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Tag: Atiku Abubakar

  • Election: PDP advises Buratai not to drag Military into politics

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai not to drag the Military into politics.

    Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan gave the advice in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Ologbondiyan, who is also the Director, Media and Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation urged Buratai to refrain himself from acts or actions that would suggest in any way that the military had become an arm of a political party.

    He said that Buratai’s allusion to the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar as well as his threats to officers and ranks to participate in the electoral process was an aberration of the laws.

    He said that Abubakar spoke on the side of the law and to respect the wishes of Nigerians so could not be intimidated by anybody.

    Ologbondiyan said that the loyalty of the military was to the state and that the president did not have the power to deploy soldiers for the conduct of elections.

    “Our party urges Gen. Buratai to concentrate on his very demanding assignment of protecting the territorial integrity of our nation and ending insurgency rather than dabbling into partisan politics at the risk of our national cohesion.”

    He said that the judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos on March 23, 2015, presided over by Justice Ibrahim Buba, had directly outlawed the deployment of troops in the conduct of elections in the country.

    He also adviced the president to note the subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal, which on Feb. 15, held that the President had no powers to deploy soldiers in the conduct of elections.

    Ologbondiyan said that the courts had summarily dismissed the arguments that soldiers were needed to guarantee peaceful elections.

    “It may interest the President to know that the judgment was sequel to a suit filed by the APC Leader in the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, seeking a declaration that deployment of soldiers during elections is illegal and unconstitutional.

    “The court directly held that “the Armed Forces have no role in elections” and if soldiers must vote, they must do so in their barracks.”

    Ologbondiyan stressed the need not to corrupt the patriotism of the military and use them against innocent Nigerians, “whose only demand is for a free, fair and credible election”.

    He urged the international community to monitor the country’s electoral process. (NAN)

  • Another female presidential candidate quits, backs Atiku

    The presidential candidate of the National Interest Party (NIP) Eunice Atuejide has quit the race in favour of her Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar.

    She is the second female candidate to quit the race after Oby Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) threw in the towel following irreconcilable differences with the party’s leaders.

    Atuejide, in a statement on her twitter handle, explained she was backing Atiku because of his choice of former Anambra governor, Peter Obi as his running mate.

    She said: “I choose to fight for the benefit of every Nigerian on the side of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. I cannot defend PDP for giving us bad leadership from 1999 to 2015 yet I cannot help but blame the APC for doing a much worse job from 2015 to 2019.

    “Plus, whether we call them PDP, APC, PPA, ANN, YPP, or NIP, we are all the same people moving from one political platform to the other in search of a place to speak out and be heard.

    “To my mind, the political party platform is not the real issue nonetheless it’s either Alhaji Atiku Abubakar under the PDP or President Buhari under the APC this time.

    “I make bold to state unequivocally that I stand with Atiku under the PDP this time.

    “Mr Abubakar picked an amazing VP. In fact, even though I have never met or spoken to Peter Obi, it is thanks to him that I am today the Founder and National Chairman of a youth-led, digitally organised political party (NIP).

    “His exemplary leadership as Governor of Anambra State led me and several of my team members to politics.”

  • EFCC detains Atiku’s man over $4m cash haul

    Businessman Giwa-Osagie quizzed, DSS withdraws invitation to five INEC officials

    Detectives are holding a businessman who is said to be an associate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.

    Mr. Uyi Giwa-Osagie is being suspected of allegedly laundering about $4million, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) believes to be “suspicious election cash”.

    Uyi’s detention followed an intelligence report on a suspicious transaction by a Bureau De Change operator.

    The Nation had exclusively reported on Monday how the PDP reportedly allocated $3million each for “logistics” to its 36 state branches and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Most Bureau De Change operators and banks have, however, refused the “pressure” to convert the hard currency to Naira.

    An EFCC source said: “A BDC operator was intercepted for shipping $2million from Abuja to Lagos for suspected money laundering.

    “Upon interception by our detectives, the BDC operator admitted that Uyi Giwa-Osagie actually paid the Naira equivalent of $4million into his account in exchange for hard currency.

    “We invited Uyi for interrogation on Monday and Tuesday. Our detectives have also conducted a search of his home. Some useful documents were retrieved. Investigation is, however, still in progress.”

    “Apart from documents relating to posh properties at home and abroad, a copy of the EFCC Investigation Report on Atiku’s relationship with a jailed U.S. lawmaker, Williams Jefferson, was retrieved from Uyi.

    “ An analysis of the account indicated that it yielded over $30million deposits mostly from a firm with a link with the PDP candidate,” the source said, pleading not to be named because of the “sensitivity” of the matter.

    He added: “Obviously, there were remittances from the account of a multi-national company linked with the PDP candidate.”

    Responding to a question, the source said: “We closed in on Uyi on Monday. We have decided to detain him pending the conclusion of investigation. “

    Another source described Uyi as “a reputable lawyer to Atiku”. “It is not out of place if Atiku’s dossiers are found with him.

    “ You also need to appreciate his  background and antecedents, he is from a very wealthy heritage. By the time he opens up, the EFCC will know that he is not an overnight associate of Atiku.”

    Also yesterday, the Department of State Services (DSS) withdrew its invitation to some Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials – the National Commissioner in charge of Operations, Prof. Okey Ibeanu and four top directors.

    The others are: The Director of ICT, Chidi Nwafor; the Director of Procurement, Ken Ukeagu; the Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Wole Osaze Uzzi and the Assistant Director, ICT, Bimbo Oladunjoye.

    The five officers were invited through the DSS office in INEC for interrogation over alleged compromise of the operations of the electoral body.

    INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu downplayed yesterday at a briefing the invitation of the five officers, which was communicated to them on Monday by a director of the DSS.

    Although the invitation was later withdrawn, the development created tension in the commission.

    A source said: “The DSS has been working on some clues on how INEC’s Smart Card Readers and sensitive materials got into the hands of some suspects in some states.

    “The officers were only invited to shed light on the operational modalities of INEC and why the sabotage occurred. We called on them as part of the comprehensive investigation into some allegations raised by the INEC chairman last Saturday.

    “Following a twist in the DSS investigation, the invitation was stepped down. I won’t tell you it was dropped because some INEC officers have been implicated in some deals.”

    But a source within INEC said: “The five officers were officially communicated through the DSS office at the close of work on Monday. Early on Tuesday morning, a reminder was sent to all the invitees.

    “The invitation generated tension in INEC because those summoned hail mostly from the Southeast, Southsouth and Southwest. Some of them have nothing to do with logistics. We did not know why the DSS left out the director of Logistics and the deputy from the North.

    “Some staff also saw it as an attempt to intimidate INEC and its officers. The ethnic tension made the INEC management to wield influence to prevail on the DSS to have a rethink on the invitation because it can disrupt plans for Saturday elections.

    “It was based on the grave security implications that the invitation of the five top officers was stepped down.”

  • Atiku confirmed PDP is working with INEC, says Oshiomhole

    TO All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has vindicated the ruling party’s claim that the opposition was working with some officials of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to compromise the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    Oshiomhole, who addressed reporters last night, said it had become clearer that the only mission of the PDP candidate “is to cause confusion in the electoral system so that he will become President even it means presiding over graves”.

    According to him, only those who want to deploy thugs to undermine the elections will oppose and find fault with the statement of the President aimed at discouraging thuggery during the election.

    Oshiomhole said the attention of the international community at the moment is that elections across the world should be violent-free and assured that the forthcoming elections will be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere.

    He said: “It is only those who believe in thuggery that will find fault with the President’s directive. Is there anyone that would want to vote for thuggery? Is there any thug that is not armed? You cannot snatch ballot box without the aid of firearms. So, when the international community is talking about violence-free election, they are saying the election should be free of thuggery.

    “You can see that the PDP is not at home with that because they imported thuggery, institutionalised it and have always fallen back on it as instrument of rigging and to dominate the electorates. So, we debunk any attempt by Atiku to change the essence of the President’s statement.

    “I believe the President spoke the kind of the average Nigerian who wants to go and vote and come home in peace without fear of being attacked. You know that thuggery is synonymous with violence and the world is unanimous that violence should be removed from election.

    Atiku’s rejection exposes PDP for what they are. Their plan is to deploy thugs so that the election will be impossible or reduce voter turnout.

    “To say that the APC imported card reader is laughable and that the card readers have been deployed to the Southsouth and Southeast. The implication of this is, assuming it is true without conceding, it means that Atiku is working hand in hand with the ICT unit in INEC to know the kind of machines that are deployed to where.

    “Recognising that INEC is Independent, we are not able to know the kind of card readers INEC is deploying or where they were imported from. But if Atiku has all of these details, it can only mean that he is working hand in hand with people within INEC to know where machines are imported from and the fact that card readers can be programmed otherwise.

    “We are not like a stammers who look for a fight because they cannot win an argument. We believe that the electorates are ready to vote for us and we want those votes to take place in a free and fair atmosphere.

    “I think that Nigerians should be united when it comes to the issue of a free and fair election. Our candidate is saddled with the responsibility for peace and security of Nigerians. He has the duty to ensure that the live of the Nigerian electorate is protected as well as those of the observers. That is the responsibility of the Commander-in-Chief.”

    Read also: EFCC detains Atiku’s man over $4m cash haul

    “So, if Atiku finds fault in this, if anybody is pro thuggery, we are against thuggery and we are against violence. The International community should properly decode Atiku’s statement sling the president to withdraw his threat not against the electorates, but against would be thugs or merchants of violence.

    “As far as I am concern, Atiku knows that he can’t win. In 2003 elections, he lost his base in Adamawa. He is on record to have procured a senatorial seat for Prof. Jibrin Aminu. If he wants to go to court, I will meet him there and I will produce the first INEC documented report that announced the winners of those senatorial seats.”

    The APC chair predicted that the PDP candidate will lose in his Adamawa home state.

    “We are ready for the elections and by the grace of God, Nigerians will vote for us and Atiku will remain a permanent presidential candidate which Nigerians never had,” Oshiomhole said.

    Reacting to the reports credited to Atiku and the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, Oshiomhole said: “This afternoon, we monitored the statement by the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus in which they tried to distort the message which of the President who reassured Nigerians that he has given appropriate directive to security agents to ensure that Saturday election is free and fair.

    “From the response of the PDP candidate, it is clear that they have already conceded defeat. First, he claimed that he has two stronghold which he identified as Southsouth and Southeast. That is not true because I come from the Southsouth and we are not voting Atiku. We have since dismantled the PDP machine in Edo state and Edo is the heart beat of the Nation.

    “Even If you take the statement in its face value, if Atiku concedes that out of six geopolitical zones, he has support not in his own zone, but Southsouth and Southeast, the voting population in these two zones are not enough to deliver the presidency to any candidate in Nigeria.”

    According to him, every peace-loving Nigerian and those who wish Nigeria are yearning for fair and violent-free elections.

    He said: “What the President said and we are proud that he has courage to say it that he has asked security agents to create an enabling environment for Nigerians to out and vote without fear that thugs will attack them and that security agents are going to put thugs in check. No peace loving Nigerian can find fault with that,” Oshiomhole said.

    Recalling how thugs were used to rig elections when Atiku held the forte as vice president, the APC chair said: “I think it does expose PDP for what they are. Atiku as vice president to Obasanjo was there in 2003 when people were killed by thugs. In my election in 2007, three young men were shut down by PDP thugs at Oba Primary school. So, no responsible candidate will find fault with any pronouncement that tends to discourage thuggery in the coming elections.

    “For a man who is aspiring to preside over Nigeria to seek protection for thuggery is uncalled for. He has already said he will grant amnesty to looters. I don’t think Nigerians have any basis to doubt that Atiku’s mission is to set Nigeria on fire so that he can become President, even If he will preside over a graveyard.”

  • Suit to disqualify Atiku over citizenship for Monday

    A Suit to disqualify the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, from contesting the presidential election is to be heard on Monday.

    The suit filed by Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission for Africa before the Federal High Court, Abuja, will be heard by Hon. Justice I. E. Ekwo of Court 6.

    However, the hearing will be done two days after the presidential election, which is rescheduled for February 23.

    According to the group, Atiku should be disqualified over alleged circumstances surrounding his citizenship.

    The suit, which was filed on February 11, is seeking an interpretation of Sections 25 (1) & (2) and 131 (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

    The group named the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as defendants in the suit.

    It also wants the court to determine the following questions, viz:

    *whether Section 25 of the Constitution is the sole authority that spells out ways by which a person can become a Nigerian citizen by birth?

    *whether by the provisions of Section 131 (a) of the constitution, only a Nigerian citizen by birth can contest for the office of president?

    *whether by the combined interpretation of Sections 25 (1) & (2) and 131 (a) of the constitution and given the circumstances surrounding the birth of Alhaji Atiku, he can be cleared by PDP and INEC to contest for office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

    In the suit, the plaintiff said if the court resolves the issues in its favour, it should declare that by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, only a Nigerian citizen by birth can contest for president.

    In an affidavit deposed in support of the plaintiff’s action, the deponent averred that Atiku was born on November 25, 1946 in Cameroon.

    “That from Atiku’s own testimony that is gazetted and published in most national dailies in circulation, he is from Jada town in Adamawa and Jada used to be in Ganye Local Government Area in Adamawa.

    “That Ganye is regarded as the mother of the whole Chamba tribe and was never part of Nigeria legally as at the date of birth of Atiku.

    “That none of Atiku’s parents or grandparents was born in Nigeria and his father died a citizen of Northern Cameroon in 1957 prior to the referendum of June 1, 1961 that made Northern Cameroon a part of Nigeria.”

     

  • Atiku urges security agencies to be professional, uphold constitution

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called on security personnel deployed for the Saturday rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections to uphold the constitution and be professional in discharging their duties.

    Abubakar made the call at the 84th National Executive Committee (NEC) Meeting of the PDP held on Tuesday in Abuja.

    According to Abubakar, as military commanders and personnel they must be professional and never carry out any order that was not lawful.

    “I urge all security agencies to uphold the country’s constitution with an understanding that voting was a civil activity and civic responsibility.

    “The Nigerian military is constitutionally responsible for protecting our national integrity and its borders and has no role to play in the conduct of elections.

    “Additionally, I call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), once again to remain impartial arbiters while ensuring that they conduct credible elections, this time around.

    “INEC must ensure that all logistical challenges are addressed between now and Saturday, Feb. 23, and that all materials retrieved from the field are inspected by participating political parties before the commencement of the elections,’’ he said.

    Abubakar, who expressed concern about losses of Nigerians due to the postponement of the Saturday presidential election, urged them not to be discouraged by the postponement.

    “In spite of last week’s disappointment, I urge all Nigerians to come out and vote for the candidate of their choice, keeping in mind our desire to build a democratic and economically viable nation that will be respected amongst the league of democratic nations.

    Abubakar said that the feedback from his supporters throughout the country from the nationwide campaign confirmed their desire and willingness to entrust their destiny to PDP as a viable alternative to their hopelessness.

    He re-emphasised his commitment to peaceful election.

    The National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, said his hope was that the NEC meeting would be an electoral victory celebration; but such celebration had been postponed for a week.

    Secondus said that nevertheless, PDP victory was delayed, it could not be denied.

    He stressed the need for non-deployment of military or paramilitary units to electoral duties as election was a civil activity, that the civilian police was best train to handle.

    Read also: Keyamo, Melaye clash over Buhari’s ballot snatching statement

    He also called for the closure of the national borders with the Republics of Chad and Niger, in particular.

    The Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki, said that the PDP was against election rigging.

    “We sign strongly that the law should be apply on anybody that carry out election rigging. We must operate as country with the rule of law and democracy.’’

    Saraki commended all PDP members across the country for making the party campaign successful, despite the limited resources and harassment.

    “I thank all Nigerians from the six geopolitical zones for the way PDP and its candidates, Abubakar was accepted.

    “By God’s grace election will hold and we will win, because we represent the interest of Nigerians. Like they say, when your time has come, it has come and no one can change it. Abubakar your time has come.’’

    The Chairman, PDP Board of Trustee, Sen. Walid Jubril, advised Nigerians to go back to their constituencies and vote for Atiku on the new day for the elections.

    The Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, described the postponement of the election as the worst embarrassment Nigerians could ever suffer in the international community.

    He, however, said that the postponement waste last sign that the PDP would be victorious in the Saturday presidential election.(NAN)

  • Atiku practically confirmed PDP is working with INEC, says Oshiomhole

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has said that the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has practically vindicated the APC claim that the opposition was working with some officials of Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) to compromise the Presidential election.

    Oshiomhole who addressed newsmen on Tuesday evening said it is clear that the only mission of the PDP candidate is creating confusion in the electoral system so that he will become President even it means presiding over graves.

    He said only those who want to deploy thugs to undermine the elections will oppose or find fault with the statement of the President aimed at discouraging thuggery during the election.

    Oshiomhole said the attention of the international community at the moment is that elections across the world should be violent free and assured that the forthcoming elections will be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere.

    He sais “It is only those who believe in thuggery that will find fault with the President’s directive. Is there anyone that would want to vote for thuggery? Is there any thug that is not armed. You cannot snatch ballot box without the aid of firearms. So, when the International community is talking about violence-free election, they are saying the election should be free of thuggery.

    “You can see that the PDP is not at home with that because they imported thuggery, institutionalized it and have always fallen back on it as an instrument of rigging and to dominate the electorates. So, we debunk any attempt by Atiku to change the essence of the President’s statement.

    ” I believe the president spoke the kind of the average Nigerian who wants to go and vote and come home in peace without fear of being attacked. You know that thuggery is synonymous with violence and the world is unanimous that violence should be removed from election. Atiku’s rejection exposes PDP for what they are. Their plans is to deploy thugs so that the election will be impossible or reduce voter turn out.

    “To say that the APC Imported card readers is laughable and that the card readers have been deployed to the south south and southeast. The implication of this is, assuming it is true without conceding, it means that Atiku is working hand in hand with the ICT unit in INEC to know the kind of machines that are deployed to where.

    “Recognizing that INEC is Independent, we are not able to know the kind of card readers INEC is deploying or where they were imported from. But if Atiku has all of these details, it can only mean that he is working hand in hand with people within INEC to know where machines are imported from and the fact that card readers can be programmed otherwise.

    “We are not like a stammers who look for a fight because they cannot win an argument. We believe that the electorates are ready to vote for us and we want those votes to take place in a free and fair atmosphere.

    “I think that Nigerians should be United when it comes to the issue of a free and fair election. Our candidates also have the responsibility for peace and security of Nigerians. He has the duty to ensure that the life of the Nigerian electorate is protected as well as those of the observers. That is the responsibility of the commander in Chief.

    “So, if Atiku finds fault in this, if anybody is pro thuggery, we are against thuggery and we are against violence. The International community should properly decode Atiku’s statement sling the president to withdraw his threat not against the electorates, but against would be thugs or merchants of violence.

    “As far as I am concern, Atiku knows that he can’t win. In 2003 elections, he lost his base in Adamawa. He is on record to have procured a Senatorial seat for Prof. Jibrin Aminu. If he wants to go to court, I will meet him there and I will produce the first INEC documented report that announced the winners of those Senatorial seats.

    “He also went on to rig the governorship election that was won by Hashidu in Gombe state. So, with Atiku as a leading player, Atiku has lost the election in Adamawa State and so, the fear of defeat is already down on him.

    “We are ready for the elections and by the grace of God, Nigerians will vote for us and Atiku will remain a permanent presidential candidate which Nigerians never had.”

    He said further that “This afternoon, we monitored the statement by the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the PDP national chairman, Uche Secondus in which they tried to distort the message which of the President who reassured Nigerians that he has given appropriate directive to security agents to ensure that Saturday election is free and fair.

    “from the response of the PDP Candidate, it is clear that they have already conceded defeat. First, he claimed that he has two strongholds which he identified as south south and southeast. That is not true because I come from the south south and we are not voting Atiku. We have since dismantled the PDP machine in Edo state and Edo is the heartbeat of the Nation.

    “Even If you take the statement in its face value, if Atiku concedes that out of six geopolitical zones, he has support, not in his own zone, but south south and southeast, the voting population in these two zones are jot enough to deliver the presidency to any candidate in Nigeria.

    “Every peace loving Nigerian and those who wish Nigeria well are speaking one common language of free, fair and violent free election. What the President said and we are proud that he has the courage to say it that he has asked security agents to create an enabling environment for Nigerians to out and vote without fear that thugs will attack them and that security agents are going to put thugs in check. No peace loving Nigerian can find fault with that.

    “I think it does expose PDP for what they are. Atiku as Vice President to Obasanjo was there in 2003 when people were killed by thugs. In my election in 2007, three young men were shut down by PDP thugs at Oba Primary school. So, no responsible candidate will find fault with any pronouncement that tends to discourage thuggery in the coming elections.

    “So, for a man who is aspiring to preside over Nigeria to seek protection for thuggery is uncalled for. He has already said he will grant amnesty to looters. I don’t think Nigerians have any basis to doubt that Atiku’s mission is to set Nigeria on fire so that he can become President, even If he will preside over a graveyard.

    “By the special grace of God, this election will come and pass, Nigerians will vote, no one will be harmed, no one will be intimidated. We believe that the President was right to say that anyone who resorts to violence will be dealt with.”

  • PDP to military: don’t obey order on ballot box snatching

    The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and PDP national chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, have urged the military and other security agencies not to obey the presidential order asking them to deal ruthlessly with would-be ballot box snatchers.

    The party chieftains described the order as unlawful, insisting that there are enough provisions in the nation’s laws for the arrest and prosecution of ballot box snatching and other electoral offences.

    Speaking at a national caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja on Monday, President Buhari had said: “Anybody who decides to snatch boxes or lead thugs to disturb the election, may be that would be the last unlawful action you would take.

    “I have given the military and police the order to be ruthless. I am going to warn anybody who thinks he would lead a body of thugs in his locality to snatch boxes or to disturb the voting system; he would do it at the expense of his/her own life”.

    But speaking Wednesday in Abuja, at the 84th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the PDP, the two opposition chieftains cautioned President Buhari not to let loose anarchy in the country during the upcoming elections.

    Atiku said it’s shocking for any head of state to utter such words in a democracy and that Nigerians should not accept it from President Buhari, adding “We have fought more ruthless dictators than himself”.

    According to him, Buhari’s actions and utterances since he mounted the saddle in 2015 have been painful reminders of the era of military dictatorship.

    “General Buhari has consistently violated the constitution; he failed to uphold the rule of law. Recent instances include the unconstitutional suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria a day before he was supposed to inaugurate the committee for the election tribunals that will decided any appeals or whether our elections were subject to manipulation, thereby crossing the immutable line that divides the executive from the judiciary.

    “When you people are talking about democracy, I have always said that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is not a democrat, he has never been a democrat. We started the fight to drive the military, he was never there, he never participated.

    “You can see that he just wore the garb of democracy so that he can come back to power and do whatever he is doing. So Gen Buhari is not a democrat, he doesn’t believe in democracy, he is a lip service, he is more of a power monger than a democrat.

    “A precondition for free, fair and credible election is that the people are able to freely vote the candidate of their choice. You owe it to the people to let them give their verdict in the same way that you were elected. If you do so and if you win, then the people will commend you for it. Otherwise, history will condemn you for it. But before history does that, we will condemn you for it,” Atiku added.

    Secondus said Nigerians were still in shock as a result of the order, stressing that the same President who has been “off duty” since the needless bloodletting in various parts of the country over the years, could give what amounted to shoot-on-sight orders against ballot snatching.

    Secondus said, “By that directive, ordering soldiers to kill our citizens without recourse to the law and with impunity, the President has unwittingly given license to APC leaders to carry military personnel on Saturday.

    “The agenda of that directive is clear; to scare away voters and agents, that we have directed to defend their votes, so as to give way to a military protected political thugs to come into the polling booths, and implement their result replacement strategy.

    “The President’s body language alongside that of his party hierarchy appeared remorseless for the damage done to our democracy or the huge private and public resources wasted by the inability of APC hawks acting as contractors and consultants to allow INEC to operate.

    “I can indeed make the conclusion, that from inception, President Buhari, was not ready for free and fair elections, otherwise he would easily have signed the amended Electoral Act, which would have enabled peaceful and hitch free elections in 2019.

    “President Buhari’s disregard for institutions of states, which started with the attempt of the Executive to hijack the Legislature, has continued unabated, with the illegal suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen, and the swearing in of an acting CJN”.

    The party chair insisted on non-deployment of military or paramilitary units to electoral duties, as, according to him, elections are civil activities, which the police are best trained to handle.

    He also sought assurances from the Federal Government that all communication assets – fixed and mobile, including the Internet, will not be interrupted or compromised during the elections.

    The party chair similarly urged adherence to steps taken by the government to safeguard the conduct of the elections, including restriction of movements and closure of the nation’s borders with the Republics of Chad and Niger.

    The meeting, which lasted several hours, was attended by key party stakeholders, including governors, federal lawmakers, former cabinet Ministers and members of the Board of Trustees.

  • ‘Poll shift won’t save Buhari from defeat’

    A member of People’s Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council (PDPPCO) Prince Tim Ogwuru has declared the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly polls would not save President Muhammadu Buhari from defeat.

    He explained that majority of Nigerians have rejected Buhari and his party and would be ready to vote them out on February 23 and March 9.

    He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure credible elections.

    In an interview with our correspondent, Ogwuru stated the Buhari administration has nothing more to offer Nigerians after it has brought Nigeria to ground zero in four years.

    He said it will be suicidal for Nigerians to reelect Buhari.

    The PDP chieftain stated: “Buhari’s days in office are numbered and if I am to advise him, he should quietly do the decent thing and not continue with the process of him getting a second term.

    Read Also: Ballot box snatchers will pay with their lives – Buhari

    “In any case, if he ready to be humiliated out of office through the ballot box, the choice remains his and his alone.

    “The postponement of the election won’t save him and his party, APC, from electoral demise. Nigerians are yearning for genuine and credible Barton change.

    “Buhari has brought pains, frustration and suffering of a monumental proportion Nigerians.

    “The avalanche of electoral rejection from Nigerians electorate is now unstoppable. Buhari has nothing to show for the period he has been in power.”

    He added: “Nothing to show for the period he has been in power except selective anti-graft war and appointments to from one section of the country.

    “I speak for most and majority of Nigerians when I say he has nothing more to offer and, in any case he cannot offer what he doesn’t have.”

    He insisted presidential candidate of the PDP Atiku Abubakar has the capacity to turn Nigeria around through purposeful leadership that would place the country on the fast lane of development.

  • The ‘vote’ I couldn’t cast

    Last week I was unavoidably missing in action, as I would have loved to add my voice to the number of those rooting for the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari. One of the salient points I would have loved to make last week was that yes, the president may not have performed to expectations, definitely the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and particularly its candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is not the alternative. I have said it several times, that President Buhari made some mistakes, especially at the beginning of his administration. He wasted so much time in constituting his cabinet. He played so much to the ethnic gallery in a way that people could not but notice. He seemed to have treated killer herdsmen with kid gloves although we hardly hear of them again now. His handling of the economy might not have been excellent, and all that. But, one would be unfair to the Buhari government if one does not put certain facts in perspective.

    Perhaps this Vanguard report would open our eyes and understanding to the country’s revenue realities from 1958 when we started producing crude oil in commercial quantities. “Between 1958 and 1966, Nigeria earned N140 million from crude oil; 1967 to 1975, the General Yakubu Gowon got about N11.03 billion; while the late General Murtala Muhammed/ Olusegun Obasanjo military regime scooped about N25 billion from 1975-1979.

    In like manner, the civilian administration of President Shehu Shagari earned N36 billion oil money; Buhari, in his first coming as military head of state (1984-85), earned about N25 billion; General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, 1985 to 1993, N420 billion; the Ernest Shonekan/Abacha regime (1993-1998), N1.6 trillion; and General Abdulsalami Abubakar regime (1998-1999), N350 billion.

    With the return to civil rule, Nigeria, under President Obasanjo realised about N27 trillion from crude oil between May 1999 and May 2007. His successor, Umaru Yar’ Adua, reaped about N9 trillion in his almost three-year rule before he passed on.

    The luckiest of the leaders is former President Goodluck Jonathan, whose administration in five years, between 2010 and 2015, earned about N51trillion from petroleum resources. Since he came to power on May 29, 2015, the President Buhari administration has been able to earn just   about N6 trillion from crude.” That was as at 2016, though. In 2017, the country made N7.13trillion and realised N7.93trillion between January and July 2018.

    At a glance, those pilloring the Buhari administration over the economy can see that the Jonathan administration made the highest revenue from crude oil, with an average of N10trillion per year. But what did Nigerians get from it? Is it not sad that the same people who put us in economic doldrums are now accusing Buhari of non-performance, barely 42 months after they left the country in ruins? Who does not know it is easier to destroy than it is to fix? In saner climes, many of these people who put us in the mess would be languishing in jail by now. But here, they are not only contended with being free to walk our streets, they want to return to power to continue the bad work they were doing before they were sacked, no thanks to some of our senior advocates and their corrupt accomplices in the bench who made this possible.

    It is only  in our kind of country that  Atiku will not only have the audacityto contest for the highest office in the land, but would even be the top challenger to the incumbent. If they say it is an animal with horn that will hit and kill someone, it is not the kind of horn on the snail’s head that we are talking about. Atiku has not hidden his intention: he would make his friends happy and one could infer from this that the friends are going to be the beneficiaries of the sale of our Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other public assets his government may put up for sale if he wins the election. It is the same people who killed public universities in the country now either sending their own children to schools abroad or building private ones in which they charge outrageous fees. They killed our hospitals so they could seize every opportunity to go abroad, ostensibly for common medical check-ups.

    Indeed, it would not be out of place to insinuate that those who killed our educational system did so deliberately. And that is why some Nigerians can be this forgetful that the stone we resoundingly rejected barely four years ago is now the one trying to position itself as the corner piece of governance that this country requires at this point in time. By killing our educational system, and either sending their own children to choice schools abroad, or to the local private universities with extraordinary fees only a few elite can afford, they have limited knowledge to only those who can afford it. Even the Holy Bible says that people perish for lack of knowledge.

    With due respect to those who might be thinking of a return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fiasco so soon, I respect their opinion; but I think they can only be having such dream due to lack knowledge. Even if they are doing so for pecuniary gains, it still boils down to the same reason. Perhaps I would not grudge them if they are opting for something entirely different or refreshing if they believe neither Buhari nor Atiku fits the bill. But to be considering an Atiku presidency after Buhari’s is to see Majek Fashek’s “I and I experience” coming after his “Send down the rain” as an experience. “I and I experience definitely cannot be an experience after “Send down the rain”.

    If voting for Buhari in 2015 was a mistake, then, given all available facts, and considering the circumstances, that is a mistake one would gladly love to repeat. If I failed that exam then, I would gladly want to repeat that class. If only to ensure that our treasury no longer leaks the way it did in the Jonathan era; that was something one cannot quantify in monetary terms. Atiku, Senate President Bukola Saraki, and even former President Olusegun Obasanjo and their fellow travellers know deep down their hearts that their campaign to wrest the presidency from Buhari is not fired by any patriotic instincts. Rather, it is all about them.

    It is all about how they can continue to primitively acquire the country’s common patrimony for themselves, their friends and their yet-to-be-born generations. I have heard some of them saying that the kind of stealing in high places even under the Buhari dispensation is huge; some even went as far as saying that more money had been stolen in Buhari’s years than in the Jonathan era. How can this be possible? Do you steal money that is not there? How could it have been possible for people to steal more in a Buhari era that made far less money than Jonathan? But people can make all manner of claims in a country with an undiscerning audience. Where education had been liberalised and not made an exclusive preserve of the rich as in Nigeria, such claim would have been subjected to more critical reasoning.

    Are we going to say that we are not noticing improvements in power supply? Yet, it was in this country that a government spent $16billion on power that we did not see. There a a few other things here and there that space would not allow me to list.

    This, in essence was the vote I could not cast last week, for unavoidable reasons. These were some of the points I had intended to remind us about as we prepared for the presidential election which held yesterday. I would have loved to tell us that we need to first reprimand the thief before telling the owner that where he kept his property was not safe enough. Well, this campaign after election might be of no value for this year’s presidential election, but it is still useful for subsequent elections, particularly the governorship election. Many states in the country are not doing well not only due to the economic downturn that hit the country at the tail end of the Jonathan years but also due to corruption, mismanagement and inability of the chief executives to think out of the box. Everybody looks on to Abuja for the monthly handout. The day this dries, they will be forced to resort to their creative abilities to solve the problems bedevelling their states.

    I cannot stick out my neck for most of the state governments (even in the south west) the way I am doing for the Buhari administration. One of the states that I would have been interested in is Ekiti, but they are not conducting any governorship election there this year. Lagosians will do well to vote Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the APC governorship candidate to continue to enjoy the dividend of democracy via the developmental process started about 20 years ago. It can only get better.

    All said, however, President Buhari has to change his style, if reelected. His main luck this time around is the absence of a more credible alternative. But the APC may not be that lucky next time.