The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PDP

  • PDP endorses fusion of R-APC with party

  • PDP deplores attempts to impeach Ortom

    The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday deplored the ongoing attempts by eight of the 30 members of the Benue State House of Assembly to impeach the state Governor, Samuel Ortom.

    Rising from an emergency meeting in Abuja on Monday, the party expressed apprehension that the unfolding development was capable of destabilising elected government in the state.

    In a communique released shortly after the meeting, the PDP condemned the purported meeting of the eight assembly members, including the impeached Speaker, Terkibir Kyanger, during which an impeachment notice was served on the governor.

    The communique read: “The NWC condemns in its entirety the purported sitting of eight APC members including the impeached and suspended Speaker; (in a 30 member House) wherein they illegally claimed to have served an impeachment notice on the Governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom.

    “PDP also condemns the use of the EFCC and DSS to harass and intimidate officials of the Benue State Government. We note the roles played by the factional Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government and Senator George Akume in encouraging lawless acts and anarchy in Benue State.”

    The party blamed the actions and opinions expressed by Oshiomole regarding Ortom’s defection from the APC to the PDP and the deployment of policemen to the Assembly for the illegal moves to impeach the governor.

    According to the PDP, the unfolding drama in Benue State was meant to foment crisis that could warrant the declaration of emergency rule in the state.

    The communique continued: “It is on record that the erstwhile Speaker had been impeached, suspended and restrained by a court of competent jurisdiction from parading himself as Speaker.

    “In spite of this, it is shocking that no fewer than 300 policemen were alleged to have escorted the impeached Speaker to the State House of Assembly to initiate a disgraceful and manifestly illegal process.

    “Our party warns against deliberate acts which were maliciously designed to truncate democracy by employing underhand tactics to achieve what is inconceivable in a democracy.”

     

    The PDP called on the Nigerian public, the civil society organisations and the international community to note the series of plots and deliberate attempts by the Federal Government to cause mayhem in a state that is struggling to recover from a spate of killings and bloodletting.

    “We are aware that these plots were designed to scare away Nigerians, including state governors and legislators who are desirous of rallying with the PDP to rescue our nation from the mis-govenance of the Buhari regime,” the PDP added.

     

  • Osun APC, PDP: Coping with post-primary crises

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other opposition parties are warming up for the governorship election in Osun State. But, their shadow polls generated controversies. Correspondent SOJI ADENIYI examines how the parties are coping with their post-primary crises

    There is no single political party in Osun State that is insulated from post-primary crisis. Intrigues, drama, struggle and controversy dogged the process from the beginning to the end. What worsen the matter was the high number of aspirants signifying interest in the exalted position. Many of them had started underground campaign before the release of guidlines by the party leadership. The political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Accord Party (AC), the Alliance For Democracy (AD), and the Action Democratic Party (ADP) had concluded their primary poll by last Monday July 23 as directed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The APC went for a direct primary on Friday July 20 after two earlier postponements. The PDP primary was ttended by over 3,000 delegates from 332 wards of the state on Saturday July 21. The SDP had two parallel primaries on Wednesday July 18 while the AC, AD and ADP had their own on Saturday July 21, Sunday July 22 and Monday July 23 respectively.

    What was peculiar to these parties was outcry and allegation of manipulation of the process. But, political watchers said there was nothing wrong with this because such is the mood during the electioneering period. More so, that there are bound to be divergent views and positions on issues. To analysts, what is important is the capacity of using party machinery to reconcile aggrieved members and harmonise interests before going into the election scheduled to hold on September 22. It is believed that, going into election with divided house could spell doom for the parties, hence, the need for every loyal party member to negotiate and reach compromise.

     

    APC:

    The APC leadership did not zone the governorship to any particular senatorial district, though there was a sustained clamor for zoning to  Osun West “because it is the only zone that only had a shot at the exalted position for less than two years in the history of the state.”  Persuasion, protest and media war were employed by the proponents and advocates of zoning, but they failed as the leadership held on to “tenets and principles of democracy” that allow equal participation from all sections of the state, more so that the party’s constitution makes no provision for zoning. Again, to political analysts, the best for the position could come from any part of the state in a fair, free and transparent process.

    Another issue that really generated tension among aspirants and their supporters was the method to be adopted for the primary. In the wisdom of the party leadership, direct primary was adopted. But, this was met by stiff resistance by some members while others supported it. Those opposing direct primary alleged plans to manipulate the process. But those in support insisted that the method “is participatory, democratic, transparent and cheap, adding that it will “discourage the use of money to buy over few delegates.” A day before the primary, a meeting chaired by the senator representing Delta Central District, Ovie Omo-Agege, was held with the aspirants. This was designed to douse tension and make the aspirants pledge to work within the principles of the party. The aspirants were Benedict O Alabi, Babatunde Adedotun Taiwo, Lasun Yusuff Sulaiman, Oyetola Isiaq Gboyega, Adeyinka Ajayi, Adeoti Moshood, Peter Babalola, Saka Layonu, Oyemomi Ezekiel, Oriolowo Adelere, Amere Gafar, Najeem Salam, Mumini Rafiu, Alamu Bisi, Dayo Oyebamiji, Kunle Adegoke and Babajide Omoworare. But some of aspirants, including the Commissioner for Finance, Prince Bola Oyebamiji, the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti former Chief of Staff to former  Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Elder Peter Babalola, Senator representing Osun East in the Senate, Babajide Omoworare, withdrew from the race before the commencement of the poll.

    After the poll, the five-man panel headed by Zamfara State Governor Abdul’Aziz Yari announced the Chief of Staff to Osun State Governor, Alhaji Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola, the winner and the candidate for the party. Oyetola won with 127,017 votes. Trailing him the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Lasun Yusuff, with 21,975 votes. Also, the Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salaam, came third with 17,958 votes. Others are: Adelere Oriolowo, 5,373 votes; Saka-Layonu, 2,369 votes.

    Following the announcement of the result, some aspirants, including Saka-Layonu, Benedict Alabi, Bola Oyebamiji and Ayoade Lawal, congratulated the winner and promised to support him. But,  Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, who alleged manipulation of the process, resigned his appointment as the Secretary to Osun State Government (SSG) and defected to the Action Democratic Party (APD) to become its governorship candidate. By affirmation, Adeoti scored 13,324 votes out of 13,367 party’s total votes. Some APC members are exercising the fear that Adeoti’s defection may affect the fortunes of the party at the  election. Also, it is believed that the former SSG is out to play a spoiler’s job, knowing that he could not make it as the candidate of the new party. Many even say that he is facing a “political waterloo” with his defection. They say he should learn from the former deputy governor, whom they maintained had failed to exercise patience but still unable to actualise his life long ambition despite changing political platform. For the APC to win the governorship election, analysts said, its candidate must be able to assure the people he would address workers and pensioners’ welfare, assuage the feeling that some zones would be left out of development, and surpass the present pace of development.

     

    PDP:

    For the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the outcome of the primary has continued to generate tension among members alleging fraud in the process that produced Senator Ademola Adeleke as the candidate. The late Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke’s younger brother, picked the PDP governorship ticket with 1,569 votes. He beat his closest rival, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, who scored 1,562 votes, with seven votes. Coming third was the former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Fatai Akinbade with 56 votes. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Barr. Nathaniel Oke, scored 3 votes while 56 votes were voided. Before the commencement of the primary, seven governorship aspirants of the party, who withdrew from the race were former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Adejare Bello; a lawyer, Dr. Ayoade Adewopo; a university don, Prof. Adeolu Durotoye; former chairman, Irewole Local Government Area, Chief Lere Oyewumi; former chairman, Federal Road Maintenance Agency, Jide Adeniji; former Minister of Youths Development, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi; and former Senator representing Osun Central, Chief Felix Ogunwale. The PDP chairman, Hon. Soji Adagunodo, had made it abundantly cleared to the aspirants as they came to the party secretariat to signify intention that there would be no zoning. The declaration encouraged contenders from all the three zones just like the APC. Initially, the figure stood at 23 before it was reduced to 11 from the party’s national secretariat.

    But, since Adeleke was declared winner of the primary by the electoral panel led by Bayelsa State Governor Sierake Dickson, protests have trailed the results of the poll. Ogunbiyi alleged manipulation of the primary in favour if Adeleke. He rejected verdict of the panel. His supporters in continued protest insisted in reclaiming their mandate. With this development, the agenda of the party to kick out the ruling APC from government is under threat. The PDP, to political watchers are just starting out of serious crises, including factionalization and must not resume another round of crisis, if it wants to win the election in the state. Though the PDP candidate is from the Osun West, the zone that belies it must produce the next governor, there is an issue of mistrust between some section of the zone that believe that Ede zone could not always acquire all available positions all the time. In the last Osun West bye election for the Senate, Ede was said to have been lowed to get the slot with the agreement and understanding that it must not interfere or participate in the governorship poll but today this is not so and this may negatively affect fortune of the PDP with Adeleke coming from Ede.

     

    SDP:

    This is another party that had been riddled with crisis lately, particularly with the defection of Senator Iyiola Omisore to the party from the PDP. The SDP through its state chairman, Chief Ademola Ishola, denounced membership of Omisore, describing him as a stranger to the party. Bun in a drastic turn, Ishola was later expelled while Omisore went ahead with a congress where his ally, Dr. Bayo Faforiji, became the party’s chairman.

    At its parallel primary held by the Ishola faction, Mr. Munirudeen Kehinde Atanda emerged as the flag bearer of the party, polling 271 votes to defeat Otunba Yemisi Oladeji, and Senator Iyiola Omisore, who scored 13 and 8 votes respectively. Also, the Faforiji group held its own primary and gave the party governorship ticket to Omiosre and gave the second position to Atanda. With the “hide and seek” game going on in the SDP people don’t expect much from the party at the poll. No significant votes, apart from Ife axis of the Osun East senatorial district, are the only prospects for Omisore. The in-fighting within the SDP allegedly orchestrated by his ambition will, no doubt, affect him adversely at the poll.

     

    AD and AC:

    These are two parties could only have relevance only when they work in alliance with the big players. For the AD, its governorship candidate, Olugbenga Akintola, got the ticket through an affirmative process. But a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Olapade Julius Okunola, picked the governorship ticket of the Accord Party with 141 votes. He defeated Mr. Babatunde Loye and Pastor Bunmi Ibiloye, who polled 58 votes and 12 votes respectively. There was no crisis before and during the process for the party, proving to be a party to look up to in future elections, only if it could mobilise support from more people.

     

    ADP:

    The platform came into reckoning with the endorsement and adoption of former SSG, who defected from the ruling APC. It is believed that the party candidate is enjoying sponsorship from those, who want to take their own pound of flesh from the Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola believed to have rock their boats at critical election times in their own states. The party’s  purpose may not be more than that and will end with the election, no more no less, so many believed.

    For the two big parties, the APC and the PDP, working in alliance with parties with reasonable vote prospects could improve their performances in the September 22 governorship poll. They both must continue to mend fences and bring back aggrieved members. Also, where the two parties’ candidates pick their deputy could increase their mileage at poll. For the two, it could in a reverse form. While the APC will be wise to pick its deputy from the Osun West to pacify the zone and get their bloc votes, the PDP may go to Osun Central for its deputy and get their votes too.

     

  • 13 APC LG chairmen defect to PDP

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has lost 13 of  its  23 local governments chairmen in Benue State to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    They defected to PDP on Friday, 48 hours after Governor Samuel Ortom, defected from the APC to the PDP.

    The chairmen include Anthony Shawon  (Guma LG), Justina Sorka  (Buruku LG), Mwuese Ubebe (Konshisha LG), Blessing Unogwo (Ado Ado LG),Virginia Kpindi (Katsina-Ala LG),and George Alli (Otukpo LG).

    The rest are: Comfort Echeoda  (Agatu LG),Francis Ayaga (Gwer West LG),Uaah Vitalis (Gwer East LG), Richard Nyajo (Logo LG),Ibellogo Tor (Tyokaa- Ukum LG), Adakole Abutu (Ohimini LG) and Peter Onche  (Obi LG).

    The governor’s defection also facilitated the impeachment of Mr Terkimbi Ikyange, the Speaker of the Benue House of Assembly, who apparently did not want to defect.

     

  • Rechristening the PDP?

    IT has not been confirmed, partly because the idea does not seem to make any sense, that the bedraggled opposition PDP might be contemplating a change of name. This contemplation is said to be predicated on two factors: the electoral liability of that name, given the party’s past atrocities; and the desire to reach accommodation with defecting political heavyweights who insist on a new and unencumbered name. Neither predication is sound. NEPA did not make ECN better, nor has PHCN made NEPA better. No name change will do the arduous work of real absolution and paradigm shift the PDP requires to successfully market itself to a suspicious and sceptical electorate. Secondly, it would be strange indeed if those defecting back to the PDP have asked for a new name for the party. APC did not win because it had a new name. After all, it was an amalgam. It won because it promised a huge difference, a promise now known to be anything but real. PDP will undermine itself by changing identity. Let it instead preoccupy itself by producing and projecting  substantial difference.

  • For the records: APC, R-APC, PDP, N-PDP and the macabre parable of the worm

    [I take no satisfaction in the fact that the article below that was first published in this column on August 14, 2016, seems to have foreseen the unfolding implosion and unravelling of the APC. The article is being republished for the light it may shed and the fortitude it may give Nigerians bewildered, angry, and confused about what is going on as our ruling class political parties break apart and come together again in new groupings, all the while consuming and wasting our national assets and resources. This is what I try to convey in the parable of the worm that is at the heart of essay. Think of the worm, compatriots: it reproduces itself endlessly and consumes everything organic, including its own kind]

    The falling naira, the falling ruling party and the parable of the worm: a postscript

    As I stated repeatedly last week in this column, there is no necessary and logical connection between the effective devaluation and deepening fall in the exchange rate of our national currency, the naira, and the apparent decreasing profile in the standing and credibility of our new ruling party, the APC, as a progressive force for change. If for one reason or the other, the world price of crude petroleum was to suddenly begin to go up and up and up, the value of the naira would begin to appreciate significantly. But this would not necessarily mean that the standing of the ruling party as a force for progress and genuine development would automatically also begin to improve. As a matter of fact, we have seen this happen before during the reign of the former ruling party, the PDP. During the sixteen-year period of its rule, we went through one or two cycles of fall and rise in the world price of oil and concomitant cycles of fall and rise, rise and fall in the value of the naira. But this had absolutely no effect on the standing of the PDP which, from day one to the end, absolutely never stopped in its fall from grace and, eventually, power. Can and will the new ruling party learn from this fate of the PDP? More importantly, what can we, the Nigerian people and nation, learn from this and what must we do with the lesson? In this postscript on last week’s piece in this column, I am invoking the following parable of the worm as a speculative and imaginative answer to these questions.

    The worm provides us with one of nature’s most fascinating profiles of consumption and self-reproduction. Because its digestive tract extends through the entire length of its body, the worm consumes endlessly and indiscriminately; the only things which it does not consume are inorganic materials like discarded plastics and tin cans. But as far as all organic materials are concerned, whether they are living or dead, warm or cold, moist or dry, worms will consume them endlessly. Perhaps the most gruesome thing about this omnivorous pattern of the consumption habits of worms is the fact that sometimes, they take up residence inside a living organism which they feed on until it dies, after which the consumption enters into another round on the dead carcass of the deceased host. If this profile is beginning to give the reader intimations of a parable about the PDP when it was in office for sixteen years, please note that this is indeed my intention.

    True enough, Nigeria as a whole did not exactly “die” and provide the putrefying body of the nation for the “worms” in the PDP leadership and rank-and-file foot-soldiers to feed on, but we came close to that macabre fate. Indeed, if you talk to the families of Nigerian soldiers killed in the campaigns against the Boko Haram, I am sure that they will tell you that to them, all those involved in Dasuki-gate that shared the monies meant to procure weapons are human “worms” feeding on the corpses of their loved ones. Thus, in the context of this week’s postscript on last week’s piece, the question that arises is whether or not the symbolic and metaphoric implications of this parable can be extended to our new ruling party, the APC. To answer this particular question, we must now move to perhaps the most fascinating thing of all about worms as a metaphor for limitless predatory consumption in nature and society, this being the myths and facts regarding the innate capacities for self-production and self-regeneration of different species of worms.

    For centuries, it was widely believed that if you cut a worm into two, each of the two halves would regenerate and become a new organism giving rise to two new worms. But this was and is not exactly true of all species of worms. For instance, take the case of the common earthworm whose scientific name is lumbricus terrestis. If you slice it too close to the head (yes, worms have heads!) which is very near the swollen part of the worm known as the clitellum, it will not regenerate and both halves will die. In other words, the self-regeneration of the earthworm is limited by the fact that only on the condition that you leave its head completely intact can it reproduce when it is sliced into bits. The species of worms that will reproduce and regenerate regardless of where you slice it and into how many parts you cut is the so-called planarian flatworm, planaria torva. This particular species in the family of worms is the ultimate in its capacity for endless self-regeneration. For instance, if you slice off just one-three hundredth (1/300) of its body part, that infinitely small part will grow into a new flatworm that will retain all the memory of the worm from which it was sliced! Let me state this clearly: the new flatworm regenerated from just one-three hundredth of the old worm, will have the full memory, not of all flatworms in general, but of the particular flatworm from which it was sliced! In other words, and to link this to consumption, the new flatworm will start consuming with all the memory of what its “parent” flatworm was consuming!

    I leave it to the reader to decide for herself or himself whether the APC is a lumbricus terrestis reproduction of the PDP or a planaria torva transmogrification of the former ruling party. There can be no question at all that it is either one or the other, for as we all know, close to a half to two-thirds of the leadership of the APC at one time or another in the past belonged to the PDP. Above all else is the fact that the extremely predatory consumption habits of the former ruling party have resurfaced widely and deeply in the leadership ranks of the new ruling party. What is still in doubt, what is still open to debate is whether or not the APC will do what the PDP never managed to do in its sixteen years in power and that is listen, actually listen, to the universal cry at home and abroad against the unrestrained, free for all, social-cannibalistic consumption that is without equal in the whole world. Permit me to dwell very briefly on this point before returning to the matter of whether the APC is an earthworm or a flatworm resurrection of the PDP.

    For close to about the last ten years of its sixteen years in office, the PDP was relentlessly barraged by denunciations of the excessive greed in the payment of salaries, emoluments and allowances to our public officeholders, federal, state and local, with particular reference to the legislators and state governors and deputy governors. Columnists wrote endlessly on the matter, including this particular columnist. Professional associations and civil society organizations protested unceasingly. At one stage, some NGOs banded together and took the matter to the courts, suing the National Assembly to reveal to the nation and the world the “secrets” of just how much the legislators were being paid. Significantly, the suit was filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FoI) that the National Assembly itself had passed into law. The case was won and the National Assembly was ordered to comply with its own lawfully passed legislation. But it refused to comply and more or less arrested the suit in endless court hearings based on appeals and counter-motions. When one of the legislators, Dino Melaye, broke ranks with his fellow legislators and tried to reveal the actual figures, he was severely dealt with. At one point in this saga of the total refusal of the PDP to listen to the cries for accountability, prudence and frugality in the use of our national wealth, the former Governor of the Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (now Emir of Kano) waded into the fray and revealed the staggering sums the legislators were paying themselves. For his “audacity” he was ordered to appear before the lawmakers on pain of being charged with contempt of the “august” legislative chambers. Sanusi duly obeyed the summons but held his ground and spilled more beans on the iniquity, the shamelessness of the greed of the legislators. Indeed, the matter made a spectacular appearance internationally when, on July 15, 2013, The Economist published a report which showed that Nigerian legislators were not only the highest paid legislators in the whole world but that each Nigerian legislator was receiving 116 times the GDP per person of the country. No other country in the world came remotely close to this staggering figure.

    The leadership of the APC, like that of the PDP before it, is giving every indication that it either cannot hear or will not listen to the cries that this must stop, especially now that the naira is in a freefall and there is crippling economic stagnation and great suffering and hardship in the land. This brings us back to the parable of the worm. Is the APC a lumbricus terrestis reincarnation of the PDP or a planaria torva regeneration of the old ruling party? I admit that this parable is a satirical and mildly playful imaginative rendering of a matter that is of life and death urgency to the majority of Nigerians. My justification for this is that satire and irony have their uses in times of great stress and hardship in the experience of individuals and entire societies and nations. Please think of the following grim fact, dear reader: there is no great personal consequence for most of the leaders of the PDP that the party is no longer in power and has perhaps gone into permanent historical oblivion since most of them have their loot, their billions of naira and millions of dollars. As we can see from what is going on in the courts in the trials of the accused mega-looters, most of them seem confident that with the help of an endlessly corrupted criminal justice system, they are going to get away with their loot. This raises this crucial question: are the bosses, the leaders of the APC not thinking along these lines and are therefore not really bothered whether or not they last in power beyond 2019? I mean, if you can make as much as you can now, before 2019, what does it really matter whether your party is back in power after the 2019 elections?

    Ultimately, the riddle of whether the leadership of the APC is metaphorically speaking a resurgent lumbricus terrestis or a planaria torva of the PDP is for the Nigerian people to figure out and take appropriate action. For, is there really a choice between the worm which has limited regeneration capacities and the one whose strategies and forms of self-regeneration after a dismembering are endless? No, there isn’t; one is just a more odious, more challenging version of the other. The real challenge is to shake off all species of worms from our national body politic.

     

    Biodun Jeyifo                                                                                                      bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

     

  • Politics in search of ideology, or character?

    We try to build politics of ideology in this country and that is why I commend the members that have remained committed….If ideology was entrenched, we will not see the way people are cross-carpeting as we see in Nigeria today. In advance democracies, hardly do you hear of such a thing—Gbajabiamila, Majority Leader
    It is not in anybody’s interest, certainly not in the national interest that we continue to patch this democracy in a way that birds that are incompatible congregate. The point I have been trying to make is that we need to build a political structure that goes beyond the platform for election. It will not be worth my while to preside over a national party that is simply an electoral platform….I had said and I want to repeat it, this business of governance must be driven by men and women of honour. If the only motivation is personal interest, what is in it for me, what have I gained, how many people have I done xyz for, if that is the basis, the earlier those in this business of personal gains, the earlier they return to where they belong, the better—Adams Oshiomohle, APC Chairman

    In the last five days, our politicians from both ruling party and the main opposition party have, to use the local parlance, been heating the polity, for no reason other than the nearness of the next elections. Many senators and members of the lower had relocated from APC to PDP, the way many PDP senators and representatives defected to APC about four years ago. As expected, pundits and even folk theorists have taken positions as supporters or opponents of the defectors, some praising them to high heavens while others paint them as enemies of the nation’s young democracy. As it happened four years ago, newspaper proprietors are likely to gain from increasing sensationalism that the theatrics of decamping and defecting may bring, until the 2019 presidential election is over.

    One consoling aspect of the drama of decamping and defecting is that the country’s self-appointed prophets are already in business about Nigeria’s uncanny capacity to avoid falling into the cliff, regardless of destabilising ritual of defecting as elections approach. Even members of the ruling APC have started expressing optimism about the defection being temporary, according to Senator Ahmed Lawan: “We are still expecting some of our colleagues in the original PDP who have expressed willingness to join the APC…. For our colleagues that have left, we are still optimistic that many of them or all of them will have a change of heart.” And such optimism is despite complaints about defectors’ lack of electoral value by other senior members of the ruling party.

    Another consolation is that the new chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole, and the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, have referenced two factors that must have made it easy for politicians to defect at the risk of endangering the country’s democracy that brought honour to Nigeria in 2015. Gbajabiamila has blamed defection on r-APC’s failure to adjust to politics of ideology: “We try to build politics of ideology in this country and that is why I commend the members that have remained committed.” And the new APC chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, has linked the current Defection Virus to lack of character: “I had said and I want to repeat it, this business of governance must be driven by men and women of honour.”

    Despite many complaints by pundits that elections bring crisis to the polity because politics in Nigeria is not driven by ideology, the reality is that there has always been politics of ideology in the country. If political ideology is, simply put, a set of ideas and principles that explain how a polity or society should work and offer the blueprint for a certain political, economic, and social order, there has never been a time since attainment of independence that ideology has not been central to political rhetoric and practice. For example, in the First Republic, the Action Group and NEPU pushed variants of social democracy as guiding ideology while the NPC had an ideology that supported feudalism. In the Second Republic, there was ideological opposition between NPN’s adherence to the ideology of NPC while UPN and PRP remained close to social democracy as the preferred ideology to drive governance. Under the ethos of A Little to the Right and A Little to the Left of NRC and SDP, opposition between the status quo and change was evident. Even in 1999, the general understanding was that it was late Bola Ige that wrote the constitution of PDP and the grand-father of APC, Alliance for Democracy (AD). Bola Ige was incapable of writing and saying anything devoid of ideology. In 1999, the party of change faced the party of continuity. We have always had one form of ideology or the other. What has been lacking from republic to republic is the character to make democracy sustainable, on the part of most party members.

    It is a deliberate attempt to befuddle political discussion for pundits and partisans to say that the country’s political crisis or instability is traceable to absence of ideology. It may not be in the long-term interests of citizens to continue believing the argument that lack of ideology is the problem of our politics. The diagnosis seems to me to be lack of character and conviction on the part of too many politicians. Without men and women of honour, democracy cannot be sustained, let alone, nurtured. Rule of law depends on good character on the part of political leaders. Building consensus or compromise that drives democratic debate requires men and women of integrity, just as conducting transparent, free, and fair elections is indispensable to good governance and legitimacy of government. The lack of discipline on the part of many politicians to respect citizens’ right to choose their rulers is one element that has characterised the country’s politics for far too long. It seems that most politicians would prefer selection to election, to speed up their access to the glamour and lucre of political office.

    At the beginning, the military did not trust the country’s politicians; hence the introduction of military rule to the young polity in 1966 and subsequent multiplication of military dictators. Lack of trust within the military spawned frequent change of military dictators on the excuse of fighting corruption on-and-off for about four decades. Departing military dictators also did not trust citizens. They created a constitution to guide politics and governance in the country beyond the exit of military rulers. And the rest is history.

    Blaming adherence to or disregard for ideology does not seem to be our trouble, as much as not having the character—honour or discipline that separate leaders from dealers in government. Lusting for power and money as the means and ends of participating in politics is the issue that decamping threw up in 2015 and now in 2018. When defectors from PDP joined the young APC in 2015, it should have occurred to citizens that another group of defectors could emerge in 2018 to decamp to PDP. Ita Etang’s post-defection analysis that those who left APC did not have any problem with President Buhari but with their governors who seem to scheme many legislators out sounds credible.

    For many of our post-military politicians, the primacy of short-term personal gain seems to lead to adoption of Quick-Fix solutions to the problem of organising for development of the parts and the whole of our multiethnic federation with diverse worldviews. So far, the most visible national consensus since 1999 is belief in periodic elections to confer power on individuals. One of such quick-fixes is the 1999 Constitution itself. Agreement to use this quick-fix document to seek and use power cannot but throw up seasonal defectors, as it happened in 2015, and now in 2018. The long-term solution to Nigeria’s political instability is de-militarisation of its polity, i.e. creating a new constitution that addresses terms of association for the Nigerian Union. Failing to do this important reform urgently may continue to leave the country at the mercy of mercenaries in politics or governance, as seeking political power has been since transfer of power to civilians in 1999.

     

  • Kwankwaso’s defection will not affect APC, says Ganduje

    The Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje ‎ says the defection of Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso and other lawmakers to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would not affect the chances of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019.‎

    This is contained in a statement signed by Abba Anwar, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor and made available to newsmen on Friday in Kano.

    ‎”Their defection will not constitute any problem to our great party, the APC, at all levels. People should keep their eyes (open) to what will happen during election.

    “Our dear President has been doing the needful in terms of developing the nation, coupled with his efforts in efficient service delivery.

    “Good governance is at its peak and the war against corruption is successfully being waged.

    “I want you to go and study the situation on ground in Kano, his (Kwankwaso ‘s) defection does not change the political mood in the state. Nobody cares to be disturbed by their action,” Ganduje said.

    The governor said when his predecessor was in the APC his intention was to vie for Presidency adding, “when it appeared to him, in black and white, that there is no vacancy in the Villa, he now decided to leave on his own.”

    He said that Kwankwaso should be ready to battle it out at the polls next year.

    Ganduje said when Kwankwaso secures a presidential ticket from the party he cross carpets to, then he should wait and see how we will slug it out with him.

    He said that when the time comes, the senator would fully understand how popular and loveable President Muhammadu Buhari is.

    “Kano will give more votes to our President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 , than what he got in 2015 election.

    “From the 2015 election to date, those who could not vote because of age limit, are now grown up, meaning they will now be eligible to vote.

    “Therefore, President Buhari stands the chance to get five million votes from Kano State by grace of Almighty Allah,” he said.(NAN)

  • PDP urges police to unmask chieftain’s killers

    Lagos State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Deputy-Chairman Alhaji Waliu Hassan yesterday called on the police to unmask the killers of a chieftain of the party at a meeting in Eti-Osa last Saturday.

    Apapa Local Government Chapter Chairman of the party Mr Adeniyi Aborishade was shot dead when hoodlums invaded the meeting venue.

    The police on Wednesday arraigned the state chairman, Moshood Salvador, and 10 others before a Yaba Magistrates’ Court over the case.

    They pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge of unlawful killing and criminal conspiracy preferred against them.

    Chief Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe ordered that they be remanded in prison and adjourned till August 27, pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

    Hassan said the executive members of the party were actually the targets of the hoodlums, who invaded the meeting.

    He said Aborishade’s death was a loss to Salvador and the party, adding that holding him and others amounted to subjecting them to double-jeopardy.

    “We hereby demand that those behind the killing of Aborishade be unmasked and made to face the full wrath of the law,” he said.

    Hassan said the party would co-operate with the police to ensure justice was done in the case.

    The incident, he said, was a dark episode in the activities of the party which chairman has been preaching peace.

    “We fervently hope that the Nigerian Police and other security agencies will speedily bring to justice not just the perpetrators but also the sponsors as well.

    “While we would not be seen as preventing the police from carrying out its responsibility of investigation and prosecution, we want to put it on record that our Chairman, Alhaji Moshood Salvador, and leaders currently in detention are victims of the violence unleashed on Eti-Osa. As a result, holding them on criminal charges will amount to subjecting them to double-jeopardy,” he said.

    He expressed the party’s condolences to the bereaved family and prayed for the repose of Aborishade’s soul.

  • Why I won’t return to PDP, by Abe

    Rivers State governorship aspirant Senator Magnus Abe speaks on his ambition and other partisan issues on a live Television Continental Programme, Platfrom, anchored by The Nation Editorial Board Chairman Sam Omatseye. Excerpts:

    Anytime I read the headlines and follow the events in Rivers State, the thing that comes to my mind is Senator Magnus Abe was in a near-death situation at one time when Rotimi Amaechi was governor. And I had to call the governor and say ‘how is he?’ And he said, they’ve flown him. Was it not to Germany or something like that?

    To London.

    And he told me they had flown him to London. When I think of what happened and what happens now, I always wonder, what happened?

    Well, first of all, thank you for having me on this show. And then thank you for the interest you’ve always shown in Rivers State and in things that affect this country generally. You’re right, the minister has not just been a friend. We’ve been like brothers all through our careers. The truth if the matter is that we have a disagreement and that disagreement essentially is about politics, basically. But, unfortunately, there is a level you get to and when you have this kind of differences, it plays out in the public. So, it’s not been handled the way we could have handled it, but essentially what it is that we do have a disagreement.

    The disagreement is based on his ambition and your ambition.

    Not really. I don’t see it that way. I think from what I’m able to understand because like I tell people the crisis we have in the APC in Rivers State is totally unnecessary and it’s uncalled for. And in my humble opinion, it’s not been properly handled. I don’t see the minister as having an ‘ambition’ in the context of the politics of Rivers State because constitutionally…

    No, he has an interest

    Yes, he has an interest. Constitutionally, he is barred and banned from seeking office in Rivers State, at least the elective office of the governor which is what I am interested in. He is constitutionally barred from seeking that. I look at it that his responsibility would have been more of trying to provide an atmosphere in which all of us including those he is interested in and those of us that he does not want can participate together. And then, in the course of that participation, of course, his preferences can play out. But what I don’t understand is why people are so bent on locking me out of the process. I think that is what is at the root of whatever issues that have played out in the public.

    Now, you want to be governor. Why does Amaechi not want you to be governor? I understand in the first place that, in 2015, there seemed to be an agreement at that time between you and Dakuku Peterside and that anybody who was picked, the other would support. How did that play out and why is it different now?

    Well, what played out in 2015 was that the governor then who is now the minster now was the leader, did invite the two of us. And he told us that he has narrowed it down to myself and Dr. Peterside and that at the end of the day, he wants us to agree that whoever he picks, the other person would support. And we agreed. The way it played out at the time was that he didn’t make the choice immediately. We kept having meetings. He said, ‘okay, I’ll tell you people next week,’ and then we’d all turn up. And then, he’ll say, ‘okay, come next week.’ So, when things happen like that, naturally, people just took sides. Some people would say, okay, I will prefer Senator Abe. Some people would say, okay, I’ll prefer Dr. Peterside. And when finally, he made his decision. It played out that way.

    How did he make the decision. On what basis?

    Well, he didn’t explain his reasons but he did call us and said he has prayed to God and he has consulted and he has reached a decision that he is going to give to Peterside and that I should go back to the Senate. And that’s what we did.

    You were at peace with it at that time

    Yes, I was. I did my best. We all did our best in the circumstances. A lot of people were disappointed, some people balked out of it but I was able to rally the bulk of my supporters and we stayed in the party, we fought that election. The election was fraught with violence. It was difficult. And apart from that, the current governor with the support of the government of the day were determined to take over Rivers State by all means. So, they took all the result sheets. So, we fought and midway through, a decision was taken that we should pull out of the election and boycott it. We had a lot of issues and crisis and all that. And finally, Honourable Nyesom Wike, the current governor, emerged and we went to court because we had more than enough evidence of what happened. It was nationally and internationally known that the elections in Rivers State were clearly manipulated and all that. So, we went to court. We lost in the Supreme Court and the rest as you know is history. So, this time around, when the minister expressed his view that we should all wait and let’s decide the way we did the last time, I felt that that system would not work now for several reasons. One is that we have promised Nigerians and Rivers people that we were going to do things differently. And I thought that showing that we are doing things differently is an important way of generating public confidence in the process of what we’re doing. And then secondly, in the context of the politics of our state, I’m from Ogoni and this is not an important reason but it’s also something I took into consideration. In the 51 years of the existence of Rivers State, no Ogoni man has been anything in Rivers State. I mean, none of us has ever been a governor, we’ve never been a deputy governor, we have never been chief judge, we have never been Speaker. We’ve not held any of the power positions in the state. And I felt that a lot of people feel that there’s really no basis for the continued exclusion of our own people from the top of the system.

    Peterside would think the same way too

    No, but he is not from Ogoni.

    He is not from Ogoni but he is not Ikwerre.

    He is not from Ikwerre, but he is from Opobo. The last deputy governor was from Opobo for eight years. And they are much smaller than the Ogoni people. So, everybody has a right to aspire and what I am fighting for is just that right to also be free to aspire and express my own aspiration and that of other people that feel they too have something to contribute to the process and to the systems. That’s what it is.

    So what you’re saying is that you were not at peace with the decision by a single person to say this is the person we want to pick the last time

    Yes.

    Because it didn’t favour you?

    No, not because it didn’t favour me. But for three reasons and I’ve given you the three reasons. Firstly, I already know the decision would not favour me so let’s not pretend that there is any way it would favour me. Secondly, at that time he was the governor and we have all the instruments and apparatus of the government at our disposal. So, there is a fair chance that if we followed that, we could arrive at where we are going. But now, things are different, times are different. We had promised the people of the state that we are going to do things differently. And that we are leaving the PDP because the PDP refused to accept our own desire that things should be done properly and differently. So, having made these promises to Rivers people, I felt that it would not be fair to Rivers people if we don’t walk the talk, if we don’t show by example that we’re actually committed to doing things differently.

    There was this story that the minister came to your house in the presence of your wife and told you ‘I don’t want you to be governor.’

    Yes, it’s a fact. But I don’t want to discuss that on television because I’ve told that story privately to people severally and it’s a fact. And no matter how it is couched, I didn’t think that that was right. And I felt that ii should at least stand up for what I believe in and offer myself to Rivers people and give them that opportunity to make a decision.

    Has he ever given you a reason why he doesn’t want you? Or is it that he wants you, he just wants Dakuku more?

    I would think that it may have started that way but I believe that right now, he’s probably gotten to the point where it can be anybody but it can’t be you because you disobeyed me (Laughs). But he is a friend, he is a brother. It’s something that we would manage as we go along.

    But, you’re not managing it at all because during the SEC meeting, you reportedly walked out

    No, no, I didn’t walk out. What I complained about is that it was supposed to be a State Executive Committee meeting but they ended up inviting more people who were not members of the State Executive Committee than those who were members.

    So, you thought it was not a meeting

    I said it was not a State Executive Committee meeting because the State Executive Committee is defined in the party constitution. So, this can be called an expanded stakeholders meeting but it cannot be called a State Executive Committee meeting. That’s what I complained about.

    Now, Dakuku Peterside was on this show last year and I asked him that time. I said, ‘what’s your relationship with Magnus Abe? He said fine

    Fine, fantastic

    He used the words close to fantastic. So, what’s the relationship now?

    Fantastic. Dakuku is like a brother to me. We’ve been together all through the years. In fact, there is this group they have in Opobo called Vanguard of Opobo Nation. I’ve always been part of it. We attend meetings. He is like a brother to me. And he’s right. So the issues are not personal. It’s not between me and Dakuku. Between me and Dakuku, I believe that even if we have a fair contest and one person emerges over the other, we could always talk to one another. The problem is between me and the minister who doesn’t want me to participate in the process at all.

    You know you’re saying the minister is coming in between friends. Is that what you’re saying?

    No, I don’t think so. We’re all friends. The minister is also my friend. I’m saying that the root of the problem is that they don’t want me to even participate in the process. The whole idea of the crisis in the APC is that I should not be allowed to participate. Lock him out; in fact, he is out of the party. And the latest one that somebody was saying the other day is ‘oh, I’m working with Wike in the PDP.’ And I said that there are some things people say and you get hurt. Everybody in this country knows the sacrifices I’ve made to build the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State at least. I was one of the 11 senators that actually defied President Jonathan and dumped the PDP on the floor of the Nigerian Senate. And I have said and I want to repeat here that under no circumstance would I go back to the PDP. But when you have a crisis in a party and people who are looking for a way to malign you and get people to see you as a bad person, begin to say certain things that are more uncharitable and unfair about you when they know that it is false and completely untrue, it’s a terrible thing. Now, I was saying to people that when they had a crisis in PDP, people were saying, ‘oh, the crisis was sponsored by APC and I was with a friend of mine who is a top member of the PDP and he was telling me, ‘you people are sponsoring the crisis in PDP.’ And I said to him, ‘I didn’t know that Wike and Fayose were working for APC.’ He said, ‘what do I mean?’ I said, ‘it is known in this country that it was Wike and Fayose who went to Maiduguri and invited Sheriff to come and be chairman of PDP. Now, if APC sent Wike and Fayose to invite Sheriff, then, they caused the crisis. Now, the other stakeholders in the PDP, Makarfi, Mark, all of them, rejected that decision and opposed it up till the convention in Port Harcourt which generated the crisis and the court case. So, are you saying that APC now got these stakeholders to reject that decision. So, we have a problem in the APC. The minister came since last year, removed everybody, you’re no longer the leader here, I’m no longer the leader, even in my ward in the APC. And then people reacted. You have not said that Wike sent the minister to remove us but people who are reacting, you say Wike sent them. Now, we had a congress. People bought tellers to pay money to the party to participate in the congress. The congress was taken to a hotel and all these people were locked out. They were not even given an opportunity to participate and they reacted. And you say Wike sponsored them. Why don’t you say Wike sponsored the people who locked them out of the process because if they didn’t lock them out of the process, there will be no reaction. And everybody knows that if I have said I am running for the governorship ticket of my party. And I am running. I’m serious about it. Now, if you’re holding a congress of that magnitude and I’m a senator in the party, I’m a gubernatorial aspirant in the party and I’m totally locked out of the process, you that you’re taking the decision, you know that I must react. And my reaction must of course generate situations in the party. So, did Wike send you to take that decision so as to create crisis in the APC? If Wike did not send you to take the decision, why would you then say that Wike sent me to say the decision is wrong and I will not accept it? I mean, you look at it yourself.

    Now, you’ve said the congresses were not legal, were not properly done. What were the things specifically other than the fact that they locked them in? What were the other things? I know you mentioned something that on that very day, people started picking forms or something like that?

    Well, let me explain how this whole process went. There was a first congress held on the fifth, the ward congress, which the guidelines were clear. People were to be given forms. We held a meeting, they said the forms were there, everybody will be given forms. But as soon as the minister landed in Port Harcourt, all that changed. People didn’t get the forms. Nobody was talking to anybody again. The people who were to organise the congress, one Dogo, or somebody from Kaduna, obviously with a tight relationship to the system that be, came in and when people asked when would the congress committee address us so that we know what is happening, they said ‘no,’ that everybody should go to their wards, they are not talking to anybody. Where are the forms? There is no form. Where are the result sheets? There are no result sheets. So, before we knew it, everybody had gone to intels and locked up the party place. Now, that congress, they went ahead to conduct it. There was crisis everywhere as you would imagine. And people now rushed to court, got an order from the court to stop the congresses. They went on air to announce that they would not obey the order and went ahead and conducted another congress in defiance of the court order. Now, when the national now looked at it and said no, clearly there was an order, ‘don’t accept that result,’ what they did was on Friday, they now announced Friday night, published on Saturday morning that there would be new ward congresses on Saturday at 10 am, there would now be local government congresses on Sunday at 1pm, there would now be state congress on Monday. Now, the party guidelines provide at least 24 hour notice for each of these congresses for you to fill forms and all that. All that was thrown out. Nobody was aware, nobody knew that there was going to be congress. By Monday morning, they had announced the conclusion of the entire exercise. Of course, people went back to the court. And the court gave another order, voiding that second congress which they have held. So, clearly, there is a determined attempt to ensure that party members who are seen as ‘not loyal’ would not be allowed to be part of the party. That is the objective of what is going on in Rivers State right now.

    I want to ask you this question. Would you characterise Rotimi Amaechi as your leader today?

    I have never quarrelled with him over leadership. Me, I want to be governorship candidate of the party. I want to be governor of Rivers State. He’s the leader. Those are two separate functions.

    You mean the leader has gone astray

    I mean the leader is not being just and he is not being fair. You know, the condition for peace in any situation is justice. Without justice there can be no peace.

    Why would you call him your leader if you feel he is not just? If he is your leader, then he is your leader

    Then he should be just. He should be fair.

    You’re trying to make him to be just.

    We will fight for what is right. Anybody can lead as long as you lead in such a manner that people would have confidence in what you’re doing, people know that everybody’s interest can be protected and that you will be the one to protect everybody’s interest. That’s how a leader would carry everybody along. But where a leader shows so much preference that every time you do something, people know that what you’re doing is targeted against a certain group or a certain interest, then, there is no justice there. And it makes things very difficult.

    It looks like the battle is actually a very tough one because you also have the NWC to contend with

    The NWC of the party, I believe that if they want to do the right thing, the issues of the party in Rivers State are not too complicated.

    But are they working the way you want it?

    No, they’re not (laughs).

    They’re (NWC) like the final say in the party

    Well, I believe that…

    I believe they have sworn in the party chairmen and so on

    Yes, but even that doesn’t make any difference because the NWC cannot override a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, that’s one. Two is that we are all in this party. The APC is not your normal political party.

    Why do you say that?

    Let me explain. The APC is an idea that Nigerians can do the right thing. We all came together to say that this is a vehicle under which Nigeria will do the right thing. We brought a man whose integrity everybody accepted that this is one man that if he sees white, he would say it’s white. And if he sees black, he would say it’s black. That’s why Nigerians followed APC. So, no matter who you are, NWC ooo, Senator, Minister, you can’t be in the APC and do the wrong thing openly and visibly for Nigerians to see. People would know that you’re not acting within the spirit of the agreement that this party has with the Nigerian people. So, we are determined to fight for what is right and the only place that you can use what is right as a basis for argument today in Nigeria is the APC because nobody in APC can open his mouth on television and say ‘oh, we can do the wrong thing. It doesn’t matter.’ You can’t say that if you’re a member of this party. You must justify whatever you’re doing. You must show to Nigerians that you’re doing the right thing. You must show that you’re following the rules because that is what we promised. So, we believe that the one place where we stand a chance to see justice, to see the right thing done in this country is in the APC and that’s why we’re here.

    Right now, yes. So, we need to solve some of our problems and as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will still continue to carry the message of reconciliation, no matter how unpopular it is. I will continue to work to see that the numbers are asking these people to work together. That’s what Nigerians want to see. And that’s what I would work for.