The Nation Newspaper

Tag: cpc

  • Sanctioning telcos

    Sanctioning telcos

    •Govt should compel them to perform or face sanctions

    POOR quality of service (QoS) is a problem consumers have been enduring for years, in spite of the telecommunications revolution that the country witnessed in 2001 with the advent of the Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication in the country. And this is causing the Federal Government a lot of concern.

    It was government’s concern that prompted Omobola Johnson, Minister of Communication Technology, to warn at a joint press conference by the ministry and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) of Nigeria, that government will no longer condone poor service delivery to telecoms subscribers: “Henceforth, it is no longer business as usual, and operators must rise up to redress the current poor state of service delivery”, she said.

    Over the years, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the regulatory agency for the telecoms sector, had taken some actions to remedy the situation. For instance, last year, the four major mobile network operators (MNOs), MTN, Glo, Airtel and Etisalat were fined a total of N1.17billion ($7.38million). That the QoS challenges persist suggest that firmer actions needed to be taken against the telecoms providers.

    It is against this background that we welcome the Federal Government’s decision to sanction or prosecute erring ones among them over the matter and sundry other concerns that have been agitating the minds of subscribers. The collaboration between the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology and the CPC is pointer to the fact that it will, henceforth, be business unusual on the part of the telcos. It is good that the government seems set to compel them to improve on their operations or face sanctions. The same telcos that cannot cope with normal service delivery have compounded the problem with unsolicited messages as well as telemarketing calls they deliver to subscribers on their networks.

    At the root of the poor QoS is failure of the operators to expand their facilities. And if they are doing this at all, it is not commensurate with the traffic. Yet, about N979billion was to be ploughed into network expansion this year alone.

    The December 31 deadline to them to meet minimum requirements for service delivery, failing which they will not be allowed to embark on further network expansion initiatives is welcome. Indeed, it is surprising that the operators had to be given a deadline on this. Perhaps more shocking is the continued selling of SIM cards by them, when those already on the networks are not having value for their money.

    Of course we are not unmindful of the fact that the telcos have their own peculiar challenges. These include challenges in the area of deploying or maintaining infrastructure, vandalisation of their equipment, multiple taxation, power inadequacy as well as the prohibitive costs of doing business in Nigeria. But the profits posted by the telcos show that they can still do better if only they reckon that subscribers, as customers, are kings.

    The fact is, the telcos are also not helping matters. In some other countries, they cut cost through co-location, for instance; which is sharing of some facilities like masts, etc., instead of hoisting individual masts. The procurement, running and maintenance costs are thus shared among the collaborating operators.

    It’s high time the government rescued telephone subscribers. Its threat to sanction or prosecute erring telcos this time around should not be an empty threat; it should be sincere about it at least to prove that Nigeria is not a place where companies can take Nigerians for granted and get away with it.

    As a matter of fact, that the government itself is wading into the matter suggests that the NCC is not working as it should. Perhaps it is high time the government reorganised the commission itself.

  • Gombe APC resolves crisis

    Gombe APC resolves crisis

    THE Gombe State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has resolved its leadership crisis.

    The leader of the aggrieved members, Mu’azu Baba Goro, said that the disharmony, disunity and disagreement have been resolved in the interest of the party.

    “We had some disagreement. we also know that we have some people, who are not really satisfied with what is going on in the party leadership and that is the reason why we felt we should all get together, find out what is our real problem and find a lasting solution to those problem.

    “It is not about the leadership of the party in the former arrangement under the CPC before the merger, but the leadership as it affects the party, the APC,”he said.

    Mu’azu said member were aggrieved over the modalities for harmonisation of structures in the chapter.

    “There are some people who have done much for the party, and those who have contested for governorship and members of the house of assembly; we have no problem with these.

    “But our major problem is those that are not supposed to be members of the executive committee in senatorial district,” he added.

    Mu’azu said that his group disagreed with the committee because there was no wide consultation when its leadership was put together, adding that there was no agreement on the terms.

    “I challenge anybody to ask me for explanation and I will gladly do so. We have a member who is forced on us, someone who have not live in Gombe State for 20 years who by definition is a PDP member and whenever they are in Gombe, they are guests of the Governor”, he said.

    When contacted, former Chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) Mr Audu Baba Kwami said: “I don’t know what they are talking about. We are in support of the national harmonization committee.”

    He said that the harmoni-sation committees were formed by the parties that formed the APC.

    He said those making noise are from the former CPC and they are seeking for political office.

    He said: “They are professional petition writers inflicted by the bring them down syndrome.”

    He therefore, called on the aggrieved members to support the committee for the overall success of the party because “what they are doing will not take them anywhere.”

     

  • Can APC sustain tempo?

    Can APC sustain tempo?

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) is enlarging its coast. But, there are more hurdles to cross. EMMANUEL OLADESU and LEKE SALAUDEEN examine the challenges that will confront the opposition party, ahead of 2015 general elections.

    The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) thought that it was a joke. When the merger was being mooted, its chieftains predicted doom for the merging parties. Even, when the All Progressives Congress (APC) was registered by the electoral commission, PDP chieftains dismissed it as an empty threat. But, following the defection of five aggrieved PDP governors to the APC, the ruling party became jittery. Now, the stage for a titanic battle for power at the federal and state levels in the next general elections.

    The decision of the defunct parties-the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)-and a section of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to evolve a strong platform was a major breakthrough for the opposition. There is political streamlining, as reflected in the restoration of the two-party system, and the prospects of a one-party state is dimmed.

    “The chance of rigging will be slim in 2015,” said Mr. Olawumi Gasper, former Rector of Lagos State Polytechnic. “It will be a battle of ideas. Nigerians will have clear choice. There will be a ruling party and a strong opposition and the country will make progress,” he added. The National Secretary of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Mr. Ayo Opadokun, supported this argument. He said that a credible alternative platform represents a government-in-waiting. “Democracy will flourish because of the role of the opposition in democracy”, he stressed.

    However, many challenges will confront the main opposition party as it prepares for future polls. The prelude to the 2015 battle will be the governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti states next year.

    The APC Interim National Women Leader, Mrs. Sharom Ikeazor, spoke on the hurdles, shortly before declaring open the Southwest APC Women Wing in Lagos, last week. She admonished the party leadership to intensify the campaign for electoral reforms. “Anambra election was enough lesson for us in the APC. Our candidate was the best, but the electoral commission was compromised. We need to intensify the campaign for the sanctity of the ballot box so that we can have one man one vote”, Okeazor said.

    Adekunle-Ibrahim said the “electoral carnage” may continue to work against the APC, if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not purged of its unpatriotic elements. But, he also emphasised the need for the party to put its house in order. “APC has two elections in Ekiti and Osun. As the party is enlarging its coast, it should also protect its gains. Ekiti and Osun are parts of its strongholds. To the best of my knowledge, the party is united in Osun. In Ekiti, the APC has to unite the party and settle the rift between the camp of the governor and supporters of Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele. It is better for the APC to mend the crack,” he said.

    The APC leaders made enormous sacrifices. Former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, who explained the vision and mission of the party, to reporters in Lagos, said that it was formed in the national interest. He recalled that the leaders of the merging parties decided to forfeit their platforms, sink their slight differences and make sacrifice for the country. But analysts contend that the leaders must be ready to make more sacrifices, ahead of 2015, to get to the promised land.

    As the APC harmonises the ACN, CPC, ANPP and APGA structures at state, local and ward levels, there is the additional challenge of accommodating the ‘new PDP structures’ in states controlled by the governors that recently defected to the party. The promise made to the governors must also be honoured by the leadership to engender trust and confidence.

    The interim APC leadership reflects the spread of the party across the six geo-political zones. Although the setting up of the structure generated some skirmishes, it was not essentially destabilising. According to observers, what was at work was the internal crisis resolution mechanism and the mutual trust among the founding fathers. It is great lesson in party management. Conflict is part of politics, but it should not be allowed to fester to the level of becoming a threat to the existence of the organisation.

    How to formalise ward, local government, state and national structures is the next assignment during its proposed inaugural national convention. It is to the credit of the party leadership that the APC has, so far, being run as a mass movement. “What we have observed is that ACN, ANPP, and CPC members do not retain their old identities in the new party. Therefore, the APC can’t be polarised by caucuses,” said Adekunle-Ibrahim. “In setting up party leadership structures, not only are the founding fathers expected to make more sacrifices, they should also begin to build a culture of equity, fairness and justice in matters relating to the choice of party officers,” he added.

    When a party is growing in leaps and bounds, party management becomes more challenging. Many believe that it will be counter-productive for the new APC members to relate to the organisation as chieftains of the old ACN, ANPP, CPC and APGA. The interim chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, had allayed this fear. He said that the APC will not recognise any senior and junior partners, adding that members will enjoy equal treatment.

    The events taking place in the APC may ultimately influence the PDP’s response to many critical issues. Eyes are also on the APC as it brainstorms on the choice of its presidential candidate and his running mate. The flag bearer will mirror the platform, its manifestoes, ethos, values and promise. Whoever will emerge is important, but how he emerges is more important. The various positions and approaches germane to choice, selection and shadow election should be harmonised without internal bickering and bitterness. If the party puts its house in order at that level and there is no post-primary crisis, it will be fortified to forge ahead for the most critical battle.

    The task of mobilising for power shift in 2015 is critical. The ruling party may turn the heat on the APC through intimidation, harassment and blackmail. Pockets of dissention among the co-travellers may not be ruled out.

    There are issues of leadership ego that must be handled with care, if the party is to avoid internal crisis in some states. For instance, in Kano State, Governor Rabiu Kwakwanso and his predecessor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, are political foes, who are now in the same camp. Shekarau defeated Kwakwanso in 2003. But Kwakwanso bounced back in 2011. Also, the APC should reconcile former Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa and Governor Aliyu Wamakko. The two are political rivals.

    A party source disclosed at the weekend that reconciliation committees for Kano and Sokoto states have swung into action. The source said that former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari would reconcile Shekarau and Kwankwaso. “The elders are aware of the differences among some frontline members and they are taking necessary steps to bring them together. We are preparing safe landing measures for Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola in Osun State and Chief Segun Oni in Ekiti State, if they eventually join the APC. We want every member to feel free and exercise their rights in a peaceful atmosphere. In our party, there is no joiner, no founder. That’s what Chief Akande said.”

    A university don, Dr David Aworawo, observed that the APC had started well. He said one of the challenges confronting the party is the reconciliation of divergent views and interests. as the immediate challenge of the APC. Aworawo, who teaches at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), noted that political parties are formed by people who share the same ideology and philosophy. With the merger of the new PDP, he said that more work should be done. “The new PDP chieftains now in the PDP have their interest to pursue and achieve. So, the immediate task now is how to reconcile the divergent interest of the conservative PDP and the progressive APC”, he said.

    In Aworawo’s view, the challenge can be surmounted. “What both sides need to do is to shift from left and right to the centre. The reconciliation of extreme positions is possible, especially in the overall interest of the country. General Muhammadu Buhari in the midst of progressives today. Some people considered him as a reactionary and conservative element. But today, Buhari is a leader of the progressives,” he added.

    A lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Dr Tunji Ogunyemi, advised the party to accommodate the five PDP governors without discrimination. The major task before the APC, he said, is grassroots mobilisation. “The party should reach out to the rural areas by sensitising the grassroots people on the new development in the polit,” he said. However, Ogunyemi cautioned the leadership of the party against the fifth columnist. He warned that the PDP may penetrate its ranks by planting spies in the party.

    Civil rights activist Shehu Sani urged the APC to devise a mechanism for checkmating infiltration by PDP lackeys into the party. He said the growing influx of PDP chieftains and their quick embrace by the party is a matter of concern. Sani said that while the APC opens its doors, it should be conscious of plots, mischief and sabotage by infiltrators.

    APC also faces the test of internal democracy. Sani said: “The APC must imbibe the culture of internal democracy. It must provide a level playing ground for all its members and avoid the imposition of candidates, which have in the past contributed to the failures of opposition parties in winning elections.”

    Ogunyemi supported this view. He advised the party to create a level playing ground for aspirants to test their popularity. Through that, he said, members would be involved in the selection process and whoever that emerges will be acceptable to all and sundry.

    The party’s interim National Legal Adviser, Dr Muiz Banire, has assured that there would be no imposition of candidates. “Nobody can tell you who will be the presidential candidate. We will be more transparent in picking the party’s standard bearer than any other party. The APC is a credible alternative to the PDP. We have to demonstrate to the whole world that we are superior to them. There will be no imposition of candidates. This is a new era. People will decide who should be the party’s standard bearer”, he said.

    Banire cited the registration of members as a challenge. “We expect a huge turnout at all registration centres. We are going to provide necessary logistics that would make it easier for people to register without stress. I am sure that committed members of the party will be willing to assist the party in providing some resources to ensure a hitch-free registration. I am sure we will surmount all the challenges that may arise”, he added.

    Sani advised the APC to device credible means of assuaging the fears of Christians in the North and the Igbos in the South, who are complaining about marginalisation by the party. This, he said, can be achieved through equitable representation in the party’s National Executive Committee. “This will help in neutralising the propaganda and misinformation by the adversaries of the party now using religion to smear it”, he said.

  • 2015: I have not anointed any candidate, says Buhari

    2015: I have not anointed any candidate, says Buhari

    Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) General Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday in Kano cautioned some members of the party said to be dropping his name to desist forthwith.

    He declared that he has not anointed any one for elective office in 2015 as being claimed in some quarters.

    Farouk Adamu, a former lawmaker from Jigawa State who represented him at a one-day sensitization workshop organized by APC Forum for Equity and Justice, in Kano, said: “I am one of the closest associates of General Muhammadu Buhari. The General has not anointed anybody.”

    Buhari, however, urged members of the APC in Kano to come together and form a formidable team that would be able to win convincingly in Kano in the 2015 elections.

    He described the APC as a fusion of different interests, parties and not about Buhari or anybody.

    ” Buhari’s candidate is the people’s candidate and whatever emerges from the party whether at the Presidential or state level or at any other level is Buhari’s candidate,” Adamu said.

    He said the forum was organized to unify the three main parties- CPC, ANPP and ACN- that fused into the APC.

    Alhaji Salihu Lukeman, who represented APC governors, said that all APC members in Kano are regarded with high esteem and advised them to shun rancour that could cause disaffection among them.

    Among dignitaries that graced the occasion were the APC leader in the State and former Minister of Labour, Alhaji Musa Gwadabe, a chieftain of the party, Alhaji Yusuf Ali, Senator Mohammed Mohammed from Bauchi State, former Kaduna State governor, Col Jafaru Isa (rtd), former Kano Deputy governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo, Barau Jibril, Kawu Sumaila and other party stalwarts in the state.

     

     

     

  • 2015: Merger redefines political landscape

    2015: Merger redefines political landscape

    The merger of a PDP faction with the opposition yesterday is the biggest political cross-over since 1999. The merger seemed to have shifted political calculations in the country going into 2015 elections. Bolade Omonijo analysed the new political configuration

    This appears to be the season of the unprecedented. Before the merger of three major political parties – the Congress for Political Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was formalized in July following the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); there had been speculation that the move would be aborted before the consummation.

    However, four months after, the merger seems to have come to stay. The leading lights of the political movement have traversed the entire country selling their position on the Nigeria Project and insisting that the time had come for a change.

    Soon after, the crisis within the ruling PDP became unmanageable and the party was split down the middle. In the House of Representatives, the Senate, the party secretariat and the states, the PDP became a party divided against itself. Would it fall in 2015?

    Yesterday’s defection from the party by a faction that had gone by the appellation new PDP for months is the strongest indication that things would not be the same again. Those who left the PDP include the chairman of the faction, Alhaji Kawu Baraje who was a former Acting National Chairman of the party, a former national secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola who was also the immediate past governor of Osun State, former governors Bukola Saraki of Kwara State, Danjuma Goje of Gombe and Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa State.

    Others, Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano, Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Abdulafattah Ahmed of Kwara and Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers have taken the plunge and it remains to be seen the weight to be attached to their crossing.

    2011 and 2015: a comparative analysis

    The figures from 2011 suggest that APC may be poised to give PDP a strong fight at the 2015 general elections. In 2011, the elections in Kano showed that the leaders now in APC dictated the pace. In the presidential election, the party’s candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, polled 1.62 million votes, followed at a distance by ANPP’s Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau who was the governor of the state. In the third place was President Goodluck Jonathan, the PDP’s candidate with 440,686 votes, leaving ACN’s Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in the fourth position with a paltry 42,363 votes. Now, all the four leading parties in the state are in the state structure. Thus, it has become academic to ask which the dominant party in the state is. While the dynamics swung in favour of the PDP in the hotly contested governorship poll, the leading parties merely shuffled their positions.

    The celebrated performance of Kwankwaso since he resumed the office he was made to vacate in 2003 has strengthened his position in the state, and Buhari remains a cult figure, especially among the masses and the youth in the entire far North.

    If things do not change and the APC is united going into 2015 elections, no other party stands a chance.

    Kwara has always presented a fascinating scenario to political analysts. For decades, the late Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki ruled the waves. He literally dictated the pace of things and direction of voting. It took his disaffection with the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1983 to pave the way for the Unity Party of Nigeria. He literally singlehandedly installed Alhaji Shaaba Lafiagi as governor in the Third Republic and Rear Admiral Mohammed Alabi Lawal at inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999.

    In 2003, he brought in his son, Bukola Saraki who repeated the feat in 2007. However, a parting of way between father and son in 2011 saw the emergence of the current governor who had received the blessing and support of the former governor, now in the Senate. So, just before the transition of the former strongman, another had emerged. The former governor has f a full hold on the PDP structure in Kwara State. He is in the Senate alongside Lafiagi who is a strong member of his political tendency. If there is understanding among the political roller coasters from the legacy parties that have coalesced into the APC in Kwara, victory is certain in all elections in 2015.

    In the 2011 presidential election, the Bukola Saraki-led PDP was credited with 288, 243 or 64 per cent of the total votes cast while the CPC polled 83,603 and the ACN 62,432. As in Kano, all three tendencies are now in the APC. It is a formidable platform.

    In Sokoto, the dominant parties in all the elections in 2011 were the CPC and PDP. Governor Wamakko’s disenchantment with the party had begun to show at the PDP presidential primaries in Abuja where delegates from Sokoto clearly voted against President Jonathan. At the presidential election, CPC polled 540,769 votes to PDP’s 309,067. While the reverse was the case in the governorship election that returned Wamakko to office, all the elections showed that the PDP and CPC decided what happened in the state. They also proved the electoral worth of the governor. When it is noted that former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa is also involved in the formation of the APC, it is obvious that the next elections are for the APC to lose in the state.

    The situation in Rivers State is not as straightforward. While the PDP swept the polls the last time, the defection of Governor Amaechi is an acid test of his popularity. How much of the victory in 2011 could be attributed to Amaechi’s personal charm and what proportion could be credited to the party structure? At the moment, the governor retains hold of the governance structure as well as the dominant faction of the party. However, the sentiment that a son of the region is President and the hostility of other PDP governors in the South South would test the resilience of the governor who was Speaker of the House of Representatives for eight year. The fact that he retains the control of the legislature and representatives in the National Assembly is an indication that he is a strong factor in his own right.

    Hitherto, Rivers has been a one-party state and is renowned for an uncanny ability to turn up crucial votes for the winning party. Would the trend continue in 2015? A call cannot be easily made at the moment until the caliber of candidates and other factors unfold.

    The trend in Adamawa where Governor Murtala Nyako was one of the first to indicate that it was all over with the PDP is not much different from the Rivers State scenario. Nyako has enemies within and without. The move to register the Peoples Democratic Movement spearheaded by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has been attributed to the uneasy relationship he has at home with Nyako. It is to be noted, too, that the party’s national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur hails from the state. The situation remains foggy. How it turns out remains to be seen.

    In Nasarawa State where CPC’s Governor Tanko Al-Makura holds sway, he narrowly won the 2011 governorship poll. He has since been making efforts to consolidate his hold on power. He has a formidable foe in the PDP that has former Governor Abdullahi Adamu as captain. Now that Adamu is in the same boat with the governor, Al-Makura could breathe easy. However, it remains to be seen whether interests and ego would not affect their relationship in the run up to 2015. United, the state would remain in the APC fold.

    If the scenario prevailing today remains till 2015, the general election would be the first to provide real contest. In the entire Far North, comprising states in the North East and North West, 13 in all, the PDP will have to struggle to rake up sizeable votes. In the Middle Belt of North central states, both major parties remain strong. The South East and South South remains impregnable for the PDP and APC will have to struggle to make the 25 per cent mark outside Rivers and Edo. How fast Governor Rochas Okorocha, backed by the likes of ex-Governor Achike Udenwa can move remains to be seen.

    The South West is likely to remain a stronghold of the APC. It has a tradition of filing behind progressive parties and, the fact that there would be a strong contest would likely encourage the people to votes in high numbers for the tile-tested progressive platform.

    If it were to be a football march, commentators would describe it as a crunchy tie. The challenge is to ensure that all elections henceforth, starting with Ekiti and Osun next year are free, fair and credible. Otherwise, rigging becomes the overriding factor.

  • Ex-CPC members back Ajimobi

    Ex-CPC members back Ajimobi

    Members of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Oyo State yesterday endorsed Governor Abiola Ajimobi for reelection in 2015.

    The defunct party’s Youth Leader, Hafis Oladejo, and former governorship candidate Deaconess Esther Olubukola Adedokun led their members to the State Secretariat in Ibadan to pledge their support to the governor.

    Contrary to the position of her running mate in the 2011 election, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, who wants to contest the 2015, governorship election, Deaconess Adedokun said members of the defunct party, who have joined the All Progressive Congress (APC), were in support of Ajimobi’s second term ambition.

    She said: “We are here to adopt Ajimobi as our governorship candidate. We want him to continue in 2015. We have gone round the local government areas, including Oke Ogun where Shittu hails from, to sensitise people on the need to support Ajimobi.”

     

     

    “We know we cannot win governorship election alone as CPC, reason we are supporting the governor for him to succeed. There is no more CPC. We are now part of APC and the only symbol we have in Oyo state now is Governor Abiola Ajimobi”, she said.

     

    Explaining on why she has refused to support her former boss, Shittu, the former deputy governorship candidate said, “Though our relationship still remains cordial, the difference between me and Alhaji Adebayo Shittu is that while he wants to eat rice, I want to eat beans. He wants to become governor, but I am supporting the sitting governor to continue for second term to complete the good work he has been doing. Barrister Shittu wants to be governor of APC, but I face my governor as leader.

     

    The former CPC chieftain also used the occasion to rubbish the proposed national conference mooted by President Goodluck Jonathan, Adedokun said, “PDP had ruled us for 14 years yet there are no improvements. If they were serious about discussing the fate of this country, they ought to have allowed the confab immediately the military left in 1999. Introducing it now is unopportune.

     

    “It is likely to end up as another wasteful exercise. Let the PDP allow another party to administer and they would see the diference. If after eight years, the APC does not change things for better, then they can let us have a confab. But definitely, it is not now.”

     

    ENDS

  • Anambra poll: ANPP, CPC withdraw from APC merger

    The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Anambra State have pulled out of the All Progressive Congress (APC) merger ahead of the November 16 governorship election in the state.

    The state Secretary of defunct ANPP, Mr. Mike Igwilo, made this known to journalists in Awka on Thursday.

    Igwilo said the party was pulling out because it was not consulted in all the activities leading to the merger and the recent primaries in the state that produced Sen. Chris Ngige as the flag bearer.

    “We are marginalised in the party and not carried along. For this reason, we find it difficult to explain the merger to our supporters who now float like sheep without shepherd,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the ANPP chief as saying to journalists.

    Igwilo said that ANPP would make public its next plan of action before the end of September.

    At a separate news conference, the state Chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Mr. Chuba Ikeagwu, told journalists that the party had joined the newly formed People’s Democratic Movement (PDM).

    He said the APC did not give a level playing ground for other merging political parties to compete for the governorship ticket in the primaries, alleging that only the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) controlled the party machinery in the state.

    “There is no equity in the sharing of positions, ACN dominated and took everything,’’ Ikeagwu alleged.

     

  • CPC, NERC  partner to protect electricity consumers 

    CPC, NERC  partner to protect electricity consumers 

    The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) is partnering with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to protect electricity consumers.

    CPC Director-General Mrs. Catherine Atoki, and NERC Chairman Dr. Sam Amadi, during a briefing, assured electricity consumers of redress and enforcement of regulations.

    She said: “The policy thrust of this administration is to synergise with such agencies with a view to entrenching consumer protection in all sectors of the economy. NERC is one critical stakeholder that I have to visit in order to properly situate the council’s mandate.

    “The Council must be fully integrated into various sector regulators’ consumer protection mechanisms in the country to ensure consumers interests are adequately protected in accordance with the law.”

    She stressed the need for strict enforcement of regulations and guidelines relating to consumer complaint handling standards and procedures, like the distribution companies are sanctioned for failure to meet up with the prescribed standards.

     

  • Agenda for APC

    Agenda for APC

    The new party must differentiate itself from the pack with its vision and mission statement

    The euphoria over the successful merger of some political parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC) is understandable, considering that it is the first time such an effort has been consummated in the history of Nigeria. For such a feat, the leaders of the defunct parties that merged – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) deserve the commendation of all democrats for their sacrifices that hopefully will enhance our democratic enterprise. Having achieved the current success, the next step is for the leaders to stir the new party to fulfill the potential of an enduring democratic Nigeria.

    We have no doubt that every democratic Nigerian nurses the hope that the APC will signal the organic emergence of a two dominant party structure in Nigeria. As the history of political parties in Nigeria will show, there have been several failed attempts by disparate parties to coalesce into two major parties as national elections approached; unfortunately, such attempts were usually bogged down by parochial interests. In the First Republic, two broad-based political alliances were formed to fight for elections, but they were unable to consolidate as soon as the election successes were achieved or proved unrealisable. The same fate bedevilled the political accords entered into by the substantially regionally based parties during the Second Republic; and of course they all collapsed as soon as the objective proved a forlorn hope.

    Ironically, it was through a military fiat that a two-party structure emerged in the still-born Third Republic. But even with their birth defects, the National Republican Convention (NRC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) were able to provide a virile two-party structure that potentially dealt a blow to religious and regional-based political party structure in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the military which created the two parties also summarily executed them with the same fiat as they had decreed them into existence. With the birth of the current republic, the reemergence of atomised ethnic-based parties resurfaced, and several efforts to come together had failed until the registration of APC.

    So, the emergence of APC brings hope to Nigerians that ethnic and religiously biased parties in the country, may eventually disappear. But there is enormous work to be done to achieve this Eldorado. Towards this, it is hoped that the leadership of the new party will work towards expanding its membership, to enable Nigerians of all ethnic and economic backgrounds gain access to the party. If such expansion is achieved, the APC will join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to form the two broad parties to act as viable alternatives for the Nigerian electorate.

    In working to achieve a national spread, the new party must also seek to distinguish itself from the existing lot, in character and content. To achieve such prospect, there is the immediate need for the party to clearly define its vision and mission in a way that will appeal to Nigerians across ethnic and religious divides. The party must also work hard to instill internal democracy and discipline among its members, to ensure that it attracts quality membership, instead of the vagabonds that populate most political parties. Such a vision must also be founded on patriotic principles to help guide its members, to work for a better country.

    It will indeed be exciting to see the new party move in a direction that will inspire confidence in Nigerians. Its members must not pretend that they are insulated from the unfortunate vagaries of our modern day partisan politics, such as the type that has turned the ruling PDP into a constant war front. Part of the cause of the internal wrangling within the PDP and most other parties is the lack of any guiding ideology, as the parties are seen as mere avenues for power and economic aggrandisement. Regrettably for most politicians, party politics in Nigeria are mere outposts for exploiting the economy and people of Nigeria, without any regards whatsoever to the sustainability of the system.

    So, Nigerians will be utterly disappointed if for any reason, the APC turns into a cult or aggregation of the alternative exploiters of the country. As we celebrate the possibilities that the party portends, it is fitting to commend the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for sticking to the provisions of the constitution and the electoral act in this matter. We also commend Nigerians and the national institutions, like the courts, and urge them to maintain eternal vigilance to ensure that the gains of this merger are not truncated by anti-democratic forces.

    Once again we wish the All Progressives Congress a fruitful life in the service of our country.

  • Benue ACN, ANPP, CPC to unite for polls

    The three major opposition parties in Benue State will work together in the forthcoming elections to wrest power from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it was learnt yesterday.

    The three parties – the Action Congress Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) – announced their resolve after a meeting on Monday.

    A communiqué was issued at the end of the meeting of the parties’ leaders at the home of Senate Minority Leader George Akume. It was signed by Senator Joseph Waku (ACN), Nelson Alapa (ANNPI and J. T. Orka (CPC) and made available to The Nation.

    Leaders of the parties, who are now in the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC), stressed the need for all to work in harmony and take over Benue State ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    The meeting resolved to boycott all meetings except those convened by Akume, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Neslson Alapa and Senator Waku, who are national leaders and chieftains of their parties.

    The APC leaders expressed appreciation to Akume for his leadership virtues. They hailed other opposition leaders for their moral and financial support to the realisation of good government and leadership in Nigeria.

    Waku read the communique on behalf of the APC leaders after the meeting.

    Also, the Benue State Chairman of ACN, Comrade Abba Yaro, has urged the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFFC) to investigate the Bureau for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs.

    Addressing reporters after the meeting of APC leaders in Makurdi, Yaro alleged that fraud being perpetrated through massive deduction of local government allocations.

    He accused officials of the bureau of complicity in the alleged fraud.

    The ACN chairman alleged that during the June federal allocations, when the state received N20.1 billion, including the fund from the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SRE-P), some local governments could still not pay their workers’salaries because their allocation were allegedly deducted by the bureau.

    “Some local governments in Benue State received up to N100 million, but the Bureau for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs gave them a little over N50 million and forced them to sign that they collected N100 million,” Yaro said.