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Tag: Jonathan

  • Why Jonathan’ll lose in Southwest, by Buhari campaign office

    Why Jonathan’ll lose in Southwest, by Buhari campaign office

    President Goodluck Jonathan was Tuesday told to forget the votes of the southwest despite his repeated trips to the zone and the series of parleys he held with groups during such visits.

    The Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Organisation which gave the sweeping verdict, said the President erred by thinking the votes of the Southwest was for sale.

    According to the Coordinator of the organisation in Lagos State, Abiodun Faleke, people in the region will not vote for a president who has no record of kept promises.

    Faleke, a member of the House of Representatives, who is seeking reelection from the Ikeja Federal Constituency, reminded the president that a promise he made on the power sector in August 12, 2010 has not been fulfilled five years after.

    The lawmaker recalled how President Jonathan promised the Nigerians would enjoy stable power beginning from 2012 at the launch of the Roadmap for Power Sector Reforms at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    “Precisely, Mr. President said: ‘By God’s grace, by December 2012, Nigeria will not only celebrate one day of uninterrupted electricity supply, but we would celebrate one week, one month and so on of uninterrupted electricity supply,” the Buhari campaigner said.

    Reacting to President Jonathan’s frequent trips to Lagos since the shift of the general elections from February 14 and 28, Faleke said the people will still not vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), even if the President moved the seat of power to the Centre of Excellence.

    “It doesn’t matter how many weekends the President spends here in the Southwest; it doesn’t also matter how much he gives out to individual, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will still defeat him.

    “We’re defeating him. His constant trips to Lagos clearly show that Mr. President has lost it not only in Lagos but in the entire Southwest. Of course the people will take his money and still voter according to their conscience.

    “If in the past six years, he has not shown interest in the Southwest, then it is too late to be rushing here every week. The money being wasted as Greek gifts could have been channeled into ventures that would benefitted the society.

    “In 2010, he came to Lagos to promise steady power supply. Has he done that? Do we have power now? Interestingly, the same venue where he made that promise is Mr. President base again. Enough of unfulfilled promises!” he said.

    Faleke described as contradiction that the same Yoruba leaders President Jonathan once described as rascals have suddenly become his beautiful brides.

  • Court stops Jonathan from deploying soldiers for polls

    Court stops Jonathan from deploying soldiers for polls

    The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining President Goodluck Jonathan and the Service Chiefs from deploying soldiers for the general elections.

    Justice Ibrahim Buba held that they cannot deploy soldiers without the National Assembly’s approval.

    Besides, he said any election which is militarised through deployment of soldiers where there is no insurrection is “anti-democratic” and not in consonance with constitutional democracy and civil rule.

    Justice Buba was delivering judgment in a suit by House of Representatives member Femi Gbajabiamila who sought a declaration that deployment of soldiers for elections is unconstitutional.

    President Jonathan, the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Air Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff and the Attorney-General of the Federation are the respondents.

    The plaintiff said the Federal Government deployed soldiers during the governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states, contrary to the Constitution.

    Justice Buba upheld arguments by the plaintiff’s counsel, Mr Seni Adio, adding that even President Jonathan does not have the power to deploy soldiers at whim.

    The judge dismissed the defendants’ objections to the court’s jurisdiction and to the plaintiff’s locus standi, saying Gbajabiamila had the legal right to demand an interpretation of the constitution by the court.

    He disagreed with the defendants who said soldiers were only deployed to ensure peaceful elections, holding that the army is not needed for such civil duties.

    Justice Buba said he was bound by the recent Court of Appeal’s decision, which nullified soldiers’ deployment for elections. He quoted the decision extensively, adding that he was also persuaded by the judgment of Justice Mohammed Rilwan of the Federal High Court, Sokoto.

    According to the judge, the law does not make provision for the military to be involved in civil activities, and if soldiers must vote, it must be in their barracks. “The armed forces/military have no role in elections,” he said.

    “The time has come for us to establish the culture of democratic rule in the country and to start to do the right thing, particularly when it has to do with dealing with the electoral process which is one of the pillars of democracy.

    “In spite of the behaviour of the political class, we should by all means try to keep armed personnel and military from being a part and parcel of the electoral process.

    “The state is obligated to confine the military to their very demanding assignment, especially in this time of insurgencies, by keeping them out of elections. The state is also obligated to ensure that citizens exercise their franchise freely and unmolested,” Justice Buba said.

    The judge said the Court of Appeal directly interpreted the Constitution when it held that the combined effects of Section 215 and 217 limit the president’s power to deploy soldiers to the suppression of insurrection and to aid the police to restore order when it has broken down.

    “I am bound by the decision of the Court of Appeal and equally persuaded by the decision of Federal High Court Sokoto, which also persuaded the Court of Appeal.

    “It is in this regard that the court will say that its duty in interpreting the constitution has been simplified and made easy by the decisions I have referred to extensively,” Justice Buba held.

    On whether Gbajabiamila has locus standi, the judge said: “The plaintiff is at liberty to approach this court and seek reliefs whether they are beneficial to him or not. In the instant case, the plaintiff is a Nigerian; he has a right of franchise, so it will be beneficial to him.

    “This court will not dabble in academic issues. The instance Originating Summons has merit. The court shall proceed to answer the questions for determination in favour of the plaintiff that the deployment of the armed forces by the first, second, third, fourth and fifth defendants during elections violate the provisions of the Constitution.

    “Accordingly, the declaratory reliefs sought are granted. Any militarised voting pattern is anti-democratic and not in consonance with constitutional democracy and civil rule.”

     

  • Jonathan: we’ll conduct free, fair polls

    Jonathan: we’ll conduct free, fair polls

    President  Goodluck Jonathan yesterday assured that the general elections will hold as scheduled by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with presidential and National Assembly polls on Saturday.

    He told stakeholders at a meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders from the Northeast geopolitical zone in Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital, that his administration was determined to conduct free and fair elections.

    The president added that INEC has been given free hand to operate within the ambit of the constitution and the Electoral Act as amended.

    He said the Nigerian troops were doing everything possible to clear Boko Haram from the Northeast.

    But, the president was quick to add that God would judge between him and those linking  him with the insurgents, boasting that the war against insurgency was being won.

    “As a government, there is no sector we have not touched. We have done well in the health sector. Today, we have just commissioned a modern hospital in Bauchi State. And we are working hard to ensure that all Nigerians benefit from our interventions in the education sector.

    “We have established universities in all the states that don’t have federal universities. Today, they have federal universities. We are committed to positive change and I urge you to vote for PDP for the sustenance of this change.

    “Nigerians should hold their PVCs very well as an important asset because it will be used for future elections at all levels,” he counselled.

    Jonathan assured that he was committed to one-man and one-vote.

    The president commiserated with the families, who lost their loved ones in the 2011 post- election violence in the zone, saying that government was doing everything possible to ensure hitch-free elections this year.

    The National Chairman of PDP, Ahmadu  Mu’azu, lamented that “states of the Northeast did not do well in the past elections”, assuring that this time around, the people would surprise the president with their massive votes for the party at all levels.

  • Senate Deputy Whip meets monarchs, youths over Jonathan

    Senate Deputy Whip Mr. Hosea Ayoola Agboola at the weekend visited the palaces of Oke-Ogun monarchs, chiefs and leaders of thoughts in Oyo State.

    He solicited their support for President Goodluck Jonathan, as Nigeria goes to the polls on Saturday.

    Agboola, who is seeking re-election as the lawmaker representing Oyo North, also solicited the support of the people for his re-election.

    The people of Oyo North vowed to support him, saying he had performed, as he facilitated four road projects, eight school buildings, health centres, museum, ICT centres and empowerment of 20,000 women and youths in the area, in addition to the siting of the N500million University College Hospital (UCH) annex.

     

  • Osun monarchs: no endorsement for Jonathan

    Osun monarchs: no endorsement for Jonathan

    Some traditional rulers in Osun State have dissociated themselves from the purported endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Meeting at the Akinrun Palace yesterday, the monarchs described Jonathan’s endorsement  by some traditional rulers at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, as an embarrassment to the traditional institution.

    Briefing reporters after the meeting, their spokesperson, the Akinrun of Ikirun, Oba Abdulrauf Olayiwola Olawale, criticised the alleged sharing of dollars among the monarchs, who visited the Ooni’s palace.

    Oba Olawale urged the people to vote according to their conscience.

    At the meeting were Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal; Olokuku of Okuku, Oba Abioye Oyebode Oluronke; Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdulrasheed Ayotunde Olabomi; Olunisa of Inisa, Oba Joseph Oladunjoye Fasikun; Elende of Eko-Ende, Oba Rauf Adebayo Olaniyan; Oloyan of Oyan, Oba Kelani Adekeye Oyedare; Onirun of Oke-Irun, Oba Isaac Adetoyi Adetunlurese; Elerin of Erin-Osun, Oba Yusuf Omoloye Oyagbodun, among others.

    The Akirun faulted the use of beaded walking sticks by some traditional rulers to pray for Jonathan after they endorsed him.

    According to him, beaded walking sticks were not part of spiritual instruments to be used to pray for anyone in Yorubaland.

    He said: “It is unfortunate that the episode of the endorsement has become the talk of the town.

    “Many are even alleging that huge amount of foreign currency was doled out to the monarchs.

    “They believe that all traditional rulers in the state were involved.

    “It has gotten to a stage that some of our subjects are demanding their own share of the presidential largesse, which we know nothing about. It is quite embarrassing.

    “And this is the more reason we are coming out to tell the world that not all of us endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “As traditional rulers, we are not expected to be involved in partisan politics.

    “But we can support the government’s good policies and programmes that can promote development in our various domains.

    “Our main concern should be supporting good governance, no more no less.

    “It is, therefore, our wish and prayer that whoever emerges as the winner will be the one who will bring life more abundant to our people.”

    The monarch appealed to politicians to play the game according to the rule and avoid any form of violence before, during and after the elections.

    He also appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and all law enforcement agencies to ensure a level playing ground for all candidates.

    Oba Olawale warned that law enforcement agents should not allow themselves to be used to engage in unlawful arrest and harassment that may lead to disenfranchising anybody from exercising his or her fundamental human right of participating in the election.

     

  • ‘Ondo residents’ll vote out Jonathan’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has said the people will “vent their anger” on President Goodluck Jonathan by voting against him on Saturday.

    The party said Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s claim that the people preferred Jonathan to its candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, was deceitful.

    It challenged Mimiko to name a single federal project or intervention executed by the Jonathan administration in the state.

    A statement by the Vice Chairman, APC Publicity Committee, Kunle Adebayo, said the citizens had suffered failed promises, poverty and gloom.

    Adebayo said the failure of the PDP government to touch their lives was the reason people turned to the APC and Buhari.

    He said: “Mimiko, in trying to mobilise rulers, teachers, workers and youths, boasted that Jonathan’s new tenure will bear an indelible imprint in the lives of the Yoruba.

    “The point must be made again that Mimiko’s claims are not only an insult to the intelligence of the people, they are the antics of drowning men which all political opportunists are.

    “How can Mimiko hope anybody in Ondo, particularly the insulted workers, frustrated youths, betrayed women and dehumanised rulers, are listening to his tales by moonlight?

    “In case he does not know, the people identify Jonathan as the President who treated them like trash, despite the massive votes given to him in 2011 when he came whimpering as the shoeless riverine boy.”

    “From inheriting a cash surplus of over N58.4 billion and a zero debt profile, it is no news that Mimiko has plunged the state into an unprecedented level of indebtedness, retrogression, poverty and stagnation.

    “As is customary with a bat pretending to be a bird, Mimiko’s empty boasts and politics of opportunism have, by default, exposed the futility of the PDP’s crave for permanent enslavement of Nigerians.”

    “Just as Ondo PDP under him has become a symbol of crisis, confusion, betrayal and corruption, well-meaning Nigerians have also decided to vote for  Buhari, who represents hope and rebirth.”

  • Buhari’s wife to North: use your strength to vote out Jonathan

    Wife of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Hajia Aisha, has urged northerners to use their population strength to vote out President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on March 28.

    She said her husband would emerge victorious at the polls, following the support he had received  across the country.

    Aisha, who was in Kano to mobilise women as part of the campaign ahead of the presidential election, said although her husband is old, “he is fit, healthy and strong enough to lead the country for the next eight years.”

    She said a wind of change is blowing across the country, adding that it is time for President Jonathan, his wife and family to vacate Aso Rock Villa, “as their days are numbered.”

    Hajia Buhari, who spoke at the Government House, Kano, at a town hall meeting organised for her to meet women groups and representatives from Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states, said her husband was healthy to lead the country to the promised land.

    She decried the bashing of the North by Dame Patience Jonathan, who she noted allegedly described the region as an enclave of the Almajiris, urging the North to use its massive population to vote out the PDP and its presidential candidate.

    Hajia Buhari promised Kano women that Gen. Buhari and the APC would fulfil their electoral promises and initiate programmes that would be favourable to them, making them to be self-reliant.

    “With Gen. Buhari in power, kidnapping and killing of innocent people will become history. With Gen. Buhari in power, the nation’s depressing economy will be revived.”

    She said she was in Kano to solicit the support of women, as she knew their role as pillars in winning elections. “It will be a disaster for any politician to ignore the vital role of women.”

    Hajia Buhari advocated freedom for women in the North so that they would engage themselves in productive enterprises as their counterparts in the South.

    She hailed the Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso-led government for its developmental strides.

     

  • Buhari: don’t vote for Jonathan on sentiment

    The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday told Igbo leaders, monarchs, clerics, businessmen and women and youth leaders that no amount of ethnic or religious sentiment would justify support for President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He said it’s in the nation’s best interest to vote out the PDP, adding that the party has done enough damage to the country.

    Buhari, who addressed a town hall meeting at the Imo International Convention Centre (IICC) in Owerri, the Imo State capital, said President Jonathan, having served as a deputy governor, governor, vice president and President should know everything about governance, “but it is unfortunately that he is surrounded by failure.”

    He said: “The Igbo nation, known for business drive, has been drained by the PDP. The collapse of the economy has affected your businesses and we cannot allow the PDP to continue in power for another four years. It is time to say goodbye to a party that has reduced Nigeria to ridicule in the international community.

    “I was a governor, minister of Petroleum and Head of State. So when I retired, I should have returned to my farm and floated a company, getting contracts from them and living big thereafter, but I joined the presidential race in 2003 and chose the late Chuba Okadigbo as my running mate. In 2007, I chose Edwin Ume-Ezeoke and in 2011, Pastor Tunde Bakare was my running mate. So this religious blackmail does not hold with me.”

    The Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, said a bridge of friendship running from the North to the Southeast, the Southwest and the Southsouth, was being built.

    He said in all political dispensations, the Igbo had supported candidates from all geopolitical zones, but have never been supported for the post of President, adding that Buhari’s Presidency is the shortest route to producing a president of Igbo extraction.

    His words: “The Igbo supported Jonathan to become President, but today we have nothing to show for it. Today, we are supporting Buhari because his Presidency will be the shortest route to the Igbo presidency. So a support for Buhari is a support for Ndigbo.”

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola said every election was a referendum on the performance of a sitting government “and this present administration has displayed its performance and Nigerians have seen it.”

    He said: “The PDP claimed to have created five million jobs that are non- existent. We saw our children die at the stadium in search of Immigration jobs. They also claimed to have built 25,000 kilometres of road, but we know this is impossible because there is no provision for that in the budget.”

    Ogbonnaya Onu described the elections as the most important since Independence, saying it would afford Nigerians the opportunity to make a choice.

    Said he: “What Nigeria needs is a man that will stop corruption, a man who has a sense of mission. It is necessary to hold this interactive session so that you can hear Buhari because they have laboured to paint him black and demonise him. We are confident that Buhari’s administration will give Ndigbo all they want.”

    Those in attendance included Governor Fashola and his Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, Senator Chris Ngige, former President- General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife.

    Others are ex-Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen. Abdulraman Dambazau, deputy governors of Nasarawa and Osun states, among others.

     

  • Jonathan inaugurates Development Bank of Nigeria

    Jonathan inaugurates Development Bank of Nigeria

    President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday in Abuja inaugurated the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) in furtherance of his administration’s desire to revolutionise small businesses in the country.

    Speaking at the event, Jonathan expressed optimism that the bank would eliminate all obstacles hindering the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and their ability to generate the much needed jobs for the country.

    According to him, the DBN, which is a private sector driven financial institution, is meant alleviate the financial constraints being experienced by operators of small businesses for rapid and sustainable national development.

    “This launch of a brand new financial institution, the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), represents a defining milestone in our administration’s efforts to empower more micro, small and medium enterprises across our land‎.

    “MSMEs form the backbone of the Nigerian economy; the men and women who own and operate them are true reflections of the strong Nigerian spirit of enterprise and the vigorous work and ethics that define us as a nation and a people.

    “Our recent GDP re-basing exercise confirmed the importance of MSMEs sector to our national economy.

    “Currently Nigeria has over 17 million of these businesses, which contribute over 45 percent of our GDP and employ about 66 per cent of our labour force.

    “Today we celebrate these great men and women, who keep our communities ticking with the impact of their hard work and practical ingenuity. “

    Jonathan acknowledged the support of the nation’s development partners such as the African Development Bank (ADB); the World Bank; Agence Francaise de Development (afd), and KFW Entwicklungs Bank of Germany, saying that DBN would be a success story for Africa

    He said the government would ensure financial discipline and the adoption of international best practices in the operation of the bank.

    “We are pleased that the DBN will not go the way of similar established institutions because of the participation we are getting not just about government putting money, but  money from the private sector and especially from our development partners.

    “We know that the ADB is a success story but our DBN will be a major success story for Africa,“ he said.

    He said that the bank would operate as a self-sufficient institution that would not rely on government subsidy, but source for funds to run its operations and also leverage on the existing structure of the financial sector.

    He said: “Now is the time for us to achieve a rounded economic growth that will impact the lives of Nigerians.

    “The MSMEs sector will be properly and strategically stimulated in a manner that is sustainable.”

    According to the President, the challenges faced by the sector should be addressed in order to harness the benefits of development in terms of growth both in GDP and employment as well as leading the way for industries of the future.

    He expressed the hope that DBN would stimulate “strong growth“ in agriculture, manufacturing and among the micro, small and medium enterprises.

    The President also expressed happiness that YouWin winners would look up to DBN to sustain the programme in terms of expansion.

    The Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the bank would boost socio-economic activities across the country as it would guarantee long tenure funding for the Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs),

    Okonjo-Iweala said that such businesses would have a grace period of five years before they would begin to repay the facilities.

    ‎The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said one of the objectives of DBN was to lend to specialised institutions such as the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture and commercial banks for onward lending to SMEs.

    According to him, the system will support medium to long-term lending, loans with duration of up to 10 years, and moratorium period of up to 18 months to give MSMEs adequate grace period before they would start to repay.

    He said it would also allow them to match loan terms with longer term investment cycles.

    He said DBN had been registered as a publicly sponsored private institution.

    “Shareholders are Federal Government and African Development Bank. Other institutions and social enterprises have expressed interest to participate in equity and these will be considered and brought in due course.

    “DBN will be adequately capitalised, it will commence operations with a start-up capital of $1.5 billion (or N300 billion), and we expect the capital to increase to $5 billion (or N1 trillion) in the medium term and ultimately to N2 trillion within 10 years. “

    According to Emefiele, in its first five years of operation, DBN is expected to disburse more than 200,000 new loans to MSMEs, with each SME creating an average of five new jobs.

    “We expect that DBN will result in one million direct jobs being created as well as several more indirect jobs.

    “In the same time period, the DBN alongside its partners will also provide hands-on business training for over one million MSMEs, making them more bankable and thus more attractive for commercial bank lending.

    “We expect that the contribution of MSMEs to Nigeria’s GDP will increase from the current 45 per cent given MSMEs increased access to finance, access to quality financial education and access to markets,’’ he added.

    The Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga, disclosed that DBN would impact the lives of Nigerians.

  • Jonathan: Lee Kuan Yew’s example will inspire the world

    Jonathan: Lee Kuan Yew’s example will inspire the world

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday commiserated with the government of Singapore on the passing away of the founding father and former Prime Minister of the country, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.

    Jonathan, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, assured Prime Minister Lee Hsein Loong and the people of Singapore that Nigeria stands in full solidarity with them as they mourn his legendary father who transformed Singapore from a small port city into a highly developed and prosperous centre of global enterprise.

    It reads: “The President and people of Nigeria, for whom the globally acclaimed achievements of Singapore under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew have been a great source of inspiration over the years, join his compatriots and many admirers across the developing world in paying very well deserved tribute to the late Prime Minister who moved his country “from the third world to the first world” with immense wisdom, courage, resilience and perseverance.

    “In doing so, the late Lee Kuan Yew set a magnificent and enduring example for present and future world leaders to follow and President Jonathan believes that the iconic leader’s accomplishments in the service of his nation will continue to inspire positive development across the world for many years to come,” It added

    The President also urged the people of Singapore to take solace in the knowledge that Lee Kuan Yew will be remembered and honoured forever as a celebrated global citizen whose leadership style, writings, speeches and glorious example will eternally motivate leaders in government and private enterprise.

    He prayed that God Almighty will grant Lee Kuan Yew’s soul eternal rest and comfort his family, people of Singapore and admirers in other countries of the world.