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  • Rivers PDP senator joins APC

    The Senator representing Rivers West, Osinakachukwu Ideozu, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Majority Leader of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, announced Osinakachukwu’s defection at plenary yesterday

    Lawan, who was moving a motion for the adjournment of plenary till Nov. 6, welcomed and congratulated him for joining the majority party.

    With this, the three senators from Rivers, a PDP controlled state, are now members of the APC.

    The others are Sen. Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East) and Magnus Abe (Rivers South East)PDP loses Rivers senator to APC

    The Senator representing Rivers West, Osinakachukwu Ideozu, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Majority Leader of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, announced Osinakachukwu’s defection at plenary yesterday

    Lawan, who was moving a motion for the adjournment of plenary till Nov. 6, welcomed and congratulated him for joining the majority party.

    With this, the three senators from Rivers, a PDP controlled state, are now members of the APC.

    The others are Sen. Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East) and Magnus Abe (Rivers South East)

  • ‘PDP yet to name members of Presidential Campaign Council’

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it is yet to name further  members of its Campaign Council for the 2019 presidential  election.

    The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Ologbondiyan said the party’s attention had been drawn to a phony post circulating in the social media and purporting that the party had released further names to make up its 2019 Presidential Campaign Council.

    He said the fabricators of the post even went further to allocate offices to certain individuals, claiming same to be officially assigned by the leadership of the party.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the party has not released any further names other than those earlier released as members of the Presidential Campaign Council.

    “Currently, the only names and offices assigned and released by the party are those of the Director-General and Zonal Coordinators of the 2019 Presidential campaign,’’ he said.

    Ologbondiyan said those assigned offices were: The Senate President, Sen.  Bukola Saraki, Director-General; Gov. Aminu Tambuwal as Zonal Coordinator, North-West; and Gov. Ibrahim  Dankwambo, as Zonal Coordinator, North- East.

    Others were:  Gov. Samuel Ortom,  Zonal Coordinator, North-Central; Gov. Nyesom Wike, Zonal Coordinator, South-South; Ayodele Fayose, Zonal Coordinator, South-West; and Gov. Dave Umahi, Zonal Coordinator South-East.

    Also, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, was appointed Chairman, Legal Matters, and Gov. Emmanuel Udom, Chairman, Fund Raising Committee.

    The party cautioned that any other names being bandied around and purported to have emanated from the party should be discountenanced accordingly.

    ‘’Therefore, we urge all our members to remain calm and await further announcement by the National Working Committee of the party on the composition of the Campaign Council in due course,’’ he said. (NAN)

  • PDP accuses APC of ‘fabrication’ against Atiku, Obi

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of fabricating spurious publications against its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Mr. Peter Obi.

    The party insisted that its presidential flag bearers have been well-received by Nigerians across board, contrary to what it described as spurious publications.

    A statement Wednesday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party further knocked the APC and the Presidency for alleged smear campaign against the PDP candidates.

    Read Also:2019: PDP chair restates doubts over INEC’s neutrality

    The statement said, “Having failed in their attempts to smear him with unfounded allegations, they have now resorted to attacking our vice presidential candidate and trying to create the impression that he is not well received in some parts of the country.

    “The PDP is already aware of how the APC has paid millions of naira to hack writers to spin negative narratives with a view to create an impression of disagreement and bad blood among our leaders and members across the northern and southern divides, who have since aligned with the Atiku/Obi ticket.

    “The PDP and majority of Nigerians are aware that the APC and the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency have been jittery since the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as our Presidential candidate, a disposition that heightened with the choice of Peter Obi as his running mate, hence their frenzy to cause confusion within our fold.

    “The PDP restates that the combination of Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, with their internationally acclaimed forthrightness, hard work, ingenuity and managerial competencies, guarantee a prudent and result-oriented administration that will liberate our nation from the economic shackles which the wasteful, incompetent, and deceptive APC administration has plunged our nation into.

    “Furthermore, the Buhari Presidency and APC’s unrelenting resort to fabrications and personal attacks against our candidates instead of presenting their claimed achievements and programmes to Nigerians, confirms that they have nothing to offer as they have been trending on false performance claims and propaganda.

    “On our own part, the PDP, as a Pan Nigerian and performance-oriented political party, will never descend to the shallows with the fading APC and the Buhari Presidency, but focus on how to salvage our nation from the economic hardship, acute hunger and starvation as well as the daily bloodletting that have become the order of the day under the President Buhari administration.

    “Nigerians have gone through enough pain and anguish under President Buhari and no amount of smear campaign and personal attack on our candidates will ever whittle their resolve to vote in Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi with their proven political will and commitment to the welfare of Nigerians”.

     

  • PDP loses Rivers senator to APC

    The Senator representing Rivers West, Osinakachukwu Ideozu, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Majority Leader of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan, announced Osinakachukwu’s defection at plenary on Wednesday.

    Read Also: Guinness Nigeria declares N4.03bn dividends

    Lawan, who was moving a motion for the adjournment of plenary till November 6, welcomed and congratulated him for joining the majority party.

    With this, the three senators from Rivers, a PDP controlled state, are now members of the APC.

    The others are Senator Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East) and Magnus Abe (Rivers South East).

  • Sylva’s ex-campaign publicity director defects to PDP

    The Coordinator, Media and Publicity of former Governor Timipre Sylva’s Campaign Organisation in 2015, Chief Nathan Egba, has defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State.

    Egba, a close ally of Sylva, and commissioner for Information under the former governor’s administration, was received by  Governor Seriake Dickson, in the Government House, Yenagoa.

    The Special Adviser to Dickson on Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, in a statement yesterday, said Egba left the All Progressives Congress (APC) with some leaders and many supporters.

    Egba, who hails from the same community as Sylva in Brass Local Government, said he returned to the PDP because it was the better party.

    Egba, a founding member of the PDP, said he indicated interest to rejoin the PDP long ago because the party remained the only platform for real politicians.

    He said: “I thank Governor Henry Seriake Dickson, for this opportunity. I expressed interest to rejoin the party long ago and expected to go through some process. I thank the governor for the express admission into the party.  I have been a member of the PDP and the APC and I know better now. It is good to be among politicians.”

     

  • PDP will bounce back in Anambra, says chairman

    Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu is the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State. He spoke to reporters in Awka, the state capital, on preparations for next year’s general elections at the state and federal levels. NWANOSIKE ONU was there.

    THE PDP has not been able to regain power in Anambra State because of internal wrangling resulting from imposition of candidates. What your assessment of the primary?

    From the outset, when we started preparations for our party primary, we set out to ensure that internal democracy is brought to bear in all our activities. We made it clear to all our aspirants that their chances of becoming a candidate will depend on the delegates and the party followership within their respective constituencies. We started to demonstrate this resolve by ensuring that the election of delegates was done in a manner that was satisfactory to every member. During the primary, we made sure that we informed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which is the body constitutionally-empowered to supervise the conduct of the exercise. We informed INEC about the time and venue of the primary, the Returning Officers, and, all the Committees that came from the national headquarters of our party to conduct the primary. We also made sure that there were INEC officials in all the venues of our primaries to monitor the process. So, I’m confident that for the first time, there was no parallel primaries in Anambra State during the exercise. All the primary for each of the constituencies, either the  House of Assembly, the House of Representatives or the Senate, were held in one designated venue in each constituency. At the end of the day, the outcome of all the primaries has been adjudged as very transparent by even the aspirants themselves. Those who lost in the primary have even pledged to support those who won.

    How would you rate the chances of the PDP in Anambra State in 2019, given that APGA enjoys incumbency and the APC is the party in control at the centre?

    Anambrarians and Nigerians at large have come to appreciate the PDP this time around. What happened during the APGA and APC primaries was a sham; it was a charade! It was a day-light robbery where people came to the centres where the primaries were supposed to take place and those who emerged as delegates were jettisoned for some other names. At the end of the day, even where an election was said to have been conducted, the outcome would be unmotivated both the delegates and other party members. You can find out from the INEC, if any of its officials monitored the primary of any of those political parties in Anambra State. Even the security agencies will certainly confirm to you that the primaries of both the APGA and APC in Anambra State were a sham; that there was no internal democracy in what transpired in those two political parties during their primaries.  I’m sure that both INEC and the security agencies will testify to the fact that transparency and that internal democracy prevailed during the PDP primary; we got it right. As it was also clearly seen, the APC national convention was a sham.

    What is your reaction to the choice of former Governor Peter Obi as the running mate to your presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar?

    In fact, that action is the most reasonable decision by our presidential candidate, former Vice-president Atiku Abubakar, and the PDP national hierarchy. The Southeast has been very supportive of the PDP family. You reward people for their efforts; you don’t reward them for their inability to do what is right. So, the choice of Mr. Peter Obi by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as his running mate for 2019 general elections, is a reward to the people Anambra State and, indeed, the entire Southeast for their support to the PDP. We all know that the arrow head of the PDP formation was the late former Vice President Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme. He hailed from Anambra State. So, by this gesture of the PDP presidential candidate in picking someone from Anambra State as its presidential running mate, the PDP has deemed it fit to say “ Thank you, Dr. Alex Ekwueme “. It shows that the PDP has really realised the major role he played in the party’s formation and that his contributions helped in making it the largest political party in Africa. Besides, Mr. Peter Obi has excellent antecedents. He is a focused person and a great manager of wealth. We all saw what he did when he was governor of Anambra State for eight years. Also, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is someone who is greatly endowed with what it takes to give good governance to Nigeria, so as to bring the country out of the current socio- economic and political quagmire the APC government has thrown it into, given the experiences he had gained when he was Vice President. Again, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is great wealth creator. And Mr. Peter Obi has a deep insight into the economy of this country. So, I view Atiku-Obi presidency as the best thing that can happen to the people of this country at time it is in a mess.

    What will give PDP an edge in Anambra State over other political parties at the election?

    We allowed internal democracy to prevail during our primary. Other political parties, especially the APGA and the APC, did the opposite. They allowed godfathers to hijack their primaries and imposed candidates on their parties. Again, the PDP had been in the affairs of this country until the APC took over after the 2015 general elections and our people have now tasted the two parties and they have seen the difference. They have seen that the APC is a party that promises but denies its promises. But the PDP keeps its promises. That the PDP was able to keep this country together showed that leadership in this country can be done in a detribalised manner. The PDP had shown that no matter whose ox is gored, whether a person is in your party or not, if he or she goes against the laws of this country he or she will be brought to face the law. The PDP had shown that the economy of this country is sustainable. All these have been lost since the APC took over the running of affairs of this country in 2015. We have been telling Anambrarians in particular and Nigerians in general to give the PDP a chance once more and, you will find that, all the current hydra-headed problems facing the country in all spheres of life will become a thing of the past.

    Given the overwhelming victory of APGA in the last governorship election, what gives you the hope that PDP will win in Anambra next year’s general elections?

    The outcome of the last governorship election is not a good indices for predicting the possible outcome of the coming general election in the state. Politics is local. What made APGA and its candidate, Governor Willie Obiano, achieve that 21-over-21 victory in that governorship election have come and gone. I can bet you that the same thing will not apply in the forthcoming general elections. I can assure you that Anambrarians are going to look at the various candidates who are contesting elections for the state House of Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate and vote for the candidates and the party that can attract democracy dividends to them. They know that anybody who gets to the National Assembly on the platform of the APC will not have much say at that forum. When you are unable to speak, how can you be able to bring democracy dividends to your people? Anambrarians appreciate the fact that where they have a better opportunity now is in the PDP. So, they are going to cast their votes for only the PDP candidates for the state House of Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Again, let me remind you that one of the major factors that influenced that governorship election was the quest by the people of Anambra South senatorial district to produce the governor as soon as possible. And because they had this fear that since our party’s candidate, Mr. Oseloka Obaze, might want to go for a second term, since he will be serving his first term if voted for and that he may want to go for a second term, after completing first term, they decided to support the APGA candidate, because they knew that he may go for another tenure. So, the people of Anambra South saw supporting the APGA candidate as the fastest way for them to produce governor, based on rotational considerations.

     

     

  • PDP queries Buhari’s alleged protection of Yusuf

    THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to come out clear on why he has been protective of the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf.

    Yusuf, who was on Friday suspended by the Board of the NHIS, has been fingered in various alleged corrupt practices, including the alleged siphoning of over N25 billion from the coffers of the agency.

    Despite the suspension order, Yusuf reported for work yesterday and was escorted into his office by a detachment of armed policemen.

    In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP accused the “Presidency cabal” of directly complicit in the alleged NHIS fraud and seeking every means to ensure a cover up.

    The PDP recalled that the Executive Secretary was in July 2017 suspended by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, over alleged gross misconduct and corrupt practices.

    The party also noted that President Buhari, upon his return to the country from vacation in February, 2018, reinstated Prof. Yusuf while he was still being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The statement said: “The PDP invites Nigerians to note how the Presidency has continued to provide official cover for accused official, even without the slightest investigation of the allegations and sanction by both the Minister and the Governing Council.

    “We ask: Why is the Presidency protecting an official of government openly indicted for corruption? What is the Presidency trying to conceal by ensuring that Prof. Yusuf remains the Executive Secretary after his indictment?”

  • While waiting for manifestoes

    The timetable on campaign must have slowed down the nine presidential candidates from sharing details of their intentions and plans for governance with many voters who are eager to know what they are to vote for, beyond names and profiles of presidential candidates. An electoral process that limits campaign to 90 days may need to be reviewed after 2019. It is important for citizens to have adequate time to interrogate those to whom they are releasing their own power to govern, but this is not the concern of today’s piece. Ideological conversations among citizens seem to have been more active since Atiku Abubakar won the presidential primaries of PDP. Individuals and groups have been acting as if the candidate to contest on the platform of restructuring has finally emerged. But nothing is clear yet about any of the presidential candidates, largely because none of the parties and candidates have made their manifestoes known to the public, because the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to ‘lift the ban’ on campaign. But this is a good time for political enthusiasts to speculate.

    Contrary to popular reading of Atiku Abubakar as an apostle of restructuring, many commenters may be in too much hurry about what kind of candidate Atiku is likely to be by the time his manifesto is unearthed. In terms of his pre-primary utterances, Mr. Atiku has gained attention in the last few months as someone committed to restructuring as a means of sustaining the country’s unity and improving its development. In a recent exchange of views between Atiku and Vice President Osinbajo on restructuring, Atiku, to show his credentials as a federalist, advised Osinbajo about the imperative of restructuring: “My advice to the Vice President is that he should choose whether he is for restructuring or whether he is against it and stick to his choice. This continuous prevarication, the approbation and reprobation, helps no one, least of all true progressives who know that Nigeria needs to be restructured and restructured soon.”

    In view of this statement, it is logical for federalists to start viewing Atiku as a candidate committed to bringing federalism back to the country. But the party that he is a flag bearer for has never been known as one that believes in returning the country to federalism. For example, when former President Goodluck Jonathan convened the 2014 National Conference, the PDP, as a party, never said or did anything to support the conference and its recommendations. The same PDP did not show any interest in Obasanjo’s Conference on Political Reforms. Therefore, those who are already jubilating that restructuring as an ideology has finally gotten a presidential candidate in Atiku should not be in a hurry. A political party’s manifesto in both parliamentary and presidential system of government is not the making of the presidential candidate alone; it generally requires endorsement of the party that presents the candidate for office. For example, most of the policies of President Donald Trump since his coming to office seem to have the backing of the Republican Party. With the growing profile of Atiku as a federalist, it is understandable if enthusiastic federalists act as if the PDP has become or about to become a party for restructuring. If not, Atiku’s manifesto may not be allowed by his party to fly at the end of the day.  Political pronouncements and actions in the country in the last three years have suggested that a party can have a manifesto item that the president does not endorse or vice versa.

    For instance, four years ago, the manifesto upon which the APC presidential candidate campaigned included a clear statement on the readiness of the party to re-federalise the country: “Initiate action to amend our Constitution with a view to devolving powers, duties and responsibilities to states and local governments in order to entrench true Federalism and the Federal spirit.”  At that time, the PDP kept quiet in its manifesto on the issue of restructuring. But voters in many regions of the country jumped up for APC and its presidential candidate. None of such voters ever thought that restructuring would still be an issue for the 2019 election. Should the PDP co-author Atiku’s manifesto to include restructuring in 2019 and the APC re-presents the pledge it made in the 2015 presidential campaign, the two major parties will become federalist parties for voters to choose from.

    While waiting for manifestoes from all the parties, it is premature for anyone to declare Atiku a candidate for a federalist Nigeria. But it is important for the nine parties with presidential candidates to indicate publicly the views and intentions of their presidential candidates on restructuring, a trope that has sharpened the conflict between “Nothing is wrong with Nigeria as it is” sect and the group of voters who say “Restructuring Nigeria is a task that must be done.” It is also important for party ideologues not to confuse voters by creating false dichotomy between many of the challenges that confront the country.

    For example, such issues as ridding the country of political and bureaucratic corruption, enriching the unity of diverse sections of the country, providing physical, psychological, and cultural security for citizens, and growing the nation’s economy are not as unrelated as they may seem to restructuring as a platform for addressing the conditions under which diverse cultures with diverse worldviews live together in one territorial unit. Many other countries had given thought to such matters in the past in their bid to strengthen, develop, and enrich themselves. Most recent examples are United Arab Emirates, Canada, Belgium, Federal Republic of Germany, and Ethiopia, to name a few.

    It may not look obvious that peace, prosperity, economic growth, and security hinge on a conducive structure for a county in which citizens seek the freedom to realize their potentials in ways best suited to their dominant values. Although it is hard to establish a causal relationship between Nigeria’s under-development and its unitary governance, it is, however, easy to see correlations between consolidation of unitary governance by past military rulers and decline in many aspects of development in the country. Between 1975 and 1999, Nigeria has grown to be one of the poorest countries in the world despite the volume of petroleum and gas flowing out of its soil; it is one of the countries with the worst literacy rate in the world; it is also at the bottom of countries with the highest maternal and infant mortality rates; it is a country in which majority of its citizens do not have access to potable water and modern toilet facilities; etc.

    It is, therefore, logical to assume that the older and more consolidated the unitary system imposed on the country becomes, the more agents of destabilisation and disruption the country produces: Boko Haram, Niger Delta militants, violent Herdsmen, etc. Furthermore, there was no demand for secession since the end of the civil war of the late 1960s until recently when groups such as MASSOB and IPOB felt that their progress was being undermined by a unitary system of government. Over concentration of resources in the central government has aggravated corruption, just as it does at the state level, where governors need not generate jobs and taxes to make citizens feel like co-owners of their state. Communities are policed by persons who do not understand the language of the people they are protecting.

    Certainly, persons who are seeking to rule the country need to understand these problems and construct a manifesto that can address them. In addition, presidential candidates ought to present manifestoes that carry the endorsement of the political party that sponsors them for election. Doing this will avoid intra-party crisis over the president’s decision to fulfil his or her pledge to the electorate or the party’s preference that all promises in a manifesto are redeemed. In general, citizens now look eager to vote, but they need to know the kind of future they are voting for.

     

    • Roposek@msn.com

     

  • Man loses teeth as APC, PDP youths clash in Makurdi

    Several supporters of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were yesterday left injured  in the aftermath of a clash between both sides at Gyado Villa,Makurdi,the  Benue state capital .

    There was an exchange of words which resulted in a fight with one of the APC boys losing two teeth.

    But for the timely intervention of personnel of the  Nigeria  Security and Civil Defence Corps

    ( NSCDC) , the incident would have probably claimed lives.

    APC Youth leader in the state, Tersoo Baki ,accused PDP supporters of provoking  the fight by mounting a bill board of Governor Samuel Ortom on the same spot APC youths had erected one for their party.

    Tersoo Baki urged youths in the area to eschew violence and bitterness in politics.

  • PDP warns against submission of unauthorized names to INEC

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned against submission of unauthorised names of candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan on Friday in Abuja, said that PDP had officially submitted names of candidates for National Assembly elections to the NEC ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Ologbondiyan said that the party noted with disdain moves by certain individuals to illegally submit unauthorized names from some purported primaries by dissident elements, notably in Ogun state.

    “The PDP is aware that such elements forged and sold various fake nomination forms, and cornered the proceeds for their selfish gains.

    “Those who unwittingly bought these fake nomination forms did not pass through the due process of screening and did not participate in primaries as officially conducted by the Electoral Committee set up by the National Working Committee.

    “The conduct of primaries and submission of names of candidate remain in the purview of the National Working Committee.

    “Any other purported primaries by any state chapter or any other level of the party is absolutely illegal and of no consequence.

    “The PDP therefore warns, in the strongest possible term, that anybody who attempts to present any name from such illegal primaries as candidate of our party will face arrest and prosecution for forgery and stealing of funds derived from sale of fake nomination forms.”

    He urged all PDP members and the public to be calm as the rule of law would be adhered to, particularly in all processes of the 2019 general elections. (NAN)