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Tag: PDP

  • PDP will win elections in all states in the south – Akpabio

    PDP will win elections in all states in the south – Akpabio

    The Governors forum of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) has on Monday said that the party would win elections in all the states in the south of the country including Lagos.

    According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Chairman of the Forum and Akwa Ibom state governor, Gooodswill Akpabio said this at a meeting of the forum in Lagos.

    Speaking to newsmen before the commencement of the meeting Akpabio said that the PDP would win on first ballot because it was a national party.

    “Forget the propaganda you see. We are on ground and we believe PDP will win.

    “PDP is the party to beat. We are not panicking because we have presence across 120, 000 polling units across the nation.

    “We are in Lagos because Lagos is a strategic place. we have to re-strategise to ensure free, fair and credible elections. We came to brainstorm on how to win the election” he said.

    He re-assured Nigerians that the party would ensure that the elections were credible.

    “We intend to discuss everything concerning the election. We have a responsibility to ensure the stability of Nigeria and Nigerians because we are the party in power.

    “PDP is not callous to create problems in Nigeria” Akpabio said.

    Also Speaking, Gov Jonah Jang of Plateau called on INEC to be sure of the effectiveness of the card reader before using it.

    “INEC said they could not use the card reader in the Osun election because it was sensitive but between the national election and Osun election, which is more sensitive” he queried.

    Other Governors in attendance include Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River, Seriki Dickson of Bayelsa, Ibrahim Shema of Katsina and Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo states.

    Others are, Govs Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti, Ibrahim Dankwabo of Gombe, Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna and PDP governorship candidate for Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje.

     

  • Seven PDP governors to join APC, says Okorocha

    Seven PDP governors to join APC, says Okorocha

    No fewer than seven Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors will join the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum Owelle Rochas Okorocha said in Lagos yesterday.

    He spoke at a rally in Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos State for the APC governorship candidate, Mr. Akinwunmi  Ambode.

    The governor said the governors’ resolve will nail the coffin of the PDP.

    His words: “Now let me tell you that the victory of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has been signed, sealed and delivered. But let me tell you something but don’t tell anybody.

    “It is a secret, about seven PDP governors are coming to hold meetings with us privately, planning to join us.

    “There is fear in the country. The fear is that they know Buhari is a good man, they know Buhari will win. The fear is that once they announce Buhari on March 28 as winner all the bad people stealing the nation’s money will take midnight flight and leave the country.  The fear of Buhari is the end of corruption in Nigeria. ”

    He said it took the intervention of Buhari to stop open defecation before it became entrenched again.

    The governor said Buhari had stopped all forms of indiscipline before the country became a laughing stock among comity of nations for lack of discipline.

    Okorocha added that the PDP died when the opposition parties merged to form the APC.

    “The day Babatunde Fashola, Rochas Okorocha and other governors came together, the PDP died in Nigeria.

    “On  February 14, we were supposed to bury the PDP but they changed the date of the funeral to March 28.

    “Now we are waiting patiently to bury the PDP forever. Let me tell you. You can change the day of the funeral but you can’t change the funeral, it must take place. May the soul of PDP rest in peace.

    “The worst thing that can happen to any nation is to have a bad government and the worst thing that can happen to any family is to have a bad father.

    “Today, it is obvious that PDP is a bad government. Thank God we came together for  change and the change has started.”

    He urged the Igbo community to vote  for Ambode, saying he has the capacity to ensure mutual co-existence of all tribes in Lagos.

    Okorocha, who was flanked by Fashola and other APC leaders, decried the economic policies of the Federal Government.

    “PDP has cheated you. If you have N100, 000 before, what you now have is N60, 000.

    “The Federal Government has removed N40, 000 by devaluing the Naira.”

    Fashola urged Lagosians not to yield to the plans of the PDP, which has been bribing people to vote for it.

    He said the Federal Government wants to take a shortcut to success, without working for it.

    “All the promises they made to you, have they fulfilled them?

    “The man has been promising to do more, when he has not fulfilled the promise he made when he was seeking your votes.”

    He said his administration did not only put policemen on insurance scheme but bought weapons to enable them function.

    “Go to  Youtube and listen to Senator Chris Anyanwu, who chairs the Senate Committee on Navy, begging for money for the Navy to fuel its boats.

    “Yet, Nigeria budgeted over N1 trillion for defence. They said Buhari did not buy guns in 1985.

    “Are you going to use 1985 weapon to fight 2015 war? They are bundle of liars and do not know what to do.

    “Please don’t sell your PVC because it is your future and your power to vote out the PDP.

    “The election is about how you secure your freedom. The money he should have used in providing infrastructure is being used to bribe people  to get votes.

    “You gave me 1.5 million votes during the last election, and you can see the result of the votes. What I want you to do for me is three million votes from you for Ambode.”

     

  • N7b bribe: PDP is blackmailing religious leaders, says El-Rufai

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government of blackmailing religious leaders, to weaken their moral authority.

    El-Rufai, who addressed reporters yesterday, was reacting to an allegation that the Federal Government gave N7billion and N12billion to the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Islamic bodies, to campaign for President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The APC standard-bearer said Imams were invited for a seminar in Kaduna, organised by the Office of Vice President Namadi Sambo, on how to achieve a violence-free poll.

    According to him, the Islamic clerics attended the occasion innocently, thinking they were there to seek a way forward for successful elections, “but their pictures were taken and circulated to the media, with an allegation of receiving N7billion for the Jonathan campaign.”

    The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), who noted that CAN was also blackmailed, said the allegations had pitched the Islamic and Christian clerics against their followers.

    He added: “The plan of the PDP-led government is to undermine their reputation and blackmail them in such a way that religious leaders can not tell their followers the truth about the way the country is being mismanaged.”

    El-Rufai recalled that that was how the revered  traditional institution in the North was desecrated in 2011 and the people almost rose up against some emirs during and after the elections.

    He warned people not to fall into the PDP’s ambush by insinuating allegations against religious leaders, saying they remained the only institution people listened to, because the ruling party had compromised traditional institutions.

    According to him, monarchs and religious leaders are used as shock absorbers for suing for peace during upheavals, such as war or crisis.

    “The traditional institution has been weakened by the government. So we shouldn’t allow religious bodies and clerics, who are the last line of defence, to be destroyed by PDP,” the APC governorship candidate added.

    He promised that an APC government in Kaduna State and at the centre would restore the lost glory of the traditional institutions and religious leaders and organisations.

     

  • Travails of Niger Deputy Governor

    Travails of Niger Deputy Governor

    Since his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Niger State Deputy Governor Ahmed Ibeto has suffered persecution from his boss of almost eight years. JIDE ORINTUNSIN chronicles his ordeal.

    Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu and his deputy, Hon. Ahmed Ibeto, were like Siamese twins. Their cordial working relationship threw them up as a role model in a joint ticket mandate and made them the envy of their counterparts in other states.

    But, on January 19,  the political harmony of almost eight years  collapsed. Just before the governorship primary of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a crack emerged on the wall of brotherhood.

    Ibeto had the ambition to succeed his boss as the fifth governor of the “Power State”, but Aliyu had another candidate in mind, despite the initial encouragement he gave to his deputy.

    Prior to the primary, Aliyu had been telling everyone that it is his wish to have his successor from within his administration. Repeatedly at various fora the governor did not give a chance to anyone “outside” his administration to clinch the party’s ticket. His reason was to ensure continuity of the programmes and policies he painstakingly put in place since 2007.

    The cordial relationship between Ibeto and his boss, coupled with his complete loyalty and dedication to his boss since 2007, had made Ibeto hopeful. This was further re-enforced by the fact that he comes from Niger North Senatorial zone, which is favoured to produce the next chief executive of the state.

    But, alas, Ibeto was wrong. Aliyu had a preferred candidate out of the nine aspirants that jostled for the ticket of the party in the 39-year old Umar Nasko, son of a retired General and former Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Gado Nasko. The governor did everything humanly possible, despite assurances of a level-playing ground for all aspirants, to ensure that his candidate had a sweeping victory over and above other aspirants. To Ibeto and other aspirants, the party primary was nothing but a sham.

    But, efforts to seek redress from the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party by all the aggrieved aspirants have hit the rocks. None of their protests was considered. The injustice and humiliation they experienced at the governorship primary paved the way for their exit from the ruling party, with Ibeto leading the pack of defectors.

    Thus, the political landscape of the state took a new shape when Ibeto and over 300 elected and appointed officers of the ruling PDP from across the 25 local government areas dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC). His defection provided filip for the APC presidential campaign in the state. The reception organised to receive him and other defectors, which was graced by the APC standard bearer, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, dealt a big blow to the ruling party, which has dominated the state for 16 years.

    Initially, Aliyu took the development with a pinch of salt. He dismissed Ibeto’s defection as a non issue. For him, Ibeto’s “sojourn” was for a while. In what looks like attempt to woo him back, the governor assured his deputy that his rights and privileges will not be denied.

    The governor said: “Ibeto reserves the right to determine who and what group he will want to belong to. As far as I am concerned, Ibeto remains the deputy governor of the state and he will continue to enjoy all rights and privileges due to his office.”

    Ibeto’s travails started weeks after, when the APC profile in the state began to soar. Aliyu resolved that his deputy must be punished. The Chairman of Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) saw the defection as a big blow to his much-touted iron grip and control of the party.

    The import of Ibeto’s exit dawned on the governor, when he realised that his return to the fold was becoming a mirage. He started looking for constitutional means to punish the recalcitrant deputy.

    On February 11, Aliyu launched his first attack. He hatched the illegal plan to bar his deputy from the weekly Executive Council meetings in the Government House. He accused Ibeto of making derogatory comments against him at APC rallies. Subsequently, the governor walked Ibeto out of the council meeting, with a threat that he would have nothing to do with his hitherto faithful, loyal and dedicated ally.

    In an attempt to cover up the sinister motive, the government, through the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Israel Ebije, said Ibeto willingly excused himself from the meeting on moral grounds — a claim the Deputy Governor later debunked.

    He said: “It is not true that I excused myself out of the council meeting. When I received notification for the Council meeting of the day, I went as usual. The Governor had in his opening remarks said that people and members of the Executive Council were aware that I have decamped from the PDP to the APC and that we have gone on campaign round the state and that I have been calling him a thief.

    “I explained that I have never referred to him as a thief. The fact is that people wanted to know why I left the PDP for the APC and I have been telling them that I left the PDP because of the injustice and nothing more.

    “I know that the Governor has no constitutional power to stop me from attending legitimate meeting of which I am legally a member and if it means going to court to get an injunction, we will do so.”

    When the governor realised that the deputy cannot be barred, the council sent a three-man delegation led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Sa’idu Idris Ndako to appeal to Ibeto to stay away from council meetings and promised that all his rights and privileges will not be denied.

    With this, one would have thought that truce has finally come, but on the February 18, Aliyu violated the unwritten “ceasefire agreement”, by transmitting a letter to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Adamu Usman, of his intention to travel and appointed him as the Acting Governor, instead of the deputy governor.

    The letter with reference number GHNS/13/72 dated February 17, 2015 reads in part: “I wish to inform Mr. Speaker, that I intend to travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform the Lesser Hajj between Febuary 19 to 26, 2015.

    “In my absence, the Hon. Speaker, Niger State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Adamu Usman, will oversee my schedules as the acting governor.”

    This provocative action of the governor was described as “laughable and unconstitutional” by Ibeto.

    Irked by the development, former Chief Whip of the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly, Hon. Abubakar Bwari, rebuked the governor, saying he contravened Section 190 of the constitution. He also pointed out that, in the event that a governor is not available to perform his functions, the power to act in his stead automatically rests on the deputy governor.

    The former lawmaker threatened that, “any blatant disobedience of the constitution by a public office holder can be grounds for impeachment. The constitution is not anybody’s plaything and we cannot choose when to obey it and when not to do so”.

    One battle that Ibeto had pre-empted the government was the rumoured move by the House to initiate an impeachment process against him. He ran to court and secured an order of a Minna High Court, presided over by Justice Aliyu Maiyaki. The court restrained pending the hearing and the determination of motion on notice.

    Mayaki also gave an order restraining the House from tempering, violating, withdrawing the rights and privileges of the deputy governor pending the hearing of the substantive suit.

    The trial judge further ordered that the Deputy Governor should not be obstructed from discharging his function and alternatively ordered that all parties in the suit should maintain “status quo ante bellum”.

    Determined to erase every trace or presence of Ibeto around the corridor of power, it was reliably gathered the governor had perfected plans to eject and relocate his deputy from the precinct of the Government House before his return from the Lesser Hajj.

    Though the quit notice was purportedly written by the Secretary to the State Government, the relocation order out of the Government House was contained in a letter from the Office of the Executive Governor dated February 27, 2015 with reference no GHNS/ADM/149/1/26 signed by Zainab K. Ishaku, Director of Administration, for Permanent Secretary to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, Minna directing the relocation of the Office of the Deputy Governor inside the Government House to a structure located at another area of Minna.

    The letter titled: Relocation to Office of Bank of Industry reads in part: “In line with the ongoing renovation exercise of structures and facilities in Government House, I write to inform you that the next exercise will focus on the Deputy Governor’s Office inside the Government House.

    “On the basis of that therefore, I wish to inform you to relocate temporarily to the office of Bank of Industry located at F-Layout, Minna.

    “You will be relocated back to Government House as soon as the renovation is completed. Sorry for the inconveniences the relocation might have caused you”.

    The deputy governor’s aides were served the letter on Friday and were given 48 hours, till Monday March 2 to move to an abandoned facility owned by a Minna-based businessman, Late Labaran Kago, even when their principal, Ibeto, was away in his village.

    The eviction order came as a surprise to many staffers of the Government House and members of the public. It raised many rhetorical questions that may never be answered. How come occupants of Protocol and Administration blocks were not relocated when similar exercise was carried out on their structures? Why are staff of the Government House Clinic currently under renovation not relocated? How secure is the environment and neighbourhood of the new office? Is the neighbourhood ideal to accommodate such a sensitive and sacred office of the deputy governor? Why the hurry to relocate the deputy? What are the economic or social implications of the relocation on the lean economy of the state?

    The latest move to devastate Ibeto through the relocation directive however suffered when on Monday it was discovered by deputy governor’s staff that the abandoned six-bedroom duplex facility was not habitable, conducive and befitting the status of the Office of the Deputy Governor of a state. The building lacked functional electrical and plumbing facilities. No stand-by generator, while the rooms that will serve as offices are without airconditioners.

    Compared to his inherited colonial structure office in Government House, the cockroach-infested structure situated at an obscure location has been cut off from power supply from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). The roofs of some of the rooms are also leaking.

    The reality on ground is that the “new” office and not the one in the Government House is the one that requires renovation.

  • PDP: end attacks on our candidate

    The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said  the campaign train of its governorship candidate, Chief Nyesom  Wike, was last Saturday attacked at Ulakwo in Etche Local Government Area.

    The party, in a statement by  its Chairman,  Felix Obuah, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of being behind the alleged attack.

    The PDP said the APC was unhappy because the people have accepted Wike as their next governor.

    The party said it would not be cowed, calling on law enforcement agencies to closely monitor the activities of APC.

    The PDP also called on the national leadership of APC to call its members in the state to order.

    It advised the APC to toe the path of reason and quit the politics of violence, urging it to convince Rivers people if it has anything good to offer.

    The party added that the attacks on its governorship candidate in Abua Odual, Bakana and Ulakwo-Etche were acts of a drowning man desperately groping for unsuspecting victims to go with him.

    It warned against further harassment and unprovoked attacks on Wike, his convoy and supporters.

    The APC has, however, distanced itself from the violence in the state.

    Its governorship candidate, Dr Dakuku Peterside, yesterday said he would not be party to any violence, adding that despite provocations, his supporters would not retaliate.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • PDP renews opposition to Card Readers, PVCs

    PDP renews opposition to Card Readers, PVCs

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has stepped up its campaign against Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega.

    It also renewed its opposition to the use of Smart Card Readers (SCRs) and the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for the general elections rescheduled for March 28 and April 11.

    At a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, the PDP Integrity Vanguard, an interest group within the ruling party, raised issues on the integrity, propriety and appropriateness of deploying the card readers and the PVCs for the purpose of the elections.

    Leaders of the group, Sen. Anietie Okon and Chief Sergeant Awuse sought explanations on why some states in the Boko Haram ravaged Northeast had over 70-80 per cent collection rates of the PVCs when many of the people in such states have been forced out of their communities.

    The duo of Okon and Awuse said: “Isn’t it curious that Lagos, Ogun and several states in the South trailed behind in PVCs collection despite abundant manpower compared to the Northeast?

    “Whereas INEC planned and announced that the distribution register of collection would be used, this was disregarded in the Northeast as some states’ INEC offices claimed that the distribution registers were not available and thus distributed without register.”

    According to them, INEC distributed the PVCs in some states in the Northeast without the use of voter registers and that the commission had decided not to use SCRs in the Northeast.

    They further alleged that PVCs were simply delivered to some unnamed politicians, district heads and clerics in some unnamed states in the Northeast.

    They continued: “Insiders disclosed that the high prevalence of distribution and collection in the Northeast was achievable because distribution registers were deliberately avoided in order to effectively cover up the impending electoral fraud planned by Prof. Jega and the APC.

    “As we speak, in most parts of the Northeast, millions of PVCs remain in the hands of powerful APC politicians. These cards will never get to their owners. Jega’s plan is to grant SCRs waiver to allow these PVCs to be used!

    “Without question, Jega has proven to be irredeemably unpatriotic. INEC has just shifted the deadline for PVC collection. Can this shift still be attributed to security frailties?

    “It is clear that Jega and INEC remain persistently impenitent in their determination to foist a predetermined outcome on Nigerians in the forthcoming March/April elections.

    “Jega has also demonstrated dismal capacity and paucity of competent ideas to conduct elections in a complex ethno-religious composition like Nigeria. We therefore express total lack of confidence in Jega to superintend these elections, having failed to meet timelines and the benchmark for the conduct of credible elections in any clime.

    “To attenuate their reprehensible plan further is the fact that Jega’s INEC has also invented a certain ‘incident form’ that will allow anyone to vote if his biometrics cannot be verified or authenticated.

    “In other words, if the SCRs) Card fails to authenticate the biometrics of a would-be voter, that person simply fills a form and goes ahead to vote!

    “What then is the essence of the biometrics if they cannot be trusted to provide the last security gateway against electoral fraud? This portends grave danger and is a recipe for unrestrained confusion at the polling stations.

    “Rather than continue to engage in this chicanery, Jega should come clean and admit failure and save us anguish and national embarrassment. Jega’s integrity and strength of character has been greatly impugned. To allow Jega to conduct the 2015 elections is clearly to become complicit in Jega’s unconcealed criminal intentions.

    “Card Readers are unarguably a recipe for monumental national disaster and must be discarded at this point because of the obvious intention to use it to rig elections in favour of APC and the consequent attendant threat to peace and security of the peoples of this country.

    “In what is a classical case of putting the cart before the horse, the National Assembly was deliberately hoodwinked into approving the use of Card Readers days before the test-run that has thrown up inherent weaknesses of the machine. An error margin of three in ten is below the standards of acceptable error in any sphere of human activities and is therefore unacceptable.

    “The 2011 elections may not have been perfect but it remains the only election in Nigeria internationally acclaimed to be free and fair. If we cannot improve on it, there is nothing wrong with staying with the formula that gave us the best elections ever. We call on INEC to immediately revert to the 2011 system with PVCs replacing TVCs.

    “The National Assembly must as a matter of urgent national importance investigate the introduction by INEC of so-called “voting points” as INEC’saction is obviously intended to surreptitiously circumvent National Assembly’s express position on the matter.

    “We believe it is the clandestine way Prof. Jega hopes to achieve his original intention of using them to generate the tie-breaking bank of votes and must not be allowed”.

  • Defecting PDP members endorse Emerhor

    Several groups of defecting PDP members in Delta State have endorsed the candidate of the All Progressives candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor as their governorship for the 2015 general elections.

    Speaking on behalf of all the groups, Comrade Ebah said they have all decided to endorse the APC candidate because they were tired of supporting the PDP stressing that for the past 16 years the ruling party has brought nothing but pains to the people.

    Comrade Ebah stressed that it was high time youths in the State took their destinies into their hands and worked with the progressive party that will bring the needed change desired by the people. He said Olorogun Emerhor has proven himself in the business world by dint of hard work and that he believed that has what it takes to rescue the State from the clutches of PDP.

    The groups numbering  about twenty, promised the APC gubernatorial candidate that they will take the message of change to their wards and units in all the 25 local government areas of the State, vowing to mobilize the grassroots for Emerhor.

    Responding the APC candidate expressed his appreciation for the endorsement saying that with the various political and pressure groups behind him, they will wrest power from the hands of PDP and rescue the State from the economic tsunami it finds itself through the misrule of the ruling part for the past 16 years.

    Emerhor said his government is going to rescue the State from the present underdevelopment brought about by clueless leaders who have continued to squander the resources of the State to the detriment of the masses.

    He noted that despite being one of the riches states in Nigeria, Delta State still lacks basic infrastructure like schools, roads, hospitals, electricity and others. He urged youths in the State to take their destinies into their hands and stand their ground and defend their votes during the elections.

  • Stop harassing our members, Oyo APC warns PDP

    Stop harassing our members, Oyo APC warns PDP

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has warned against the illegal arrests and intimidation of its members by security agents on the orders of influential leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    In a statement by its Director of Publicity and Strategy, Olawale Sadare, yesterday,  the party condemned the frequent invitation and detention of some of its members for alleged vandalism of President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign billboards in parts of the state.

    “For about a month now, the Caretaker Chairman of Oyo West Local Government Area, Adesoji Ojoawo and other members of our party have been regular visitors to the police headquarters in Ibadan for allegedly destroying PDP billboards even after proving their innocence.

    “The council boss was again invited last Friday on the same issue and he has since been detained at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

    “It has been established that the billboard, in question, may have been damaged by heavy winds. These same security agents have failed to act on formal reports of damage done to billboards of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), Sen. Abiola Ajimobi and other APC candidates.

    “As part of their usual practice, some PDP elements in the state would not spare any effort to intimidate, harass and witch-hunt APC members perceived to be a thorn in their flesh.

    “Having failed to utilise the chances at its disposal in the last 16 years, the PDP is faced with the threat of monumental defeat at the polls.

    “Some of their notable members are there sponsoring violence against the opposition but there is nobody to checkmate them. On this note, we call on the PDP power mongers as well as their willing security agents to desist from further abuse of privilege and stop heating up the polity.”

  • Why PDP ‘ll fail in Lagos, by APC chieftain

    Why PDP ‘ll fail in Lagos, by APC chieftain

    The Lagos State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has been advised to work towards getting one or two seats in the House of Assembly instead of dissipating its energy and resources on the governorship election.

    All Progressives Congress chieftain Hon. Nicholas Ajayi, who gave this advice, said such a strategy would help the party to build structures in the state.

    The APC chieftain also urged the PDP to form a formidable and constructive opposition that would help the APC government deliver more services to the people.

    Ajayi said the people of Lagos State will vote massively for the APC, adding that the party will win with over 70 per cent of votes in the governorship election.

    “There’s no doubt about it. Lagos is an APC state; the people of Lagos believe in the APC and they are going to vote massively for the party. I am not excited about the victory, I am more concerned about what comes after the victory, how do we really accomplish our promises to the people because this is what we would be judged in 2019,” he said.

    Ajayi said there is no way the PDP would win the governorship, because the party does not even have a counselor or a local government chairman.

    He said: “The party does not have a member of the state House of Assembly, a member of the Federal House of Representatives and a senator. It does not have the required structures.

    “That I am good in character and indeed, do not have a place in electoral votes, there must be a platform. The reality is that there’s no PDP in Lagos State. The PDP exists only in time of elections; I advise them to strategise properly to become relevant. They are not relevant; they don’t exist.”

    Ajayi said the APC has set a very high standard, adding that at this point in time, there is no need to experiment. He said what is required is consolidation on the achievements that have been made so far.

    Ajayi said that the Babatunde Raji Fashola administration has set a very high standard that today many governors in the country, including the PDP governors, are emulating such standards.

    He added: “Before this time there was no index for measuring the performance of governors in the country, but today, governors are measured by the number of schools they build, roads, hospitals and other infrastructural and developmental facilities.

    “These are the things that the APC government has brought into the Nigerian polity as dividends of democracy. I doubt if a PDP government in Lagos State can deliver such because for a very long time they have not come into governance.”

    He said that the candidacy of Akinwunmi Ambode, the APC governorship candidate, has a lot of practical experience that would help take the state to the next level.

    According to Ajayi, the standard which the present administration has set is so high that it would be expected that the next governor would try to outdo and deliver the dividends of democracy and good governance better than what the predecessor had done. He added that Ambode is coming to consolidate what has been actualised by Governor Fashola

  • PDP’s infamy, admission of failure

    In its desperation to hold on to power at all cost, the People Democratic Party (PDP) has suddenly thrown all caution to the wind. All of a sudden, decorum no longer means anything to the party and its leaders. An inordinate obsession for power has abruptly turned a ruling party into a shameless propaganda machine that is churning out series of lies in inconceivable fashion every minute. Lubricating the propaganda engine of the party is no other than a queer personality who, in saner climes, should be behind the bars over graft matters.  That the PDP could even make such a dubious character the rallying point of its presidential campaign propaganda mechanism speaks volume of the party’s make up. Without a doubt, the PDP is on the verge of self-destruct and the colossal fall of the phony “biggest political party in Africa” is imminent.

    It is rather strange how a ruling party, that is supposed to have the edge in a political contest if it had performed well in terms of delivery of visible dividends of democracy for the citizenry, has chosen, rather barefacedly, to resort to propaganda. A ruling party in a normal setting will go into election on the strength of its kept promises, showcasing its people-oriented programmes and meeting the visible testimonies from the people whose lives have been touched and their welfare needs met by the government. Unfortunately, this is not so with the clueless government of Goodluck Jonathan as it cannot point to anything as achievement since 2011 other than a dismally performing economy, a naira that is almost becoming worthless, the over 13,000 innocent lives lost to Boko Haram, a criminally high level impunity, hi-tech corruption and kleptomania of a high degree as well as kidnapping that has reached an inexplicable degree. Ironically, this is the same party that was initially talking about issue-based political campaigns.

    Unfortunately, for the PDP, lies and distortions is a lifeline for a brazen party that wants to cling on to power by all means. So, while the electorates were expecting to hear from the PDP what it has done to improve the economy, stabilise power, create jobs, stem corruption, advance education, upgrade infrastructure and beef up security, the party has chosen to play to the gallery by celebrating frivolities. It has resorted to character assassination and mudslinging as high point of its campaign strategy. Thus, if it is not about Buhari’s age today, it is either about his health, certificate, complexion, height, wife or his children the next day. The demonization of Buhari and other APC leaders have so much become the sole campaign manifesto and agenda of the PDP that the people are already getting tired of it.

    While flagging off his re-election bid campaign at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, President Jonathan took the demonization of Buhari to a ridiculous  height when he claimed that his administration could not win the war against Boko Haram because General Buhari did not buy ammunitions for the military while the latter was in power way back 1985. Unknown to the President and his gang of hypocrites, they were merely making a mockery of themselves because what readily came to the minds of men with lucid thoughts is why the President should think of winning  a 2015 combat with the weapons bought in 1985! This asymmetrical line of reasoning from the President clearly explains why the nation has been heading in the wrong direction since he came into office. It speaks so much of the sterility of the minds that have unfortunately been saddled with the highly demanding and daunting task of providing seasoned and reasoned leadership for the country.

    Naively, the more the PDP attempts to batter and disparage the All Peoples’ Congress, APC, the more it exposes itself to sickening public ridicule. For instance, as the party appears to have given up on Buhari and devised another cruel campaign against the person of Professsor Yemi Osinbajo, his running mate, who Femi Fani- Kayode, the basket mouth of the party who, strangely alleged to have swore to an oath with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to resign from office after six months, it got condemnation from the people who could not imagine how it suits Femi Fani-Kayode to thrive on ignoble ways. The desperate PDP has left that now to concentrated much energy on frontal attack on Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who it  now disparages in a documentary which PDP’s television station, AIT broadcast last week to portray the APC national leader in bad light.  Unfortunately, this callous attempt has not, in any way, affected the profile of Asiwaju who is leading Nigerians to have the desired change and give the country the long awaited freedom this month.

    As at now, many parts of the country have started experiencing fuel scarcity. As if it is not disgusting enough that an oil producing nation of Nigeria’s profile is importing petroleum products into the country at huge cost, the clueless PDP- led government, in its characteristic lame duck style of buck passing, said, through Alhaji Adamu Muazu, the national chairman of PDP, that it is the opposition that is responsible for the fuel scarcity being experienced in the country.

    The joke around town now is that if it doesn’t rain for some time in the country, the opposition must be the ones behind it. Regrettably for Muazu and his apparently senile co-travelers, however, the Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, has come out to tell Nigerians that the devaluation of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) is the real reason for the current fuel crisis. Certainly, the PDP is an assembly of confused and illogical minds who are toying with the destiny of our great country and who must be voted out so the country can progress.

    Hypocrisy and double-speak have become the hallmark of the PDP. It is the worst case of double standard for the PDP to question the basis for General Buhari’s recent appearance at the Chatham House, London, when the same platform was used a few weeks back by the administration, when the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, first gave a hint of the postponement of the general elections. For the hypocritical PDP, it is alright for Dasuki to be at the Chatham House, a globally respected platform where statesmen speak on vital national and international issues, but it suddenly becomes an improper platform because Buhari is involved. The pointless eruption of the PDP and its propaganda machine against Buhari’s outing in London is exactly the kind of reaction that has turned the party and its leaders into a bunch of clowns across the world.

    The truth of the matter is that Nigerians are not in any way swayed by the PDP’s tissue of lies and propaganda against Buhari and the APC. They are quite aware that it is the trademark of the failed and unaccepted PDP led government. Nigerians recognize that the PDP’S resort to bankrolling clearly defective propaganda against leaders of the APC is an indirect way of admitting that it has failed the country, but are concerned about the desperation that the PDP and the Lords in Abuja are putting into this election. The way they have been going about to put everything on the way of a free, fair and credible election clearly shows that they do not want Nigeria to continue to be when they are voted out. When a ruling party relies a great deal on propaganda as a major campaign selling point, one does not need to go to a great length before submitting that such a party has nothing to offer the people.

    The fact that the PDP–led government has been wasting public funds in broadcasting damaging information about the APC and its leaders as well as the recent hiring of people to protest during General Buhari’s recent appearance at the Chatham House in London are indications of how the country’s hard earned resources is being squandered by the dense and inept Jonathan administration.  As it is now, the die is cast and there is no hiding place for these enemies of the people who want to perpetuate kleptomania,

    mediocrity, brigandage and lack of focus,  as imminent trouncing awaits them at the polls. You can postpone an election as much as you want but you cannot destroy the resolve of the people yearning for change.

    • Ibirogba is Honourable Commisioner for Information and Strategy, Lagos State