The Nation Newspaper

Tag: George

  • PDP crisis: George urges Sheriff to embrace peace

    PDP crisis: George urges Sheriff to embrace peace

    Former National Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Olabode George has urged the embattled former National Chairman Senator Ali Modu Sheriff to sheathe his sword and assist the caretaker committee chaired by Senator Ahmed Makarfi to reposition the party.

    The party chieftain from Lagos State said the crisis in the opposition party is over, following the decision to end Sheriff’s tenure at the aborted convention in Port-Harcourt, capital of Rivers State.

    He told reporters in Lagos that only zoning can bring peace to the party, adding that, since the next presidential candidate will come from the North, the South is expected to produce the chairman.

    George, a former military governor of Ondo State, said: “The worst is over. The PDP has been pulled back from the precipice. We have to restrategise to be able to position the party as a credible and formidable platform. I appeal to Sheriff; if he is really committed to the stability of the party and believes in building the party, as he once told us, he should go and withdraw his case.”

    The former deputy chairman said the PDP can only survive, if zoning is upheld, adding that “it should be turn by turn, if equity, justice and fairness are to be promoted.”

    George listed the qualities expected from the next PDP national Chairman, stressing that he should be intellectually sound and ready to weather the storm.

    He said: “He should know his onions. He should be responsible, respectable, not money conscious, and he must have networks. Look at the APC chairman, Oyegun, a former federal permanent secretary and governor. He is known in the country. The PDP must look for somebody who will be at par with Oyegun or somebody who is above him.”

    George also spoke on the state fof the nation, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to dialogue with militants disturbing the peace of the Niger Delta. He said warfare should pnly be employed as a last resort.

    Urging  the President to implement the report of the National Conference, he said: “The report was unanimously adopted by all delegates, not a one-sided report. I support the restructuring of the country.”

     

  • George, Ogunlewe, Daniel: Southwest should produce PDP chairman

    George, Ogunlewe, Daniel: Southwest should produce PDP chairman

    The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) escalated yesterday as prominent Southwest leaders reiterated their opposition to the zoning of the chairmenship slot to the North.

    The PDP elders, including former National Deputy Chairman Chief Bode George, former Works Minister Senator Seye Ogunlewe, Board of Trustees (BoT) member Senator Bode Olajumoke, former Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Oloye Jumoke Akinjide and former House of Representatives Majority Leader Hon. Mulikat Adeola-Akande, said crisis  may hit the party if the zoning arrangement is not reversed.

    At the meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum held two days ago, the governors insisted that the chairman should come from the North, despite pleadings by its Chairman, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State. According to sources, it was resolved at the meeting in Abuja that the PDP, which has already zoned the presidency to the North,  could only consider the bid of the Southwest for the position next year, ahead of the 2019 elections.

    The zoning formula, added the sources, enjoys the support of Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, Senator Buruji Kashamu, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, and five of the six state chairmen in the Southwest.

    However, objecting to the move, other Southwest leaders, who held a summit at the Goldengate Restaurant, Ikoyi, Lagos maintained that Yoruba will no longer play the second fiddle in the PDP.

    At the PDP Elders Summit were former former Sports and Special Duties Minister Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, Ogun State former Governor Gbenga Daniel, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, former Osun State Deputy Governor Olusola Obada, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, former presidential spokesman Dr. Doyin Okupe, Senator Adefemi Kila, Lagos PDP Chairman Capt. Tunji Shelle, Ambassador Dare Bejide, Senator Segun Bamigbetan, Senator Ogunwale, Alhaji Hafiz Gbolarunmi, Chief Ladosu Ladipo and Chief Joju Fadairo from Ogun State.

    Others are former Lagos PDP Women Leader Mrs. Onikepo Oshodi, former Minister of State for Agriculture Chief Remi Awotorebo, former Minister of Regional Integration Dr. Bimbo Ogunkelu, former Acting national Secretary Dr. Remi Akitoye, Prince Nekan Olateru-Olagbegi, Chief Jide Adeniji, Chief Soboyeje, Jelili Amusan, Mrs. Kikelomo Olugbemi, Mrs. Kudirat Obayan, and Hon. Tajudeen Agoro.

    George, the convener of the meeting, chided Southwest chieftains who are supporting zoning to the North, saying that they are traitors who cannot defend the integrity and interest of the Southwest.

    Reiterating his opposition to the zoning arrangement, the former National Deputy Chairman said: “We will never accept a situation where Yoruba are shoved aside.”

    He said Southwest leaders who stormed the PDP National Secretariat to compromise the Yoruba interest by opposing zoning to the Southwest were dishonourable elements.

    George said the Acting Chairman, Senator Modu Sheriff should vacate office after the convention, adding that “the midwife cannot transform into the new born baby.”

    Urging Yoruba to assert themselves in the PDP, he said: “The die is cast.”

    Babatope, who welcomed the delegates from the six states to the summit, lamented that some party members went to Abuja to compromise the interest of the region by canvassing positions that were irreconcilable with Yoruba interest.

    He added: “We will not allow ragamuffins to tamper with Yoruba interest in the PDP and Nigeria.”

    Olajumoke lamented the discordant tunes in the PDP over zoning, saying that Yoruba should have taken a common position.

    He said the PDP is disturbing itself at a time Nigerians are warming up to it as an alternative to the APC government.

    The BoT member added: “There are discordant tunes in the PDP and the BoT. Southwest PDP owe it a duty to the entire zones to give leadership. Prof. Tunde Adeniran was saying that we are not even playing the second or third fiddle again; that we are not playing any fiddle, not to talk of a second fiddle.”

    Okupe said since the PDP was formed in 1998, no Yoruba has served as its national chairman, adding that it is a disgrace. He said those opposing zoning to get the Southwest are not only bastards, they are not honourable Yoruba people.

  • N31b fraud: Anenih, George, Odili, others may refund N630m slush fund

    N31b fraud: Anenih, George, Odili, others may refund N630m slush fund

    • Former, serving PDP House of Representatives members too
    • How ex-President Jonathan gave Dasuki, Yuguda directives

    Some former and serving Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members of the House of Representatives may have to refund about N600million allegedly shared to them under the last dispensation for the purpose of seeking re-election.

    Several bigwigs of the party who allegedly partook of the slush funds are also expected to return to    the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the amount each of them collected.

    Such PDP stalwarts include Bode George, Yerima Abdullahi; Peter Odili; Attahiru Bafarawa; Jim Nwobodo; Ahmadu Ali, and Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi who all got (N100m /$30,000) each. Others are Bello Sarkin Yaki (N200m); BAM Properties(N300m); Dalhatu Investment Limited(N1.5billion); Tony Anenih (N260m); and Iyorchia Ayu’s company ( N345m)

    Investigation revealed that some former and serving members of the House of Representatives got N380million public funds  to campaign for  re-election.

    The sum was allegedly transferred to Belsha Nigeria Limited’s bank account controlled by Bello Matanwalle for distribution to support some members of the House of Representatives for their re-election campaigns.

    The beneficiary Reps allegedly collected sums ranging between N10million and N50million.

    The Nation gathered that the N380million was not only the slush fund made available to the Reps seeking re-election.

    Some of them, sources familiar with the disbursement said yesterday, got their share directly from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

    In one of the payment mandates, Ref. No: ACCT/87/VOL.3/72 which was sent to the Branch Manager of Zenith Bank, K. City Plaza Branch, Wuse II Abuja, a new member of the House was given N50million through GTB Account 0022471014 while a ranking member smiled home with N150million remitted into UBA account 1007130385.

    Yet, another Representative got his share through UBA account 1014721695 for N50million.

    The EFCC has already retrieved more payment vouchers involving some members of the House.

    It was learnt that the list might soon be out detailing how the affected Representatives.

    A top source in the anti-graft agency said: “As we go into the trial of some accused persons, our ultimate goal is to retrieve looted funds. We will certainly ask most of these beneficiaries to refund the public funds illegally disbursed to them.

    “We are eager to collect the funds back in order to channel them into the development of the nation.

    “Some of these bigwigs have been making overtures to the EFCC to allow them to make refund instead of being put on trial.

    “As President Muhammadu Buhari said, we will publish the list of those who may make refunds.

    “A few of them will serve as our witnesses in court against accused persons.

    “But we are looking for some of them who were invited but managed to sneak out of the country.

    “Whatever the case and wherever they are hiding, we will bring them to justice.”

    Meanwhile, fresh facts emerged last night on how some of the PDP leaders benefitted from the slush funds.

    A former presidential aide, who was an insider, said: “Actually, most of the party leaders were always going to the former President Goodluck Jonathan for assistance in preparation for the 2015 poll. The usual refrain of Jonathan was ‘leave your account details with my aide’ and after some days, they got alert without cross checking where the money came from.

    “The ex-president would thereafter send the bank details and instructions to the former National Security Adviser, Mr. Sambo Dasuki to disburse from the security votes and other funds in ONSA.

    “I think he might have given verbal instructions in most cases but there is sufficient evidence of a few requests forwarded to the ex-NSA from the Villa.”

    Asked why the ONSA was saddled with the responsibility of disbursement of funds, the source said, “the ONSA used to manage the president’s security votes, operation and maintenance of the Presidential Fleet and other exigencies including special welfare of ex-Presidents/ Heads of State.

    “The ex-NSA got involved because Jonathan discovered that each time he directed that funds be disbursed, most beneficiaries were not getting the cash. He had trust in the ex-NSA and decided to saddle him with the responsibility.”

    Responding to a question, the source said: “Some members of the PDP Contact and Mobilization Committee got their share directly from a former National Chairman of the party, Alh. Adamu Muazu at his residence.

    “Some of these funds given to Muazu came from the former Minister of State for Finance, Amb. Bashir Yuguda.

    “Yuguda also became part of the disbursement because of the trust reposed in him by the former First Family. In fact, Yuguda got his appointment at the behest of the ex-First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.

    “The former First Lady’s path crossed with Yuguda when the latter was Nigeria’s Ambassador to UAE.

    “For always hosting Mrs. Jonathan very well in Dubai, she spotted him as a responsible diplomat and pushed through in making him a Minister. When campaign funds were being mismanaged, the Jonathan opted for Yuguda too because of the ‘trust’ he had in him. “Old friendship and loyalty made Yuguda to be part of this scandal rocking the nation.”

    In a Statement of Witness/ Caution which he wrote on oath, Yuguda  admitted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he gave N600million cash to six chairmen of the Contact and Mobilization Committees of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) for the 2015 general Election.

    He listed the beneficiaries as Bode George (South-West); Amb. Yerima Abdullahi (North-East); Peter Odili( South-South); Attahiru Bafarawa (North-West); Jim Nwobodo( South -East); North-Central(Ahmadu  Ali).

    George, Nwobodo and Odili have denied collecting cash from Yuguda. The former Rivers State Governor said he received N100m from the PDP for purposes of elelction mobilisation in the South-South zones.

    Bode George admitted that only $30,000 was given to the South-West Contact and Mobilization Committee.

    He also said he instructed Jabbama Limited to transfer N300million to BAM Properties whose account was given to him by a former National Chairman of PDP, Bello Haliru transferred to Jabbama Ada Global Services.

    Only ex-Governor Attahiru Bafarawa admitted that he collected N100million from Yuguda through Sagir Attahiru.

    The ex-Minister said: “For the cash disbursement of N600million, it was meant for the six zonal  chairmen for Contact and Mobilization Committees for Election of 2015. The chairmen are Bode George (South-West); Amb. Yerima Abdullahi ( North-East); Peter Odili( South-South); Attahiru Bafarawa( North-East); Jim Nwobodo( South -East); North-Central(Ahmadu  Ali). The sum of N100million was given to each chairman. I gave the money in company of  Prof. Alkali, who was former Political Adviser to former President. The zonal chairmen are  for the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). I also instructed  Jabbama Limited to transfer the sum of N100m to Dalhatu Limited on the request of Attahiru Bafarawa.

    “I also remember that Bello Sarkin Yaki was  among the people that the then NSA instructed that I send the sum of N200million to. He was the PDP gubernatorial candidate in Kebbi State.”

    Yuguda, who claimed that he had liaised with Stallion Limited, gave the details of other disbursements.

    He added: “I knew the chairman of Stallion Limited whose second name I cannot remember. Between December 2014 to June 2015, on the instruction of the then NSA, I introduced Jabbama Limited to a staff of the company on the instruction of the chairman.

    “When the account was in credit, disbursement was made from time to time on the instruction of the then NSA. Part in foreign exchange or transfers.

    “I wish to add that sometime in February 2015, I instructed Jabbama to transfer the sum of N300m to BAM Properties. The account was given to me by Bello Haliru as one of the people the former NSA requested me to give money. I also remember that Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi was sent the sum of N100million on the instruction of the then NSA.

    “Further to my statement of 30th November, 2015, I have brought the sum of $829,800(equivalent to N200m) and a N600m was given to me to distribute to the six PDP Zonal Committee chairmen. I don’t know who are the directors of Dalhatu Investment Limited but funds were transferred to the company’s account on the instruction of Dalhatu Bafarawa for the total amount of N1.5billion received from the then NSA by Jabbama Limited.

    “I shall endeavour to recover the sum of N600million given to the six zonal PDP committee chairmen, while I appeal to the commission to use their machineries to trace the remaining  balance of the money transferred to various accounts.”

    The former Minister however denied receiving another N200million credited to him.

    “I have been shown transaction of N200million from the Office of the Accountant-General to Jabbama which Jabbama said it’s  on my instruction but I cannot remember this instruction until I crosscheck,” he said.

    The charges against Yuguda read in part: “That you Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki whilst being National Security Adviser and Shaibu Salisu, whilst being the Director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Bashir Yuguda whilst being the Minister of State for Finance between 5th February and 16th April 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court entrusted with dominion over certain properties to wit: an aggregate sum of N1.1billion being part of the funds in the account of the National Security Adviser with CBN committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property when you transferred same to the account of Jabbama Ada Global Services Nigeria Limited for the purpose of financing the campaign of PDP in the 2015 general election and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Vol.4, LFN 2004.

    “That you, Bashir Yuguda whilst being Minister of State for Finance between 23rd December 2014 and 10th February, 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court dishonestly misappropriated certain property to wit: an aggregate sum of $9,809,619 which was an equivalent of the aggregate sum of N1,950,000 belonging to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which sum was transferred to Jabbama Ada Global Services to be converted into the said dollars and you  thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 309  of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Vol.4, LFN 2004.”

  • I gave N600 million to George, Odili, Bafarawa, Nwobodo, others -Ex-minister Yuguda

    I gave N600 million to George, Odili, Bafarawa, Nwobodo, others -Ex-minister Yuguda

    •Offers to recover N600m and help trace the balance
    •Bafarawa: I got N100m but Yuguda didn’t tell me where it came from

    The embattled former Minister of State, Bashir Yuguda, has told the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he gave a total of N600million cash to six chairmen of the Contact and Mobilisation Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2015 general election.

    He listed the beneficiaries as Bode George (South-West); Amb. Yerima Abdullahi (North-East); Peter Odili (South-South); Attahiru Bafarawa (North-West);  Jim Nwobodo (South -East); and Ahmadu Ali (North-Central).

    He said he instructed Jabbama Limited to transfer N300million to BAM Properties whose account detail was given to him by a former National Chairman of PDP, Bello Haliru.

    Yuguda, who made the allegations in a Statement of Witness/ Caution which he wrote on oath, said he sent N200million to the erstwhile PDP Governorship candidate in Kebbi State, Bello Sarkin Yaki.

    He said a former Governor of Zamfara State, Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, also got N100million.

    The statement is part of the proof of evidence against the former minister whose trial is scheduled to commence this week at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Yuguda will stand trial with ex-Governor Attahiru Bafarawa and his son, Sagir Attahiru; Dalhatu Investment Limited.

    The ex-minister is expected to account for over N3.050billion including N1.1billion being part of the funds in the account of the ONSA and aggregate sum of N1,950,000 belonging to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which sum was transferred to Jabbama Ada Global Services.

    The ex-minister said: “For the cash disbursement of N600million, it was meant for the six zonal chairmen for Contact and Mobilisation Committees for Election of 2015. The chairmen are Bode George, Amb. Yerima Abdullahi; Peter Odili; Attahiru Bafarawa; Jim Nwobodo; Ahmadu  Ali. The sum of N100million was given to each chairman. I gave the money in company of Prof. Alkali, who was Political Adviser to former president. The zonal chairmen are for the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP). I also instructed Jabbama Limited to transfer the sum of N100m to Dalhatu Limited on the request of Attahiru Bafarawa.

    “I also remember that Bello Sarkin Yaki was among the people that the then NSA instructed that I send the sum of N200million to. He was the PDP gubernatorial candidate in Kebbi State.”

    Yuguda, who claimed that he had liaised with Stallion Limited, gave the details of other disbursements.

    His words: “I knew the chairman of Stallion Limited whose second name I cannot remember. Between December 2014 to June 2015, on the instruction of the then NSA, I introduced Jabbama Limited to a staff of the company on the instruction of the chairman.

    “When the account was in credit, disbursement was made from time to time on the instruction of the then NSA. Part in foreign exchange or transfers.

    “I wish to add that sometime in February 2015, I instructed Jabbama to transfer the sum of N300m to BAM Properties. The account was given to me by Bello Haliru as one of the people the former NSA requested me to give money. I also remember that Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi was sent the sum of N100million on the instruction of the then NSA.

    “Further to my statement of 30th November, 2015, I have brought the sum of $829,800(equivalent to N200m) and N600m was given to me to distribute to the six PDP Zonal Committee chairmen. I don’t know who are the directors of Dalhatu Investment Limited but funds were transferred to the company’s account on the instruction of Dalhatu Bafarawa for the total amount of N1.5billion received from the then NSA by Jabbama Limited.

    “I shall endeavour to recover the sum of N600million given to the six zonal PDP committee chairmen, while I appeal to the commission to use their machineries to trace the remaining balance of the money transferred to various accounts.”

    The former minister however denied receiving another N200million credited to him.

    “I have been shown transaction of N200million from the Office of the Accountant-General to Jabbama which Jabbama said it’s on my instruction but I cannot remember this instruction until I crosscheck,” he said.

    Some of the charges against Yuguda are: “That you Col. Mohammed Sambo Dasuki whilst being National Security Adviser and Shaibu Salisu, whilst being the Director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the National Security Adviser, Bashir Yuguda whilst being the Minister of State for Finance between 5th February and 16th April 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court entrusted with dominion over certain properties to wit: an aggregate sum of N1.1billion being part of the funds in the account of the National Security Adviser with CBN committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property when you transferred same to the account of Jabbama Ada Global Services Nigeria Limited for the purpose of financing the campaign of PDP in the 2015 general election and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Vol.4, LFN 2004.

    “That you, Bashir Yuguda whilst being Minister of State for Finance between 23rd December 2014 and 10th February, 2015 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court dishonestly misappropriated certain property to wit: an aggregate sum of $9,809,619 which was an equivalent of the aggregate sum of N1,950,000 belonging to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which sum was transferred to Jabbama Ada Global Services to be converted into the said dollars and you  thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 309  of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Vol.4, LFN 2004.”

    Meanwhile, a former Governor of Sokoto State, Alh. Attahiru Bafarawa, admitted that he collected N100million from Yuguda through Sagir Attahiru.

    Bafarawa, in his statement to the EFCC, said: “I know Bashir Yuguda. He called me to tell me there is money to be given for (sic) the North-West Campaign Committee which I asked how much and he told me is N100million for the seven states and ask (sic) to give it to Sagir which he did and the money was sent to the states campaign committee between 20th and 21st of February 2015 for the PDP Campaign for General Election.

    “He did not tell me where the money was coming from. I did not ask him where the money was coming from.

    “Sagir is my son and I directed Sagir to send the money to state chairmen campaign committee for PDP North-West.

    “I also received N100million (dollar equivalent) from the North-West Campaign Committee. The money was given to me in the PDP National Chairman, Alh. Adamu Muazu house in Abuja in the presence of all the zonal chairmen as listed …and after collecting all this (sic) money, I gave the money to Abdullahi Yauri who was the Secretary of the North-West Campaign Committee to share to the state chapter and Yuguda didn’t tell me where he got the money from.”

  • I don’t know Dasuki, says George

    I don’t know Dasuki, says George

    A former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Deputy National Chairman Chief Olabode George, yesterday said he never met Col.Sambo Dasuki let alone take money from him.

    A statement yesterday by Prof. Tejumade Akitoye – Rhodes, of Lagos Collectives on behalf of Chief George, said it was wrong to link him with collection of cash from the ex-NSA’s office.

    “For the record, Chief Bode George did not collect a farthing from Dasuki or anybody else whatsoever. He has never even set eyes on the former NSA throughout his tenure in office talk less of collecting money from him. Dasuki of course is very much alive to corroborate this position,” the statement said.

     

     

  • Lagos APC to George: mind your business

    A chieftain of the Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has come under fire for dabbling in what the All Progressives Congress (APC) called a family affair.

    The state APC said it was mischievous of the PDP chieftain to see the speck in another person’s eye while having a log in his own eyes.

    George had recommended two former Lagos governors – Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola – for investigation by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    But the APC spokesman, Joe Igbokwe, in a statement yesterday, counselled the PDP chieftain to keep quiet and continue to lick the wounds inflicted on him through the defeat suffered by his party at March 28 and April 11 general elections.

    He said the defeat suffered by the PDP at both the federal and state levels would ordinarily have given a genuine party man a food for thought and stops him from meddling into other people’s matter.

    The APC spokesman said George, like the Lagos PDP Chairman, Tunji Shelle, has just woken up from a chronic hallucination after suffering a devastating defeat.

    The statement reads: “Bode George is yet to come to terms that it is all over for PDP in Nigeria and Lagos. He is yet to believe that Lagos APC has forcefully retired him from active politics for ever in Nigeria and Lagos State.

    “Why is Bode George finding it difficult to believe that the game is over for him in Nigerian and Lagos State politics? Who will tell Bode George that nobody takes him serious again in matters of Nigerian politics? Who will persuade Chief Bode George to quit politics now in his own interest?

    “What is giving Bode George the courage to believe that President Buhari will probe Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Fashola, who are the real drivers of change in Nigeria because a Bode George said so?

    “How can Lagosians forget that Chief George imposed Jimi Agbaje on the state PDP and caused a big crisis at Oregun Lagos where the party conducted its primaries? How can we forget that it was this same Bode George was accused by some hoodlums of being their godfather? Did Bode George know that the President has full knowledge of his dubious activities in Lagos during the campaigns?

    “Chief Bode George spoke about the cost of projects in Lagos, but the question is this: what does a hut builder know about Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge? What does a carpenter knows about gold? What does a failed politician know about good governance and service delivery?”

  • Obanikoro/ George rift tears Lagos PDP apart

    Obanikoro/ George rift tears Lagos PDP apart

    The protracted crisis in the Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is threatening its existence. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the factors responsible for the split and its effects on the troubled chapter.

    The crisis in Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a new twist last week when 34 members of the State Executive Committee (SEC) met at the party secretariat and announced the removal of the Chairman, Capt. Tunji Shelle (rtd). Explaining why he was sacked, the committee accused Shelle of mismanaging campaign funds  and failing to ensure a transparent primary which ultimately  led to the party’s defeat.

    Observers see the removal of the chairman as a fallout of the battle of supremacy between the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, and the party leader, Chief Olabode George. According to analysts, Obanikoro is locking horn against George over the control of the party. Shelle is a protégée of George.  According to a source, the removal of Shelle was aimed at the leadership of George.

    Despite the sack handed to him by the SEC, Shelle has vowed not to vacate office. He insisted that his removal was null and void, adding that members of the SEC did not abide by the party’s constitution. The embattled chairman said Secion 59(3) of the constitution states the procedure for removing a member of my status. It states: “Notwithstanding any section of this Constitution relating to discipline, no executive committee at any level, except the National Working Committee, shall entertain any question of discipline as may relate or concern a member of the National Executive Committee, president, vice president, governors, deputy governors, ministers, ambassadors, special advisers or members of the legislative houses.

    “By section 31 (1), I am a member of the National Executive Committee and I have been attending meetings. So, they cannot remove me. I remain the Chairman of the PDP in Lagos State. The so-called SEC members would be sanctioned for their action”.

    Shelle lent credence to the speculation that Obanikoro instigated his impeachment when he said “one of the aggrieved aspirants at the governorship primary sponsored my removal.” The primary, which Jimi Agbaje won, caused a friction in the party last year. Obanikoro and his supporters rejected the results and went to court. Obanikoro alleged that George and some party elders inflated the number of votes, which did not tally with the number of accredited delegates. It took the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan before Obanikoro withdrew the suit.

    Shelle said the move to remove him was conceived long before the primaries, took place. He said efforts were made to rig the primaries, but I stood my ground to prevent the illegalities. Until now, the so-called opposition in the system has not accepted defeat, he said.

    “I tried as much as possible to curtail their excesses so that their actions would not affect our chances in the general elections and this I was able to do until when they carried out their failed coup.

    “The emergence of Agbaje as the PDP candidate was well received by these people who did the impeachment. They were disappointed and were, at all times, finding a way to fight back. Agbaje remains the best candidate ever produced in the history of the party and I have no regrets whatsoever to have presented Agbaje and other qualified candidates for the elections.”

    But, the newly appointed acting chairman of the party, Mr Kamaldeen Olorunoje, disagreed with Shelle on the legality of his removal. He explained that there were allegations against Shelle. A committee was set up to investigate and establish the veracity of the allegations. The committee recommended his removal and that had been done. It was unanimously decided that I should take over the leadership in acting capacity. This is democracy. It is a game of number. The State Executive Council is made up of 49 members out of which 35 endorsed the removal of Shelle. The decision was backed by more than two-third majority as required by the constitution. Even after the decision was taken, more members have indicated to join our rank. We have come to the conclusion that Shelle’s leadership is not the best for the Lagos PDP, if the party must make progress.

    On the allegation that Obanikoro sponsored the impeachment, Olorrunoje denied it. He said Obanikoro can never influence him because Obanikoro met him in the party. “I am a founding member of the PDP. The issue at hand doesn’t concern Obanikoro. What does he stand to gain? We are concerned about how to restructure and reposition the party for future elections. Though I am Obanikoro’s friend, I believe in the party’s supremacy more than Obanikoro. He can’t dictate to me. Despite the fact that we are friends I joined the party before Obanikoro. We were together in the Grassroot Democratic Movement, but we parted ways when he went to the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and I joined the PDP. I have an independent mind when it comes to taking decision”.

    Youth activist Babatunde Davies is happy with the development in the Lagos PDP. He said the removal of Shelle will put an end to dictatorship in the party. According to him: “Shelle was in office playing the bid of Olabode George. There is no transparency and accountability in the party. It is run according to the whims and caprices of the party leader. For the just concluded general elections, the Presidency released millions of naira to the state chapter to mobilise support for the party.

    “We only hear of figures. The funds were not released for the purpose it was meant for. I am calling on the PDP national headquarter to probe the campaign funds sent to the Lagos State chapter. I can assure you that, if the funds were judiciously used, the party would have performed better than it did. This is not the first time that party funds would be diverted. That explains why the PDP keep losing elections in the state.

    “I think the likes of Bode George and Adeseye Ogunlewe should retire from politics and allow the youths to take over the leadership. For as long as they remain leaders, PDP will never win in Lagos. Olorunoje and his group should not be distracted in their struggle to give the party a new lease of life. We cannot continue to be telling the same story every election year. Enough is enough. We need a change of leadership in Lagos PDP.

    To a party chieftain, Mrs Gloria Adebajo- Fraser, the removal of Shele was wrong. She described it as a premature exercise that will end in futility. According to her, the removal was at variance with the provisions of PDP constitution.  “It cannot hold as the National Working Committee is the only platform that can entertain the recommendation of the State Working Committee and take a decision after he(Shelle) has been given a fair hearing.

    “It is obvious that there is an ulterior motive  behind the sudden drive to remove the chairman suddenly. I totally disagree with the fact that the call for the National Chairman of PDP, Adamu Mu’azu to resign could justify the unconstitutional attempt to to remove the Lagos PDP Chairman. One has nothing whatsoever to do with the other and is only an excuse for initiating a leadership change in the party. The change should be by the people when the next congresses will be held witout imposition of candidates.

    “The stakeholders should be given a chance to elect their representatives and leaders on a level playing field. May be the members are not interested in Bode George or Musiliu Obanikoro. May be they want a change. May be they want a new face. It is a season of change in Nigeria’s political landscape.”

    Adebajo-Fraser urged party leaders to be patient, saying the Lagos chapter needs to be united and all leaders ought to be carried along. She said: It was not a time to fight, but a time for peace.

  • ‘Boy’ George’s empty threat

    Before the March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections, some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains were so sure of  victory that they ran their mouths. There was nothing they did not say about President-elect Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his party. Femi Fani-Kayode, the rabble-rouser, was in his element, dishing out lies about Buhari. Fani-Kayode came up with the story  that Buhari does not have a  school certificate. He said his party was putting Buhari to the ‘’strictest proof’’ to show that the president-elect has that certificate.

    ‘’Strictest proof’’ or not, Buhari did not have to break a sweat to prove anything. His school came to his aid by releasing his West African School Certificate (WASC). According to the result, he made Grade 2, but the Fani-Kayodes of this world refused to believe the documentary evidence tendered by the school. Fani-Kayode, Director of Media and Publicity of the Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation, claimed that the document was forged, but he could not prove his assertion, thereby rendering it valueless.

    Step in Doyin Okupe, the loquacious doctor-politician, who swore heaven and earth that Buhari will not become president.  ‘’If Buhari wins’’, he said, ‘’call me a bas….’’ Okupe, who is always on the side where his bread is buttered, was not done yet. ‘’The choice before Nigerians in this election is either good luck (making a pun of his principal’s name) or bad luck’’. Going by Okupe’s submission, it is our ‘’good luck’’  as a nation that Buhari defeated President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the historic March 28 poll. Buhari won because men are not God; they can only play god but they do not have the power of the omniscient and omnipresent One, who anoints leaders.

    He anointed Buhari and that is why the former Head of State won the March 28 election. APC and PDP went into the contest determined to win and as both parties know only one of them could emerge winner. Since the return to democracy in 1999, PDP has been in the saddle. For 16 years, it has held sway at the national level. Its founding fathers had a dream for the party to be in power for 60 years. It is a good intention but it seems it was  not backed with a plan of action. If there was a plan for the country, the party did not execute it for the 16 years it held power. Can it then benefit from its mistake? Why did it not impress it upon its members, who led the country between 1999 and now,  on the need to execute programmes that would make the party the people’s choice?

    PDP lost the March 28 presidential contest because the people were fed up with it. The party had run out of ideas. It is good to have a concept to be in power for 60 years; but a concept will remain a concept if not backed with plans and programmes for the country’s  growth. Ideas, they say, rule the world. If PDP had bold ideas for moving the nation forward, it would not have suffered defeat in last month’s elections. It had a golden opportunity to turn things round, but it flunked it. Things got to a head under outgoing President Jonathan, who did not help matters because, as it were, he lacked what it takes to reinvent the wheel.

    But we must credit Jonathan for running a good race and for conceding defeat in a sportsmanlike manner. By his action, he nipped in the bud the plan of some people to create crisis. He should remain true to himself to the end by not allowing the hawks in government to use him to foment trouble. The president has acted like a true statesman. He pulled us back from the brink despite the huge cost to his own ambition. If he had played Laurent Gbagbo,  the former Ivorian president who refused to leave office after losing election, only God knows where we will be as a nation today.

    After the 16-year disaster that PDP was, Buhari will be a breath of fresh air on assuming office on May 29. The president-elect knows that he carries a huge burden because the people are looking forward to a magical performance from him. He knows too well that the mission to rescue Nigeria from the 16-year rot of PDP is one that must be won, come what may. His party, APC,  also knows that PDP and its members will not wish it well. The Fani-Kayodes and the Okupes will always be waiting in the wings to run it down no matter the good it does. But no matter what they say, the good the party does will always speak for it. The only way to keep their mouths shut is for the party to concentrate on the job at hand.

    Like Fani-Kayode and Okupe, Commodore Bode George has also been running his mouth. George is still finding it difficult to accept that Buhari has emerged president-elect – about two weeks after the election. George is threatening to go on exile because his party will no longer be in power from May 29. Why does he want to go on exile? Is it because his party has destroyed the economy? Our economy is in doldrums today because of the wrong policies enunciated by the so-called eggheads of the Jonathan administration. So, he should have since gone on exile to protest the bad policies of PDP, which has led the nation thus far. Threatening to go on exile because Buhari won the election is just to draw attention to himself.

    ‘’What will I be doing here? I can decide to go and live anywhere. So, I am not joking about it; what will I be doing here? At 70, what will I be doing here? All we have been doing to restructure the country has been lost. We have been trying to ensure balance in the polity, but all that has gone. What will I be doing here?’’ Is he still around? By the time he returns from exile, he would be shocked to see that things have changed for good in the country.

  • George, Lagos PDP elated at stall of Obanikoro’s screening

    George, Lagos PDP elated at stall of Obanikoro’s screening

    A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State has hailed the postponement of the screening of ministerial nominees.

    Sources within the party said some Lagos PDP stalwarts were elated about this development as a nominee, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, a former high commissioner in Ghana and former minister of State for Defence, is perceived as “power drunk and disrespectful of higher party authorities”.

    They said:  “It was jubilation galore when we heard the news because most of us in Lagos do not want Musiliu Obanikoro to represent the state at the ministerial level.

    “We believe that with him as a minister, he will want to lord it over us all and automatically want to unseat Chief Bode George as the party leader in Lagos.

    “A direction that we are committed to resist vehemently, especially when you consider the rising popularity of PDP in Lagos.

    “We all saw his behaviour when he was the Minister of State for Defence.

    “He turned himself to a god, though he was a junior minister. If he is now made a senior minister, then nobody in PDP Lagos will mean anything to him.

    “Look at the way Obanikoro handled his failure to clinch PDP’s governorship ticket, the decision to challenge the primaries result in court and the disdainful treatment of Lagos PDP strongman, Chief Bode George.

    “He felt because he was just coming from the federal level the ticket will be automatic not imagining he might lose to Jimi Agbaje, a relatively new PDP member then. After he lost, all hell was let loose on us.

    “You all witnessed the kind of treatment he meted out on the state leaders, Chief George and Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, calling them names.”

    After losing the Lagos primaries, it was gathered that Obanikoro was promised a senior ministerial slot as compensation, following a reconciliation meeting led by Vice President Namadi Sambo and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi held in Lagos in December.

    Prior to this meeting, Obanikoro had publicly lambasted his party’s conduct of the Lagos primaries describing it as a ‘sham’.

    The former minister also engaged in a war of words with Agbaje and Chief George, consequently making attempts to seek redress in court.

    Beside his penchant for vocal outbursts and power , the concerned members of Lagos PDP added that Obanikoro’s role in the ‘Ekitigate’ election rigging scandal has become an embarrassment to the party.

    “With the ‘Ekitigate’ tape and video in the public domain, his alleged role and involvement is working against the party winning the election in the state.

    “In fact, he can not be trusted as to his total loyalty to the party in Lagos State.”

  • Bode George vs. the boy pastor

    Chief Bode George is the classic Nigeria ‘big man’ of the 21st century. He epitomizes today’s leader, especially of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) mould: they are remarkable for their deep vacuity and starkly unreflective ways. Suffering through a florid two-page interview Bode George granted The Punch last Saturday was most stomach-churning but it served a nobler purpose of showcasing the ingrained kakistocrat in him and explains why with leaders like him at the helm, Nigeria will forever be sitting at the brink of the precipice peering down her doom.

    It wasn’t Chief George’s puerile, narcissistic politics that rankled Hardball into noticing and reading the interview but his profanity and his poor understanding of the Christian mores. Any Christian worth the name would have been stopped short by the headline of the interview in question which reads: “I was extremely angry when that pastor said I should go and sin no more.” For those who may be unaware, Bode George, an ex-naval officer and Military Administrator of Ondo State, is a staunch PDP chieftain from Lagos State. He was former Deputy National Chairman of PDP, South. He was convicted and jailed for two years for fraudulent activities when he was chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

    Though he and his co-convicts have continued to insist on their innocence and have actually returned to court, but he today, remains a returnee from jail, determined so by a court of competent authority. Bode George upon his release, went from the prison cell to the church for thanksgiving; a jamboree more like. In his homily during the Service, the priest had admonished that Bode George should “go and sin no more.” How did you feel when the pastor said, “go and sin no more”, he was asked?

    Here is Bode George’s answer: “That young boy said it, he had leanings with the opposition. He was in form four when I was governor of Ondo State. I was livid but I said I was in church. This young man would not derail my thanksgiving to God Almighty;… I went the following morning to challenge the provost; they said no, that is not what he meant.’ I said ‘you don’t know this boy; he is an apologist to Bola Tinubu and co.’

    Not done in his righteous indignation towards a reverend gentleman, he said that he decided to go straight to church because of God’s grace towards him through the period, “so when this young man was talking garbage there, you know you can’t respond there. I went to the provost, this was an anomaly, a misnomer, absolute rubbish, I didn’t come here for this boy, of course nemesis caught up with him too. They’ve taken him out to a smaller church, that’s where he deserves…”

    You would wish Chief Bode George did not speak in this manner; wouldn’t you? For an elder, a former governor and a leader in the ruling party, how could he be so irreverent and foul of mouth, especially towards an ordained man of God? Hardball is hard put to have to give our dear chief some tutorials in the manners of Christendom: no true Christian ever refers to an ordained priest as “this boy” or “this young man” for that matter. A priest is a priest or our father in the Lord. Even if that young man was Bode George’s son, he ceased to be a boy the day he was ordained.

    And to say that a priest is “talking garbage” or “absolute rubbish,” that really is the limit and Hardball’s sincere advice to Chief George is to seek out that priest in that smaller church (no such thing) where “nemesis has taken him to, kneel before him and ask for forgiveness. Or does he prefer to “go and keep on sinning?” As for the totality of the interview, let’s just say that it is as hollow as the PDP which explains why he is a leader there.