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Students play Jonathan, Buhari at debate

Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State have held a mock presidential debate ahead of the March 28 election. The debaters, who stood on the platform of either the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), marshalled points on why their parties should win the election. The parking lot of the students’ Union Building was aglow for the event. AFEES LASISI (300-Level Political Science) reports.

Call it a mock presidential debate and you won’t be wrong. But the discussants had a common purpose – the progress of the country. They made their presentation without rancour. They explained how their adopted parties – All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – would achieve their goals – if elected.

These were no candidates contesting elections; they are students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State. Last Friday, they participated in a debate organised by the leadership of the Students’ Union Government (SUG).

The car park of the Students’ Union Building (SUB) was filled by students who came to listen to the programmes of both parties. The debate, which was part of the union’s leadership conference, was put together by Akorede Awode, its Assistant General Secretary.

Akorede said the debate was to enlighten students on the party with the best programmes and candidate in the March 28 presidential election.

President Goodluck Jonathan is PDP’s candidate; Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is for APC. Both parties were represented by students at the debate.

PDP’s representatives were Goodluck Osaretin and Samuel Fakiyesi. Ismaheel Bayewunmi represented APC. The session was moderated by Olatayo Shittu, the General Secretary and Seun Fakorede, a student.

Samuel, one of the PDP discussants, argued that President Jonathan should be given another chance to bring his Transformation Agenda to fruition, noting that the president’s programmes had brought meaningful development in the last six years. He said another four years of Jonathan would be to the country’s good.

He said: “President Jonathan has allowed other arms of government to function freely without meddling in their affairs. The entrepreneurship programmes introduced by the president have created millions of jobs for youths. We have also enjoyed freedom of speech unlike what we used to have under the military.

“The signing of Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill into law has brought about free press and people can criticise the government without fear of arrest. The president has boosted education with the establishment of more federal universities across regions. The increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has made our economy to grow faster, thereby making the nation largest economy in Africa.”

But APC’s Ismaheel said there was a difference between economic growth and economic development.

Economic growth, he said, is the number of sustained businesses and investment in the country. He defined economic development as the impact of the growth on the masses. He punctured PDP’s debaters’ claim of economic development, saying the condition of living of the masses has worsened.

Ismaheel challenged his opponents to explain why the value of naira is falling against the dollar if truly the economy is growing. He asked them to provide statistics of jobs created yearly by the Jonathan administration in the last five years.

Insurgency in the Northeast, Ismaheel argued, attests to the failure of the PDP-led Federal Government. Courageous leadership, he added, is needed to combat the Boko Haram menace, saying Gen. Buhari remained the best man for the top job.

He said: “Under the PDP administration, the rate of corruption has increased and the nation has gone down further in corruption rating. To redeem the image of Nigeria in the comity of nations, we need an incorruptible and a tested leader, who will lead by example. It must be someone whose antecedent speaks volume in effective leadership and ability to fight corruption.

“All these attributes are found in Gen Buhari. I am convinced that he has what it takes to lead this nation and pave the way for real growth and development in all sectors. If our economy is stabilised, the widening gap between the dollar and naira would close and the economy would grow. APC would proffer solutions to the insecurity challenge claiming innocent lives daily. Also, education is one of the priorities in the APC manifesto; we should expect re-structuring of the education system for better and quality education.”

In his counter-argument, the second PDP discussant, Goodluck, said corruption had been in the system before the incumbent came to power. He said the president had fought corruption than any of his predecessors, stressing that Jonathan would do more to stop graft if re-elected.

Goodluck said: “We must never allow a dictator to steer the affairs of this nation in a democratic period. He would infringe on the fundamental rights of the people and prosecute people he perceives as personal enemies. President Jonathan is an unrepentant democrat and he is the best man to lead the country.”

In his closing remarks, Ismaheel said: “We have several challenges facing the nation and these are caused by years of PDP misrule. We must vote in Gen. Buhari to move this country forward.”

There were questions and contributions from members of the audience. Many were convinced beyond doubts who to vote in the presidential election.

A guest, Pastor Peter Alabi of Rhema Word Church, said the presidential election would re-define the country’s destiny, adding: “This is an election that has generated more than a passing interest on the people in the history of this country. No one knows who would win or lose.”

He advised the students not be induced by material property before voting for a party, urging them to vote according to their conscience.

Olawale Kessington, a graduate of the university, said a leader who could not tackle the nation’s challenges has no right to be in office.

Akorede said the debate was to make students decide which party to vote for in the general elections. He promised to organise a post-election debate that would feature Edo State Chief of Staff Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon.

March 12, 2015
Jonathan, Mark and their whiz kid Ministers

Absence of governance in an election year is not unique to Nigeria. It is a feature of all participatory liberal democracies where elections are held periodically to determine the fate of political office holders, legitimise or delegitimize their authority. Our own Problem is that there has hardly been any form of governance since the coming of President Jonathan in 2011. This is largely due to Jonathan’s leadership style which can at best be described as ‘delegation by abdication’ which was not helped by the intra party feuds which threw his ruling PDP into disarray. This has led to a situation where when the president is not setting up committees to escape taking difficult decisions, he allows his ministers to operate without restraint.

Thus we have a Ministry of Petroleum where an estimated 400,000 barrels of fuel are stolen daily in spite of amnesty programme and the empowerment of the leadership of the militant groups through multibillion dollar contracts and where unilateral action of its minister led to the nation’s loss of about N1.6 trillion. In the office of the Minister of Finance there has been evidence of gross abuse of government policy on import duty wavers. While the customs records for instance showed N1.4 trillion as the value of wavers granted over a period of three years the figure posted by the minister’s office was a paltry N171 billion. Similarly the minister of power insists power generation has improved despite the fact that we today generate 3,479.55MW after an injection of $8.26b. Four years on, the figure falls below the 4,747MW President Jonathan promised he would achieve by December 2011.

And because ministers are on their own, it took the return of long queues of motorists searching for fuel to power their homes and run their cars for the minister of finance to remember her ministry needed to pay fuel importers some N260b following the devaluation of naira. The minister of works who also operates on his own claims 25,000 kilometer of roads have been constructed in the last four years, a wild claim that prompted the governor of Lagos to remind PDP that the distance between Nigeria and London is 5000 kilometres. It is for the same reason the president and his wife were embarrassed by ministry of Internal Affairs government that was unable to confirm whether indeed close to 300 girls were abducted from their dormitories by insurgents. Ten months on, they still don’t know where the girls are.

Tragically the president instead of addressing the absence of governance, an issue raised even by the international community, he has often chosen to play on the intelligence of Nigerians by trying to equate the pursuit of his interest with the well being of Nigerians. Just some four weeks back, some elders statesmen and ethnic irredentist, behaving like Motor Park touts (apology to President Jonathan) at the behest of government facing a possible defeat at the poles threatened violence if the dates for the elections were not shifted forward. No sooner that was achieved than the president’s men erected new road blocks aimed at buying time for the president. Last week, precisely on the 16 February, the president, a master of political subterfuge, rushed the names of Patricia Akwashiki (Nasarawa), Nicholas Akise Ada (Benue), Augustine Okwudiri Akobundu, Fidelis Nwankwo (Ebonyi), Hauwa’u Lawan (Jigawa), Kenneth Kobani (Rivers) and Joel Danlami Ikenya (Taraba).and Musliu Obanikoro, a former junior minister in the ministry of defence.to the senate for confirmation as ministers.

Suddenly a government that was not in a hurry to fill the then vacant defence portfolio for several months despite the raging Boko Haram insurgency war, a Jonathan government that failed to appoint a substantive minister for the all important ministry of education despite the crisis that kept universities and polytechnics closed for about a year while the supervising junior minister Nyeson Wike spent his time fighting the president was back in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital where he swore to ensure governor Rotimi Amaechi, the presidents political rival did not sleep with his two eyes closed, now wants the senate to confirm 8 ministers when the life of this administration technically ends in two weeks time. Many are bound to agree that the whole exercise is driven by the desire to serve self rather than Nigerians.

Obanikoro’s nomination in fact tends to validate the thesis of critics who argue President Jonathan will hardly ‘invite anyone to come and chop’{ apology to late Sunday Afolabi, Obasanjo’s minister of internal affairs} if such a person will not enhance his hold on power. Obanikoro during his first tour of duty as a junior minister of defence served President Jonathan instead of serving Nigeria. He never for once visited the war ravaged north eastern Nigeria. He instead deployed all his talents towards the pacification of Yoruba land. In Lagos state, Governor Fashola, a governor not known for frivolities publicly accused Musiliu Obanikoro of bringing soldiers to physically stop ongoing public housing projects. In Ilaje ESE odo of Ondo state, he was similarly accused of bringing soldiers to intimidate his party’s opponents during a bi-election to fill a vacant house of assembly seat. His outing in Ekiti was no less scandalous. He was in the company of Jelli Adesiyan the police affairs minister, Iyiola Omisore, a controversial politician from Oshun, Ayo fayose, an impeached former governor who was then a PDP candidate and Andy Uba a self confessed election master rigger from Anambra {He had at the onset of the forth republic, kidnapped governor Ngige in a broad day light, locked him up like a common criminal, and demanded his resignation claiming it was he who rigged Ngide into office.}They jointly discussed how to rig the election before proceeding to arrest and detain leading opposition leaders on the eve of the election.

He played a similar despicable role during the Oshun election. Puffing and huffing, he told Journalist during a press conference organized by PDP that he was in Oshogbo to reenact the Ekiti experiment. He is perhaps now desperately needed in government to complete his unfinished work of pacification of Yoruba land. He will now be in good company of pa Olanihun Ajayis, the Okunrounmus, Ayo Adebanjos, Olu Falaes and their newly crowned “Yoruba Leaders”, Ayo Fayose and Olusegun Mimiko who now say there is no alternative to a president Jonathan, who has nothing but contempt for the Yoruba on whose back he rode to power in 2011

The response of the Senate which many Nigerians consider an extension of the executive and an ‘upper house of deals’ is no less scandalous. In spite of Obanikoro’s controversial past, a pending case against him the courts and two different petitions against his appointment, David Mark wanted him confirmed without questioning. But then what does one expects from a David Mark’s Senate whose members are said to be the highest paid in the world. In a nation where the minimum wage is N18,000 per month, our senators are said to earn about $2m compared to an annual senators pay of $174,000 in the US, $105,000 of Japan, $149,700 of Germany$74,000 of Kenya and $46,000 of Ghana. Although the senators have not been forthcoming on what they earn but the proposed budget for the next senate has finally settled that. It for instance makes provision for each senator to collect. N4, 052,800m for accommodation, N6, 079,200 for furniture, N8, 105,600 as car loan.etc. As The Nation Newspaper editorial put it last Sunday “In all, the 107 senators would get N433,649,600 for accommodation, N650,474,400 for furniture allowance and N867,299,200 as vehicle loans. It is annoying that the lawmakers’ proclivity for extravagance has continued unabated since the beginning of this dispensation”

Sadly Nigerians derive little joy from their world most expensive senators who draw wardrobe allowance from tax payers sweat while police men buy their own uniforms. A senate that is truly serving Nigeria would have asked president Jonathan to reserve his newly discovered whiz kid ministers until after the election that comes up in about two weeks.

March 12, 2015
2015: I won’t canvass for Jonathan, says Danjuma

Former Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd.) on Wednesday declared that he cannot canvass support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Danjuma, who just returned from abroad, was on a visit to the President at his official resident in the Presidential Villa.

The philanthropist, who also heads the government’s Victims Support Fund, disclosed that he is not a member of any party and won’t canvass votes for politicians.

He spoke with State House correspondents after about ten minutes discussion behind closed-doors with the President.

Asked what he discussed with the president, he said: “Confidential. Don’t speculate. I came to visit the president and find out how things are going. I have been abroad. I just came back.”

On whether he will canvass support for the president for the elections, he said: “I don’t canvass. I am not in any of the political parties. The president is Nigeria’s president.”

March 11, 2015
SURE-P: Jonathan sacks ‘Obasanjo man’ Agwai

A major casualty of the frosty relationship between President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo was recorded yesterday.

Less than one week after delivering Obasanjo’s 78th birthday lecture, Gen. Martin Luther Agwai, chairman of the multibillion naira SURE-P scheme —the government’s much criticised answer to the crushing unemployment in the land— got the boot.

The sack of the former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was yesterday described by watchers of the Jonathan presidency as another proof of the broken relationship between the President and his benefactor.

Gen. Agwai, a one-time Chief of Army Staff, in his lecture last Thursday at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta, titled: “Imperative of a national security framework for the development and progress of Nigeria”, warned the military against partisan politics to maintain its integrity.

Rather than be deployed for political purposes, Gen Agwai said the military should concentrate on its duties so as to be able to tackle insurgency in the Northeast.

He spoke against the background of the criticism of the plan by the Federal Government to deploy soldiers for the March 28 and April 11 elections.

The opposition parties are opposed to the deployment of soldiers and their likely use by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

A statement by presidential spokesman Reuben Abati yesterday said: “In furtherance of his efforts to continuously re-energise and reposition agencies of the Federal Government for optimal service delivery, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has appointed Mr. Ishaya Dare Akau as the new chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).”

“Mr. Akau, whose appointment takes immediate effect, replaces Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (rtd.) who served as Chairman of the SURE-P until today.”

“The new SURE-P Chairman hails from Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State and holds Bachelors’ Degrees in the Arts and Law.”

“Mr. Akau comes to the job with years of experience as a high-level administrator in the nation’s public service. His record of service includes tenures as Chairman of the Kaduna State Universal Education Board and Chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission.”

“President Jonathan thanks the outgoing Chairman of SURE-P, Gen Agwai, for his service to the nation and wishes him well in his future endeavours.”

Gen Agwai was appointed SURE-P chairman on February 5, last year after serving as acting chairmn from November 24, 2013 when pioneer chairman and former Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Dr. Christopher Kolade resigned.

SURE-P is a multi-billion naira ad hoc agency created by the Federal Government to hold the accruals from the withdrawn subsidy on petroleum products.

The fund was intended to provide safety nets for the downtrodden, mostly hit by the subsidy cut.

It was created after the massive protests that rocked the country following the cut in subsidy in January 2012.

March 11, 2015
‘Fela would not have been cool with Jonathan’

Nigerian-born anthropologist and soulful singer Nneka Lucia Egbuna, who has just released her new album, My Fairy Tales, talks about music, memories and the prevailing situation in Nigeria with Teo Kermeliotis (CNN).

rapped up in a long brightly-coloured scarf, which does little to contain her free-flowing curly hair, Nneka sits back quietly as she tries to bring to mind her very first memory of music. “I was a kid,” the Nigerian singer finally says, her thoughts traveling back to Warri, the Niger Delta city where she grew up. “While I was doing my domestic work in the house, sweeping, waking up at 5am in the morning, there was this bird (singing) — and I never forgot the melody,” she continues, breaking a warm smile. “Funny wise, like 25 years later I was in Lagos and I heard the same melody — it was amazing!”

Nneka’s first musical recollection might be firmly rooted in her birthplace, but the award-winning singer’s career was destined to begin thousands of miles away from home — the daughter of a Nigerian father and a German mother, Nneka moved to Hamburg at the of 19 to study anthropology. Whilst attending university, she also started exploring her musical talents, and soon found herself performing in various clubs opening up for top reggae and hip-hop names.

In 2005, she released Victim of Truth, a much-lauded debut that fused soulful beats, tasty hip-hop-and reflective ballads with politically-charged lyrics and black consciousness. Since then, she went on to enjoy further chart success, tour extensively and collaborate with global stars like Lenny Kravitz and Damian Marley.

And now, the soulful singer is back with a brand new, self-released album — My Fairy Tales is a formidable collection of rich afrobeat grooves, reggae-tinged beats and uplifting rhythms that reaffirm her place as one of the continent’s most exciting — and relevant — artists.

CNN’sAfrican Voices caught up with Nneka in London to talk about music, memories and the current situation in Nigeria.

In the past, you’ve dealt with issues ranging from the environment and politics, to religion and love — what are the themes that you’re emphasizing at this moment?

What is happening in Africa at present concerns me a lot. Boko Haram has always been an issue obviously for the past five, six years — funny wise, there’s a track in the album called “Pray For You” which I recorded when not too many people knew what was going with Boko Haram in the West.

I’m talking about the problems and possible solutions, and what are the reasons for the problems that we have. We as Nigerians, we’re not united, that has always been the issue… that’s our problem, tribalism, and what belongs to whom.

I also talk about children and the future, bringing children into this world… Everyone’s living in a cage and then you bring your child into that kind of society, where your child is forced to live in fear.

People are afraid to express themselves politically, and even in their home — I remember the way we grew up, I didn’t look my father in the eye until I was 22; you call your father “Sir, Sir, Sir” — apparently it’s a form of respect, OK, but respect should not be mistaken with fear. I was afraid and that’s the thing, that’s the colonial mentality: we mistake fear for respect.

Nneka on the postponement of Nigerian elections

He (Goodluck Jonathan) says he wants to tackle Boko Haram, obviously every Nigerian is asking why now, he could had done it a long time ago…but I’m not good at the whole blaming game, I don’t want to blame anybody but I pray that he comes up with a good idea for us if he is an honest and genuine guy. But I know that Fela Kuti would definitely not be cool with him, Seun Kuti is not cool with him, and many other musicians who are very outspoken are not cool with him.

What is the power of music and how can it influence things to bring positive change?

Music is very powerful, music is big; music is even more powerful than politics at present. Beyonce would definitely draw more crowd than [Nigerian president] Goodluck Jonathan if she was going to hold a speech — if Beyonce is going to talk about Boko Haram, many people are going to listen, and if she had something to tell Nigerians about love or whatever, many people are going to listen.

How do you see the political and security situation now in Nigeria?

All I can say is that we do need proper leadership. Yes, that’s just easier said than done, but we also need ourselves to take more things into our own hands — so if we want change, we have to show that we want change, peacefully — I love Malcolm X but I’d rather go for Martin Luther King — peacefully. And be part of it, not just blame our leaders and making sure that you, yourself, contribute to the change that you want to see.

March 11, 2015
Jonathan not sincere with conference report, says Southwest APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted President Goodluck Jonathan’s claim that the implementation of 2014 National Conference Report is dependent only on his re-election.

The party, dismissed the impression, describing Jonathan’s statement as illogical and unreasonable. It said the posture was aimed earning cheap popularity from the marginalised Southwest.

The APC National Vice-Chairman (Southwest), Chief Pius Akinyelure, said, if the Jonathan Administration was interested in restructuring, it would not have waited for three years in office before convoking the 2014 National Conference.

He said with the lopsided nature of federation his administration inherited about six years, Jonathan should have swung into action immediately and put necessary mechanisms in place “to equitably and fairly restructure Nigeria for the benefit of all.”

Akinyelure said the President was using the report of the 2014 National Conference as a political weapon to sneak into the hearts of the Southwest people, whose his administration “has not been fair to despite their overwhelming support for the president in 2011.”

The party, therefore, asked the president “to desist from making promise he cannot fulfil. President Jonathan should stop appealing ethnic sentiment in order to score cheap political marks. A president, under whose watch the Ekiti election was rigged, cannot restructure Nigeria. A president that grant hardened amnesty to ex-convicts cannot evolve equitable Nigeria.”

The party urged the people of SouthWest not to take the president serious again, noting that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had no idea on how “to move Nigeria forward. Stop deceiving innocent people. “Stop destroying Nigerian unity on the altar of ethnic politics. Stop fuelling division among groups that make up Nigeria”, he added.

Akinyelure said the APC presidential candidate, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate, Prof. Oluyemi Osinbajo had made a covenant with the people of Nigeria contained in the 2015 Buhari/Osinbajo Manifesto.

The party said once elected, the Buhari/Osinbajo government would initiate action “to amend the Nigerian Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties, and responsibilities to states in order to entrench true federalism and the federal spirit.”

It added that the Buhari/Osinbajo government “will restructure governance for a leaner, more efficient, and adequately compensated public service sector, while promoting effective participation of the private sector for more robust job creation programmes to employ the teaming youth.”

It said the Buhari/Osinbajo government would bring to an end an arbitrary deduction of statutory allocations due to states governed by the opposition party and the backdoor allocation to the states that are not critical of an anemic national government under the PDP.

March 11, 2015
Jonathan drops Luther Agwai as SURE-P Chairman

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday relieved Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (rtd.) of his appointment as the Chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P)

Mr. Ishaya Dare Akau was announced as his replacement in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.

The statement reads: “In furtherance of his efforts to continuously re-energize and reposition agencies of the Federal Government for optimal service delivery, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has appointed Mr. Ishaya Dare Akau as the new Chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P).”

“Mr. Akau, whose appointment takes immediate effect, replaces Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (rtd.) who served as Chairman of the SURE-P until today.”

“The new SURE-P Chairman hails from Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State and holds Bachelors’ Degrees in the Arts and Law.”

“Mr. Akau comes to the job with years of experience as a high-level administrator in the nation’s public service. His record of service includes tenures as Chairman of the Kaduna State Universal Education Board and Chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission.”

“President Jonathan thanks the outgoing Chairman of SURE-P, Gen Agwai for his service to the nation and wishes him well in his future endeavour,.” It stated

March 10, 2015
Jonathan, Mu’azu clash as PDP’s hate campaign backfires

A NEW crisis has broken out in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The crisis has been sparked by the party’s presidential campaign organisation’s and First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan’s attacks on some of the North’s prominent politicians.

The hate campaign has ignited a row between President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu.

Specifically, Mu’azu and other Northern leaders in the PDP have kicked against the unrestrained vulgar attacks by the First Lady and Jonathan’s campaign spokesman, Femi Fani-Kayode, against All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

Mu’azu and other party chieftains are said to have taken exception to Mrs. Jonathan referring to Gen. Buhari as being “brain dead” without a word of caution from the President. The First Lady’s position was echoed by Fani-Kayode, who re-stated that “yes, truly, Buhari is brain dead”.

Similarly, Mrs. Jonathan’s reference to “people in the North who breed more children than they can cater for” during one of her campaign stops in Calabar, Cross River State, is also said to the causing disquiet within the party’s leadership.

Mrs. Jonathan had said: “Our people do not give birth to uncountable children. Our men don’t give birth to children they dump in the streets. We are not like people from that part of the country (North)”.

In that instance, Mrs. Jonathan was apparently referring to the Almajiri system in the North, a lower stratum of children whose situation her husband claims to be addressing with the establishment of Almajiri schools in some states in the North.

Some prominent citizens including some clerics, have continued to register their indignation over the First Lady’s utterances, wondering why Mu’azu and other Northern leading lights in the PDP would keep quiet over what they consider an assault on their collective cultural values.

The Northern establishment is said to have taken the silence by Mu’azu and other prominent Northern chieftains of the party on Mrs. Jonathan’s verbal assaults as acquiescence or approval.

Faced with opposition from his home base, the PDP National Chairman was said to have voiced his objection to the affront and is said to be exhibiting a lukewarm commitment to the President’s campaign.

This is said to have caused divisions between Mu’azu and some prominent chieftains of the PDP on one hand and President Jonathan and a horde of party chieftains from the South on the other.

But the party’s National Publicity Secretary Chief Olisa Metuh, has denied it all. In a statement he issued on Monday, Metuh dismissed the report as “spurious” and an attempt to drag down the party chairman.

Metuh said:”As one of the founding fathers of the PDP, the National Chairman has continued to add immense value with his mature and decent approach to issues in keeping with the tradition and vision of our great party, a disposition that has continued to attract massive support across board for our presidential flag bearer, President Goodluck Jonathan.

“Indeed, we are aware that the aim of those behind the mischievous report is to sow seed of discord and cause confusion within our ranks, distract the leadership and undermine our presidential campaign, which is now coasting swiftly to victory to the chagrin of the opposition.

“It is incontrovertible that the National Chairman has been at the forefront of our presidential campaign train and enjoys an excellent working relationship with President Jonathan as exhibited in their bond at rallies, visits and meetings with stakeholders across the country.

“Whereas we recognise the zeal and enthusiasm of some of our supporters who are repaying the opposition in their own stock, our National Chairman, as the face of the PDP, has remained restrained despite numerous unwarranted provocations, a stance which does not in anyway detract from his commitment to the campaigns but reinforces our values and dedication to unity, peace and stability of our dear nation.

“This exemplary style of politics played significant role in reducing the tension in the polity ahead of the elections and has also endeared our party to a majority of Nigerian citizens and key stakeholders in the electoral process.

“It is to the credit of the National Chairman that his leadership stabilised our party at its critical moment and successfully achieved unity among our leaders and members while strengthening the confidence of Nigerians in the PDP as the only vehicle to deliver democracy dividends to them.”

“Also indisputable is his deft application of wealth of experience and far-reaching connections to galvanize the entire party structure in adopting President Goodluck Jonathan as our sole presidential candidate, a project to which he has remained unflinchingly committed.

“Since the commencement of the campaigns, our National Chairman has evolved and maintained a dynamic structure that involves members of the National Working Committee engaging in personal and group campaigns as well as strategic meetings with critical stakeholders in their respective states and zones to ensure the success of President Jonathan and other candidates of our party in the elections.

“This is in addition to effective coordination of party structures in all the zones, states, local governments and wards across the country.

“Finally, we wish to state categorically that the PDP remains resolute as one united family and no amount of media fabrications and malicious insinuations will distract us from our focus ahead of the elections”.

March 10, 2015
Fashola lashes Jonathan as he opens Glover Road

LAGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola has chided the Dr Goodluck Jonathan administration for not fulfilling its promises to the citizenry.

The government, he said, is just deceiving the people, while his administration has delivered on its promises.

Fashola spoke on Sundaay night at the commissioning of the 2.18km Glover Road in Ikoyi in fulfilment of his promise to the residents when he commissioned the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge in 2010.

According to him, among the roads he promised to upgrade in Ikoyi, Glover Road is the first of such roads where the government has intervened to improve easy connectivity within the area.

Other roads, including First Avenue and Ikoyi Club 1938, are being reconstructed, he said.

Fashola noted that the Federal Government which criticised his administration for building the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, has not kept its own promises made within the same period.

He said: “In three years, we have finished a first class architectural masterpiece which put Lagos back on the global architectural reckoning. For our political opponents, they say it is expensive, they say every negative thing about it, but we used the same contractor, Julius Berger, to build that bridge. The same contractor has not been able to help them deliver the Second Niger Bridge that the president promised since 2011. That’s the difference between us and them.

“We built you a bridge; they are bringing money to you in the twilight of elections. Do you want me to take that bridge down and give you the money instead? So for those who say there is no difference between us, there is a clear difference, we do the work, they share the money”.

The governor said motorists and bicycle riders would have a respite following the upgrading of the road.

Fashola appealed for maintenance of the road, saying if well maintained, it could last between 30 and 50 years.

Earlier, Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr Obafemi Hamzat said the bicycle lane is government’s attempt at tackling climate change. He said the use of bicycle would reduce carbon emission and enhance positive lifestyle, adding that the road has all the necessary service ducts and provisions made for street lights.

“The road can withstand flooding that characterise rainy season around this axis of the state. The completion of this road will also improve the driving experience of the people of the community.

“This is also a link to the Lekki/Ikoyi Link Bridge through the Alfred Rewane road. We are also on Bank road and First Avenue that will create the necessary links and improve connectivity,” he said.

March 10, 2015
‘Comments by Jonathan, others inimical to free polls’

AN elder-statesman and member of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Ibrahim Babankowa, has described statements credited to President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Dame Patience and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the rescheduled general elections as erasing hope of credible, free and fair elections.

Babankowa, who spoke with reporters in Kano yesterday, said such statements might compromise the exercise.

He noted that the president’s statement in the media last week that he would not hand over to the opposition was not befitting a statesman “that benefits much from the system”.

Babankowa, who hold the title of Walin Ringim, stated that “the summary of these unwarranted outbursts from the president, his wife and the party over the general elections pointed clearly to a confusion that has sparked desperation on the side of those who should strive to keep peace”.

The ACF member warned: “We are in a democracy and not military dictatorship. Therefore, views of the majority must triumph and must be so respected, no matter which side of the divide one may belong.”

He advised the president to develop a big heart that would enable him accommodate the good and ugly side of life, pointing out that “such toughness defines a man in line of duty”.

On the president’s wife’s attack on the All Progressive Congress presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Babankowa described it as “reckless and a disgrace to African value”.

The retired police boss said “the verbal attack on Gen. Buhari explained the level of desperation among members of the first family, all at the expense of our cherished values”.

He advised Nigerians to continue to leave in peace, adding that the “union of multi-ethnic nationality was not a mistake”.

The ACF chieftain dismissed Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose’s death wish for the APC presidential candidate as “inhuman and callous”.

March 10, 2015