The Nation Newspaper

Tag: guber

  • Imo: APC missing on INEC’s list of guber candidates

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Friday did not publish any name as the governorship candidate for the  All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State in the  provisional list of governorship candidates for the 2019 general election.
    INEC’s refusal to publish any governorship candidate for the APC,  may not be unconnected to a Court Order restraining it from accepting or publishing any name except the name of Uche Nwosu as the authentic governorship candidate.
    It will be recalled that the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomole had forwarded the name of Uzodinma to INEC as the party’s governorship candidate, in defiance of the Court Order, which was also served him and the party.
    Sixty seven candidates made the provisional list including, former Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives,  Emeka Ihedioha (PDP), Senator Ifeanyi Ararume (APGA), among others.

  • Ortom’s autumnal and guber insomnia

    Are we perchance going to witness a season of insomnia for our state governors soon? Some context first: recall that President Muhammadu Buhari recently whooped state governors wondering how they could in good conscience find sleep while their workers go to bed on empty stomach. He could neither understand nor live it down, he told them as they salivate for more funds from the national treasury.

    But last Monday, Benue State governor, the gentlemanly Samuel Ortom confessed that he actually cannot find sleep. Hear him: “But honestly I feel pained, I’m not sleeping either because there is no way I can have my peace when I have a challenge like this affecting everybody in Benue State including my own family who are also on my neck to ensure salaries are paid, that is how traumatized I am on the matter.”

    Gee, how wonderful it would be if all governors who cannot manage to pay their workers suffer this manner of psychological hiatus. They are not allowed to snore and rumble under their elaborate, silky white duvets. But let us return to the self-confessed vicissitudes of kindly Governor Ortom.

    The Benue helmsman from his account is truly troubled by his inability to discharge his basic function. He seeks understanding; he seeks empathy and help even. He also waits on time. And there lies the problem. He seems to hope that with time enough, the current woes would vanish; or by some alchemy, the price of crude oil would jump back to $100/per barrel and he would be awash with cash once again. This is governor Ortom’s distorted mindset.

    This explains why he apparently would not think through nor attempt to confront the problem in a businesslike manner. Consider his debacle: he met a debt of about N69 billion in arrears of salaries, pensions and gratuity. He met a monthly wage bill of about N8.2 billion when he came to power about three years ago. He managed to work it down to N7.8 billion. He has a monthly federal allocation of N5 billion (which has increased to N6 billion as crude price rise) and he generates about N600 million internally monthly.

    Now hear this strange confession of Ortom’s: “Do you know that so many people are residing in parts of the country and they come here to draw salaries? I know of a chief who has 15 wives and all of them are on the payroll of a local government; he has about 20 children in secondary school and tertiary institutions… they are drawing salaries.”

    Well, Mr. Governor, if Benue State were your personal business, would you in good conscience carry a monthly wage bill of N8 b? Would that fraudulent Chief and his ilk not be in jail? Would you not harness more revenues from Benue’s rich agric wealth?

    Well, Hardball thinks any governor who cannot pay salaries really shouldn’t sleep.

     

     

  • Call for shift of Ondo ‘guber’ poll irresponsible

    SIR: The Committee for the Protection of People’s Mandate (CPPM) condemns in strong terms the irresponsible, insensitive, callous, reckless, anti-people and anti-democratic call for the postponement of the 2016 Ondo State gubernatorial election by some 20 political parties.

    By this call, these political parties have exposed themselves as unworthy of the description of a political party established with the purpose of contesting election to assume public office for the good of the society.

    The political parties have further lent credence to the long held suspicion that they are mercenaries for hire for political manoeuvring by the highest bidder to the detriment of public good which ordinarily ought to be the focus of their cardinal programme.

    However, we must commend the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for being resolute, responsible and faithful to its constitutional oath and the Electoral Act by being focused on its commitment to a credible election despite the blackmail, provocation and intimidation by enemies of democracy.

    We also want to commend the security agencies for the professionalism and neutrality exhibited in the discharge of their responsibility and urge that they step up their game to curtail the evil plot to taint the credibility of the forthcoming Ondo State gubernatorial election through the provision and deployment of water-tight security before, during and after the election.

    We call on the electorate in Ondo State to be vigilant, calm, orderly and resolute in the exercise of their civic duty on Election Day and refuse to be used as tools of violence by persons and groups who do not wish our country well.

    We wish the good people of Ondo State a successful and credible election which will go a long way in deepening our democracy and engendering societal peace to the glory of God and benefit of mankind.

     

    • Nelson Ekujumi,

    CPPM, Lagos.

  • Kogi guber poll: PDP at daggers drawn with NWC

    Things seems to be fallen apart for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State ahead of the November governorship election in the state.

    Already, elected delegates in the state are at dagger drawn with the National Working Committee of the party.

    The delegates who were elected in the June 27th, 2015 ad-hoc delegates election across the various wards in the state, have rejected the purported cancellation of their elections.

    They described the action of the party NWC as undemocratic and unacceptable to them.

    A lawyer, Ibrahim Abdullahi, an elected delegate representing Igalamela/Odolu LGA in his address said the party leadership erred by setting up a new committee to conduct fresh adhoc delegates election when the first one was declared to be free and fair.

    He further stressed that there was no justification for the new directive, except if there was a hidden agenda.

    He said: “We state categorically at this juncture that, we totally reject the purported cancellation and plot to conduct a fresh election for the ad-hoc delegates. Information available to us suggests that certain elements in the National Working Committee of the party have colluded with some undemocratic party members to deny the state a transparent process leading to the election of state executives.

    “We therefore wish to warn any of such members of the National Working Committee against undue vested interest they are showing in the matters of our state. We wish to also inform all, that the entire members and leaders of our party in the state will resist vehemently, any form of undue attempt to subvert the process with a view of installing state executives against the interest of the teeming members of the party.

    “We therefore call on our National Leaders, Board of Trustees members, other state governors and opinion leaders in the party to call the misguided members of the National Working Committee to order in the general interest of our party.

    “While we reaffirm our loyalty, commitment and support to our party PDP, we will resist, contest and reject attempt to hijack the party structure through unpopular and undemocratic means.”

  • Enugu guber: Ugwuanyi’s challenge

    Enugu guber: Ugwuanyi’s challenge

    With the recent ruling of an Abuja High Court, which dismissed Senator Ayogu Eze’s petitions, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has finally won the battle to fly PDP governorship ticket in Enugu State. Sam Egburonu however examines the challenges before him in the actual elections 

    Followingthe recent ruling of Justice Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, the coast is now clear for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to contest the forthcoming governorship election in Enugu State. The reprieve came after Justice Chukwu dismissed the suit filed by Senator Ayogu Eze, challenging the emergence of Ugwuanyi as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state.

    Sources said some supporters of Ugwuanyi in the coal city and other parts of the state celebrated his victory at the court with ceremonial gunshots.

    It would be recalled that Eze had filed the suit against the PDP, its National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Ugwuanyi, who enjoys the support of the national leadership of the PDP, subsequently applied and was joined as an interested party in the matter.

    Both Ugwuanyi and Eze laid claims to the governorship ticket of the party in Enugu, having emerged from two parallel primary elections held on December 8, 2014.

    But Justice Chukwu, delivering judgment on the case, said that from the averments made, it was only one governorship primary election that was conducted in the state on December 8 under the watchful eyes of the national officers of the PDP.

    He said the plaintiff’s suit did not succeed as he failed to show how any section of the constitution or the Electoral Act, as well as PDP guidelines for the conduct of gubernatorial primary election, was breached or violated.

    Earlier in his judgment that lasted for two hours, Justice Chukwu dismissed the preliminary objections filed by the defendants for want of jurisdiction, abuse of court process and locus standi. He however agreed with the defendants that it was only a political party that was in a position to choose its candidate in an election.

    He therefore held that the power to conduct party primaries rested solely on the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party and not the state executive of the party.

    Eze had told the court that PDP conducted ward congresses in Enugu State on November 1, 2014 as a result of which a list of delegates for the conduct of primary election for the governorship candidate of the party emerged.

    According to the senator, the list was sanctioned and authenticated by the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Adeniyi Ademola, in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/816/2014, through a judgment delivered on November 24, 2014.

    Ruling on this however, Justice Chukwu said the sister court “never sanctioned any delegate list”.

    The court was of the view that Eze failed to show any evidence indicating that NEC or PDP conducted the primary that he claimed was the authentic one.

    Will Ugwuanyi meet expectations?

    Since the latest court ruling, one question that has been agitating the minds of critical observers in Enugu is if Ugwuanyi will meet the tall expectations of his supporters and the people of Enugu State?

    Many believe that Enugu State, being a predominantly civil servants and low income earners’ state, creates a burden of going beyond just winning elections as there is too much to be done in terms of provision of democratic dividends.

    Since 1999, more especially under the administration of Governor Sullivan Chime, the state has witnessed some level of development and it is in the light of this that so much is expected from Ugwuanyi who, sources said has enjoyed overwhelming support from the people. Many said Chime has excelled in terms of provision of democracy dividends to the people.

    In one of his campaign tours, Ugwuanyi acknowledged the sterling performance of the governor when he said that achievements of the governor had made his electioneering activities ahead of the election much easier.

    Chief Israel Okonma said of Ugwuanyi, the people know the stuff he is made of and that explains their passion for his governorship aspiration. His antecedents speak volumes which include his stewardship in the House of Representatives in the last 12 years, coupled with his humility and candor which have touched the lives of people. The expectation is that Ugwuanyi’s administration will have a human face with many arguing that the combination of all these factors made his candidature more of a movement in Enugu State.

    To crown the situation, many of the governorship candidates in other parties have either stepped down for him or the party deliberately not fielding any candidate for the guber position.

    Not long ago, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state adopted Ugwuanyi for the April 11 governorship election with an explanation that the move was informed by its confidence in Ugwuanyi’s capacity to govern Enugu State.

    According to the APGA chairman in Enugu State, Chief Okechukwu Nkolagu, it would have been an effort in futility if the party had fielded a candidate to challenge Ugwuanyi, adding that it will be difficult for any other party to win the contest with the level of his popularity and acceptance by the people.

    Critical observers are also in agreement that the support the PDP enjoys in the state would be extended to President Goodluck Jonathan. Since 1999, Enugu people have always pitched their tent with the PDP and the coming election will not be different.