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PDP: Jonathan, IBB boys, Gusau, Sambo, governors battle to hijack party
Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan is rolling out his political armour against several Peoples Democratic Governors ( PDP ) in a fierce battle for the soul of the party at Saturday’s crucial national convention.

Also scheming for control of the party’s machinery are ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo; ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar (who is yet to officially join the party); ex-governors, loyalists of ex-President Ibrahim Babangida led by a former National Security Adviser, Gen. Aliyu Gusau; ex-President of the Senate, Chief David Mark; Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu; ex-Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Ibrahim Mantu; members of the party’s Board of Trustees being coordinated by its chairman, Sen. Walid Jibrin, Sen. Ahmadu Ali and Prof. Jerry Gana, a former Minister of Information.

Serving governors are being coordinated by Mr. Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Ayo Fayose.

Former governors of the party including Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Ibrahim Idris and Idris Wada (both Kogi) are not left out.

Investigation revealed that almost every godfather in PDP is backing one candidate or the other for election into the National Working Committee (NWC).

The objective is to enable the godfathers have a say in the management of the party especially in the choice of the party’s presidential candidate for the 2019 election.

It was gathered that the interest of the godfathers has complicated the intrigues surrounding the contest for party offices at the December 9 convention.

Although some party leaders are pushing for merit, some other leaders believe that all the candidates have been tested in the past.

The positions of National Chairman, National Secretary, Deputy National Chairman (North); Deputy National Chairman (South) , the National Organizing Secretary and the National Publicity Secretary are attracting more interest from the godfathers.

The top contenders for the national chairmanship are a former Acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus; a former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran; a former Deputy National Chairman, Chief Olabode George; a former Minister of Sports, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja; a former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; ex-Governor of Oyo State, Sen. Rashidi Ladoja; a media mogul, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi; and a former governorship candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje.

A breakdown of the support base of the chairmanship aspirants is as follows:
- Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; Wike, Fayose, PDP governors, state PDP chairmen
- Tunde Adeniran—-Jonathan, IBB Boys, Gusau, Gana, Ali, Mantu, BOT members
- Otunba Gbenga Daniel—-Ex-governors, a splinter of IBB Boys,
- Olabode George—-Some BOT members
- Taoheed Adedoja—-BOT members, some Northern delegates
- Jimi Agbaje—–South-West delegates, BOT members
- Rashidi Ladoja—-Ex-governors but under pressure to accept concession of Deputy Chairman slot to his choice
A top party source said: “The jostle for offices at the national convention is going to be a battle royale because the godfathers in the party and the governors want to slug it out to install their loyalists.

“For ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, the convention will be a litmus test for his plans to be a father-figure for PDP. But if he fails, it might be another political setback for him after the loss at the poll in 2015.

“Jonathan and others, especially loyalists of ex-President Ibrahim Babangida, are working hard for a national outlook for PDP but some of the governors think otherwise. They said they are already conducting some permutations.

“Our greatest fear is that all these forces are trying to outsmart each other. If the party leaders can cage the governors and allow the delegates to have a final say, we will be opening a new chapter for PDP.”

A member of Board of Trustees of PDP said: “we are all worried because if we do not get it right, we might as well say goodbye to our chances in 2019.

“The party is on the edge again. We are however struggling to appeal to all groups to sheathe their swords and avoid implosion at the convention.”

Responding to a question, the BOT source added: “All our leaders are conscious of the 2019 poll and they are struggling to be relevant. You cannot blame them because in politics, relevance matters.”

A governor, who spoke with our correspondent last night, said: “I think the way out of any crisis at the convention is to allow for a free and fair contest. We need to live up to our appellation as a democratic party.

“We are already working on a unity list because we do not want to play into the hands of the ruling party. Certainly, there will be more horse-trading in the days ahead but we will survive it.

“We urge the judiciary not to entertain any frivolous application to stop the convention from holding.”
December 3, 2017
Chibok girls: Shettima dares Jonathan to reveal panel’s report

Accuses ex-President of engaging in ‘mischief‘

The row between ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and the Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, over the abduction of the Chibok School girls in 2014 deepened yesterday.

Shettima through a statement by the Borno State Commissioner of Education, Musa Inuwa Kubo, has challenged the ex-President to make public the report a Presidential Fact-Finding Committee he constituted in the wake of the girls’ abduction, ‘if he has nothing to hide.’

The Commissioner, who denied allegation by Jonathan that the Principal of Chibok Secondary School at the time of the abduction was appointed commissioner by the Shettima administration, insisted that no one contributed to the fight against Boko Haram than Shettima.

The spat between Jonathan and Shettima followed remarks by the Governor at a book launch in Abuja that the ex-President had surrounded himself with persons who could not help him in the art of governance unlike former President Olusegun Obasanjo whose administration was studded with very bright personalities.

However, Jonathan, through a statement by his media aide, Ikechukwu Eze, said Shettima should come clean on how the Chibok girls were kidnapped on April 14, 2014.

But Kubo also called on Nigerians to ask Jonathan why he concealed a report of his own fact-finding committee’ that investigated the circumstances surrounding the kidnap of the girls.

Kubo said: “Rather than direct spurious allegations against Governor Kashim Shettima on controversies surrounding the abduction of Chibok schoolgirls, media aides should ask their principal, ex-President Jonathan, why he deliberately concealed the report of a Presidential Fact-Finding Committee he constituted and inaugurated on May 6, 2014 and which submitted the report of findings to him on June 20, 2014.”

He also said there was never a time the Principal of Government Secondary School, Chibok was considered for any appointment, not to mention being a Commissioner.

He described the claim by Jonathan’s media team as an irresponsible ‎mischief.

He added: “For the purpose of records, Eze and his colleagues are pointing the wrong direction, they should ask their principal, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, why he deliberately refused to make public, the report of a committee he constituted, inaugurated and received their findings on facts surrounding the Chibok abduction and who is to blame for it.

“To refresh their minds, on May 6, 2014, President Jonathan had inaugurated multi-agency/stakeholder fact-finding committee under the chairmanship of Brig. General Ibrahim Sabo (rtd), a one-time Director of Military Intelligence and secretary of the Committee was from the Niger Delta.

“President Jonathan single handedly selected all members of that committee which included representatives of the UN, ECOWAS, ‎retired and serving security officers from the Army, DSS and the Police; representatives of the Chibok community, local and international civil rights organizations, representatives of the National Council of Women Societies, the Nigeria Union of Journalists and some of his highly trusted associates.

“For nearly two months, the committee undertook thorough investigation that included forensic assessment of all documents on the entire issues, held meetings with parents of the schoolgirls, visited Chibok, met with the then Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, the Director General of the DSS and the Inspector General of Police, all of whom were appointees of President Jonathan.

“The committee also met with officials of Borno Government including myself and the school principal. The committee held meetings with the heads of different security agencies in Borno State, including the security formations in charge of Chibok and after compiling their findings, the committee submitted its report directly to President Jonathan on June 20, 2014 in Aso Rock.

“The question anyone should ask is why President Jonathan deliberately refused to make that report public. What was he hiding from Nigerians? Here is another question, if the findings had indicted Governor Shettima or the Borno State Government in anyway, does anyone really thinks Jonathan would have concealed that report given his open hatred for Shettima and the fact that the Governor was in the opposition party?

“Also, the issue of saying the Principal of GSS Chibok was appointed a Commissioner is an irresponsible mischief because Governor Kashim Shettima is neither foolish nor is he a daft,” the Commissioner stated.

Kubo said if there was one Nigerian that assisted Jonathan in the fight against Boko Haram it was Governor Shettima.

He said Shettima single-handedly approved the funding of civilian JTF without any support from the Federal Government .

He said Jonathan himself repeatedly acknowledged the roles played by Civilian JTF in whatever success his administration recorded in fighting the insurgency.

He said the governor supported Jonathan by funding security agencies and mobilizing community intelligence as publicly attested to by the then Director of Operations at the Defence Headquarters, Major General Lawrence Ndugbane.

Kubo said Jonathan’s main anger with Shettima was when the governor spoke out of frustration by telling the world that the Nigerian military wasn’t being equipped.

He said the Governor’s claim has since been proved by former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh and by the huge allegations on how funds means for arms were shared under Jonathan.

The Commissioner noted that ex- President Jonathan’s decision to constitute that committee was a miraculous intervention by God to preserve the innocence of Governor Shettima and his administration.

He noted that if Jonathan wasn’t the one that constituted a fact-finding committee and received a report, no administration on earth would have upheld Shettima’s innocence because Jonathan’s men would have questioned the report of any other fact-finding committee.

He called on the ex-President Jonathan’s media team to find something more important to do with their time rather than making baseless allegations in order aimed at tarnishing the image the governor.

December 3, 2017
PDP chairmanship: Jonathan, Wike fall apart over Secondus

Ahead of the make or break convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on December 9, former President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State are at daggers drawn over Prince Uche Secondus’ bid to become the party’s national chairman.

Jonathan, our correspondent gathered, is mobilising serious opposition against Secondus, a frontline chairmanship aspirant in the party who hails from the Ijaw-speaking part of Rivers State.

The former President is said to be determined to shut down the ambition of Secondus, who enjoys the support of Wike and other South-South governors.

The Nation investigation revealed that Wike is a key supporter of Secondus, a former acting Chairman of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC).

He was said to be angry that instead of closing ranks with him and other South-South governors to ensure that his fellow Ijaw brother becomes the next chairman, the former President was busy working against Secondus.

It was gathered that Jonathan’s moves against Secondus were borne out of his cold war with Wike and another South-South governor, following his belief that the duo frustrated an initial plot by his key loyalists to return him as PDP’s Presidential candidate in 2019.

Credible party sources said there was a failed grand plan by Jonathan’s loyalists, especially former ministers and other key aides who served under him, to hijack the party’s structure and pave the way for him to return as its standard bearer.

A stalwart of the PDP, who spoke in confidence, said: “Jonathan has continued to blame the failure of the plan on Wike and the other South-South governor. He believes that the duo frustrated his ambition to return as the party’s presidential candidate.

“His next move is to stop any aspirant for the position of national chairman who has links with Wike.

“He does not want Secondus, knowing that Wike is the one behind his ambition.

“Unknown to many people, Jonathan and Wike have fallen apart and Jonathan’s wife is no longer close to the governor of Rivers State.

“If Secondus is out of the way, Jonathan and his wife, Patience, will go for the structures of the PDP, especially in Bayelsa and Rivers states, to enable them to play key roles in the 2019 elections.”

It was gathered that Jonathan was aligning with the PDP elements in the north against Secondus.

The former President reportedly held various meetings with PDP stakeholders in the north, which has significant number of the delegates for the convention, to extract commitment from them that they would not cast their votes for Secondus.

The party source added: “Jonathan is serious with his anti-Secondus campaign in the north. The north has many of the delegates and presidential aspirants, and Jonathan is reaching out to all of them.

“While he is openly backing a former minister, Nenadi Usman, to become the national secretary of the PDP, Jonathan wants any chairmanship aspirant other than Secondus to emerge victorious at the party’s national convention.

“His actions are creating divisions in the party ahead of the convention. The Ijaw stakeholders in the party and the South-South are not happy with the former President for not supporting their own.

“But like he failed in his previous plots, he will definitely fail again, because Secondus is unstoppable.”

A group, the South-South Coalition for Good Governance, yesterday confirmed that Jonathan’s clandestine moves against Secondus was real, and condemned the actions of the former President.

ýThe group, in a statement signed by its Co-ordinator, Mr. John Boma-Harrison, said theý grand plot was being hatched by Jonathan, using some of his northern allies.

The group said that the former president was mobilising northern delegates against the candidacy of Secondus, despite Secondus being a southerner and a proud son of the Niger Delta.

While condemning the former President’s “divisive attitude”, they wondered why he would move against his own Ijaw brother who enjoyed the overwhelming support of majority of PDP supporters across the country.

They observed that Secondus was tipped as the possible winner because of his popularity and his rich profile in party politics, adding that nothing would stop him.

They advised the former president to desist from his anti-Secondus campaign, especially his attempt to mobilise northern delegates to vote against the candidacy of Secondus.

They also called on the former president to concentrate on playing the role of a statesman rather than engage in “subterfuge and unbridled politickingý” that would further dent his image.

They said: “We have uncovered a plot by former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to scuttle the chances of the most accepted candidate for the position of national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondusý.

“We have it on good authority that the former president is using northern delegates to mobilise against Secondus who hails from the south, and an Ijaw man like him.

“We are disappointed in him, but we want to use this medium to advise him to retrace his steps.

“He is a statesman, and he should play that role.”

December 2, 2017
Jonathan replies Gov Shettima on Chibok girls

The Media Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, has condemned a statement credited to the Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, accusing the ex-President of bad governance and poor choices.

Eze described Shettima’s statement as parochial and jaundiced.

Debunking the allegations of poor governance and highlighting Jonathan’s key

achievements, which he said were yet to be matched, Eze challenged the governor to come clean over the roles he played in the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, stressing that it goes beyond the dismissive claim that “Jonathan thought I kidnapped Chibok girls.”

The statement said: “He should be able to tell us if it was Jonathan’s poor choices that led the governor to expose students of Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok to avoidable danger, in total disregard of a Federal Government directive to the governors in the three states most affected by Boko Haram to relocate their students writing the West African Schools Certificate Examination to safe zones.”

The statement also disclaimed the book entitled On a Platter of Gold: How Jonathan Won and Lost Nigeria, written by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, as sore grapes and full of lies and gossip.

“As a man who had never seen anything good in the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan on account of party and other differences, it has remained our considered view that in a democracy, Governor Kashim Shettima and others like him are entitled to their opinion, no matter how jaundiced.

“However, it is a sad commentary on the character of some of our politicians that they go to any length to make spurious statements in pursuit of the sad narrative to remain politically correct.

“We cannot be deceived by his crocodile tears and patronising claim that ‘Jonathan is essentially a decent man,’ which is a ploy he deployed to justify his false allegation of a lost glory.

“The man who today speaks of squandered goodwill should be able to tell Nigerians what percentage of the votes Jonathan got in 2011 from Borno State at the height of that his envisaged glory, according to Shettima, and what it became in subsequent elections.

“What was obvious yesterday and has remained so today is that Governor Shettima and those who think like him never liked Jonathan, based on some parochial and paternalistic sentiments.

“We didn’t expect anything less from Governor Shettima, knowing the ignoble roles he played in frustrating the war waged by the past administration against Boko Haram, even in his own Borno State.

“He should be able to tell us if it was Jonathan’s poor choices that led the governor to expose students of Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok to avoidable danger, in total disregard of a Federal Government directive to the governors in the three states mostaffected by Boko Haram to relocate their students writing the WestAfrican School Certificate Examinations to safe zones.

“The governor is now denying that he had no hand in the kidnap of the Chibok girls even before anybody accused him of culpability.

“However, we share the view of those who insist that the governor had other

things up his sleeve when he promised the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) that he would secure the girls, and ended up doing the very opposite, by deliberately abandoning them to their fate, without any security presence in their school.

“It is instructive that while other governors in the zone heeded the security advice, Shettima remained the only one that flagrantly flouted it. Should we also fail to point out that his decision to reward the principal of Chibok Secondary School, who was uncharacteristically absent on the night terrorists stormed the school, with the post of a commissioner, did throw up more questions than answers?

“Talking about accountability, perhaps, Shettima should also do well to explain to the good people of Borno State and Nigerians what he did with the over N60 billion local government funds left by his predecessor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.

“We understand Governor Shettima and those who spoke like him accused Jonathan of bad governance and poor choices, and we would like to know if it was bad governance that led Jonathan to assemble a-yet-to be-matched crop of dynamic cabinet and economic management team made up of tested technocrats like Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Finance ministry, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman in Planning, Mr Olusegun Aganga in Trade and Investments as well as Dr. Akinwumi Adesina leading the charge in Agriculture.”

Eze said the efforts of the Jonathan administration in repositioning Nigeria’s economy remain self-evident.

“Fortunately, Nigerians know where they stand with all of their leaders. All those who are calling Jonathan names today and accusing him of having become quite unpopular, should simply take a walk on the streets of any Nigerian city as real leaders do.

“That way, they will accurately gauge their own approval and test their popularity with the Nigerian people.

“On the book entitled “On a Platter of Gold- How Jonathan won and lost Nigeria,” written by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, we have watched for some time as some outrageous fabrications are extracted from its pages day after day by the media.

“When the publication of the book with an ominous title was first mooted, we knew it would be full of bile and sour grapes. We didn’t expect truth, sincerity and accuracy of narration, given that the author, who was sacked from his ministerial position by the subject of the book, is now the spokesman for the ruling APC.

“We will therefore like to dissociate former President Jonathan from the book’s salacious contents, with all the obvious distortions, lies and exaggerations.

“Its pages are populated with gossip, politically influenced newspaper articles, uncoordinated raw data and unproven claims.

“Sadly, the author did not help matters, as there was no rigour or indepth investigations towards establishing the veracity of the allegations the book contained.

“For instance, it is ridiculous for the author to have claimed that the President was forced to sack a certain minister by another cabinet member when the obvious truth known to all key members of the administration was that the President acted based on the recommendation of an internal committee that investigated the matter.

“This, unfortunately, is the kind of baseless claims and narrative that run through the entire book, and it would be pointless devoting our time towards making a case by case response to all its ridiculous allegations.

“We will like to remind Nigerians of what former President Jonathan said earlier in the year when a similar book was published, that only the key actors in his government and in the 2015 Presidential elections could give an exact account of what transpired, not speculations and conjectures by third party spectators.

“That time will come someday.”

December 2, 2017
WAEC results: Reno is embarrassing Jonathan, Shettima’s spokesman replies

It is embarrassing that WAEC results obtained before adulthood is being used to argue about the leadership capacity of a 60-year-old President Goodluck Jonathan, whose 16 years of service as Deputy Governor, Governor, Vice President and President should have been sufficient to prove those claimed distinctions,” spokesman to Governor Kashim Shettima, Isa Gusau has replied Reno Omokri.

Gusau was reacting to claims by Omokri Thursday night that Jonathan obtained seven distinctions in his West African School Certificate Examinations with a challenge to Governor Shettima to produce his WAEC results for comparison of leadership capacity.

Omokri’s reaction was in response to a statement made by Governor Shettima as the Chairman of a book launch authored by the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) , Bolaji Abdullahi, who wrote on Jonathan’s presidency.

“I just couldn’t imagine why Mr Reno Omokri chose to embarrass President Goodluck Jonathan by using WAEC result obtained before adulthood to argue about leadership capacity when in actual sense, those seven distinctions he claimed the former President obtained as a teenager, should have become evident in his reasoning and actions within the 16 years he served as Deputy Governor and Governor in Bayelsa State from 1999 to 2007 and the years he served as Vice President and President from 2007 to 2015 as a senior adult.

“ In leadership, intelligence and capacity are never claimed, they prove themselves. It is really a joke for Mr Reno Omokri, whom I thought was smart, to have even cited those results. If he must discuss academics, I would have expected him to discuss scholarly contributions from President Jonathan’s Masters Degree and PHD research works, with evidence of publication in any academic journal, to show how the former President is improving education from his works as an adult and not as WAEC-writing teenager. It is really a big joke to use pre-adulthood WAEC in discussing the capacity of a 60-year-old statesman and I will never support a 50-year-old Governor Kashim Shettima getting involved in trading jokes. It is not in Governor Shettima’s character to boast about knowledge but should Reno insist, he is free to do a deep and factual reflection on Shettima’s handling of affairs in Borno State, he is free to talk to objective public affairs analysts and Reno is again free, to find out about Governor Shettima’s background from his secondary school, the University of Maiduguri where he had his first degree and was retained as lecturer, from University of Ibadan where he obtained his Master’s degree or he can just ‘Google search’ to find testimonies of Mr Jim Ovia about Kashim Shettima’s records of performance at the Zenith Bank.”

December 2, 2017
Shettima’s claims parochial, jaundiced – Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday dismissed claims credited to Borno State Governor, Kashim Shetima, as parochial and jaundiced.

Shettima on Thursday accused the ex-President of bad governance and poor choices.

But Jonathan in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, strongly debunked the allegations of poor governance and highlighted his key achievements and described them as matched.

He challenged the governor to come clean over the roles he played in the abduction of the Chibok girls, stressing that it goes beyond the dismissive claim that “Jonathan thought I kidnapped Chibok girls.”

The statement said: “He should be able to tell us if it was Jonathan’s poor choices that led the governor to expose students of Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok to avoidable danger, in total disregard of Federal Government’s directive to the governors in the three states most affected by Boko Haram to relocate their students writing the West African School Certificate Examinations to safe zones.”

The ex- President also dismissed the book titled: “On a Platter of Gold- How Jonathan won and lost Nigeria,” written by former Minister of Sports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, as sour grapes and full of lies and gossip.

He added: “As a man who had never seen anything good in our administration on account of party and other differences, it has remained our considered view that in a democracy, Governor Kashim Shettima and others like him are entitled to their opinion, no matter how jaundiced.

“However, it is a sad commentary on the character of some of our politicians that they go to any length to make spurious statements, in pursuit of the sad narrative to remain politically correct. We cannot be deceived by his crocodile tears and patronizing claim that ‘Jonathan is essentially a decent man’ which is a ploy he deployed to justify his false allegation of a lost glory.”

December 1, 2017
Jonathan, Atiku, others congratulate Wizkid on MOBO win

•As Davido wins Best African Act

The duo of Wizkid and Davido have done Nigeria proud at the just concluded 22nd Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Award which held on Wednesday night at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, United Kingdom.

Beating other music greats like Jay-Z, Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Traavis Scott, Wizkid carted home the ‘Best International Act’ award while Earlier, Davido, whose ‘IF,’ ‘Fall,’ and ‘FIA’ have trended the airwaves was announced as MOBO’s’Best African Act’ to the delight of Nigerians.

“When Nigeria does well, I cannot help but feel well,” former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan wrote, expressing his congratulations.

“My happiness is tied to the happiness of Nigeria and when Nigerians break records and take the name of Nigeria to greater heights it exhilarates me.

“Thank you Wizkid for raising Nigeria’s flag high for the positive, not the negative. Your emergence as the Best International Act at the #MOBOAwards is a proud moment for Nigeria. And the fact that you emerged over JAY-Z and Drake makes it even more celebratory. WELL DONE. GEJ”

Former vice president Atiku Abubakar also felicitated with Wizkid via social media.

“My young friend, WizKid @wizkidayo beat other big international artists to win one of the world’s biggest music awards,” tweeted Atiku.

“Congratulations.”

Expressing his own delight showbiz enterpreneur and politicia Senator Ben Bruce, described Wizkid’s feat as one of his ‘proudest’ moments.

He tweeted: ‘Dear @wizkidayo, I’ve been in the entertainment business as an investor since 1980 and one of my proudest moments for Nigerian music is the day you defeated both Jayz and @Drake, two of the biggest stars in the world, to win the Best international Act at the #MOBOAwards well done.’

Others including Mo Abudu and Banky W have also congratulated the ‘Ojuelegba’ crooner.

The award ceremony featured performances from the likes of Cardi B, Krept and Konan, Stefflon Don, Yungen and Britain’s Got Talent winner Tokio Myers.

December 1, 2017
2015 poll: Mimiko wanted me to prosecute Buhari for certificate forgery – Adoke

… Jonathan was under pressure not to leave power – Mu’azu

A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke ( SAN ) said on Thursday that ex- Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, mounted pressure on him to prosecute President Muhammadu Buhari for certificate forgery few months before the 2015 presidential election.

Adoke, however, said he resisted the pressure because Buhari was more than qualified to contest the poll.

These facts were contained in a written statement by the ex-minister on what transpired behind the curtains before the 2015 poll.

Adoke’s statement was read in Abuja by a columnist, Mr. Dele Momodu, at the presentation of a book: “On a Platter of Gold: How Jonathan won and lost Nigeria,” written by a former Minister of Sports, Mr. Bolaji Abdullahi.

The ex-AGF said: “Further to our discussion sir, I hereby confirm that what Bolaji wrote in his book in respect of Mimiko putting pressure on me to issue a fiat to prosecute PMB (Buhari) is true.

“A lawyer had previously written to seek my fiat to prosecute PMB for forgery and I declined on the ground that there were no materials placed before me to exercise my discretion and that the request does not satisfy the legal threshold for me to exercise my discretion to grant fiat to prosecute Gen. Buhari.

“Subsequent to that, I was called by Governor Mimiko who tried to prevail on me to issue the fiat for political expediency and I refused by making it very clear to him that the legal threshold for the exercise of my discretion has not been met and that in any case assuming Gen. Buhari has no secondary school certificate, he has the equivalent of a school certificate as he is a retired General and a former Head of State and thus satisfied the prequalification requirements of the constitution to contest the office of the President.

“I further informed him that the Court of Appeal, Benin, has settled the law in that aspect. I left him and proceeded to brief the President on my encounter with Governor Mimiko and my response to his request. President Jonathan agreed with me and said I should uphold the letters of the constitution and the law.”

“And l added that he (Buhari) attended the War College in the United States as a serving General and as such more than qualified to contest.”

The presentation of Adoke’s clarification drew applause from the audience who felt elated.

Also, a former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmed Adamu Mu‘azu, said ex-President Goodluck Jonathan was under intense pressure from different friends and associates not to give up power.

Momodu, also related the encounter he had with Mu‘azu on how Jonathan almost changed his mind to concede defeat to Buhari.

He said: “l have also read accounts of how President Goodluck Jonathan nearly changed his mind after congratulating the winner and wanted to use PDP operatives and apparatus to challenge the authenticity and validity of the election results in the courts but the PDP Chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Adamu Mu‘azu, blatantly refused to support such a move.

“When we spoke last week, he (confirmed it was a true account of what happened and said President Jonathan was under intense pressure from different friends and associates not to give up power. He insisted that his decision was to save his flag bearer from agents of chaos and save Nigeria from even bigger and unnecessary catastrophe!

“He said President Jonathan had achieved what has never happened in Nigeria and would have lost so much had he rescinded his early and earlier congratulations to President-elect Muhammadu Buhari.

“Rather than accuse Mu’azu of betraying his party, he should be commended for promoting the finest tenets of democracy; if you lose election, please GO IN PEACE. He‘s proud that through his patriotic act, President Jonathan has successfully joined the distinguished company of world’s statesmen and he is much respected for that status throughout the world today.

“I must note that Bolaji has done a very painstaking job in this book and I believe we must all endeavour to learn lessons from the tragedy that befell PDP and the Jonathan government. One of the biggest problems bedeviling our country is that of our inability to learn any lessons from history.

“I gave up on the Jonathan administration the day Bolaji Abdullahi was sacked without any reasonable justification. I was sad and miserable for Nigeria and wept silently for our collective future.

“Today Bolaji is back triumphantly. Great men like Bolaji can only be delayed in their journey of life but I am sure he will ultimately arrive at the destination designed for him by the Almighty.”

November 30, 2017
Jonathan clueless, almost sacked me over Chibok girls – Shettima

The Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, on Thursday described ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as a clueless leader and unsophisticated country person.

He also revealed that the ex-President doubted the abduction of over 200 Chibok girls and was non-challant on the matter.

He said Jonathan almost removed him as governor if not for the refusal of a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) and a former Minister of Special Duties, Alh. Tanimu Turaki.

He said Jonathan’s stewardship was such a turbulent period which would continue to shape for good or bad, the fortunes of the country.

Kashima said the ex-President surrounded himself with an assorted crop of religious bigots and tribal kings unlike ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo who believes in the Nigerian project.

Notwithstanding, he said Jonathan should be commended for conceding defeat and saving the nation from the precipice.

He, however, said Nigeria needs good governance and not restructuring.

The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, also said Jonathan was not prepared for leadership.

The governor took swipes at the ex-President at the launch of a book, “On a Platter of Gold: How Jonathan won and lost Nigeria,” written by a former Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi.

Shettima, who was the chairman of the launch, regaled a stunned audience with how Jonathan mismanaged the abduction of Chibok girls by Boko Haram.

He said: “Instead of acting, Jonathan ordered that the Principal of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, should be locked up by the then Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Yusuf.

“Sadly, Borno was the epicenter of the whole crisis that engulfed the Jonathan administration. This is the second book I am reading of the Jonathan saga, the first written by Olusegun Adeniyi.

“I see former President Jonathan essentially a decent person, an unsophisticated country person caught up in the power politics in Nigeria

“When the Chibok girls saga started, they made the President to believe that there was no abduction and that they were kidnapped by the Governor of Borno State to embarrass the Jonathan administration and he believed that line of story. I was in Chibok, my wife was in Chibok, there was global outcry about the abduction, but he was in a world of his own, created by the clowns and misfits around him.

“I wasn’t invited to Abuja until nearly three weeks later and even when I was invited, I was happy that at last, I was getting the attention of my leader. I was asked to come to Abuja with the Commissioner of police, the DPO in Chibok, the Commissioner of Education, the military commander in Chibok and the Director of SSS in Borno.

“We were all ushered in to the Villa and sadly when the President came in, he was still in the world of make-believe. He started threatening the Principal that he should tell him where the girls were. He was shouting, ‘Principal, you must tell me where those girls are, Commissioner of Police, you must tell me where the girls are.’

“He immediately ordered the arrest of the Principal, the DPO, the Commissioner of Police and the Director of SSS, that they must produce the girls. In this very unfortunate saga, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, the Inspector-General of Police arrested them, took them to the police headquarters and told them he cannot hold onto them because he was a man of conscience. He let them go on self-recognition.

“I was quite taken aback because I thought the solution was going to be found to a very grave national challenge. Instead, the President was still of the mindset that those girls were not abducted.

“That goes to show the quality of leadership in this country. Incidentally, the Brigade Commander in Chibok was an Ijaw man and because they know that the President is such a very unsophisticated person, but such an honest man, they knew that if they brought his kinsman, they could have gotten him confused.

“So, they deliberately refused to bring the Brigade Commander in Chibok and that denied the President from getting a true perspective of the issues at stake. But we have to give it to him that by conceding defeat , he saved the nation from the precipice.”

November 30, 2017
Jonathan the sexagenarian

Forget appearances, it was not a happy 60th birthday for former President Goodluck Jonathan on November 20. By his own account, he has had bad nights since his defeat in the 2015 presidential election that swept the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) out of power. When Jonathan received a PPD chairmanship aspirant, Chief Olabode George, at his country home in Otuoke, Bayelsa State, he said: “Whether I like it or not, I must take responsibility for the defeat because I led the party to the election. The only thing that will make me sleep well is to ensure that PDP comes back to power.”

Jonathan’s night terrors happen not just because he lost a presidential election, but more because he shouldn’t have lost if he hadn’t lost his sense of reality. He underrated the response of the electorate to bad governance. The wave of change under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has exposed mind-boggling corruption that corrupted the Jonathan administration.

It was symbolic that close to Jonathan’s birthday, he was prompted to defend himself in connection with allegations of corruption. His media adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, reacted to a claim credited to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami , who reportedly told a Senate ad-hoc committee that an “ex-president was taking N5bn monthly from the Pension Fund.” Eze called the claim “a blatant lie,” adding, “We believe that the story was concocted as part of the unfolding grand design (by the Buhari administration) to always dodge responsibility and blame every evil act taking place in the present dispensation on the past (Jonathan) administration.”

Earlier, ex-chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Farida Waziri was quoted as saying in reaction to allegations of a climate of corruption under Jonathan: “I’m only glad that those things didn’t happen under my watch as the EFCC Chairman because it would have been too traumatic for me. And that is why if I see President Jonathan today, I will kneel down to thank him for the honour done me by removing me as the EFCC Chairman at the time he did.” She added: “My first strong premonition of what was ahead was when I began the probe of the monumental oil subsidy fraud going on then. I came to Lagos on a vital intelligence on the subsidy scam and as soon as I arrested a key culprit, I got a call from the Presidential Villa asking me to release the suspect, because, in their words, ‘he is our person’, but I refused to let him off and days after, I was removed from office.”

But reacting on his Twitter handle, Jonathan said:” If Farida is not telling lies she should mention the person or company she was investigating and she was stopped, let the @officialEFCC investigate. Crime has no statute bar. If she can’t then she was simply hired to attack me.”

It must be tormenting for Jonathan that he has to continually defend himself on the question of corruption. There is no doubt he has a lot of explaining to do about the mountainous corruption associated with his administration. He is paying the price for leadership failure.

Obviously for political reasons, the presidency congratulated Jonathan the sexagenarian in a statement, saying, “President Buhari joins members of the Peoples Democratic Party, professional colleagues, associates of Dr. Jonathan, and his family in celebrating the unique history of the Nigerian leader, who within a short period rose from being a deputy governor, governor, vice-president to becoming Nigeria’s President for six years.” The country is still stunned by the consequences of Jonathan’s presidential years, and it will take some time to recover.

Jonathan also received politically motivated congratulations from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who described him as the “face of democracy in Africa,” a reference to his trouble-free acceptance of electoral defeat. Early this month, Jonathan was reported as saying in an interview that Atiku should seek the support of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in the pursuit of his ambition to be president: “If Atiku gets our party ticket, he would compete well. But he would have to reach out to our boss, Baba OBJ, the boss of all bosses. We’ve all learnt at different times that you ignore OBJ at your peril. OBJ has the magic wand. He is respected at home and abroad.”

Jonathan’s advice to Atiku, who left the APC soon after, indicated he had learned his lesson. It is a political lesson he will never forget. When on January 20 Jonathan paid “a private visit” to Obasanjo in Ibogun, Ogun State, it was as puzzling as it was illuminating. In the beginning, Obasanjo, in the dying days of his second-term administration in 2007, discovered Jonathan who was at the time seeking a continuation as Governor of Bayelsa State. Jonathan had served as governor for less than two years, following the removal of Diepreye Alaimeyeseigha under whom he was deputy governor for six years.

The picture changed and Jonathan moved to a bigger stage as vice presidential nominee, with Umaru Musa Yar’Adua as PDP presidential candidate. Jonathan became Vice President in May 2007, and became President following Yar’ Adua’s death two years after. Jonathan won the 2011 election but was defeated in 2015 when he pursued a second term.

Interestingly, Obasanjo played an ironic role in Jonathan’s electoral loss. The godfather became the chief antagonist in a fiery power struggle that saw Obasanjo dramatically tearing his PDP membership card and publicly campaigning against Jonathan’s campaign for re-election. Indeed, the kingmaker became the king killer. Jonathan’s publicised visit to Obasanjo nearly two years after his electoral failure suggested he had a rethink and was perhaps remorseful.

At 60, with the benefit of hindsight, Jonathan should appreciate the difference between political success and political failure. His words to Atiku show him playing the role of an experienced political adviser, but that does not mean he has become politically wiser. His birthday was a time to think about the power of performance and the powerlessness of non-performance. In the final analysis, democratic leaders are expected to pass or fail based on performance and the evaluation of the electorate.

November 27, 2017