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Tag: APC

  • APC registers two million in Kano

    APC registers two million in Kano

    Two million people in Kano State have registered with the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso has said.

    Kwankwaso said this during a meeting with National and State Assembly members at the Government House.

    The governor said with this development, APC was taking the lead in the state. He alleged that the Federal Government was bribing APC members from the states and national assemblies to leave the party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), noting that no sincere legislator would do so in view of the implications of such action.

    On the interaction with the legislators, the governor said that meetings would be organised from time to time to ensure closer cooperation and understanding between the legislature and the executive.

    The member representing Fagge in the National Assembly, Aminu Sulaiman Goro, said the meeting would bring unity among the members.

  • APC ready to liberate Nigeria, says Tinubu

    APC ready to liberate Nigeria, says Tinubu

    Former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has spoken on why he joined other progressives to form the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC).

    Speaking at the weekend to an African audience at the Njala University, Sierra Leone where he was conferred with the Honorary Doctorate Degree of Civil Laws (Honoris Causa), Tinubu told the excited crowd of academicians, students, politicians and business leaders that the party was formed so that Nigeria could avoid social calamity.

    “We formed the APC so Nigerians from all walks of life and social station might gather under one tent to develop the nation on the basis of equity and shared prosperity. What we seek is a fair social compact that we may avoid social calamity,” he said.

    Tinubu said the APC is more than a political party interested only in political power. He described the party as a mission, “a calling forth of the nation to realise its better self”, insisting that it is a call for the nation to fulfill its destiny.

    “We realised that if Nigeria continues as it is, it will soon collide into the barrier of its internal contradictions. A land of vast wealth yet vast penury; a people of great talent and energy but also of despair and unproductivity born out of their jobless poverty. A land that exports the raw materials that helps fuel, electrify and lubricate the global economy but one that lives more in darkness than in light.”

    The APC leader said for that change to happen in Nigeria, all those who desire change must be committed to the same cause. “I have worked too hard and long for the progress of our people to countenance such a broken outcome. We must reform ourselves so that we can fully occupy the destiny our people deserve,” Tinubu said.

    Njala University, the best rated higher institution in Sierra Leone, in picking Tinubu for the award, cited his contributions to the deepening of democracy Nigeria and the sub-region and the tremendous transformation of Lagos State when he was governor. The university, which marked its 50th anniversary, also contends that Tinubu towers above many people considered for the award as he remains active in public service.

    Describing him as a “great son of Africa”, the university attributed the award to Tinubu’s virtues, political exploits, intellectual acumen and strategic thinking.

    In his acceptance speech to the over 6,000 people, titled: “The best is yet to come”, he saluted the comeback spirit of the people of Sierra Leone.

    Tinubu said: “From the ash and dust of war, you have stepped forward as a nation, a small nation engulfed by such a big war, you persevered defying the odds. No nation, no people ought to have suffered as you have, you teetered on the brink of extinction. Yet with some help from your friends, you averted a disaster that seemed inevitable and permanent.”

    Tinubu said Africa needs to invest in the education of the youths, who are the limbs and hands of future development, saying for Sierra Leone the worst is over.

    “You held fast to a thin ray of hope until it grew to fill the sky above the nation, where there was nothing but breakage and destruction, now is learning and the building of new buildings, new lives and new dreams. A new nation has risen from the old, the worst has passed, the best is yet to come,” he said.

     

  • Aspirant kidnapped in Bauchi

    Aspirant kidnapped in Bauchi

    An All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial aspirant in Bauchi Central, Samaila Ahmed Ilalee, was abducted from his home yesterday in Darazo, Darazo Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

    Samaila represented Darazo and Ganjuwa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011.

    He was taken by a gang of 10 men. It was gathered that the gunmen could be responsible for the attack in Soro town in Ganjuwa Local Government Area last week, where a policeman and his son were killed.

    A family member, Nasiru Darazo, said: ‘’Samaila’s house was attacked between midnight and 2:30 am. They took him away to an unknown place.”

    Police spokesman Haruna Mohammed confirmed the incident, saying ‘’the police received a report at 0200hours that some gunmen dressed in security operatives’ uniforms went to Samaila’s house and kidnapped him’’.

    “The commissioner, Mohammed Ladan, has ordered a manhunt and whenever we arrest the suspects we will let you know,’’ Haruna said.

  • APC ‘ll save Nigeria, says Melaye

    APC ‘ll save Nigeria, says Melaye

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, Dino Melaye, has said the party will save the country with effective leadership when it forms the central government in 2015.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja, the former House of Representatives member said APC is a party of progressives, which anchors its ideology on people’s welfare.

    He said there was pressure on him to run for the Senate in 2015.

    Melaye, who represented Kabba/Bunu Federal constituency of Kogi State in the sixth National Assembly, said he would respond to the clarion call of his people to reposition Kogi West senatorial district.

    He said: “The onus lies on APC to take the people out of the wood as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is celebrating her political Obituary.”

    He stressed that the people of Kogi State were determined to enjoy the dividends of democracy which have eluded them.

    “By the special grace of God, come 2015, the opposition will demonstrate that power belong to the people. The structure we have is the masses and the masses of this country more than ever before will demonstrate that power truly belong to them.”

    “And for the first time it will be government of the people for the people and by the people because what we have now is the reverse, where some individuals use public office to corrupt and enrich themselves,” he said.

    Melaye commended President Goodluck Jonathan, saying he salute his courage, though his actions were belated, urged him to make the exercise wholesome by sacking other erring members of the his cabinet living larger than life and have been indicted for corruption.

    He said there is a convention in the country which established that once someone is indicted of corruption, such public servant has to be removed, adding that this development dates back to the days of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who sack his erring cabinet members.

     

  • Ndigbo needs greater stake in apc

    Ndigbo needs greater stake in apc

    This column will write on politics today. After all, public power in a democracy is premised on politics. And by section 221 of the 1999 constitution, political party is the platform for politics. I therefore, intend to argue the potentials for a more vibrant All Progressive Congress (APC), among the states of Ndigbo, principally made up of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states. Notably, there are also, very significant Ndigbo, in Rivers and Delta states. Presently, within the Igbo states, APC controls only Imo state, Anambra is precariously controlled by All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), while the rest are Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controlled states.

    As the famous Tatalo Alamu, in his gripping column, Snooping around in The Nation, correctly argued recently, Ndigbo are individualistic in their politics. Ordinarily that tendency is a plus, in an egalitarian polity, but in our present democratic environment, it is also a burden, as group interests are most times sacrificed. But still, Ndigbo need to aggregate the basic fundamental democratic interests of her people, and of course that of our nation, as presently configured. Then, the commonly accepted cultural organs, should pressure individuals to pursue those basic programs through the diverse forces of individualism. Anything short is group suicidal.

    So, my major contention, today, is that Ndigbo should invest more political interest, in the newly formed APC. Conversely, that APC should train its hurricane through the states of south east, for political harvest. Take Enugu state. There are potentials there. The Governor of the state, Barrister Sullivan Chime, who I have praised handsomely for his infrastructural achievements, has yet again exhibited his careless political marksmanship. Just as the Governor cherry-picks for councilors and chairmen of local councils, he hopes to do same for the governor, senators and representatives in the 2015 elections.

    While Governor Sullivan, can railroad the PDP to his destination, since the state party machinery, is substantially in his pocket, his potential victims, we must note, have established themselves as political forces in the present dispensation, and APC should plan to harvest them. Most notable, is the deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu. Sullivan is angling to supplant him as the next Senator, representing my senatorial zone, and the fight should yield a harvest for the APC. Just a breath away, the governor is pushing to retire the deputy governor, Sunday Onyebuchi, from politics prematurely. Just recently, the deputy governor’s residence was raided by a state environmental agency, and the poor fellow, was humiliatingly disgraced.

    The motive for that political rascality, against the deputy governor, is just to pave way, for one of Governor Sullivan’s women in politics, to gain greater ascendency. Here I am referring to Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, the present chief of staff to the governor. Another neophyte, that Sullivan turned a champion, is Mrs. Fidelia Njeze. With the next governor zoned by the Governor to the Enugu north senatorial zone, the deputy governor who is from the east senatorial zone is being destabilized, so that he should not dream of a senatorial ambition, which the chief of staff, Mrs Nwobodo, wants for herself. Of course the current senator representing the zone, Gilbert Nnaji, a scion of the Igwe Nnaji family, is already crying out, that, the most powerful official in Enugu state is working to covet his seat. So APC should move in for a harvest.

    There is also the potential that the governorship candidacy, within the north senatorial zone, will result in a fight. The senator ably representing the zone, Ayogu Eze, ordinarily should deserve the governorship seat. But I doubt if Governor Sullivan will allow that. The rumour is that he is angling for a minnow. It is just possible that when the push comes to shove, Senator Ayogu Eze, who has done very well in the senate, first as senate spokesman and now as the senate chairman on works, may need the political oxygen that the APC can provide for his rumoured governorship race.

    Abia state is also a potential harvest for the APC. The current state governor, Chief T. A. Orji has never sat pretty. And no amount of visits to Aso rock by well dressed women and men will change his precarious condition. With a major political godfather, Chief Apugo, and the governor’s former boss, Orji Uzor Kalu harassing the governor, it is understandable why the circus to Aso rock. But I doubt, if President Jonathan and his wife, can change the potential catharsis of the state PDP, as the people of Ngwa, engage in the battle to secure the governorship seat. Just like his other colleagues, T. A. Orji also wants the senate seat, and the rancor will further tear the leaking PDP umbrella.

    Anambra, the most sophisticated Igbo state, already has a large APC followership, ably lead by Senator Chris Ngige. Unfortunately in the last governorship election in the state, Senator Ngige, Onwa, came up against a well oiled political propaganda, led by the credible governor of the state, Mr. Peter Obi, Okwute; that APC is a Yoruba party. Luckily for APC going forward, it is now clear that the party is as much a Yoruba party, as the Yorubas invest their political energy in it. Of course, with the leadership of the beloved, astute and sagacious Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the national leader of the party, the Yoruba understandably should have an edge, with the majority Yorubas following this incredible leader of men.

    The most import reason why Ndigbo must invest in APC, I dare say, is that President Jonathan has not shown the capacity to turn our country around. Also importantly, the signs that he wants to use and dump Ndigbo is glaring. Ostensibly, he has failed to deliver his campaign promises. So, it is time, to lead the charge to APC.

  • Defection: Mark not employing double standard, says aide

    THE Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday dismissed suggestion that his boss, Senator David Mark, employed double standard in the attempt by 11 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The Interim National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had, in a statement, accused Mark of using double standard in his dealings with the new APC senators after allowing defectors into the PDP and preventing defections into other political parties.

    Ologbondiyan described the allegation as not only strange but embarrassing.

    He insisted that the APC’s claims were unfounded and misplaced because no form of defection had taken place in the Senate.

    Ologbondiyan said: “It is strange for the APC to draw such conclusion because no form of defection had taken place on the floor of the Senate. Conditions for defection were clearly stated in the constitution and for now, no senator had met those conditions as provided in the constitution.

    “As I speak with you, there is no form of defection in the Senate. I think for anybody, group or political party to accuse the Senate president of double standard in that regard is most unfortunate.

    “He (Mark) has never employed double standard in his dealings with his colleagues in the upper chamber. He has been straight, fair, just, purposeful and conscientious in his approach to matters affecting every Senator not minding his or her political party.”

  • US-based oil magnate declares for presidency

    Nigerian based in the United States of America, Ibrahim Ladaja, has joined the presidential race under the banner of All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The oil and gas magnate said he decided to return home to salvage the country from what he described as the misrule of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the inefficiency of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Ladaja, who declared his ambition to newsmen in Minna yesterday, said the ruling PDP has failed to provide solutions to the various socio-economic and political problems in the country.

    The presidential aspirant, who claimed to have consulted widely with many stakeholders in the country, said APC is the only viable platform that can bring about the desired change in the country.

    Ladaja, who hails from Biu in Bornu State, said he has a master plan to put an end to the dastardly killings of innocent lives by the outlawed Boko Haram group within the first three months, if voted into power.

    He also said that his administration will ensure the establishment of state police.

    Ladaja also pledged a review of the revenue allocation formula in favour of the federating states. “

  • ‘APC will not practise politics of exclusion’

    A chieftaiN of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara, Bode Towoju, has said the party will not involve in politics of exclusion.

    Towoju, who lauded the massive turnout at the recently concluded party registration exercise across the country, said Nigerians, especially the Kwara South senatorial district to which he belongs, would begin to witness the true dividends of democracy.

    Towoju, who spoke in Abuja yesterday, said that the party registration was the first of its kind since Nigeria began its democratic experience, saying the APC would teach other political parties democratic norms.

    The APC chieftain, who described the turn out as unprecedented, called on the people not to rest on their oars until the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was sacked from ruling the country.

    The party chieftain said that it had started its change with the distribution of 3,000 exercise books across his constituency in Irepodun, Ekiti, Isin and Oke-Ero councils.

    He said that people of his constituency had long been shortchanged in receiving democratic dividends, saying the coming of APC would change their perception about governance.

    Towoju said that the APC would concentrate in empowering the youths and assisting the less privileged in the society.

  • APC: Fantastic future or fatality?

    APC: Fantastic future or fatality?

    The events preceding and culminating in the formation or amalgamation (some do not want the use of the latter) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are interesting as well as intriguing to an inquiring and analytical mind. While there is the need for Nigeria’s fledgling democracy to have a strong opposition to curtail and checkmate the excesses and seeming impunity of the ruling party at the centre, the coming together of parties: ACN, ANPP, CPC and a faction of APGA to form the APC was unexpected by many Nigerians. Much more so, the speed and timing of its formation caught many napping, especially in the ruling party. It was the thought of many political pundits and analysts that leaders of these erstwhile parties in the ally will truncate the process because of their ambitions. However, it is worth commending that the leaders involved in the merger put their act together against skeptics to initiate the formation of the APC.

    Looking at the whole scenario with another lens, some opinionated that the merger is the coming together of strange bed fellows which may soon develop fractures and be fragmented into different political parties before the next general elections in 2015. In fact, to talk of the amassing of human resources, the APC currently boasts of many erudite as well as exposed, equipped and enlightened minds criss-crossing the Nigerian landscape. This is one crux of the matter. The writer, as an organisation leadership researcher, will want to analyse the present and future while not losing a vital gaze of the pedigree of the dramatis personae involved in the merger process. The top leaders definitely have more work to do to convince many Nigerians that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not the same as the APC, as some are already insinuating, especially with defections from the new PDP to the APC. The loss of five governors from the PDP to APC has really caused nightmarish insomnia for the ruling party at the centre, especially with the recalcitrant, albeit immature, attitude of the leaders of the Senate to let go of defecting Senators from the PDP to APC as the issue has been taken to court.

    Inculcating the four I’s

    It is the opinion of this writer that for APC to have a sustainable and desirable future envisaged by the founding fathers, it is high time the leaders, given consideration to broad-based consultation with the followers (members of the party at all levels), began to initiate a process of inculcating the four I’s: Identity, Ideology, Induction and Institutionalisation. The time is short. However, with a sagacious strategic leader like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the fold and with other cerebral minds, a lot of ground can still be covered in a few months with a dint of hard work.

    Identity

    It is not only a good development but a farsighted one that the APC initiated a process of party membership registration throughout all the wards, local government areas, and states of the federation. As at the time of writing this article, the registration is still on-going. It was indeed a formal way of real members identifying with the party irrespective of their social status. However, to identify with any group, some factors come into play like who are the members of the group, or cherished norms of the group or objectives of the group, etc. Hitherto, the broom is the most popular of the emblems representing the APC as a party largely taken from the erstwhile ACN logo. It is a slogan of the then ACN that the intention of the party was to sweep away the epileptic and inefficient government of the PDP. However, especially with defectors in droves from the PDP to APC, this is the moment for the APC to bear a unique identity that will make and mark them distinctively different from the PDP. For instance, I remember, in Singapore, the ruling party, People’s Action Party (PAP), has a unique identification of wearing white as the party uniform to denounce and exhibit zero tolerance for corruption at all levels in the polity. This is a form of identity that is unique and catchy. The APC will need to do more that flashing or wielding the broom to convince Nigeria that the party is here to herald the real change yearned or longed for by the citizens.

    Ideology

    From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, ideology can be defined as “the set of ideas and beliefs of a group or political party.” Alternatively, it is seen as “a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture.” In essence, there is the urgent imperativeness for the top leaders in conjunction and consultation with members to define and depict in clear cut manner the real, pragmatic and all-embracing ideas, beliefs and line of thought unique to the APC as a political party that all members know, understand and can exploit to woo others into the fold. For instance, for those of us alive in the Second Republic, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) under the leadership of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, had the four cardinal programmes: Free Education, Free Medical Services, Gainful Employment and Integrated Rural Development. These were once acknowledged by the then UK Government of Harold Wilson administration. Recently, Senator Olusola Saraki came out with some hastily and hurriedly crafted programmes for the APC. For the APC to have a sustainable future and avoid fatality at an early stage, it is imperative for the top leaders to constitute a cerebral and level-headed committee to fashion out a robust and realistic ideology that is sellable to Nigerians in all the six geopolitical zones not just within APC members if the party will want to win at the centre not only in 2015 but to sustain the winning streak like the People’s Action Party (PAP) in Singapore and the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in Malaysia.

    Induction

    While it is worth commending for members to register, it is much more vital for the APC to properly induct its members. In essence, inducting members will be a formal process of making someone a proper member of the party. The process in modern day organisations is to set aside weeks of capacity building for new employees for them to know, imbibe and internalise core values and culture of their organisations so that the new inductees will function in accord or harmony with old hands without friction thus ensuring and engendering organisational effectiveness. The APC needs this more than any other party now if the leaders desire right attitudinal approach, discipline and healthy organic growth. To this end, the APC, in these days of digital technology, can latch onto online platform to educate, enlighten and equip members at all levels. It is also essential to organise at local government, state or federal level leadership and followership training programmes such as seminars, workshop and conference inculcating the party’s ideology, constitution, history, partisan politics in Nigeria, theory and practice of social inclusion, religious and social harmony, servant leadership, exemplary and courageous followership, etc.

    Institutionalisation

    The last but not the least is institutionalisation. It is instructive to point out that after proper means of identification; carving or crafting a befitting ideology; imbibing or internalising core values and culture of the party through well thought out and tailor-made capacity building, the top leaders should envisage a way of building the APC to becoming a national institution that is colossus in status just like UMNO is in Malaysia. For instance, it is impossible for anyone entering Kuala Lumpur, the capital city, not to notice the presence of the ruling party in the Central Business District (CBD) with the UMNO building hosting the party secretariat and providing spaces for other corporate organisations to do their businesses. No doubt in Malaysia, the UMNO has passed the stage of just being a ruling political party to an institution. The APC can strategically think and tinker in a creative process towards becoming a notable and noticeable institution within our clime. I am yet to see one political party from independence till date exhibiting any trait of an institution within Nigeria’s polity. The pervading and prevailing attitude has largely been to grab power and share our common wealth. In line with this line of thought, the APC should begin to head hunt internally for cerebral minds to craft a well robust, sustainable, practicable, adaptable and amenable Strategic Change Plan (SCP) covering a period of five to ten years if the party intends to foist feasible change that is peaceful, proactive, passionate and progressive on the psyche of the Nigerian nation.

    Conclusion

    The APC has a golden opportunity to make a real change through servant-leading that can result in real transformational changes that are all-encompassing. Followers all over the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and also Nigerians in the Diaspora are watching and waiting to see if they will ever witness a paradigm shift from this mess of cantankerous corruption ravaging the soul of the Nigerian nation to an egalitarian society where poverty will be alleviated. May this golden opportunity not be marred by sheer greed, blind ambition, ethnic jingoism, religious bigotry, rivalry, etc. The leaders must roll up their sleeves to work assiduously, optimising the avalanche of resources within the party. The top leaders should continually demand and value genuine feedback from followers. This should be imputed into the decision-making process of the party. Issues such as conduct of primaries, internal democracy within the party, discipline, nomination, etc should be clearly spelt out in the party’s constitution.

    -Dr. Ekundayo, a researcher and organisational management consultant, resides in Lagos.

  • Bimbo Daramola fetes thousands on Governor Fayemi’s birthday

    Bimbo Daramola fetes thousands on Governor Fayemi’s birthday

    In Ekiti State where he is the member representing the people of Ekiti North Federal Constituency 1 in the House of Representatives, Bimbo Daramola bestrides the social scene like a colossus. His entrance into any venue is greeted with the chants of Nitori ojo ola wa (because of our tomorrow), his campaign mantra when he was seeking the support of the electorate in 2011.

    That Bimbo speaks the language of the grassroots people is a fact known to everyone in the state. That much he demonstrated last Saturday on the occasion of Governor Fayemi’s 49th birthday. He went round Ado-Ekiti to fete the people. As he took a walk to the campaign office of the All Progressives Congress (APC) where he holds sway as the Director-General of Dr. Kayode Fayemi Re-election Campaign, a sea of heads gathered behind him, singing Fayemi’s praises.

    In a matter of minutes, a large crowd had gathered around him. He then led them to numerous relaxation spots and restaurants where he feted them with sumptuous meals and drinks.