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Tag: PDP

  • Mu’azu resigns as PDP chairman

    Mu’azu resigns as PDP chairman

    … Secondus takes over

    Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu on Wednesday resigned as National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party.

    The embattled chairman in a letter he wrote to the party’s Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, noted that due to the party’s defeat in the March 28 presidential election, it has become important for him vacate his position as PDP chairman for peace to reign in the party.

    He asked Secondus to take over as acting national chairman in line with the party’s constitution.

    Details later…

     

  • Who is Orubebe?

    Who is Orubebe?

    Elder Peter Godsday Orubebe is a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from Ijaw decent in Delta State.

    Born on June 6, 1959, Orubebe was appointed Nigerian Minister of Niger Delta Affairs in 2010 when President Goodluck Jonathan (then Acting President) announced his new cabinet.

    He is a graduate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), obtaining a B.Sc in Political Science in 1985, but later obtained a Masters Degree in International Relations from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, in 2005.

    Orubebe became a Supervisory Councilor, and later Chairman of Burutu Local Government Area. In July 2007 under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, he was appointed a Minister of Special Duties.

    He later became Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs when that ministry was created in December 2008 to oversee the amnesty programme for militants from that region.

    In January 2010, he said the proposed 10 per cent equity share policy on infrastructural development in the Niger Delta region would make vandalism and crisis a thing of the past.

    Controversially, on March 31, 2015, the elder, acting as a polling agent for the PDP, almost distrupted the collation of president election results when he threw caution to the wind and accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, of bias.

    He later apologized to Nigerians over his conduct, urging them not to follow in his footsteps.

    “I totally regretted my action,” he told bewildered Nigerians.

    The aftermath of the controversy made thousands of Nigerians raised eyebrow on Tuesday when a post appeared on his twitter handle, allegedly declaring his plans to join the All Progressive Congress (APC).

    However, his media aide has denied that there is no truth in the post claiming that the PDP chieftain remains loyal to the party.

  • Orubebe still in PDP – Aide

    The Media aide to Elder Godsday Orubebe, Ayo Fadaka, has denied that the former minister has dumped the People Democratic Party (PDP).

    Fadaka claimed that the post that went viral on Orubebe’s twitter handle claiming that the former minister of the Niger – Delta had plans to join the Al Progressive Congress (APC) was false.

    Find the tweet below:

  • Orubebe still in PDP – Media aide

    The Media aide to Elder Godsday Orubebe, Ayo Fadaka, has denied that the former minister on Tuesday dumped the People Democratic Party (PDP).

    Fadaka claimed that the information that went viral on the social media through Orubebe’s twitter handle was false.

  • ‘PDP afraid of credible elections in Delta’

    ‘PDP afraid of credible elections in Delta’

    Olorogun O’tega Emerhor is the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Delta State. In this interview with BOLAJI OGUNDELE, he explains how the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) robbed the APC of victory during the general elections. 

    “I propose that, as part of measures to reposition our electoral system, wherever and whenever the tribunals upturn any election, contrary to the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), either at the state, presidential or National assembly level, any authorizing officer, responsible for that election, must be brought to book”

    Why is there so much rancour in the Delta State APC?

    This is not unusual. Most times, when a party goes into an election in which members have invested so much with the hope of winning and they do not come out victorious, there is bound to be some recriminations. In fact, I believe in spite of what is going on, the party is in a good position. See what is going on in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the defeat of Jonathan. It is almost falling apart, with calls for the sack of its National Chairman and the National Working Committee (NWC). In Delta APC, I believe things would have been different, if I had won the governorship election. My being the rallying point of the party in the state would have automatically been above challenge. So, because the election was stolen, it is not unexpected that these issues will rear their heads. We are, however, lucky that the APC won at the centre. I believe this has moderated the potential crisis, although it has also produced its own challenges.

    These crises are fallouts of the struggle for offices at the national level, aren’t they?

    There is no such possibility. See, even in the run up to the governorship election, not everyone was on board with me. My winning would have helped, but not winning meant that some people will naturally go ahead of me to the national in attempt to secure their own interests, which they perceive may not be protected by me as leader of the party in the state.

    Is that why such leaders were expelled?

    I would say that as it relates to leaders that were expelled; it is important to see clearly the two issues that have been raised. One, whether the state chapter has the powers to expel and whether offences were committed to warrant such actions? From my own reading of the issues, it is the party constitution that can answer the question about who has the power to expel. Furthermore, the party has a legal adviser as one of its executives and I assume that this issue must have received his attention. On the offences, I believe these were clearly stated such that I do not believe there were any ambiguities. Offences do have consequences in order to maintain discipline in the party, but there is also need for due process in meting out discipline. However, I do know that there is a rapprochement currently ongoing to douse some of these conflicts. We must unite for the task ahead!

    It is believed that your ministerial ambition, after losing the governorship, is at the heart of the crisis. Do you have a contrary view?

    I believe the APC national leadership is putting a special dispensation in place in order to bring the three Southsouth states of Delta, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom into the APC fold. This is why the three candidates in these states where the outrageous daylight election robbery took place are being encouraged and supported to go cancel these elections at the tribunal. Now, it’s my belief that apart from competence and other qualifications, the other yardstick that may be applied to these Southsouth states would be how the potential minister can use this position to foster the party’s objective of winning these states to the APC fold. Don’t forget that the PDP also held on to these states for strategic reasons with a plan to use these resource-rich states as a launch pad for their 2019 renaissance. Under these circumstances, not to talk of my sacrifices and contributions in building the APC in Delta State, starting from my senatorial bye-election in 2013 to my governorship candidacy and elections in 2015, I wonder what disqualifies me for a ministerial appointment such that it will create a crisis as you alluded. A few ambitious people who may seek to reap without sowing will always be there, but I do not think I am the source of any crisis.

    You lost the recent governorship election in Delta, but your party, the APC, triumphed at the national level. What is your perspective on the outcome?                                 

    We did not truly lose the governorship election in Delta; the PDP stole the election. Elections are only lost if they are conducted according to the rules and a winner emerged. In the election in Delta as was also the case in Rivers and Akwa Ibom, the card readers were discarded, results sheets confiscated and fabricated results announced in connivance with compromised INEC staff. A smokescreen of violence and intimidation and ballot boxes snatching were unleashed to provide cover for results manipulation. As you may be aware, we have filed our petition at the tribunal to cancel the purported elections.

    People have said that the APC is not on ground and it came third in the election…

    Again, the PDP always try to play smart by half. In allocating the fabricated results, they deliberately and strategically kept the APC in the third position for the reason that they wanted to send a message to our national leaders, in preparation for their eventual defection to the APC, that the current APC in Delta is not on ground. As I speak, they are strenuously working on this scheme. But, they failed ab initio when they extended this dubious scheme to Rivers State and others. Can they also claim the APC is not on ground in Rivers? In any case, in Delta, look carefully at the presidential results where they allotted only 50,000 votes to the APC/Buhari and 1.2 million to PDP/Jonathan. Prior to this election, the projections were such that Buhari will win Itsekiri/Isoko votes 80 per cent, Urhobo/Anioma votes 40 per cent. Only the Ijaw areas were projected to give less than 20 per cent. So, what happened that Buhari didn’t get even 10 per cent from these areas?

    So, you believe the APC can win a rerun election in Delta?

    After the Buhari win, Delta was set and ready for the APC. Delta did not want to remain in the opposition. Even, stalwarts of the PDP were with us on this and are still are. PDP knew they would not win a proper free and fair election and that was why they did not allow an election on the field, but resorted to snatching it in the air, so to speak. Under a Buhari government, a rerun, I believe, will be free and fair and in an environment of neutrality by INEC and the security forces. If Deltans are truly allowed a free hand to choose between the 16 years of the PDP misrule and the APC wind of positive change, they will definitely choose the APC.

    What is the position of Great Ogboru and Labour Party in all these? He is believed to be discussing with the APC…

    Ogboru invested all his political capital in President Jonathan’s re-election bid, which failed. He partnered with the PDP to try to kill the APC in Delta State and was rewarded with a second place position by the PDP in the April 11 election results. Be that as it may, we must not forget that both parties come mainly from the same stock of opposition that has always wanted the PDP ousted from the state. So, Ogboru should be free, if it is now his desire, to join forces with Emerhor. The APC will soon liberate Delta and the rest of the Southsouth.

    Does this mean you are ready to work with Ogboru?

    There is strength in unity of numbers and purpose, but this has to go through a process! For example, after the elections, the first person I ran into Ogboru was at the house of one of my leaders in Abuja. As I did not know his mission, I didn’t make it my business.  Eventually, the said leader invited both of us to a meeting which turned out to be a meeting to get both of us to cooperate to cancel the Delta governorship election result at the tribunal. But, I get the impression from Ogboru that he continues to rate himself as the most popular candidate and appear to suggest to our leadership that he/Labour be admitted to supplant the current the APC which some assume are not on ground. In Delta, such approach aimed at going over our heads and discounting us, I can say definitely will be unhelpful. Apart from the fallacy of it, we in the APC Delta not only invested in building a strong party, but also took the risk of going against the PDP and a sitting president who is a Niger Delta son. Ogboru ran from this risk and pitched his tent with Jonathan. He cannot therefore be coming after the failure of Jonathan, with a mindset.

    What should the nation expect from a Buhari government?

    In the short time since March 28 when he was declared President-elect, Gen. Buhari has been an open book; what you see is what you get. He plans to run an open, transparent administration that will stamp out corruption, eliminate insecurity, improve the economy and create a new Nigeria. You can already glean a lot from his speeches to date, the inauguration and transition committee memberships he has made and actions like going out of his way to provide strategic support to the current Agriculture Minister, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, who is vying to become the Managing Director of the Africa Development Bank (ADB). Buhari will work selflessly to make Nigeria succeed.

     

     

     

     

  • PDP crisis: Muazu sighted in Singapore

    PDP crisis: Muazu sighted in Singapore

    •Governors plot mini-convention
    •There is a case in court, says NWC member

    Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have set in motion machinery for a mini convention of the party to thrash out the fate of the PDP embattled national chairman, Mallam Adamu Mu’azu.

    Mu’azu, who is currently out of the country on ‘medical vacation’, was reportedly sighted in Singapore yesterday.

    A source close to him said yesterday that he might not be back in Nigeria until after the May 29 change of guards at the Aso Rock Villa.

    Mu’azu has come under severe pressure to relinquish his position following the defeat of the party in the last elections.

    He said he will do no such thing.

    He left the country about two weeks ago on ‘a short medical vacation’ although PDP sources said it was to allow tempers to cool down and for the party’s chair to stave off pressure from the Presidency and party leaders on him.

    Leading the Mu’azu-must- go campaign are the party’s governors who are now plotting a mini-national convention.

    One of the top sources said: “The last time we heard from the National Chairman was from Singapore. He is certainly abreast of every development in the party.

    “His position and that of the National Working Committee is that we should keep the party intact instead of fanning the embers of discord by pushing for the dissolution of the NWC.

    “Muazu had emerged as the party’s national chairman in January 2014 and will it help the survival of the party to be contemplating a change of leadership again in May 2015?  We will just be a laughing stock.

    “And President Goodluck Jonathan bought the idea during the week when he appealed to governors and party leaders to sheathe their swords in the interest of the survival of PDP.”

    But there were strong indications that PDP governors and leaders might demand for a mini-National Convention to look at “issues in the party.”

    The convention is likely to hold after the submission of the report of a committee headed by the Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu.

    One of the governors said: “At our meeting, the President actually played a conciliatory role as a leader. But the body language of the President and other leaders was the urgent need for a drastic change.

    “No one in the party wants Mu’azu and his team any more. The earlier the NWC members realises this, the better for them.

    “The PDP governors and leaders will have no choice than to ask for a mini-National Convention. The NWC members do not own the party and they cannot dictate to the party.

    “Really, I do not see how Mu’azu can survive the demand for change by PDP leaders and members.”

    A high-ranking NWC member however said there is already a case in court seeking to stop any party leader to either remove Muazu or force him to resign.

    The NWC member asked the agitated PDP members to respect judicial process.

    “From our records, two PDP members (Tasiu Iliyasu Hussaini and Waziri Amadu) have filed an application before an Abuja High Court to stop the party from forcing the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu and NWC members to resign.

    “In the May 14, 2015 application, they urged the court to restrain the party from dissolving the National Working Committee without following the relevant guidelines in the PDP Constitution.

    “So, to the NWC, the party has to maintain the status quo until the final determination of this suit. We are not going anywhere.”

  • Even as it goes into the darkness of oblivion, PDP is turning on all the lights of wanton, catastrophic misrule

    Even as it goes into the darkness of oblivion, PDP is turning on all the lights of wanton, catastrophic misrule

    Will the last person to leave please turn off all the lights?
    Universal mantra of energy-conserving organizations and enterprises

    You see it as a slogan, a legend boldly written on the walls of many rooms of energy-conserving organizations or enterprises: will the last person to leave please turn off all the lights? Sometimes, it is expressed, not as a question but as a categorical demand: will the last person to leave please turn off all the lights! High energy bills cut into the profit margin of enterprises. With organizations that are not profit making, the underlying logic is the same: the operating capital of the organization must be spent wisely otherwise the organization’s future may be compromised irreparably. More generally, this slogan or mantra is part of the “Green” culture and thought of conservationists all over the world: the resources of our planet, though renewable, are not infinite in supply; we must use them with consideration for the needs of those who will come after us, just as those who came before us did a lot of conservation so that we of present, living generations could have resources to consume. In other words, the logic of our mantra is this: turn off all the lights when you leave at the end of the day so that tomorrow there will still be lights to turn on. Our defeated ruling party seems either utterly unaware of or completely indifferent to this wisdom of prudent organizations and enterprises, this wisdom, indeed, of the ages.

    The most rampant and notable manifestations of this reverse or counter-logic of the PDP to conservation of resources for the incoming, successor administration and future generations of Nigerians can be seen in the spate of last minute projects and procurement of foreign loans that the party, both at the federal and state levels began to launch or announce after its defeat by the APC. Coupled with these are last minute appointments of its chieftains to posts that carry with them, explicitly or implicitly, considerable financial remuneration. A case in point in this regard was the announcement two weeks ago of the appointment of a large group of new Pro-Chancellors and Chairmen of Councils to our federal universities. I shall come back to this particular item later in this piece. For now, let me turn my attention to what I consider the most portentous and unconscionable item of all, this being the announcement barely three weeks ago of the commitment of our country to the construction and commissioning of nuclear power plants through the signing of a joint venture agreement between the Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) and Rosatom, a Russian state-owned corporation that builds, commissions and maintains atomic energy power plants in many parts of the planet, especially in the developing world. Readers will remember, I hope, that I dealt with this issue in last week’s column. I return to it this week from a new and very urgent perspective.

    This new perspective can be indicated with this question: why is it the case that NAEC made the announcement of Nigeria’s commitment to a “nuclear future” in electricity power generation at the very end of the life of the Jonathan administration and the rule of the PDP? As I revealed in last week’s column, NAEC came into existence in 1976; and for years now its CEO, Dr. Franklin Osaisai, has been going around Africa and the world making flowery and improbable declarations about a rosy and necessary future for atomic power plants in Nigeria and Africa. But for more than four decades, nothing concrete, practical and definitive was done about these declarations until less than a month to the end of the PDP as a ruling party. From this, we are left with no other conclusion but this: atomic power plants are the last and most cynical bequest of the defeated ruling party to a country that has finally rejected its long period of wasteful, catastrophic misrule.

    I base this conclusion on the presupposition that Dr. Osaisai and NAEC could never have entered the agreement with Rosatom and committed Nigeria to a frightening future of atomic power plants without the knowledge and approval of the Jonathan administration. Statutorily, NAEC is responsible and reports to the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology; it cannot and does not take any actions and decisions without that Ministry’s approval. So far, at least in media reporting of the agreement between NAEC and Rosatom, no mention has been made at all of the Ministry’s involvement in the brokering of the agreement. But neither has a disclaimer come from the Ministry. Knowing how terribly dysfunctional, messy and rudderless administrative processes have been in Jonathan’s governance style and culture, it is not improbable that the decision to commit our country to a future of nuclear power plants was made completely without any due and proper administrative processes. My guess is this (and I admit that it is only a guess): having dreamed and talked for years and decades about nuclear power plants in Nigeria, NAEC and Dr. Osaisai finally saw their chance in the redoubled messiness and chaos of the dying days and weeks of the PDP and the Jonathan administration. It is this guess that furnished the metaphors of darkness and light in the title of this piece: even as the PDP slips irreversibly into the darkness of historic oblivion, it has turned on the full, frightening and spectral lights of atomic power plants in Nigeria.

    Fortunately, the lights can be turned off on the agreement between NAEC and Rosatom. In other words, a decision to commit our country to a future of nuclear power plants is a decision that should go into the darkness that will soon consume the PDP. Ordinarily, all decisions hastily and haphazardly made by an outgoing administration in the last few weeks of its life are not considered binding on the incoming administration – unless they are deemed beneficial to the country. At any rate, going nuclear in power generation when we have an abundance of natural gas and hydrological resources is nothing short of irrationalism, not to talk of the historic worldwide turning away from nuclear power plants. Thus, one of the very first things that the new administration should do is terminate the agreement with Rosatom and open the matter for full debate and review by the Nigerian public. Indeed, it is surprising that a country, any country can go nuclear without a full debate having taken place among lawmakers, civil society organizations and all interested stakeholders.

    Similar considerations apply to the appointments in the last few weeks of PDP chieftains as Pro-Chancellors and Chairmen of Councils of federal universities. On this particular issue we come to one of the most crucial things that will indicate whether the APC will be a different ruling party from the PDP. Here, nothing but the complete depoliticization of the appointment of Chairmen and members of the governing councils of our universities will show that the APC wants to establish a break with the decadent “ilabe” mentality and culture of the PDP as a ruling party. Mark my words, compatriots: if the chairmen and council members recently appointed by the PDP are removed and replaced with APC chieftains and benefactors, that will be a sure sign that things in general will not change fundamentally from the period of the reign of the PDP to that of the APC.  It is no secret in our federal and state universities that the majority of the chairmen and members of the governing councils of our tertiary institutions regard their appointments as juicy, lucrative rewards for their positions in the ruling party. For long, ASUU and all the other unions in our tertiary institutions have decried this tradition and called for its termination. This will be one of the most eloquent indicators of the genuineness of the “change” manifesto of the APC.

  • Rivers denies PDP allegation of misconduct

    Rivers State Government has described as unfounded the allegations levelled against it by the state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) published on the website of an on-line medium.

    In the report filed by Jerry Needam, Special Assistant on Media to the State PDP Chairman, Felix Obuah on behalf of PDP, some government officials like the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr George Feyii, the Information Commissioner, Mrs Ibim Semenitari and other government officials were accused of looting and selling of government properties as well as engaging in illegal employment.

    Other allegations levelled against the government officials are that they stole and vandalised some unregistered brand new cars assigned to different departments of government, as well as some equipment for Monorail, Farms, Schools, Hospitals and Government Media Houses.

    Reacting to the report, the Rivers government however stated categorically that “the report as it affects the person of Mr George Feyii, the Secretary to the Rivers State Government and indeed other public officers mentioned in the publication, is totally misplaced, sensational and a blatant falsehood.”

    In a statement issued in Port Harcourt this weekend by the office of the SSSG, it said government decided to respond to “these baseless and frivolous allegations in the realisation that many well-meaning people of the State might be deceived into making mischief out of the many lies already sold to them.”

    The statement, which was signed by Mr Joe Korka-Waadah, the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the SSG, expressed the personal disappointment of Mr Feyii with the report and described it as “callous, inhuman and devilish for anyone to have thought of embarking on rudderless voyage of smear campaign against men and women of proven integrity in Governor Amaechi’s government.”

    The statement also frowned at the on-line medium for publishing that kind of report without any attempt to establish the veracity of the story or its source.

    Government therefore called on well-meaning Rivers people to be on their guard and watch out for wolves that are masquerading as sheep in their midst.

     

  • Still about the outgoing PDP government

    Still about the outgoing PDP government

    It is imperative for the incoming administration to do something revolutionary in the area of Energy which successive PDP governments has turned to a sink hole, with billions of dollars sunk with only monumental failure to show

    It is no longer news that the campaigns were thoroughly engaging.  Long before the  Peoples  Democratic  Party , out  of  unremitting  pressure from the APC ,  worsened by the Bauchi  intra-party stoning of a Presidential rally, graduated into  a festival of hate  , with the First Lady – she actually turned a neuroscientist,  pronouncing on  the status of  opponents’  brains – and Femi Fani-Kayode leading the pack, this column had taken its  position very early: stay  ramrod  with the APC  budding  campaign, avuncularly propagating  those sterling qualities  that made the President-elect  stand out so distinctly  one  was n’t ashamed  to  suggest  he should be adopted as  the  consensus  presidential candidate because,  defeating and sending PDP  into  political oblivion had become  a moral obligation for  any truly patriotic Nigerian.  Just as well, as the APC  Presidential primaries would later come to see the erstwhile governor of Ekiti state, Dr Kayode Fayemi, lead his colleagues of the election committee gave the world, unarguably, Nigeria’s best presidential primary election of all time, far from the shambolic one coordinated by a one time Foreign Affairs Minister for the Peoples Democratic Party. The party’s  ruination of  Nigeria, snippets of which  we  are beginning to see with Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s , unarguably, first ever  candid  statement about the Nigerian economy -that the Federal Government now borrows to pay salaries -,  has  become so complete that another four years of a Jonathan administration would have meant  disaster on an industrial scale.

    One of my most engaging readers who wrote in from tel. no.080745729—sent in the following highly nuanced reaction to last week’s article: In An Era Of Change, Nigerians Expect To See Credible and Measurable Changes.

    Happy reading.

     Sir, you were very right in your analysis today but may I add that there is a great need for the incoming administration to do a painstaking audit of the liabilities it is inheriting and it must let the public know its findings as a matter of urgency. The Director-General  of BPE, Mr Dikki, said what most of us who refused to be fooled by this government’s economic team  knew all along. And it is interesting to see the President’s appointees sing a new song now. Where was  Dikki all these daysk when  they were telling us  tales about ‘’rebasing the economy’’, ‘’double digit economic growth’’, ‘’double digit foreign direct investment’’ etc, whereas the reverse is the case for the economy. Unlike the rest of them, the National office of statistics,  all through the years has been releasing figures that portray the correct  position of our economy without minding the harassment from the vindictive PDP Federal government. In fact, Prof Soludo quoted profusely from the  data received from that  office in his  confrontation with the Finance and Co-ordinating Minister, Dr Okonjo-Iweala.

    Despite the  suffocating pleas to  the President-elect to be magnanimous in victory, it is of utmost importance that he deals away with the heads of most of the para-statals and commissions under this present administration in order to  bring in fresh and  untainted hands who can deliver the Change the APC has promised Nigerians. Nigeria has an agency or commission  for virtually every matter under the sun, but, what have we got? The National orientation commission has been turned into a PDP  propaganda mouthpiece at a time there has been no greater need for a new rebirth, and  a new discuss on what our values were, and should be. There is  the Nigerian communications commission  which is meant to regulate telecoms and digital communication, but all we get is a non-existent regulator. I can go on and on, but my point is that we cannot afford not to  completely overhaul these agencies  just because General Buhari is being enjoined to be magnanimous in victory.

    It is imperative for the incoming administration to do something revolutionary in the area of Energy which successive PDP governments has turned to a sink hole, with billions of dollars sunk with only monumental failure to show. The Buhari administration will score a big plus if it is able to do something cogent and visible in the power sector. One of the reasons for  President Jonathan’s massive defeat in the last election is, without doubt, the incessant lies being told Nigerians about the exact situation of the power sector in the country.  The incoming government must  ensure that Nigerians  know, at all times, what  the problems are,  and how soon they intend to get them rectified. There is also an  urgent need for a complete, and radical,  reassessment of our economic policies to bring down the exchange rate as well as guarantee food on the table of the common man. Nigerians  are aware of the booby traps being laid for the incoming government by the outgoing one but  President Buhari, once  sworn  in,  must  not shy away from UPROOTING the traps,   no matter whose ox is gored.

     It is man’s inhumanity to man for the Petroleum Minister to claim that  there is a subsidy on kerosene.  She should check out the dispensing prices everywhere, to see that it has never been less than N100 per litre. And this has been so for the past six years, that is, through the entire Jonathan administration. I am overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems confronting the incoming  President but  he has reached a point of no return. Did you, for instance, see  how these PDP people shared our common heritage  running into over 2 trillion naira to prosecute an election in which they were thoroughly bought low?

    That is God at work.

     Another evidence of the government’s  totally amoral way of doing things  came from a totally unexpected quarters during the past week. A N155 million-election largess is allegedly at the center of a fierce legal battle between two members of the President’s Ijaw ethnic group. The plaintiff  is asking to be paid a whopping sum of  N155 million for political services rendered the defendant in relation to the President’s re-election bid for which the latter is alleged to have been paid about N20Billion. The case, filed at an Abuja High Court, is now scheduled for hearing on Thursday May 28, 2015.

    But so what? Didn’t ‘Cry Baby’, and his ‘Auto Mogul’ brother fight dirty over a bank loan running into billions?  The case, simpli cita, is therefore of little or no interest to this columnist. Rather, what interests me, and should worry Nigerians, now that we are  heading into austerity times, is  how symptomatic  it could very well be about  the manner in which the outgoing presidency gifted  friends  and cronies sweet heart  deals. What should, therefore,  bother us are the following disclosures accusing  the  respondent  of abandoning numerous contracts  awarded him by the presidency.  The following contracts  were cited as examples:  Sand-filling of the Bayelsa State Cargo Airport worth N10 billion, the Maitama extension (infrastructure) worth N150 billion; the supply of engineering materials at N67 billion; the Waterfront Shore protection at Otuoke and Ayakoromo at a cost of N5 billion; the reclamation project at Akipilai community at the cost of N5 billion; the internal road networks at Otuoke at N4 billion; Construction of 2000 hostel rooms at the Federal University, Otuoke at a cost of N4 billion; and the construction of the Opume/Okoroba seven mile road at the cost of N10 billion. What is worse is the allegation that the gentleman has since changed the name of his company.

    Since impunity confronts  one  whichever direction you turn your gaze, I do not think the in –coming  government needs  any further  evidence  to put in place a Failed Contracts Committee to investigate  such failed contracts which must  run into thousands in  PDP’s  16 years  of the locust.  This will have the added advantage of enabling persons so accused  to clear themselves, failing which every penny must be recouped, with interest. They should, in addition, be blacklisted by both the Federal and state governments throughout the country. It would be a big shame, if it  turns out true that somebody allegedly  so close to the President, continues to be patronized   by federal agencies  even after he had severally  abandoned multi-billion  contracts awarded him by the same Federal Government. The least the President can do is to have this matter of contract abandonment, not the bit in court,  by somebody described as his close ally to be thoroughly investigated  and appropriate steps taken.This story does not in any way elevate the presidency at all.

  • PDP: South-West chapters no longer at ease

    PDP: South-West chapters no longer at ease

    The crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems more pronounced in the South-West chapters reports Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan

    Hard times are really here for ousted Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following the gale of crises that have been rocking the ruling party since its unexpected defeat at the last general elections. The latest of the troubling news concerning President Goodluck Jonathan’s embattled party is the confusion now brewing in its South-West chapters.

    As things stand, it would not be wrong to say the state chapters of the PDP in the South-West, as well as its zonal structure in the region, are seriously threatened by infightings arising from allegations and counter allegations over the handling of the last elections.

    Consequently, suspensions and counter suspensions of leading chieftains, as well as forceful removal of party chairmen and other executive committee members, are now the order of the day as PDP in states like Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Ondo struggle to shake off the crippling effect of their poor performance at the last general elections.

    Sources within the party say the confusion rocking the state chapters is not unconnected with the power tussle playing out at the national level where some leaders of the party are vigorously seeking to remove Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu from office as the national chairman of the party.

    Several bigwigs of the party are blaming Mu’azu for the loss and demanding his resignation, but the national chairman has repeatedly fired back at his critics that he would not resign despite the pressure being mounted on him to do so.

    Muazu’s refusal to step down and allow for a new leadership to take charge of the post -election affairs of the party has pitched him and his executives against some prominent chieftains, including serving governors and aides of outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan, according to reports.

    Consequently, the party is divided, down to the zonal and state chapters across the country, along the lines of those who want Mu’azu to continue in office and those who want to see him out of the chairmanship at all cost. The two groups, sources say, now have their loyalists struggling for the control of the party at all levels.

    “What we are seeing in the state chapters are fallouts of the power struggle at the top. The two factions struggling to pocket the party at the national level now have their allies struggling at the zonal and state chapters.

    All these allegations and counter allegations are as a result of the disagreement at the national level. And unless this is quickly addressed, PDP is treading on a very dangerous path. It may be the party’s road to extinction.

    For a party that has to start learning how to be in opposition after 16 years in power, I’m afraid in-fighting is not the best way to begin,” Comrade Lukas Ngo-Martins, a former state executive committee member of the party in Delta State told The Nation.

    Lagos

    In Lagos State, where it appears as if junior Interior Minister, Musiliu Obanikoro, and former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Bode George, are back to their fighting days, the Chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the party, Mr. Tunji Shelle, has been relieved of his duties.

    According to reports that emanated from the party secretariat last Monday, the Executive Committee of the party sacked Shelle, for allegedly misusing election campaign funds.

    It was also gathered that the decision of the committee to sack the state chairman is based on the belief that, the ex-party chairman allegedly manipulated the party’s primaries last year, a development that led to the defeat of the PDP at the polls.

    The committee appointed Kamaldeen Olorunoje, a staunch ally of Obanikoro’s, to hold the office in acting capacity.

    Speaking to The Nation on the matter, Olounoje, said Shelle was impeached by his colleagues in the state executive committee on the strength of the report of a disciplinary committee set up to investigate some allegations leveled against him.

    “He (Shelle) unilaterally rendered the PDP structure inactive before, during and after the general elections without the approval of the executive committee. He allocated funds to various party members and officials according to his wishes without seeking the approval of the State Working Committee (SWC).

    He hijacked the functions of the party’s treasurer and secretary, to the extent that the money received by the party was outsourced to a third party who keeps it in his bank account and disburses from it and party guideline on payment for nomination form was breached by allowing his favoured aspirants to collect forms without payment.”

    But Shelle, who came out barely an hour after his alleged removal to create further confusion by insisting that he is still the chairman of the party in the state, said his alleged impeachment is illegal and cannot stand.

    “Nobody should take this bunch of unserious people serious; I have not been removed as chairman. They don’t have the power to do that. I am in Ibadan for the PDP South-West leadership executive meeting and we heard of their misdeed while there.

    “I am still the chairman of Lagos PDP and nobody can remove me illegally. I am not a controversial person and I believe in doing my best. I have the singular opportunity to serve the party and I have done my best.”

    Defending allegation that he manipulated the party’s gubernatorial primary, Shelle said “Jimi Agbaje remains the credible candidate that I know and my pedigree and integrity remains impeccable. Only the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party has the powers to impeach me, definitely not Owokoniran and Olorunoje. They have missed it because they failed to follow the party’s constitution.”

    Oyo

    In Oyo State, trouble returned to the embattled state chapter of the PDP following the suspension of the Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Jumoke Akinjide and Senator Ayo Adeseun from the party by the Yekinni Adeojo-led party caucus.

    Consequently, the party, which suffered massive defeat at the last general elections, is now in turmoil as political gladiators continue a macabre dance of allegations and counter allegations that have seen the PDP in the state without a generally accepted leadership.

    Party sources claim the suspension of both Akinjide and Adeseun followed suspicions that they worked against the governorship candidate of the PDP, Senator Teslim Folarin, during the April 11 gubernatorial election in the state, resulting in the disgraceful fourth place position of the party in the election

    A former state chairman of the party, Alhaji Kunmi Mustafa, a PDP leader in Ogbomoso, Chief Saka Balogun, and a former House of Representatives member, Dr. Maroof Akinwande, were also suspended from the party for anti-party activities.

    But a prominent member of the party in the state, Chief Olopeeyan, said the suspension of Akinjide and others cannot stand. He condemned Adeojo and the state executive members of the party over what he described as a move capable of truncating the relative peace in the party.

     Ogun

    In Ogun State, the pre-election crisis that pitched Senator-elect Buruji Kashamu against all other renowned PDP leaders in the state is not abating; rather, it is escalating with strong indication that a mass exodus of members and stalwarts is currently looming.

    Recently, a former chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Aviation, Hon. Dave Salako, warned the national leadership of the PDP to either correct all the wrongs done by Kashamu or watch the party in the state move from one crisis to another.

    At the wake of the crisis, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, and eight other aspirants had boycotted the party’s governorship primary election which produced defeated candidate, Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka.

    Bankole had been joined by the Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Jubril Martins-Kuye groups in rejecting the results of the primaries conducted by the Kashamu faction. But the national leadership of the party supported Kashamu and his people in having their ways.

    Sources within the party say the disgruntled factions are now moving for a change in the leadership of the party in the state. Expectedly, the Buruji Kashamu-backed executive committee is insisting on finishing its tenure next year before bowing out of office.

    “The situation on the party in our state is such that there is no acceptable leadership. Party chieftains are at loggerheads and the members are confused. Things are so bad that many members are contemplating dumping the party and joining other parties.

    Several peace meetings called before and after the elections yielded no fruit as Dimeji Bankole and others are insisting that Kashamu must relinquish the control of the party to them for peace to reign. Of course, the Senator-elect sees himself as the leader of the party in the state for now,” Diran Layode, a former party executive in the state, said.

    Ondo

    And in Ondo State, two parallel executive committees continue to battle for the soul of the PDP. With the not too impressive performance of the ruling party at the last general elections, Governor Olusegun Mimiko is being blamed by old party leaders, for the trouble in the party.

    The Mimiko backed faction of the party, led by the State Commissioner for Community Development  at the land Cooperative Service, Clement Faboyede, is struggling to put aggrieved members in check as it labours to rebuild a badly battered party inherited by Mimiko following his defection from the Labour Party (LP) last year.

    However, the old PDP members, who are still furious over the manner the governor cornered all party tickets for his cronies, have regrouped under a factional chairman, Mr. Olu Ogunye.

    Prominent PDP leaders, like the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the last governorship election in the state, Sola Oke, State Coordinator for SURE-P, Adedayo Omolafe, Hon. Martins Abiloye, Femi Adekanmbi, Bamgbe Atimise, Olabisi Johnson, amongst others, are with the Ogunye faction.