. Buhari? And indeed, why Boko Haram?”

    Asked if APC believes that the incident was an assassination attempt on Gen. Buhari, said: “We have no doubt in our mind and we thank God. Bini people say if you are not evil, you won’t die an evil death. Gen. Buhari is one of the most upright human beings we have in this country and God, the Allah he serves has not destined an evil death for him, no matter the machinations of people in government today who seem to have taken all leave of rational thought.

    “If they can hire propagandists, cheap Russians, cheap Americans to say that APC is not beyond Boko Haram, has there been an investigation? If a child dies in the morning after the witch flies over at night, isn’t there a connection? Or are they going to tell us that they don’t know what is happening in this country? We are not government; we have the right to think what we think because government is not delivering on its path of the bargain. They are in charge of security and protecting our lives.

    Asked of the connection between the peace which APC is suing for and the allegation of assassination attempt on Gen. Buhari’s life by some forces, Odigie-Oyegun said the link was obvious.

    He added: “No, I think it is really straightforward. Maintain peace doesn’t mean you do not know what is going on. What they wanted to provoke, we are telling our members not to fall for these dastardly temptation because if our 10 million supporters, particularly in this part of the country go to town in anger, then this nation will be in trouble. So the connection is very clear.”

    Some of those on the entourage of the APC delegation were the Deputy National Chairman, Senator Lawal Shuaib, Senator Chris Ngige, National Treasurer, Alhaji Mohammed Bala, Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Timi Frank, and others.

  • APC governors: hold Jonathan responsible for attempt on Buhari

    APC governors: hold Jonathan responsible for attempt on Buhari

    All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, under the aegis of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), said yesterday that President Goodluck Jonathan should be held responsible for the attempt on the life of one of its national leaders and former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari.

    The governors, in a statement titled: PGF Condemns Attempt on Buhari, Holds Jonathan Responsible, noted that the incident happened two days after Gen. Buhari urged Jonathan to stop waging war on Nigerians but to devote more time to the war on terrorism.

    The governors condemned the attack, adding that “the double bomb explosions in Kaduna, the loss of innocent lives and what was clearly an attempt to assassinate former Head of State and leader of the APC, General Muhammadu Buhari”, were not coincidences.

    The PGF restated General Buhari’s statement to President Jonathan that it is unwise and against the spirit of social democracy that many innocent people were being killed in the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) quest to demobilise the APC and retain power at all cost.

    The governors said the Federal Government had failed in its fundamental responsibility of providing security for Nigerians, yet accusing the opposition in order to shift the blame for the low-intensity war going on in parts of the country.

    The statement reads: “Particularly worrisome is the statement credited to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, that soldiers were deserting the Army for fear of Boko Haram. Our question is: what happened to the vast sums of money devoted to security and defence in the last four years of the Jonathan presidency? Is the desertion of soldiers linked to the theft of money meant for military equipment?

    “We call on the Federal Government to take urgent and radial steps to investigate the assassination attempt and make its finding public. In the meantime, we urge President Jonathan to manage his obsession with power and work for the citizens of this country.

    “It is a great shame that Nigeria, under President Jonathan, has become the most dangerous place in the world in terms of deadly terrorist attacks. While we rejoice with General Buhari and others who narrowly escaped death, we commiserate with the families who have lost loved ones in the explosions and other attacks across the country – whether by terrorists or nameless, faceless assassins.”

  • Ogun APC sure of victory in 2015, says chairman

    Ogun APC sure of victory in 2015, says chairman

    Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday assured members and supporters that it will control the state in 2015.

    The party said it would allow a level-playing field for all aspirants.

    Its Chairman, Chief Roqeeb Adeniji, spoke at a mega rally at Abeokuta, the state capital.

    He lauded the APC faithful and supporters for their support and commitment.

    Adeniji said: “Irrespective of the propaganda and lies peddled against him (Amosun) by members of the opposition political parties, he will emerge victorious in 2015.

    “We are here for three things: first, to thank party loyalists for their support at keeping the machinery of the party functioning till date.

    “Since the conduct of the party’s ward, local and state congresses as well as the attendant inauguration, there has never been opportunity for the elected state party executive members to say thank you. But the rally was to publicly present state executive members to party loyalists to enable them properly familiarise with other members of the party.

    “Secondly, to reassure party loyalists that Ogun APC has not and will never lose its grip of the state as being championed by the opposition in their propaganda that they will take over Ogun state from APC and Amosun.”

  • Ex-students reiterate support for APC

    Ex-students reiterate support for APC

    A group under the auspices of Council of Ex-Student Leaders in Nigeria has declared support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State.

    The group urged all Kwarans to vote for the APC to “sustain the current development in the state”.

    The  state chair of Council of Ex-Student Leaders in Nigeria, Rasheed Oladodo, said: “We appeal to all our members to support the propagation of government policies and programmes of the current administration in the state and double our loyalty to Governor Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and Senator Bukola Saraki.

    “Today, we have come out in thousands to say thank you with continuity 2015 and beyond message.

    “We implore all students and former students to come out en masse in the forthcoming voter registration.

    “We have assessed Governor Ahmed and in all he has surpassed other job seekers who will only visit the state every four years to seek power and return to their businesses afterwards.

    “Kwara needs a committed and dedicated man who shares the same vision with our leader, Senator Bukola Saraki and today the governor is the man.”

  • Boko Haram: We should not push our luck too far – Onaiyekan

    Boko Haram: We should not push our luck too far – Onaiyekan

    The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, on Thursday said it is time for Nigeria to tackle Boko Haram menace headlong and avoid pushing its luck too far.

    He said Nigeria had been dancing on the brink of chaos for too long except for the grace of God sustaining it.

    The Catholic Archbishop said the insurgency is a symptom of a wider disease which must be urgently addressed.

    He also warned against sliding the nation’s democracy towards a one-party state.

    He said one-party system had never worked in any part of Africa.

    Onaiyekan gave the warning in an extempore address during a courtesy call on him by a delegation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) which was led by its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

    He said: “I believe that God has been with Nigeria for so long. We have been dancing on the brink of chaos and somehow He accepts us not to fall over. But we should not push our luck too far.

    “Boko Haram in my view is a symptom of a wider disease and I hope we know that. And if we don’t tackle that wider disease, we might finish with Boko Haram and move on to another.

    “Meanwhile, we should do our best to rid our country of this menace which, as Chief Oyegun said, has taken over all of us. Every part of Nigeria has been taken over even though the epicenter is in a particular angle.

    “I am now 70 years old and I have seen the most important stages in the development of this our country. I was born into the colonial era. I schooled during the transition between the colonial and independent nation.

    “And I have seen all the different changes, tumbling and fumbling that we are going through between the 1960 and to date. One thing that has become clear in my mind is whatever anybody is saying something has happened in this country. We do have a country called Nigeria, and I believe that it is a viable project. There are challenges of course no doubt. There are dislocations, no doubt about it. The fact is there are contradictions, it is very glaring.

    ” Often, deliberately, they injected the contradictions into the system to cause confusion, but once we believe that we want to live in one country, our efforts should be made towards arriving such a way that our differences can be appreciated, and we do all we can, not to disorganize ourselves.

    “Above all, avoid utter chaos. We are looking television to see what happens when things fall apart. Unfortunately when that happens it is not people like you and I that will suffer most, it is the poor people, who have nowhere to run to and who don’t understand why things are not going well.”

    Onaiyekan said Nigeria has every cause to have a viable democracy.

    He also warned against the danger of rigging elections, claiming that such indulgence is worst than military dictatorship.

    He added: “Democracy has its ways. It is not the only way for ruling. But it is considered the best way. We still have some kind of monarchy like in Britain, Netherlands and Spain. We also have modern democracy involving political parties presenting themselves to people with manifestos which constitute programmes for them.”

  • APC to Daniel: face your case with EFCC

    APC to Daniel: face your case with EFCC

    The Ogun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC ) has advised former Governor Gbenga Daniel to concentrate on his trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC).

    A statement by its Publicity Secretary, Sola Lawal, urged him to stop attacking Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

    The APC said: “It is regrettable that pariahs, who ought to be behind bars for sundry unmitigated crimes against the people are pontificating on the way forward for the same hapless people.

    “Whereas the Amosun administration has been adjudged as the best in recent time in the annals of governance in the state, forces of retrogression could still hold firmly the levers of obstinate denials.

    “The infrastructural, health , education, agricultural and other transformations witnessed in Ogun State since assumption of office of the Amosun government and widespread endorsement of these programmes by the people speak volume of the eagerness of Ogun people to cut a final break from a past of mesmerising oppression by elected people.”

    The party went on: “The eight locust years of the Daniel administration left a legacy of executive pilfering, brigandage, huge proliferation of arms among youths, widespread dejection among the people and general air of hopelessness.”

  • APC: we’ve taken steps to ensure free, fair poll

    APC: we’ve taken steps to ensure free, fair poll

    All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday it had taken steps to ensure that the candidates in the August 9 Osun State governorship election are provided with a level-playing field.

    It added that actions have also been taken to guarantee that the election is free, fair and transparent as well as devoid of harassment and intimidation.

    APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, spoke in a statement in Abuja yesterday.

    The statement said APC had challenged in court the powers of the President to deploy troops and that of the Inspector-General of Police to impose a curfew during the election.

    It also said the party had written to INEC to demand a postponement of the election if the electoral commission cannot guarantee that all registered voters would be given their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before voting day or in the alternative allow all registered members in possession of INEC temporary voter cards to vote.

    The actions, according to the party, were aimed at avoiding a repeat of the massive harassment, intimidation and arrest of opposition politicians witnessed at the Ekiti governorship election.

    It said the steps would also prevent any illegal lock down of Osun State, which turned out to be a ploy to pigeon-hole opposition politicians while allowing PDP members to move around freely.

    The party said the letter to INEC followed concerns expressed by APC members in Osun that they have so far been denied their PVCs under shady circumstances, a development that could be a ploy to massively disenfranchise APC members and rig the election at source

    The statement said: “In the first case filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos on July 15, 2014, we are seeking, among others, ‘a declaration that by the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), it is ultra vires for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to deploy members of the armed forces to Osun State for the purpose of the conduct of the gubernatorial election scheduled for August 9, 2014’.

    “In the second case, also filed at the same court on July 17, 2014,  we are seeking, among other reliefs, ‘a declaration that by the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), and the Curfew Law of Osun State, CAP 36, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2001, it is ultra vires for the Inspector General of Police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to impose curfew on any part of Osun State during the conduct of the gubernatorial election scheduled to hold on Aug. 9th, 2014, or at any time whatsoever in any part of Nigeria’.

    ‘’The actions have reinforced the credentials of our party as law-abiding and peaceful. Instead of resorting to self help, as many would have done in the face of the many underhand tactics by the PDP-led Federal Government to stifle the opposition and skew the conditions in favour of the ruling party, we decided to embark on a legal challenge of the unlawful actions of the government.

    ‘’We are not seeking any favour beyond that all candidates in the election be allowed to have a level-playing field, for all registered voters to be able to cast their votes in an atmosphere devoid of violence, harassment and intimidation, and for the election itself to be conducted in substantial compliance with the law.”

    APC said popular participation is at the core of democratic governance, hence a development in which registered voters, most of them from the opposition, will not be allowed to vote based on the incompetence of the electoral authorities is anti-democratic.

    “That is why we have written to INEC to allow duly registered voters to exercise their franchise on August 9, whether or not they have PVCs or temporary voter cards. If this is not possible, INEC should consider postponing the election until such a time that not one voter will be disenfranchised due to the incompetence, collusion or shenanigans of INEC,’’ the party said.

    It warned that the Osun governorship election must not just be free, fair and transparent, it must been seen to be so by all stakeholders.