Tag: Fayemi

Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi spoke with reporters in Lagos on his endorsement for a second term by the party leaders, national security and 2015 elections. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.

 

What is your position on the removal of immunity for the President, Vice President, governors and their deputies?

I have both conceptual and practical problem with the constitutional reform as being carried out by the National Assembly. With greatest respect to the members of the House of Representatives, when they claimed that they have held 365 meetings in their constituencies to gather feedback from the people, I think it is fundamentally flawed and disingenious way of conducting constitutional reform process. Either in the best global practices or even in the terms of elementary feedback mechanism, I don’t think it qualifies. What has happened has not met the basic aspect of legitimacy. I am of a thought that this process will end up in referendum that all Nigerians will have a say. Constitution is a serious matter to exclude the citizenry from it.

On immunity, my own position tallies with what they say. I have consistently said immunity should be limited to only civil matter and that anyone who commits a crime and expected to be protected by the law is first, not democratic and second, not interested in good government. Since we all agree that the bane of our country today is corruption, criminality in high office, whether it is electoral criminality or grand theft of the public treasury, criminality is criminality. I have always believed that the only justification for immunity is when a politician designed to distract person doing a job from delivering the job with pedestrian and irresponsible cases in court. That has nothing to do with criminality and I think I still hold strongly that view. Immunity for civil matters should be adhered to. However, lawyers can be dangerous and difficult. They can turn civil cases to criminal issue depending on what they are fighting for.

In that wise, I don’t think immunity is a matter for just the National Assembly to decide. Majority of the proposals that I have seen from the Lower Chamber have truly undermined the spirit of federalism throughout the world. As a matter of fact, in some part of the world, the unit that is responsible for election is the local government or county that runs election. It is from here they calculate the election from the number of local governments across the country. Many countries don’t have what is called Federal Electoral body; Britain, USA, all of them. I don’t know many countries with federal electoral bodies. We only do our own thing in Nigeria in reverse order and yet, we expect to get correct outcome. It doesn’t work that way. There is logic to principle of federalism and that logic is subsidiarity. But in our country, we want to be unitary state, yet masquerade as a federal state. But I do know that many of the National Assembly proposals for constitution amendment may not see the light of the day unless they are not coming to the States House of Assembly.

What is your reaction to your endorsement for a second term by your party?

I have come to be very wary about this term, endorsement. It has become bastardized word courtesy Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF). Seriously speaking, I think it is a burden when people say that you have done well. The burden of doing more becomes enlarged. That is what has come out of the endorsement that our leaders gave to me last December and the affirmation by Chief Bisi Akande and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

I also think seriously that what we have learnt from Lagos and Edo experiment is that if good governance is entrenched, it will be useful and helpful for the parties not to change candidate arbitrarily unless there is a compelling reasons to do that and those reasons should include those conditions listed in the Nigerian constitution like temporary or permanent insanity, ill-health and others like that. If we are to consolidate on things that we have achieved, then it makes sense unless the candidate chooses not to contest.

Our constitution allows second term. Obviously, you cannot legislate against ambition. With the endorsement, I felt a sense of elation on one hand and surprise on the other because it imposes enormous burden on one, not just to do well and protect the things that have been made but to also protect our people because I am sure Abuja is eyeing Ekiti State very interestingly. They considered those of us in the Progressive Forum as governors to be taken out at all cost. But they will discover on the ground that they will have very little to sell to our people. As far as we are concerned there are clear and consistent changes in all of these states. What will the opposition be bringing to the market to sell to the people at the end of the day? The important point here is that endorsement is not an election. We have a lot of work to do.

It’s great that our leaders recognised the work that we have done so far but election is not going to be a child’s play. We have prepared for a very tough election because we know full well that the other side will not sit idle even before 2015 and the election in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun will be a dress rehearsal for 2015.

Is it not confounding to you that insecurity has persisted in the country?

We have almost moving to a point where our leaders need a serious strategy; and economic cum security strategy. I don’t know how that is going to come about but the Council of State and opinion leaders might need to step back and look at the possibility to organise Security Summit. One, there is a body led by the Minister (Turaki) talking to the various players in this unfortunate development. But I do think what we are confronted with now is poverty insecurity complex. That is the challenge that we must address.

How do we tackle it?

The last time I spoke about five sides to issue of Boko Haram. The most prominent one is the religious angle, but it is not devastating like economic strand. It is when people feel they have nothing to lose that some of these things happened. We ought to pay more attention in involving of the military in civilian affairs. I know the implication is that you are not in charge and that they should come and rescue you. That rescue can be defined in elastic by involving military in civilian matters. You are sending a sub-minimal message to the military that you cannot take good charge of the situation and that must be worrisome in the light of what we have seen in the last two days in Egypt. It should worry us that we are playing with fire. What is our youth development programme in Nigeria? We have 60% population under 25, and majority of these young people are totally fed up with Nigerian state. For one to be young and idle, other forces will find use for you. That’s the part of the country’s major problem and we are not dealing with it the way it should be done. Those who are in the power corridor seem to be totally detached from their people. We certainly need coherent strategy and that strategy must almost be a marshal plan. State of emergency should have been a component of the comprehensive marshal plan that we need in this country. And the plan must be based on special economic security because we must be able to cut off the oxygen that is fuelling what is going on. If you don’t cut that oxygen, it will continue to get to other parts of the north.

I happen to know the governors of Borno and Yobe very well. The governor of Borno, Kashim Shettima is one of the smartest governors we have in this country and it’s been so sad that Boko Haram has diminished the impact of the work he is doing in Borno State. People know what the governor is made up.

What is the implication of the insecurity for 2015 polls?

I think there is a fifth columnist in this government that is desirous of this crime being perpetrated becaus of politics in 2015; or it helps to put the President in the bad light. It could be either way.

Those who are out to get the President and destroy him and those who seek to protect him and protect his agenda of return. Maybe, their thinking is that, if we keep the north perpetually busy with these crises, election may not take place there in 2015 and that we can annex the area. That is likely where our own will come from. I’m throwing this out as my reflection rather than certainty. But we are not the only country afflicted by this kind of challenge but it refuses to go because of little attention we pay to intelligence. Up till now, the police intelligence unit is virtually zero, military intelligence is not as impressive as one expect. We are just left with the State Security Service (SSS). That seems to have a bit of the arm of it. And that leaves us with enormous challenges. Almost coming to the reality of national intelligence report as we go near 2015. Maybe there is something the American saw which we didn’t see that Nigeria may disintegrate by 2014. But,we don’t need to resign ourselves to fate. We need to make a clarion call to Mr. President and all of us in the leadership position to begin to respond to issues. This is one of the issues discussed at NGF that we should make resources available to the afflicted states. In our view, you cannot have about 10 million children there outside and not see correlation between helplessness and hopelessness of these young people. There is correlation somewhere, poverty and violence are related and we must do certain things to separate them. We can take specific steps.

Right now, the bulk of what is happening under the state of emergency is being paid for by those states where the rule is in place. So, you can see what is happening that if Borno State gets a monthly allocation of say N5 billion every month and it devotes N2.5billion to keep the Joint Task Force in place. That is zero-sum in economics.

 

 Ekiti State Governor Dr Kayode Fayemi  has been endorsed by the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) for a second term. Correspondent Sulaiman Salawudeen writes on the significance of the endorsement and the party’s preparation for the next election.

THE National Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Bisi Akande, the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and other stakeholders have endorsed Ekiti State Governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi for a second term.

The significance of the endorsement was that it represented an irrevocable vote of confidence by the party leaders. It has tacitly cleared the coast for him to pursue his re-election bid next year without any intra-party contest for the ticket.

The party leaders gave Governor Fayemi “a clean bill of health” for “his sterling performance in the governance of the state.” It was a positive development for him as it came barely three weeks after the Supreme Court affirmed his victory and dismissed the claim by the former governor of the state, Mr. Segun Oni. The judgment by the apex court is believed to have tremendously enhanced the prospect of Governor Fayemi for a second term. It was a judgment that brought to an end the near three-year agitation by Oni to reverse his ouster as governor by the Appeal Court in Ilorin on October 15, 2010.

Remarkably, the majority of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members did not support Oni’s claims. Sources said the party was more particular about the need to re-focus and strategise towards the 2014 election.

Oni, according to opinion leaders, should have seen the handwriting on the wall. As early as March 14, 2011 when he instituted the ‘ill-fated’ suit in Ado-Ekiti, many PDP chieftains had openly cautioned him against the venture. They consequently deserted him.

Also, the leadership of the party had consistently accused him of being “an implacable lone ranger” in politics. They recalled the March 18, 2012 election of current members of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party in which he lost out entirely to the Fayose/Olubolade group.

Many people believed that his defeat in such a local, in-house contest was an indication of his lack of relevance in the party, which had predicted his subsequent removal as the Southwest PDP leader.

Since the apex court handed down the judgment, opinion has been divided in the state as to who actually suffered the major loss. To some, it was a collective loss to the opposition. To others, it was Oni’s personal loss. it has also shown the fact that the opposition is fratured in the state and the Southwest geo-political zone.

A source told The Nation that, at the inception of the case in 2011, Oni had joined PDP as co-prosecutors. The source, said that, if Oni had succeeded in reversing Fayemi’s elections, a larger section of the PDP would have rolled out the drums to celebrate with him and begin to work out how to share booty. But failure, has always been an orphan, he said.

Another source confided that the perception of the verdict as the sole business of Oni underscored the division in the troubled chapter.

This tendency, has also been observed in the current agitation by over 20 aspirants jostling for the ticket.

Dashed hope

Strangely, many had linked Oni’s loss with the face-off between President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. According to them, Oni had remained an implacable disciple of the former President, who had not been in the good book of President Jonathan. His loss, according to this school of thought, was orchestrated to further silence Obasanjo.

According to them, if Oni had won the sympathy of the Presidency, he would not have suffered the numerous setbacks.

But this view was opposed in respect of the recent developments in the judiciary, which had seen many landmark judgments being given, and a number of judges booted out.

Opposition restrategising

Notwithstanding the high rating, which the ruling ACN has been enjoying in the state, the PDP, in the wake of the Supreme Court judgment, seem to be more determined to hijack power.

Recently, the state chairman, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, observed that the loss would make the party to even intensify efforts towards Ekiti 2014. Thus, he confirmed that the eventual pronouncement of the apex court only affirmed what had long been envisaged and had been well prepared for.

Many party leader hold a contrary view. They contend that the judgment has further dimmed the chance of the PDP and contributed to its image problem. Besides, it is generally believed that the PDP is struggling to pick up the pieces, since its ouster from the Government House, almost three years ago.

One development that has boosted the chances of Governor Fayemi in the 2014 governorship election is the way and manner the members of the opposition have been defecting to the ruling party in droves. A chieftain of the ACN described the development as a positive one for the party, adding that it portends danger for the PDP.

Observers contend that, for the PDP to bounce back, it would have to embark on what they described as “self re-invention and re-engineering”. The common view is that, whatever strategy is being adopted to re-invent itself, the party will be held down by its crises. The argument of those who hold this view is that party discipline is almost zero. Even, a member of the party in the state capital who craved annonimity, said: “Nobody seems to be in control and mutual mistrust has cogged every laudable move to progress”.

He also said that the journey to self rediscovery by the party would not come simply through realignments with other parties. He argued that what the PDP needs is more than mere realignments. “It is entire self appraisal and an all-involving congress that we need,” he said.

Beyond muscle flexing

For the ACN, however, the recent legal victory has been described as an icing on the cake for Governor Fayemi. This has direct bearing on his preparation for the 2014 election.

Fayemi and ACN leaders are determined to sustain the tempo of development in Ekiti State. The unity of the party is an added advantage.

Observers contend that the public image would remain a good asset for the party, which had sustained the people-friendly programmes. The administration’s eight point agenda is on course. It include health care services, education/human capital development, agriculture, infrastructure, tourism, job creation and direct financial empowerment.

They believe that good party image borne out of outstanding intra-party cohesiveness, immense leadership credibility as provided by Governor Fayemi and outstanding performance of his administration in respect of physical development, massive employment and financial empowerment of needy citizenry, including the elderly, would sway the votes in favour of the ACN in a way never before experienced in the state.

According to them, no single court case today exists against the spree of demolitions, which the state government had embarked upon in the wake of the advanced urban renewal programmes. The government has paid what is adequate as compensation, to those affected.

The ACN Chairman, Chief Jide Awe, had noted that the preparation towards the 2014 election “would be in kind and not in voice”, which means the achievements of the administration would be a strong campaign point of the party.

Speaking at a recent function, where scores of PDP members were accepted into the ACN, Awe noted that Governor Fayemi, who recently announced his intention to contest the elections next year, remains the party’s flag bearer for the election.

He added: “What Governor Fayemi has so far achieved in the state is to change the pattern in which political parties and their candidates seek peoples’ votes.

“It won’t be possible again in Ekiti for aspirants to pledge the high heavens and eventually disappoint. It will not be possible for anyone to say he has not performed because the finances of the state were poor. Ekiti’s finances have always been ‘poor’ and despite that status, today, the state has soared commendably high in all ratings and measurements of responsible and responsive governance.

“The state’s network of roads has become wonderful while program-mes across agriculture, tourism, education, health and individual/community empowerment have become reference points across the country.

“Let me say here that, by the time Fayemi and our party (ACN) were celebrating the second year anniversary, we were actually celebrating his (Fayemi’s) coming victory in the 2014 election. And this, in a way, is why many of the PDP members are now joining our party in their thousands”, Awe said.