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Tag: consensus

  • Searching for APC’s consensus candidate

    The above was stoked by The Cable, the new but increasingly popular online newspaper in its analysis of the different aspirants on September 1. Perhaps the issue should be: Does the APC really want to win the presidential election next year? If they want to win, then, they must do their homework. As it appears today, there is nothing to suggest that they really, really want to win. Any party that wants to choose a consensus candidate among several aspirants must use certain objective criteria devoid of selfish interests. To do so, the APC must ponder what the key issues are right now that are likely going to influence the direction of voting next year. In my opinion, there are four key issues.

    First, Nigeria has become dangerously polarized on the issue of religion caused directly by the Boko Haram phenomenon and President Jonathan’s divisive actions along those lines. This appears to be PDP’s main strategy for 2015 as the party’s bigwigs continue to associate the APC with Boko Haram without bordering to back up their assertion with any evidence. It would also appear that the PDP has enlisted the SSS in this dangerous strategy considering the fact that Marilyn Ogar, the spokesperson of the SSS has started echoing that line too recently.

    Secondly, beating a sitting president has so far not been possible in Nigeria no matter how unpopular he is. To defeat particularly this one will require the mobilization of the entire country, in order to neutralize the rigging machine.

    Third, Jonathan has currently been roundly branded, and rightly so, as incompetent and unfit to govern, and therefore extremely unpopular but that does not necessarily mean any APC candidate can defeat him.

    Finally, the unity of the north shall also be key as this will determine whether a northern candidate can win in 2015. To defeat Jonathan in 2015, APC must field a candidate who has the capacity to unite the whole north and who can be supported by all the contending and power centres within the party. The credential of that candidate must also be such as to be able to neutralize Jonathan and PDP’s strategy of balkanizing the nation along petty religious lines in the 2015 election.

    So in determining which of the APC presidential aspirants comes closest to qualifying as a consensus candidate using these criteria, let us re-examine the names mentioned by The Cable viz Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Aminu Tambuwal and Sam Nda-Isaiah.

    I will also examine the prospects of Rochas Okorocha and Bukola Saraki

    Buhari is a very well-respected former head of state; straight as an arrow. His greatest strength is that he is very popular among the masses of the far north. But history has shown that politicians with such massive following among their people are held in suspicion in other parts of the country. Very popular politicians of old who fall into that category and never became president include Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Mallam Aminu Kano and Dr. Joseph Tarka. That is the real reason why Buhari lost in 2003, 2007 and 2011. Buhari’s case has also been worsened by the fact that his opponents have successfully branded him as a fundamentalist. Even though there is no evidence to support this, the perception has stuck. It does not matter who Buhari’s running mate is, that perception will stick. That is why in spite of Pastor Tunde Bakare, a well-known Christian clergy being his running mate in 2011, he lost almost all of the Christian votes in Nigeria. Buhari’s supporters always brandish his over 12 million votes in the 2011 presidential election as the strongest reason he should be APC’s candidate, but they forget that of this more than 12 million votes, less than 250,000 votes came from the entire 17 states of the south and probably even less from the Christian north.

    There are other reasons why Buhari may not even get the 12 million votes again. There is the Buhari fatigue. After contesting in 2003, 2007 and 2011, many people think he should not be contesting in 2015 again. Many also believe that a 70-year old should not be contesting to be president especially for a man that was head of state 30 years ago.

    Not many people both within the APC and outside think Atiku should be the APC presidential candidate. ( Atiku has too many baggage and if the APC presents him, it will show the party as an utterly unserious party.

    Kwankwaso has done well as the governor of Kano State. He is one of the PDP governors who crossed over to the APC because Jonathan will not be keeping his promise of not seeking a second term and therefore would be denied the party’s ticket. If Kwankwaso gets the ticket, then the 2015 presidential election will be between PDP and New PDP. Even the PDP will laugh at the APC. And many original opposition politicians will remind themselves that in 2003, they had to virtually wrestle Kwankwaso to the ground in order to replace him as the governor of Kano State. Buhari and his followers in Kano will be reminded that in the 2003 governorship election, Kwankwaso, together with Obasanjo tried to use the military to alter the peoples’ will. Kwankwaso will most certainly be a good president but giving him the ticket can break the party. He is also far from being the ideal consensus candidate.

    There have been rumours of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal decamping from the PDP to the APC and contesting for the APC presidential ticket almost immediately. His candidacy could satisfy the yearnings of a large section of the country for a generational shift, but it will simply be laughable for the speaker, or anyone for that matter to officially decamp from the PDP to the APC tomorrow and the day after, he becomes the party’s presidential candidate. The speaker cannot be a consensus candidate by any stretch of the imagination.

    Sam Nda-Isaiah, publisher of Leadership newspapers is not a political heavyweight. He has never contested any election and has never occupied any public office, so no one knows how he might behave in public office. But his campaigners say that also makes him the only real face of change among all the aspirants since “change” is the APC’s slogan. It is probably true that no other APC aspirant can really claim to represent change as Sam. At 52, he is also one of the youngest aspirants and therefore a representative of the school of generational shift. Being a Christian minority from the north could eliminate Jonathan’s key and pivotal support in the Christian north. Because of the activities of Boko Haram and President Jonathan’s divisive politics, no Muslim candidate would be able to receive northern Christian support. But Sam also has another critical advantage. Northern Muslims feel very comfortable with him in a way that they do not with some other Christian northerners such as Professor Jerry Gana, for instance. So Sam’s candidacy, in spite of his scanty political CV has the potential of uniting the entire north. His fresh face in politics with little political baggage and a popular south-west Muslim running mate can also deprive Jonathan of the entire south-west votes, since his candidacy can also neutralize Jonathan’s south-west Christian vote advantage.

    Sam’s major problem is that he does not appear to posses the campaign war-chest like the other aspirants.(

    The former governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki also has age on his side and will also represent those with the thought of generational shift. He also did well as a governor so can be counted to be a good president. But he is hampered by a couple of issues. First, like Atiku, Kwankwaso and Tambuwal, he is of the PDP stock. In fact in 2011, Atiku and Saraki were presidential aspirants on the platform of the PDP. The second is that he is currently under investigation by the EFCC. Even though the EFCC issue is clearly a tool of victimization of the Jonathan government against him, the APC cannot field a candidate with this unresolved problem.

    The main issue against Rochas Okorocha at this time is that the APC has technically zoned the presidency to the north in 2015. It is clear that the APC has very limited choices if it really wants to win the presidency come 2015. It is obvious that the closest the APC has to presenting a consensus candidate is Sam Nda-Isaiah. Sam’s candidacy will put a lie to PDP’s label on the APC as a Muslim party, which unfortunately have been swallowed hook, line and sinker by a section of the international community. But if the APC big guns decide they are not comfortable with him, they can try their own logic. But the truth is that 2015 is probably APC’s best chance of coming to power. If they bungle this one, Nigerians will not forgive them and they will not have another chance to correct this.

     

    • Danjuma wrote in from Hotoro Quarters, Kano.

     

     

  • Niger East: PDP dumps consensus

    Niger East: PDP dumps consensus

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Niger State yesterday opted for primaries in picking its candidate for the Niger East Senatorial by-election on August 16.

    The party dumped former Deputy Governor Shem Zagbayi Nuhu as the party’s consensus candidate.

    This followed the formal presentation of a letter of intent by ex-House of Representatives member Abdullahi Musa, to contest the election.

    Acting party Chairman Tanko Beji said the emergence of a new aspirant voided the consensus of Zagbayi.

    Beji said: “Abdullahi Musa has emerged as another contestant. It means that party primaries must be conducted. This is a democratic process we cannot run away from. We will not shy away from the process and it will be transparent, fair and peaceful”.

    “Two weeks ago, we announced Dr. Nuhu as a consensus candidate, but with the emergence of Musa, consensus has been dislodged.

    “Musa has the right to contest hence we accepted his letter of intent.

    “We’ll have party primaries to ensure the most suitable candidate that will be acceptable is presented,” Beji declared.

    He assured aspirants of a level-playing field, adding that delegates would be made public.

    Beji said nomination forms would be sold for N1.5 million, with the intent form costing N100,000.

    Speaking with reporters, Musa hailed the party’s decision, saying: “All I wanted was for the party to follow due process in getting the candidate for the by-election”.

  • Building consensus for national development

    The ongoing National Conference is approaching the terminal stage. Very soon Nigerians will know whether the conference was a worthwhile political master stroke by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration as observed by Bishop Mattew Hassan Kukah and many others following its inauguration. Alternatively, Nigerians will know whether the convocation of the conference was an ultra expensive gimmick by the administration to tamper the political convolution that was then threatening to torpedo it. No doubt, the Jonathan administration has had time to regain its breath since the conference started, with a sizeable number of the critical elite bogged down by the intricacies and the spoils of that political engagement.

    However, to the consternation of many of those who have invested hope in the conference, there is yet no courageous proposal by the conference to alter our country’s suffocating rent economy for a productive one. Indeed to the chagrin of many, the conference had turned the important requirement of political restructuring of the country for our nation’s survival to a huge joke, with the hideous recommendation for the creation of 19 new states. With a substantial number of the conferees distinguished beneficiaries of the rent economy, the conference by that recommendation merely sort to expand their clan, even as they have spared no thought as to how such an expansive expansion of the national bureaucracy can be maintained.

    So instead of concentrating their effort to hammer out a consensus on how the existing 36 states, with the creation of just one more state for the south-east zone, will be re-structured and empowered for greater economic activity and bureaucratic efficiency, the conference has rather opted to further muddle the pond. I was thinking that despite the misgivings over the benefits accruable to the country from the conference by a critical segment of the country, that the members will understand the urgent need to work out modalities on how to devolve greater economic powers to either the existing states, or a proposed zonal arrangement. With the claim and counter-claim by segments of the delegates over a proposed new constitution, let us wait to see if there will be a redeeming benefit from the conference which no doubt has given a huge dent to the national purse.

    As the conference turns on the last lap, the challenge before the conferees is to find the requisite sagacity to build the required consensus to hammer out beneficial proposals for our national rebirth, however minuscule. In making that move, perhaps the guide provided by late Ikemba Nnewi, Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu in his book, Because I am Involved, may be helpful to the representatives. In that book, he late Ezeigbo wrote,“I am humbly of the opinion that the true beginnings of our loss of direction as a nation can be traced directly to the fabrication and installation of what I had earlier called east/west dichotomy. It is this phenomenon that has created and multiplied the imbalance in our body public. It is this that betrayed our struggle against colonialism. It is this that has created the situation which has been ably exploited and which continues to be exploited to our mutual detriment…. I am firmly of the opinion that the beginning of wisdom in Nigerian politics is the removal of this imbalance which constantly distorts everything.”

    I am confident that nobody will accuse the great Ikemba of talking ignorantly; neither will any from the East accuse him of being a sell-out, as many uninformed critics glibly assert, when some people push the position that there is the need for a strategic alliance between the old east and the old west, if Nigeria will ever have the chance to make any form of progress. As Ikemba asserted in his book first published in 1989, when he wrote “I do believe that the search for a new understanding begins willy-nilly with the east and west finding a common ground. This need is so urgent that I do not believe it affords us the luxury of apportioning blame. We all are at fault to a greater or lesser extent. What the situation demands is courage; courage to chart a new course and speak new truths and the will to install new understanding. In saying this, I wish to state categorically that my proposal is not and can not mean the replacement of the east/west dichotomy with a north/south dichotomy. Rather what I propose is that east/west understanding is a prerequisite for a north/south understanding without which the pan-Nigerians of our dream and aspirations cannot be installed.”

    Propounding his assertion that one of the problems buffeting the progress of Nigeria is the lack of unity, Ikemba referred to the Holy Bible’s assertion that ‘If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand’. He then enthused: “In a nutshell, this is the problem of Nigeria. If Nigeria is divided against itself, Nigeria cannot stand.” He continued, “What then is unity? Unity, in a political unit, is a state of affairs where the entire polity is completely reconciled with itself: a state of affairs where fear, reasonable or unreasonable is diminished or reduced to manageable proportions, a state of affairs where the entire society maintains confidence in the institutions that bind, a state of affairs where man can confidently seek and find his due place in society…. Unity does not mean that differences cease to exist. Rather, it means that differences are recognized and accommodated to the satisfaction of all concerned. Unity means that both privilege and handicaps are not automatic.”

    Personally I guess Ikemba is right on this score. The challenge however remains the lack of will among the divided elites to appreciate this template as the antidote to the motion without movement that has bedeviled our nation’s political trajectory, and work for a change.

  • Community and Consensus My hope for Anambra

    Anambra is a state that has produced great writers. If Chinua Achebe and Flora Nwapa and Chukwuemeka Ike had not written the books they did, when they did, and how they did, I would perhaps not have had the emotional courage to write my own books. Today I honour them and all the other writers who came before me. I stand respectfully in their shadow. I also stand with great pride in the shadow of so many other daughters and sons of Anambra State.

    But the truth is that I have not always been proud of Anambra. I was ashamed when Anambra became a metaphor for poor governance, when our political culture was about malevolent shrines and kidnappings and burnt buildings, when our teachers were forced to become petty traders and our school children stayed at home, when Anambra was in such disarray that one of the world’s greatest storytellers, Chinua Achebe, raised the proverbial alarm by rejecting a national award.

    But Anambra rallied. And, for me, that redemption, which is still an ongoing process, is personified in our former governor Peter Obi. I remember the first time I met him years ago, how struck I was, how impressed, that in a country noted for empty ostentation, our former governor travelled so simply and so noiselessly. And perhaps he is proof that you can in fact perform public service in Nigeria without destroying the eardrums of your fellow citizens and without scratching their cars with the whips of your escorts.

    I was struck by other things – how he once arrived early to church, because according to him, he tried not to be late – in a society that excuses late coming by public officials – because he wanted young people to see that governors came to church on time. How he visited one of the schools handed over to the missions and gave the school prefect his direct phone number. How Government House here in Awka was often empty of hangers-on, because he had a reputation for what our people call ‘being stingy,’ which in other parts of the world would be called ‘prudently refusing to waste the people’s resources.’

    Anambra was and is certainly one of the better-governed states in Nigeria. We measure good governance in terms of accountability, security, health, education, jobs, businesses. All of these, of course, are important. But there are other values that are important for a successful society. Two of those in particular are relevant to ndi Anambra and ndi Igbo in general: the values of community and consensus.

    Some years ago, I met an academic in the US. An Igbo man. He wrote articles about Igbo culture, organized conferences about Igbo history. We had an interesting conversation during which he bemoaned the behaviour of Igbo people in America.

    This condition is sadly not limited to the Diaspora. I once ran into a woman here in Nigeria, an old friend of my family’s, and her little son. I said kedu to the boy. His mother quickly said no, no, no, he doesn’t speak Igbo. He speaks only English.

    I deeply love both English and Igbo. English is the language of literature for me. But Igbo has a greater emotional weight. It is the enduring link to my past. It is the language in which my great grandmothers sang.

    Igbo is not perfect, no people have a perfect culture, but there are Igbo values that we can retrieve and renew. The values of community. Of consensus.

    Conscience and integrity are central to Igbo culture, and to any culture that has strong communitarian principles. Conscience means that we cannot think only of ourselves, that we think of a greater good, that we remain aware of ourselves as part of a larger whole.

    Some years ago, my cousin from Eziowelle told me a story that his grandfather had told him, about ISA ILE, where people in a dispute would go to a god and swear that they had not lied, with the understanding that whoever had lied would die. My cousin said, ‘thank God we no longer do that.’

    Have we become, I wondered, a people now overly familiar with falsehood? Are we now allergic to truth? Should we not continue to have a metaphorical isa ile as a guiding principle? Should we not have a society where wilfully telling lies that cause harm to others will have real consequences?

    The Igbo are famed for their entrepreneurial spirit. But at what point did we decide that we will no longer sell goods and services, but instead sell the safety of our sisters and brothers? How did we come to a place where people no longer sleep in their ancestral homes because they are afraid they will be kidnapped for ransom by their own relatives?

    Igboland was once a place where people were concerned about WHERE your money came from. Now that is no longer the case. Now, it matters only that one has money. As for where the money came from, we look away.

    In Chinua Achebe’s classic, Things Fall Apart, Unoka consults Agbala about his poor yam harvests.

    Every year, he said sadly (to the priestess), ‘before I put any crop in the earth, I sacrifice a cock to AnË, the owner of all land. It is the law of our fathers. I also kill a cock at the shrine of the god of yams. I clear the bush and set fire to it when it is dry. I sow the yams when the first rain has fallen, and stake them when the young tendrils appear. I weed…’

    ‘Hold your peace!’ screamed the priestess, her voice terrible as it echoed through the dark void. ’You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. And when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors, his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm.’

    So while we, ndi Anambra, till our fertile soil with strength, let us also be sure that we have not offended our fathers or our mothers. Let us retrieve and renew the values that once were ours. The values of conscience and integrity. Of community and consensus.

    Let us disagree and agree to disagree but let us do so NOT as separate fractious groups fighting against each other constantly, but as people who ultimately have the same goal: a better community for everyone, a better Anambra State.

    • Excerpts from speech delivered by Adichie during the celebration of Obiano’s first 100 days in office in Awka, Anambra State
  • Yobe 2015: Gaidam is APC consensus candidate

    Yobe 2015: Gaidam is APC consensus candidate

    Yobe State All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Alhaji Sidi Yakubu Karasuwa has said the party has resolved to adopt Governor Ibrahim Gaidam as the consensus governorship candidate for the next year’s election.

    The politician described the governor as a performer, adding that there is no need to change a winning team.

    He also said that the APC presidential candidate will defeat President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan at the next year’s election.

    The politician said that the President has destroyed his political goodwill by his lack of performance, adding that the ineptitude will be to the advantage of the APC during elections.

    Describing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a failed platform, Karasuwa, who is the Commissioner for Water Resources, said that the poor performance of the administration has compounded its woes.

    He added: “Actually, I will prefer Jonathan to contest. Why? Because, he is the one we can easily beat because he is not marketable. There are a lot of things under this administration that one can tell Nigerians and it is not something hidden. See the corruption in the NNPC and all over the place.

    “Today, hundreds of billions of dollars cannot be accounted for. Look at his Petroleum Minister, who is spending over N10 billion just for hiring aircraft. What about the tragedy recently at the Immigration recruitment? The list is endless.

    “So, politically speaking, politics is about presenting the score card of the present administration for you to criticise or support. So, we in the APC have so many things now that we can present to Nigerians and tell them that Jonathan is not competent to rule this country.

    Karasuwa also said that the plan by the PDP to hijack power in Yobe State will fail, stressing that the state is the stronghold of the progressive bloc.

    He said the APC will triumph over the PDP, in spite of its leaders’ plan to anoint him as the consensus candidate.

    The politician added: “I heard some time that the PDP wants to make the President a consensus candidate and, if that happens, we will have an upper hand as far as the APC is concerned and the contest will be a walk-over for us”.

    He also said that the APC has a better plan for the country, noting that its road map represents a better approach and holistic strategy of dislodging the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan from power.

    Karasuwa, who applauded the APC family for adopting the governor as its candidate, said that other positions would be contested at the primaries.

     

  • PDP to announce Ekiti consensus candidate on Wednesday

    Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)will choose a consensus candidate for the June 21 election in Ekiti State, it was learnt at the weekend.

    Sources said the candidate would be announced this week.

    It was gathered that a PDP Presidential Consensus Committee, led by Chief Olabode George, met with the party’s governorship aspirants in Abuja at the weekend.

    Sources said the aspirants were told that the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, “would announce the party’s consensus choice among the 14 aspirants within 48 hours.”

    It was learnt President Goodluck Jonathan’s “insistence” on a consensus candidate was to eliminate crisis in the party and bolster its winning chances.

    Sources said an aide of the President told the aspirants to forget the primaries, as “there was no way a primary would not create crisis that could adversely affect the party’s fortunes in the poll.”

    The 13 aspirants at the meeting reportedly agreed with the consensus arrangement and signed an undertaking to support whoever emerges as the party’s flagbearer.

    According to sources, party chieftains at the meeting included PDP National Secretary Prof. Wale Oladipo; Dr. Jide Adeniji; Dr. Doyin Okupe; Prof. Tunde Adeniran; Chief Abiodun Olujimi; Chief CK Awoyelu and Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, among others.

    Former Governor Ayo Fayose, who is a PDP governorship aspirant, said he would not be part of any consensus arrangement.

    Fayose spoke yesterday through his spokesman, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, in Ado-Ekiti.

    He said consensus was another form of imposition, especially when not all aspirants support it.

    Fayose said: “Anybody who believes in democracy and in the election must believe in primary. I do not want to be a consensus candidate. Everybody must be given the right to contest as a member of the party.

    “I have obtained my form and submitted it to the national secretariat. I was screened and the last leg of the process is the primary. If an aspirant has paid N11 million for the nomination form, he should have the courage to face the electorate that will elect him as a candidate at the primary.

    “I reject consensus. I am ready to face other aspirants. After all, there will be no consensus at the general election. I believe in party supremacy based on equity and fair play.”

  • Southwest: No consensus on national conference

    Southwest: No consensus on national conference

    The Presidential Advisory Committee on National Conference held the second Southwest consultative meeting in Lagos last weekend to collate the views of stakeholders on the agenda for the dialogue. Various groups submitted memoranda on the national question. But there was lack of consensus on the desirability of the conference proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan, reports Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU.

     

     

     

    Since 1993, Southwest has led the agitation for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC). Efforts by the Lagos lawyer, the late Chief Alao Aka-Bashorun, to convoke the conference were truncated by the military. But when the historic 1993 presidential election won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola was annulled by former military President Ibrahim Babangida’s regime, the agitation assumed a new dimension.

    However, when President Good-luck Jonathan proposed to set up a national dialogue, stakeholders in the region were divided. The division manifested at the second consultative meeting organised by the Presidential Advisory Committee on National Conference headed by Dr. Femi Okurounmu in Lagos. No fewer than 50 interest groups submitted memoranda at the meeting, which was held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island. But it was also evident that many pro-national conference advocates shunned the forum, owing to their lack of faith in the President.

    When the first Southwest Stakeholders’ Forum was held in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the Labour Party (LP) government mobilised traditional rulers and some opinion leaders for the meeting. However, the Lagos meeting was a wide departure. Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun and Ekiti state governments boycotted the forum. The boycott was in consonance with the position of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the proposed conference.

    Lagos lawyer, 80-year old Dr. Tunji Braithwaite described those opposing the conference as unserious people, assuring that it will succeed. Also, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) founder Dr. Fredrick Fasehun suggested that the government and political parties should be excluded from the conference, since it is the “conference of the Nigerian people”.

    Other stakeholders disagreed with them, urging a strategic dialogue before the real dialogue. Apparently reflecting on the division over the representation at the conference, the Coordinator of the OPC, Otunba Gani Adam, warned against excluding the government and political parties from the process. “The parties will be throwing stones at the conference. They have the machinery to fight the conference”, he said, advising the Federal Government to make it an all-inclusive conference.

    The Southwest’s response has been seriously affected by the politics of antagonism in the region. The division in Afenifere came to the fore. At the NIIA, prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, led by Pa Rueben Fasoranti, and civil society groups filled the hall. However, prominent members of the Afenifere led by Deputy Leader Senator Ayo Fasanmi and APC leaders in the zone were absent. Also, unlike the Akure meeting, which was attended by traditional rulers, the monarchs from the five states did not attend.

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, who received the committee members at the State House, Marina, did not endorse the process. Although he acknowledged that a national debate is good, he pointed out that the reports of the previous conferences offered solutions to the national question. He urged the committee and the Presidency to tap from the past recommendations. In the governor’s view, the proposed conference is a waste of time and resources. Okurounmu disagreed. He said the 2005 Conference, of which he was a delegate, was undemocratic because government’s nominees were in the majority. Therefore, he said its report cannot be revisited. Although Okurounmu is bothered by the likely apathy in the Southwest, especially among the APC family, it is doubtful, if he can convince the APC leaders, who were his colleagues in the old Afenifere/Alliance for Democracy (AD), to change their minds. He has visited the party chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, but the former Osun State governor said that APC will not change its position.

    Even, among the representatives of groups that attended the meeting, there was no consensus on issues. Various organisations offered diverse opinions on critical issues, including the size of the delegates, eligibility of delegates, mode of selection, time frame and report ratification. For example, the Campaign for Democracy (CD) recommended a six month duration. Adams suggested that four months would be enough. The Committee of Indigenous Associations of Lagos State suggested six months. Observers however, agreed that the antagonistic ideas were normal.

    Anxious stakeholders temporarily converted the venue into a conference session by raising contentious issues that ordinarily should warrant a national conference. Okurounmu pleaded with them to wait till the conference, reminding them that he only had the mandate to collate ideas on the agenda and make recommendations to the President.

    The groups that submitted memoranda in Lagos include Yoruba National Assembly, Awori Descendants Union, Campaign for Democracy (CD), OPC, Southwest Consultative Council, Oke Ofun Development Council, Ndigbo Council and Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Groups (COSEG).

     

    Yoruba Assembly

     

    The Convener of Yoruba Assembly, Gen. Alani Akinrinade declared at the meeting that a restrictive conference would be rejected, stressing that “no-go areas” are will not be entertained. In his view, all the issues, including the unity of Nigeria, is negotiable. Akinrinade submitted a 78-paged memoranda.

    The retired General proposed two bills. He said the first bill should give legitimacy to the conference. He said the second should ensure that, after the report has been ratified by the people, the National Assembly will now pass it into law. Akinrinade endorsed the 18 federating units proposed by the Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO) in 2005. He suggested that ethnic nationalities should send delegates to the conference. The retired General insisted on referendum, stressing that it is counter-productive to submit the report of the conference to a National Assembly.

     

    Afenifere

     

    The pan-Yoruba group was represented by Mr. Yinka Odumakin. The group reiterated its support for the conference. But it maintained that it is dangerous to subject its recommendations to the National Assembly because many legislators were products of elections marred by apathy. Odumakin said that Afenifere believed in a referendum because sovereignty belongs to the people.

     

    OPC factions

     

    The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and Ndigbo Council said the conference should give room for self-determination and autonomy for the ethnic groups, if they desire them. Fasehun, said: “Any ethnic group that wants to opt out of the federation must have the opportunity to do so”. The OPC leader aligned with the Yoruba Assembly on the need to pass a bill in support of the conference. But he also stressed that, when the report is submitted to the National Assembly for inclusion in the constitution, the legislators have no right to tamper with it. He said the conference should be an all-inclusive conference of ethnic nationalities and social groups.

    However, Adams opposed the idea of putting the destiny of the conference in the hands of the federal legislators. He said that 80 percent of them do not support the conference, warning that “if we ask them to pass a bill the conference is dead on arrival”. The OPC Coordinator proposed a federation with a loose centre, six regions as federating units, devolution of powers, abolition of powers of emergency exercised by the centre, and payment of delegates by government. Adams also suggested that the national dialogue should have “sovereign decisions”.

     

    Ndigbo Council

     

    Echoing Fasehun, the representative of the Ndigbo Council, Dr. Uma Eleazu, said: “We should ask at the beginning of the conference whether we wantto stay together as a country. If the answer is no, that is the end of the conference. The Bible says that ‘can two work together, unless they agree?”

     

    Team of Nigerian Patriots

     

    This is not the popular “Patriots” led by Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN). This group is led by Senator Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa. The former Alliance for Democracy (AD) Senate Leader spoke on the qualities of the delegates. He said, for Yoruba to be adequately represented, delegates on Yoruba platform should also come from Yoruba in Kogi, Kwara, Edo and Diaspora. “delegates should not be aeesmbled by the logic of money and political power”, he added. Akinfenwa also insisted on referendum for the validation of the conference report by simple majority.

     

    ARG, PRONACO, COSEG and ONAC

     

    The ARG suggested that 30 delegates should represent each administrative region. The group proposed 18 regions, adding that the conference should hold between March 1 and November 30 next year. ARG leader Hon. Olawale Oshun, said that “any ethnic group that does not agree to the conference’s outcome shall be free to seek its own sovereignty’. He added: “Since the conference will produce a new Constitution, we recommend that it be completed before 2015 elections, with a new Constitution to come into force latest by January 2, 2015. We recommend two tiers of conferencing: Administrative Regional Conferencing and the Pan-Nigeria Conferencing. Whatever is agreed at the Administrative Regional Conferencing will be the working document that the Administrative Regional Conference will present at the pan Nigeria Conference and that is what will be negotiated upon.”We are asking that each region should have the opportunity to decide who represents them and to that extent we are suggesting that representation from each region should not exceed 30 and we recommend that an additional 18 persons should be able to join the 30 people from each administrative zone so that at the end of it, we will have a total of 198. We also recommend that under no circumstance should any special interest group be considered, they are all members of the nationality and if they are interested in participating, they should be called from their nationality and within nine months the exercise should be completed”.

     

    Southwest Consultative Forum

     

    The Southwest Consultative Forum (SCF) said that mini-conferences should be held at the state, regional and national levels. The leader of the group, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, said that each local government should elect 10 representatives to the State Delegate Conference, each state in a region should send 10 elected representatives to the regional conference and each zone should send 60 delegates to the national conference. In addition to the 360 delegates, he proposed that non-voting 100 delegates should represent “technical or special interests”, including labour, judiciary, and other government agencies. “It is suggested that the ward consultations, local government conferences, state conferences, regional/zonal conferences and the national conference be held in 2014, and a national refrendum on the adoption of the new constitution be conducted before October 1, 2014, and coming into being on October 1, 2014, signifying the rebirth of Nigeria”, he added.

     

    Oke Ogun Development Council

     

    The group was represented by Real Admiral Amos Adedeji. The group suggested that representation at the conference should be based on local governments.

     

    Awori Descendants Union

     

    Former Lagos State House of Assembly member Hon. Bolwale Olasoji represented the group. The group called for a special status for Lagos State, a state indigenous character commission, the abolition of the Land Use Act, and equal representation by the ethnic nationalities.

     

    CD

     

    The leader of the group, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, warned that Nigeria may sink, if urgent steps are not taken. “Conference must have sovereign powers to make it a peoples’ conference”, she said. On the agenda for the conference, she said it should discuss the national question, especially the restructuring, national security, fiscal federalism, and human rights. Mrs. Odumakin suggested that foreign observers from the African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) should serve as observers.

     

    Yoruba Unity Forum

     

    The group is led by Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi. It proposed 400 delegates to be drawn from the ethnic nationalities. The zones should be equally represented, but the Federal capital Territory (FCT) should be proportionally represented.

     

    EMIROAF

     

    The Secretarty-General of Ethnic Minority and Indigenous Rights Organisation of Africa (EMIROAF), Mr. Alfred Ilenre, urged the government to set up a conference of ethnic nationalities. Decisions at the conference, he said, should be by consensus. He said, in addition to the foreign observers, civil society groups can also serve as domestic monitors.

     

    ‘Nigeria O Possible Group’

     

    The group was represented by Mr. Gbenga Adesanya. Its suggestions include parliamentary system, a small government of six regions, abolition of state creation, full autonomy for councils and independent candidacy. Others are part-time legislature, amendment of the Land Use Act, self-sustaining university, citizenship rights, oil theft as treason, abolition of contract employment and the retention of the current centralised police structure.

     

  • 2014 poll: Consensus candidacy tears Osun, Ekiti PDP apart

    2014 poll: Consensus candidacy tears Osun, Ekiti PDP apart

    •Party may opt for primaries to avoid crisis, says chieftain

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirants in Osun and Ekiti states are protesting plans by the party leadership to impose candidates on the troubled chapters for the next year elections, it was learnt yesterday.

    But a party elder, who is a former National Assembly member, told our correspondent that no definite decision has been taken on the method of picking the candidate. He said: “Both methods-primaries and consensus-are on the table. There are protagonists and antagonists. The party will prefer consensus, but, if it will lead to destabilising crisis, then, we may still hold primaries in states where they indicate the preference”.

    In Osun State, some of the aspirants have raised eyebrow over an alleged move by the top echelon of the party to give the ticket to the former deputy governor, Senator Iyiola Omisore, as the consensus candidate.

    Party sources said the Presidency has been lobbied to back the Ile-Ife-born politician because he has the structure and financial muscle to weather the storm. However, Omisore’s rivals, who have vowed to resist any imposition, said they would appeal to the electorate more than him, the source added.

    Other PDP chieftains jostling for the ticket in Osun State include the former Minister of Sports and Culture, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, former Secretary to Government, Chief Fatai Akinbade, former federal legislator, and Hon. Wole Oke. Sources said at the weekend that a lawyer and former commissioner may join the race this week.

    “In the Southwest, the PDP want to avoid post-primary crisis, which often militates against the success of the party at the general election. The mood of the party favours consensus candidate. The puzzle is who should the candidate be. In Osun, the aspirants are aware of the consensus option, but they feel that the Presidency wants to tilt the pendulum towards Omisore. They believe that he has the experience, money and other credential to rub shoulders with the incumbent governor. Seriously speaking, other aspirants are not disposed to Omisore’s candidature”.

    However, one of the associates of Omisore said that the former deputy governor is prepared for the primaries, if the consensus option fails. He said: “The stage we are now is that we are prepared for party primaries. We are holding retreats for our members in preparation for the contest. We have our structures on ground across the 30 local governments. Omisore is determined and he is mobilising towards victory”.

    In Ekiti State, the consensus candidacy is generating ripples, since a Board of Trustees (BoT) member and party elder, Chief Dayo Okondo, disclosed in Lagos at the party’s zonal meeting that the chapter was disposed to the option. Sources said that many aspirants are being persuaded to embrace the option, which Okondo said, would forge unity and cohesion in the fold.

    Ekiti PDP aspirants include former Governor Ayo Fayose, Police Affairs Minister Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd), Prince Dayo Adeyeye, Senator Ayo Arise, Senator Gbenga Aluko, former Deputy Governors Abiodun Aluko and Biodun Olujimi, and Ayo Aribisala.

    A source in Ekiti PDP said: “The party is disposed to picking an aspirant who appeals to other aspirants as the candidate. But some aspirants, including Fayose, want primaries. Those who are supporting consensus are also saying that other factors like zoning, structure, financial muscle, experience and pedigree should be considered. Already, there is crisis over the formula”.

    Another party stalwart said: “Some of the aspirants are afraid of primaries because they know that they will fail. It also appears to me that they want a particular candidate out of the race because he is insisting on primaries. If this matter is not properly handled, we know the result”.

     

  • Governorship poll: Presidency, PDP propose consensus candidacy for Anambra, Ekiti, Osun

    The Presidency and the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have urged its members in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states to put their houses in order, ahead of the next governorship elections.

    President Goodluck Jonathan, it was learnt, has enjoined the warring chieftains in the troubled chapters to reconcile and present consensus candidates to prevent post-primary crises that may abort their victory in the proposed polls.

    The proposal, which is part of efforts to ensure cohesion and foster peace, trailed the call for automatic tickets for governors by the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih.

    Insiders, however, said that the President set some criteria for the emergence of the consensus candidates. These include integrity, track record of performance in his profession and previous political appointment, popularity and grassroots appeal.

    The tenure of the Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, expires in March, next year and the governorship election is expected to hold in the last quarter of this year. Also, governorship elections will hold in Ekiti and Osun states next year.

    Sources said that Dr. Jonathan and many PDP national leaders told a delegation of party elders and leaders from Anambra State, who visited them in Abuja last week, that the next poll is very important to the party in many ramifications. At the meeting with the President were the members of the state executive commitete, BoT members, party elders, former presidential aides and federal legislators from the state.

    According to the sources, the President reminded them that the PDP lost the governorship to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) due to protracted party crises, advising them to work for unity.

    Other leaders were said to have also counselled the Anambra chapter to rebuild the party and attract the aggrieved APGA members to the fold, as part of the strategies for building a strong platform.

    No fewer than 10 governorship aspirants are competing for the ticket in tthe state. They include Senator Andy Uba, Mr. Nicholas Nkachukwu, Godwin Ezeemo, Prof. Charles Soludo and Dr. Ifeanyi Ubah, who is allegedly holding consultations with the PDP, APGA and Labour Party (LP).

    The aspirants on the queue in Osun State include former Youths, Sports and Culture Minister, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, former Secretary to Government Chief Fatai Akinbade, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, and former House of Representatives member Hon. Wole Oke.

    In Ekiti State, the aspirants include former Governor Ayo Fayose, former Deputy Governors Bisi Omoyeni, Abiodun Olujimi and Abiodun Aluko, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, Senator Ayo Arise, Senator Gbenga Aluko, Hon. Aribisala, Mr. Yinka Akerele, and Mr. Bimbo Owolabi.

    A PDP chieftain in Anambra State said: “The President is passionate about Anambra State. He believes that it is fundamentally, a PDP state, but the party lost to APGA due to protracted crises. It is generally believed that the 2015 race will start with the governorship election in Anambra. The party is not united there and this is a concern to the President.

    “It is the thinking of the President and our national leaders that , if we queue behind a condidate that can unite the party and appeal to all the stakeholders in the state, PDP can still make it. He (President) has advised us to go and put our house in order. My understanding is that the President, who is the national leader of our great party, wants us to avoid post-primary crises which usually affect us during elections. It is up to us to take this advice, if we want to win power in the state”.

    Also, during his meeting with the Ekiti PDP delegation, the President advised them to rise above their differences, warning that a divided house cannot dislodge the ruling party.

    Ekiti PDP has been polarised, following the last congress which led to the emergence of the Makanjuola Ogundipe-led executive committee, which members are said to be loyal to the Fayose group. But attempts to raise a parallel executive by chieftains opposed to the former governor failed. The group also fought back, criticisising the congress that produced the former governor, Mr. Segun Oni, as the PDP National Vice Chairman (Southwest).

  • Anambra 2014: 17 step down for consensus candidate

    The 17 gubernatorial aspirants from Anambra North senatorial zone yesterday agreed to adopt a consensus candidate to enable the zone produce the next governor.

    Only eight of them, however, attended the meeting.

    They were Mr. Oseloka Obaze (APGA); Dr. Chike Obidigbo (APGA); Alex Obiogbolu (PDP); Nnamdi Ekweogwu (PDP); Barr Chinedu Idigo (APGA), Paul Odenigbo and Dr. Emma Okafor.

    They pledged to work with whoever is adopted as the consensus candidate of the zone.

    Chairman of Olu na Adagbe, Chief Shedrack Anakwue, said each of the major parties would present a candidate from the zone.

    The aspirants, he said, would endorse the consensus candidate at the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and All Progressive Alliance (APC).

    He handed over a sealed envelope to the Chairman of the Anambra North Traditional Rulers’ council and Chairman of Olu na Adagbe traditional ruler, Igwe Rowland Odegbo, for keeps.