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Tag: APC

  • APC: massive corruption behind govt’s request for loan

    APC: massive corruption behind govt’s request for loan

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the National Assembly to scrutinise President Goodluck Jonathan’s request for $1 billion (about N165 billion) loan to fight the insurgent group, Boko Haram.

    The party said the administration has no business borrowing money, if it had accounted for $20 billion in oil funds or checked the official stealing of 300,000 barrels of oil per day.

    In a statement yesterday in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party noted that even if the missing oil fund was only between $10 billion and $12 billion, as admitted by the Federal Government, the amount represents over 10 times the fund the government is now seeking to borrow under conditions that are yet unknown.

    It described as disingenuous and sheer blackmail the argument that the money is for national security or that it would facilitate the release of the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls who were abducted about 100 days ago.

    APC said: “That argument is hollow. In the first instance, trillions of naira have been allocated yearly – in the past few years – for security and defence. Yet, the fight against the insurgents rages on with deadly consequences. Secondly, the only reason the schoolgirls have remained in captivity is the sheer cluelessness and incompetence on the part of the Jonathan administration, which waited for 19 days before even admitting that the girls were kidnapped in the first instance.

    “Therefore, putting more money in the hands of an incompetent and massively corrupt administration can only encourage more incompetence and corruption. That is why we are asking the National Assembly to put national interest above all other considerations by taking a dispassionate, non-partisan look at the President’s request.

    “What we are saying is that the National Assembly must summon security and military chiefs to explain how the huge funds allocated to the Security sector in the past were spent, before more funds can be pumped into the sector. They must be asked what happened to the military equipment said to have been procured in recent years.

    “They must also inquire from the administration why it should be borrowing $1 billion when it has not accounted for the missing $20 billion oil money, plug the daily stealing of 300,000 barrel per day (bpd) and unravel the massive fraud that has hallmarked the tenure of this administration (pension fraud, oil subsidy scam, Malabu fraud, among others). If after all the scrutiny, the National Assembly still feels it must approve the loan, so be it. But it (National Assembly) must know that its own integrity and credibility are on the line.”

    The party reminded Nigerians that the civil war, which lasted three years, was prosecuted by the government without resorting to any external borrowing, due to competent and transparent management of the nation’s economy.

    It added: “On the contrary, trillions of naira have been pumped into the Boko Haram war in the past five years, and Nigerians still do not have any indication of how soon the insurgency will end or what happened to the huge allocated funds. Instead, what the tax payers are being asked to do is to shell out more funds to finance the incompetence and corruption of a reckless administration, whose officials fly around the world in jets that burn billions of naira but cannot allow them to be probed by the National Assembly.”

    APC wondered why the Jonathan administration, which roundly pilloried Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, when he alerted Nigerians to the need to adequately equip and motivate our men and women in uniform, has now turned round to admit that the military needs modern hardware to fight insurgency.

    The party aligned with those who cautioned the National Assembly from giving a blank cheque to the administration, due to its inability to account for the past budgetary allocations for security and defence, as well as its sheer cluelessness and palpable incompetence.

    APC said: “This year alone, 20 per cent of the total national budget of N4.962 trillion, which is about N968.127 billion, was allocated to Defence. How much of that money has been released so far and how have the funds been spent? What about the equally huge allocations in the previous years?

    “With the Jonathan administration allegedly spending or setting aside an average of N2 billion to impeach each governor of APC states, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration using the common wealth to bribe voters in a desperate bid to win elections at all cost, approving the $1 billion loan may amount to giving more ammunition to the administration to stifle the nation’s democracy or even threaten the very existence of the country.”

  • 236 PDP members join Kwara APC

    236 PDP members join Kwara APC

    Two hundred and thirty six members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State.

    The defectors attributed their decision to PDP leaders’ insensitivity to their plight.

    The defectors, mostly youths from Ajanaku ward in Ilorin South Local Government Area claimed to be members of the Solidarity Oba Abu Youth Vanguard.

    They were received by the Chairman, Local Government Service Commission, Alhaji Sulaiman Yusuf.

    The defectors claimed that PDP “lacks organisation, team work, credibility and service to humanity”.

    They lamented that the party leaders “lacks sincerity and do not have their interest at heart. They only make empty promises to gain popularity and followership among the youth of the community”.

    The group’s Chairman, Usman Olaiya, explained that they have nothing to show for their support for PDP leaders.

    Olaiya said: “They are so self-centred, they only want to benefit from us and care less about the situation of our group or the ward we represent.”

  • Harmonise factions in APC, NEC urged

    Harmonise factions in APC, NEC urged

    The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been urged to step up the current reconciliation efforts in order to put the party in good stead ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    A chieftain of the party in Ondo State, who is also a former Provost of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Prof. Olu Aderounmu, made the appeal yesterday during the inauguration of the party’s new executives in Akure South local government led by Otunba Olubunmi Alo.

    The inauguration of the new executive is coming two weeks after another executive committee under the leadership of a lawmaker representing Akure North/South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr. Ifedayo Abegunde, took oath of office.

    The development was the fall-out of the congress which result has not been harmonised between factions of the party as recommended by the Appeal Committee set up by the party’s NEC.

    In his key note address, Aderounmu maintained that with the inauguration of the new executive, the leaders of the party in Akure South have taken the right step to address the crisis that has been rocking the party in the local government in recent times.

     

     

     

    He accused some leaders of the Party for allegedly tampering with the report of an Appeal Committee, which had earlier harmonised the executive positions of the party in the ratio of 60-40 percent among the three different factions within the Party in Akure South council area.

     

  • APC chieftain hails Okorocha’s free education programme

    APC chieftain hails Okorocha’s free education programme

    A Lagos – based chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the founder of the first indigenous computer learning institute in Nigeria, Rimax Institute, Chief Livinus Okwara, has hailed the transformation agenda of the Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha , in the educational sector in the state.

    Okwara, who is an indigene of Imo State and a strong supporter of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s old political party, United Political Party (UPN), yesterday, said Okorocha’s free education programme has impacted positively on the state as many youths in the state now have access to free education.

    Okwara, who is also a staunch supporter of Okorocha, described the governor as the ‘new Awolowo’ because of his love for education as well as progressive thinking.

    “Because of my love for education, I embraced UPN and Awolowo was my mentor. When I travelled to Imo State after my disappointment with so many governors who had come and gone in that state, I met the good works of the governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha.  I was so appreciative and elated about the progress he has brought to the state. People who never saw tarred road walked on it for the first time, enjoyed it and appreciated it, “he said.

  • APC raises the alarm over expired rice in Osun

    APC raises the alarm over expired rice in Osun

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State yesterday alleged plan by the PDP to flood the state with thousands of bags of expired rice confiscated several months ago from smugglers. The rice, according to the APC, is to be distributed to voters for the purpose of voting for the PDP in next month’s governorship election.

    The APC said it gathered on good authority that the rice is not good for human consumption, and therefore warned residents against eating the alleged dangerous rice.

    APC’s Director of Publicity in the state, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, said yesterday that the PDP had earlier boasted that it would “win the election with a bag of rice and at least N10,000 to each voter.”

    He added: “Osun people are not hungry and they will not sell their birthright for stolen public money which the PDP wants to distribute in towns and villages of Osun.

    “Those who love their lives should be careful because the PDP will stop at nothing including the distribution of poisoned rice to win election.”

  • Getting 2015 debate back on track

    Getting 2015 debate back on track

    If one week is a long time in politics, then one month is an absolute life time. In the space of 30 days the All Progressives Congress (APC) which has in the last few months positioned itself as a credible alternative to the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), has had some wind knocked out of its sails.

    In that time it lost Ekiti State in circumstances that can only be described as stunning and mystifying. It has had Adamawa State pinched from under its nose. But the fate that befell it in the latter has been one of the worst kept secrets in political circles. For ages the media has been reporting that at the right moment the PDP would move against ex-Governor Murtala Nyako.

    The ruling party’s goal of recovering the ground lost to APC following the ‘New-PDP’ rebellion has moved on to the next stage with the impeachment notice served on Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-Makura. It is also said to have Imo, Osun and Rivers States in its sights. Whether these states will meekly surrender as happened in Adamawa remains to be seen.

    What is not in doubt is the fact that the ruling party members and some pundits would see the opposition reverses as a clear portent for PDP victory at the center in 2015. But that would be presumptuous, just as it would be foolish for the APC to start feeling sorry for itself. There is still so much to fight for going into the next general election. What we have witnessed so far are just skirmishes: there’s still the war to be won.

    What needs to change if the opposition is going to prevail is a redefinition of the terms of engagement. Several months ago I wrote in this column that the APC needs to quickly move beyond celebrating the number of ruling party deserters joining its ranks, to highlighting the abysmal record of the Goodluck Jonathan regime, as well as setting out the alternative it offers.

    Nigerian politicians are fickle. They will jump ship at the drop of a hat and not because of any deep principle. We have seen that play out with the shameless crisscrossing between the two camps by those who would offer as an excuse such inanities as: ‘Our people have always belonged to the ruling party.’

    It is not surprising that where no principle is involved, it has been very easy to reverse the direction of defections in favour of the ruling party. The opposition has cried out that its ranks were being depleted by a desperate government using mindboggling sums as inducement. But did they expect a regime that has shown itself willing to use all means necessary to achieve its ends to play fair?

    Those presently locked in a power struggle with the administration make several mistakes. First, they underrate Jonathan. He has shown that he’s no longer the timid, tentative player of the early years of his presidency; he is a wily operator who can play the power game with the masters.

    Secondly, people underestimate the crowd that has the president’s ear. They fail to understand that the level of desperation we see in the abuse of the instruments of state is driven not just by Jonathan’s second term ambition, but also by the fact that those who are relevant today are in no hurry to become irrelevant if they allow the opposition seize power. Such people would do things Jonathan would not even dream of – in the president’s name.

    Thirdly, what looks like a bastion from which an opposition onslaught to unseat the government can be launched – the North – is just an illusion. If you thought the North was split in 2011, now it is virtually fragmented.

    The likes of former minister and Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, may rage all they like and declare with ‘certainty’ that the region is taking back power, the reality is its elite are so divided that coherent regional action is virtually impossible.

    Never before has the ‘One North’ myth been laid bare than in today’s Nigeria. The Boko Haram insurgency, with its diabolical efforts to set Muslim against Christian, has driven a sharp knife through communal bonds that used to unite the people. Anyone who thinks that the death of thousands felled by the insurgents in minority areas of the region, would not affect the political picture is naïve. It is the very reason the ruling party is making the outlandish claim that the insurgency is a creation of the opposition.

    The disarray in the region is made worse by the typical nature of the political elite to be found anywhere in Nigeria. No one can come out to say there’s a consensus for power to return to the North in 2014. For every Ango Abdullahi who insists that it must be so, there are scores of others who are willing to live with another four years of Jonathan if that will clear the way for their own presidential bids in 2019. In the meantime, they will remain relevant. Acquiescing to an opposition takeover, however, would be tantamount to committing political suicide.

    So on the face of it the decks appear stacked in favour of the incumbent. But as we have seen in the Ekiti election this year and in the past, incumbency can be a vastly overrated factor in determining which way a Nigerian election would swing. Dr. Kayode Fayemi lost to Ayo Fayose, but we must not forget also that Fayemi as challenger also toppled the then PDP governor, Segun Oni.

    Some would say that a state governor’s incumbency advantages are greatly vitiated by the desperation of federal forces who manipulated the polls using cash and soldiers. But it should also be pointed out that Nigeria doesn’t have enough soldiers to intimidate every voter when the nation would be voting as one in 2015.

    So what can the opposition do if it really wants change? It must quickly change the narrative. APC is not going to prevail in a slanging match. That suits the PDP perfectly because it takes away the focus from Jonathan’s Achilles Heel which is his record.

    That is why rather than discussing its record, the ruling party has been more concerned with painting the opposition in terms which strike a chord with our most primordial instincts. That is why APC is being defined as an anti-Christian, pro-Muslim and therefore pro-insurgency party.

    It was no help that the party in its drive to strengthen its ranks opened up to all and sundry – something that is unavoidable for a public institution like a political party. One of those ensnared in that recruitment drive was former Borno State Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, under whose tenure Boko Haram really took off as a malevolent organization.

    The PDP used his membership of APC to telling effect as it tried to tie the opposition to the insurgency. Now that he has defected to the ruling party can we then conclude that PDP is for Boko Haram?

    Those in APC who blithely dismiss the PDP charges as silly and worthy of being ignored would be shocked at how the undiscerning are lapping them up and accepting them as gospel truth.

    Jonathan will not be dislodged just because someone says power must return to the North. There is no consensus around that idea. Add to that the fact that the Boko Haram insurgency has so polarised the nation along ethnic, regional and religious lines that any bid for power that is driven by what is perceived as some sectional agenda will founder in today’s environment.

    The only way change will come in 2015 is by focusing like a laser on Jonathan’s record. In 2011 he swept into office on a crest of sentiment – the self-effacing politician with humble beginnings. He was a breath of ‘fresh air’ with a story that tugged at our heart strings.

    Four years later a chunk of the country has become a war front, millions are unemployed, the economy is prostate, personal freedoms are being rolled back in an unprecedented manner, democracy is being given a black eye as the military stages a comeback into our everyday life, and Obasanjo-era impeachments have become the order of the day.

    Do you reward a man for this kind of demolition job? In any other country on this earth such a record will topple any incumbent.

    Whether at state or federal level we must ensure that the next elections are determined by the records of the incumbents. Let us not be duped by the sleight of hands by political con artists, nor should we be impressed by stage-managed impeachments which may yet be upturned in the courts of law.

  • Lagos 2015: PDP strategises to dislodge APC

    Lagos 2015: PDP strategises to dislodge APC

    As 2015 governorship election draws closer, Assistant Editor, ‘Dare Odufowokan, reports that Jimi Agbaje has emerged a beautiful bride, currently wooed by the two leading opposition parties in Lagos State.

    The Peoples Democratic Peoples Party (PDP) in Lagos State is teaming up with the polarised pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, to oust the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state, during the forthcoming 2015 gubernatorial election.

    The move, party sources said, is part of a grand plot to ensure the victory of the opposition party at the 2015 general elections. Currently, the state is a stronghold of the APC. The PDP had suffered massive defeats on the four previous occasions it had entered political battles against the ruling party in the state.

    “The resolve to reach out to Afenifere by our party in Lagos State is to further position the PDP as the party of the people ahead of the 2015 election. For years, the people have been made to see ours as a party of outsiders. Sincerely this has affected the performance of the PDP in elections in Lagos State.

    “Now that we are heading towards another election year, we are making effort to solidify our position as a grassroots party and this is one reason we are in talks with eminent Yoruba leaders under the auspices of the Afenifere,” a member of the party’s State Executive Committee (SEC) told The Nation during the week.

    Also, the party is wooing former governorship candidate of Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) in the 2007 election, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, to join its rank and be picked as the party’s standard bearer for the 2015 governorship election.

    Agbaje, who was defeated by incumbent governor Babatunde Fashola in the keenly contested 2007 gubernatorial election, is seen by many analysts as a strong contender for the governorship position given his popularity and widespread acceptability in the politics of the state.

    Recently, it was rumoured that Agbaje, who is the CEO of Jay Kay Pharmacy, was set to officially declare his intention to contest the 2015 governorship seat in the state. Sources claimed then that pressure was being mounted on him from some quarters to join the guber race.

    “Agbaje will soon declare his intention to vie for the governorship position again. He is under immense pressure to declare. I can assure you he will run. There is even overtures to him from the PDP to join the PDP so as to run for governorship.

    “The Labour Party too has been putting pressure on him to be their flagbearer. So, Agbaje will contest the election either on the platform of the Labour Party or the PDP,” an aide of the politician told The Nation few weeks back.

    Investigation by The Nation also revealed that the politician revived his old political machinery weeks back after consulting widely among prominent stakeholders and politicians across party divides in the state.

    “His close aides, political associates and friends have also been meeting with politicians across the state on his behalf to test the waters concerning his political aspiration. We want to test the pulse of the people who are the ones to determine his fate at the polls.

    “I cannot say much about which political party he will be joining to contest the election. For now, what we are doing is listening to all those calling on him to join the race; afterwards, we will sit down to decide on the platform to use,” a close associate of the politician said.

    Also, the ongoing clamor for a Christian governor by a section of the political class in the state, according to sources, is responsible for the near consensus choice of Agbaje as the next guber candidate of the opposition PDP in the state.

    “Agbaje is a Chrisitan. The people are clamouring for a Christian governor from the east. Agbaje has his roots in Ikorodu in the east. So, his choice is a clincher anyway. That is why we are reaching out to him to join the party and pick the ticket to confront the APC candidate,” a chieftain of the PDP said.

    Although he is believed to still be weighing his options, findings by The Nation suggests that Agbaje may have made up his mind to throw his hat into the contest in 2015.

    Indications to this effect emerged when his name popped up among people who notified a screening committee set up by a group of eminent personalities in Ikorodu division, of their intentions to contest the 2015 governorship race in the state.

    “Agbaje is one of the many sons of Ikoroduland who has indicated interest in contesting the governorship election in 2015. He informed the committee of his interest and he is one of the aspirants we are going to screen as we decide on who to present as our consensus candidate,” Chief Kabir Shotobi, the Odofin of Ikorodu, told The Nation.

    We however learnt that the politician is yet to indicate the political platform he will be contesting on. “In spite of the fact that we asked them to indicate their party, I can tell you that Agbaje is yet to tell us his political party. Of course, we will ask him that question during the screening,” our source said.

    But sources said the PDP may not find it easy getting Agbaje to fly its banner in 2015 as the politician currently enjoys a good relationship with national leaders of the Labour Party.

    Sources claim Agbaje has been meeting regularly with the Ondo State Governor in recent time and their discussions bother on the 2015 governorship race in Lagos State.

    “The Labour Party is also wooing him. In fact, arrangements may have been concluded between Mimiko and Agbaje on how to hand over the leadership and control of the Labour Party in Lagos State to the latter. If this happens, then the PDP will have to search for another candidate,” a leader of the Labour Party in the state said.

    Agbaje’s emergence as a much sought-after candidate is not unconnected with his brilliant showing at the polls in 2007, when, contesting on the platform of the little known Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) he made a huge success of touring the nooks and crannies of the state to sell his candidacy to the people.

    “Many Lagosians still believed that he could have won the 2007 governnorship election but lost because he contested on a less popular political party, the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA).

    He is remembered for his colourful campaign, beautiful brand and charismatic presentations at public debates. All these endeared him to many Lagosians in spite of the fact that he eventually came third in the election behind Fashola and the PDP candidate, Senator Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro,” Kunle Olowooribi of the Independent Poll Monitors (IPM) said.

    His entrance into the race at a crucial time like this in the politics of the state will no doubt affect the chances of the ruling party at the general election. He is charismatic and popular. He is definitely a contender,” he added.

    There are claims that PDP leader in the state, Chief Olabode George, was the person who came up with the idea of fielding Agbaje, as the party’s standard bearer for the 2015 governorship election. The idea was widely accepted by a good number of party leaders.

    Consequently, George and some other PDP leaders are said to have opened discussions with Agbaje to join the PDP as a first step to flying its flag in the election. The idea was also sold to President Goodluck Jonathan.

    It was also gathered that chairman of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Mr. Ezekiel Olajida Adeniji, recently took Agbaje to see the President in company of George. At the meeting, Agbaje was said to have insisted that the only reason he could join the PDP was if he was assured of the party’s ticket for the election in 2015.

    George is not alone on the Agbaje candidacy as other PDP topnotch like his estranged friend, former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, and Chief Mrs. Remi Adiukwu-Bakare are said to have been working independently on the Agbaje candidacy.

    The party and the  Afenifere faction, led by the former Commissioner for Finance in Ondo State, Chief Rueben Fasoranti, are currently in talks over the forthcoming election. Agbaje is a prominent member of the Fashoranti-led Afenifere.

    The faction enjoys the backing of the Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, who is strongly opposed to the APC. Between 1999 and 2003, Afenifere did not open its door to the chieftains of the PDP, which they perceived as a conservative party but today, the party, according to sources, is willing to work with the PDP against APC in Lagos State.

  • Why Nigerians should give APC mandate in 2015- Onu

    Why Nigerians should give APC mandate in 2015- Onu

    In this interview with Assistant Editor, Onyedi Ojiabor, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, former governor of Abia State and former National Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) before the party merged with the All Progressives Congress (APC), x-rayed the June 21 Ekiti State governorship election and returned a verdict of a skewed and slanted poll. He also reveals how the APC was able to pull through its merger and its national convention. He did not leave out the Igbo question in APC. Excerpts

    What is your perception of the way things are going on in the country?

    Nigeria is a great nation and God blessed the country enormously in both human and material resources. Nigeria has a very important role to play, particularly in Africa and also in the world. If there had not been a country like Nigeria, I’m sure that Africa would have called for a nation like Nigeria. But we have not developed at the pace that we should. The great potential in Nigeria has not been realised. Currently, we have various problems but what worries many people like me is that many of these problems are self inflicted and can be avoided. Right now we are a nation that imports almost everything. We have all the raw materials, we have the human resource to convert these raw materials into products and goods that we need but we are not doing it.

    Most of these issues you raised are blamed on the leadership of the country. Most Nigerians believe that Nigerian leaders have failed the country. Do you share this sentiment?

    Definitely, this is why we are concerned; those of us who are in opposition, who hold current executive leadership positions. We are saying that we, as a nation, we have tried one political party for a period of time, now at the federal level we’ve tried the ruling party for 15 years; by May of next year, it will be 15 years. If these problems are there, as a nation why don’t we try another political party?

    You were the National Chairman of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) which fused with other parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC). Not many Nigerians gave the parties the benefit of the doubt that the merger would work. Leaders of major opposition parties pulled through a successful merger. How did it happen?

    Yes, you are right, not many Nigerians believed the merger would work. Actually at the time they were feeling that way, some of us didn’t feel bad because we knew that for political parties that control governments to come together, give up their identities, assuming a new name, motto, logo, it is not easy. It has not happened before in Nigeria and it has never happened even any where in Africa and it has happened rarely in the world. So, those who were skeptical, those who thought that it could not happen, yes nobody could really blame them. But those of us who wanted it knew what we were doing because we know that that was the only way our country can develop at the rate we want it. You know that if you have smaller opposition political parties, it will be extremely difficult to defeat a political party that, take for example, the ruling party that controls 28 out of 36 states of the federation. But by coming together, you will now build a new opposition party, strong enough to defeat the ruling party. As at today, we are controlling 16 states, the ruling party is controlling 18 states. You can see that the difference is substantially narrowed now. We also felt that the only way those in government can really put in their best is if they know that if they don’t do so they can be voted out. If they believe that no matter what they do they will always win, they will go to sleep. So, by give and take we were able to come together and it is good for our country to do so.

    What about the insinuation that APC is a party of strange bed fellows?

    Certainly it is not true. You find that the progressive credential is in the APC. This is a party that is very committed to having a new and a modern Nigeria. Coming together for them didn’t really pose a problem. Even with the ruling party there were people who had progressive credentials and obviously they will not fit very well in the ruling party. It will be like oil in water. So they came to us. So we have shown that the parties that came together were driven by love of the country. They desire to make our country truly great. That is the very strong driving force for our coming together, the desire to make our country truly great.

    Some party men and women were not happy with the outcome of the National Convention of APC. What is the party doing to ensure that aggrieved members do not carry their anger too far.

    APC is now a very big party. The party is controlling two of the most populous states in the country, Lagos and Kano States. So in terms of even registered voters, you find that we have majority of the registered voters. So it is a very large party and it is very difficult to organise a convention and you won’t have ripple effects. You are likely to see certain persons who may be dissatisfied. But the important thing is that the party has taken it upon itself to do all it can to make sure that, one, you find grievances, two, you get those grievances resolved. The process of ensuring harmony in the party is ongoing. We believe and hope that in the end, the party will get everybody on board.

    Considering your pedigree, many people, thought that you will go for the chairmanship of APC. What really happened that you didn’t take a shot at the party’s chairmanship?

    No, the position of national chairman of our party was zoned to the South-South geo-political zone and I am from the South-East. So it won’t be nice for somebody like myself who believes in party discipline to go outside that zoning. It will not be proper.

    How will you explain the much talked about Igbo question in APC. Some believe that people of Igbo extraction are not really in APC. Is there any problem?

    No, Igbo are in APC. Imo State, for instance, out of the five South Eastern states is the most populous. APC is controlling Imo State. Igbo are in APC but we are not satisfied with what we have and we are working very hard to attract more people not just in the South-East but across the country into the fold of the party. I must also say that Igbo, by our nature, we travel a lot and we reside in places outside our indigenous home. So you should not limit Igbo in APC to only those who reside in the South-East. We have Igbo everywhere in the country. We are working very hard, those of us who are in APC, to attract more members. And there are quite a number of people who have expressed interest. We are working, it is a gradual process. Don’t forget that APC is just about one year old even though it is made up of old political parties that are now defunct but it is a new party. It will take some time but we are working.

    As one of the leaders of APC are you satisfied with the positions assigned the South-East in the party?

    Right now we just completed the national convention and the convention was designed to elect officers of the party as zoned to the six geo-political zones of the country. Other things will also follow and I believe that the South-East will always get its due. APC is going to do well in the South-East. It is true that the incumbent governor of Imo State won election on the platform of APGA, he is doing extremely very well in the state. The governor has improved substantially the infrastructure base in the state.

    The unexpected happened in Ekiti State on June 21 when the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Ayo Fayose, winner in the governorship election against the candidate of the ruling APC in the state. In your view what went wrong?

    As a party we will be meeting to look at what happened in Ekiti State on June 21. We will draw a lesson that we will be learning from what happened in Ekiti State. And I think the nation also, including the ruling party, has some lessons to learn from Ekiti.

    We will not allow what happened in Ekiti to affect the party in future elections. I’m sure you know that even though that election was said to be transparent and credible, certain actions that took place before and during the election question whether that election was truly free and fair.

    For example, the final campaign which took place two days to the election, I was a victim. We traveled by air from Abuja to Ekiti, through Akure (Ondo State). We landed and went to Ado Ekiti through Akure. When we wanted to come back we couldn’t, the plane was there. We had to go back to Ado Ekiti and travelled all through the night by road to Abuja. Even the governor of Imo State, Chief Rochas Okorocha, had to travel by road to Owerri (Imo State).

    You know a situation where a serving governor was not even allowed to enter Ekiti, he was stopped at the boundary of Ondo and Ekiti. These are acts of harassment which you can also classify as intimidation. Certain actions like that question whether an election under such an environment can truly be called free. When at the eve of an election and also on the day of election you start arresting leaders of a major political party like APC, arresting and detaining them, you wonder whether such election can be considered free.

    An election can be credible, an election can be transparent but an election that is credible and transparent may also not be free. We believe that the Federal Government also learnt a lot of lessons from Ekiti to ensure that future elections are truly free. People should not be intimidated, people should not be harassed because a situation where serving governors cannot move freely in any part of the country is a very serious problem.

    So also the ruling party I believe ought to learn a lesson from what happened in Ekiti because in 2011 there were serving governors who ran for re-election like in Imo, in Nasarawa, in Zamfara , in Oyo. They were defeated but they didn’t concede defeat. They didn’t congratulate those who won and these were all of the ruling party. But look at what the APC has done now, the Ekiti State governor yet may have been defeated , has already congratulated the man who won and told him look we will work together for the good of the state, to bring peace and remove violence.

    I think that the ruling party ought to learn this and everybody should be aware that election can go either way. So if you are in government today you can be out of government tomorrow. So the ruling party should not rejoice too much, they should also be getting ready to be in opposition because this is a possibility. It is important that we learn lessons because if we say that everything went on well, next time the same level of intimidation or even more, that will be very unfortunate.

    The APC has gone through the hurdle of merging and came out successful. The party again succeeded in organising its national convention. Skeptics are now focusing on the presidential flag bearer of the party. How is the party working to ensure that there would be no rancour in choosing its presidential hopeful?

    The national convention that will elect our presidential candidate will most likely come in November. But I just want to say something, you see, at every stage our people have been skeptical, the party will not be registered; it was registered, during the membership registration exercise, people said it will not work; it worked, the national convention to elect officers of the party will collapse, it succeeded. So I believe that so long as the party continues to be fair in whatever we do, so long we would continue in give and take, and so  definitely we will be able to pick our presidential candidate and then come out to offer Nigerians the alternative to what the PDP has failed to offer.

    Former Edo State Governor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun emerged national chairman of APC. You were governor of Abia State when he was Edo State governor. Do you think the party made the right choice for a man who can carry the weight of the party?

    Yes, very well, he will, yes he will. Both of us were colleagues. While I was governor in Abia, he was governor of Edo State. There were 30 states then, I was the first Nigerian to be chairman of conference of Nigerian governors. So that gave me an opportunity to interact very closely with governors. You know when you are chairman, you get to know people more than every other person. We worked very closely together when I was the national chairman of ANPP in carrying out functions of the party.  I believe he has the capacity to move the APC to greater height. He has the drive and also the capacity to do what is best for our party.

  • APC: Jonathan embarrassed Nigeria over Chibok girls

    APC: Jonathan embarrassed Nigeria over Chibok girls

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it was a compound embarrassment that it took 17-year-old Pakistani girl-child education campaigner, Malala Yousafzai, to visit and convince President Goodluck Jonathan to agree to a meeting with representatives of the parents of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls.

    The party faulted the Presidency for blaming the opposition for the failure of Jonathan’s planned parley with the abducted girls’ parents.

    In a statement yesterday in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, APC said: “President Jonathan, who has already embarrassed himself and the people of Nigeria by his inexplicable failure to visit Chibok since the girls were abducted over 90 days ago, has compounded the embarrassment and insulted Nigerians by waiting for Malala to goad him to meet with the girls’ parents, not in Chibok but in Abuja.”

    It said after the meeting failed, because the parents were not properly informed and invited, the Presidency blamed the opposition and patriotic Nigerians, who have been campaigning daily under the #BringBackOurGirls group.

    APC said: “Fortunately, and to the eternal discomfiture of the Presidency, the Chibok community has said the decision not to meet with President Jonathan in Abuja was theirs and theirs alone. The parents said they took that decision because their sole reason for coming to Abuja was to meet with Malala, and not the President, who did not invite them anyway.

    “With this explanation, one would have expected a Presidency that has regard for the truth to immediately retract its earlier panic statement, which it issued to save face, after what was nothing but a Public Relations (PR) gimmick, blew up in its face, and apologise to the opposition and the #BringBackOurGirls group that were unjustly pilloried by them.

    “Instead, the Presidency has persisted in its distortion of the truth, for which it has now become infamous, even as a new date has been agreed for the meeting. This is unfortunate, condemnable and irresponsible.

    “If indeed, as the Presidency claimed earlier, that the opposition was behind the refusal by the parents and escaped girls not to see the President, what has then happened to make them change their minds? Has the opposition now asked them to meet with the President?”

    The party told Nigerians that the reason Jonathan, whose wife bullied and harangued the girls’ parents that they were lying and that no girl was missing, agreed to meet with the parents was to use the meeting as a photo-op, after Malala pushed for it and the President’s United States-based image laundering firm acceded to it.

    APC added: “Mr. President, your frantic effort to meet with the Chibok parents now is too little too late, and no amount of photo-op will change that. If your handlers had been sincere, they would have told you that the best venue of the meeting is Chibok, not Abuja where your people tried, but failed, to waylay the parents who came for a meeting with Malala.

    “Mr. President, you have ceaselessly compared yourself to the great leaders of our time, including U.S President Barack Obama. But do you think Obama would have refused to visit the parents of these abducted schoolgirls, if the abduction had occurred in the U.S? Do you think Obama, as commander-in-chief, would have refused to visit his troops in the front line of the anti-terror fight, as you have done?

    “Do you think, Mr. President, that a band of rogue elements, like Boko Haram, would have restricted Obama’s movement within his own country, as they have done to you? No true and caring President will ever fail to visit the sites of disasters and offer solace to his compatriots.”

    The party reminded Jonathan that neither in Nigeria’s culture nor in any other cultures are those hit by tragedy invited to be offered solace.

    It added that the practice is to visit those to be offered solace “in situ”.

    APC reiterated its earlier call that the President should shake off his lethargy and bring the abducted schoolgirls home safely, instead of playing politics with the lives of over 200 human beings.

  • ‘Hold APC responsible if anything happens to Ekiti INEC office’

    ‘Hold APC responsible if anything happens to Ekiti INEC office’

    The Ayo Fayose Campaign Organisation (AFCO) has urged Nigerians, including the security agencies, to hold the All Progressives Congress (APC) responsible should any havoc be done to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in Ekiti State and the materials used during the June 21 governorship election.

    Reacting to allegation of plan to burn the INEC office made by the APC AFCO, while said in a statement by its Director General, Chief Dipo Anisulowo,said: “APC people should not be allowed to burn the INEC office in Ado-Ekiti the way they burn down the INEC office in Ido-/Osi Local Government during the 2009 rerun governorship election.”

    Anisulowo said the security agencies must not treat such allegation with levity.

    “If they are saying that plans are being hatched to have ‘strange fire’ occurrence at the INEC office in Ado Ekiti and all the materials relating to the just concluded governorship election will get burnt, security agencies must ask questions.

    “This is more so that the APC Spokesperson, Mr Segun Dipe, who issued the statement yesterday, also knew that the fire incidence would be blamed on some faulty power surge, he (Segun Dipe) must be made to give further details on the alleged plot,” Anisulowo said.

    While saying that there could actually be plans by the APC to burn the INEC office, the AFCO Director General said: “The modus operandi of the APC and its devilish members is to accuse others of planning to do what they have already set machinery in motion to do.

    “Most importantly that it is obvious that the APC as a party has tried unsuccessfully to discredit the June 21 governorship election by inventing various ridiculous arguments, including claim that the election was ‘photocromically rigged.’

    “If the party is now coming up with allegation of plan to burn the INEC office, it could be a pointer to a sinister plot by the APC people to burn the INEC office so as to be able to sustain their argument that the election was rigged and that they would have succeeded in upturning the election results at the tribunal if INEC office had not been burnt.