Tag: PDP
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Jonathan arrives Otuoke amidst tight security
There was tight security in Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area in Bayelsa State on Friday as President Goodluck Jonathan arrived his hometown.The president will cast his vote at a polling unit near his country home.Prior to his arrival, two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) were seen on the Otuoke Road, one in front of the president’s house.The other was parked in front of Magels Resort, a hotel close to UBA, the only bank in Otuoke.Earlier, a helicopter was seen hovering around the town, apparently on security surveillance.Soldiers and policemen were also seen on the main road, as well as plain-clothes officers who guarded the president’s house.There were sign posts directing motorists to “keep moving,” while police officers shouted at drivers of vehicles which stopped within the vicinity of the president’s home to leave.The president arrived by 3pm in company of Governor Seriake Dickson and other aides.Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has warned its operatives taking bribes from politicians while providing security at polling units.The State Commandant Mr. Desmond Agu said any personnel found to have been compromised during the general elections would be prosecuted.Addressing the men, he said: “Do not compromise. Do not allow politicians to use you to manipulate the process.“Also, do not allow any other security agencies or your colleagues to influence you to collect bribes. Let me assure you that your allowances have been paid.“We urge you to go out there and conduct yourselves as a security agency with integrity and professionalism.“Let me reiterate here that the Commandant General of the corps, Mr. Ade Abolurin, has warned that no civil defenders should compromise. Your duties are to protect lives, staff of Independent Electoral Commission, ad hoc staff and citizens. Any compromise will be severely punished.”He also advised the personnel to work in collaboration with other security agencies.Also, the state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has advised residents and youths to stay away from banned narcotics during the exercise.In a statement on Friday, it said the advice was to ensure that the elections were not marred by violence arising from drug-induced violence.“Officers and men of the command have been deployed and are fully on ground to ensure that such activities are reduced to the barest minimum by arresting anybody found involved in this deviant behaviour.“Parents and guardians are hereby advised to closely supervise the activities of their children and wards in order not to fall foul of the law and victims of the negative consequences of illegal drug trade and abuse,” the agency said. -
Niger East By-election: Court upholds Umaru’s victory
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja this morning reaffirmed Barrister David Umaru of All Progressives Congress (APC) as the lawful winner and Senator-elect for Niger East Senatorial district by-election conducted in August last year.
The court dismissed the appeal by Dr. Shem Zagbayi Nuhu of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who challenged the quashing of his victory by the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in January.
The Court had earlier dismissed the appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and PDP in the same case for failing to transmit the records of proceedings of the lower court that ruled on the matter.
Nuhu had on September 7, 2014 been declared winner of the Niger East Senatorial by-election by INEC, a development was contested at the election tribunal by Umaru and judgement given in favour of the APC candidate.
Meanwhile Umaru will be flying the APC flag at Niger East Senatorial election against the state governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of PDP.
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Campaign organization uncovers assassination plot
The Ortom/Abounu Governorship Campaign Organization has uncovered plans by a militia group in Konshisha local government area to kidnap and assassinate its Director of Finance, Mr. Sarwuan Tarnongu.
In a letter to the Benue State Commissioner of Police and dated March 24, 2015, Barr. Josephat Abaagu, Director, Legal Services, stated that the leader of a criminal group called Civilian Joint Task Force, names withheld, has concluded plans to kidnap and possibly kill Mr. Tarnongu, a former chairman of Konshisha local government area of the state.
Abaagu said the plans which were hatched at the residence of a leader of the kidnap gang last month were secretly recorded.
“I am looking for a way to kidnap Tarnongu. Moreover, he is hypertensive so even if you kidnap him and take him to Makurdi alone, he would have died.
“I don’t know why he (Tarnongu) is still living in this world. Our group known as Civilian Joint Task Force would always go after its target. For instance, the recently kidnapped multimillionaire was whisked away in the presence of the police and V.I.O,” the gang leader was quoted as saying in a letter written by the group.
A recorded audio compact diskette recorded in Tiv language and the translated English version also enclosed that the gang leader, names withheld “has clearly demonstrated his gang’s mastery of kidnappings and armed robbery.”
According to the letter, the leader “shockingly revealed the involvement of Governor Gabriel Suswam in a particular previous kidnap, where his intervention resulted in the release of the unnamed multimillionaire kidnap victim after payment of N9million as ransom.
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APC accuses PDP of sewing fake uniforms for thugs
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is sewing fake police uniforms and those of other security agencies for its thugs, alleging that it was a ploy to rig the elections.
But the police command said the allegation was false.
APC alleged that PDP packaged 1kg bag of poisonous garri, branded with APC logo and the photograph of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, in large quantity, for distribution across the state.
The party’s spokesman, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari, decried “PDP’s desperation”, assuring the people that “the evil plans of the PDP will continue to fail.”
He said: “It is necessary to alert the people that the leadership of the PDP, Kwara State chapter, held a meeting on Wednesday where the party reviewed the activities of its thugs and discussed its rigging plans.
“At the meeting, among other decisions, the leadership of the PDP resolved to sew police uniforms and those of other security agencies for its thugs, with the hope of using the thugs to manipulate the polls in favour of the PDP.
“Another set of armed thugs will also be dressed in black suits and babariga, according to a credible source.
“The desperation of the drowning PDP knows no bound. This is a party with no manifesto, no ideology, no developmental plans for the indigenes, except desperation for power through violence.
“Thugs sponsored by the PDP intend to impersonate security agents before and during the elections to harass APC leaders and members, to kidnap and pick up our officials, to intimidate voters at the polling units and manipulate the electoral process in favour of the PDP.
“We have raised this alarm with the hope that security agencies will forestall it.
“PDP also intend to distribute bags of poisonous garri.
“We warn the people against taking such gifts because it is an attempt to kill as many Kwarans as possible and attribute it to the APC.
“Kwarans should not be deceived by the logo of APC and photograph of Governor Ahmed printed on the packaged garri. Our party has no hand in it, as it is purely the handiwork of the desperate PDP.
“APC is not distributing packaged garri as souvenirs or gifts.”
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PDP leaders defect to APC
The re-election bid of Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha yesterday got a boost, as top Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Major political groups from the three senatorial zones also endorsed the governor.
The groups, from Orlu, Okigwe and Owerri zones, known as the Coalition of Imo Mainstream Politicians for Good Governance, comprised the Orlu Political Consultative Assembly (OPOCA), Owerri Zone Mandate Group and the Okigwe Political Leaders Congress.
The coalition, during a news conference in Owerri, said it defected from the PDP to the APC, following corruption in the PDP.
In a statement by the Coordinator of the Coalition, Chief Rex Anunobi, National President of OPOCA Dr. Samfo Nwankwo; President-General of Owerri Zone Mandate Dr. Vitalis Ajumbe and President of Okigwe Political Leaders Forum Dr. Kelechi Okpaleke, the group said: “APC is the hope for a truly democratic and corrupt-free Nigeria.”
The leaders said they were inspired to join the APC because of Okorocha’s achievements within a short time, adding: “The governor has shocked his critics through successful implementation of free education, building of 27 general hospitals in 27 local governments and construction of 15-kilometre rural roads in the councils.”
They said the APC-led administration, unlike previous administrations, spread development to all nooks and crannies, especially the rural areas.
They dismissed other parties in the race, saying the status of their governorship candidates was not clear.
According to them, “the PDP and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) are yet to have valid candidates, as they are still in court.”
The coalition accused the PDP of planning to continue its “share the money syndrome”, alleging that the party’s candidate promised aspirants, who lost in the primaries, “N35 billion refund, if he gets to power.”
The leaders promised to mobilise people from the three zones to vote for Okorocha “because he has done Imo State proud. Imo people need the best. Imo people deserve the best and the best is Governor Okorocha.”
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Presidential election: pdp’s last cards
From popular outcry, President Jonathan had promised Nigerians and the International Community that the elections on March 28 and April 11, 2015 would hold. And that Prof. Jega would not be removed or sent on terminal leave when the elections are just around the corner. I had told Nigerians and the International Community that President Jonathan could not be trusted in his promises, as he would always go behind his promises to initiate or instigate moves that would undermine his own promises. How can we explain the Pro-Jonathan’s protest by OPC for the removal of Jega as the nation witnessed in Lagos on Monday, 16 March, 2015, which was meant to scuttle the March 28 and April 11 elections he has promised would hold?
When it dawned on the President and the PDP that the use of PVCs and Smart Card Readers-obviously meant to bring about free, fair and credible elections, devoid of rigging-was a foregone conclusion, protests and court cases were instigated by the Presidency and the PDP to stop the use of theses technological devices which ought to have been supported by the president who himself once promised to tackle corruption with the same technology he is now afraid of. This is simply because the use of Card Readers would not allow those who had cloned and bought PVCs to use them without being detected at the elections. Just because the INEC, the people of Nigeria and the International Community have insisted on the use of these technological devices for the election of March 28 and April 11, and that under no circumstance should these elections be subjected to another postponement, the PDP’s last important card is its attempt to create confusion of monumental proportion on the day of election.
The plan is to ensure that Card Readers don’t work on the days of elections, in because of the ruling party’s morbid fears about the use of Card Readers that would definitely expose their rigging plans on D-day. Now, the APC has accused President Jonathan’s administration and the PDP of planning to jam the Card Reader machines on voting days for which an Israeli has been hired. The Israeli “had developed three prototype Card Reader Jammers to be carried in the pockets of trusted PDP chiefs on election day to disable the Card Readers so as to justify the PDP’s fears about the Card Readers. Besides disabling the Card Readers, “the jammers will also disable all telephones, ipads etc, within the state’s radius of those carrying them on their persons”. The plan is to deploy the Card Jammers to the strongholds of the APC like North West, South West, North East, Rivers State and other suspected areas in the North, South East and the South -South.
The Israeli is already seen as a traitor to the International Community interested in free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria, and “an enemy of Nigeria and Nigerians who do not mind if the nation burns, as long as he has collected his pay”.
For the production of 75,000 jammers, the nation would cough out S15m at S200 per jamming machine for the PDP! On this serious matter, Nigerians, the International Community and the leadership of the INEC must see to it that none of the telephone service providers like MTN, GLO and ETISALAT cooperate or compromise with the Federal Government in this jamming game while the (NCC) must steer clear of this shameful scenario. The leadership of INEC< with the cooperation of the International Community, must provide counter jammer to the PDP jamming machine. Already, the International Community and especially the US have made it clear through the Vice-President of the US, Joe Biden, that INEC must use the PVCs and Smart Card Readers for the March 28 and April 11 elections in Nigeria (Punch, Friday, March 19, 2015, p.7)
The questions that President Jonathan and PDP must answer at this eleventh hour are these: what plans do they have for successful elections that are free, fair and credible on March 28 and April 11? What plans do they have for creating crisis by using technology (jammers) to prevent the Card Readers from working on March 28 and April 11? How actually prepared are they for these elections? And, finally, are they prepared to take responsibility for scuttling the March 28 and April 11 elections and the attendant consequences, should anything go wrong in accordance to their plan, wish or prayer?
Or, by creating crisis at the coming election, do they hope that the Army would take over in order to prevent any elections and General Buhari from being sworn-in as the next president? It should be pointed out that any attempt to take over the government by the military would lead to a situation worse than those of the Arab Springs where the Military and the Police had no choice but to surrender to the superior force of the masses of the people who drove out president Mubarak and got him tried for crime against the Egyptian people by the International Criminal Court.
The Inspector General of Police has said: “no waiting at polling booths after voting” (Punch, March 20, p.2). Traditionally, an electorate is expected to wait after casting his or her vote to ensure that the vote counts and is counted. That is what INEC, the legally constituted authority to conduct and monitor elections in Nigeria, says. Voters are well protected by electoral, and not police, laws. The IGP should not usurp the powers of INEC and should be careful about his illegal directive, which is not tenable, because what he is saying is that voters should not wait to monitor what happens to their votes and collect the results on the spot. This is yet another rigging device that must be thrown into the dustbin.
On a final note, Nigerians must insist that election materials are delivered to the polling stations on time, as not doing so would affect those who are eager to cast their votes, especially if delays of election materials occur in the strongholds of the opposition party. The Federal Government must also be careful about the way it manipulates the NTA for carrying news and advertisements about PDP to the exclusion of the APC, because the NTA is for all Nigerians and not for President Jonathan and PDP alone. Surely this policy of exclusion would backfire, as it would further draw the wrath of Nigerians against the ruling party. A word, we say, is enough for the wise!
- Makinde, FINAL, Professor of Philosophy,
DG/CEO, Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology & Good Governance, Osogbo, The State of Osun.
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‘Jonathan should consider himself out-going President’
Former Acting Governor of Kogi State, Chief Clarence Olafemi Thursday declared that the almost 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the helms of affair is nearing its end.
He called on Nigerians to do the needful by voting out President Goodluck Jonathan, saying the country has had enough of PDP misrule.
Addressing journalists in the state capital, Lokoja, Olafemi, a member of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, said the party was at the threshold of setting the nation on the path of
true greatness.He added: “PDP boasted it will rule Nigeria for the next 60 years but it is clear to Nigerians it cannot even put its own house in order for barely15 years. PDP has failed Nigerians and they will rightly be
voted out of office begining Saturday.“Goodluck Jonathan is Nigeria’s outgoing President and by the grace of God, General Mohammadu Buhari is our next President. Nigerians expected so much but they were soundly disappointed.
“It is clear to all that another four years of PDP will be disaster for the country and that is why the call for change has taken over everywhere”.
The politician called on Nigerians to come out en-mass to cast their vote for the APC presidential candidate, and stay back to ensure that their votes are counted.
“Nigerians should come out en-mass to vote General Buhari. They should conduct themselves in peaceful manner while they remain to see their votes counted.”
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Mimiko’s deputy Olanusi joins APC
The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Alhaji Ali Olanusi Thursday morning resigned his membership from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and declared for All Progressives Congress (APC).
Olanusi, an indigene of Supare in Akoko South West local government area of the State became the deputy governor of the State in 2009 under the platform of Labour Party before he defected along side with the governor to PDP in October, 2014.
It was learnt that the governor, Olusegun Mimiko and his deputy had been at loggerheads for so long, leading to rumours that the governor was making attempt to impeach him.
Details later….
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Imo PDP leaders decamp to APC
The re-election bid of the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, Thursday received a significant boost with the dumping of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) by political leaders in the state and his endorsement by major political groups from the three senatorial zones of the state.
The influential political groups from Orlu, Okgwe and Owerri zones, known as the Coalition of Imo Mainstream Politicians for Good Governance, are made up of the Orlu Political Consultative Assembly (OPOCA), Owerri Zone Mandate Group and the Okigwe Political Leaders Congress.
The Coalition during a press conference in Owerri, the Imo State capital, said that it decided to dump the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a result of the Governor’s sterling performance and the irredeemable corruption in the PDP.
In a statement jointly signed by the Coordinator of the Coalition of Imo Mainstream Politicians for Good Governance, Chief Rex Anunobi, also known as Sokom, the National President of OPOCA, Dr. Samfo Nwankwo and the President General, Owerri Zone Mandate, Dr. Vitalis Ajumbe and the President Okigwe Political Leaders Forum, Dr. Kelechi Okpaleke, the group maintained that “the APC is the only hope for a truly democratic and corruption free Nigeria”.
The political leaders further disclosed that they were inspired to join the APC because of the unprecedented achievements recorded by the Okorocha’s administration within a short time in office, adding that “the Governor had dazed his critics by the successful implementation of the free education programme, the construction of 27 new general hospitals across the 27 Local Government Areas of the State, the construction of 15 kilometer rural roads in all the LGAs”.
They also added that the APC led administration in the state; unlike previous administrations has spread development to all the nook and crannies of the state, especially the rural areas that were hitherto abandoned.
They also dismissed other political parties in the governorship race, stating that the status of their governorship candidates is not yet clear as they are still locked in legal battle, “the PDP and APGA are yet to have valid governorship candidates as they are still in court”.
The Coalition, further accused the PDP of planning to continue its “share the money syndrome” alleging that the governorship candidate of the party has promised aspirants who lost the governorship primaries a N35 billion refund when he gets to power.
They promised to mobilize Imo people from the three zones to vote Governor Okorocha “because he has done Imo State proud with his performance. Imo people need the best. Imo people deserve the best and the best is Governor Okorocha.”
