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Tag: PDP

  • Aspirants sue PDP over threat of exclusion from primaries

    Aspirants sue PDP over threat of exclusion from primaries

    Two Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirants in Akwa Ibom State have sued the party and its National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, for allegedly threatening to exclude them from the party’s primary.

    In the suit filed before the Federal High Court, Abuja, Umanah Okon Umanah and Lady Roberta Nyong prayed the court to set aside the party’s congress on November 1 from which they were excluded.

    The plaintiffs, who listed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendant, said they were shocked when the party’s National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh said the governorship position had been zoned to Eket Senatorial District.

    In a supporting affidavit, the plaintiffs said they were embarrassed by the action of the PDP and its chairman.

    They urged INEC not to recognise the process, which they said would disenfranchise legitimate participants in the electoral process.

    The plaintiffs urged the court to declare that they or any other PDP governorship aspirant in Akwa Ibom State could not be excluded from contesting the forthcoming primary or placed at a disadvantage because of their senatorial district, local government area or ethnicity.

    They are seeking an order restraining the party from preventing them from participating in the primary.

    The plaintiffs raised two issues for the court’s determination. The first is whether or not the PDP could exclude them from participating in its primaries leading to the governorship election in 2015.

    They also urged the court to determine whether or not the statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary that only governorship aspirants from Eket Senatorial District were eligible to contest the party’s primary, was not unconstitutional.

  • Southwest PDP: A divided house

    Southwest PDP: A divided house

    Three months to the general elections, the Southwest Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in chaos. The state chapters are polarised by the struggle for political offices. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the implication of the war of atttriction on the party, ahead of next year’s polls.   

    The dark clouds hanging the future of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southwest is yet to disappear. For more than two years, the party has been embroiled in crisis. The acrimony climaxed when the former National Chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, appointed Mr. Buruji Kashamu as the Chairman of the Zonal Contact and Mobilisation Committee. Since then, the Southwest PDP has not been the same.

    The crisis has polarised the zone. The discontent is such that virtually all state chapters are grappling with crises. Efforts to resolve the crises have not been successful, given the division within the ranks of party leaders. It is the divergent interests that prompted the national headquarters to set up the Integration Committee headed by the Senate President, Senator David Mark, to bring the warring factions together, ahead of next year’s general elections.

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, under whose leadership the PDP rose to prominence in the Southwest, has lost control over the party, even in his home state, Ogun. Analysts described Kashamu’s appointment as an imposition intended to spite the former President and reduce his political influence. The party structure, they said, was deliberately handed over to Kashamu to undermine Obasanjo, who has vowed that he would never recognise a party leader who is wanted in the United States of America for drug offences. Besides, Obasanjo’s letter to the national chairman, announcing his withdrawal from the affairs of the party on account of recent development, has complicated matters for the party.

    It was against this background that a party elder, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), said  summoned some leaders and elders to find ways of putting the division in the party behind them and forge ahead as the preparation for next year’s election gathers momentum. Akinjide said: “In Nigerian politics, the Southwest is an important zone to reckon with. Why are we taking up arms against one another? What exactly is happening to us? If we call ourselves leaders, should we then be found in a demeaning position?”

    Supporting Obasanjo’s position on the alleged imposition of Kashamu as party leader in the zone, Akinjide said: “Obasanjo said there are some alleged criminals in the party. One of them is a drug addict. I mean the criminal element who wants to lead us. We won’t allow them.”

    Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has also declared interest in the zonal leadership of the party. He told the Southwest PDP chieftains at a meeting in Abuja that, being the only governor elected on the platform of the party, he should automatically become the zonal leader.

    In a veiled reference to former President Obasanjo, Fayose said:  “The party would not beg anybody to return to its fold. This is the last time that any member of the party, irrespective of his position, whether former governor or President, will be begged to remain in the party. If they want to join other parties, they can go. They should not disparage the party again because if they do, they will go. They have enjoyed benefits in the party, so they should respect the party.”

    The internal struggle for political offices and positions, particularly the squabble over who gets the party’s governorship tickets has created more divisions in the fold. The party is factionalised in the six states that make up Southwest.

     

    Oyo

     

    Unless the party puts its house in order in Oyo State, its dream of wresting the governorship back from the All Progressives Congress (APC) would remain a mirage. The party is sharply divided into four groups.

    A former Minister of Power and Steel, Elder Wole Oyelese, confirmed that there is a division in the chapter, when he said: “As things are now in the state, the PDP has four groups.” According to him, the groups are championed by former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ms. Jumoke Akinjide, Senator Teslim Folarin and the neutral group led by him.

    One of the factions close the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, has been trying to bring former Governor Rashidi Ladoja back to the fold. But, apparently the other factions are not favourably disposed to the idea. Recent efforts of the First Lady to reconcile the former governor with the PDP leaders in the state have met a brick wall. Dame Patience, according to reports, had at a meeting held at the Presidentia Villa, Abuja, requesting the party leaders to “accommodate” Ladoja in the party and support his governorship ambition in order to take the state back from the APC.

    But, the chieftains have vowed not to concede the ticket to Ladoja, who they insist is not a member of the party. Otunba Alao-Akala, who was present at the meeting, confirmed that Mrs Jonathan asked them to accommodate Ladoja. Alao-Akala said they disagreed on the ground that Ladoja had yet to dump the Accord Party for the PDP. Alao-Akala insisted that he would not step down for his former boss. Ladoja, on the other hand, has not ruled out joining the PDP. But, obviously, he doesn’t want to do so without the assurance that he would get the ticket. Ladoja emphasised that he could not leave certainty for uncertainty. “I have built my party into a winning party. How then can anyone expect me to leave that party, which is the pride of all aspirants, to another party?”

    The problem facing the PDP in the state is how to pick a candidate that will be acceptable to all factions among the arrays of aspirants. They include: Senator Folarin, Alao-Akala, Akinjide, Oyelese,  and youthful  Seyi  Makinde among others.

    All the aspirants, except Alao-Akala, hail from Ibadan. The aspirants from Ibadan insist that the ticket should be conceded to Ibadan. They premised their argument on the fact that Alao-Akala had served two terms allowed by the 1999 Constitution. But, the former governor faulted the claim, saying he contested the governorship election only in 2007. He added that he ran a joint ticket with Ladoja as deputy governor and took over when Ladoja was impeached to complete the tenure. He boasted that he would win the primary because his popularity cuts across the state. He hails from Ogbomosho, the second largest town in the state.

    Indications are that, if the party gives the ticket to any of the aspirants from Ibadan, Alao-Akala will not support him or her. Can the PDP afford to ignore the support of the Ogbomosho people? The outcome of David Mark-led Integration Committee will decide whether or not the PDP will go into next year’s polls as a bloc.

     

    Ogun

     

    The fight over the soul of the party in Ogun State has taken a new dimension. The struggle is between the Mandate Group led by Kashamu and the Jubril Martins-Kuye faction. The JMK is rooting for the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dimeji Bankole, to emerge as the party’s governorship candidate. The group is also calling for the dissolution of the state executive, which was installed by Kashamu. The Mandate group, on the other hand, has drawn the attention of the Mark Committee “to the activities of the members of JMK Group who are moving around to deceive the panel to do their bidding in order to satisfy their selfish interests.”

    It added: “This late hour scheme is meant to cause a fresh round of crises after the party has been stabilised and it is now functioning very well. We wish to state that this is not the time for anyone to start using the names of the President, the Senate President and/ the National Chairman to cause disaffection and further any selfish interest.

    “Even, if they want to foist the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Dimeji Bankole, on the party and give him automatic ticket for the governorship election, they should not throw away the baby with the bath water. Any attempt to do so would cause more grievous harm than it was meant to resolve.”

    The Mandate Group reminded those behind “Dimeji Bankole Must Be Governor” campaign that it was the same Bankole, who lost his re-election bid for the Abeokuta South Federal Constituency which is made up of just only one local government.

    A source disclosed the Presidency has endorsed Bankole as the consensus. This development, according to source, is causing disaffection in the party. Kashamu, the sole financier of the PDP in Ogun State, is not happy with it.  The source recalled that Kashamu had warned Bankole to go through normal process to realise his ambition. Other aspirants jostling for the ticket include Gboyega Isiaka, Kayode Amusan, Hon. Abiodun Akinlade and Ishola Sarafa, .among others

    Another source of worry in Ogun PDP is the return of the former Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel to the party. Daniel was prevailed upon by President Jonathan and the National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, to collapse the Labour Party (LP) structure into the PDP, to strengthen it for next year’s general elections. This development, according to sources, did not go down well with Kashamu. Daniel was stampeded out of the PDP by Kashamu and took over the party’s structure, which ought to be under the former governor, if not for the crisis that engulfed the party prior to the 2011 general elections. The old rivalry seems to have been rekindled by the  ambition of the two gladiators. Daniel is interested in the Ogun East Senatorial District ticket, which had been exclusively reserved for Kashamu. The Mandate group is not comfortable with the idea of dissolving the state executive council of the party to accommodate Daniel and his LP members that recently defected to the PDP.

     

    Ondo

     

    The defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko has destabilised the Ondo State chapter of the PDP. The fear that the national leadership would hand over the party structure to Mimiko has become a reality. Against all expectations, the National Working Committee (NWC) had dissolved the state executive council and constituted a caretaker committee without the knowledge of the state executive members.

    Reacting to the dissolution, the state chapter said: “To say the least, this action is a clear intention that those we expect to safeguard the interest of the party are intent on beheading it. We also consider this action a disappointment, particularly in view of the fact that there is a subsisting court order, barring the NWC from taking this action. We want to remind Abuja that it is by choice that we are party members and that the party is not a prison yard where we are inmates who are bereft of liberties and rights.”

    The state party secretariat had been closed down by the police. Observers are of the view that the closure was done to pave way for a new executive to be put in place by Mimiko. A party chieftain, Benson Enikuomehin berated the governor’s moves to truncate the democratic process in the state. He said Mimiko became governor in the state today through the judiciary and that a man of his calibre is expected to obey court ruling.

    Enikuomehin said this development may ruin the chances of President Jonathan and the PDP in Ondo State at the general elections next year.

     

    Lagos

    Many party chieftains believe that, since Chief Olabode George became the leader of the party, peace has eluded the chapter. Today, key party leaders are up in arms against George. They complained that he has aborted efforts to unite the polarised chapter by taking unilateral steps considered infuriating to other party leaders. Others have accused him of imposition of Dr. Shamusideen Ade-Dosunmu as governorship candidate in the last election and preventing a proper congress from holding at the ward, local government and state levels.

    Today, the relationship between George and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro is frosty.  Obanikoro had resigned his ministerial appointment to contest governorship election. Supporters of Obanikoro believe he lost governorship election in 2007 because the party leadership starved his campaign organisation of funds.

    Ade-Dosunmu too has declared his ambition to contest for the party ticket. Will George stick out his neck for him despite his poor outing in 2011 or support Jimi Agbaje to slug it out with Obanikoro at the primary? A party chieftain said the battle for the PDP ticket is between George and Obanikoro.

    Already, not less than 10 governorship aspirants are eyeing the PDP ticket in Lagos. They include Babatunde Gbadamosi, Deji Doherty, Remi Adikwu-Bakare, Tunde Daramola, Koshoedo, Bode Oyedele and Akintoye Branco-Rhodes.

     

    Ekiti                                                                      

     

    Governor Fayose runs the party as sole administrator. He has unilaterally picked the candidates for the state and national assembly elections. The governor reportedly said that, as the leader of the party in the state, he is in a better position to decide who is qualified for what position. Stakeholders of the party have complained against turning the party into a personal estate.

    The governor was also said to have masterminded the removal of the former Southwest PDP Caretaker Chairman, Chief Ishola Filani, from office. The removal of Filani, an indigene of Ekiti, according to party sources, was because Fayose prefers someone that would be loyal to him.

    Since Fayose emerged as the governorship candidate of the party at the primaries, other contestants have kept distance from him. Notable among them are former Police Affairs Minister Caleb Olubolade and Senator Gbenga Aluko. This suggests that proper reconciliation has not taken place.

     

  • Edo North belongs to PDP

    Edo North belongs to PDP

    Edo North senatorial aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Richard Lamai, has urged his party to field a formidable candidate, who can defeat the All Progress Congress (APC) in next year’s election.

    Lamai said the party can only make an impact, if the ticket is given to the best man.  Noting that Edo State is being governed by an energetic governor, he said only an energetic candidate with massive grassroots support can wrest power from the ruling party.

    He described himself as a loyal party man, stressing that ,when he indicated his interest to contest in 2003, he was told to step down and work for the  second term of Senator Victor Oyofo.

    Lamai said he took the advice and worked towards the party’s victory in 2003 and 2007, adding that the decision enabled him to work closely with Chief Tony Anenih, Chief Raymond Dokpesi and the elder statesman, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark.

    The aspirant said he is competent to represent the district at the Senate.

    He added that he has remained faithful to the PDP, even when many members dumped the party for the APC when they could not achieve their ambition within the fold.

    He implored the party to give his candidature preference, especially now that he has garnered enough exposure and experience as protégé of the legendary Clark, who is widely acknowledged as the political father of Mr. President and the Southsouth leader of the party.

    Lamai told the party leaders in the six local government areas of Edo-North that his cardinal objective is to stimulate economic development of the district through the establishment of small-scale industries in all the 64 wards of the zone.

    The senatorial aspirant said that, within 64 days in office, he would establish 64 small scale industries in each of the 64 wards of Edo North. This, he said, would be achieved through non-repayable empowerment scheme.

     

  • ‘Obasanjo still a factor in PDP’

    ‘Obasanjo still a factor in PDP’

    Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain Chief Joju Fadairo, in this interview with JEREMAIH OKE, speaks on President Jonathan’s re-election bid, the Ogun PDP crisis and other issues.

    Do you think the performance of President Jonathan is enough for him to contest next year?

    Although Jonathan has not declared his intention to contest in 2015, but nothing stops him from contesting. He has done well in the area of constructions and transportation. One of the necessities of life is shelter and that is why he is doing housing projects across the country. In terms of infrastructure and employment which I believe he needs to do more, I think he will be justified in the forthcoming elections. Also, the way he has put women in his cabinet is unprecedented, nobody has even done that in Nigeria history.

    You said he needs to do more on youth empowerment and unemployment?

    Yes. Few days ago, Jonathan was addressing youths on the way and strategies he has put in place to make them happy, which I believe he will soon carry out. I know he has put in place some agencies that will empower the youth so as not to engage themselves in violence or hooliganism. But let me tell you, the youths who are not myopia to see what he has done will vote for him and return him as the next president.

    Why are you insisting that he must return, even without visible achievement?

    I have enumerated some of his achievements and you are asking me if I really want him to return in 2015. You are wicked for saying he has not done anything. He is in my party and I want him back because he has performed well.

    Northern elders have given the president Jonathan ultimatum to return the Chibok girls or he should forget about the 2015 election…

    The Northern elders are not God. If I say Jonathan will be there and God says no, there is nothing I can do because the will of God must prevail. Let me tell you, all these social vices we are experiencing in Nigeria are not peculiar with Nigeria. Jonathan cannot do more than what is doing because he has done many things to ensure that the menace of insecurity stops in the north but the northerners are not helping matters. If they insist, they will continue with their crisis in the North because there is no Igbo or Yoruba man that is among the people threatening the peace of their region. It is their people who are killing them to distract the government. I think the northerners should help Jonathan with this Boko Haram of a thing rather than adding more to the problem because they know who are behind it and they should proffer lasting solution to it. They should forget it, Jonathan is coming back in 2015.

    Do you think your party is on ground in the Southwest?

    We are solidly on ground in the Southwest. Things cannot be going on well all the time. Crisis is synonymous to human being especially in politics. Between husband and wife, father and children there is always crisis but conflict resolution approach must be adopted. There must be time that thing will be rough or they experience misunderstanding. There was a lot of misunderstanding in the party before, but in the last four months, I can tell you we have done a lot of reconciliations and we are back on ground. It is true that some desperate politicians left our party. But, that does not say we are not on ground.

    Some people are of the opinion that without former President Obasanjo the party can win elections. Don’t you think he is still relevant in the party?

    He is relevant. Anybody who says Obasanjo is no more relevant is entitled to his opinion but to me, he is very relevant and we need him the more. As a human being, you have right to you views and opinion. Obasanjo has never said he is no more in politics so I don’t know how people will say such thing when he is still a factor in the party. He is still in politics.

    He is in PDP. If he is not attending meetings and he is still in the party that does not mean that he is not relevant in the party. He was the former chairman of the party BoT, former president elected under the platform of the PDP and he had said it time without numbers that he is a member of the party. If anybody now says without Obasanjo we can’t win election, I will never be part of that. He has his own role to play, which I am convinced that he will play and he will continue to play.

  • Mubi tragedy and PDP Abuja’s mockery of democracy

    President Jonathan, unlike PDP hawks and ethnic irredentists that have captured him is on the surface a complete gentleman whose words will be his honour. And unlike a politician, a man of many words to whom the end justifies the means, he cuts the picture of a pastor. He is patient, a rub-off virtue from his virtuous wife, Dame Patience Jonathan. He seduces everyone with the coy smiles of an innocent shoeless school boy. It is precisely for these reasons PDP needs him more than he needs PDP. And it is for this reason most people think he is unlikely to survive the wiles of PDP, the nemesis of his better gifted godfather, ex-President Obasanjo who realised too late after his third term fiasco the evil influence of sycophants and appropriately admonished his godson to stay clear of them. But tragically for the nation, President Jonathan has been captured by the same forces that destroyed his predecessors who were first persuaded to believe that without them, there would be no Nigeria. He now truly believes he is the best that has ever happened to Nigeria, ‘the embodiment of the combined virtues of our founding fathers’, as Ebenezer Babatope recently claimed. Like Babangida, Abacha and Obasanjo, he now believes Nigeria will disintegrate without him. He has been conditioned by PDP to see anyone that tries to wake him up from this illusion as enemy envious of his achievements and set to derail his 2015 ambition. Elevated to a status of an oligarch, he like all oligarchs even in democracy now believes he is wiser than any other person in the nation. Worse still, even as the insurgents are perfecting strategies to dismember Nigeria, he believes he has fought it into a standstill and that grateful Nigerians are begging him to continue with the good work…He now sees what he wants to see-his own invincibility

    This much is what one can draw from the mockery of democracy which best described the president’s act of picking up of PDP’s only available nomination form in Abuja last week. After picking up the only available application form, the president thanked Nigerians and PDP for the confidence reposed in him by giving him the right of first refusal. He promised to achieve greater things for the country. He went on to ‘thank PDP Governors Forum for providing the N2 million for the procurement of the expression of interest form and the N20 million for the procurement of the nomination form. He was silent on the fact that the generous PDP governors also secured the right of first refusal. He concluded by thanking ‘TAN for providing N22 million for the nomination form, as well as  youths groups, women groups and students for their contribution for the procurement of the form’

    The farce was captured by The Guardian on page three of its October 31, edition by a resourceful production editor who juxtaposed the celebration of the president victory with the gory story of anguish, of sorrow and of pain; of destruction of homes, of families who cannot find their loved ones, of bodies strewn around the streets ,of helpless men and children lying helpless without help in the bush; of soldiers allegedly escaping to Cameroon leaving the residents of the city to face the wrath of Boko Haram brutes.(Cameroon has already admitted having in their protective custody about 300 soldiers).

    But first, the president’s victory.  The path to his victory like that of Boko Haram in Mubi last week was strewn with carcasses of vanquished political enemies. Prominent among them is Obasanjo, his estranged godfather. His hollow cry that it was the turn of the north to produce the president going by PDP constitution to which both he and Jonathan were beneficiaries, was ignored. The price for telling Nigerians his own side of the story was his substitution as South-west PDP rallying point with the president’s trusted friends- Buruji Kashamu, Segun Mimiko and Gbenga Daniel who recently crawled back to PDP from Labour Party after four years of EFCC harassment and of course Ayo Fayose who has threatened to expel Obasanjo from PDP if he fails to desist from his criticism of the party.

    Also listed among his vanquished political enemies was the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), whose leadership had in July issued October deadline to Jonathan to bring back the abducted Chibok girls and put a stop to Boko Haram and other violent killings or forget about 2015. Jonathan had dismissed the threat insisting ‘he needed no ultimatum from anybody to live up to his responsibilities to the Nigerian people.’  Similarly ignored is the body’s insistence that “it is the turn of the north to produce the president.

    Another loser is the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF). The body’s allegation  that “most of the crisis plaguing the North is a deliberate ploy to weaken the region economically and politically’  has  been controverted by another body from the north- The Transformation Agenda Solidarity Forum, (TASOF) led by a former chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Alhaji Muhhamadu Gwaska. According to him, “TSAOF has noted with revulsion the unguarded utterances of some mischief makers who masquerade as northern elders and pretend to speak for the entire North regarding the political future of this country.”

    But then a critical look at the crusaders behind the president’s victory. Leading the crusade is Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) which claims its objective is ‘to celebrate Jonathan’s sterling human qualities, democratic credentials and landmark accomplishments that are currently under marketed and under advertised’.  It defines itself as a non-governmental organization made up of “individuals of impeccable character”. A leading member of the amorphous group as speculated by the media is Patrick Ifeanyi Uba whose Capital Oil and Gas firm was recently taken over by AMCON following a debt of about N65billion. That was after his running battle with EFCC and Cosmas Maduka’s Choscharis over business deals that went sour.

    Others known members include billionaire oil magnate and PDP chieftain, Arthur Eze, who declared during a meeting of the Elders’ Advisory Council of Goodluck Support Group in Abuja last week that ‘President Jonathan reelection is not negotiable’. On the list also is Innocent Chukwuma, a businessman and owner of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited, who donated 24 vehicles to Goodluck Support Group during the same ceremony.

    Now let us return to The Guardian’s record of events for history. According to the paper, as at 2pm Thursday October 30, when, the president and PDP were celebrating the farce in Abuja, Mubi had been under Boko Haram siege for two days. The paper reported over 200 killed, the torching of Mubi central market, 19 police stations, banks and the Mubi central prison where over 400 prisoners were liberated. It reported that the bridge linking the emir’s palace with Cameroon was blown off.

    In a globalised world where millions saw the video recording of how Obama and his cabinet members monitored from the White House the killing of Osama Bin Laden in his hideout in Afghanistan,  the only plausible explanation for the October 30 mockery of democracy could only be that the president was shielded by PDP from October 29-30  Mubi tragedy.  Even if the president does not know what is in his own interest, how about those paid by the taxpayers to shield him by protecting him from himself?

    We can recall it is the same PDP enemies of our country and enemy of the president who once goaded him on to commandeer three aircrafts bought and fuelled by the nation’s taxpayers to ferry PDP members to Ilorin, Sokoto and Kano to welcome defecting politicians shortly after Abuja Inyanya  bus terminus bombing that killed scores of Nigerians. It is the same self-serving PDP men who appeared on television blaming everyone else except government for the abduction of 300 girls from their dormitory and driven over a distance of 200 kilometres within a state under emergency laws. These are the men who persuaded the president to deploy 12,000 security personnel to intimidate and brutalise the opponent of the PDP candidate during the recent Osun governorship election. These men serve neither Jonathan nor Nigeria.

    I don’t think it is too late for men of good will to save our nation from the impending doom. Credible members of the Council of State like Gowon can for a moment take a break from endless prayers bearing in mind God’s admonition that we will all reap what we sow. He can mobilize other credible leaders like Emeka Anyaoku, Theophilus Danjuma,  Maitama Sule, Shettima Ali Mongono and  Ayo Adebanjo, to talk truth to power and see how we can reclaim our nation back from those who have no state in Nigeria. And time is running out. With Boko Haram controlling nine local councils area in Borno State, we should not wait until the fall of Maiduguri from where Boko Haram can launch aerial attack on any part of the country.

  • Plateau PDP chieftains complain about flawed congress

    Plateau PDP chieftains complain about flawed congress

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains In Plateau State have said that the party held a flawed local government congress because forms for delegates were hoarded by sonme leaders.

    They said the governor, Jonah jang, did not ensure a level-playing ground during the congress.

    Party members who were denied access to delegates’ forms when they visited the party secretariat alleged that they were told that the forms have been exhausted.

    Aggrieved chieftains Hon. Emmanuel Gyang Choji from Barkin Ladi Local Government and Hon. Bitrus Goshit said the congress was not transparent.

    Choji said: “In total disregard for guidelines for a successful delegate congress of the PDP, a  plot was hatched by Governor Jang to manipulate the delegate congress.

    He also alleged that  key party leaders hijacked the sales of the forms and distributed them to selected delegates.

    Choji added: “With this development, some prospective delegates, who came to the party secretariat to purchase the forms were told that they will be given the forms at their various wards during the congress.

    “Jang has raised a six-man committee, comprising of his political appointees to select the names of loyalists that will given the forms to fill.

    “The six-man committee of each local government has been instructed to come up with three names as the local government representing the local governments.”

  • ‘PDP ‘ll ensure credible election’

    ‘PDP ‘ll ensure credible election’

    Senate President David Mark has assured Nigerians that, despite the  challenges  confronting the President Goodluck Jonathan  Administration the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will ensure free and fair elections next year.

    Senator Mark stated this  in Jos, the Plateau State capital,  at the distribution of economic empowerment items sponsored by the Senator representing Plateau North senatorial zone to constituents.

    According to Senator Mark, “Nigerians do not need to nurse any apprehension over 2015 elections, the ruling party, PDP, will ensure a credible election at all levels. We are only pleading that politicians not to make their election a do or die affair.

    He said: “All Nigerians should be assured of free, fair and credible election in 2015. But in every game there must be winner and losers,those who loose should not make it a battle front because there is always another opportunity to try again.

    Senator Mark commended Senator Pwajok for his contribution in the Senate and as well as his concern for his constituents.

    In his opening remarks, Senator  Pwajok said, “The constituency empowerment and Development Program was organised to mark my two years in the senate. These items are meant to economically empower women, youths and the less privileges in my constituency. My desire is for them to have financial independent and self-employed”

    Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang, who was represented  by the deputy governor, Ambas Ignatius Longjan was full of praises for Senator Pwajok whom he said had given Plateau State credible representation at the National Assembly.

    Items distributed by Senator Pwajok at the constituency empowerment programme include, grinding machines, sewing Machines, tricycles, hair dressing kits, irrigation water pumps, vehicles and computer sets amongst others amounting to over N150 million.

  • Urhobo draw battle line with Jonathan, Uduaghan

    Urhobo draw battle line with Jonathan, Uduaghan

    •Ethnic nation threatens to deny President 1m votes

    President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will lose over 80 per cent of the votes from Delta State in next year’s elections, if the party fails to field an Urhobo as its governorship candidate.

    This was part of the resolutions in the communiqué issued yesterday by the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), the umbrella body of the largest ethnic group in the state.

    The communiqué, which followed the union’s congress at the Urhobo Cultural Centre in Warri, was signed by UPU’s President-General, Chief Joe Omene.

    It criticised Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for taking a stance against the interest of the Urhobo.

    The communiqué also accused the governor of disrespecting his deputy, Prof Amos Utuama, an Urhobo man.

    UPU accused some politicians of working against the interest of Urhobo, especially those working with Uduaghan.

    The union threatened to sanction them until they turned a new leaf.

    It also said the union would soon take a stand on its relationship with Uduaghan, especially because of his position against the political interests of the Urhobo.

    The communiqué, which Omene read yesterday at the congress, said: “It would be recalled that in March 2014, the Urhobo nation, under the auspices of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), took a position and stated that all registered political parties, including the PDP, the ruling party in Delta State, should pick their governorship flag bearers/ candidates from the Urhobo nation. This was duly condensed into the ‘Uvwiamughe Declaration’.

    “In the 2011 general elections, for instance, the average numerical votes delivered by the Urhobo people for the President (Goodluck Jonathan) was well above 820,000. This figure is almost comparatively double of the votes realised from the North and South senatorial districts of the state put together, which were hardly up to 500,000 votes. In fact, that of Delta North, to be more specific, was 149,000 votes only. It must be emphasised here that ‘democracy is a game of number’.

    “Consequent upon the above undisputed facts, the Urhobo, resident within the shores of Delta State and beyond, still insist on the Uvwiamughe Declaration that ‘we will vote for any political party that gives its governorship ticket to an Urhobo person’. This we will do in the various elections, including the presidential.”

  • On the Rivers PDP congress

    SIR: To describe what happened at the Rivers PDP Ward Congress as totally shameful may be an understatement. This is happening in a state where PDP is now in opposition. It shows that the National Working Committee, NWC, of the PDP may have been seriously compromised. What could have been the pay from Nyesom Wike to the members of the NWC that made them go so low in morals and honesty? There is no way they would exonerate themselves from this mess. Also, there is no way the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan can be absolved from the shame. The President should consider his defeat in Rivers State, come 2015 elections as a reality waiting to happen.

    Nyesom Wike is the immediate past Minister of State for Education. Check out the five-man electoral committee chosen by the NWC of the party for Rivers State. The membership is geared towards returning Wike as the PDP governorship candidate during the primaries slated for the later part of this month: Dr. Yakubu Gambo, the committee chairman, is the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC); Dr. Olu Ayewoh served as Wike’s Special Assistant (Technical) in the Ministry of Education; Mrs. Uzo Nwandu was appointee of Wike on the board of Federal College of Education, Gombe; Suleiman Lawal Kaura was Wike’s appointee on the governing board of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and finally Mr. Chuks Akwiti, Special Assistant to PDP’s Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, is a known apologist of Wike.

    One readily remembers how Wike, as Minister of Education, appointed Dr. Gambo as the Deputy Secretary (UBEC) and made him more powerful, in flagrant contempt for administrative practice, and related directly with him (Gambo) to the extent that he undermined his boss, the Executive Secretary who is the Chief Executive of UBEC, Dr. Suleiman Dikko to the chagrin of other UBEC top management staff.

    PDP is just digging its own grave in Rivers State. Only time shall tell, especially if the party upholds what transpired at the so-called PDP Ward Congress in Rivers State last week.

     

    • Cyril Madueke,

    Borokiri, Port Harcourt,

    Rivers State.

     

  • Five Kaduna PDP aspirants reject ward congresses

    Five Kaduna PDP aspirants reject ward congresses

    Five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirants in Kaduna State have described last Saturday’s ward congresses as “a sham”.

    Addressing reporters in Kaduna, former Aviation Minister Felix Hyat; Senator Haruna Aziz; Alhaji Lawal Abdullahi; Mr Jimmy Dung and Air Commodore John Ajeye (rtd) rejected the results of the congresses, urging the party’s National Working Committee to cancel them and order fresh ones.

    Dung, who read their position to reporters, said: “It is with great shock and embarrassment that we read reports in various newspapers suggesting that ward congresses were held in Kaduna State last Saturday.

    “The guidelines and time table for the conduct of congresses for the 2015 general elections issued by the NEC stipulate that ward congresses to elect ad-hoc delegates would be held in all wards on November 1.

    “Instead, the state PDP chairman, in collusion with the governor, earlier in the week set up committees comprising of commissioners and other government appointees, who sat in Kaduna and drew preferred names of delegates for each ward.

    “This action undoubtedly runs contrary to the guidelines and constitution of the party. The party leadership in Kaduna has no power to amend or toy with the directives of the NEC. Therefore, it is our sincere prayer that the purported list of delegates cooked up by the Kaduna State PDP leadership should be set aside.”

    The state PDP Chairman, Chief Abubakar Haruna, could not be reached at press time.