The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ELECTION

  • 2019: CODER cautions politicians on election

    The Convener, Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER), Ayo Opadokun has urged politicians discrediting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other security agencies to mind their utterances.

    He said some political parties have started denouncing INEC’s ability to deliver on the coming election, noting it was not in the interest of the country to do so.

    Opadokun, in a statement explained that the allegations against INEC and securities were unverifiable. He added that the unfounded remarks make local, international and developmental partners suspicious of the elections’ credibility.

    He said: “CODER wishes to remind the current political operators to put national interest first before their personal interest so that Nigeria can earn her deserved respect, dignity as a democratic state in spite of obvious inadequacies yet to be settled by the Nigerian state.

    “CODER would equally ask the genuine international development partners- western powers not to unduly take side in the Nigeria electoral contest by their seeming indication of reading ulterior motive to the suspension of Justice Walter Onnoghen, who admitted that he forgot to fill the mandatory asset declaration form as when due.

    “He also confessed to have declared that he had domiciliary account containing huge foreign currencies. Will the Chief Justice of the USA, UK, Germany France etc after such monumental infraction by his No one Judge be allowed in office because of a pending election?

    “America General Prosecutor, Bob Mueller has spent over two years probing the allegation of Russian interference in the United States 2016 election with myriad of conviction of President Donald Trump close aides and friends for false testimonies, criminal conduct even before Mueller finally concluded his work as to whether or not there was collision between Trump, Trump organization and Russian.

    Opadokun urged politicians to play by the rules in making genuine complaints to improve the work of government institutions and not to destroy them for partisan purposes.

    He maintained that most of the political operators were friends, surrogates and loyalists of successive military regimes.

    “Those of us who lost our sweat, liberty and lives for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria, are disappointed with the current level of partisan politics that tend to be devoted much more to selfish acquisition of public commonwealth and the neglect of genuine services to Nigeria.”

  • CODER cautions politicians on election

    The Convener, Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER), Ayo Opadokun, has urged politicians discrediting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other security agencies to mind their utterances.

    He said some political parties have started denouncing INEC’s ability to deliver on the coming election, noting it was not in the interest of the country to do so.

    Opadokun in a statement explained that the allegations against INEC and securities were unverifiable. He added that the unfounded remarks make local, international and developmental partners suspicious of the elections’ credibility.

    He said: “CODER wishes to remind the current political operators to put national interest first before their personal interest so that Nigeria can earn her deserved respect, dignity as a democratic state in spite of obvious inadequacies yet to be settled by the Nigerian state.

    “CODER would equally ask the genuine international development partners- western powers not to unduly take side in the Nigeria electoral contest by their seeming indication of reading ulterior motive to the suspension of Justice Walter Onnoghen, who admitted that he forgot to fill the mandatory asset declaration form as when due.”

    Opadokun urged politicians to play by the rules in making genuine complaints to improve the work of government institutions and not to destroy them for partisan purposes.

    He maintained that most of the political operators were friends, surrogates and loyalists of successive military regimes.

    “Those of us who lost our sweat, liberty and lives for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria, are disappointed with the current level of partisan politics that tend to be devoted much more to selfish acquisition of public commonwealth and the neglect of genuine services to Nigeria,” he said.

  • Election: Police plan to tackle identify flashpoints

    •EOD to mobilise anti-bomb experts, others

    THE police yesterday said they have identified emerging threats and had mobilised Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) personnel to marked areas for necessary action, as the general elections draw closer.

    This is just as the service also said it would take delivery of more equipment next week that would further enhance the performance of the anti-bomb experts across the country.

    Commissioner of Police in charge of EOD Kayode Egbetokun stated this at the department’s first quarterly conference with senior officers and base commanders held in Lagos.

    Themed: “Emerging threat and strategic coverage of the 2019 election,” Egbetokun said the conference provided an opportunity to review the department’s performance in previous elections as well as brainstorm on how to achieve greater success in the coming elections.

    He said: “We know how important the role of the EOD is in an election. We have looked at what we have to do viz-a-viz our capacity and capability. We know our strength and we have taken care of our weaknesses. We know the external opportunities available to us and we know the threats we are facing.

    “Where we have identified gaps, we are closing them. We have our strategy in place for this election. We have been doing it before and have been succeeding. We are at the conference to put finishing touches to our plan. We will discharge our duties creditably well.

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    “By this time next week, we would have taken delivery of additional equipment to boost our operational capacity. I cannot disclose our strategy to the public but be assured that we have mobilised additional personnel and will cover the entire country. The threat index available to us has already put us ahead of the criminals.”

    To his men, he said there was no excuse for failure in their assigned roles in the coming elections, reminding them that Nigerians looked up to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police for a pleasant experience in during and after the elections.

     

  • Election: Group endorses Akinlade

    A group, The Mandate Leadership Forum has endorsed the Allied People’s Movement (APM) candidate Adekunle Akinlade for Ogun State Governor.

    Rising from a conference at Otta Recreational Centre, the group’s spokesman, Prince Adesegun Ogungbayi, however, said for Ogun state to move to the next level, the major industrial environment must be specially developed.

    “The higher the development of industrial areas, the better for the citizens,” he said.

    Read also: The TouchStone: Onnoghen should have resigned – Sam Omatseye

    He said: “At the end of the conference, which was attended by leaders of the group in Ogun state, it was unanimously agreed that the gap of readiness of the governorship candidate of Akinlade to other candidates in the state is too wide and therefore, vow to ensure his success and all candidates that will make his resolution for the state easily achievable.

    “He is the only candidate that has made over 50 public statements on the advancement of gateway state and has equally done similar things while serving his constituency as House of Representatives member.”

  • LCCI: minimum wage, election may heighten inflation

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), yesterday warned that an upward review of minimum wage and election spending may heighten inflationary trends in the country.

    It said inflation will remain on the upward trajectory over the coming months unless the Federal Government formulates and implements  policies that will enhance non-oil sectors’s productivity to increase output and moderate inflation.

    Addressing reporters in Lagos yesterday, its President, Mr Babatunde Ruwase said the grosss domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.81 per cent is below the nation’s annual population growth of about three per cent and remains a cause for concern due to its wider implications for welfare, unemployment and poverty in the country.

    He said the group has not identitied with or endorsed any political party, and will never do so.

    As elections draw near, Ruwase said the economy and investors are faced with new challenges that will require some immediare adjustments.

    He warned that current weak economic fundamentals  are bad omen and urged the Federal Government to formulate and implement policies and programmes that will facilitate the growth of domestic and foreign investment to boost the economy.

    The LCCI chief also said   growing unemployment figure was a reflection that growth in the economy is still weak, fragile and not inclusive.

    “It is imperative therefore to sustain efforts to create the enabling environment to attract more private capital to boost investment and growth,” he said.

    Access to and cost of funds remain a big issue for many domestic investors, he added.

    “With commercial bank lending rate at between 20-35 per cent, the private sector especially the SMEs had challenges in accessing credit for their businesses. We note the efforts of government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BoI) to extend intervention funds to the private sector operators. We also commend the government for enacting the Secured Transaction in Movable Assets Act, 2017 (popularly called Collateral Registry Act 2017) and the Credit Reporting Act, 2017,” Ruwase said.

    He urged the government and its agencies to do more in making sure that credit is accessible to the private sector especially the SMEs.

     

     

  • CSOs laud Army’s preparedness  ahead of elections, says establishment of situation room commendable

    The Coalition of Civil Society Groups Against Terrorism in Nigeria says Nigerians must appreciate the brilliant effort of the Nigerian Army in repelling the attempts by the Boko Haram insurgents, to disrupt the general elections in some part of the country, especially in the Northeast geopolitical zone of the Country. It lauded the Army for dealing a major blow on the insurgents, has they tried to attack some parts of Borno and Yobe State, on the eve of the earlier scheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections.
    The Coalition speaking through its Convener, Comrade Odeyemi Oladimeji  said the successes recorded by the army in its recent counter-insurgency effort, has further reinforced the confidence of Nigerians, in the Nigerian Army under the leadership of General Tukur Buratai in securing their lives, properties and the territorial integrity of the Country.
    The group also urged Nigerians to take advantage of the innovative decision of the Nigerian Army leadership, to establish it’s first ever open election monitoring situation room for the 2019 general elections, in volunteering useful information that can assist the army and other security agencies, towards mitigating against any form of criminal activity and violence, that may affect the peaceful conduct of the elections.

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    The group also condemned last week’s killing of about 66 people by ethnic militias in Kajuru local government area of Kaduna. It urged security agents to unravel the perpetrators and sponsors of the heinous crime,  as it also condemned the attempt by some politicians and self styled activists, to politicise such a tragedy.
    The coalition also advised the Independent National Electoral Commission to brace up and avoid a repeat of the commission’s incompetence, which led to the postponement of the earlier scheduled date, for the 2019 Presidential election.

  • Election: INEC can’t afford to disappoint, says Yakubu

    INDEPENDENT National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu yesterday pledged that the commission will not disappoint Nigeria and the rest of the world in the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

    Yakubu, therefore, gave an assurance of an improved conduct of the forthcoming general elections, saying that it would be an improvement over the 2015 polls.

    He spoke yesterday when the German Ambassador to Nigeria Bernhard Schlagheck and German Secretary of State Walter Lindner visited him at the commission’s headquarters, Abuja.

    Yakubu said the commission was determined not just to repeat the feat attained in the 2015 polls, but to improve on it to further affirm that the conduct of the last general polls was not a fluke.

    He said: “We cannot afford to disappoint Nigerians. We shall not disappoint the international community. Each time we have visitors like you, we have been encouraged.

    “We are aware that the eyes of the world are on Nigeria for the reasons you have mentioned and more. We are also aware that in 2015, Nigeria conducted elections that were commended around the world.”

    He added: “What Nigeria achieved in 2015 and what we hope to achieve in 2019 is not just in the handiwork of what you see in the commission, but also the commendation we received from the international community. So, we appreciate these supports and I want to assure you that we will not let the world down.

    “What happened in 2015 is certainly not a fluke. We hope 2019 will be a further affirmation of maturity of Nigeria democracy.”

    He hailed the support of the German government and development partners for their support to INEC and the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) members, stressing that the commission was not unmindful of the interest of the international community on elections.

    He said: “It is 36 days today from the 2019 election. Already, the long term observation mission of the EU is in Nigeria for the election. This is a further affirmation of the interest of the international community on elections.”

    The Germany Secretary of State reminded INEC that in 2015, Nigeria conducted election that was an example to the African continent and the entire word, which will be the standard with which the 2019 general elections would be measured.

    He urged the commission to be neutral so as to guarantee free and fair elections.

    Lindner noted that Nigeria being the economic power house of Africa with over 200 million people, Germany and the rest of the world were interested in the country’s political stability.

    He stated that whatever happens in Nigeria negatively has repercussion for the whole world and promised support to the nation’s electoral process.

    “What ever happened in Nigeria has very important repercussion on the rest of the continent and I will say on the rest of the world because Nigeria is a very important country seating on a lot of wealth, oil and natural resources.

    “So, the way we handle public stability, political stability and economic challenges will be closely watched anywhere, everywhere in the world.

    “You have important elections coming up. Last election has been an example in the continent and also around the globe, for how you do political transition peacefully.

    “2015 is in the back of every politician’s mind around the world. So, the standard is there. Of course, you will be measured against the standard, whether the same, I will not say transition because it depend on the outcome of the election, but the same peacefulness will reign in February and you have very important role to play there.”

     

  • ‘Use your PVCs to end dismal PDP in Sokoto’

    AHEAD of the soon to be conducted 2019 polls, Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, has urged electorates in the state to wisely use their Permanent Voter Cards ( PVCs), to end the administration of sitting Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) in the state for its dismal performance in the last four years .

    Wamakko made the call in Sokoto at the formal inauguration of the APC state campaign committees for the Sokoto North Senatorial District, as well as the eight Local Governments in the zone.

    They are Sokoto North, Sokoto South, Wamakko, Kware, Silame, Binji, Gudu and Tangaza according to a statement issued to reporters Thursday night by Bashir Rabe Mani, Special Assistant to the Senator on Media and Publicity.

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    Represented by the Zonal Campaign Coordinator, Alhaji Tsalhatu Sidi Mamman, a former Commissioner in the State, Senator Wamakko, who represents Sokoto North Senatorial District, sermoned ‘” The people of the state should judge for themselves and vote out the current administration in the state.

    ” This is because the confidence, trust and respect in it had for long been eroded as the people have not gotten the much expected dividends of democracy like they happily and tangibly did between 2007 and 2015.

    ” Consequently, we should be the judges for ourselves and come out on February 16 and March 2, 2019, to massively vote for President Muhammadu Buhari and all Candidates of the APC, at all levels. ”

    The APC lawmaker and immediate past Governor in the state said the party holds the sanctity of the people in high esteem, while it has mapped out myriad of people-oriented programmes and policies, for all Nigerians.

  • ‘Election will be a referendum on Buhari’

    The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Kola Ologbondiyan spoke with reporters in Lagos on the Buhari administration, the presidential aspiration of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, preparations for next month’s election and factors that will shape the exercise. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.

    What is the chance of your party in the general elections?

    As a party, we are worried by the level of hunger in Nigeria today. We are worried  by the level of starvation across the land. We are also troubled at the level of division, insecurity and bloodletting across the nation.  We have taken on the APC and President Buhari on three key promises they made to Nigerians during the last election. They promised to revive the economy but the losses of jobs that we have experienced and the cost of living that has gone up astronomically has demonstrated to all of us that President Buhari has not fulfill his promise about reviving the economy. Two, he promised to fight corruption  and he is seen as Mr Integrity but it is very worrisome that  President Buhari is not fighting corruption but busy fighting perceived enemies  and possible opponents in the 2019 elections.

    We in the PDP believe that while we were in government,  we have situations where senators, Reps members, governors and even a Senate President was not only investigated and subjected to trial, we even have an instance where a sibling of a former president was arrested.  But, what do we find in the current circumstance? The Chief of Staff who is the closest person in terms of administration to Mr  President was accused of collecting bribes as we speak today, he has not been investigated or subjected to trial. The former SGF, Babachir Lawal was accused of cutting grass with over N200m in the North East where our fellow Nigerians were victims of insurgency; the same insurgency that President Buhari promised to come and fight. As we speak today, they are just playing games, no arraignment and no trials.

    Just recently, the House of Reps indicted the Vice- President in its report on corruption in NEMA and yet they are talking to us about fighting corruption.  We have challenged the National Assembly to open all the books in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and what they will find there, we will discover that in the history of our nation, no administration has been as corrupt as this government.

    The President also promised that he will fight insurgency but the worst of it is that under his watch, insurgents now attack our military base killing our soldiers. Yes, insurgency started when PDP was in government but the insurgents were attacking soft spots where we have civilians but now it is worrisome that the insurgents have become so emboldened that they now go to military formations and attacks our soldiers.

    The worst part of it was that the President’s wife, Aisha Buhari came out publicly and declare to Nigerians that only two persons are running the affairs of governance. I don’t there can be any other testimony against this APC government than that.  This definitely tells us the fact that we all know that the President is not in charge. So, is it those two people that we are going to vote for in 2019?

    Why do you think your candidate is the best man for the job?

    We believe that we need a president who has got the experience, a candidate who understands our nuances as a people and as a nation. A president who in the past when he had the opportunity has demonstrated capacity as a job provider and a good manager of the economy and even after he left office, he has continued to create wealth and we believe strongly that that is the kind of president that our nation truly needs today and that is what our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar represents

    What is the difference between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) as those that left APC went to the PDP?

    The difference between the PDP and APC is very manifest. The PDP believes in democracy and its tenets,; we stand by the rule of law, social justice and respect for constitutionalism. We also believe in creating an enabling environment that will allow private enterprises to thrive. As such, we encourage private investors to create jobs, so that life can be better for the people. But, I must confess to you that the APC, unfortunately is just an amalgam of people contended with the existence of governance. They have no ideology and have nothing to offer Nigerians. They are power mongers looking for power and they chased out the PDP government through propaganda, through lies and through deception. They do not have any plan whatsoever in any form to govern and to govern in a particular direction. That is why we have challenged them to name one idea they conceived, planned and implemented. There is none. Where is the ‘Change begins with me’ they promised? They do not have ideas for governance and without ideas, you cannot rule, you cannot govern. In terms of ideology, they disrespect the court. We all know in Nigeria when they woke up one night and went round residences of judges. You know the number of times former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rdt) has been granted bail, but they did not release him inspite of court orders. They have no respect for court orders; they have no respect for constitutionalism. So, when you talk of ideology, I believe that the PDP has ideology and because it is a democratic party, it follows the tenets of democracy, but I don’t know the ideology of the APC.

    One of the issues on the front burner  the economy. How will your party fix the economy if it gets to power?

    The PDP believes that the only way to revive the economy is to allow the economy to be private driven and the job of governance is to create an enabling environment that will allow businesses to thrive. We have experimented government running businesses and we have experimented a situation where private investors are given an enabling environment to thrive and we have seen where it has taken us. NITEL was running the telecommunications sector, but GSM operators were allowed to run the sector and we have seen where it has taken us.

    There are feelers that all is not well within the PDP, especially in the South-South and South-East. Is there a problem in the party and what effort is being made to address it? Again, there is also insinuation that some governors in the South-East are secretly planning to work for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 elections. How do you react to that?

    I find it strange that any member of the PDP will pledge a particular percentage of votes for President Buhari. If that is true, it confirms our fears that there are plans to rig the 2019 elections by writing figures. You cannot determine a percentage of votes that will go in any direction in a free, fair and credible election. You do not know the mindset of every voter. All I know is that the governors on the platform of the PDP are supporting our candidate. That is a known fact. Why should our governors vote for President Buhari? What will be the reason? Is it that the people, who are members of our party, are not Nigerians?

    Why do you think that any member of our party will not work for the President?

    You see, it is a game of the ruling party, they know that they have been abandoned by Nigerians. They know that the lies and contraptions they used in 2015 are no longer working for them because Nigerians have seen through them. So, they are looking for help because they know that they are a drowning party. They will say anything just to create disaffection and seek to cause crisis within our party and with our candidate. We can see clearly that Nigerians are rallying round our candidate.

    Your party’s national chairman recently alleged that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is being used to witch-hunt PDP governors…

    Our governors in the last three and a half years have suffered untoward embarrassment from this administration. They have been harassed, they have been intimidated, but I want you to know that they cannot be intimidated to do such things. The PDP governors are determined and they will continue to support the party.

    How do you respond to INEC’s decision to conduct elections in Internally Dispaced Camps (IDPs) and what is your take on the commission’s preparation for the elections?

    We have made our position on the IDPs very clear. We are opposed to any situation that will grant INEC the powers to create new polling units under the guise of creating them for IDPs. Nigeria, as a country has been delineated to 120,000 polling units and as such, any area in this country has its own polling unit. So, what we are seeing is this, if there are IDPs in Ikeja for instance, what they need do is to allow the IDPs to transfer to the area where they are currently staying. There is no need to create an additional 30,000 polling units because it will amount to rigging. We have also said that we are aware that the contraption, which took place in Osun State during the governorship election, was done in INEC’s situation room, where it was clear that in the transmitted results, PDP won, but they decided to manipulate the process. We have credible information and we have given it to our party in respect of this.What we are saying is that since President has refused to sign the amended Electoral Act, which provided for transmission of results electronically, INEC should allow observers to participate or monitor the results in the situation room. So, speaking generally, what we have said and insisting on is that we will not allow rigging in the 2019 general elections. We will burst every rigging plan of the APC and the President. It is manifestly evident that Buhari cannot win the 2019 election because Nigerians have resolved, wholesomely that they will not vote for him and that they will not vote for the APC. So, on account of that, we will check INEC and ensure that they guarantee an election that will be free, fair, credible and transparent, and as well accepted by the majority of Nigerians.

  • Enugu APC crisis and the governorship election

    Before the 2019 party primaries, there was relative peace and camaraderie in All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State. The party and its members co-existed and co-habited, side by side with other political parties and their members without any problem. That has been the spirit of partisan politics in the coal city.

    With the conduct of the party congresses in May, APC became factionalised between Deacon Okey Ogbodo-led group and Dr. Ben Nwoye-led group. While efforts were being made to resolve the differences between the two factions, the party primary commenced with disenchanted party faithful taking different positions. What made matter worse for APC during its primaries were the actions and inactions of some defectors, who jumped into the party to grab tickets after losing out in Peoples Democratic Party and at the expense of the foundation members of the party in the state.

    These defectors desperately deployed everything at their disposal including money, blackmail and mudslinging to cow the foundation members of the party to have their ways. In their unholy exploits and desperation, the defectors relied mostly on the new national leadership of the party led by Adams Oshiohmole, a man who, apparently did not understand the undercurrents and peculiarities of Enugu politics. That was why the party leadership single-handedly and suddenly changed the mode of primary in the state from direct to indirect, when the exercise was already half way.

    Among these defectors is Senator Ayogu Eze. A member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was in political hibernation for years, while challenging in court the outcome of 2015 PDP governorship primary he lost to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Ayogu joined APC less than two months to the party primary and schemed his way to grab the party’s governorship ticket. Since the primaries were concluded, APC has not known peace in the state, even though the party leadership has published Ayogu Eze as their candidate, another aspirant, Barrister George Ogara of Deacon Okey Ogobdo-led faction has continued to lay claim to the party’s ticket. The development has engendered more crises in the party than ever expected or imagined. Neither the party leadership nor these defectors have solution to the crises as major party stakeholders and followers have deserted the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the ongoing campaign in the state.

    Also at Federal High Court Enugu was a pending suit instituted by a registered member of APC in the state, Ifeanyi Onwuamaze, asking the court to nullify all the primaries conducted by the party in the state as the open ballot system of voting adopted, violated Section 37 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

    One of the foundation members of the party in the state and Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) Osita Okechukwu, who was obviously schemed out of the primaries, described the exercise as a mere charade. Just like Okechukwu, other aggrieved party members who are in majority and have not spoken out are quietly waiting to take their own pound of flesh during the election.

    While it could be said that no one is indispensable in a party, some individuals are and should not be treated with disdain for any reason. This is because of their political relevance and immense contributions in building the party structure.  The likes of Osita Okechukwu, Captain Joe Orji (rtd), Chief Gbazuagu Nweke Gbazuagu and others APC chieftains, who were short-changed in the primaries, are not happy with the manner the defectors hijacked and manipulated the exercise in their favour. So, where lies the party loyalty?

    Saying that Eze is not popular in the state is an understatement. After being in the senate for eight years relying on existing PDP structure in the state, Eze was nowhere in the politics of the state since 2015 when he lost out in the PDP governorship primary. So, where is his popularity to justify giving him APC ticket less than a month he joined the party? The PDP structure that made Eze’s senatorial ambition possible for eight years is intact and under the control of the incumbent state governor. How many political bigwigs defected with Eze from PDP in the state, apart from few that were seeking cover from anti-graft agencies?

    Even in his zone, Enugu North, the incumbent governor of the state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has more followers and presence than him. The statistics and facts are there. It is verifiable. Majority of those that were given APC tickets in the state were some who lost out in PDP primaries due to their lack of popularity.  APC national leadership and the presidency shouldn’t expect short-changed and aggrieved party members to support candidates that were imposed on them without justification.

    Since grabbing the APC ticket, Eze, by his actions and utterances, has shown that he is not a team and accessible player, who is willing to carry people along. He has been carrying on as if all is well in the party; all in a bid to deceive the powers-that-be that he is popular and commands followership. That is the height of self-deceit and delusion.

    Since the fallouts of the primaries in the state, neither Eze nor his supporters has called for a genuine and reconciliatory meeting to resolve the grey areas less than three months to election. Instead, they are going about telling people that ‘Federal Might’ will be deployed to capture Enugu in 2019 for them. If that is true, which federal might are they talking about, when it is obvious now that majority of the people in the state will vote against them in the election?

    If they are banking on rigging as being rumoured by few of their foot soldiers, they will be disappointed because Enugu people have always chosen their leaders in free and fair election. It is not unlikely that the rigging and federal might propaganda being spread by few remnants of APC in the state ahead of the election is their strategy to hoodwink voters and discourage them from coming out en masse to vote for the candidates of their choice. That won’t work for them because it is already in the open and Enugu people are wiser. Besides, candidates can only win elections where they are popular and Enugu voters know their leaders inside out.

    May be Eze and his cohorts have forgotten that the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is an ardent promoter and supporter of free and fair elections. Ahead of 2019 elections, the president has repeatedly assured Nigerians and international community that next year elections will be free and fair. We have witnessed free and fair elections in Anambra, Edo, Kogi, Bayelsa, Ondo and other states since Buhari came into office in 2015.

    So, instead of hoping to rely on utopian federal might, Eze should present his score card, having been in public office for over a decade with nothing to show as major achievements.

    With the multiple crises in Enugu APC today coupled with Eze’s non-performance in public office, Eze will not be able to share votes, talk less of defeating Governor Ugwuanyi in Enugu North zone, where both hail from. With Ugwuanyi’s achievements in office, which is enduring and verifiable, Eze has a herculean task of defeating Ugwuanyi in the election.

    Also with the power rotation arrangement among the senatorial zones in the state, the people of Enugu East zone, who are due to produce Ugwuanyi’s successor after his second term in 2023 will not risk voting Eze to avoid altering the rotation formula in the state. These are factors in the politics of the state which the APC national leadership was oblivious of, before handing over the party’s governorship ticket to Eze. The elections are near and the battle will be fought and won in the field, not in Abuja. Enugu voters will not subscribe to electoral violence to disrupt the peace of the state. Candidates’ popularity and acceptability must be tested and confirmed through the ballot box, not through electoral manipulations.

     

    • Agboeze, chieftain of APC wrote from Abakpa, Enugu.