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  • Jonathan’s re-election campaign on shaky note

    Jonathan’s re-election campaign on shaky note

    President Goodluck Jonathan stunned the audience at the commencement of his presidential campaign in Lagos when he said his generation has failed the nation. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN who was at the venue revisits the rally and its implication for his second term bid. 

    President Goodluck Jonathan started his re-election campaign in Lagos recently on a shaky note. The event was witnessed by prominent leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, National Chairman Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, governors and governorship flag bearers.

    Chieftains of the party took turns to address the crowd. They include the Co-ordinator of the President’s campaign in the Southwest and Ondo State governor Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; Chairman of the National Campaign Committee Col. Ahmadu Ali; Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State; the PDP leader in Lagos State, Chief Olabode George, and Ekiti State Governor Mr Ayo Fayose.

    They did their best to extol the virtues and achievements of President Jonathan and urged Nigerians to endorse his re-election in February. Mimiko, for instance, described President Jonathan as the most criticised, abused and insulted leader in this country. He said given his performance, Nigerians across the country can feel the impact of his administration in agriculture, power supply, education and resuscitation of rail system.

    But, the campaign experienced some awkward moments, when Ali mounted the podium. It did not quite jell with the audience when the National Campaign Committee chairman uttered the following statement: “The PDP is the agent of change. We fought for democracy when others fled the country. We have remained in power for 16 consecutive years.” He added that Nigerians should vote for the party, for the above reasons. The message was lost on the audience because neither Ali, nor his other colleagues were known to be associated with the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and other civil rights organisations that fought military for the return of democracy.

    As if Ali’s goof was not enough, President Jonathan also stunned the audience when he said that his address would be directed at young people, especially those aged between 18 and 23, who will be voting for the first time this year. More than 80 per cent of people present were 30 years and above. Invariably, President Jonathan considered this category of voters inconsequential to his re-election bid.

    The audience had expected the President to explain what he has been doing in the past six years and what he intends to, if re-elected. Instead, he spent more time talking about those criticising his government. Some observers expressed dismay and disappointment at the inability of the President to utilise the opportunity offered by his campaign outing to tell Nigerians what he has done for them since his assumption of office. The same President Jonathan had earlier admonished parties and candidates to dwell on issues agitating the minds of Nigerians and how these can be solved.

    Jonathan also shocked the audience when he said his generation has failed and urged the youth to vote for young people. He said: “I do not want to address old people like me because we have failed completely. We are spent already. This election is about young people. It is either you vote for the young people to be relevant in this country or your vote will be irrelevant. We have just introduced our governorship candidates and you can see that many of them are within your age bracket.”

    Despite saying his generation had failed the nation Jonathan still went ahead to urge the youths to take their destiny in their hands by voting for the PDP.  He did not explain how or why a vote for a failed and finished generation within the PDP would be more beneficial to the country’s youth than a vote for the same category of persons within the APC.

    The President vehemently condemned and rejected the allegation by his opponents and critics that his administration was soft on corruption. Attributing his success in fighting corruption to the innovation introduced into fertiliser distribution, Jonathan said the emphasis of his administration was in preventing corruption from taking place, rather than jailing those who loot the treasury. To him, that is more effective way of fighting corruption.

    On security, Jonathan said the blame for the poor combat readiness of the Armed Forces should not be heaped on him because he inherited a weak army, navy and air force that had not been properly funded and equipped over the years by his predecessors. According to him, these people did not buy anything for the Nigerian soldiers. “Ask them what they did with the defence budget throughout the whole time they were in government, no equipment was bought for the armed forces,” he added. He was, however, not specific on which of the successive administrations.

    To the criticism that a poorly equipped army was deployed to fight Boko Haram insurgents, Jonathan said: “Nobody equips the Armed Forces overnight. They are built over the years. Even if we spend $10 billion today, it cannot immediately equip the Army, Navy and Air Force because their capacities are built over the years. It takes a period of time”.

    Public affairs analyst, Dr. Friday Ibok was disappointed that President Jonathan turned his maiden campaign into a forum of attacking personalities, rather than address the issues that are critical to the welfare of Nigerians. He said as a presidential candidate what the audience and those watching him live on television wanted to hear from him was what he had done in the past six years as President of Nigeria and what he would do in the next four years if he was re-elected.

    Ibok said: “For almost 30 minutes that he spoke, President Jonathan never promised Nigerians anything, but used the whole time attacking past leaders. I am worried because as a President he should know better. Members of his campaign team should have prepared for such a critical public function.

    “He admitted failure when he said his generation has failed the country and urged the youth to vote for the young ones if they want to be relevant in the country. What Mr. President was saying is that the salvation of this country lay in the hands of those within the age bracket of 18 and 23. So, the elders who travelled from different parts of the country to witness his campaign inauguration at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos are inconsequential and risked their lives for nothing. The irony of it is that Jonathan is still canvassing for their votes to win. It is unfortunate.”

    In his response to President Jonathan’s utterances, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu said Jonathan’s problems are personal, not generational. The former Lagos State Governor asked him to consider his deficiencies as his personal failure and that of his party, the PDP.

    “It amounts to an error for the President to generalise the shortcomings as generational failure. If the President doesn’t know the history and responsibilities of his office, he should quit the office and go back home,” he said.

    Convener, Nigeria Voters Assembly (NVA), Comrade Mashood Erubami carpets the President for failing to run an issue-based campaign. According to him, it is very disheartening that President Jonathan has continued to chase shadow leaving the substance out of his campaign in all the states he has visited.

    Erubami argued that “he has at his own instance widened the gap of disconnect in the heart of those who have decided to use the 2015 election to change their lives by removing their destinies from the hands of Jonathan and likes of Femi Fani-Kayode, so that a new order could emerge from the hands of new leaders who abound in the APC which today represent the greatness that Nigerians are seeking.”

    He said buying equipment for the army, navy, air force and police is not an end in itself, but a means of achieving the end of peace and security in the land. “Those who failed to equip the security agencies did not do much because the nation was not under the current siege under which Jonathan has put the country and his people. During the Buhari era, even under the Ibrahim Babangida’s administration, our children were not stolen, no group of political thugs gang up against the people nor steal their commonwealth unabashed as under the Jonathan.  Security agencies were not as partisan and irresponsible like we found in the Department of State Security (DSS) and the police misbehaving today under the clueless, unimpressive and un-rehearsed administration of Dr. Jonathan.”

    Student activist Jerry Agbeyegbe, who watched the inauguration of the President’s campaign on television, was shocked to hear the President saying his generation has failed the nation. He believes President Jonathan came to such conclusion out of sheer frustration and disappointment.

    “I think the President is overwhelmed with the problems of insecurity, corruption and mismanagement of the economy which his administration has failed to tackle head on. It is wrong to his own ineptitude to conclude that his generation has failed the nation. The problem is leadership deficiency which is peculiar to the people at the helm of affairs. The buck stops on Mr. President’s table and he must accept responsibility that his government has failed.

    Erubami was not impressed with President Jonathan’s handling of the abducted Chibok girls who have spent close to 280 days in captivity, reported scams in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), police pension fund, missing $20 billion oil money, $9 million arms deal, oil theft and power outage. The human right activist said what Nigerians are expecting to hear are the reasons for monumental failure of President Jonathan on these issues, despite the power he wields under the constitution and the resource available to the country which can be used to fix the country.

  • Campaign, vote, don’t fight, UI VC urges

    As the general elections draws near, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Adewole has urged Nigerians to focus on issue-based campaigns, shun violence and vote for credible leaders who would move Nigeria forward.

    In a release signed by the university’s Director of Public Communication, Mr. Olatunji Oladejo, Adewole said with the near-daily reports of political violence in various parts of the country he was worried that the election could be marred by violence.

    “In 2011, no fewer than 800 Nigerians lost their lives in that year’s post-election violence.  Electoral violence remains a major concern in the lead up to the 2015 general elections. There are early indications that there may be violence during the 2015 electoral process” he said.

    Adewole explained that it was to avert violence that the university recently collaborated with the United States embassy in Nigeria to organise a public lecture entitled: “Electoral Security in Nigeria” recently.

    At the lecture, which held at the Trenchard Hall of the university, Adewole said: “We owe the society at large a huge responsibility in electoral process. We also owe them the truth. Of course, electoral problems and electoral development are inter-related. But we believe that when there is undiluted accountable process, we will get whatever we want from the election, and the judgment of the electorates would be decided upon.”

    The Guest Speaker, Dr Patrick Quirk, a Senior Conflict and Stabilization Advisor at the United States’ Department of States, said Nigeria needs to design a legal framework to make electoral procedures go smoothly, with a view to avoiding conflict and destabilization during the forthcoming elections.

    Quirk is electoral security expert with more than 10 years of experience performing conflict prevention assessment as well as designing and implementing democracy and governance, conflict management, and stabilization programmes for the U.S. government and European foreign aid agencies.

    He urged politicians and others to stand for peace.

    “It has come to a time when politicians, civil societies, among other stakeholders, have to come together to make peaceful process of election in Nigeria, and make maximum impact on it.  I encourage every Nigerian, including the aspirants, in these challenging times, to take a pledge against violence during election period, and exercise their franchise dutifully as expected,” he said.

     

  • Ibadan stands still as Ajimobi flags off second term campaign

    Ibadan stands still as Ajimobi flags off second term campaign

    The people of Ibadan and environs defied harsh weather conditions and literally poured into Mapo Hall last Saturday in their thousands to be part of Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s second term campaign flag-off for the February 28 gubernatorial election. BISI OLADELE was there.

    It was expected to be another usual political campaign. And Mapo Hall in the heart of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the historic political campaign headquarters in the Southwest, was the venue. But residents of the ancient city and even politicians got more than they expected when crowds of party faithful, supporters and even ordinary folks began pouring into the venue in their hundreds last Saturday and within a short time the gathering reached an unprecedented height as Mapo Hall was filled to capacity a clear three hours ahead of the scheduled time for the commencement of the rally.

    For more than eight hours that the event lasted, the crowd endured traffic snarl, the scorching sun and threatening stampede to listen to, and hail Ajimobi and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) across Southwest states who came to drum up support for another term for the Oyo State governor.

    Ajimobi had been criticized continuously by opposition within and outside the party, leaving residents and political watchers to expect only a scanty crowd made up of a handful party supporters and few that would want to witness what some critic had predicted would be his ‘disgrace’ at Mapo. But the governor pulled a great surprise with the surging crowd of people who defied all odds, including a harsh weather to be counted among those showing their love for him.

    Though the programme was slated for 10:00 am, all roads leading to the venue were under heavy traffic from 8:30 am as Ajimobi’s supporters poured in from all directions. By 10:00 am, Mapo Hill, on top of which the historic hall is located, was already playing host to a population that dwarfed the crowd which attended the campaign rally of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s governorship candidate, Sen. Teslim Folarin, barely one week earlier.

    From Oje, Yemetu, Idi-Arere to Agbeni and other routes to the venue, traffic gridlock held down many motorists and commuters as vehicular movements became increased by the minute.

    Without road blockade by security agencies, roads within 3,000 metres radius to Mapo Hall were blocked with traffic, and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Ajimobi had to alight from their vehicles and trekked to the venue, leaving their drivers to sort themselves out.  Ordinary motorists spent pretty long time navigating through the thick traffic.

    By 9:00 am, groups, associations, market women, traders, musicians, professionals, commercial drivers, itinerary drummers and ordinary folks had occupied the hilltop venue waiting to receive their leader. The association of market women and other traders had declared the day work-free as they closed their shops in solidarity with a governor they said “recognizes and transforms” their business.

    The first set of dignitaries to arrive were APC leaders in Oyo State including Dr Busari Adebisi, Hon. Mojeed Olaoya, commissioners, special advisers and other political appointees as well as candidates for the February 14 and 28 elections.  Next were Ajimobi’s wife, Florence; wives of Osun State Governor, Alh. Serifat Aregbesola; her Ogun State counterpart, Mrs Funso Amosun; wife of the immediate past Ekiti State Governor, Mrs Bisi Fayemi and former Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu.

    Dressed in the customized Ankara uniform glittering in the yellow and maroon official colours of the state, the appearance of supporters gave a colourful view of the celebrants and the crowd.

    The chorus of: “Continuity in Oyo State,” “Change Jonathan” rent the air each time the Master of Ceremony, Babatunde Olaniyi (Ti o common), shouted APC! For Ti o common, there are only two parties contesting in the February elections in the state: peace and brigandage. He said while Ajimobi represents peace the opposition represents brigandage and cluelessness.

    Party supporters and residents also sometimes giggled and at other times gyrated where they stood in response to the danceable tunes dished out by the Ibadan-based popular fuji musician, Alh. Rashidi Ayinde (Fuji Merenge). He thrilled the audience continuously.

    The presence of popular Yoruba Nollywood actors and actresses led by Saidi Balogun, also added glamour to the rally with some of them addressing the mammoth crowd, urging them to vote for Ajimobi to continue his good works.

    Leaders of the Igbo and Hausa communities residing in the state also made the gathering and officially declared their support for the second term ambition of the governor. By 2:00 pm, the crowd had spread to Beere, Oja’ba, Agbeni and adjourning areas.

    The President of the Association of Market Men and Women in the state, Alh. Adisa Oladapo said members of the association were supporting Ajimobi because of the peace he had enthroned in the state. He added that the governor was working hard for the progress and development of the state without looking back, stressing: ‘One good turn deserves another.’

    According to him, no governor has treated traders well like Ajimobi in the state. He disclosed that his administration constructed modern neighbourhood markets, gave them shops free-of-charge and added N20 million trading capital to traders at Scout Camp Market alone.

    He also lauded Ajimobi’s administration on cleanliness of the environment and the urban renewal project, saying they rid the state of epidemics. “My people and the entire people of Oyo State don’t be ungrateful. Let us all vote for Ajimobi.” He said.

    The physically challenged also spoke of how Ajimobi’s administration accommodated them by employing and empowering them throughout the 33 local government areas in the state. So were representatives of the 20,000 youths employed under the state’s Youth Empowerment Scheme of Oyo State dubbed “YES-O.” They asked the jubilating crowd to imagine the joy which the jobs brought to 20,000 homes, urging voters to return Ajimobi to power on February, 28.

    So were representatives of students, motor dealers, teachers, and popular musician, Abolore Akande (aka (9ce) who also performed at the gathering.

    Wives of Aregbeseola, Fayemi and Ajimobi took time to address the rally. They all emphasized the need to give Ajimobi chance for a second term.

    At exactly 2:25 pm, Ajimobi and the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, rode into Mapo Hall premises in an open-roof blue Ford bus. While Ajimobi appeared on the front opening, Tinubu stood tall behind him in another opening. Their arrival threw the rally into a session of a terrific ecstasy. The crowd hailed the governor and Tinubu uncontrollably. They screamed, jumped and jubilated at their leaders. In return, Ajimobi and Tinubu gyrated with joy on the podium to acknowledge the cheers.

    Following them were National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Eng. Segun Oni; former interimNational Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; former Osun and Ekiti State governors, Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Kayode Fayemi. They all decked the yellow and maroon colour Agbada uniform with matching cap.

    By 2:45, Aregbesola rode into the compound in another blue Ford bus, acknowledging cheers from the crowd from Oje to Mapo.

    His arrival changed the tempo again. The crowd hailed the Osun State governor continuously. Rashidi Ayinde praised him with thrilling songs which kept people dancing for minutes. The governor, in his characteristic manner, responded with quick dance steps to and from across the stage. They hailed his success in the August, last year governorship election.

    Fayemi opened the floor. He told the crowd that he was born and bred in Ibadan, stressing that he has always known how Ibadan looked like. He urged residents to repay Ajimobi’s giant strides with massive votes in next month’s election, saying Oyo State has never had it this good.

    Oni spoke next. He said Yoruba never lagged behind but that the PDP has done everything to put the Yoruba nation at the back burner in spite of the huge support the party received in Yoruba land in 2011. The former Ekiti State governor urged voters to return Ajimobi and vote for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in the coming election.

    Oyinlola also took his turn, describing the PDP as a party of deceit. He said God has already wrested power from Jonathan. He emphasized the need for the people of the state to vote for Ajimobi to enable him complete his projects.

    In his own speech, Chief Akande recalled that some people were criticizing them when they were establishing the APC last year. He said they wondered why they were working with the Hausa, Ibo and other ethnic groups, believing that it would be an effort in futility. But today, he said, everybody sees what they were not seeing before. “All Nigerians can now see that it is the best party.” He said.

    He also highlighted Ajimobi’s achievements and urged the people of Oyo State to vote for continuity.

    He said: “Ajimobi has transformed Ibadan and other towns in the state. Some people are angry with this. Abiola is our son. When we were here in Ibadan administering the state, Ajimobi was abroad seeing good things. That is what he is doing here. For those who do not like these developmental projects, go and appeal to them. He will still do more if re-elected.”

    When he took his turn, Aregbesola said the PDP is always seeking power to oppress Nigerians. He said hard work and commitment helped APC survive.

    “It is painful that Ekiti went back into servitude. Fayemi tried and they know that they cheated us. Can you compare Osun State of today with the Osun State of the past? Is the Ibadan of 2010 the same city we are seeing now? So are Ogun and Lagos states.”

    He described this year’s election as a fight for freedom.

    Aregbesola accused the PDP of using proceeds from fraudulent deals on sale of kerosene to fund President Jonathan’s campaign and to enrich their cronies through the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN).

    According to him, the Federal Government deliberately sells a liter of kerosene to cronies at N40:90 while they in turn sell to marketers at N95 per litre. The huge difference, the governor said, is one of the sources of PDP’s stupendous wealth.

    He challenged the PDP to sue him to court over the fact. “Let’s chase them out with our votes on February 14 and 28.” He urged the crowd.

    Tinubu, who spoke next, highlighted the reason Nigerians must vote for the APC next month, listing the continuous stealing of 400,000 barrels of oil daily and poor performance as among the major reasons.

    The former Lagos State Governor accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of spreading poverty through its poor performance and corrupt practices, saying the only solution is for Nigerians to reject all its candidates in the coming election and vote for the APC’s instead.

    He urged Oyo State voters to allow their conscience to guide them in determining the best candidates that deserve their votes. According to him, the great feat of the Ajimobi administration, the APC governorship candidate, is unparalleled in the state.

    He listed the rebuilding of Agodi Gardens, dualization of roads, massive infrastructural development and welfare packages for the people as among the reasons Ajimobi deserves their votes.

    The former Lagos State governor accused the Federal Government of diverting 400,000 barrels of oil per day and President Jonathan, who claimed to be in firm control of the country, feigned ignorance of what he called serious economic sabotage.

    “They steal 400,000 barrels of oil every day. Yet, President Goodluck Jonathan said he could not see this and he claims he is still in charge. He is no longer fit to rule this country. Let us send them packing on February 14 by voting for APC at the national level and for Ajimobi on February 28,’’ he said.

    He described Ajimobi as sensible, reliable, focused, visionary and consistent, judging by what he termed the governor’s unprecedented achievements in the last three and a half years.

    “Governor Ajimobi has demonstrated that he has vision, capacity and capability to make people the cornerstone of his administration. This is what Ajimobi represents in Oyo State and he has been consistent with it.

    “Today, when you drive through Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, you see beautiful scenery, clean environment, good road network, new flyover, Asejire Waterworks, Agodi Gardens, new markets, you will be proud of having somebody like him in the saddle. Indeed, Oyo is now a huge construction site,’’ he said.

    Tinubu said it was regrettable that in spite of all entreaties to former Governor Rashidi Ladoja to team up with Ajimobi to develop Oyo State, he (Ladoja) insisted on floating a party that lacked regional or national spread.

    Describing the Accord Party governorship candidate as an ingrate, he said that he had nothing to offer the people of the state, having demonstrated gross incompetence during his tenure as governor.

    On mounting the podium, Ajomobi pooh-poohed criticism of his administration, saying he has outperformed his predecessors, two of who are also in the February 28, 2015 race.

    Ajimobi listed six major projects undertaken by his administration, which he said were unprecedented. He also pointed out that no fewer than eight big companies have opened shops in the state due to the investor-friendly nature of his administration’s policies.

    These include the largest cooking oil factory, largest bread factory, largest Shoprite store, 100,000 production capacity chicks producing factory and Nigeria’s largest Information and Communication Technology (ICT) service providing firm.

    Besides, Ajimobi listed his achievements to include recruitment of 20,000 youths, construction of modern markets for traders with provision of interest-free trading capital, free buses for civil servants and students as well as improved welfare package for workers and restorers.

    Governor Ajimobi said that it was during his administration that citizens now sleep with two eyes closed because of the pervading peace and security which had attracted at least the industrial giants to the state.

    He also added that the construction of the first flyover by any civilian administration at Mokola in Ibadan was undertaken by his administration.

    Ajimobi also noted that his administration was the first to implement and pay the 142 per cent increase pension arrears, coupled with mass employment of teachers.

    If re-elected, he promised to deliver more dividends of democracy, one of which would be the employment 40,000 youths and widening the scope of the ongoing social and infrastructural revolution in the state.

    He challenged his predecessors to show their own score cards.

    By the time Ajimobi wrapped up his speech, at 6:10 pm, the crowd was still on their feet savouring the joy of listening to their leaders.

     

  • Campaign group decries demonisation of Buhari, APC

    Campaign group decries demonisation of Buhari, APC

    The campaign group of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has accused the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of demonising the opposition’s candidate and party, warning the ruling party to stop forthwith.

    Strategic Communication Director and former Lagos Information Commissioner Dele Alake, who gave the warning, advised the ruling party to explain itself on the multiple crises it has endangered.

    He expressed shock over the alleged use of red herrings, abuses and foul temper geared towards whipping up hatred against Buhari, appealing to the PDP to honour the violence-free pact entered into last Wednesday by the parties.

    According to Alake, one of such red herrings purportedly sponsored by the PDP is the allegation of corruption and favouritism in the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) run by Gen. Buhari under the late Gen. Sani Abacha’s regime and a little after, out rightly ignoring former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent statement that absolved Gen. Buhari of corruption.

    He accused the PDP of trying to portray Gen. Buhari as a violent man and one who supports the extremist Boko Haram sect, despite the fact that the APC candidate has himself been a victim of the sect’s attack.

    Alake described the argument that Buhari does not like the Yoruba, following his cancellation of the 1984 Lagos metroline project as “another desperate ploy to put a wedge between the Yoruba and the APC candidate, an ethnic ploy that has become the stock-in-trade of the PDP and President Jonathan”.

    “The critics suggest the existence of dossiers and investigative reports supposedly indicting the APC candidate of unwholesome activities when he presided over the affairs of the agency. But a few days ago, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was supposed to have commissioned the investigation, disclosed that he was in possession of the report and nothing untoward was established against the APC candidate.

    “To the astonishment of all right thinking persons, the PDP has chosen not to believe in the authority of President Obasanjo who ordered the investigation and has final say on it but prefers to allege that the man who has the fact is dead! Can there be a worse tragicomedy than this? Who really is fooling who?

    “It is true Gen. Buhari ruled as a military head of state. But it must also be acknowledged that General Obasanjo also once ruled as a military head of state. Yet, that did not prevent the PDP from nominating and presenting him as its presidential candidate in 1999 and 2003 general elections.

    “Gen. Buhari was himself a victim of Boko Haram attack, and has also lost some relatives to the sect’s violent activities. He has denounced the sect, and has signified his preparedness to take on the militants on a much firmer and intelligent basis than President Jonathan has done in four years.

    “In addition, though his views accorded with military dictates when he was head of state, he has submitted himself without reservation to democratic dictates in the past decade as he ran and still runs for elected office.

    “It does not bear repetition to say that no elected president could rule like a military leader, when the constitution is very clear on how democracy must be run and with what institutions that must be done. No elected president can suspend any of the institutions of democracy.

    “We hereby assert with all authority and knowledge that we can muster, that a disciplined leader like Gen. Buhari would never engage in the disingenuous and reckless abuse of state security institutions such as invasion of database offices of rival parties as President Jonathan has done.

    “The PDP refuses to acknowledge that the times have changed, and that the dynamics of Nigerian politics and the grave challenges of the moment have made the APC candidate’s style, views and discipline precisely the pressing need of the moment.

    “The President must be sorely embarrassed to learn the true story as relayed by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, a few days ago. The fact, according to the revered monarch, is that Gen. Buhari did not terminate the metroline contract but demanded a comprehensive study of the contract and project to ensure that the Interest of the country was protected.

    The PDP spokesmen have also refused to focus on President Jonathan’s own appalling record on integrating the Yoruba into his government, an integration that he only half-heartedly and desultorily began when elections were around the corner.

    “They also contradictorily accused him of attempting to crate a leading Hausa/Fulani and former National Party of Nigeria (NPN) politician from London to face charges in Nigeria, a fact derisively referred to by President Jonathan, when all along they had argued that he left politicians like him alone.

    “The fact is that President Jonathan’s mismanagement of inter-ethnic relations, a critical issue in a federal system like ours, is the source of the tension that pervades the nation. We wish to draw the attention of Nigerians to the list of President Jonathan’s 109-member Presidential Campaign Council published yesterday and ask if any Yoruba person of substance is on the list. It says a lot about the anti-Yoruba sentiments of President Jonathan.

    “The PDP has consistently avoided the main issues of this campaign. Apparently, it has no answers to them. The party prefers to focus on personal attacks, dreg up unsubstantiated records of the general during his military rule, make wild imputations of his motives, and label him atrociously in order to hang him.”

    “Nigerians, happily, have recognised that the country has little time left to tackle the grave economic collapse facing it, and the even more critical security challenges threatening the entire country.

    “The country is rallying to the side of the APC, to the side of Gen. Buhari and to the side of posterity. This is an idea whose time has come, which no one can stop, not even with all the abuses possible and all the tendentiousness the PDP can muster,” said Alake.

  • More artistes in campaign frenzy

    More artistes in campaign frenzy

    • K1 donates to APC

    With the 2015 general elections a few weeks away, more and more artistes are throwing their support behind their candidates of choice. Joining the league of supporters who have chosen not to be apolitical are a group of top Yoruba actors under the aegis of Unique Charitable Foundation.

    The artistes recently stepped out to show their support for APC Presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari and the Governorship candidate for Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode.

    The actors; Fathia Balogun, Sanyeri, Adebayo Tijani, Muyiwa Ademola and Femi Adebayo were seen brandishing the Broom, a symbol of the APC party.

    Muyiwa Demola shared some of the photos on Instagram with the caption; “UCF for Ambode and Buhari 2015 – Change, the only constant thing in human life.”

    The actors are also said to have joined Fuji legend, Alhaji Wasiu Ayinde (K1 The Ultimate) in a new campaign song for Buhari and Ambode, according to information.

    In furtherance of his support for the APC, K1, was the cynosure of all eyes, as he donated some Public Address Systems to each of the 377 Wards in the 57 Local Government Councils and Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) of Lagos State. Also, 300,000 wristbands with the imprints of Gen. Buhari and Ambode were freely distributed. The event took place at the APC Secretariat, ACME Road, Lagos, amidst a great ceremony.

    Only last week, a couple of Nigerian artistes were drumming support  for Ambode to become the next Governor of Lagos State.

    The artistes are Ice Prince, M.I, Olamide, Banky W, Yemi Alade, Dammy Krane – Gbabe.

    To this end, the entertainers have recorded two theme songs to shore up support for the political campaign of the APC gubernatorial candidate.

    Titled Gbabe, and Gbo Gbo Wa La Leko, the songs call on the entire people of Lagos State to turn out to support the candidacy of Ambode, whom they constantly refer to as Ambo. While Gbabe features Ice Prince, M.I, Olamide, Banky W, Yemi Alade, and Dammy Krane, the track Gbo Gbo Wa La Leko was rendered solely by Yemi Alade.

  • APC elders fault Jonathan‘s campaign outbursts

    APC elders fault Jonathan‘s campaign outbursts

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Elders’ Forum in Ekiti State has advised President Goodluck Jonathan to pull out of the presidential race for admitting failure in governance during the launch of his campaign in Lagos.

    The body, which described the outburst of the President at the Lagos rally as “unpresidential, clearly offensive, aggressive, combative and appalling”, said Jonathan had shown that he lacked solutions to the myriads of problems facing the country.

    The group’s Publicity Secretary, Dr. Bayo Orire, said Jonathan failed to use his campaign to convince Nigerians of his readiness to stop the slide of the country into deeper socio-economic ills.

    Orire said Nigerians should not expect a purposeful leadership from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration by the tone of the President’s speech, which he said dwelt much on attacks on personalities rather than issues.

    He urged the electorate to vote for the APC’s presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who he believed has the integrity, maturity and experience needed to turn around the nation’s fortunes.

    The medical doctor-turned politician said if successive administrations built on the anti-corruption stance of the military administration led by Buhari, corruption would have ended in the polity.

    Orire explained that corruption would grow under the PDP administration, urging Nigerians to use their votes to send the umbrella party out of power.

    He regretted that Jonathan failed to convince Nigerians on how he would solve insurgency, low level of industrialisation, unemployment, non-existent mechanised farming and general decay in infrastructure.

    “The President disappointed many Nigerians with his outing in Lagos on Thursday and this has shown that he lacks the capacity to take the country out of the woods.

    “Jonathan extrapolated wrongly putting something that happened 30 years ago on top of what should be done today.

    “How would the solution that was appropriate for the low level of corruption that was experienced in the past be appropriate for today’s roof-top malady that we call corruption?

    “He forgot that as in the 80s, there was little known about ICT to pay salaries. He forgot that you could pick people who were corrupt, they were visible unlike today.

    “He forgot that when Buhari was in office, the people were queuing for buses. Nobody could throw rubbish on the streets. If the pace had been kept up, there would not have been corruption today in Nigeria.

    “Judging from the campaign speech of the President, we should expect a purposeless leadership worse than what we are seeing now. The PDP had ruled us for 16 years and we are worse for it.

    “We advise him to pull out of the race because he has told us that he would need a younger and more cerebral generation to rule this country.

    “But we in the APC believe in maturity borne out of experience. We believe in team work where we can pool the sharpness of the young brains and the experience of the old.

    “The President was talking of people not having brains in the APC. If nobody has brains in the APC, nobody has a skull in the PDP.”

  • Jonathan’s campaign speech in Lagos

    Jonathan’s campaign speech in Lagos

    FULL TRANSCRIPT OF PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN’S REMARKS AT THE FLAG-OFF OF THE PDP 2015 CAMPAIGN IN LAGOS ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2015

    Your Excellency, the chairman of our great party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, senior members of our party here on this great occasion, we have spent so much time here so I will not bore you with protocols.

    Today, I am going to address only a segment of the Nigerian population. I am going to address the people who are voting for the first time, those of you who will attain 18years this year.

    That means I am addressing the young people. I donot want to address old people like me, because we are spent already and I will crave your indulgence Nigerian youths, those of you who are here, and those of you watching us at home, listen to what I am saying.

    I am going to address political gatherings in 37 cities and I am going to dwell on three key things. I am focusing on the young people.

    Whatever I say, when you go back, call your aunts or call your uncles, your father or your mother, or your cousin, that is at least 60 years old and confirm and ask them what you heard that the Presidential candidate of PDP mentioned in any of the rallies because 2015 elections is about the young people: either you vote and continue to be relevant in Nigeria’s political history or you vote for you to be irrelevant.

    And I will repeat it, those of you who are voting for the first time, your decision to vote could mean you vote for a Nigerian youth to be important, to be relevant in this country or be a Nigerian person to be treated as a nonsense person and I believe all of you want to be relevant.

    Of course you have seen…we have just introduced our governorship candidates and you see how many of them that is of your age bracket. Which other party will give that kind of opportunity?

    I am going to dwell on three things because those who say they want to take over power from PDP have been telling a lot of lies. They have hired people from all over the world and those of you in the social media carry all forms of lies, painting all kinds of colour and giving me all kinds of face that I cannot defend.

    If you listen to us in the 37 places we will address these issues, you will now know where to cast your votes. I will address you in all the places on three issues.

    The first is the issue of insecurity. I am also going to address whether this administration is fighting or encouraging corruption. I am going to address the issue of weak government and unfocused government that has no plans. Yours is to listen and compare with everything that has been done before in this country and take a decision.

    I will not keep you here for too long because we still have the opportunity… I am going to raise just very few issues today and tomorrow I will continue in Enugu and then on and on and on.

    First let me tell you about the voter’s card. First when we came in here we saw some placards, some of you complaining that we are yet to get a permanent voters card. Only yesterday, I directed that every Nigerian (of voting age) must vote. INEC must make sure and government will not allow a situation where some (eligible) Nigerians will not vote; we will not allow it. All Nigerians must vote and I mean it.

    I told you that I am addressing those of you who are voting for the first time. Those of you in the age bracket of 20 to 24, if you go back, ask your uncles, before 2011 no Nigerian complained that he had no voters card. People voted themselves into office. We came and said every Nigeria vote must count and since then, the voter’s card has become relevant.

    This is the party that is giving political strength to all Nigerians. Already you have been told from intelligence reports that some people are already cloning cards so that your voter’s card will no longer be relevant. Is that the kind of people you want to take over government?

    They want to take us to the old days when nobody sawvoter’s cards but results were announced. They want to take us to the old days when ballot papers would be in South Africa and results would be announced. Are you going back to the old days?

    Nigeria must move forward, Nigeria is for the youths. Nigeria is not for old people like us. The young generation must redefine this country. We must take this country to where we want it to be. Nobody can push us backwards. The past is past. They have led us backward and backward.

    In fact when we were young, we were told that at Independence, Nigeria, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia and even India were all at the same level. That was what we were told when I was in the secondary school and the university. Now all those countries have left us behind and now some people want to take us backward. Do you want to go backwards? Nigerian youths do you want to go backwards?

    Young Nigerians were doing things fantastically well, they were acting films and these very people were snubbing them, they were playing music and these very people were abusing them. But we are encouraging them and the world has accepted them. Do you want to move forward? ….. Do you want to go backward?

    I told you I was going to address things and I will be very brief. They talk about insecurity. That they will fight insecurity. And you will ask are our armed forces weak? Are the Nigerians in the Armed Forces weak? If we have problems what is the cause—equipment. And somebody who wakes up and tells young people of 23 years old that he wants to fight insecurity, ask him when he was the head of government did he buy one rifle for a Nigerian soldier.

    These people did not buy anything for the Nigerian soldiers. They refused to equip them. No attack helicopter, nothing. Ask them what they did with the defence budget for the whole time they were in office. No country equips armed forces overnight. What they use is quite expensive and they are built over the years. Even if you spend 10 billion dollars today, you cannot equip the army, navy and air force.

    The capacity is built overtime. They refused to build the capacity. They instigated crisis and now they are telling us they will fight insurgency. Ask them and they will answer. I will elaborate more as we progress to other places.

    The next is that they say government is corrupt; or we are not fighting corruption. Only yesterday, I addressed the anti-corruption agencies. I said look people are deceiving young Nigerians. You must tell Nigerians what you are doing. We have arrested more people within this period. Gotten more convictions within this period but everyday they tell us lies.

    At this point, let me apologize to some Nigerian civil servants who did not receive their salaries in December early enough and I will tell you what happened. I apologize to those families that suffered because we believe that for you to fight corruption; you must take measures, establish and strengthen institutions. You just don’t wake up, enter the street, arrest one person and lock up and show on television and say that you are fighting corruption.

    If they had succeeded in fighting corruption, corruption would not have been with us here today. If they had set up structures and especially in today’s modern science using ICT to manage resources, we would not have been talking about corruption today. What happened in December was that IPPIS, software for processing salaries, — sometimes people steal through salaries- and some federal government agencies including some ministries tried to divert funds to pay some allowances. The system is scientific, it is not a human being, and as long as money meant for salaries is about to be diverted to other things, it shuts down. Those departments of government were shut down, this is the only way that you can prevent corruption.

    I served in Bayelsa as deputy governor and governor for eight years; I also served as Vice President and President for another four years at the centre, for all this period, the fertilizer area is where states and federal governments spend billions of naira but less than 10 per cent of fertilizers go to the farmers. The rest is stolen and sent out of the country. Even the 10 per cent sometimes is adulterated. We came and cleaned up the sector and today there is no corruption in the fertilizer industry again.

    What did we do? We assembled some young Nigerians that are IT gurus and we developed the e-wallet system and through that the farmers now get their fertilizers directly and nobody is cheating the government again. Is that not the way to stop corruption?

    If somebody tells you that the best way to fight corruption is to arrest your uncle or father and show him on television, well, you won’t stop corruption, you will even encourage corruption. I used to tell people and I will also address press conferences so that people can ask me direct questions. Armed robbery is still with us, despite the fact that we are shooting (death penalty) armed robbers. Is that stopping armed robbery?

    So arresting people and demonstrating on television will not fight corruption, we must set up institutions, strengthen them to prevent people from even touching the money and that is what we are working on and we are succeeding.

    Some people say they are finding corruption… some of you know, I am not addressing people of 20 years and below but people from 30 years and so on… Nigerians go to fuel stations and sleep overnight to buy fuel or tip those who sell fuel to buy fuel. They hoard fuel and they benefit from the hoarding. Who are those who benefitted from hoarding fuel? Since we came on board, have you suffered? Do you need to bribe someone before you get fuel?

    When the crisis of insecurity came up, we had nothing. So to get things very quickly, we used some vendors to make procurement. But now what we are doing is government to government. Now any new procurement we are doing whether for the air force, navy or army it’s government to government, so there is nothing like corruption anymore. Even if we have some issues, maybe… is that not the way to fight corruption?

    You must prevent people from touching money, you don’t give them the opportunity or test them with money and this is what government is doing and we are succeeding in a number of areas in our procurement processes. The relevant agencies will address Nigerians for you to appreciate what we are doing.

    They say the government is weak, they say we are un-focused; we have no plan.

    They say we are weak because there were some people who took our fathers, our mothers and our uncles while they were abroad put them in a crate and flew them to Nigeria but they were intercepted by superior powers. That blocked Nigerians from even going to Britain at a time and the relationship between Nigeria and Britain… the whole world isolated Nigeria.

    They said that is the way to fight corruption. So immediately I suspect your uncle, I can just crate him and throw him into Kirikiri. Is that the way to stop corruption?

    If somebody tells you that he will not follow due process… I came in with Yar’Adua and he advocated due process and I stand by due process. Any country that does not abide by the rule of law is a jungle.

    Do you want Nigeria to be a jungle society? Immediately I suspect you that you have done something wrong I just ask the police or army to arrest you and throw you into jail. Is that the country you want?

    They say to be strong is to jail people indiscriminately for 300 years. Is that where you want to go?

    A country is like an industry. It must be managed properly by people who have brain and great ideas upstairs.

    Let me just give you some highlights: they say we are not focused; we are not planning. But our economy has become the biggest in Africa; it was not the biggest in Africa before. Without planning, can your economy become the biggest in Africa?

    They say we are not planning, we are not focused but we have cleaned up the corruption in fertilizer distribution in the country. The farm inputs are getting to the farmers and our import bills, the money we use in buying things from outside is coming down. Can you get that without planning?

    You are no longer queuing up and leaving your cars in fuel stations. Can you do that without planning?

    I believe that some few years back some young people have not seen trains except when you travel abroad and you have never boarded a train. Now our trains are moving. Can you do that without planning?

    In the power sector, we are in Lagos; Egbin power sector got burnt in 2005 and remained so until now when we are fixing it. We have been able to finish the privatization of the power sector. This is an interface period but you already know that the generation capacity is almost double. Can you do that without planning?

    This government feels that Nigerians are very dynamic people, very creative, very industrious, very talented in music, arts and business. Many of them do not have money and you know we are almost 200 million in Nigeria and we cannot reach everybody the same day. We came up with the concept of YOUWIN to give grants not loans to young Nigerians that have ideas. If you interview them, some of them are already manufacturing and in the next four to five years, we will be exporting things from this country. And they say we have noplans for the youths? They should come and tell us what plans they have for the youths.

    I believe that young Nigerians, not people who are spent and finished. not people of my age, we are gone… that is why I said I am addressing people from the ages 18- 23 those who are voting for the first time, we believe that you people will take us to the moon. My generation has failed we couldn’t take Nigeria to the moon. Look at what India is doing. Look at what countries we were at par with at independence are doing and I said for us to get to the moon, that’s a special area; you need to expose your best brains.

    I came up with a special scholarship that you must first of all make a First Class in the university. We have scholarship for everybody but you must first of all make First Class from your university and then we test the best brains and send them to the best 25 universities in the world. Can someone who has no plans for the future of this country do that?

    Can somebody who does not think about the Nigerian youth do that?

    Do you want to go back to those days when they had no plans for us?

    When I came on board as President, I noticed that though in the country and on paper, there is this programme or policy of government that every state must get a Federal government owned university. Out of the 36 states we have, 12 had no federal universities and people were deceiving Nigerians that they were doing something.

    I said we must establish these 12 universities in the remaining 12 states, start as small universities and grow and we have done that successfully and they are growing gradually.

    We did not stop there. We looked at the school drop-outs in some parts of the country and they were quite high. We came up with the Almajiri educational programme and we thank the Governors from many of the states where we have those set of students. We have programmes for Almajiri students and we have the programme for out-of-school children. Can somebody who has no plan for the country think about that kind of programme?

    You will ask some of those people who are deceiving you now and who hired some people from outside the country to go on social media and tell all kinds of lies, that when they were in power did they build any nursery school for anybody? Ask them, ask them, I say go and ask them.

    If they did not build nursery schools for anybody, what did they use our money for? They built prisons or universities for you?

    I will build universities for you, I will build secondary schools for you, I will build primary schools for you.

    They say we have no plans for this country but we established the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF)—out of the money that comes into this country we reserve a little so you just don’t squander it.

    This is a government that introduced for the first time what we call the SWF and I want to thank the Governors from the states who keyed into the SWF idea. In addition to the SWF, you know that there are some stolen monies, which from time to time government gets back. They have been getting these monies back but we do not know how they are spending it.

    The ones that have come in within this period, we have not even started spending it but first of all we agree on how to spend it. Because we have security challenges and this money is primarily for security and they used security channels to take it, 50 per cent of it will be used for security, 25 per cent of it for development and 25 per cent of it will be used for future generations. This is the decision we have taken even before we start spending the money. Can somebody who has no plan for the future of the country do that thing? They should come and tell you what they used our monies for.

    We believe that so many young Nigerians, some young workers find it very difficult to own a house of their own. We introduced the Mortgage Refinancing Company. It is just coming up, estates are being built and we are working with the Labour unions. As we pursue that programme in the next five years, most Nigerian workers either working in private sector or in government can own houses. They have no plans for you; they are coming to tell you false stories. We have said you do not need to have so much money to own a house. Do you want to go back to the old days?

    We have plans for employment generation. We know one of the greatest challenges for most governments including Nigeria is to get jobs for our youths but we are not sleeping. So far we have been able to create a number of jobs… I have set up two bodies headed by the Vice President made up of people in government and the private sector. We call them Presidential Job Creation Board and Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Council, working very hard to ensure that every year two million jobs are created. Can somebody who has no plans do that?

    Of course we have been told that I have other opportunities. I have many other things to say but people are getting tired … … we’d have the opportunity to talk and talk and talk.

    Some groups of people have said that you have to vote for your liberation or imprisonment. Some groups of people came, and I read it in the papers, when they see people in government maybe governors, ministers, commissioners and so on … they will say we will draw a line, we are not probing the past because they want to deceive them to get their support.

    So they will draw a line and start fighting corruption after they cross the bridge. Only two days ago, somebody stood in Port Harcourt and said he was going to catch people in the streets and throw them into Kirikiri.

    The same mouth says something from the right, and from the left, making contradicting statements. Can you trust those people? Are they not deceiving you?

    They want power by all means and all what they want to use power for is to lock up and imprison their enemies. I have no enemy to fight. My interest is your interest. My interest is the Nigerian interest and for the future generations and young Nigerians to develop. Not to fight enemies. We must stop corruption. I will not stop corruption by catching people, putting them in trailers and dumping them off to be killed. You can’t stop corruption that way. Someone wakes up and he feels he can jail all his enemies and he thinks that is how to fight corruption? I think we have advanced beyond that point.

    Somebody wakes up and says “O, Nigerian women I am going to give you position.’’ And you ask him when you were a Head of Government, you had a cabinet, I have the list of the cabinet members, there was no one single woman. Not even one in the cabinet.

    So Nigerian women, you cast your votes and go back to the kitchen and die there or you cast your votes to liberate yourself.

    The Nigerian women must decide where to cast their votes: you vote and go back to the kitchen and die in the kitchen or you cast your votes to liberate yourself. We are ready to liberate all Nigerian women.

    Let me say one more thing and conclude. I read a headline in one paper yesterday: MEND DUMPS JONATHAN… did you read it?

    I am from the Niger Delta. The leader of MEND is one Okah. He is in South African prison. Why is he there? South Africa is not Nigeria where people will say Oh, President (Jonathan) manipulated it. Okah is in the prison because 1st October 2010 when we were to celebrate our independence, our golden year of independence, Okah was procured by some Nigerians to assassinate me. Okah bombed Abuja, but the attempt was to assassinate me and South Africa intelligence system caught him in the plan to assassinate me. He is now in jail in South Africa and they say MEND dumps Jonathan.

    Okah that wanted to assassinate Jonathan, will he support Jonathan? I am told that Okah is supporting some people… I am told that Okah who is in a South African prison for killing Nigerians is endorsing some people. Is that the country you want to live in? Count me out.

    Let me conclude by thanking all Nigerians, especially Lagosians. Let me sincerely on behalf of my party apologise to you because we are having this rally today so the whole of Lagos is at a standstill. We beg you, we have to do it and we know you love us, will support us and we promise to make sure that… this is the very first government that has supported the industrial sector very well. Ask your brothers and sisters in the private sector, if they are sincere they will say that we have come up with policies that have encouraged commerce and industry.

    Government alone cannot employ people. The private sector must grow to create jobs for the people. Bear with us because the PDP government will continue to encourage the private sector to create jobs for Nigerians.

    Finally, let me tell all of you especially those of you, who want to go to the National Assembly that we just had a national conference. The document from that conference, because of the controversy we have in the present National Assembly, you know how chaotic the present Assembly is, we know that if you bring that document to the Assembly they will dump it.

    So we want to present it to the next Assembly. So those people you are sending, if you mean well for this country, you must vote people who can go to the National Assembly, discuss and adopt that document that our leaders have agreed so that this country can move forward.

    I stand today in the city of Lagos, in the south west on behalf of the leader of our party, Alhaji Muazu, the Vice President and all the leaders and promise that if you vote the PDP en masse to the National Assembly and to the Presidency, we will adopt that document so that this country will move forward.

    That document is to liberate you, we did not influence it, our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters that are credible came up with it.

    Ask them, we did not influence it. I did not ask them to dot any `I’ or cross any `T’ because I have no personal interest. My interest is the Nigerian interest.

    It is either we vote to be prisoners as we were- and I will tell you maybe some of you do not know, in 1983, I don’t know for the young people, some of you who are writing all sort of things on the social media. In 1983/84, what they called discipline as a post graduate student instead of reading my book, the whole night I queued up to buy two tins of milk. And they say that is discipline.

    So we should make you queue up the whole night as students to buy two tins of milk? Is that the discipline you want?

    You must vote for your liberation, you must vote for your development, you must vote to take Nigeria to the moon. You cannot vote to take Nigeria backward.

    Leave us who are half dead to bury our dead.You must vote for the progress of this country, you must vote for the Nigerian youth, you must vote for the Nigerian women. PDP!… POWER!

    Thank you all.

     

     

     

     

     

     

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  • Buhari begins campaign in Port Harcourt

    Buhari begins campaign in Port Harcourt

    Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, is wearing a new look for today’s commencement of All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign.

    The event is scheduled for the 40,000-capacity Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Igwuruta, near the Port Harcourt International Airport.

    The rally, fixed for 9 a.m., will be transmitted live on major television networks.

    River State Governor Chibuike Amaechi is the Director-General of the Buhari campaign organisation, which met last night at the Rivers State Government House.

    Shortly after inaugurating Buhari’s campaign in the Garden City, the APC team will move to Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, to campaign in the PDP-controlled state and to present its governorship candidate Mr Umana Okon Umana, a former secretary to the state government.

    The campaign team will remain in the South South for the next one week, going round states in the region from Port Harcourt.

    Colourful banners, billboards and posters of Buhari and his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, were seen all over Port Harcourt yesterday

    Some kerbs, roundabouts, junctions and other strategic locations in the Rivers state capital were also being repainted and beautified.

    Amaechi’s ally, Chief Tony Okocha, who is the Chairman of the Mobilisation Committee of Buhari’s campaign launch in Rivers state, said  yesterday that today’s crowd will double the one at the October 25 mega rally to mark the seventh anniversary of Amaechi’s Supreme Court victory at the same venue.

    In neighbouring Bayelsa state, campaign posters of Gen. Buhari and former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva, flooded the state capital, causing excitement among workers at the state secretariat.

    The posters caught the admiration of many passersby who watched and nodded their heads in acceptance that the opposition had come to stay in President Goodluck Jonathan’s home state.

    One of the workers who identified himself simply as Johnson said: “The APC has now proved their seriousness. Before, we thought they only existed on paper. It is now a big contest with what we are seeing.

    When asked why they were not hostile to the campaign materials of the APC, he added: “We welcome this development because it is not going to be business as usual”.

    Sylva’s posters were boldly displayed at the entrance of the state secretariat annex.

    The poster carried a colourful picture of the former governor, with a simple message:  “A Homeboy for the Home Job in Abuja.”

    Sylva’s Facebook page was also laced with messages of his ambition tagged, “Timipre Sylva for Senate 2015.”

    On the page, one of the messages said:  “During Timipre Sylva’s administration as the governor of Bayelsa State, the Niger Delta University received significant attention leading to the accreditation of all the departments in the University.

    “Today, the university has been abandoned and the Faculty of Law, Department of Geology and others have all lost accreditation.

    “Diete Koki Memorial Hospital is a landmark achievement by his administration. Chief Timipre Sylva remains the best Governor we’ve had. He has been a House of Assembly member in the old Rivers State; Political Adviser to a former Bayelsa State Governor; ministerial aide, and Governor of Bayelsa State. His main opponent has zero political experience.

    “Clearly, Sylva best represents the voice of the people, and above all, he is a homeboy who understands the needs of the people he seeks to represent.”

  • Controversy over N21b PDP campaign fund

    Controversy over N21b PDP campaign fund

    There seems to be no end to the criticisms that have assailed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign fund-raising that fetched a record N21.05 billion. The cash exceeds the mandatory N1 billion stipulated by the Electoral Act. Besides, the majority of donors are not identifiable. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the renewed push for monetisation of politics by the ruling party and its implications for the general elections.  

    The unprecedented Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fund-raising is still generating ripples. Even, under the power loaded former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the ruling party managed to exercise caution, in utter sensitivity to wide condemnation and public outcry it would have provoked.

    On December 20, the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was aglow with festivities. The National Party leader, President Goodluck Jonathan, presided over a special meeting of political investors. With him were his deputy and co-beneficiary, Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, the National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, governors, legislators, and other party chieftains.

    Unlike the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign fund-raiser, which is moderated by the national mood, the PDP event, which observers have described as ill-advised, obscene, and aggressive campaign revenue drive, underscored the wheeling and dealing character of the party and its inept government, and their penchant for the abuse of the democratic process. While the PDP made donation to campaign fund the exclusive affair of government contractors and other Nigerians who have made money from government, the APC adopted the style of a mass movement. Through this approach, donors to the presidential campaign of the APC candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, is to a large extent, verifiable.

    APC National Vice Chairman Senator Lawal Shuaib called for sanction for those who may have stolen public money for political campaigns. He said the opposition party will be a marked departure from the fraudulent trend of campaign funding. “In our own case, we intend to do fund raising, which is going to be very transparent. Whoever donates money, we will publish it so that the whole world will see. People are making donations through the website and through the account number provided. We are going to publish everything because we want to make our source of funding as transparent as Nigerians may not even have expected because we are talking about change. We want to change the ayatems and the practices and what has been the norm,”he added.

    In a public advertisement, APC National Publicity Secretary Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the party has yielded to the decision of Nigerians to make voluntary donation. He made the bank account name and number public. “Our party, the APC, has recently been inundated with calls and messages from Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora, who are seeking to confirm the bank account details of the Buhari Support Organisation so that they can make their own financial contributions to the campaign of the APC presidential candidate,” he said.

    According to reports, more than N21.05 billion was realised at the “gathering of few and wealthy friends of the PDP government.” The timing of the event has been faulted by many Nigerians. A legal luminary, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), said the huge sum was raised in the aid of President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election bid at a time 14 state governments could not pay monthly salaries. Former Kaduna State Governor Balarabe Musa frowned at the act of perfidy, saying that there was a naira rain at the Aso Rock Villa at a time many Nigerians could not afford three square meals.

    Other critics said the flamboyant hunt for campaign funds smacked of indifference to the plight of the distressed people ravaged by terrorism. Irked by the gross insensitivity, human rights activist Nelson Ekunjimi said the PDP Federal Government is raising money for re-election when the country is passing through multiple crises, which the President has failed to tackle. He said the sole pre-occupation of the ruling party is the general election at a time two states are being annexed by terrorists, who hoist their flags in captured towns and territories, thereby challenging the national sovereignty. Ekunjimi, the Director of the Centre for Rights and Grassroots Initiative (CRGI), pointed out that money was being raised to sustain Dr. Jonathan in power when internally displaced persons suffering from the Boko Haram insurgency are denied succour. “How do you want the parents of the abducted Chibok girls to feel? Can they be happy and enthusiastic about fund-raiser when the fate of their loved ones hangs in the balance? The insensitivity and aloofness is even underscored by the fact that the President did not deem it fit to mention the plight of the abducted Chibok girls in his new year message to the nation,” he added.

    The pattern of scandalous donation is shrouded in secrecy and controversy. The question is: who are the donors? Beyond their broad description as fair-weather friends of the President, top party chieftains, government contractors and businessmen, the actual identities of the donors are concealed. Critics have alleged that the few, whose identities were revealed, are government contractors and those whose sources of money are traceable to government. But, since the PDP has also converted the electioneering period into a season of investment and brisk business, political investors, who hope to garner returns on their investment, also dominated the festival of strategic revenue generation.

    The ceremony was chaired by the wealthy Chairman of Skye Bank, Mr. Tunde Ayeni, one of the big names in the telecommunication sub-sector. His donation came in two parts. Apart from donating N1 billion on behalf of himself, he donated another N1 billion on behalf of friends, whose identities are not known. At that stage, the ceremony should have ended  because the N2 billion has exceeded the presidential election expenses anticipated by the Electoral Act.  A group, the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), pointed out that the PDP deliberately contravened Section 91 (2) of the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended), which states that “the maximum election expenses to be incurred by a candidate at a presidential election shall be N1 billion.”

    Other donors clearly have partisan motives. A PDP sympathiser from Kwara State, Mrs. Bola Shagaya, friend of the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, donated N5 billion. She is an active player in the oil  and gas industry. The donation was on behalf of herself and her “unidentified friends.” Senator Jerry Gana, former university don, prominent politician and permanent friend of any government in power, donated N5 billion. The Niger State born politician has an enormous investment in the energy sector as a beneficiary of privatisation. Concern has been mounting over the fate of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, which has been sold to private operators. But, people were confused when the government that sold the edifice proposed to arrange out a controversial bail out for the power sector to the tune of N213 billion. The 15 states on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission donated N15 million.

    Twenty-one PDP governors led by Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio coughed out N1.05 billion. Each of the governors donated N50 m.  In Musa’s view, this is scandalous. “If civil servants are agonising over the non-payment of salaries and their governors are participating in the donation jamboree in Abuja, it is worrisome,” he said. However, other donations by consortium of firms and operators in critical sectors are also scandalous. The motivation for a donation of N500 million by the power sector, which has generated more darkness than electricity in recent years, was unknown. So was the construction sector, which has contributed to the failure of government to adequately fight the infrastructure battle. The sector donated N500 million, despite the complaints by the operators that they could not complete the contracts awarded by governments because it has failed in its financial obligations. Sources said that pressures were mounted on other wealthy businessmen and big contractors who depend on the government for economic survival. Although many of them were not convinced, they yielded because they thought that non-compliance was risky for their business interest.

    In Musa’s view, the fund-raising reflected the monetisation of politics by PDP leaders, adding that it smacked of irresponsibility. He said the PDP has corrupted the electoral process by its plan to woo the voters with money. Musa said the motivation for raising the huge amount should be investigated by the anti-graft body. “It is money stolen from the government. The money could not have been donated by someone who earned it legitimately. They are monies stolen from the public fund. Can they say the money is from their pocket? My advice is that those who stole public funds should not go away with it,” he added. Besides, the long-term implications of the pre-election activities should not be glossed over. “Are they not donating because of what they hope to reap after the election? If a contractor is donating to the party of government in power, how can the government which accepts the donation frown when the contract is not executed? Can the government insist on contract execution by its corrupt ally, who is a contractor?”, he queried.

    Akintola, who shared this opinion, lamented that political leaders have elevated 2015 general elections over and above the collective survival of the country. He maintained that it is wrong for governors to donate huge sums to the campaign fund, when workers are protesting the non-payment of salaries. “My own concern is the way we elevate politics over and above the economy and security. Nigerians are suffering in millions. People are not living well. The standard of living has fallen. Twenty four states cannot pay salaries. They are begging workers to be patient. Yet, some people contributed N21 b. This amount can pay the salaries of workers in many states.

    “They should have human face. We are preparing for elections. We are nit concerned about the existence of Nigerians. Political parties are dancing on the grave of poor Nigerians.”

    For elder statesman Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the PDP’s penchant for monetisation of the electioneering is condemnable. The former Lagos State governor said the move to financially intimidate the oppositio is a bad omen for democracy. He said, if it is established that the money was not stolen from the public treasury, there is no cause for alarm. However, the former Works Minister said, if the source of the money is not clean, it is to the discredit of the government which is benefiting from questionable sources of money. “It is a dangerous sign for the future to monetise our politics to that extent. It is very bad,” he added. Jakande advised the opposition to avoid scandal during the electioneering. His words: “My advice is that other political parties should not emulate the PDP. They should do better. The masses are the most important people during elections. My appeal to the APC and other political parries is to mobilise the masses in a rational way without financial inducement.”

    APC chieftain Chief Rafiu Jafojo, who was Jakande’s deputy in the Second Republic, said it its wrong for the PDP to intimidate other parties with its capacity to raise huge money. He said the next election is not about “naira or dollar war,” but about issues. Predicting that the power of money will crumble during the election, he said Nigerians are now wiser.  Jafojo queried: “What do they need the money for? Where is the money coming for? Who are the donors? Nigerians need the full list of donors.”

    Afenifere Deputy Leader Senator Ayo Fasanmi frowned at the fund-raising, saying that the N21 b is scandalous. He queried: “N21 billion for what? Do you want to purchase the votes of the people? The naira is in shambles. What is the money for?.” Fasanmi chided the PDP for wasting public funds on trivialities, adding that no amount of financial power can stop power shift in next elections. The elder statesman added:  “It is scandalous in a nation that cannot pay monthly salaries to workers. They have monetised the process. It is not good for democracy. It is undesirable. People are taking notes. N21 billion for one person in a country where people can’t have three square meals? They are over-stretching people’s patience. “In 2015, their money cannot prevent progressives from taking power. Buhari and Osinbajo will rule this country. The next election is about the struggle for redemption, not about raining billions. No amount of billions can save the PDP from electoral catastrophe. People are ready. It will be one man, one vote.

    CSNAC asked Muazu to release the full list of donors. Its Programme Manager, Adeola Abiodun, said the group made the request under the Freedom of Information Act. He said the reports on the sources of the money donated and the identities of the contributors are vague. “Section 93 of the Electoral Act makes anonymous donation untenable,” he pointed out.  The rights activist said the concealment of the important information undermines the legality and legitimacy of the electoral and democratic process. “It is necessary to provide the information to curtail the risk of corruption during the campaign,” he added.

  • PZ Cussons’ campaign hits streets

    PZ Cussons’ campaign hits streets

    The management of PZ Cussons has begun a regional consumer engagement campaign of Canoe detergent brand, tagged: “Alive with Colour Campaign”.

    It is meant to promote the uniqueness of the brand and demonstrate how it washes clothing clean, while preserving the colours.

    The Head of Fabric Care, PZ Cussons Africa, Roy C. Ekekwe, speaking at the weekend at the activation of the product at the Ikeja Mall, Lagos, said the purpose of the brand was to enable consumers live a colourful life.

    “The brand is there to resolve the tension our consumers deal with each time they wash and clean their coloured fabrics.”

    The Brand Manager, Canoe Detergent, Gloria Jacobs, said: “Colours are at the heart of what Canoe stands for.”

    She said the brand enjoyed quality advantage over other brands in the market, being the only Nigerian colour care detergent formulated to clean and care for coloured clothes. “Its mild formulation, with soap flakes and Aloe Vera tipping, make this possible. Canoe detergent has enjoyed patronage from consumers.”

    On the regional campaign in Lagos, Abeokuta and Ibadan, she noted that the essence was to create awareness for the brand and bring its message closer to the people.