The son of the late former military Head of State, Gen. Murtala Mohammed, Risqua, said yesterday in Kano that he was considering running for the governorship on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said he has begun consultations with his family and political associates, following the pressure on him to contest.
“If I eventually accept the offer, my focus will be on how to improve the standard of life of Kano State indigenes and residents and transform the state,” Risqua said.
Assistant Editor, LEKE SALAUDEEN, examines the similarities in the build-up to Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial polls and their effects on democratic process.
THE governorship election in Osun State holds today, barely 48 days after that of Ekiti was held. Many are yet to get over the unexpected loss of Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by a former governor of the state, Mr Ayodele Fayose, of the Peoples Democratic Party in the June 21, 2014. Of course, the outcome of that poll is still being contested by the APC at the tribunal.
Analysts have speculated on factors that directly or indirectly led to the unexpected loss of Fayemi which they believe would serve as lessons for the APC in subsequent elections, especially the Osun governorship election. Against the backdrop of the argument that we can’t compare Ekiti with Osun, in observers’ view, the election in the two states share many things in common.
In Ekiti, the APC fielded a sitting governor, ditto for Osun. Many had thought that given the performance of Fayemi, his victory was not negotiable. Similarly, Osun State has witnessed tremendous development under Governor Rauf Aregbesola in the last four years. The Ekiti experience has proved that that performance and incumbency factor may not necessarily guarantee a sitting governor’s victory at the poll. Even though, the ultimate goal of going into politics is to serve people. The rule is that you go into politics and campaign making promises to the electorate and once you are able to keep your promises, you should be rewarded by the electorate.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen in Ekiti because Nigeria politics is not only a do- or -die affair but is also the most lucrative business for corrupt enrichment. The situation in Ekiti is so because not even the PDP had said Fayemi lost because he has not performed but because he didn’t put money in peoples pocket or that he failed to ‘connect’ with people.
Similarly, some have criticised Aregbesola for not making politicians ‘happy’ by not sharing the state fund as was the practice before he assumed office as state governor. But he prefers to spend public fund on projects that will benefit the larger society to lining the pockets of individuals.
The most reasonable thing, analysts have argued, is what Aregbesola has done by improving the lot of the majority which shows that he is working in the best interest of the people. That should be a source of strength and count in a positive way for him. In fact, to the governor, there is no excess fund in Osun to share. He raised an alarm recently that the Federal Government has crippled the state financially by withholding 40 per cent of its monthly revenue allocation ahead of August 9 poll in order to pitch him (Aregbesola) against his people.
In spite of his outstanding performance, Aregbesola did not rest on his oars. He traversed every nook and cranny of Osun State campaigning for votes. He was not contended with the idea that tumultuous crowds at campaign venues alone will automatically translate to massive support for him on election day. He also embarked on door-to-door campaigns through the party agents, apart from having sessions with professionals and organised groups in the state to present his programme. He did this because he realised that given the increasing level of poverty and the alarming rate of illiteracy among Nigerians, his opponents can use money and foodstuff, as well as diabolical means to attract unsuspecting hapless voters to vote for them.
The PDP is desperate in reclaiming the South-West states again. Its strategic choice of a former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, as its candidate for the 2014 governorship election must have been well thought out. Perhaps, the PDP believes that like Fayose in the case of Ekiti, Omisore will, of all contestants, be the only one that can give a very formidable incumbent like Aregbesola energy-sapping challenge to ensure victory.
As it happened in Ekiti when the Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, the Minster of Police, Chief Jelili Adeshiyan, Chris Uba and Dayo Adeyeye stormed the state during the election, some PDP chieftains have arrived Osun ahead of today’s election. Those nightmarish, worrisome and traumatic experiences, including arrest and detention of opposition chieftains as well as excessive militarisation of the electoral process that chacterised the Ekiti election, have featured again in Osun.
Ahead of today’s governorship poll, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government made good his plan to militarise Osun State. No fewer than 5,000 Department of State Security (DSS) operatives arrived Osogbo, the state capital, last week. In a show of strength, the hooded operatives clad in black vests and trousers shot sporadically into the air while moving round the state. The fear of clamp down on the opposition started playing out with the arrest of a chieftain of the APC, Hon Wale Oke. He was arrested by Special Forces from Abuja. The Special Forces had earlier visited his Ilare-Ijesha country home to arrest him but he was not found.
Local PDP leaders led the Special Forces to his Oshogbo residence where he was picked up and hounded into detention. Although, Oke has been released, his captors have not explained the reason for his arrest and detention. On the eve of Ekiti governorship election, armed policemen and soldiers rounded up Governor Fayemi’s aides, including APC chieftains, in their country homes purposely to destabilise the party’s plan to mobilise voters on the day of election and to instil fear in the minds of APC supporters and prevent them from coming out to vote.
In spite of all the similarities, however, the two states have distinct characteristics. A good example is to look at their voting pattern. In 2011general election, Osun was the only state in the South-West that voted for the presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, while other states voted for Goodluck Jonathan.
Besides, Ekiti State is homogenous in nature, while Osun is a little diverse. There are so many ethnic groups in Osun like Ijesa, Oyo, Igbomina, and Ife, to mention a few. But Ekiti is homogenous, every part of the state is Ekiti. In Osun State, the different ethnic groups do not go the same direction when it comes to politics. So, it is not easy to compare Ekiti and Osun in this regard. However, the last Ekiti poll has energised people in Osun. They are more determined, vigilant and ready to take their destiny in their hands. That explains why today’s election is very crucial to them.
In his first full interview since he left government a year ago,
Mr. Umana Okon Umana, former secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government and PDP governorship aspirant in the state, spoke with select journalists on his plans for the development of the state. He also speaks on his views on zoning, the town hall meetings and relationship with the current Secretary To the State Governement (SSG), among other issues.
Kazeem IBRAHYM was there. Excerpts:
DID the governor promise to hand over the governorship of the state to you in 2015?
That is academic. What is important is that I am in the race and I am committed. It does not matter who offered to support me in the past. I think that is now academic because whether the governor offered to support me in the past or he has changed his mind is no longer important. What is important now is that I will be running for the office of governor because I believe I have something to offer in that regard, to make my contributions in order to better our state.
I will not want to talk about whether the governor promised he would support me or whether he is no longer supporting me. That is all in the past. I will rather concentrate on the fact that I am committed. I appreciate the massive support I have continued to enjoy from the good people of the state. That is what is more important to me now.
Did you resign your position as SSG or you were forced out?
It was time for me to move on. The position of SSG is not a permanent one. You hold the position at the pleasure of the governor who appointed you. You may also decide to leave on your own. It is not a big deal. People were only worried about the invasion of the office by security personnel. The office was sealed up by security operatives who chased away bewildered civil servants for inexplicable reasons. I was out of the state at the time of the invasion. The incident was widely reported in the media.
I have also read reports that the wife of the governor led security operatives to seal up the office. The story that the SSG’s office had been sealed up by the Police and SSS was on AIT, Channels and NTA, and so it couldn’t have been a mere speculation. I actually first saw it on the news bar of AIT. I believe the commissioner for information must have issued a statement or contacted those news channels and they had that story running for about three days. Of course, nobody denied it. But it is all in the past now and I have moved on.
I am grateful to Governor Godswill Akpabio who gave me the opportunity to serve the state. I also thank him for acknowledging my humble contributions to the development of the state.
Why are you running for governorship?
I have the experience and competence to run the state as a governor. I yearn for an opportunity to take the state to a new level of prosperity and peace. I have been involved in the last two administrations. I was a Commissioner for Finance in the administration of Governor Victor Attah and SSG under Governor Akpabio. I know how far we have gone and the areas we need to work on. Also, I am aware that we still have a lot to do, especially in the areas of industrialisation and job creation. We must look beyond oil and derivation revenues as we reposition the state for the future. We must create wealth.
Of course, we will make a conscious and deliberate effort to deal with the other soft issues of development like health, education and security, in addition to the expansion of core infrastructureroad network, sea port, power, science and technology. Outside a robust industrialisation programme, we have to pay a special attention to the development of agriculture, because this will create jobs and raise the standard of living of our people. We believe that we will have a paradigm shift, but as I said, we will give you the full package of what we are going to do for the state.
Did you authorise the petition against the governor to the National Human Rights Commission?
We haven’t come out to deny it. It is our petition, but it was not just about me. It is not all about Umana Okon Umana. All of us who have been threatened, we felt the appropriate authority should carry out the investigations. All that we asked for was that the issues should be investigated and we stated our reasons, and that is not too much to ask for. It is not a crime to ask for investigations. If, for instance, you drive to Transcorp Hilton and you notice suspicious movements, you have the right to call the police to come and carry out further investigations.
You are aware of the case of our director-general, Chief Soni Udom, when armed men invaded his office. But thank God, he was not around. There were still many unanswered questions, so we wrote to the appropriate authority so that the matter can be exhaustively investigated and dealt with.
Of course, I had my own personal experience. In December, I received a threat letter, a copy of which I had submitted to the police. I was asked to withdraw from the governorship race, or they will get me in Akwa Ibom, Lagos or Abuja. I did not pay too much attention to it because I had police protection. I was in Abuja when I got the reports that my security details had been withdrawn. It came as a surprise; a curious coincidence, that just a few days after I received that threat, my security details were withdrawn and I was told that the order came from the governor. That gives us cause for concern.
There were many other instances stated in that petition. Of course, we also said that against the backdrop of the several cases of unresolved murders and assassinations witnessed in 2010 and 2011 when elections were around the corner, it is possible there is a correlation. There may be some connection, and we felt that the appropriate authority should investigate and come up with a report. And if some persons are indicted, I believe that the law will take its cause. So, what we did was within the law.
What is your relationship with the current SSG like?
Of course, it has to be cordial. The current SSG, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, is a fine gentleman and from the first day, I wished him well and prayed for his success in office. Attending his swearing-in ceremony was to underscore the fact that I had no ill feelings about my disengagement as SSG. If you occupy that kind of office, you must know that one day, you will leave. It is not a permanent office. Even the office of the governor is not permanent. It has an expiry date. For example, on May 29 next year, the tenure of the current administration will end as provided for in the constitution. You serve and make your own contributions and move on. I did not feel bad that I had to leave as SSG. I was happy that I made my own contributions and I had to move on.
When you were serving in the present government, were you part of assassination plots?
Because I served in this administration, so whatever transpired I must have been the one who gave the advice? No. That was not part of the mandate of my office. If you go and look at the ministerial responsibilities of the office of the SSG, I don’t think you will find any item on how to advise on killings, assassination or murder. It wasn’t part of my mandate, so I only operated and acted within the mandate of my office.
Let me also point out that it is the governor who is the Chief Security Officer. All the security chiefs report to the governor, and it is the governor who is vested with the powers to run the state constitutionally. So the buck stops on his table. He must accept responsibility for the successes and failures of his administration. That is why nobody will talk about Umana or Udom but about the Akpabio administration. It is Attah’s administration, Isemin’s administration. Nobody remembers who was SSG during Obong Attah’s administration or the SSG in Isemin’s administration, because they were not elected governors.
Leadership means you must accept responsibility for whatever you do. You don’t blame your subordinates, especially when you are vested with executive powers. When people talk about the Obasanjo administration in Nigeria, will they talk about Uffot Ekaette? Nobody will talk about him. It doesn’t happen anywhere. Nobody will even talk about the vice president; nobody will talk about the deputy governor. This is because constitutionally, the powers reside in the office of the governor.
Sometimes when I want to joke about it, I say it is only one person that holds the red pen. It is only the governor that has the powers to approve or disapprove. Stretched further, he possibly has the powers of life and death because even for a convicted murderer to be executed, it is only the governor who can sign his death warrant.
There are other false stories that we may have to deal with here because they are interrelated, all pointing at leadership and the requirement to take leadership responsibilities. For instance, there have also been stories that Umana Okon Umana was very powerful as SSG; that many commissioners were sacked on his instructions. I have read that in some of the papers. It is absolutely ridiculous. It is ridiculous because it is only the governor who can hire and fire. If I had the power to sack a commissioner, was it also possible that I would put a gun to the governor’s head, get him to nominate people of my choice to replace those sacked and force him to sign the letters to the House of Assembly for their confirmation? It is totally ridiculous. It shows you that people just sit down and tell stories. That particular story came from one former commissioner for agriculture. I wish him well, but I think it was clearly in bad faith. He should know better as somebody who served in the State Executive Council. Only one person has the power to hire and fire. People like Prof Ekanem should not unwittingly show disrespect to the exalted office of governor by ridiculing Governor Akpabio.
There was also a story that I nominated my successor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, who is also my cousin. Please, the man is not my cousin. I am not related to him in anyway and I did not nominate him for appointment as SSG. But that is not to say that I have anything against him.
So, please, there is a chief security officer in the state. That is why if we have insecurity or if people are not satisfied, they will raise issues. They will raise questions and direct their complaints to the governor. He is the only person saddled with the responsibility to secure all of us; not the Attorney-General who though is the chief law officer, is not the chief security officer. So, when people raise issues on the security of lives and properties and direct it at the governor, it is because he is the chief security officer.
Is it true that you and other aspirants want to form an alliance against the government’s interest?
Well, I don’t know why government should have a special interest in who aspires to the office of governor. All we are asking for is that all aspirants be given a level playing field. This was the situation in the past when Governor Attah was in charge. Even when the incumbent governor contested the primaries against 57 other aspirants, the governor then did not interfere. There was no issue of threats. We didn’t hear Governor Attah telling other aspirants or delegates that they will die or that they would not be allowed into the venues where the primaries would be held. There was nothing like that. Everybody was allowed to make consultations, reach out to the delegates and the party office was open to all aspirants.
Chief Sonny Udom was the PDP chairman for Ikot Ekpene senatorial district and he can confirm this. The party was there for everybody and there was no discrimination. The then party chairman, Chief Otu Ita Toyo, opened his doors and received all aspirants. He was not barred from taking calls from certain aspirants. It is just normal that the aspirants will talk to themselves. There is nothing wrong with that. It is all part of politics. The aspirants can decide to form alliances.
Assuming that the ruling party does not give you the ticket, what will be your next option?
I will do my best to win, believing that the delegates will support me to be the flag bearer of our party, the PDP. So I will be contesting to win and I believe that with the consultations going on, I already have massive support from all over the state. I am looking forward to my victory at the primaries. So, the issue of plan B does not arise.
What is your opinion on zoning?
I want to agree with the gentleman who said that the governor himself in the past had dismissed zoning. He did that on national television when the Minister of Information held the town hall meeting in Uyo during the Good Governance Tour. When the question was put to him about zoning, Governor Akpabio said he was not a product of zoning; that in 2006, there were 58 contestants from all the senatorial districts. Then, the party did not bar anybody. So, there were aspirants from all the three senatorial districts. That was in 2006.
Again in 2011, we had Frank Okon from Eket Senatorial District; we had Imo Udoh from Uyo Senatorial District. I think Frank Okon is still in court, still contesting the outcome of the 2011 governorship election and some of his supporters are still very optimistic that he would be declared governor by the court. So, if he is declared governor, for example, are you still going to talk about zoning? So it shows the level of insincerity and absurdity, underscored by the fact that until I left office the issue of zoning did not arise.
Again you ask, what a curious coincidence that the whole zoning idea came up only after I left office? Why? It is for you to find out. Beyond that, we have been told that there is no equity and justice because Eket has not produced a governor; Uyo had had it through Obong Victor Attah; that Ikot Ekpene is there now having produced this governor and so for equity and justice it should be the turn of Eket Senatorial District. That is one side of the argument. But there are others who have also argued that Eket Senatorial District had governors in the past in the old Cross River State. Esuene was there for nine years and Isong, who was elected, served for four years. Nobody from Uyo zone was governor at that time. So if you want a holistic equity and justice, are you going to turn back the hand of the clock to compensate the people of Uyo senatorial district who had no governors at that time?
It is also instructive that the current managing director of NDDC is from Eket Federal Constituency. So, where is justice and equity and what kind of justice and equity are you talking about?
What is your opinion on the town hall meetings and the outcome?
It seems to me that the pre-determined outcome of the town hall meetings was to pick somebody from Eket Federal Constituency as the favoured candidate for the 2015 governorship race. The meetings were stage-managed to ensure that the position of governor was zoned to one particular person and yet we went through the pains and the expenditure of the town hall meetings, whereas the outcome was already pre-determined. When the notice for the town hall meetings was issued, the reason given by the Commissioner for Information was that the governor would have the opportunity to present his score card and also listen to the people on the performance of his administration.
There was nowhere in the advertorial published by the Ministry of Information preceding the town hall meeting where it was stated that there was going to be a referendum on zoning or on the selection of a governor for the state before the primaries and general elections. There was no such thing. But in the end, it was clear that the town hall meetings were held to promote the interest of a particular aspirant from a particular federal constituency, and also to promote the senatorial ambition of the governor. The outcome of the town hall meetings was an attempt to subvert the Constitution and the will of the good people of Akwa Ibom State.
The country was shocked to hear sycophants chanting the mantra that the governor should unilaterally produce his successor because he had done well. They forget that Govenor Akpabio was elected to govern the state and not to produce a successor. There will be no need for the primaries and elections if Governor Akpabio has already appointed his successor. These sycophants have embarrassed us greatly and they have brought the office of governor into disrepute because Governor Akpabio swore to uphold the Constitution.
Even some of the salient issues that should have been addressed at the town hall meetings were not addressed. For example, nobody provided answers to some questions like how much revenue has accrued to the state. Even when some people alleged that Akwa Ibom has received over two trillion naira and that the performance of government was not commensurate with the level of resources, the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Information has still not provided a detailed revenue and expenditure report whereas transparency is a core requirement of good governance. We expected them the following day to publish everything to say this is what we have received so far; from statutory allocations, derivation, special releases from the excess crude accounts, from the Paris Club reconciliations, from all the recoveries from under-payments, reimbursements and recoveries after the return of oil wells, then they would tell us in total, this was what we received.
This is not asking too much of any government, because transparency is part of good governance. During the town hall meetings there was no such report, and up till now, there is none. All we were told was that all the people who asked such questions were unpatriotic or sponsored. Or that they used fictitious addresses and fictitious names. For performance to be properly assessed, it must be benchmarked against the quantum of resources. The Hon Minister of Finance made the same point recently. I was the commissioner for finance during the administration of Obong Victor Attah and we had quarterly publications on the revenue and expenditure profile of the state. And it was for public consumption; you could walk into the ministry and pick it up.
Until the town hall meetings ended they were not able to provide the information. Even as we speak, they have not provided the information. There was also a question on the debt profile of the state but have we had any answer? These are the issues that ought to have been addressed during the town hall meetings, because they go to the roots of good governance.
As the political heat of who succeeds Governor Theodore Ahamefule Orji, the incumbent governor of Abia State, in 2015 from Ngwa extraction intensifies, the Progressive Peoples’ Alliance (PPA), Abia State chapter has urged political parties in throw open the contest to all aspiring candidates from the Ukwa/Ngwa area and other parts of the state.
The party’s leadership stated that throwing open the governorship contest to all Abia sons and daughters, who wish to aspire for the position was going to ensure that credible candidates among the lots jostling for the office of the governor in 2015 would emerge.
Prince Emeka Okafor, state chairman and Chief Uche Enyioko, state secretary in a communiqué they endorsed on behalf of the party after an emergency state executive meeting of the party held at Umuahia, said it was both unjust and unconstitutional to exclude a section of the state that everybody believed it was their turn to produce the governor of the state in 2015.
PPA leadership, while admitting that the governorship position had eluded people from the Ukwa/Ngwa, stated that it would be undemocratic for political parties to cede or limit the contest for the governorship slot to a particular area.
According to the release, it was a subtle way of disenfranchising tested politicians from the affected Local Government areas (Isiala Ngwa North, Isiala Ngwa South and Osisioma Ngwa) from contesting the governorship election, thereby denying the state of her best hands.
Part of the communiqué reads; “This is the time for Ukwa/Ngwa to produce the governor of the state come 2015 and it should be about people and bloc and not about zone.
“PPA without any reservation, supports the Ukwa/Ngwa bloc to produce the next governor of the state in 2015 for equity and fairness, but what we are against is an attempt by some political parties in the state to disenfranchise some people from Ukwa/Ngwa through the so called zoning which on its own was capable of creating division among the people of the area.
The release further stated that PPA as a political party would not be party to such brazen flouting of the constitution by disenfranchising qualified people from contesting next year’s governorship election, adding that the party would as far as the election was concerned, throw her doors open to all qualified Abians and Ngwa sons and daughters.
A lawmaker, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, representing Abia Central, has reassured her supporters across the 17 local governments that she would contest for the governorship next year on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
She spoke at a political meeting at the weekend.
Senator Nwaogu described the decision to zone the governorship to Abia South as unconstitutional, saying it was contrary to the 1999 Constitution and that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The legislator, who is the only woman contesting for the governorship in the PDP, from Ukwa Ngwa, said the statement credited to members of the Abia State PDP caucus was an attempt to divide the Ukwa Ngwa people.
The battle to succeed Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State has taken a new twist following the alleged screening and selection of four governorship aspirants on the ticket of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Uja Emmanuel writes on the controversy that is trailing the purported selection which has divided the ruling party in the state.
There is fierce battle to succeed Governor Gabriel Suswam. Within the ruling party alone, there are at least 25 governorship aspirants that have so far embarked on vigorous campaigns across the three senatorial zones to woo supporters ahead of PDP primaries.
For the first time since the creation of Benue, from Plateau State, all the three senatorial zones (ABC), are claiming that it is their turn to rule Benue in 2015 and have presented governorship aspirants.
In zone A, the former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Chief Mike Aondoakaa, led other aspirants like Dr. Terhemba, Ada Chenge, Peter Chieshe and Emmanuel Akem battling for what they described as “ completing the tenure of the first civilian governor of Benue State, the late Aper Aku, who was from the zone, and the administration was cut short by military coup.
In Benue South Senatorial zone, known as zone C, the deputy governor of the State, Chief Steven Lawani, led few governorship contenders like Mathias Oyegiya and Paul Harris Ogbole in a succession battle. They are appealing to their Tiv brothers, to allow Benue South to have a shot at Government House, Makurdi, for the first time since the creation of Benue from Plateau.
In zone B, there is what we may describe as “a tug of war” as over 15 governorship aspirants are jostling to succeed Suswam in the ruling party alone. Out of these, eight have been described as heavy weights with political clout and so far, none of them is ready to step down for another.
The big eight are: Minister of State for Interior, Dr. Samuel Ortom, Dr. Tivlumun Nyitse, Felix Atume, Dr. Eugene Aleigba, Hinga Biem, Alex Adum , Terhemen Tarzor, and Simon Anchaver.
They all hail from Masev, Ihyarev and Nongon, otherwise known as MINDA group among the Tivs covering four local government areas (Makurdi, Gwer, Gwer West and Guma Local Government Areas), in Benue North-West Senatorial zone, otherwise known as zone B.
MINDA, a group among the Tivs, is insisting they are the only political block which has not occupied the Government House in Makurdi. And they are therefore laying claim to the governorship slot, both in the ruling PDP and in the All Progressives Congress (APC). This explained why they have the highest number of governorship aspirants jostling to take over from Suswam in 2015.
But then, PDP elders in MINDA, and MINDA Cultural Association are worried that having too many governorship aspirants may mar their chances of succeeding Suswam, especially during the PDP primaries.
This prompted the paramount ruler of the Tiv people, Tor Tiv, Dr. Alfred Akawe Torkula, who also hails from MINDA, with his Council of Chiefs to summon all the governorship aspirants from the area on the platform of the ruling PDP to his Palace in Gboko.
Though the meeting with governorship aspirants with Tor Tiv in his Gboko Palace, may have been designed to bring unity, cohesion and to avoid acrimony and division for a common cause, it ended up dividing the aspirants the more.
Even before the end of the palace meeting, news spread that the highly respected Tiv monarch with his council of chiefs had screened and selected only four PDP governorship aspirants out of the 15 from MINDA, to contest the primaries.
But after that, there was denial and counter denial among the aspirants who argued that the meeting neither screened nor selected aspirants, but that it was just a meeting between a father and his sons as Tor Tiv, being the father of the Tiv people, has the right to summon any Tiv man to the palace for consultations.
While some of the governorship aspirants denied that there was no selection, others, especially those allegedly favoured kept mute, but their supporters said there was indeed selection.
The purported selection of preferred candidates is generating tension among PDP family. Tor Tiv has been bashed for allegedly turning his palace into PDP screening committee room.
Nat Apir, Director of Communication and Strategy, Aliegba Governorship Campaign Organisation, described the purported endorsement as null and void. Apir stated that Tor Tiv’s schedule does not included screening of PDP aspirants and that he should strive to hold the sanctity of the Tiv traditional stool.
The MINDA PDP Governorship Forum, under the chairmanship of Professor David Ker, dismissed the purported endorsement, saying they were in the palace of Tor Tiv, who advised them on how best to go about their campaign devoid of violence.
“Tor Tiv only advised us to maintain peace and respect for one another during consultations as only one person would eventually emerge as governor, at no time did we subject ourselves for screening and four governorship aspirants selected and others told to step down,” said Professor Ker in a press statement he issued.
The four governorship aspirants allegedly favoured by the Tiv Traditional Councils are: Chief Samuel Ortom ( Guma), Terhemen Tarzor (Makurdi), Hinga Biem (Gwer) and Felix Atume ( Gwer West).
But another governorship the aspirant, Simon Anchaver, alleged that result of the screening was manipulated as he was the one endorsed from Gwer Local Government Area, instead of his opponent.
The account by Comrade Anchaver, who is the chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), is a revelation that there may have indeed been an attempt to prune down governorship aspirants on the platform of the PDP.
The question is, does the Tor Tiv, as the traditional ruler have the power to screen and select governorship aspirants?
Abraham Kwaghga, Special Adviser to the Governor on Investment told The Nation that as a traditional ruler and a MINDA man, Tor Tiv has the right to ensure that the zone produces the next governor.
According to Kwaghga, what Tor Tiv did was to avoid spending money and acrimony because many of his subjects resigned from top positions like commissioners, permanent secretaries and other high positions to contest the governorship election; a development which he said does not argur well for MINDA people.
Kwagha said if any one disregard the directive of the traditional ruler, Swem (Tiv traditional gods) would punish him and he may never win any leadership position in Tiv land.
Another account said since Tor Tiv hails from MINDA, it would not be politically wise for the zone to produce the next governor of Benue State and as such, Jechira, Kwande axis, led by Mike Aondoakaa, are waiting.
The battle to succeed Suswam has just begun and in the next few months, the people of Benue State would know who gets the PDP ticket.
But for APC, Emmanuel Jime, Akange Audu and Mike Lordye are patiently waiting to re-enact the 2011 magic wand of Ishior Chenji (game has changed) in 2015.
TheChairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Paulinus Igwe Nwagu, at the weekend reiterated his interest in the Ebonyi State governorship.
The lawmaker before now had declared his intention to contest the governorship election next year.
Speaking with reporters in his Oriuzor, Ezza North Local Government country home, the senator said security would be his priority if elected, as no development could take place without the security of life and property.
He said he had the experience and qualification to become the third civilian governor.
Nwagu said: “If you know me well, I don’t talk too much. But once I’m determined to do something, believe me, I will not go back on it. I’m out to pursue my 2015 governorship ambition to enable me serve the state and I have the capacity to do that.
“I have declared my intention to contest the governorship. I have served in all capacities starting as a councillor, chairman, House of Representatives member and now a senator. My next ambition is to become the governor.
“Security is number one as far as any country or state is concerned. Even as you strive to put in place infrastructures, security should be number one.”
The lawmaker representing Ebonyi Central disagreed with zoning the governorship to Ebonyi South as canvassed by some members of his party.
From historical background of party politics in South-west, Ekiti and Osun states are progressives, from the days of the Action Group to the Unity Party of Nigeria under Chief Obafemi Awolowo when the entire old Western Region, consisting of the present Ekiti, Osun, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Edo and Delta States, were no-go areas for the conservatives. This had been the case until money politics and rigging polluted the states’ political landscape. The then Alliance for Democracy (AD) had a firm control of the entire South West States until Olusegun Obasanjo cunningly came into the picture.
As a Yoruba man and a compromise candidate to appease the Yoruba for the wrong done to the late M.K.O Abiola, Obasanjo sought and got the AD’s support in his re-election bid in 2003. Obasanjo would later overrun the South as incumbent President by which he rigged out all the South West governors, with Asiwaju Tinubu of Lagos State as the only governor who survived what was then described as PDP’s TSUNAMI in the South West.
Asiwaju had fought gallantly to retain his position as governor of Lagos State and, since then, there was no holding him back and his political party. Today ACN, now APC, is in control of Ekiti, Osun, Oyo and Ogun States hitherto lost to the PDP during Obasanjo’s regime. The former two states were recovered from the PDP after their electoral victories at the Courts of Appeal in 2010 while the ACN went ahead to take over Ogun and Oyo from the PDP in 2011 at the polls. It is expected that, by its recapturing of its lost states the ACN, now APC, has taken permanent control of the South-west states, and Edo State to the bargain. It is under the above scenario that we expect good showings by Ekiti and Osun States at this year’s election.
What is going on for Dr. Kayode Fayemi in Ekiti State is the popularity of the APC against PDP which is very unpopular at home and abroad. So, Fayemi should cash on this to his advantage. His achievements as documented and reported in the news media showed clearly that he truly belongs to the league of APC’s performing governors who have endeared themselves to the people of their respective states. I believe it would be difficult to unseat any of these governors in their respective states, no matter the circumstances in which they find themselves in the hands of their political opponents. The defection of ex-governor, Segun Oni, from the PDP to APC, is a psychological boost to Fayemi’s electoral fortune. Above all, the PDP made a tactical error by using the police to disrupt and teargas a peaceful rally said to be part of APC’s “sensitization programmes” a day after the PDP held a campaign rally in the same city (The Nation, June 9, p.7). In civilized countries, such an act could draw sympathy for Fayemi and protest votes against the PDP’s candidate.
However, one problem I foresee – and this is a serious problem – is the tripartite contest between three formidable candidates, each of them wanting to outdo the others at a keenly contested election. From the position of strength and incumbency, Fayemi is expected to have an edge at the polls, unless there are some hidden factors not known to outsiders. It is a pity that the togetherness of APC has been eroded by a faction of ACN/APC, now the LP, under Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB).
What is going on for the State of Osun is also the popularity of the APC, but more especially the popularity of Aregbesola as a person. There is also no division within his party in the state. In spite of his shortcomings, like any human being, the people of Osun love him, even with passion, as they did his mentor, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Like Awo, Aregbesola is bombarded everywhere he goes with shouts of “Ogbeni” “Rauf” “Aregbe” or “Oranmiyan” (a Yoruba deity) as they shouted “Awo” for Chief Awolowo in the First and Second Republics. Like Kayode Fayemi, there is no governor anywhere who enjoys 100% support of the electorate. But it would be difficult for one to fathom the incredible popularity of Aregbesola in Osun State. In some places visited by the Awo Centre, people said his laudable achievements in the areas of education, health, roads and infrastructural development are there for all to see. This is apart from his charisma which they compare to that of Awo, and also to Asiwaju Tinubu when he was governor of Lagos State, and Babatunde Fashola, the current governor of the same Lagos State. Like in Ekiti State, the recent defection of the first civilian governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke from PDP to APC, is like scoring a vital and decisive goal that often seals victory for a winning football team.
While the probability of winning the coming elections as incumbent governors is very high (other things being equal), there is still quite a lot to be done to avert possible electoral disasters on 21 June and August 9. The following are what should be done, and not done.
• Do not underrate your opponent but try as much as possible to outsmart him.
• Get as much information about the plans and activities of your opponent as much as possible.
• Try to maximize your expected utility and minimize your loss under the uncertainty of the outcome of the election.
• Think not of victory alone, but consider the possibility of losing, which is the thing that would spur you on to positive actions.
• Watch the INEC officials for bad eggs.
• Since late delivery of election materials to the polling centres is the beginning of rigging, insist and ensure that election materials get to the polling centres at 8am on the dot. Election materials could be delayed in particular areas which are your strongholds. Take note that delay in bringing election materials to these centres is a manifest disenfranchisement of the electorate and loss of votes to your disadvantage. This is rigging par excellence!
• In cases where electoral materials are not brought in time, insist and ensure that the number of hours when the materials did not arrive must be added to the total number of hours allowed for the constitutional duration of the election. Under no circumstances should an election which is to last seven to eight hours be allowed to last for only four or five hours just because of delay in delivering the materials by colluding INEC officials. The remaining hour or hours must be accounted for, otherwise there would be crisis as electorate could go on violent protest against their disenfranchisement.
We should learn a lesson from the notoriously flawed Anambra election where many electorates in Senator Ngige’s strongholds were disenfranchised through lateness in bringing the electoral materials to the polling centres. Above all, any possible avenue of rigging must be stopped while people must use electronic surveillance to record cases of rigging. Talk to yourselves, party agents and party supporters and the electorate that rigging of election is possible, but not easy, in a state where party and candidates for election are popular. Therefore, where a political party and its candidates are both popular, the combination of this is a sure guarantee for an electoral success. While we wish the APC in Ekiti and Osun states their much desired and deserved victories at the coming elections, we must ask for forgiveness of our sins and then pray that God would destabilize the evil machinations of election riggers so that the best candidates would win at free and fair elections come June 21 and August 9, respectively in Ekiti and Osun States. So help us God!
Former Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt Caleb Olubolade on Saturday declared that he would contest the 21 June Governorship election in the state.
He made the declaration in Ado-Ekiti at a reception organised for him by members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he declared his intention to contest the election.
Olubolade berated Governor kayode Fayemi for obtaining a N25 billion bond from the capital market, noting that “borrowing of money by Fayemi is a product of failure of governance. It is a sign that he is running a failed government”.
Olubolade said: “I want to assure you that I will not borrow a dime to finance the State and all I am going to do as programmes will align with the transformation agenda of President Jonathan.”
Alleging that over six thousand workers have been relieved of their jobs in the State since Fayemi assumed office, Olubolade said: “The Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital in Ado Ekiti has been sold out and people are now paying high fee in the hospital for medical services”.
Meanwhile, a swift reaction by the Spokeperson of the Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Mr Dimeji Daniels, clarified that “Olubolade’s puerile outbursts are products of a beffudled power seeker”.
Daniels said: “Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade is not in tune with governance, because if he is, he would know that borrowing from the Capital Market to execute regenerative projects and bring about infrastructural development is not tantamount to failure in governance.
“The United States of America considered as the bastion of democracy also borrows money. The difference is what the money will be used for. Will it be embezzled or will it be used to better the lot of the people as the Fayemi administration has done?
“In all their seven and a half years of profligate and rudderless governance in Ekiti, they never in their wildest thoughts felt Ire Burnt Bricks Industry could be resuscitated because the PDP does not resuscitate, rather it kills.
“It has killed the Nigerian economy and rather than compaign in Ekiti, they rely solely on federal might to win election. Ekiti people are prepared to resist them.
“What is a failed state? A failed state is one in which nothing works. That accusation by Olubolade best describes how they nearly ran Ekiti aground before God intervened and retrieved the mandate they stole from them. In 2010, the primary school enrollment in Ekiti was a little over 155, 000, ” Daniels state