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  • APC to be active in two weeks, says CPC

    OPPOSITION’s new baby, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will be registered in two weeks, national chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Prince Tony Momoh said yesterday.

    Momoh spoke at the CPC’s National Executive Committee ( NEC) meeting held at the party’s headquarters in Abuja.

    Momoh, who expressed confidence that the opposition coalition has met every requirement for registration of APC, said at the expiration of the mandatory 30 days deadline provided for in the Electoral Act (2010) as amended, the new party would have been deemed registered.

    “It is true that we are winding down but there is no APC, until we have the certificate which should out in two weeks . So INEC’’s role is administrative and to do its work to ensure that the party is registered, “ he said.

    He said even after the registration, all the existing interim party positions will still be harmonised and more party organs inaugurated.

    The organs include national convention committee, board of trustees, NEC, National Working Committee (NWC), Zonal Committee, State Congress, State Working Committee.

    Other party organs are State Executive Committee, Senatorial District Committee, Local Council Area Congress Committee, Local Government Area Executive Committee, Ward Committee, Ward executive Committee and Polling Unit Committee.

     

  • Don’t rename varsity after Saraki, say ACN, CPC, others

    •Govt: Kwara ought to be named after him

    SHOULD the four-year-old Kwara State University (KWASU) be renamed Olusola Saraki University (OSU)? Yes, says the government , which is proposing the change; no, says the opposition.

    The parties appeared yesterday at a public hearing by the House of Assembly in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on the matter.

    The Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) and Congress of Progressive Change (CPC) opposed the move, but the government defended its plan.

    ARG Vice Chairman in the state Baba Bako urged the House not to be stampeded by the executive to pass the bill into law.

    He said: “Should there be the need to rename that institution after a notable Kwaran, an examination of the roles of past leaders of this state is necessary. This will allow for actual valuation of the contributions of such leaders to the political evolution, and socio-economic development of this state.

    “There had been several leaders from what we now call Kwara State before Saraki. They played some key roles to establish and sustain what we now call Kwara state. Perhaps, because we have mostly lost our sense of history, that explains why their roles in the creation of the state have been relegated and not even streets are named after many of them. Such leaders are Alhaji AGF AbdulRazaq, Chief M. A. O. Olarnewaju, Chief J. S. Olawoyin and Alhaji Suleiman Maito.

    “In 1967, Kwara State was formally created by Gen Yakubu Gowon and the first military governor was the then Major later Brig-Gen David Bamigboye. As the first governor of the state, he established structures that were improved upon by those who came after him. Such leaders definitely merit greater honour than the late Abubakar Olusola Saraki.

    “Truly, the late Waziri was elected a senator and a senate leader from 1979-1983, what landmark development did his leadership at the Senate bring to the state for that period? We should remember that, that was an era of political intrigues that literarily paralysed all forms of developments in the state. For the better part of his political career, the late Waziri was a god-father in Kwara politics. God used him to make governors and there was none of these governors, including his son, that he did not fight

    “During that time of such egoistic bitter political struggles with Governors Atta, Adebayo, Sha’aba, Lawal and Bukola the development of the state became stunted. These should not be a character that should be honoured with an edifice like a university.

    “The ‘leader’ had no dominant idea on governance like Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikiwe; had no sagacity of Sir Ahmadu Bello; had no privilege of heading a government like Tafawa Balewa and S.L Akintola and had no courage like MKO Abiola.”

    Otunba Iyiola Akogun for the ACN said the government lacked the moral and ideological rights to honour the late Saraki with KWASU

    He said: “I am of the view that a university of this nature should not be named after Olusola Saraki and if it should be named after it should not be by the present administration. Let people that can be objective about the type of politician this man was come on board and name the university after him; if we all believe that he did well when he was alive. Let us not create anything that will devalue his name after another set of people take over the reins of power.

    “Some people claim that pressures here and there are necessitating the move. That should not be the reasons why a university should be named after an individual, especially a university that is funded from public purse. I know of a fact that the institution is not only funded by the state government but also all the 16 local councils.

    “There have been so many people in this state that have done so many things that are yet to be recognised. I would advise the state government to look into history and dig out people that have done one thing or the other for the state; collate names and bring such for necessary recognition and honour. Why single out an individual?

    “Another thing is that somebody says the university was created by his son, Bukola. His son didn’t create university from his own purse, he created it with public fund and the government doesn’t have the power to just name any university. It is true that many universities in this country have been named after some individuals, but then they were done with military fiat. That is why it has been impossible for President Goodluck Jonathan to rename University of Lagos after Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

    “If Ahmadu Bello University was created, Ahmadu Bello himself was larger than life and he, in fact, created the that university. Since the inception of the civilian rule in 1999 can you see any tertiary institution in this country named after an individual? So we would be laying bad precedent in Kwara State.

    “If you say that the late Olusola Saraki produced governors in the state, people can also say that much as he created governors he fought governors. He created crises among governors and at that time a governor was suspended much to the detriment of this state.

    “I am of the view, that the Kwara State University, apart from what it will connote to the outside world, should not be named after Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki.”

    CPC chairman Alhaji Suleiman Buhair said: “If an institution like KWASU is flippantly renamed, with a simple wave of the hand, a new administration, especially one under a different political ideology and orientation will not hesitate to ponder to the dictate of the masses on the name change.

    “Lest we forget, the resentment generated by the change of name of UNIFE has not died down. Several people are still angry over it. Professor Wole Soyinka has not hidden his anger. He said the name would be reverted one day. Those are verifiable precedents for the Kwara State House of Assembly, which could guide it in arriving a just, moral and saner conclusion.

    “It shows that the renaming of universities after individuals is not absolute but susceptible to change as government also changes. Would it not be a monumental embarrassment to the memory of the dead and the Sarakis should this name change be reversed by a different government in the nearest future?

    “A name-change clearly violates the University Autonomy Act (2007). Autonomy characterises university system worldwide – it is freedom from external interference in and politicisation of, the nation’s universities. It is the right to self-governance.

    “We at the CPC are of a strong conviction that immortalising Dr. Saraki is best served by ensuring his legacy is not forgotten and merely naming places after him only ensures that people remember the name and not the man.”

    Earlier, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mohammed Lade, while justifying the proposed, said: “If it is possible to rename Kwara State as Olusola Saraki state, I think the late Baba Saraki deserves it. All of us sitting here today and those of us not here, Baba has contributed one way or the other to what we are today. He actually encouraged education in the state, apart from what he was doing individual persons.

    “That person is no longer alive and we feel we should rename the Kwara State University after him. We also received a proposal the KWASU Governing Council on the need to immortalise Baba. We don’t have any other thing to give the late politician than to name the university after him.”

    The Moggaji Nda of Ilorin, Alhaji Saliu Mohammed, said those opposed to the change, were proposed oblivious of the late Saraki’s achievements.

    “I heard somebody was saying he is objecting to the renaming of KWASU after Saraki because the university was established with public funds. We’ve got precedent that several universities and colleges in this country established with public funds of were named after individuals because of their exceptional contributions to the development of this country.

    “Dr Saraki was a reliable, true and patriotic Nigerian. A friend of the weak and oppressed that produced many governors in the state without taking any kobo from them; he was great in life and death.

    “He was one of those who spearheaded the name of Kwara State. The commissioner was so kind by saying we can name the state after Saraki. We can name everybody after Saraki. I am proud to call myself Saraki. Let me tell you if there is politics in heaven, we are going to queue behind him.”

  • Give us justice in Ondo, CPC urges CJN, NJC

    The Ondo State chapter of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday demanded justice in the petition of its governorship candidate in last year’s governorship election, Prince Olusoji Ehinlanwo.

    At its emergency meeting attended by the state executive members and other stakeholders from the 18 local governments, the party ratified the position of Prince Ehinlanwo in respect of his petition to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the National Judicial Commission (NJC).

    A communiqué signed by the party’s state Chairman, Olalekan Obolo and the Secretary, Fisayo Falarungbon, said: “We implore these two judicial institutions to as a matter of urgency consider the recent petition written by our governorship candidate with a view to ensuring that the door of justice is not shut against us.

    “Furthermore, there is need to review the conduct of the lower tribunal to ensure that judicial officers saddled with the duty of justice delivery do not compromise or desecrate the temple of justice without sanctions.

    “We also urge the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to be deterred by the ruling of the Court of Appeal by taking the matter a step further to the Supreme Court.

    “This is to keep hope alive for the good people of Ondo State, who are groaning, following the unprecedented deprivation and ravaging poverty occasioned by the self-serving and clueless Mimiko administration.”

  • CPC urges Jonathan to withdraw case against Leadership reporters

    CPC urges Jonathan to withdraw case against Leadership reporters

    THE Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday condemned the re-arraignment of two Leadership reporters – Mr. Tony Amokeodo (Group News Editor) and Mr. Chibuzor Ukaibe (Political Correspondent) – barely 50 days after it dropped the forgery charge against them.

    The Goodluck Jonathan administration, on June 24, re-arraigned the journalists on an 11-count charge before an Abuja High Court.

    But, in a statement yesterday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin, the CPC urged Jonathan to “cut the chase and order unconditional withdrawal of the law suit forthwith to save the nation from further embarrassment”.

    It described the step taken by the Presidency as “a shameful U-turn”.

    The statement added: “It would be recalled that on April 3, 2013, the Leadership Newspaper published a bromide of a purported Presidential directive to, among others, ensure a crackdown on the opposition, stifle the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and increase price of petroleum products.

    “But in swift cacophonous rhythm, the two spin doctors in the Presidency issued separate statements. Dr Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, intoned: ‘It is worth pointing out, again, that what is being bandied around by a section of the media as a “Presidential Directive” on Tinubu, APC and other matters, is fictitious, designed to mislead the public, discredit the person and office of President Goodluck Jonathan and cause disaffection within the polity’…”

  • Senator faults funding of political parties by govt.

    Senator faults funding of political parties by govt.

    Sen. Andy Uba, Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, has faulted government’s funding of political parties, saying it will undermine the ongoing electoral reforms in the country.

    Uba, who said this in Abuja on Monday at the 6th lecture of the INEC’s Electoral Institute for Political Parties, noted that funding by government could make the parties “stooge’’ of government.

    According to him, instead, political parties should find ways to generate their own incomes as it is done in civilised nations.

    “Countries across the globe, you find political parties creating businesses and other legitimate means of generating money as this will make them to be financially independent.

    He said political parties depending on government for funding should be ready to take instructions from the government because “he who plays the piper dictates the tune’’.

    Uba said the time has come for political parties in Nigeria to become independent and design means of funding their activities.

    He said that nothing stops Nigeria from copying the America and Ghana system of political party funding to enhance party activities.

    The senator said the conduct of local government elections by the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIECs) was becoming of a great concern to the nation.

    He noted that it had become apparent that there was no democracy in elections conducted by SIECs.

    Uba said that he was making some moves with other lawmakers to resolve the problem legislatively.

    Earlier, some parties’ chieftains had stressed the need for the Federal Government to resume funding of the registered political parties in the country.

    The chieftains, who spoke under anonymity, said that the existing political parties were not sufficiently solvent to be denied grants from the government.

    One of them stated that political parties were facing challenges in keeping afloat without regular financial support from government.

    He said that membership registration by the political parties did not attract special revenue for the running of their secretariats and other activities.

    Malam Buba Galadima, National Secretary, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that it was wrong for government to continue to fund political parties.

    He said the time had come for political parties to be independent of government.

    Galadima said all political parties must imbibe the act of self-reliance to encourage discipline among the virile political parties

  • CPC denies knowledge of Buhari’s 2015 posters

    CPC denies knowledge of Buhari’s 2015 posters

    The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday denied the posters of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari which adorned strategic places in some parts of the Federal capital territory.

    The colour posters printed in A4 bold size is emblazoned with a huge picture of Gen. Buhari campaigning for president in 2015 as the All Progressive Congress candidate. The APC, which is a merger of main opposition parties is still in the process of getting registered.

    But National Publicity Secretary of the CPC Mr Rotimi Fashakin, said the posters are the handiwork of the opposition and anti-democratic elements.

    He said: “please do not reckon with them. Gen. Buhari is a democrat. He believes a transparent direct primaries should bring up the APC candidate.

    “The APC is not like the behemoth called the PDP where anti-democratic ideals like automatic ticket hold sway. Gen. Buhari is not aware of these posters,” he added

    According to the posters, General Buhari is the favoured candidate of the opposition come 2015.

    The posters came a day to the general meeting of the merging parties’ joint committee meeting and a few days to the expected submission of the Application of the merging parties to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

     

  • ACN, CPC slam Jonathan for backing Jang’s faction

    ACN, CPC slam Jonathan for backing Jang’s faction

    Opposition parties yesterday joined the fray as the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) election crisis deepens.

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi defected Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang by 19 votes to 16 in the May 24 election.

    But the Jang group alleged that the election breached the convention of the NGF which ensured that all previous chairmen emerged by consensus.

    Jang, accompanied by 15 other governors, opened his faction’s secretariat last Thursday. The group also met with President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Conference for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday criticised Dr. Jonathan for siding with the Jang faction.

    AC N National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement in Osogbo, Osun State, yesterday described as “a travesty of democracy for President Goodluck Jonathan to recognise Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State as the ‘Chair’ of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), even though Jang lost to Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State in what has been widely acknowledged as a free, fair and transparent NGF poll.”

    The party said the President’s “ill-advised decision” has shown that he has “little or no respect for democracy, and will stop at nothing to jettison time-tested ideals on the altar of political opportunism.”

    It said the recognition of the losing candidate for the chairmanship of the NGF has also shown that the President’s spokesmen either do not know the thinking of their principal or have chosen to engage in downright lies in his defence.

    “President Jonathan is frittering away whatever is left of his credibility by the day. His spokesman said in a statement the day after the NGF election that ‘the President has always shown a willingness to work harmoniously with any leadership freely and independently chosen by the Governors Forum for the collective progress and development of all sections of the country and will continue to do so.

    “President Jonathan trusts that as true democrats and respected national political leaders, members of the Governors Forum will quickly resolve the issues and differences among them which emerged yesterday (May 24th) and continue to contribute effectively to national development as a strong, and progressive body’.

    “But it is now clear that the presidency’s statement is not worth the paper on which it is written, that in the Nigerian presidency, words do not carry their exact meanings and that the spokesmen for the President speak for no one but themselves. When viewed in the context of similar deceitful statements by the Presidency in the past, especially on the health of the First Lady, one can see a growing pattern of a lying presidency, a presidency that likes to hide behind one finger. This is sad, because without credibility, a president cannot govern successfully,’’ ACN said.

    The party said the President, who should be looked up to as the father of all, “has become the father of a few renegades, and descended from being the President of Nigeria to the President of the PDP and and now the President of a faction of the PDP”.

    “This President is daily cementing his unenviable reputation as the most divisive President in the history of Nigeria. By raising partisan politics to a pedestal higher than national interest, he has divided the country along religious, ethnic and political lines more than any of his predecessors.

    “In the process he has destroyed or is about to destroy national institutions and organisations. First, he succumbed to the pressure from his party to deal with the judiciary for daring to reverse the outcome of some of PDP’s rigged polls. But for a courageous Chief Justice of Nigeria who cannot be teleguided now in the saddle, the judiciary will have been emasculated altogether.

    “Then the President all but put an end to the fight against corruption, which is widely acknowledged as a canker worm that is fast destroying the fabric of our society, and now he has destroyed the NGF. This is not an enviable legacy for any President,’’ it said.

    The CPC described Jang’s endorsement by the President as “shameful”.

    His earlier denial, CPC said, did not work on Nigerians adding that such a person cannot win the presidential election in 2015.

    It called on the international community to take greater interest in Nigeria’s democracy which, “with the President’s brand of deleterious politics, is in danger of peril”. “We call on the Nigerian people to remain resolute in defending the cause of democracy because eternal vigilance is the price for liberty!”

    The National Publicity Secretary, of the party Rotimi Fashakin, who issued the statement, added: “The deception did not travel for too long. President Goodluck Jonathan’s endorsement of Governor Jonah Jang as the ‘elected’ chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has finally removed the wind off the sail of the rigmarole and denials as regards the source of the contrived crisis in the NGF. This action is shameful.

    “It will be recalled that on Friday, 24th May, 2013, 35 out the Nation’s 36 governors voted in an election for a new chairman for a two-year tenure. The incumbent Chairman, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, sought a re-election. The President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, did not believe that the Rivers Governor’s re-election would be helpful for his own re-election bid in 2015. He plotted, using the platform of his party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP, to truncate Mr. Amaechi’s ambition. At first, a new platform for PDP governors was birthed, with a fierce Jonathan loyalist in charge.

    “The earlier date set for the election was put off to enable the anti-Amaechi coalition, under the aegis of the PDP governors’ group, to gain some momentum for the task ahead. The high-wire intrigues deployed by the PDP high command belied the determination of the President to use the election as the litmus-test for his readiness to capture the country in 2015. As a way of getting firm assurance of victory, endorsement of his preferred candidate, Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, was purportedly assented by 19 PDP governors before the election.

    “The election, which was recorded, revealed 19-16 majority victory for Governor Amaechi. The anti-Amaechi group made known its rejection of the election on the premise that a pre-election endorsement of their candidate, Governor Jang, had showed victory. For any dispassionate and discerning observer, this puerile predication of the anti-Amaechi group’s dissent is laughable and utterly ludicrous. The question asked is, can a pre-election endorsement be the same as the actual votes cast in an election? The logic of this group’s dissent stretches credulity beyond tolerable elastic limit!

    “Though initially flummoxed by Mr. Amaechi’s victory, the PDP national leadership believed that travelling on the road of perfidy would really fit its demagogic, larger-than-life image as the ruling party, hence the President’s endorsement of Mr. Jang as elected. This anti-democratic stance should not surprise anyone familiar with PDP’s brand of democracy. The split in the NGF was the impetus needed by the leaders of PDP to unveil the plan for ensuring distortion of the Nation’s electoral process hereafter.

    “As a party, we are appalled by the President’s abandonment of the ship of state to cause needless overheating of the polity. The NGF, as it stands, remains a voluntary platform among Nigeria’s governors, with no constitutional function. How the election of the chairman of the NGF captured the animated interest of the President, despite the seeming myriad of issues besetting the Nation State, is still puzzling.

    “This, of course, is another attestation of the President’s besmirched reputation for wrong priorities. Undoubtedly, the President’s conduct in the just concluded governors’ election is a pointer to the immense electoral incongruities being planned for the 2015 elections. Unfortunately, all the President’s men and women have sworn to obsequious subservience which explains why he is egged on to continue with the capricious politics that is only geared towards exacerbating the overheated Nigerian polity.”

  • AU Summit: presidency, CPC trade words

    AU Summit: presidency, CPC trade words

    The presidency yesterday joined issues with the Congress for Progressive Change(CPC) over the conduct of President Goodluck Jonathan at the just-concluded African Union Summit in Ethiopia.

    The CPC had criticised Jonathan for missing the opportunity to address the AU Summit, which was meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the union.

    But the presidency, in a statement through its Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, critisised CPC’s position.

    Abati said: “President Jonathan as the leader of the Nigerian delegation to the AU summit in Addis Ababa and the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) indeed put up a sterling performance, using the opportunity of the trip to further promote Nigeria’s interests and to strengthen Nigeria’s relationships with other countries.

    “He held bilateral meetings with the UN Secretary General and the leaders of Jamaica, Egypt, Swaziland, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire. He granted interviews to the media, local and international. He also participated in a special session on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, at which he invited other world leaders to the Abuja+12 conference to be hosted in Nigeria, mid-June. “President Jonathan is an accomplished diplomat and a responsible leader under whose watch, Nigeria’s foreign policy process and international relations have been strengthened with commendable results.

    “No slot was missed because no country was under any compulsion to speak. Any country that wished to make a statement indicated the interest to do so, by pressing the button at its own convenience.

    “Nigeria had indicated an interest to speak, but the President needed to attend an urgent ECOWAS meeting on the Lagos-Abidjan Highway, to be attended by five West African countries, to take a report by the Nigerian Minister of Works who is the chair of the regional inter-Ministerial body on the proposed Lagos-Abidjan Highway. I have since circulated the conclusions of that meeting.

    “While President Jonathan was attending that meeting, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, the Minister of Foreign Affairs presented our statement to the OAU at 50 on President Jonathan’s behalf. I have also since circulated the full text of that statement.

    “ In other words, Nigeria’s voice was heard, loud and clear. Let it be noted that President Jonathan’s attendance of a meeting on the sidelines of the AU Summit was perfectly in order, and he attended quite a number, just as Minister Olugbenga Ashiru was not the only Foreign Affairs Minister who spoke on behalf of a President at the Summit. So, where did CPC spokesman, Rotimi Fashakin get his information from that nobody represented Nigeria?

    “In this attempt to pull President Jonathan down at all costs, lies have become standard stuff, mischief a major commodity, and indecency a character flaw. President Jonathan does not owe anyone an apology for serving Nigeria diligently and truthfully.

    “By the same token, I consider the reference to Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum in that statement as a red herring. Again, I advise Fashakin to read the newspapers so he can be abreast of developments, the only way he can get close to being an effective spokesperson. I had made it clear that President Jonathan has no hand in the Governors Forum crisis, and we stand by that position.

    But CPC’s National Publicity Secretary Fashakin, said the party was surprised that Abati’s response was laced with vile verbiage

    In a statement in Abuja, CPC spokesman said: “The Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, responded to the observation raised by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) on the just-concluded African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with such unmitigated incivility that easily evinces the pressure currently enveloping the entire apparatus of the Presidency.

    He said: “I invite the discerning Nigerian public to come along as we sift the facts in the story as told by Abati the battered hireling.

    “President Jonathan, as head of the Nigerian delegation, left the country for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the AU summit. In diplomatic arena, that was the primary objective of the delegation. This presupposes that any other business is secondary! Furthermore, Dr Jonathan indicated to address the summit, and was permitted.

    “But he, in his wisdom, believed other matters were more important than the primary objective of being in Addis-Ababa. Obviously, this line of logic showed Abati …is obviously hiding the vital truth from Nigerians.

    “Not done, he went on to say that the Minister for Foreign Affairs presented the President’s statement at the summit. We shudder to think that all the Nigerian tax payers’ funds used in paying the humongous estacodes for Reuben Abati and his colleagues on the President’s entourage was for mere submission of a statement after the summit!

    “He further asserted that Jonathan was not the only President that was represented by the country’s foreign minister. Again, the poor spinning skills of Abati came to fore. We know Dr. Samura Matthew Wilson Kamara, Sierra Leone’s foreign minister, represented his President, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, who was unavoidably absent at the summit. Abati failed to tell us the other foreign ministers, aside Nigeria’s, that represented Presidents who were physically present for the AU summit!

    “If we may ask: is submission of a statement by a foreign minister after a conference coterminous with the President, using the stage, to articulate the nation’s position on the regional discourse?

    “The entire hog-wash Abati chose to call a State-House press statement aptly underscored the incompetence that has become the trade mark of the Jonathan presidency!”

  • CPC, ANPP, others kick as PDP suspends Rivers governor

    CPC, ANPP, others kick as PDP suspends Rivers governor

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday suspended Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi from the party.

    It said Ameachi was suspended for refusing to obey the “lawful directive” of the Rivers State Executive Committee asking him to rescind his dissolution of the elected executive council of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

    The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said it relied on Articles 57 (3), 59 (3), 59 (5) and 29 (2.b) for the action.

    By his action, the party said, Amaechi violated Articles 58 1 (b), (c), (h) and (m) of the PDP constitution.

    The statement by the party said: “The National Working Committee (NWC) at its emergency meeting on Monday, 27 May, 2013 considered the petition submitted by the PDP Rivers Executive Committee against His Excellency, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, for violating Articles 58 1 (b), (c ), (h) and (m) of the PDP Constitution following his refusal to obey the lawful directive of the Rivers State Executive Committee to rescind his decision dissolving the elected Executive Council of Obiokpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

    “The National Working Committee, after preliminary hearing, in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 57 (3), 59 (3), 59 (5) and 29 (2.b), hereby suspends the Executive Governor of River State, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, as a member of the PDP and refers the matter to the appropriate disciplinary committee of the Party.

    “This is in furtherance of the determination of the leadership of the party to enforce discipline at all levels within the party.”

    Sections and Article quoted by Metuh from the PDP 2012 Constitution as amended reads, 58 1 (B) “subject to the provision of this constitution, the Party shall have power to discipline any member who says or does anything likely to bring the party into disrepute, hatred or contempt;

    “(c) disobeys or neglects to carry out lawful directives of the party or any organ or officer of the party;

    (h) engages in any conduct likely to cause disaffection among members of the party or is likely to disrupt the peaceful, lawful and efficient conduct of the business of party;

    (m) false, refuses or neglects to treat a petition, complaints or appeal timeously.

    “57 (3) The Working Committee, at any level of the party, and the Executive Committee (at the Ward Level) may, after preliminary hearings, suspend a member from the party for a period not exceeding one month, during which period the member so suspended shall lose his right to contest any elections, and shall be referred to the appropriate Disciplinary Committee.

    “59 (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution relating to discipline, no Executive Committee at any level except the National Executive Committee shall entertain any question of discipline as may relate or concern a member of the National Executive Committee, President, Vice President, Governors, Deputy Governors, Ministers, Ambassadors, Special Advisers or member of any of the legislative houses.

    “(5) subject to the provisions of this constitution, the National Executive Committee shall have power to expel any member of the party for acts of indiscipline or misconduct which brings, or is likely to bring, the party into disrepute.

    “29 (2. b) in case of emergency, act on behalf of the National Executive Committee subject to ratification by the National Executive Committee.

    The party named Mr. Joe Gadzama SAN as chairman of an 11-member panel to investigate the matters connected with Amaechi’s suspension.

    Metuh, who announced the setting up of the panel, said the panel was expected to submit its recommendation to the party’s NWC.

    Metuh isolated the decision to suspend Amaechi from the crisis arising from the outcome of Friday’s election of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum won by Amaechi against the expectation of powerful stakeholders in the ruling party.

    He based Amaechi’ s suspension on his refusal to rescind the decision by the Rivers State House of Assembly suspending the executive council of the Obio/Akpor Local Government in Rivers State.

    According to him, it was incumbent on the governor to rescind the decision, as directed by a faction of the executive committee of the Rivers chapter of the PDP.

    “Going by the party’s constitution, the governor was expected to have rescinded the suspension order handed the executive council of the Obio/Akpor Local Government by the Rivers State Assembly,” Metuh added.

    Asked whether the suspension of the council was the first of its kind in PDP-controlled states, Metuh said it was the first under the Bamanga Tukur-led NWC.

    He stressed that the party was less concerned with similar suspension of councils in other states under previous leadership of the party.

    The PDP spokesman said the decision to suspend Amaechi was not meant to pull the governor down.

    “We did not take the decision to pull anyone down. We are not out to destroy or condemn the governor. We are not saying that Ameachi is wrong. When you are administering a party, you must ensure there is discipline in the party,” Metuh said.

    Asked whether as the national leader of the party, President Goodluck Jonathan was consulted before the decision to suspend Amaechi was taken, Metuh said the party did not have to consult the President before taking a decision.

    Other members of the Gadzama panel are: Victor Kwom, Inalegwu Onche, Friday Nwosu, Udorji Amedu, Ola Kukoyi and Wakil Mohammed.

    The list also include Yusuf Jangwe, Mrs. Bola Doherty, Tanimu Adamson and Anicho Okoro, who is to serve as secretary to the panel.

    Metuh did not give a time frame within which the panel is expected to submit its report to the leadership of the party.

    Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications Mrs Ibim Semenitari, in a statement, said: “We are concerned as we believe this is political witch hunt. It is worrisome. The reason given is the suspension of the Obio/Akpor council. This is puerile.”

  • ANPP, CPC: it’s a wrong step

    ANPP, CPC: it’s a wrong step

    The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday criticised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for suspending Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    They spoke in separate statements in Abuja .

    The ANPP said the action is dangerous for democracy while the CPC described it as a wrong step and another evidence of President Goodluck Jonathan’s desperate move to be re elected.

    The statement by ANPP National Publicity Secretary Emma Eneukwu said: “The suspension of Amaechi is a colossal affront on democracy and a dagger in the soul of its practices.

    “We ask? What is the crime of Chief Amaechi? We proffer an answer: he won election as Chairman of the Nigerian Governor’s Forum by 19 votes to 16 scored by his closest challenger.

    “Even though we respect the internal dimension of the recent decision of the PDP, but as committed democrats, we are constrained to react in view of its wider implication in our nation’s democratic practice.

    “We wonder at how a political party that lays claim to democratic usages could rise to suspend one of its own for winning an election!

    “This action rubbishes its claim to any democratic credential, as it has clearly shown that it practices despotism and the tyranny of a cabal.

    “We worry at this dangerous development and ask Nigerians to take due notice of this charade and place it in perspective in view of the forthcoming 2015 general elections.

    “As a political party, we are alarmed at this unwholesome development and urge all lovers of democracy to remain vigilant and join us in our resolve to resist this burgeoning cankerworm.”

    CPC National Publicity Secretary Rotimi Fashakin, CPC said: “The CPC, undoubtedly, is pained by the portent of this infra-dig to the entrenchment of inspiring democratic values in the polity. “We believe that there are democratic instruments available for resolving differences between a President and governor in a Presidential system, without unduly overheating the polity.

    For instance, in 2010, Ms Jan Brewer, the Republican governor of Arizona state in the United States of America assented to a bill that gave Police officers wide latitude to stop people suspected of illegal Immigration. The US President, Barack Obama did not show his objection by planning some surreptitious impeachment of the governor – as PDP Presidents are known for. “Instead, he sought judicial interpretation of the matter. In a five against three unanimous votes, the US Supreme Court threw away this offending clause. That is the way of the rule of law, which is still alien to the present crop of leaders of the PDP.

    “It is in this vein that we view the suspension of Governor Rotimi Amaechi as the manifestation of a Party at war with itself. It beggars belief that the PDP decided to jettison the law of natural justice of not being Judge in one’s cause. It is a Party whose implosion is imminent. Unfortunately, there is no voice of reason anymore because this despicable leadership style ensures obsequious subservience! We hereby enjoin the Nigerian people not to lose sight of the portent of the deplorable tactics to the survival of our democracy. Indeed, the increasing desperation of the President is already causing more trepidation as we move towards the 2015 elections. It is our hope that the President will arrest this drift to the Abyss of his Party and the anticipated collateral damage to the polity.

    The CPC said it was appalled by the sordid affair that the recently concluded chairmanship election of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) degenerated into.