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Tag: APC

Komla Dumor; 8-hour day; Okada gift; Oil blocks; Solar Fund? Revenue Formula

We join the BBC in mourning the death at 41 of Komla Dumor. May he Rest In Peace. He was a wonderful voice and presence to watch on BBC Inside Africa programmes and others. Death can occur at any time. However, I hope it was not from overwork. If everyone was forced to work no more than eight hours a day, salaries would go down but there would be work to go around and there would be many more jobs. Some offices will need to employ two or three people to do the 24 hours on call demanded of certain offices in power. The work madness in banks should stop. This would cut the unemployment in at least half. Just look at the case of the UK banker-trainees including the poor young man who committed suicide after a 20-hour work load. In years to come there will be a Gold Medal for eight-hour job compliance.

Millions of Nigerians have been unable to exit the ‘Pit of Political and economic Hell’. Every time Nigerians work hard enough or accumulate sufficient funds, some government agent or agency fails to deliver water, electricity, trains, roads or education or else devalues the naira against the dollar forcing them all back into poverty. This failure costs families funds and happiness the index now used by the UN to judge well-being. How many millions of Nigerians were injured, orphaned, maimed, killed and affected by the okada motorcycle -a political gift, a Trojan Horse, to the nation and double edged sword?

Will the new political party APC, comprising progressives and plucked and fallen fruit mainly from the PDP, offer any different future? No doubt the experts are busy preparing the blueprints to be offered Nigerians as inducements to vote for them when the time comes. It requires a creative ‘Massive New Emergency Power Policy’ and needs to supply power in three months like Japan replaced the Fukushima nuclear plant with alternative emergency power. This will change Nigeria in one year. The new party should plan solar loans to millions. Under good leadership Nigeria will become the next big ‘Solar Country’ destination. Under Sanusi, or the next governor, CBN can secure N100billion for cheap long solar loans, reducing the power of the new generation of ‘Generals and Mandarins in Electricity Power’ like Abdulsalami. It will also use God’s gift to Nigeria and Africa -the sun. We saw on NTA this week that the Federal Government had used solar energy to light up four communities in the FCT using a German contractor and the President was there to launch the effort. Amen. Hopefully it is a pilot scheme and it will grow exponentially. May government which still has a year plus in power, multiply this effort by 10,000 times immediately. Please note that we have been appealing to each and every government to go solar. Solar will get cheaper as the cost of equipment has nosedived in the last two years and will get cheaper with the application of plastic solar panels cells. The governments need to have their experts on top of the solar and other power supply technology. Every government should take solar energy seriously and do something positive this year. The CBN could create a fund say $1billion soft loan for solar powering rural areas and even city citizens to bring immediate relief to millions of suffering. Nigerians are used to maximum suffering with minimal survival.

Do we sell oilfields outright and forever? Why not a 10 or 20-year lease with an annual rent fixed at 10% of the profit going to the local community, a tax for the state and the nation in an agreed formula? What is the community stake in any oil field what about the corporate stake in the community?

Only when a politician is heckled will he think and listen. Look at what happened to Zuma during Mandela’s funeral.

So there are only 700,000 slaves in Nigeria? I thought we were all slaves of the political class. Na wa O. Odumegwu and now Sanusi’s revelations, show that truth is dangerous to your ‘reputation’ and working health. The revenue allocation formula is the most potent of weapons of federal power in Nigeria. Some heads of state have walked away with 50% of the budget, leaving the rest to civil servants. Nigerians have witnessed the power of the state to destroy lives and delay development. Many Nigerians states are larger or have larger populations than 40 other countries and deserve to be given financial power to serve their people better and also deserve to be treated as nearly sovereign units within the Nigerian nation. The massive theft and incompetence at the centre is manifest by the appalling state of major roads and the inability to rapidly fund maintenance of such roads. Every region has roads and bridge failures. Properly funded roads and hospitals should never have a federal/ state dichotomy in quality or service delivery. The less the federal fiscal budget, the more for states and local governments and the happier Nigerians will be. A figure of 30% federal seems popular but 28% is better, with 40% for the states, 30% for LGAs if they must be kept, and 2% for compulsory savings and investments. The fiscal federation issue of the revenue allocation is the foundation of Nigerian happiness.

January 22, 2014
Kwankwaso: A true progressive

SIR: Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is one of the few progressive Nigeria leaders whose leadership transparency is a sign that hope still lurks around for the future of the country.

Little wonder that he could not continue to wallow in the shameful pool of moral crisis that is rocking the People Democratic Party (PDP), thereby making him to cross to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with proven leadership process.

One of the many qualities that surprise about Kwankwaso is his openness in administration. It is on record that he is probably the only governor in Nigeria who publishes the minutes of the state’s executive council meeting for Nigerians to see.

Having earlier served as a governor from 1999-2003, his wealth of experience and untiring desire to serve his people inspired his comeback in 2011 after he lost his re-election bid in 2003.

The people of Kano state might have compared his innovative leadership style with that of his successor and now predecessor before deciding that he should be given a second mandate to rule the state – A rare privilege he has not abused.

It is also noteworthy that his achievements in office have endeared him to the people of the state. His effort at reducing material mortality and improving child care has yielded significant result.

What about infrastructure? His strides in this aspect have improved the commercial status of the state making it a replica of Lagos in the South-west.

Kwankwaso’s leadership style is aptly in consonance with those of the progressive governors. Thus, it is safe to assert that he has just reconnected to his rightful base. It is exigent for Nigerians to identify and encourage leaders and political parties that are committed to promoting and sustaining democratic values, good governance and sustainable development in the country.

Nigerians should use the 2015 general elections to effect the necessary changes for betterment of all.

• Okechukwu Stine Amadike

University of Lagos

January 22, 2014
‘What politicians should learn from Akande’

At 75, the Interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, is a rare example of leadership. With a rich antecedent in the corporate world and politics, he remains a mentor and role model to those who strive for value. In his old age, his life preaches modesty and disdain for avarice. Akande has earned respect, not because he is wealthy, but because he has a good name.

Eminent Nigerians, who showered encomiums on him during his birthday ceremony in Lagos, highlighted those virtues of statesmanship peculiar to the former Osun State governor. At the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, the venue of the event, statesmen, government officials, traditional rulers and politicians were unanimous that Akande is a man of honour and integrity.

The major highlight of the ceremony was the lecture titled: ‘Developing a new leadership: An imperative for national development in Nigeria.’ The two speakers were Prof. Olu Obafemi of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Jos, and Prof Akin Oyebode of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Akoka. The two scholars urged the political class to emulate the celebrator’s style of leadership.

A former Member of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mrs Tejuoso, described him as an incorruptible politician. “I was closed to him. Because of that, my colleagues asked me to go to him to request for money for legislators. He said that he had heard what I said, but, he asked me to ask from them under which sub-heading will the money come. That was the end”, he recalled.

As the governor of Osun State, the Asiwaju of Ila-Orangun and Igbonna politely put his house in order. He politely told his wife, Omowumi, who clocked 70 recently, that she will not be permitted to parade herself as the First Lady. Akande’s explanation was that that nomenclature does not exist in the constitution. Throughout that four years, the governor’s wife was in the background. Her duty an an unofficial first lady was restricted to entertaining her husband’s guests with foods and drinks in the State House or private residence at Ila.

Akande shunned corruption while in office. He was obedient to the advice of his mentor, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, that a public officer should not lead a life of opulence he cannot sustain outside power. Thus, when the Oyinlola Administration, which displaced his government instituted a probe against him, it paled into a wasted effort. Nothing incriminating was found against his administration.

His legacies as the governor are evergreen. In four years, Akande, like former Governor Lateef Jakande of Lagos, completed the State House and secretariat projects. The State House is named after his former boss, the late Chief Bola Ige. The former governor did not succumb to the temptation to inflate contracts. He adopted ‘value engineering’ approach, which is a creativity model geared towards cost reduction. He insisted on standard. Since the contractor knew that the governor could not be bribed, they resolved to do a neat job.

The same method he applied to the construction of classroom blocks. “He was able to execute over 500 projects”, said Aderemi Idowu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who added: “While the Federal Government under Gen. Obasanjo was awarding a one-room classroom project for an average of N1.5 million, Akande was doing the same standard of classroom for half-a-million naira”.

Akande also took some cardinal decisions which were perceived as unpopular steps by the people, especially the teachers. In later years, the university don, Prof. Akin Oyebode, confronted him over that policy of sacking a huge number of teachers. He defended his actions, saying that the teachers were not adding value to the teaching service at that time. This, in Oyebode’s view, was a mark of seriousness and determination to govern well.

Ige, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice was murdered in 2001. His killers are still at large. In 2003, former President Obasanjo was said to have requested Akande to serve in the regime as a minister. He declined because he was not covetous, despite his political misfortune of missing a second term. To wade off the presidential pressure, he travelled abroad. He did not return until the composition of a new Federal Executive Council. He returned to rebuild the progressive platform, a mission Ige could not fulfill, following his gruesome murder.

Obafemi, who lamented what he described as the “leadership deficit” in the country, said that hope is not lost. He paid tribute to Akande, saying that, if many politicians had behaved like him while in power, the polity would have been saved from decadence.

The don gave reasons for the leadership decay. “A structure for good leadership does not exist in Nigeria”, he said, urging the people to ponder on its effects. “A leader must know the way, toe the way and take the people through the way. Great leaders are far ahead of their time. Such leaders are in short supply. A leader must have a vision and mental picture of his destination. We need new leaders for a new vision for Nigeria; courageous, patriotic leaders to build democratic institutions,” Obafemi added.

His colleague, Oyebode, shared the same thoughts. He observed that Nigerian is in misery and making progress in reverse direction. The legal scholar also pointed out that many Asian countries who were on the same pedestal with Nigeria at independence have left it behind. Oyebode lamented that political and economic transformation have not been accomplished because it is business as usual in the corridor of power. He chided the leadership for poverty of ideas, stressing that when a country is saddled with clueless leaders, there will be retrogression.

Oyebode urged Nigerians to reject hypocritical leaders and replace them with trusted, tested and incorruptible leaders. “Where leadership is in the hands of venal, opportunistic, corrupt and self-serving elements, all the people would get is a lot of motion without movement, just like the potter’s wheel,” he added.

January 22, 2014
APC Reps: House Leader, other key officials must go

Party writes speaker to assert its majority status

A major crisis has broken out in the House of Representatives, with All Progressives Congress (APC) members demanding House Leader Mulikat Adeola-Akande’s removal.

Some other principal officers should also step down, the APC Caucus will demand in a letter to Speaker Aminu Tambuwal.

The 171 APC members in the House rose last night from a meeting in Abuja to demand their right to produce the House Leader – in line with constitutional provision on simple majority.

A court restrained yesterday the House from tampering with its leadership. But the Reps said they were not bound by the order.

The decision will not affect Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, it was said.

The APC members also vowed not to recognise Mrs. Adeola-Akande as the House Leader.

A source at the meeting said: “Those of us in APC are now 171 in a chamber of 360 members. We met and decided to write the Speaker to invoke the relevant constitutional provision and rules to effect a change of leadership from the Majority Leader(House Leader) downwards.

“We only require a simple majority of one or two members to effect a change of Majority Leader and other principal officers as the House may deem fit. PDP, APGA, Labour Party and Accord are about 150 members.”

On the deputy speaker, the source, who pleaded not to be named, said: “We cannot ask the Deputy Speaker to step down because the Constitution says it requires two-thirds of members to take such a decision.

“So, the Speaker will certainly get our letter on Tuesday (today) and read it on the floor of the House.”

The resolution of the members of the party was the outcome of a short meeting at the National Assembly yesterday.

The letter will insist on the removal of Akande-Adeola, Deputy Majority Leader Leo Ogor, Chief Whip Mohammed Isiaka Bawa and Deputy Chief Whip Mohammed Mukthar.

Ihedioha is left out, “though with reservations”, a member said.

The letter will also contain the request that all the emoluments and allowances accruing to the listed leadership members because of their offices be frozen until the leadership change is completed.

The APC legislators also vowed not to recognise any bill, motion or argument that comes through the listed leadership members until the change is effected.

Members who were alerted about the meeting through text messages began arriving at the National Assembly from 5:30 pm yesterday and by 6:30 pm the meeting, which was presided over by the opposition leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, was over.

A member of the APC, who did not want to be named, said the letter was to abide by the rule of the House. He said: “According to the rule, we have to tell him officially, and he ( the Speaker) will call the Clerk to cross check and they will effect the changes.”

On the court case, members cited the case of PDP National Secretary Olagunsoye Oyinlola, saying the PDP was also disobeying court cases. “ In any case, we have not even got the ruling,” a member said.

Asked about the court injunction, the source said: “We have heard about it in the realm of rumours; let those who have it come to the House with a copy on Tuesday.

“The question you should ask yourself is: Can the court stop the Legislature from functioning? What has become of the Principle of Separation of Powers?

“We will not accept any Kangaroo injunction from anybody. We will respect the Judiciary, but we won’t allow anyone to interfere with our job.”

Another member at the meeting said: “We learnt that they are planning to disrupt our proceedings on Tuesday; we are prepared for them.

“We have made it mandatory for all our 171 members to make it to the chamber on Tuesday.”

It was gathered that all the parties were seeking legal consultations last night. The areas of focus were sections 49, 50,and 56 of the 1999 Constitution.

Section 49 says: “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the House of Representatives shall consist 360 members representing constituencies of nearly equal population as far as possible, provided that no constituency shall fall within more than one state.”

Section 50 (1) reads: “There shall be –

(a) a President and Deputy President of the Senate, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves, and

(b) a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected b members of that House from among themselves.

(2) The President or Deputy President of the Senate or the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shall vacate his office –

(a) if he ceases to be a member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, otherwise than by reason of a dissolution of the Senate or the House of Representatives; or

(b) when the House which he was a member first sits after any dissolution of that House; or

(c) if he is removed from office by a resolution of the Senate or of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of the members of that House.

Section 56 says: “ (1) Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, any question proposed for decision in the Senate or the House of Representatives shall be determined by the required majority of the members present and voting; and the person presiding shall cast a vote whenever necessary to avoid an equality of votes but shall not vote in any other case.

(2) Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, the required majority for the purpose of determining any question shall be a simple majority.“

Chairman of media and publicity Committee Zakari Mohammed confirmed that the House leadership will witness some shake-up from today.

Mohammed spoke at the weekend in Kaiama, Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, shortly after a meeting with some politicians in the council.

The House spokesperson, alongside 34 members of the defunct new PDP, defected to the APC.

He said that 10 other PDP members were set to defect to the APC.

“As it stands today, as I talk to you now, we have (APC) 172, PDP is 167 and the rest which is 20 to 22 belong to the other parties.

“We have about 10 members who are coming into the APC as soon as we resume on Tuesday, (January 21)”.

January 21, 2014
22 PDP Senators to dump PDP for APC

No fewer than 22 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators are to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), it was learnt yesterday.

The planned defection of PDP lawmakers is coming as the Senate resumes plenary today after the Christmas and New Year break.

A source said the defecting lawmakers used their recess to “dot the is and cross the ts” on the plan to move to the APC.

He noted that the “veiled” threat of the leadership of the Senate to declare vacant the seat of any senator who defects to the APC was not enough to deter those who had made up their minds to leave the PDP.

He insisted that “no amount of intimidation and/or threat can stop the wind of change sweeping across the country”.

He added that “nobody has the right to tell any senator what political party to belong to.”

The defecting senators, he said, would be led by a senator from Kwara State.

Asked about the specific number of senators who planned to defect to the APC, the source noted that “the number is increasing by the day”.

He said: “You are probably aware of 22 senators who have already been reported, but more are likely to join; you just wait and see.”

Senator Ajayi Boroffice, who was elected on the plaform of the Labour Party (LP) from Ondo North Senatorial District, said that it was not true that he planned to defect to the APC on the floor of the Senate today.

Boroffice said: “The report is not correct. I am a member of the APC, but I don’t intend to submit any letter of defection.”

A PDP Senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial District, Senator Bindowo Jibrilla, said on Sunday that no fewer than 17 of his colleagues will defect from the PDP to the APC when the Senate resumes.

Jibrila, who in a BBC Hausa Service monitored in Abuja, said the move was being taken to express their displeasure with the management of the party at the national level.

He said: “To be candid, we are 17 senators that will dump PDP for APC in the Senate very soon. This is a serious matter and not a joke, making me to lead the way by joining the APC already.”

The defecting senators going by Jibrila’s calculations are: Senators Bukola Saraki and Shaaba Lafiagi from Kwara State, Magnus Abe and Wilson Ake from Rivers State, and Basheer Mohammed and Hayatu Gwarzo from Kano State.

Others are: Umar Abubakar Tutare and Aisha Jummai Alhassan from Taraba State, Senator Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), Adamu Abdullahi (Nasarawa West) and the three PDP senators from Sokoto and Jigawa states when Governor Sule Lamido defects from PDP to APC this month.

The PDP has 73 senators. APC has 33. Labour Party has two. APGA has one.

January 21, 2014
‘APC ‘ll provide good governance’

All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Alhaji Rasheed Shitta-Bey has said that he joined the party in furtheranace of his service to the grassroots.

Speaking at a rally organised by the APC in Surulere Constituency, Lagos, the politician promised to mobilise for its victory at the polls.

Shitta-Bey, a former member of the House of Representatives, said: “Now, I am coming to the APC. This is a home coming. My people have been calling for my return to the party. I have to listen to them in order to contribute my quota to the development of the party.

“The MPPP will have its convention on February 1, where I will officially resign as its chairman and fully integrate with the APC.”

“I have always been a progressive. I have been a follower of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. I have passed through the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and went to establish the MPPP and now, I am moving to the APC.”

The politician said that the time is ripe for the progressive bloc to provide a credible leadership for the country.

He said the Yoruba and the Southwest, in particular, will be part of the central government, which theAPC will produce in 2015.

Urging Nigerians to embrace the progressive party, he assured that the party will not fail Nigerians.

He added: “I want to move closer to my people at the grassroots, to put all my effort to ensure the success of the APC within my immediate constituency and the country at large. I am leaving my national position in the MPPP, for my local government in the APC.”

He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led government in the country has not justified its continuation at the centre and all hands must be at the deck to get the party off the way, to enable the progressives provide leadership.

January 21, 2014
Stop causing tension in Ogun, Amosun tells lawmakerso

Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has described the political crisis in the state as “a premeditated attempt by Ogun All Progressives Congress (APC) members in the National Assembly to destabilise the party and cause tension in the state”.

This was contained in a letter signed by the governor to Senator Gbenga Obadara (Ogun Central), titled: “Pulling Down the House to Protect a Corner: A Note of Caution”.

Amosun advised them to desist from “their plot”, saying “it is an ill-wind that does not blow anyone any good”.

On the January 9 violence at the state party secretariat and the disruption of a political meeting at Wasimi in the Ewekoro Local Government Area on January 16, the governor said: “The Wasimi incident, in particular, was part of a premeditated, choreographed and coordinated but needless crisis in our great party, with the National Assembly members elected on the APC platform as the major Agents Provocateur working in concert with other elements within and outside the party.

“In the last few months, I have received security reports and information from credible sources, including party faithful, leaders, mutual friends and utterances directly emanating from your group, indicating that you and your colleagues were planning to precipitate a crisis in our party in pursuit of your personal agenda.

“Although I initially dismissed the reports, the unfortunate events of the last few weeks, with their intensity and frequency, have lent credence to them. The incidents are part of a larger plot by the group to control the party structure, beginning with the hijack of the membership registration, hence the attempt to foist a ‘Harmonisation Committee’ on the party.

“The second objective is the desire of the National Assembly members from our state and some members of the House of Assembly to secure automatic second-term tickets for the 2015 general elections without regard to the opinions of party members.

“In order to get the support of the unwary, these personal agenda of the very few have been couched and packaged as altruistic party issues and deliberately orchestrated to attract national attention.”

Amosun said the group plans to achieve its “narrow objectives” through eight elements, including the instigation of pockets of violence to create a sense of disunity in the party and insecurity in the state; demonisation of his person and administration through “a well-oiled smear campaign in the media that will evoke memory of the immediate-past”; and the distraction of the government’s attention from governance.

Others are blackmailing him (Amosun) and the party’s national leadership; making the state ungovernable; perpetrating further crisis that will enable the group move motions in the two chambers of the National Assembly to embarrass the state government; disruption of the party membership registration; and “joining forces with the opposition, who are known masters of violence, in an unholy alliance to re-enact the immediate inglorious past”.

The governor said: “The overall thrust is to force a negotiation to secure an undeserved advantage that could not be otherwise achieved through the internal party democracy. What is more disturbing is that in this venture, no tool is considered too crude to use, no weapon too unconventional to deploy and no approach too demeaning to adopt.

“I learnt that you and your colleagues have been boasting that the nationwide destruction of our party will be kick-started from Ogun State. I remain resolute to building bridges within the party and beyond. Far from being a sign of weakness, this is demonstration of our commitment to peace and security in the state.

“While I will continue to make overtures for peace and pursue initiatives to forge party unity and harmony, I will not abdicate my responsibilities as the chief security officer of the state.”

January 21, 2014
NURTW to legislators: we are not thugs

The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Ogun State has said it has nothing to do with the crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It said its members are not thugs and told politicians not to link the union with violence.

The NURTW urged Senator Gbenga Kaka (Ogun East) to cross-check his information before linking it to the disruption of a meeting convened by him in Abeokuta on January 9, so as not to tarnish the union’s image.

Kaka, in a statement published in the media, alleged that the meeting was disrupted by NURTW members.

Speaking with reporters yesterday at the NURTW Secretariat in Abeokuta, the Secretary, Sunday Yeye said: “The pertinent question to ask is that on the day of the incident, who appeared in the name of the NURTW or carried the union’s banner?

“NURTW members are not thugs, but professional drivers, and should not be linked to political violence. We call on Kaka not to tarnish the image of our great union and to cross-check information before publishing them.”

He said members of the union have a right to join any party of their choice, but that should not be a reason for Kaka or anybody to link the NURTW with violence.

Yeye said the union had been counselling its members to steer clear of thuggery and not offer themselves to be used by politicians to advance their selfish purposes.

He said: “We have held several meetings with members and warn them not to be used as political thugs. We have a programme called war against thuggery and a team monitoring our members across the state.

“NURTW is not a political party. Any member found being used as a thug will be expelled from the union. We did not instruct our members to go against those who are anti-Amosun.”

January 21, 2014
Mbu: APC slams PSC, Presidency

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the tacit defence of the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu, by the Police Service Commission (PSC).

It said the commission, by its unimaginative action, was only pandering to the Presidency, “the sponsor of the impunity in the state”.

In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party wondered if the PSC understood the constitution as regards the role of a police commissioner.

The APC said: “For the avoidance of doubt, we quote Section 215 (4) of the Constitution, which stipulates: ‘Subject to the provisions of this section, the Governor of a State or such Commissioner of the Government of the State as he may authorise in that behalf, may give to Commissioner of Police of that State such lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and public order within the State as he may consider necessary, and the Commissioner of Police shall comply with those directions or cause them to be complied with’.’’

APC said if the PSC understood the stipulation, it would not only be talking of Mbu being redeployed but should by now be justifying the dismissal of the police boss, who has violated the constitution not only by refusing to take lawful orders but by also constituting himself into the opposition, the de facto chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Rivers.

“If the PSC wants to be truthful, it will admit that no one but the police commissioner has politicised his own office. It will also admit that no one has asked the police commissioner to be the governor’s errand boy, as claimed by the PSC, but to simply carry out his duties as stipulated by the constitution. If the PSC still does not understand, it should tell Nigerians in which other state of the federation is a police commissioner usurping the role of the governor as the chief security officer of the state,” the party said.

It described as disingenuous, the decision of the PSC to hinge its shameful inaction in the face of the madness perpetrated by the Rivers police boss on a suit against the commission and the commissioner, saying no court case has prevented the commission from carrying out its duties.

“The truth is that the embarrassing situation in Rivers has persisted because the Presidency is the sole sponsor and it does not want peace to reign. The moment President Goodluck Jonathan decides to uphold the constitution in accordance with his oath of office, Mbu will not last one day in office.

“The PSC, which has now taken it upon itself to defend Mbu and even remind Nigerians how some people have been praising him for doing a good job – in a bid by the pliant commission to impress the Presidency – knows that this President is never hindered by a suit when he decides to pursue his own agenda, as he is doing in Rivers. In case the PSC has forgotten, President Jonathan suspended former President of the Court of Appeal Justice Ayo Salami from office even when his case was in court.

“In any case, one million PSCs will not have been able to save Mbu if his partisanship in Rivers has been in favour of Governor Chibuike Amaechi. The PSC should therefore spare Nigerians its annoying sophistry and stop hiding behind one finger. The truth is that nothing can justify the police-backed lawlessness, harassment of innocent citizens, disrespect for constituted authority and outright thuggery in Rivers.

“Nigerians know the puppeteer in the Rivers crisis. Nigerians know why the PSC has been ‘handicapped’ in Rivers despite the unprecedented misconduct of the state’s police boss. Therefore, any attempt by anyone, including the spokesperson for the PSC, to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians, will fall flat,” APC said.

January 20, 2014
‘No crisis in Bayelsa APC’

A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Mr. Wilfred Ogbotobo, yesterday flayed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Seriake Dickson over their remarks that the opposition party is battling with leadership crisis.

In separate statements, the PDP and governor had asked the APC national leadership to resolve its crisis in the state to prevent it from degenerating into violence.

But, Ogbotobo said that Dickson and his party should mind their business.

The politician. who spoke in Yenagoa, the state capital, said the alarm by Dickson and the PDP showed that they were jittery because of the APC’s rising profile.

He said: “I am not aware of any crisis in the Bayelsa APC. Meetings and consultations have been on-going smoothly in different places and on different levels, ahead of the proposed inauguration of the state interim executive.

“There are clear guidelines to manage every stage of the process. At this stage, much enthusiasm and excitement, in diverse ways, are playing out and it is wrong and malicious to refer to this frenzy as crisis.

“I think it is instructive to urge the public to disregard the statements credited to Governor Dickson and the Bayelsa PDP as the wild vituperation of a haunted government and an equally bankrupt, big-for-nothing political party. The APC is at peace in Bayelsa State”.

Ogbotobo however, said that it was normal for people to struggle for leadership positions in a great party like the APC.

He stressed: “It is normal and healthy for democracy, particularly in the context of Bayelsa politics. It is also expected that external antagonistic forces would also want to attempt to destabilise ‘the Bayelsa Ark’ at this stage to keep the state perpetually on slow motion.

“These are some aspects of the struggle for the leadership of the party in the state. But there is no cause for alarm”.

January 20, 2014