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Tag: PDP

  • ‘PDP should stop politics of exclusion’

    ‘PDP should stop politics of exclusion’

    Mr Ahamdi Nweke Emmanuel, former governorship aspirant and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, in this interview with journalists in Aba, bares his mind on why the Ukwa Ngwa zone should produce the state’s next governor. Sunny Nwankwo, was there. Excerpts: 

    2015 election is around the corner and Ukwa Ngwa is being touted to take the governorship slot in 2015. What is your take on it?

    Of course, it is right to cede the governorship position to the Ukwa Ngwa area. That had been the position of the governor ever since; right from the declaration and pronouncement he made in April and openly at the Abia Poly pavilion during the reception by the Abia south politicians. He has been repeatedly on record said that he is an advocate of zoning based on the Abia charter of equity and I believe him when he says that.

     Is it really the turn of Ukwa Ngwa to produce the next governor?

    I do not see any contention or confusion whatsoever in the issue of Abia charter of equity or where power should be ceded to at this time.

    The Abia charter of equity as it stands now for all intents and purposes rotates power between the political blocs which is the Old Umuahia; what we now know as Old Bende and Old Aba zone which now know to be Ukwa Ngwa.

    There was of course the issue before Afipko, Ohaozara and the rest of them were ceded to the now Ebonyi state, that there could have been some argument. Isiukwuato on its own is only one local government and could not possibly have become a province.

    So, those who are arguing that I think is part of plot by some people to rewrite what should be done in Abia state and I said that these are people who have no good intention for Abians. Power should be revolved between Old Bende and the Ukwa Ngwa. That is what all have to believed and that is what Abia charter of equity stands for. And of course that is why his Excellency in all his pronouncements previously has said that power should go to Ukwa Ngwa.

    Recently, a prominent son of Ngwa within the Abia Central Senatorial zone made a statement which was published in one of the national dailies saying that the governorship position is going to Abia south and not Ukwa Ngwa. By implication Isiala north and south including Osisioma are “excluded” from contesting the guber race if the person’s statement was anything to go by. Do you subscribe to such individual’s position?

    The pronouncement which you referred to was said to have been made by Elder Adaelu. He has said that he didn’t make those comments and I believe him because I do not believe that someone like him would come out to say [something that may lead to the] disenfranchise of three major local governments (Isiala Ngwa North, Isiala Ngwa South and Osisioma).

    In fact, Elder Adaelu has been with us in the fight, indeed in the forefront of our fight for ceding power to the Ukwa Ngwa people. How and when did he suddenly come out to say that it has become Abia south? That would also be disenfranchising himself because his own local government would be one of those local governments that would be excluded.

    If he did say that and I doubt that he did, what has been promised, why on earth did he say a thing like that? I don’t believe that Elder Adaelu would say anything like that because it would reduce him and his influence within the Ukwa Ngwa area if by any chance he has sold out the very people he is one of the recognized leaders.

    We learnt that Isiala Ngwa is the head of Ngwa land and by virtue of that, if something is coming to Ngwa land for the first time they are supposed to be the people that would benefit first. But from what was reported to have been said by Elder Adaelu, it’s like trying to give that which belong to the first son to somebody else. How do you see that? Yes! We are talking of the governorship of Abia state. I have heard that argument been proffered because Isiala Ngwa north and south are the first born, they should take the plump position before others. That is a very parochial view. That is not the basis upon which I am saying that the rest of Ukwa Ngwa people should be included. We are opening up the contest within the entire Ukwa Ngwa land and let the best of our people win. Who are they afraid of? If their competent people from Ukwa East, Aba North and South, Obingwa, Ugwunagbor, Osisioma, Isiala Ngwa North and South, who is to say that one of them would not emerge? Whose interest is being served by excluding these three local governments (Isiala north and south and Osisioma)? That is the question one should ask. Elder Adaelu has been one of the advocates of the Ukwa Ngwa governorship whom we fought against the previous administration when we all supported Enyinnaya Abaribe. We all fought including elder Adaelu on the basis of Ukwa Ngwa. When did he suddenly change? Some people are arguing that the governor said that he is a product of rotation and therefore Abia central has gone, as a matter of fact, the governor is not a product of rotation at all. If anything, the governor’s emergence as the governor messed up rotation based on Abia charter of equity. Abia charter of equity rotates power between the old Bende and Ukwa Ngwa. The current tenure of the governor has made it two times to old Bende when Ukwa Ngwa hasn’t had slot at all. When he (Governor Orji) contested, it wasn’t that we are giving it to the Abia central that was never the argument.

    On what argument did you people allow the governor to run? There was a lot of acrimony within the PDP, Peoples Democratic Party when he came back on his second tenure and that was seen as the way of ensuring that everyone comes back together within the fold and have a sitting governor who wasn’t going to re-contest fresh election coming in to go for the second time. When he went for the first, he wasn’t a PDP governor. The zoning if it was then done was PPA, Progressive Peoples Alliance (his former party). So to argue that PDP was zoning power based on senatorial districts, nothing could be farther from the truth than that. His Excellency, Governor T.A Orji is not a product of PDP or any other party’s rotation of power on senatorial districts. As at the time he was contesting, I contested the very first tenure he went for in 2007 election. everyone one had agreed it was Ukwa Ngwa agitation, everyone had agreed it was going to the Ukwa area as at then but it didn’t stop our brothers including Isiukwuato of course from contesting the election as at that time.

    At what point did you think that Ngwa people missed producing an Ngwa governor as at then?

    I know that PDP then as a party actually supported an Ukwa Ngwa candidate even though an Ukwa Ngwa person didn’t emerge. That’s the whole thing about these suggestions that are being made. It is good to make them and follow them through but anything can happen. This is politics, it is an election. As at that time, the PDP supported candidate was Okezie Iheanacho Orji. You will remember that who emerged from the PDP even though that the party as a party had suggested Okezie Iheanacho Orji, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu emerged within the PDP. And that is what we are saying, now that everyone; all the stakeholders including the governor as the leader of the party, it is not for him only to decide where it will go. His view is a persuasive direction and it ends as only a persuasive direction. What will play out in the end will be more of the party; the party chairman and other PDP stakeholders will have a final say in that. He is only giving guidance and we believe him when he said that the guidance was going to go to the Ukwa Ngwa.

     

  • After Nyako, what next for Adamawa?

    After Nyako, what next for Adamawa?

    Adamawa State is gearing for a governorship by-election in  October to elect the impeached Governor Murtala Nyako’s successor. The two major parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC),  have gone back to the drawing board. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI highlights the factors that will shape the poll.

    The exit of Murtala Nyako as governor of Adamawa State has thrust the state on a journey towards political uncertainty. Keen observers  of Adamawa politics say it is difficult to predict what the political future of the state is likely to be. The recent impeachment has altered the political equation. As a result, politicians have gone back to the drawing board to restrategise for the proposed governorship by-election in about 90  days, to elect a successor to Nyako.

    Adamawa is home to some founding fathers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The party has ruled the state since the return to civilian rule in 1999. Nyako, former Chief of Naval Staff, former Chief of Naval Staff and former military governor of Niger State, was elected on the platform of the PDP in 2007. He dumped the party for the APC in November, last year at the height of its leadership crisis. This perhaps, explains why the ruling party at the centre is anxious to regain  control of the state.

    Nyako has has indicated his intention to seek redress in court. The lacunae pointed out by Nyako include the method used to serve the notice of impeachment on him. The notice was published in newspapers after the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Ambrose Mamadi had rejected the Assembly’s request for substituted service, which he declared unconstitutional, insisting they (Nyako and Ngillari) must be served personally.

    The impeached governor’s camp believes the process of impeachment was marred by illegalities. These include the contravention of court order restraining the Assembly from continuing with the impeachment. But the PDP maintains that the impeachment was carried out in strict compliance with constitutional provisions and that no illegality was committed.

    In the view of keen observers, the exit of Admiral Nyako as governor  is a boost for the PDP’s aspiration to regain control and a loss for the opposition. But, analysts believe this may not the final word about which party would hold sway in the state following the unceremonious exit of Nyako. A fresh rift brewing within Adamawa PDP over aspirations for the forthcoming governorship elections, they say, may be the party’s biggest undoing. The former Deputy Governor, Bala James Ngilari, has already fallen victim of this fierce battle.

    The manner in which Ngilari was shoved aside has been identified as a possible threat to the PDP . The former deputy governor is fast becoming the enemy within for the ruling party. He reportedly sent a letter of resignation to the Speaker, which was read on the floor of the House, minutes before Nyako was impeached. Unless the PDP succeeds in papering the cracks, a possible litigation over how Ngilari was sidelined could be politically damaging for the party, as it prepares for the governorship poll and the 2015 general elections.

    The controversy over Ngillari’s resignation started when Nyako issued a  statement, through his spokesman, Ahmad Sajo, describing it as illegal because he (Ngilari) did not notify him. Nyako argues that the law requires that the deputy governor submit his letter of resignation to the governor, who will in turn transmit same to the House. Ngilari has since confirmed, through statements attributed to him in the media, that the purported resignation letter read on the floor of the  House of Assembly was obtained under duress. Less than 24 hours after the impeachment, Ngilari said: “The truth is that I have not sent any letter of resignation to the governor up till now because representatives of the House only came to my house yesterday asking me to tender my resignation and address the letter to the Speaker of the House, which I did.”

    Before that, the deputy governor had gone to court to clarify whether the investigative committee constituted by the chief judge to probe him and Nyako had power to summon him. The case is still pending in court and its outcome may determine whether the whole process followed an acceptable norm or not.

    Apart from the threat of litigation, another development, which may turn the hands of the clock against the PDP, if not properly managed, is the politics surrounding the deputy governor’s exit. What transpired, it is said, was the triumph of the interests of some powerful governorship aspirants who do not want the former deputy governor to become the governor, after Nyako’s exit. That the deputy governor is a loyal party man was not in doubt. He was the only key party figure standing, when the entire political structure defected to the APC along with Nyako. He refused to follow his boss to the new party. Naturally, he should have been the main beneficiary of the intrigues and power play that consumed Nyako.

    According to close observers, as the plot against Nyako gathered momentum, the Presidency, which is a key stakeholder in the Adamawa impeachment drama, had penciled Ngilari down as the heir to the throne. But, powerful stakeholders  including some governorship aspirants, rejected the choice, fearing that the deputy could consolidate his hold and have an edge in the governorship election. So, the Presidency had no choice but to jettison the idea.

    Observers say a man who took such a principled stand to remain loyal to the party is not likely to accept the betrayal without a challenge. “This miscalculation could cost the party immense loss in the coming elections, particularly since the deputy governor is believed to be popular in the zone, which also produced former governor, Senator Boni Haruna,” a source told The Nation.

    Besides, the rift over the  governorship race, it is said, may tear Adamawa PDP into shreds, if selfish interests of individual stakeholders are allowed to prevail. Indications are that powerful godfathers have already started fixing things for their candidates at Wadata Plaza and in the Presidency. Many aspirants have  indicated interest in the job and some of these contenders have powerful backers. Campaign posters, according to reports, now litter the streets of the capital and other major cities. The aspirants are also competing for attention at the grassroots, engaging in consultations with relevant stakeholders.

    Some of the aspirants include Dr. Umar Ardo, an academician; Aliyu Idi Hong, a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and a protégé of Professor Jibril Aminu; Awwal Tukur, son of former national chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and a former member of the House of Representatives; General Buba Marwa (retired), former military administrator of Lagos State; Marcus Gundiri, a popular politician in the state and Senator Abubakar Gurei.

    These aspirants have been eyeing the governorship for a long time. So, it is likely to be a fierce battle. For instance, Senator Girei has been in the contest since 2003 when he insisted in participating in the primaries against the wish of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar after other aspirants stepped down for Boni Haruna. He also aspired in 2007 alongside Nyako.

    Dr. Ardo contested in the last primaries with Nyako and challenged the result at the Supreme Court. He has been an active member of the PDP Stakeholders and Elders Forum and he was a key player in the fight to remove Nyako. Marwa and Gundiri are not new to the Adamawa governorship race, having aspired to govern the state under different political platforms.

    Observers however, believe that the battle for the party’s ticket is likely to be a straight fight between Tukur and Marwa. Marwa was a former member of the PDP; he had pitched tent with the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) because he was denied the governorship ticket in 2007. He contested the 2011 governorship election in the state under the CPC platform and returned to the PDP in April 2014 when he realized that he might not get a fair deal in the contest for the party’s ticket under Nyako’s leadership of the APC in the state.

    The ambition of Tukur, on the other hand, has been controversial because of the role of his father. This was a factor when he was removed as the PDP chairman. This factor was also instrumental to the recent impeachment of Nyako. While the older Tukur was rooting for his son, Nyako was rooting for his own heir, Abdul-Aziz,  Tukur, using his power as the national chairman, dissolved the  party executive led by Nyako’s ally, Minjiyawa Kugama. This crisis generated in the wake of the dissolution compelled Nyako to defect to the APC with other anti-Tukur forces.

    Nyako’s exit has plunged the APC into uncertain political future. Some insiders believe that the fortunes of the APC  declined as a result of Nyako’s larger-than-life influence. The decision to handover the leadership of the APC to the former governor, following his defection from the PDP, did not go down well with original members of the party like Marwa, Gundiri and others. Indeed, most of the APC leaders who received Nyako when he was declaring for the APC at the height of the PDP crisis have jumped boat for the sake of their political survival.

    It was the former governor’s bid to actualise the governorship ambition of his son that put him on a collision course with major stakeholders. This led to the exodus of such members to the PDP; even members of the state House of Assembly, who had earlier indicated interest to follow him to the new party, had to jettison the idea at the last minute when it was obvious that their interest was at stake.

    With his unceremonious exit, the leadership of the APC has naturally transferred to Atiku, whose influence is not in doubt. A divided PDP will surely enhance the APC’s fortune. Already, the Atiku Support Group, a political group formed to actualise the aspiration of the former vice president, has begun grassroots mobilisation across all the local government areas. The APC under the leadership of Atiku has already started talking to some PDP members who had defected from the APC as a result of alleged marginalisation by Nyako and his henchmen, to prepare ground for their return to the fold, should they find their ambition unrealizable in the PDP. How far Atiku would go in his effort to rebuild the party remains to be seen.

    Aside from Atiku’s effort to rally members of the party for the by-election, the influence of former Head of State and National Leader of the APC, General Mohammadu Buhari, would also count in shoring up the fortunes of the party, ahead of the decisive governorship election. Nyako took his supporters to join the APC secure in the knowledge that the  opposition party is going to be the party to beat in 2015 general elections because of the influence of General Buhari, who has a big following in the state. Nevertheless, his influence on Adamawa politics in the next couple of months would depend on who gets the party’s presidential ticket. This is in spite of the fact that Buhari has pledged to abide by the party’s choice, if he fails to get it.

     

     

  • PDP alleges opposition’s threat to democracy

    PDP alleges opposition’s threat to democracy

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has once again accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempts to truncate the nation’s democracy through the utterances of its leaders.

    At a  news conference yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party said criticism of the PDP-led Federal Government by opposition politicians was part of the larger plot to build a groundswell of negativity with the ultimate aim of truncating the nation’s democracy.

    Metuh said: “We are therefore not puzzled that the common denominator of these orchestrated  statements are weighty but baseless accusations against the Federal Government and the ruling party on the health of our democracy and the unity of the country.

    “However, a catalogue of events involving these politicians and their political party indicate that they are the real causative agents of the issues they accuse the Federal Government and the PDP of.

    “For over a year, the leaders of the APC have sustained attacks on critical institutions of government.

     

    They have also committed enormous efforts in fanning the ambers of violence and division among Nigerians with the aim of destabilising the PDP led Federal government, weaken the institutions and  truncate our democracy.

     

     

    “Nigerians are very much aware that the APC and its leaders have been at the centre of actions and utterances that have in no small measure been promoting hatred, violence and division in the polity.

    “While it is simplistic for the APC to harp on perceived infractions or failings of the PDP, they conveniently ignore the fact that  their actions and inactions pose the greatest threat to democracy. This brings us to the question; who actually is threatening democracy in this country?”

    Metuh denied the involvement of the Presidency and the PDP in the gale of instigated impeachment processes against a number of governors in APC controlled states.

     

     

    According to him, the impeachment moves should be situated within the dynamics of local politics in the affected states, adding that neither the Presidency nor the PDP had any hand in matter.

    He continued: “On the issue of impeachment in Adamawa and similar developments in other states, we hereby restate our respect for the principle of separation of powers.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the PDP has never been involved in any impeachment process and we wish to publicly urge our members in all the state houses of assembly to thread with caution and be guided by due process, rule of law in the execution of their legislative duties.

    “Finally, we are bold to claim that nobody on either side of the divide in Nasarawa State can claim the involvement of the Presidency or that of our national leadership in the impeachment saga.

    “The PDP challenges the leadership of the APC to produce any corroboration of this allegation within the Government of Nasarawa State. The Governor of Nasarawa State has never and can never lay claim to the complicity of the Presidency and the PDP leadership in this matter. Why then are these uninvited guests crying more than the bereaved”

     

    END

     

  • Osun governorship election: Aregbesola’s big challenge

    Osun governorship election: Aregbesola’s big challenge

    If elections are won or lost on character and performance, as they should, Osun State’s governorship election coming up on August 9 should be a shoo-in for the incumbent, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. But then, as we saw in the June 21 Ekiti State governorship election, the almost universally hailed character and performance of the incumbent, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, seemed to have counted for practically nothing when he suffered heavy defeat at the hands of Mr Ayo Fayose, the candidate of the country’s ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    In Ekiti at least, what seemed to matter most was instant gratification for the people through the so-called “infrastructure of the stomach” and, even more importantly, the use of Federal Might (with capital F and capital M) to cow any opposition (It’s only a foolhardy man who would challenge the well-armed 30,000 security agents drafted into the state for the election who, as the governor said based on intelligence at his disposal as the state’s chief security officer, had instructions to “mow down” anyone who dared raise his figure in protest at their open  partisanship).

    As it was in Ekiti so would the PDP like it to be in Osun. One big difference, however, is that, unlike in Ekiti, a not-so-subtle religious propaganda weapon against the governor is being added to the other two.

    No less a person than the PDP governorship candidate himself, Senator Iyore Omisore, gave this game away. Asked in an interview in PUNCH (July 18) if he was sure he would win the election, he said: “Of course, yes. I mean the indices are there for all to see; the decaying infrastructure, the disrupted education system, THE RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY, infrastructural inconvenience, social malaise, impoverishment of our people.” (emphasis mine).

    Omisore went further to accuse the governor of wrongly “lumping students from Islam-based faith schools with students of Christianity-based faith schools together AND EXPECTING ONE RELIGION TO SUPERCEDE THE OTHER…” (Again emphasis mine). As a Christian, it is obvious Omisore is accusing the Muslim governor of favouring Islam.

    Since Aregbesola dared to declare a public holiday to celebrate an Islamic New Year in the state two years ago, many of his critics have worked overtime to cast him in the image of a Muslim extremist. For many of such critics, the absurdity of the logic that what is good for one religion is necessarily bad for the other has clearly escaped them.

    Not surprisingly, beneath Omisore’s apparently inadvertent betrayal of his religious animosity towards the governor, an even more insidious crude religious campaign is being waged where Christians in the state are being told that a vote for Omisore is 10 votes for Christ!

    In this manipulation of religion to gain power, Omisore is only in the excellent company of our president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, for whom the Church had for a long time become his platform for issuing policy statements and indirectly denigrating Islam. Even then for anyone to equate Omisore with Christ is really the height of blasphemy. But then this is Nigeria where politicians think nothing of invoking the Good Lord’s name in vain.

    For someone who, at the least, is not averse to being compared to Christ, it was truly amazing how he could lie through his teeth about his relationship with the late Chief Bola Ige, whose murder several years ago he was implicated in and tried for and eventually acquitted.

    In the PUNCH interview I’ve referred to, the newspaper asked him point blank if he did not kill Ige. “I did not,” he replied, “kill Chief Bola Ige at all. I can’t kill anybody, anyway, not to talk of Chief Bola Ige. Chief Bola Ige was my leader. He was like an uncle in-law to me.” He did not, he also said, instigate the removal of Ige’s cap and glasses in the palace of the Ooni of Ife, a humiliation which presaged Ige’s brutal murder in his own residence in Ibadan.

    An amicable relationship between the two was definitely not what it looked like nearly 13 years ago when Omisore denigrated the chief in an interview in the rested TEMPO weekly newspaper (December 27, 2001). In that interview, he called Chief Bisi Akande, who he was deputy governor to and from whom he was estranged at the time, some of the foulest names imaginable and added Ige to the target of his diatribe.

    “Recently too,” he said in the interview, “Bola Ige came on radio here to insult me and my family. THAT IS THE LAST ONE. He was beaten yesterday, the people of Ife beat him up and he was crying like a baby as they removed his cap and his glasses…He was disgraced out of Ife, he had to be dressed like a woman to get out of town.”(Again, emphasis mine).

    Asked in effect if he approved Ige’s humiliation, he said yes in effect. “He has offended Ife people. If he insults me, he has insulted my people and they have the right to react.”

    Omisore concluded the interview by describing Ige as a Yoruba traitor. “Bola Ige,” he said, “is a traitor to Afenifere… He is the Akintola of our time. What Akintola did to Awolowo is what Bola Ige is doing to Adesanya and to the Yoruba people.”

    It is truly amazing how the man can now turn around to say he never held anything against Ige but, instead, had always regarded the chief as his leader and an “uncle in-law”, whatever that means.

    Omisore would not only tell a lie about his relationships to curry favour with Osun voters to the extent that his implication in the murder of Ige is an issue in the elections, it is also obvious he is afraid to engage Aregbesola in any debate over what each of them can offer the good people of their state. Challenged to a debate by the governor, first he said Aregbesola was mentally unfit. When that did not seem to wash with the public he changed his tune and said in effect that the governor is a thug-in-chief. “Going to participate in a debate with violent people with array of thugs will be too much of a risk to take for us,” he said in another interview in PUNCH (July 20).

    In an interview in The Guardian (July 10), Aregbesola said he was confident he would win any election in his state that was “credible, transparent, free and fair.” Therein lies the catch; an election can look credible, transparent, free and fair but the reality may be totally the opposite. An election in which a central government squeezes the opposition by slashing revenue allocation to states under the guise of falling revenue due to massive oil thefts and delays the release of even the little that is left in order to cause disaffection between opposition states and their civil servants, an election in which huge numbers of security agents are deployed to intimidate the opposition, etc, such election can hardly be described as credible, transparent, free and fair.

    Actually the rigging of elections can be even more cynical than financially squeezing opposition states and deploying massive force to intimidate. The other day, I received an email about the election which, on the surface, seemed too farfetched.

    “Do u ever thk along this line…” it said in the arcane language of texts. “200,000 ballot papers thumb printed in Abj, CBN abj convey to CBN Ado ekiti, CBN Ado to some selected commercial banks, some selected commercial banks to some party leaders in Ekiti land, party leaders to some ward leaders, ward leaders to 10 women per polling unit…Each woman with 10 already in their body, they pick one each and drop 11 in the box where they v bought agent.”

    My instinct was to dismiss this as an outlandish conspiracy theory. But then when I remembered the memorable words of Major-General IBM Haruna, a former minister of information, in one of the most interesting interviews published by the rested Citizen, which I headed, I said to myself this may not be as outrageous as it sounds. As the general said, any time anyone tells you something is impossible in Nigeria, consider it done.

    In spite of all these great odds against Aregbesola, I believe Ekiti is unlikely to be repeated in Osun on August 9. But then so many impossible things have happened in the country since 1999 that it will not surprise me if, in spite of Aregbesola’s character and performance, he loses the election.

    TWO OMISSIONS…

    In response to my column of last week, two readers, Chief Femi Alafe-Aluko and Olu Sangotikun, drew my attention to my omission of Aremo Segun Osoba among the country’s journalism icons who celebrated their birthdays this month. Segun, probably the country’s best reporter ever, celebrated his 75th birthday on July 15.

    Another journalism icon, Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman of Thisday and President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) celebrated his 55th birthday on July 14.

    Here’s wishing both Happy Birthdays and many more returns in arrears.

     

  • Ogbulafor, two others to know fate July 24

    Ogbulafor, two others to know fate July 24

    A former Peoples democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, and two others standing trial on a 17-count charge, will know their fate on July 24.

    The Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC), on May 10, 2010, arraigned Ogbulafor, Emeka Ebilah and Jude Nwokoro, before an FCT High Court, presided over by Justice Ishaq Bello.

    They were charged with offences bordering on abuse of office and defrauding the Federal Government of N107 million in 2005 by using their positions in the National Economic Intelligence Committee.

    The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    The ICPC also alleged that Ogbulafor collected “kick-backs” amounting to N2 million and N28 million from Ebilah and Chris Nwoke, to facilitate the release of the funds.

    During Ebilah’s cross-examination on September 25, 2013, he told the court that the ICPC compelled him to refund N4.39 million to the Federal Government.

    The accused said his statement to the ICPC was made under duress.

    Ebilah said: “I was humiliated and dehumanised with a gun placed on my head when the ICPC took my statement. I was humiliated, downgraded and put in a room without air-conditioner and was also asked by Basil Mohmodu and Prince Hassan to write what they wanted me to write for them. My passport was collected.”

    The accused also told the court that he had never met Mohmodu, a worker of the ICPC, before April 2006.

     

     

     

     

    “My first statement to the ICPC was made on March 13, 2006. Before it was taken, I had never met any of ICPC personnel.

    “My lord, I do not have any confidential relationship with the first accused and I also do not know if Mr Mohmodu knew how the first accused saved my life.

    “I also do not know if the first prosecution witness (PW1) knows my relationship with Henrico before my statement at the ICPC,” Ebilah said.

    The accused also said he was not aware whether or not Ogbulafor knew about the N28 million, adding that he never gave any money to the former PDP National Chairman.

    He also denied knowing Nwoke.

    Prosecution counsel Adegboyega Awomolo, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), closed his case on November 5, 2013 and Ogbulafor entered a “no-case” submission.

    But the court held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Ogbulafor to warrant him opening his defence.

    Ogbulafor, who was led in his evidence-in-chief by his counsel, Joe Gadzama (SAN), on May 16, 2013, denied the charges.

    But he admitted that he knew Ebilah as a minister in 1999 and that the accused approached him for assistance into the board of one of the federal corporations.

    Ogbulafor averred that based on a request, he nominated Ebilah into the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC,) where he later became the secretary of the committee.

    The former PDP chairman told the court that he wrote a letter of resignation from his position as the Minister of Special Duties under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    He added that the former president acknowledged the letter and thanked him for serving the nation dutifully.

    He said that his resignation was premised on the ground that he wanted to run for the post of the PDP National Secretary.

    Ogbulafor denied knowing the companies mentioned in the alleged scam.

    He told the court that he never conspired with Ebilah to collect money in respect of any contract from the Federal Government.

    He said he did not know how NIEC was managed and that he had no capacity to receive report from the committee.

    The court had on November 11, 2013, adjourned till December 17, 2013 for adoption of written addresses from parties involved in the case.

    The adoption of written addresses, however, suffered setback following the appointment of the trial judge to serve in a tribunal.

    The written addresses were finally adopted on June 25, 2014 by both prosecution and defence counsel and the case was reserved for judgment till July 24.

     

  • PDP plans to lure voters with expired rice, APC alleges

    PDP plans to lure voters with expired rice, APC alleges

    OSUN State All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned on alleged plan by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to lure the state’s residents and voters with expired bags of rice.

    The party said  PDP chieftains in collaboration with the Nigerian Customs warehouse in Ikeja, Lagos have loaded trailers filled with thousands of bags of expired rice confiscated several months ago from smugglers.

    The trailer loads of rice, according to APC Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi, are meant for distribution to Osun voters.

    The party said competent sources from the Customs revealed that the bags of rice were unsuitable for human consumption.

    “Osun citizens should therefore be warned that their lives are at risk from PDP poisoned rice,” the party said.

    The party added that it had warned citizens earlier of PDP’s boast that they would win the election with a bag of rice and at least N10,000 to each voter.

    The APC noted that it was not clear what the PDP intended to do by bringing expired rice to repackage and distribute to Osun people.

    “Osun people are not hungry and they will not sell their birthrights for stolen public money which the PDP want to distribute in towns and villages of Osun.

    “Those who love their lives should be careful because the PDP will stop at nothing, including the distribution of poisoned rice to win election,” the statement added.

  • Don’t turn Nigeria into one-party state, group warns Jonathan, PDP

    Don’t turn Nigeria into one-party state, group warns Jonathan, PDP

    •‘Nasarawa residents should recall pro-impeachment lawmakers’

    Coalition of rights groups, the Nigerian Human Rights Community (NHRC), yesterday accused President Goodluck Jonathan of sponsoring the impeachment of opposition governors to turn the country into a one-party state.

    NHRC’s allegation came amid denials by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that neither President Jonathan nor the national leadership of the ruling party was involved in the impeachment of former Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako and the planned impeachment of Nasarawa State Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Lagos, the group said it was against the impeachment of governors because the process was driven by the interest of the President to control all the states ahead of next year’s general elections.

    The leader of one of the groups and Coordinator of Journalists for Democratic Rights, Adewale Adeoye, said the President may be shooting himself in the foot with his recent political moves.

    The activist urged Jonathan to retrace his steps.

    He said: “There is nothing wrong when governors, who have been genuinely found to have abridged the laws, are removed within the confines of the constitution. It is a bonus for democracy and deepens democratic culture.

    “Our fear is that these removals were financially induced and not driven by the people but by the interest of a particular hegemony. The impeachments, as we have seen, are driven by the fact that somebody thinks he has to be in control of all the states of the country.

    “We think this move is unhealthy for democracy. It nozzles the pulse of the opposition and defeats the culture of vibrant democracy and could also be a way of the Presidency shooting itself in the foot without knowing it.”

    In a statement read at the event by Kehinde Adegbuyi, the NHRC urged the people of Nasarawa State to recall all the lawmakers found culpable in the plot to unseat Al-Makura for allowing themselves be used by Jonathan to impose the PDP leadership in the state.

    The statement reads: “The plot to remove the governor is part of the ongoing campaign to turn Nigeria into a one-party state and suppress the voices of dissent. We believe the allegation that 20 lawmakers have been bribed to remove Nasarawa State governor at all cost. The plot to remove him has nothing to do with justice or corruption. It is a clear case of desperation by the PDP to rule and probably ruin Nigeria.

    “Since this move, there have been protests in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, leading to the avoidable deaths of at least two people. Curiously enough, the impeachment move came three days after the visit of President Jonathan to inaugurate the Ola Rice Farm at Rukubi, Doma Local Government Area of the state.

    “We wonder why Al-Makura is being asked to go two years after he may have committed some of these alleged crimes. What were the lawmakers waiting for in the last two years?”

    The coalition noted that though Jonathan has the constitutional right to seek re-election during the general elections, he would be undermining democratic processes should he continue to destabilise and destroy the path he is expected to tread in his second term journey.

    NHRC said: “The attack on the opposition is a clear indication of an act of intolerance. The removal of Nyako and the planned removal of Nasarawa State governor (Al-Makura) is a reflection of corruption within the political class, naked abuse of power and presidential recklessness. These acts can spur political upheavals that may undermine the entire political process.

    “We stand by the ordinary people of Nasarawa State and urge them to rise up to the occasion by blacklisting lawmakers who have been bribed to impeach the governor. They should be immediately recalled by the voters in the affected constituencies in Nasarawa State.

    “We hereby launch the ‘Campaign Against Impunity and Dictatorship’ in Nigeria, using the Nasarawa State political situation as a launch pad.”

     

  • Why PDP lawmakers are after Al-Makura, by aide

    Why PDP lawmakers are after Al-Makura, by aide

    Some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly are after Governor Tanko Al-Makura for selfish political interest, it was learnt yesterday.

    Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Public Affairs Abdulhamid Kwarra made the assertion in Abuja.

    He described the lawmakers as “lacking legislative decorum and maturity”.

    The aide said the aim of the PDP is to take over the state from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He challenged the lawmakers to show to Nigerians what law they relied upon to say that they have purportedly served the impeachment notice on the governor.

    Kwarra said: “The issue of serving the governor  impeachment notice is no longer news, what is instructive is the fact that as I speak to you now,  the Nasarawa State House of Assembly is yet to serve him.

    “That is to say, the so-called notice of impeachment has not yet been formally or officially served on Al-Makura.”

    On why some of the lawmakers are bent on impeaching the governor, Kwarra who is also a former Majority Leader in the House of Assembly, accused the lawmakers of being afraid to lose their seats next year.

    Kwarra said: “I wouldn’t want to speak for the House of Assembly on what may have been its motive, but let me assume what may be the causes of the political impasse, if I may use that language, or what may have triggered or necessitated or that led to initiating an impeachment process in Nasarawa State. It is a combination of factors.

    “One, the Abuja factor: you see the PDP and the Abuja authorities suddenly came to terms with reality that a formidable opposition party, the APC has emerged and its emergence certainly threatens the status quo.

    “Whatever the PDP does to destabilise APC controlled states. It is simply a matter of political strategy because we are heading towards 2015.

    “Two, back home in Nasarawa, it is a conflict of political interests, one, between the executive and the legislature. At a point in time the governor wanted to bring back democratic structures in the local governments,  the lawmakers refused.

    “They preferred a transitional management committee, meaning the governor should propose a transitional management committee where they will approve appointed leadership for the local governments.

    “Then there is another interest, that is what I would call the sentimental aspect which is those who are advancing and promoting religion.

    “You also have the likes of people who have been out of power or out of government for so long and now if you have a new government it is an opportunity to have new appointees coming on board to enjoy government patronage.

    “So all these things like I said internally it is a conflict of interest. Basically, these are what we will attribute to the causes of the crises in Nasarawa.”

    On the security implications, the aide said: “In terms of the security challenges, in fact, everybody knows that the nation’s security challenges are so overwhelming and it is sad that the authorities in Abuja are opening new war fronts simply because they want to satisfy selfish political ambition next year.

    “Let me more emphatic, if there is a threat to our democracy today, blame nobody for it but the same political class because what is a threat to our democracy today is this selfish desire to hang onto power even when you are not popular, even when you do not in one way or the other deliver services that have any impact on the lives of people.

    “Politicians in this country are not thinking of the next generation, they are not thinking of tomorrow, they are not thinking of leaving legacies.

    . From the day you are elected you are thinking of the next election. It is very sad and that is why today, we are gradually moving to a state of anarchy.”

     

     

  • Atiku to PDP: stop demonising opposition

    Atiku to PDP: stop demonising opposition

    Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has warned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration against demonising the All Progressives Congress (APC) before Nigerians.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja, Atiku described as dangerous the attempts by the PDP-led government to polarise the country along faulty lines just to score cheap political points.

    The former vice-president faulted the escapist tactics of the ruling party, adding that it was shocking that the ruling party could divert the attention of Nigerians from its ineptitude and apathetic posture to corruption and insecurity to waging a war against the opposition.

    Reacting to a sponsored report in a weekly newspaper, alleging that a former Russian spy had linked the APC to terrorists and extremists, Atiku said the sponsored allegations by the PDP administration would not help the country.

    According to him, no responsible government would seek to create divisions, suspicion and animosity among the citizenry by linking opposition leaders with terrorist activities or accusing them of harbouring extremists.

    Atiku said it was regrettable that the PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, officially and publicly labelled the APC the “Islamic Brotherhood Party of Nigeria” and the “Janjaweed Party”.

    The former vice-president said the names were borrowed from abroad and did not exist in Nigeria.

    He said the latest publication about the purported former Russian spy was a continuation of the PDP’s campaign of calumny against the opposition and its leaders to divert attention from the epic failures of the ruling party to deliver the goods.

    Atiku was dismayed by PDP administration’s tactics to drive a wedge between the people by using a religious divide-and-rule blackmail to seek re-election in 2015.

    The former vice-president stressed that the greatest challenges facing Nigeria today are insecurity, hopelessness, hunger, unemployment, disease, fear of the future and poverty.

    He said: “The APC is a party for all Nigerians, irrespective of their religious, ethnic or regional identities. Let no one get confused. The APC is the party to stop the looting of the treasury.

    “We will thoroughly investigate and uncover whatever is missing of the alleged $50 billion stolen from the sale of crude oil. We are going to stop the government-backed theft of crude oil, which swings between the daily averages of 100,000 to 300,000 barrels a day. APC is the party to create jobs and end joblessness.”

  • Ibadan PDP governorship aspirants to pick consensus candidate

    Ibadan PDP governorship aspirants to pick consensus candidate

    •Akala: they’re not my match

    Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant of Ibadan origin agreed yesterday to  present a consensus candidate.

    They met in Ibadan, the state capital at the residence of Elder Wole Oyelese.

    At the meeting were Oyelese, Alhaji Hazeem Gbolarumi, Prof.  Taoheed Adedoja, Prof. Soji Adejumo, Sen. Teslim Folarin, Seyi Makinde and Dr. Azeez Adeduntan.

    A statement by the aspirants reads: “ We deliberated on the political situation in Oyo State, especially as it relates to our great party, the PDP and resolved as follows:

    “That we unanimously agreed to work together as a team to ensure victory for our party in 2015 elections and deliver Oyo State for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s reelection.

    “That given the political reality on ground, the PDP candidate, who by the grace of Almighty God will be the next governor of Oyo State, must come from Ibadan land.

    “That the body takes cognizance of the importance and political interest of other zones and resolved to work assiduously with them to achieve victory for our great party at all levels.

    “That we appreciate the patience of our teeming and loyal supporters and indeed the good people of Oyo state for enduring all the inhuman treatments inflicted on them by the current APC administration and we assure them of a responsible and responsive government as from May 29 2015

    “That we appeal to our teeming and loyal supporters of the party to work together and for those who have defected from the party to return into the fold for a collective victory.”

    Ibadan votes accounted for the majority of votes in previous elections.

    The decision, said analysts, would affect the chances of former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, who is seeking to return to power.

    Alao-Akala said he would defeat the Ibadan aspirants at the primaries.

    He added that Alao-Akala said  Ibadan is only one of the towns in Oyo State, pointing out that every indigene has the right to contest for any position.

    According to him, Ibadan has  11  of the state’s 33 local government areas. He said candidates would need votes across all the councils to win.

    “I don’t care. Let all of them choose a candidate that will face me in the primaries. I have been governor before and I will be again,” Alao-Akala said.