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Tag: BUHARI

  • Missing $20b: Buhari demands release of audit report

    Missing $20b: Buhari demands release of audit report

    All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has demanded the relaese of the forensic audit on the missing $20 billion oil cash.

    Gen. Buhari, in a statement yesterday, said the report must be released “in the spirit of the war against corruption”.

    The APC presidential standard bearer accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of “digging graves in search of rumours” to confuse the voters.

    The statement, signed by the Director of Communication of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Mr. Dele Alake, reads: “There is a clear linkage between the billions of naira lost to corruption and the poor living conditions of our people: it is the resources meant for the  development of our people that are diverted to service the greed of a few. It is the fear of the unknown in a country where both family and government social welfare have collapsed that fuels the avarice of those in offices to steal for generations unborn.

    It is indeed true that, by sheer force of personal examples, I and my running mate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, have demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that it is possible to live above the greed that dominates the system.

    “I believe our spiritual anchors as men who fear The Almighty and are resolved to live our lives according to His admonitions have played very critical roles in developing our capacity to lead. As Christians go and return from churches, as Muslims and men of other faiths observe their spiritual obligations, we believe our individual commitments to serve our Creator will inspire us to shun corruption.

    “We say this fully conscious of the need to strengthen these spiritual values by creating a system that cares for the poor and the downtrodden; a system that gives jobs to the unemployed; provides electricity so that the artisans and the middle class can be productive and expands infrastructure to enable the corporate sector reduce cost of operations.

    “The details of the roadmap to prosperity has been powerfully articulated in the manifesto of our party, the All Progressives Congress. We have signed this manifesto to commit ourselves to faithfully execute it as our contract with the people of Nigeria.

    “Let us reiterate that we have already declared war against corruption, resolved to achieve food security, provide accelerated power supply, integrate the country’s transport network, promote free education and provide affordable health care service.

    “What we bring to the table is not just these ideas. What we offer Nigerians is that we shall, day and night, 24 hours per day, seven days a week, stake our intergrity as men of discipline and transparency to make life better for the average Nigerian by executing these policies in the shortest possible time.

    “What we bring to the table is an unblemished record of patriotism to our country and an enviable standard of hardwork and fulfillment of pledges that we have not seen in the handling of our national affairs in the last few years.

    “In the spirit of the war against corruption, we demand the release of the Audit Report of the Missing 20 billion dollars.

    “Clearly unable to oppose us with an equally clean and unassailable ticket, we can understand why our opponents are running from pillar to post, digging graves in search of rumours in the impossible hope of misinforming unsuspecting voters and spinning a web of blackmail and deceit.

    “In this electoral contest of vision and moral stature, only the guilty needs to be afraid. Luckily, our lives are like the open book. We challenge our opponents to stake their desire to lead Nigeria again on what they have achieved with the billions of resources they received. This is not the time for distractions and red herrings. Nigerians are the ultimate judge of stewardship. They will deliver their verdict, loud and clear to the world on February 14, 2015.”

    Speaking at a media parley at the weekend, Osinbajo said his party would return the country to the path of progress, if elected next February.

    The professor of Law said the APC would not treat the issue of governance with levity and that its leaders will take responsibility and not offer excuses to Nigerians as it is being done today.

    According to him, what Nigerians expect from the government is solution to problems and not explanations on why the economy is bad, why they cannot get protection from terror attacks and why commercial kidnapping rages on in some parts of the country.

    Osinbajo bared his mind in Lagos at an interactive parley with the media. He said the APC was on a rescue mission as it has drawn up a blueprint on how to revamp the economy and give Nigerians hope.

    He blamed the dwindling fortune of Nigerians on the mismanagement of the people’s commonwealth by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which he said had run out of ideas on how to get the country on the right track.

    Osinbajo also defended Gen. Buhari on his role in the enforcement of a retroactive Decree and the romance with the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) in his days as military Head of State.

    He described as a wrong notion to link his emergence as Gen. Buhari’s running mate to an imposition by the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    According to the eminent lawyer, he emerged after two attempts to arrive at a consensus running mate collapsed.

    He told his audience that he was picked by Gen. Buhari and the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, with approval of the party’s leadership.

    Osinbajo said the problems of the land would have been more than 50 per cent solved with Gen Buhari in the saddle as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

    His words: “It’s going to be the first time that Nigerians will see the Commander-in-Chief as somebody who will not condone indiscipline and corruption.

    “Whatever anybody says about the former Head of State, there is no controversy that he is widely respected for his anti-corruption posture and his penchance for discipline.

    “I think what is important is leadership. As it is today, the leadership is unsure of itself. The leadership is uncertain. The Commander-in-Chief must take responsibility for everything. It is not good enough for the Commander-in-Chief to say my enemy did this, my enemy did that.”

    On how the APC plans to make a difference in government, Osinbajo said the mismanagement of resources and not lack had been the bane of the country, even as he disagreed that the size of government was weighing the economy down.

    “The size of government is not accountable for corruption. What is responsible is stealing and mismanagement of public funds,” Osinbajo said, pointing out that the APC will break away from the routine way of running government, which he alleged has never produced the desired result.

    He said a Gen. Buhari administration, if elected, will implement to the letter the APC manifesto as contained in the party’s “Roadmap to a New Nigeria” blueprint.

    The APC running mate listed the contents to include: provision of immediate relief, jobs, quality education, affordable housing, qualitative healthcare services and social welfare for the less advantaged and the aged.

    Osinbajo said the APC will accord security of lives and properties priority, adding that the dearth of equipment in the military and inadequate kitting of the security outfits was unacceptable after the government’s claim that it has invested trillions of naira in security.

    He said the Federal Government got it wrong from the scratch by accusing the opposition of being the promoters of terrorism even without first investigating.

    According to him, it will be difficult for any government to win the war against terror without radically addressing unemployment, adding that the devil will always find work for every idle hand.

    Osinbajo urged Nigerians to stop seeing Gen. Buhari in a military garb but as a law-abiding Nigerian, whose action will be guided by the rule of law, pointing out that there are marked differences between the military and democratic dispensations.

    Osinbajo reminded that it took extra-judicial killings of some former Ghanaian leaders by the then President Jerry Rawlings to return the West African nation to the path of greatness.

    He said being on the same ticket with the retired General to serve the country has not in any way compromised his faith as a pastor, his calling as a teacher and his stand as a lawyer.

    His words: “As a pastor, I preach in my church on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. And my message is on grace. Even David, an adulterer and murderer received grace from God and he was forgiven.

    “That Gen. Buhari made mistake, in the heady days of the military does not mean he is not capable of doing good in a democratic dispensation. Even as a military Head of State, Gen. Buhari stood for discipline and against corruption. These are attributes nobody can take away from him.”

    Osinbajo noted that the impunity under the PDP government was unacceptable.

    He cited the attack on two High Court judges in Ado-Ekiti by supporters of then PDP governor-elect, the refusal to reinstate the former President of the Appeal Court, Justice Ayo Salami, despite court rulings, and the unilateral stripping of House of Representatives Speaker, Aminul Tambuwal of his privileges as the number three citizen by Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Suleiman Abba, as some of the impunities under the present democratic dispensation.

    “Nigeria cannot continue like this. It is unacceptable,” Osinbajo said.

  • ‘Only Buhari can fix Nigeria’

    ‘Only Buhari can fix Nigeria’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has been identified as a leader who has the experience, courage and character to fix Nigeria.

    The Ekiti State Coordinator of the Buhari Support Organisation, Mr. Babatope Adebulejo, in a statement yesterday, urged Nigerians to vote for the APC presidential flagbearer to save the country from collapse.

    He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government has allegedly bastardised governance and impoverish majority of Nigerians.

    Adebulejo said Buhari, during his first stint in power as Military Head of State, tackled corruption and instituted discipline in Nigerian public life.

    The group said the APC presidential candidate has the moral fibre to tackle corruption and cleanse the mess in political, economic and social aspects of the Nigerian society.

    He warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to succumb to temptation to next year’s general elections, declaring the readiness of the Nigerian electorate to resist subversion of their electoral will.

  • Aregebsola: Buhari ‘s up to task

    Aregebsola: Buhari ‘s up to task

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential election will stop the drift to economic chaos, if elected in next year’s election.

    He said the former Head of State had sanitised the country in 1983, when sacked the conservative National Party of Nigeria (NPN), which had brought the country to her knees.

    Aregbesola recaled that the economy and social welfare had been completely destroyed between 1979 to 1983 before the military intervention, adding that Buhari restored hope to Nigerians.

    Noting that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cripled the economy, he said the time is ripe for change.

    He however, noted the difference in the Buhari of 2014 ,who is a civilian and a democrat, and the Buhari of 1983, who was a soldier. Aregbesola spoke during  a meeting with labour leaders in Osogbo, the state capital.

    The governor said the first step towards salvaging Nigeria is to vote out the PDP, stressing that the  party has wrecked havoc on the polity.  He said it is worrisome that the masses wallow in poverty and misery in the midst of abundant resources.

    Aregbesola said in a statement by the Director Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Semiu Okanlawon, that workers have a role to play in the national quest for political change at the centre.

    He said: “In 1983, it was Buhari that God sent to rescue the situation of Nigerians. The conservative elements had brought Nigeria to a rot. Buhari has come again to lead us out of the quagmire and sweep away all the anti-democratic and anti-development elements, who have brought Nigeria to this deplorable state.

    “The governor added: “The PDP and its wicked allies have been known over the decades for misery. If you have them around you for whatever reason, you would realise that they represent nothing other than misery. They represent the best of wickedness, misery and misfortune. Only the misguided would claim to belong to the PDP in Nigeria.”

    Aregbesola said the ruling party should take the blame for the various crises bedeviling the country, adding that, despite selling the  crude oil above $100 for more than three years, there is nothing on ground to show for it.  must be asked what it has done with the huge resources that accrued to it.

    He said: “The responsibility for the economic tragedy that we are witnessing in Nigeria today rests permanently and absolutely on the PDP and its government at the federal level. There is no way that the party and its government can be excused. As a first step to salvage our nation, we must vote out the PDP.

    “How can we explain that oil sold for more than three years above 100 dollars level and yet, we are faced with this calamity without any redemption in sight? How can we explain it?”

    Aregbesola expressed confidence in the capacity of the Osun people to make the best choice. He said: “Our people can distinguish between the selfish and the selfless.Those who voted for me in the August 9 election in Osun have another assignment on their hands. If you voted for me and you don’t vote for Buhari and our representatives in the next elections, you have missed it.

    “Don’t fight. Don’t carry cutlasses, guns or any other thing. Just go to the polling booths on that day and vote for our party. That is the power we all have to rescue ourselves from these elements.

    “If we love ourselves, our towns and our country, we must all promote Buhari and campaign for him vigorously.”

     

     

  • Presidency: Jonathan, Buhari get nine rivals

    Presidency: Jonathan, Buhari get nine rivals

    Ten candidates will be slugging it out in the February 14, 2015 presidential election, and that is official.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last night released the list of the candidates and they include President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a woman- Prof. Comfort Oluremi Sonaiya of Kowa Party.

    The rest are: Ambrose Albert( Hope Democratic Party); Ganiyu Galadima( Allied Congress Party of Nigeria); Rafiu Salau ( Alliance for Democracy); Godson Okoye (United Democratic Party); Dr. Nani Ibrahim Ahmad (African Democratic Congress); Martin Onovo (National Conscience Party); Tunde Anifowoshe-Kelani (Action Alliance); and Chekwas Okorie (United Progressive Party).

    Their  running mates are: Vice-President Namadi Sambo (PDP); Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (APC); Haruna Shaba (Hope Democratic Party); Balarabe Ahmed (ACPN); Prof. Clinton Cliff Akuchie (AD); Haruna Adamu (United Democratic Party); Obianuju Murphy-Uzohue (African Democratic Congress); Ibrahim Mohammed(NCP); Saidu Bobboi (Kowa Party); Comrade Paul Ishaka Ofomile (Action Alliance); and Bello Umar( United Progressive Party).

    The submission of the names to INEC closed on December 25 and Nigerians have seven days to raise any objection on the particulars of the candidates.

    The list of candidates and their credentials were pasted on a container kiosk at the FCT office of INEC in Abuja for claims and objections.

    This is in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

    INEC also said the grounds for qualification are as specified in Sections 65′ 106, 131 and 177 of the 1999 Constitution.

    The Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Robert Idowu, said: “We have complied with the law; we have published the list of all the presidential candidates in all the states of the Federation. For other elective offices, the lists will be published in their constituencies and senatorial districts as applicable.”

    The electoral agency said Nigerians are free to screen the particulars and raise issues if they think any candidate should be disqualified.

    INEC said: “The personal particulars are displayed in all the state and local government offices of the commission in the constituencies of the candidates.

    “Any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by any candidate is false or that the candidate is not qualified or is disqualified from contesting the elections should notify the commission in writing within seven days of this publication.”

    Eleven  conditions under  which any of the presidential candidates or other candidates can be disqualified are:” While a person is disqualified if he or she (i) has declared allegiance to another country; (ii) has been elected to the office of President or Governor at any two previous elections; (iii) adjudged to be a lunatic or declared to be of unsound mind; (iv) is under a sentence of death or is under a sentence of imprisonment or fine for an offence involving dishonesty or fraud (v) has in the last 10 years been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty (vi) has been found guilty of a contravention of the code of conduct; (vii) is an undischarged bankrupt; (viii) is employed in the public service and does not resign, withdraw or retire at least 30 days to the election; (ix) is a member of a secret society; (x) has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by a Judicial Committee of Inquiry or an Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Tribunal and which indictment has been accepted by the Federal or State Government; (xi) has presented a forged certificate to INEC”

    Meanwhile, there were strong indications yesterday that President Goodluck Jonathan has started reaching out to top Emirs and leaders in the North to counter the influence of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

    A reliable source said: “The battle between Jonathan and Buhari has really shifted to the North.

    Jonathan is engaging in covert consultations with some prominent Emirs and leaders on why he should be given second term in office.

    “The President, Vice-President Namadi Sambo, PDP governors, and leaders will be embarking on manoeuvring shuttles to some of these key Northern leaders for support.

    “They are desperate to take the battle to Buhari’s stronghold.”

     

     

     

  • Buhari will end Boko Haram insurgency, says Okorocha

    Buhari will end Boko Haram insurgency, says Okorocha

    Imo State Governor , Rochas Okorocha has assured Nigerians that the all Progressive Congress ( APC ) Presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, will stop the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northern parts of the country if elected.

    Okorocha who lost to Buhari in the keenly contested APC presidential primary election, stated that the former Head of State has the capacity, more than any other Nigerian to tackle the current insecurity ravaging the country.

    Speaking with newsmen at the Government House, Okorocha recalled that Buhari as the then Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to President Shehu Shagari, effectively tackled the Maitasine riot which he said can be compared with the Boko Haram sect.

    According to him, “there is no doubt that Buhari as President will put an end to Boko Haram and other security challenges confronting the country, which the present administration has failed to tackle. During the Maitasine crisis in Kano, it was Buhari who resolved the crisis and it was as deadly as the Boko Haram.

    Okorocha however described Buhari’s Presidency as an interventionist administration that will hand over power to the Southeast after doing just one term.

    ” Buhari’s administration is going to be an interventionist government because I don’t see him doing a second term. After solving the country’s security and other challenges and putting it back on track, he will hand over power to the Southeast in 2019,” Okorocha stated.

  • 2015: Jonathan, Buhari woo Nigerians at ‘Xmas

    2015: Jonathan, Buhari woo Nigerians at ‘Xmas

    Politics has found some space in this season of goodwill, with leading actors promising better days and credible polls.

    President Goodluck Jonathan’s Christmas message released yesterday dwelt on the need for free and fair elections – exactly what his opponents are demanding.

    All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the February election Gen. Muhammadu Buhari promised Nigerians a better Christmas next year, saying he would tackle insecurity and revive the economy.

    President Jonathan said he would support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deliver free, fair and credible elections next year.

    Besides, he said, the security agencies will be backed to ensure peaceful and violence-free election towards strenghtening democracy.

    He said: “Dear compatriots, we are also celebrating this Christmas against the background of preparations for next year’s general elections. I seize this opportunity to reassure the nation that my administration will give the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) all necessary support to ensure that it delivers very free, fair, credible and acceptable elections in 2015.”

    “National security agencies will also be given all necessary support to enhance their ability to ensure that the elections which should strengthen democracy in our country are peaceful and violence free.” he said

    He urged the political class to be law- abiding and place the greater interests of Nigeria above all personal or sectional interests in the countdown to the elections.

    “Let us all be more statesman-like, conduct issues-based campaigns, and eschew the promotion of falsehood, division and hatred of others as we seek the votes of our countrymen in what should be a peaceful competition among contending points of view for the progress and development of our dear nation.”

    “I remain convinced that God Almighty is still  with us as a nation, even in the midst of our current challenges, which we shall surely overcome with greater unity of purpose, dedication, commitment and perseverance,” he added

    The President told Christians and non-Christians to reflect more deeply on the virtues and ideals which the Messiah, Jesus Christ, espoused during his earthly mission.

    This, he said, will go a long way to assist the nation to overcome most of its challenges.

    He said: “To my mind, there can be no doubt that the greater internalisation of the virtues of love for our fellowmen, tolerance, Godliness, honesty, fairness to others, selflessness, and peaceful co-existence with others, by all adult Nigerians, and the inculcation of the same in our youth,  will definitely help our dear nation to overcome most of its present challenges.”

    “Peace and love for others, especially, were a constant refrain in the Messiah’s teachings and admonitions to mankind. Therefore, as we celebrate his birth, I urge all Nigerians to offer special prayers for a greater manifestation of divine peace in our country and the vanquishing of all demons of hatred, divisiveness and disunity in our midst,” Jonathan said

    Jonathan also urged Nigerians to remember and pray for all the men, women and children who have suffered untold hardship, deprivation and death at the hands of terrorists and insurgents.

    He also urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the soldiers and security agents who are at the forefront of the national effort to overcome terrorism and violent extremism in the country.

    He said: “In this season of goodwill, I urge all patriotic Nigerians to rededicate themselves to doing all within their powers to support the brave men and women of our armed forces in the ongoing war against terrorism, and also support the Federal Government’s efforts to provide more succour to the hapless victims of terrorist atrocities.”

    “The Victims’ Support Fund, which we have established to raise additional funds to assist our compatriots who have been adversely affected by continuing insecurity in parts of our country, remains active.”

    Jonathan urged all individuals and corporate organisations who have not donated to the Fund to do so.

    Gen. Buhari, in a statement by his campaign’s Communication Director, Mr. Dele Alake, spoke of a review of military strategy to fight Boko Haram, the sect whose insurgency has claimed thousands of lives.

    “On my part, I intend to initiate consultations with serving generals and those who have served our country and distinguished themselves on the battlefield across the world to work out an alternative and effective strategy to crush this insurgency within the shortest possible time.

    “Christmas is a season when we all embark on journeys to join our brothers and sisters in our native towns, to hold town hall meetings, commission community projects and exercise our cultural rights.

    “But we know the roads through which we shall commute are challenged by years of neglect. Nigerians travelling East will encounter the failed promises of the Second Niger Bridge; those travelling west will bear the long queues on the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway.

    “We promise that, by Christmas 2015, our administration would have brought our efficiency in management and allocation of public resources to make the inter-state roads smoother and easier to ride.

    “We know that millions of Nigerians celebrate this season in poverty and misery, not because they have committed any grievous sin, but because the system of production and distribution of national resources have been rigged against the vast majority of our people. In a nation where a few individuals could raise 21 billion naira  because they want to make their friend president, millions of citizens, who truly own the resources being accumulated by a few, are left to suffer in sorrow, tears and blood.

    “I have said that I live the life of a pensioner. I share the burden and anxiety of majority of our poor, powerless people. I have offered myself on the platform of All Progressives Congress, the party of change, because I desire to give back to a country that clothed, fed and trained me to be what I am today.

    “Our people are poor. But our country is rich.My duty as your president will be to make the condition of living of the common man the index for the assessment of our policies, not the amount of billionaires our administration would have made.

    “Certainly, there will be changes in policies. We cannot continue to enslave our country to those who tell us that we are in economic crises because of loans.

    “Ours is the most populous black nation on earth. A potential global superpower. Our manifest destiny is to empower our people so that we can take our prominent place in the comity of nations.

    “I pledge that the Christmas of year 2015 will meet us all in greater joy and happiness. It is indeed significant, the February 14, 2015, the date of the presidential election, falls on the Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate love among mankind.

    “I urge you all to keep sharing the love that binds us together. Let us eschew hatred and make our nation the land of justice, peace and progress.”

  • Jonathan, Buhari, the Rich and the poor (2)

    Next Years presidential and other elections promise to be Nigeria’s hottest by any standard evaluation. For at no time has the opposition to the establishment been as formidable and nation-wide as it is today. The outcome should affect all of us not only in our pockets but in our health as well. Last week, this column saw the line-up as between the powerful and rich, that is the establishment, and an opposition fuelled by progressive or left-wing of the establishment and the motley crowd of largely poor people. Last week, column suggested as well that retired General Mohammadu Buhari, leading the opposition with no more than N1 million in his bank account and only two houses to his name in Nigeria, could defeat President Ebele Jonathan if the poor of Nigeria stand solidly behind him like the Rock of Gibraltar, immune to manipulations by the Establishment on ethnic, religious and “stomach infrastructure” terrain stomach. The stomach-infrastructure is a Nigerian coinage to describe rejection of roads, bridges, schools and hospitals, among other public facilities, in preference for such personal benefits as rice, vegetable oil and some cash.

    Last week, the establishment party, the people’s democratic Party (PDP), rolled out the tanks, as it were, at a fund raising for president Jonathan’s campaign. The haul was impressive in 1979 or thereabout, Chief Moshood Abiola made a N1million cash contribution at the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) national headquarters fund-raising, and this raised eye-brows. Abiola was later to make a bid for the presidential ticket, perhaps because of this large investment, but was told by party-man Alhaji Umaaru Dikko that the ticket was not for sale. A few weeks ago, Jonathan had the PDP ticket. The PDP, by the way, is an offshoot of the NPN. More than N25 billion was raised by a few persons who had not been in public limelight recently, with the exception, perhaps, of Alhaji Dangote, one of Africa’s richest men, who said he was not a politician. One of the donors was Alhaji Bola Yahaya, said to be a friend of Nigeria’s first Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan. She gave a whopping N5billion. Prof. Herry Gana, former Information Minister and former chairman of MAMSER, who had not been seen around lately in public, gave another N5 billion to the fund. He said the donation was from his humble self and his friends from the energy sector. Incidentally, the power sector as gulped trillions of dollars in public investments with nothing yet to show for it.

    Mr. Ayeni, chairman of Skye Bank and a power sector business associate of Gen. Abdusallam (rtd), a former Head of State, gave N2billion. This first-round donation of over N20billion by far exceeds what the finance minister has said would be austerity measures in which salaries will be cut and jobs lost.

    Gen. Buhari (rtd) must be wondering where all the money was coming from. So must the army of the poor he is leading. From the donations, it is evident Nigeria’s rich is ready for battle to protect the Establishment. Lots of money will go into advertising and “stomach infrastructure”. In Ekiti State, where PDP man Fayose is governor, the government has already wheeled out live chickens as Christmas presents for the citizens. In Jonathan’s campaign, Buhari’s poor brethren will stretch out their hands for the forbidden fruit. Some will take it and still vote according to their conscience. Some may buckle. But there would be some others who would rise beyond the Tempter and bread and butter. Already, poison arrows are flying at Buhari on the internet. One says: Who stopped the lagos metroline? Buhari’s stoppage of the Lagos metroline project when he was military Head of State in 1983 or 1984 was one of the counts against him in Lagos in the presidential election of 2011.

  • Why Buhari is man for the season

    Like the drop of rain that brings relief after a prolonged period of drought, the emergence of General Muhammad Buhari (GMB) as presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, has already brought considerable joy and relief to a few Nigerians who see the Generals’s General as yet another hope and the APC as the only credible platform that can save Nigeria from the current state of hopelessness.

    Of course the PDP never believed the APC could manage the presidential primaries successfully considering the pedigree of aspirants and considering the way such exercises had gone in the past. But with the outcome of the delegates election and the unwavering support other contestants have openly given to endorse GMB, it is clear to everyone now that APC means business with this election and the party is set to give Nigeria the type of real leadership that can bring about genuine transformation, not the types we see on television adverts that derive from artist impressions of development projects.

    There is somehow a semblance between the GMB candidacy and HOPE 93; the campaign platform used by the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola. The general acceptance of the former head of state was just like the case with Abiola; cuts across tribes and religion even when the other party tried with a lot of sweat to paint the APC flagbearer in negative religious and ethnic colours. The level of trust that the low and mighty have expressed towards the General, deriving from his track record of integrity in public and private undertakings, is akin to the general trust men and women, the old and the young had towards Abiola. We all knew Abiola would not tamper with our collective wealth because he already had more enough, and today we  know that GMB cannot do it; he did not do it when he was much younger, it is not now that he would start the ugly game that the present ruling party has elevated to statecraft.

    GMB offers us hope, against the present gloom and despair in the land. The gloom is all around us as a nation. It is present in the failure of the ruling government to offer any reasonable explanation for its inability to end the spate of killings in the north-east, the gloom is there in the home of every mother who has a daughter among the over 200 Chibok girls now gone without trace for almost 300 days; it is there in the home of every mother who has lost a son or daughter to the slaughter’s slab of Bokko Haram, it is there in the heart of every woman who has suddenly become a widow because of the failure by government to provide security for the nation. It is there in the heart of every Internally Displaced Person, men and women who were once home owners but have become homeless today, men and women who used to feed others but today depend on rations given by Victim Support Fund etc. The gloom is there in the downturn in our national economy where the naira has defied their economic logic and continued its free fall. The gloom is compounded by the federal government’s refusal to satisfactorily give account of our collective wealth there by denying states governments their statutory portions and the people the necessary dividends of democracy.

    Nigerians are appalled, the atmosphere is uncertain. It is  sad that we have a leadership that has so much divided us along ethnic and religious lines that differences we thought were gone are suddenly appearing and becoming stirring factors in dealing with one another. The labour of our heroes past; those who told us that though tribe and tongue may differ in brotherhood we stand, have since been frustrated because we have a leadership that mocks the leaders of yesterday and deride their contributions to the growth of the nation all because they want to become the ‘founder ‘of a new Nigeria. They have so much elevated sycophancy and deceit to high heavens, that the only thing you need to get their attention is form a group of ‘transformers’ who go about collecting dubious signatures to ‘convince’ a man they knew was going to run to run. We have ‘transformers’ who sing and dance on the grave of thousands of victims of Boko Haram while the transformers we need to power our home are not available.

    And that is why the Buhari candidacy is offering something better. It is giving us hope that Nigeria can still be what our forefathers dreamt it to be. The APC has practical records of doing it well, of nurturing hope and bringing joy to people in the states where it hold sways today that the developments in those states are enough campaign about what the party can do. Go to Lagos. Go to Rivers. Go to Kano. Go to Sokoto, Kwara, Edo and other states under the rule of APC and compare the rate of genuine transformations there with what the PDP has been able to do even when they have access to fund better than their counterparts.

    GMB is running with these states. GMB is offering the same opportunity for Nigeria at the larger scale. A GMB presidency will bring to bear on the nation the collective contributions of all men of goodwill who desires genuine transformation for this nation, men and women who have seen the lies and deceit of the PDP which in many states have been unable to manage its primaries. Day by day, the PDP is losing the confidence of Nigeria and with the emergence of GMB as candidate of the APC, the tide is turning against the ruling party because Nigerians want real change, not cosmetic projections by armchair economists.

    Listen to the words of hope offered by the people’s General:  ý”My nomination is not because I am better than any of the other contestants. I see it as a tribute and mark of confidence to carry the torch as we all join hands to rescue our dear country Nigeria, from those who have led us into the current state of insecurity, poverty, sectarian divide and hopelessness among our people.

    What I say today is for all Nigerians: Christian and Muslim, southern and northern, rich and poor, young and old, man and woman. We are all citizens of Nigeria. There is no dividing line among us that I care to honour. Either we advance as one or fail altogether.

    My choice and my colleagues’ choice and wish are that we progress together. Preserving the nation’s future is a scared obligation to all of us in this party. Leaders should be wholly committed to fulfilling this obligation otherwise they have no business being leaders. Sadly, the current administration does not believe in this obligation. By their actions they are leading us to calamity.

    At international conferences, the Nigerian delegation is usually among the largest but at the same time the least effective. Our president should have the status and the voice of Africa’s largest nation. But in political influence we are among the weakest.”

    Finally, Buhari asked: “Shall we continue in a situation where 250 of our daughters have been abducted and the government has been unable to rescue them or provide credible information about what steps they are taking?

    “Shall we live in a nation where several people were trampled to death in search of jobs in a stadium and yet no one has taken responsibility for the tragedy?

    This is the man for the people, the leader long awaited.

    • Oba writes from Ilorin
  • Buhari cautions Mu’azu on campaigns of calumny

    Buhari cautions Mu’azu on campaigns of calumny

    THE Director of Communication, Buhari Campaign Organisation, Mr. Dele Alake, has urged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to engage in issues-based campaigns, instead of character assassination.

    He said the statement by the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu that the All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was combative and autocratic, was misleading.

    The statement called on Mu’azu and people of like minds in the PDP to be civilise in their utterances instead of name callings, stressing that the PDP should tell Nigerians why it deserves their support.

    He said: “The Buhari Campaign Organisation respect Mu’azu’s right to defend his party’s candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan and to project his qualification for second term in office, but must respect the rights of others.

    “We, however, believe that right must be exercise with all the circumspection and decorum befitting the position of a chairman of the ruling party such as the PDP.

    “He is expected to embody all the virtues Nigerians would like to associate with a party its members and leaders described as the biggest in Africa.

    “Unfortunately and interestingly, we know that the PDP officials, like Mu’azu, may find it easier to descend into personal abuse and character assassination of President Jonathan’s main opponent in the 2015 presidential election.”

    Alake added that it was deplorable that the PDP chairman tried to stigmatise and demonise the former head of state for serving the country the 1980s, noting that his military background did not render him insensitive to the constitution of Nigeria under which he seeks to lead the country as a democratically elected president.

    “The Buhari Campaign Organisation has pledged to run a campaign based on issues, not on abuse. We intend to respect the pledge and strongly recommend the same to the PDP.

    “Nigerians have an obligation to compel the PDP to be decorous in their campaign and to stick to germane issues that bother Nigerians, issues that have made life short, nasty and brutish in Nigeria, and issues that have also pauperised the people.”

    He explained that Mu’azu remarks were designed to mislead the electorate by raising false alarm that Buhari was a warlord, who intends to witch-hunt perceived enemies.

    “This is a most uncharitable and unbecoming falsehood to come from the PDP chairman.

    “The sweeping generalisation he made does not dignify both Mu’azu and the PDP presidential candidate, whose electoral fortune he tries to advance.

    “The only warlords Nigerians know are Boko Haram leaders whom the PDP government has been unable to fight. And the quasi dictatorship evident today is the ruling party, which has inspired the invasion of the National Assembly’s oversight function, undermined the judiciary and sacking highly placed judges under clever ruses, promoted discord in states where some PDP governors overthrow the Houses of Assembly and trampled on the constitution by encouraging law enforcement agencies to defy governors,” he said.

    He further said: “The Buhari Campaign Organisation will work assiduously to get candidate Buhari elected, and his party will give him encouragement to be combative, in words of Mu’azu, against the evil that plague Nigeria such as Boko Haram, insurgency, unemployment, corruption, disrespect for the constitution and the general administrative and bureaucratic laxity.

    “Buhari patiently and passionately submitted himself to the party processes that led to his emergence as candidate. And he did it transparently and respectively, knowing full well he was not in a military regime.

    “Let President Jonathan run on his records, if they are worthy of citation. If he can, let him sell his candidature based on what programme he has enunciated and implemented for the youths in terms of education, healthcare, employment and security.”

  • Akwa Ibom: 22 governorship aspirants deny meeting Buhari

    Akwa Ibom: 22 governorship aspirants deny meeting Buhari

    THE 22 aggrieved Akwa Ibom State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirants have denied holding a meeting with the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari, or any of his representatives.

    They said the report on the purported meeting was contrived to discredit them as loyal party men by the people who denied them and Akwa Ibom a free and fair primary.

    The agitated aspirants, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, the nation’s capital, said their only request to the PDP leadership was for the party to redeem its credibility by nullifying the outcome of the December 8 primary.

    They described the primary as “fraudulent, not transparent and a violation of the party’s rule on accreditation of delegates”.

    The aspirants vowed not to be blackmailed or intimidated into jettisoning their legitimate quest for fair play, equity and justice in a democratic setting that ought to be rooted in their fundamental human rights to fair hearing.

    They stressed “that while having meetings with any individual or interest group is within our legitimate rights, and something that would not be thrown away in a hurry, we, as faithful members of the PDP, remain hopeful that the party will show leadership and responsibility at ensuring that the grievances of its members are always expeditiously addressed and a policy of inclusiveness pursued in the overall interest of the party, essentially in an election period like this”.