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Tag: PDP

  • Choice of candidate tears Osun PDP apart

    Choice of candidate tears Osun PDP apart

    Crisis is brewing in the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the selection of its governorship flag bearer, it was learnt yesterday. The primaries is scheduled for Osogbo, the state capital on March 26. The governorship poll willhold on August 9.

    Sources said that President Goodluck Jonathan’s advice to the troubled chapter to pick a consensus candidate among the aspirants have been jettisoned, following their refusal to step down for one another and mounting agitations for primaries by their supporters.

    The aspirants are former Governor Isiaka Adeleke, who until 2011, was a senator, former House of Representatives member Hon. Wole Oke, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, and the former deputy governor, Senator Omisore. But, the contest has been narrowed down to Adeleke and Omisore, who have embarked on aggressive internal campaign in support of their aspiration.

    Members told our correspondent that, following the President’s advice, a section of the party started to root for Omisore’s candidature, based on the criteria that he has money to oil the party’s campaign machinery and he hails from Ife/Ijesa District, the birth place of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

    However, the agitation for the adoption of Omisore as a consensus candidate has created division in the party as influential party elders pointed out that the ruling party may embark on media campaign against his candidature as a prime suspect in the Bola Ige murder trial.

    At the recent meeting of the select stakeholders in Osogbo, it was resolved that Omisore, although a dedicated party leader and financier, may not be marketable at the poll, owing to what they described as “the problem of perception”. But, pro-Omisore supporters perceive Adeleke as a candidate who lacks resources to fund a state-wide campaign.

    A source said: “We are in the electioneering period. In our party, it is believed that, if Omisore emerges as the governorship candidate, his detractors will always link his political career to the tragedy of Ige’s murder, although he has been cleared by the court and absolved of the charges. Ige’s son, Muyiwa, has been protesting that he is the prime suspect. You know that the people of Osun and Southwest are still bitter over the gruesome murder of the deputy Afenifere leader.

    He added: “The party came to this dilemma. If Omisore will not be endorsed, who is capable of challenging Aregbesola? That was how some leaders started rooting for Adeleke, who initially, had indicated an interest to return to the Senate in 2015. But, it is not the end of the matter. Omisore is still protesting and he believes that he will get the ticket at the primaries”.

    Another source said that “there is no iota of truth in the rumour that the Osun PDP has resolved to adopt Senator Isiaka Adeleke as the consensus candidate”. He said that the former governor joined the race late and did not purchase the nomination form before it was closed.

    The source also denied that President Jonathan had a candidate in mind when he suggested the consensus formula to the chapter at the meeting he held with its leaders in Abuja.

    He added: “There was election in Anambra. Did the President put down anybody? Is the President putting down anybody in Ekiti? The fact is that the equation on ground favours Osun West, where Adeleke and Olasunkanmi Akinlabi comes from. It has been suggested that a Muslim candidate will rub shoulders with Aregbesola and the two of them are Muslims. Adeleke joined the race because the equation favours him.

    ‘But, the President has told our leaders that he has no candidate in mind. He only urged them to present a person as a consensus candidate”.

    According to the source, aspirants had up to December 31 to indicate their interest in the ticket by paying N5m for the nomination form, pointing out that Adeleke did not observe the guideline.

    He added: “On January 8, after the deadline, only three candidates paid the money; Akinlabi, Omisore and Oluwole Oke. Adeleke did not pay the amount. So, where is he starting from? He just flying a carte.

    The party source said that primaries will hold, stressing that it is in the interest of the party. He said: “One of the aspirants is desperate. he wants to subvert and manipulate the process. That was why the secretary of the party, Major Raphael Towobola, who hails from Ile-Ife, was suspended for one month so that he will not be around during the primaries holding on March 26”.

     

  • Ekiti 2014: PDP postpones Ward Congresses

    THE Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), has postponed, by one week, ward congresses for the 2014 governorship primary in Ekiti State.

    This is contained in a statement yesterday in Abuja, by Mr Olisa Metuh, the party‘s National Publicity Secretary.

    The congress, according to the statement, was earlier scheduled to hold today.

    Metuh said the postponement was to allow members participate in the on-going continuous voter registration and verification of registration of voters by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the PDP Screening Committee had cleared 13 of 16 aspirants to participate in the primaries ahead of the governorship poll slated for June 21.

    Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, the Chairman of the screening committee, presented the committee’s report to the party’s leadership in Abuja on March 10.

     

  • APC accuses Fed Govt of secret moves to hike fuel price

    APC accuses Fed Govt of secret moves to hike fuel price

    •Fed Govt insincere with fuel scarcity, says NUPENG

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government of acting out a clandestine script to increase fuel prices.

    It said the nation-wide fuel scarcity may have been induced to make higher fuel prices a fait accompli for Nigerians.

    In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the fact that the scarcity has persisted despite the claims and counter-claims by the government and the oil markers, and the measures purportedly taken by the government to ameliorate the situation, is the clearest indication of official deception.

    “The more fuel trucks the government claims to have sent to major cities to ease the scarcity, the more difficult it is for Nigerians to obtain the product. This is an old trick and Nigerians should not be hoodwinked into believing there will be no increase in fuel prices.

    The only deterrent is to let the government know Nigerians will resist any price hike.

    “The truth is that with the elections approaching, the PDP-led Federal Government is desperately seeking all possible avenues to raise funds for its usual electoral shenanigans, and increasing fuel prices has always been an attractive option to the government, not minding what the impact will be on the same people it has impoverished since 1999,’’ it said.

    APC said the lingering scarcity has already forced many Nigerians to pay as much as 120 Naira per litre of fuel, which is exactly as the FG wants it to be.

    “The next refrain from the government will be that only higher prices will guarantee the availability of the product, and that many marketers are unwilling to import the product because of low profit margin. We urge Nigerians not to swallow this bait,’’ the party said.

    It commended the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for its timely warning against any plan to hike fuel prices, saying the Jonathan Administration’s assurances that fuel prices would not be increased are not worth anything because the government is credibility-deficient.

    “The big deception of 2012, when the government slammed a massive price hike on Nigerians on New Year’s day despite assurances to the contrary, is still too fresh in the memories of Nigerians. The same people who inflicted that pain on Nigerians are still in charge, so no one should trust them,” APC warned.

    The Deputy National Chairman of the Petrol Tankers Drivers (PTD) Branch of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), NNPC, Apata, Ibadan, Comrade Salimon Oladiti, has accused the Federal Government of insincerity on the reason for the fuel scarcity.

    Oladiti said it was a method by the government to increase fuel pump prices.

    The NUPENG spoke yesterday at the Oyo State House of Assembly complex, Secretariat, Ibadan.

    “We in the Labour have been trying our possible best to mount pressure on the Federal Government. Now if you want to buy petrol in Lagos now from private depot, it is N100, whereas they are just sending little quantity to NNPC depot. That is why we are experiencing all this things. What the Minister of Petroleum said about marketers diverting of fuel was a total lie.

    ”How many times will they continue to say that we are the cause of this crisis? When the product is available, did you experience or hear from them that somebody is diverting the fuel, or that somebody is going on leave and all that? All her excuses are nonsense. If someone is not productive, then the President of the day should replace him with somebody that is ready to do the job, rather than playing politics with issues every time.”

    He urged all Nigerians to mount pressure on the Federal Government to give a reasonable explanation on the fuel scarcity.

  • Jonathan asks Appeal Court to dismiss suit against second term bid

    Jonathan asks Appeal Court to dismiss suit against second term bid

    President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the Court of Appeal to strike out a suit challenging his eligibility to seek a second term.

    He raised a technical point on why the appeal by a member of his party – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – Mr. Cyriacus Njoku, should not be entertained.

    Dr. Jonathan said the appeal filed against him did not comply with Order 18 Rule 2, of the Court of Appeal Rules.

    He asked the court to dismiss the appeal because the time within which Njoku ought to file his brief of argument had elapsed.

    In 2012, the appellant, through his counsel, Osuagwu Ugochukwu, approached the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory to declare that President Goodluck Jonathan was spending his second term in office as the nation’s leader.

    He said Jonathan ran for president in his first term in office on a single and inseparable ticket with the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

    He said the 1999 Constitution does not make provisions for separate elections for the office of the president and vice-president adding that the ticket with the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2007, made it Jonathan’s first term in office.

    But on March 1, 2013, Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi said Jonathan could contest in 2015.

    Dissatisfied with the judgment, Njoku headed for the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.

    He sought two issues for determination. These are;

    • Whether Section 135(2) of the Constitution which specifies a period of four years in office for the President is only available or applicable to a person elected on the basis of an actual election or includes one in which a person assumes the position of President by operation of law as in the case of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

    • Whether Section 137(1) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, which provides that a person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections applies to the 1st Defendant who first took an Oath of Office as substantive President on May 6, 2010 and took a second Oath of Office as President on May 29, 2011.

    But in response to the Motion on Notice, the President through his counsel, Ade Okeaya-Inneh and K. M. Nomeh, sought for an order “dismissing the appeal for want of diligent prosecution and for such other order(s) as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.

    The President based his application on the following grounds:

    “The judgment of the lower court was delivered on the 1st of March 2013 by Honourable Justice M. N. Oniyangi of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

    “The Appellant filed his Notice of Appeal on the 16th of April, 2013 against the said judgment of the lower court.

    “The First Respondent was served with the Appellant’s Record of Appeal in July 2013. By the provisions of Order 18 Rule 2 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2011, the Appellant is mandated to file his brief of argument within 45 days of the receipt of the record of appeal from the court below.

    “The time within which the Appellant shall file his brief of argument under the rules has elapsed.

    “By Order 18 Rule 10 of the rules of this Honourable Court, this Court is empowered to dismiss the Appellant’s Appeal for want of prosecution. That it will be in the interest of justice if this application is granted.”

    The counsel to the appellant, Osuagwu however said: “We wrote a letter to the Court of Appeal two months ago for a date to hear our motion for extension of time to compile and serve Record of Appeal but the court refused to give date.”

  • Southwest and Jonathan’s 2015 calculations

    Southwest and Jonathan’s 2015 calculations

    President Goodluck Jonathan has visited some traditional rulers in the Southwest, ostensibly to seek their support for his second term ambition. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the presidential moves, ahead of the 2015 election.

    President Goodluck Jonathan was in the Southwest and Kano recently for consultation with traditional rulers. He held closed door meetings with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade; the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero; the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu; and the Oba of Badagry, De Wheno Aholu Menutoyi, Babatunde Akran.

    Jonathan told reporters that the visits were private. What he discussed with the traditional rulers in their inner chambers was not disclosed. But, analysts said the President’s visit was political. They are of the view that he has embarked on nationwide consultation on his second term ambition. The fact that he held private talks with the traditional rulers in their palaces pointed to the fact that he was seeking royal blessing, ahead of his formal declarations, to run in the 2015 presidential election.

    The President lent credence to this position when he told the crowd at the Alaafin’s palace that he came to thank the people of Oyo State and the entire Southwest for the support given to him and the PDP in the 2011 election. He said: “I thank, not only the people of the state, but the entire Southwest for the support we received in 2011. I have come to reciprocate the gesture with the hope that things will continue as well. We are one. I remain your own.”

    Besides, President Jonathan addressed PDP supporters in Badagry, shortly after holding private talks with Oba Akran in his palace. He said: “For the PDP members, who have come out to receive us, we thank you most sincerely. I want to thank you for this warm reception and assure you that the glorious days of Badagry will be returned.”

    Observers believe that President Jonathan owes the people of Southwest appreciation for the votes he got from the zone in the 2011 presidential election. but, they queried the timing of his visit because he had waited for almost three years to express his appreciation. They said Jonathan was going round the Southwest to solicit the support of the royal fathers and canvass for Yoruba votes, ahead of 2015.

    In the 2011 presidential election, Jonathan polled 2,786,410 votes from the Southwest, the stronghold of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which has transformed into the All Progressives Party (APC). Despite the fact that the ACN fielded a presidential candidate, Jonathan came first in all the Southwest states, except Osun. A breakdown of the figure shows that he polled the highest vote of 1,281,688 in Lagos State, Oyo 484, 758; Ogun 309,170; Ekiti 135,009; Ondo 387,376 and Osun 188,409.

    The question is: can Jonathan perform this feat in 2015 in the Southwest, which is APC’s stronghold? Can he penetrate the Southwest through the traditional rulers? Can the royal fathers influence their subjects to vote Jonathan?

    Analysts said that it will be impossible for Jonathan to win in the Southwest, except Ondo State where he enjoys the support of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party. They argued that the emergence of the APC would make it difficult for Jonathan to make an impact in the zone.

    Former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora described Jonathan’s visits to Yoruba traditional rulers as a diplomatic shuttle. According to him, the President came to prepare the ground for his formal declaration for the presidency in 2015. He noted that his visit is already causing a row among the Obas, as the Olubadan Oba Samuel Odulana, had kicked against President Jonathan passing through his domain without stopping over at in his palace.

    On whether the President and his party, the PDP, can penetrate the Southwest through the royal fathers, Mamora said: “It is most unlikely because the Southwest is comfortable in the hands of the APC. We are not going to rest on our oars. We will double our efforts to ensure victory for the APC in 2015, not only in the Southwest, but throughout Nigeria. I am not against Jonathan’s diplomatic shuttle; he has the right to do that, but it will not make any difference.”

    The Co-ordinator of the Coalition for Democratic Reform (CODER), Ayo Opadokun, said the political setting that made people to vote for Jonathan in 2011; irrespective of political affiliation, have changed. He said the political leadership of Southwest as at that time interacted with their colleague in government to give him solid votes in 2011, but that situation does not exist today.

    Opadokun explained that the Southwest political leadership and those in government today are not on the same page with the President.

    According to him, in any partisan setting, it is expected that the party in power at regional or state level would mobilise the people to vote for its candidate.

    Except things change later, political leaders in the Southwest and the President are not together. They have different political agenda. So, what happened in 2011 would not play out this time around,” Opadokun said.

    Public Affairs analyst Bernard Briggs is of the opinion that President Jonathan has chosen a wrong place to kick off his consultation on his re-election bid. Briggs said one million visits to Yoruba traditional rulers would not make Jonathan and his party to win more votes than they deserve.

    He described the Southwest as the traditional home of the progressives. He added: “I don’t see a situation whereby the Yoruba would for any reason this time around abandon the APC, which was co-founded by their leaders and other like minds across the country.”

    Besides, Briggs noted that the politics of the Southwest is based on principle and people’s interest, adding: “That explains why the leaders have been consistent, pitching their tents with progressives. I am also aware that traditional rulers in Yorubaland have no influence as regards the political direction of the people.”

    Briggs wondered why the President decided to pay a thank you visit to the region, three years after the Southwest voted for him. “To me, it is belated. The visit was politically motivated. The President should know that the Yoruba voted for him in 2011, not because of his personality or that his party manifesto was better. They probably voted for him because of where he comes from- the Southsouth – the region that had never produced the President,” he said.

    A lawyer, Ajibola Bashir, queried: “Despite the goodwill the people of Southwest accorded him in 2011, what did they benefit from his government?” He said Jonathan’s approach to governance is negative.

    Bashiru lamented that Jonathan had squandered the opportunities that came his way.

    Bashiru warned the President against polarising the Southwest by sponsoring “dead woods” and promising to bring them to political limelight because, according to him, such a plan will fail.

    One issue that is working against Jonathan’s interest in the Southwest is the marginalisation of the region under his administration. The allegation emanated from the Yoruba elders who are known to be sympathetic towards Jonathan Administration.

    Chief Olu Falae alleged that the President’s pattern of appointments with no consideration for the Yoruba suggested that he does not appreciate their contribution to his emergence as the President.

    Falae said the Yoruba were sidelined in appointments and control of political offices. He listed the topmost positions as that of the President, Senate President, Vice President, Speaker, House of Representatives, Chief Justice of the Federation, Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, President, Court of Appeal, Secretary to the Government of the Federtion, National Security Adviser, and Head of Service of the Federation.

    Falae said none of these offices was being occupied by a Yoruba, stressing that the absence of Yoruba in the power hierarchy had adversely affected the zone. He also cited the sack of eight General Managers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, six of whom were Yoruba, by the former Minister of Aviation, Mrs Stella Oduah.

    Another Yoruba elder said that the relegation of the Yoruba is not just in higher hierarchy of government, but also in agencies, parastatals and corporations. He said: “A situation where the total appointments for the entire Southwest fall short of those of certain individual states suggests either a deliberate effort to ignite ethnic resentment or a glaring outcome of total collapse of co-ordination in the machinery and records of government.”

    According to him, “available data indicate that the Yoruba have lost more than half of their appointive positions since demise of President Yar’Adua.

    He observer listed areas where the Yoruba were marginalised as follows: the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Chairman, Federal Civil Commission, Chairman Police Service Commission and National Security Adviser

    Also there is Yoruba among the entire 10 executive chairmen of the Federal Executive bodies such as Federal Character Commission, Federal Civil Service Commiasion, Federal Judicial Service Commission, Independent National Electoral Commission, National Population Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

    Out of 12 top government agencies, none is being headed by Yoruba. The top Corporations and Heavy Budget Agencies include Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF), Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), National Health Insurance Health Scheme, and Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).

    There is no Yoruba heading any of the Revenue Related Agencies like Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Customs Service and Auditor General of the Federation.

    The story is similar in security and anti-corruption Agencies which include the Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences (ICPC) and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

    When the Southwest leaders of PDP met the President over the lopsided appointments in the Federal Service, he promised that his administration would rectify the anomalies in 2015 when he would commence another term in office. How Jonathan would convince the Yoruba that his pattern of appointment with no consideration for the most educated and enlightened group in the country was not deliberate is known to him.

  • Group disowns Oyo PDP committees

    Group disowns Oyo PDP committees

    Leaders of a group known as G-22 in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State have dissociated themselves from the committees inaugurated by the party’s state executive.

    In a statement, the leaders – Prof. Olaifa Julius, Chief Sola Animasaun, Chief Mustapha Lawal, Chief Adigun Irawo, Chief Akinkumi Akinkunmi, Chief Adetoro and Pa Elisha Olanrewaju, said the absence of some leaders at the inauguration was a clear indication of the true picture of things in Oyo PDP.

    They said: “We cannot pretend and say there is no faction in Oyo PDP. Some people are trying to position themselves as leaders of the party and are excluding others. Chief Richard Akinjide and his daughter, Oloye Jumoke, were absent from the last meeting, which is a pointer to this fact.

    “No faction can claim that it will ensure victory for President Goodluck Jonathan and the party in the state. Chief Akinjide’s absence was a minus to the meeting. We are leaders in 22 local government areas. How come we were not carried along in the scheme of things?”

     

  • Stone that the builders rejected …?

    Not too long ago, his governorship ticket got “K-leg”. Now, that leg has been straightened, and it is so strong and sturdy that it offered its former traducer a platform to stand on. Is it then a question of the stone that the builders rejected becoming the head cornerstone?

    O yes, you guessed right! It is the riveting story of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.

    On the virtual eve of the 2007 election, All-mighty President Obasanjo and sole-controller of the All-mighty ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) suddenly declared Amaechi who contested and won the Rivers PDP governorship ticket, stood disqualified. It was a classic from the PDP house of imposition. Hence, the infamous “e don get K-leg” quip.

    But thanks to the courts, impunity was vanquished, and the once-rejected Amaechi became the shining armour of an otherwise opaque PDP, with his good governorship performance. Of course too, the once-upon-a-time All-mighty president is now in decline. He is even threatened with irrelevance by his estranged godson and current president, Goodluck Jonathan.

    Now, Amaechi must have a grim sense of humour or was on a cynical demonstration of “my enemy’s enemy is my friend” dictum — or both.

    Whatever it is, it is strange that the same Obasanjo who almost wilfully annulled Amaechi’s governorship right became the chief launcher of the latest of projects the Amaechi administration was delivering, even with the huge distraction of Mbu Joseph Mbu (whoever remembers him now?), Nyesom Wike and other Jonathan Rivers local political enforcers.

    Without any sense of irony, Baba, ever mortally scared of slipping into irrelevance, made himself available. What should be Jonathan’s as of right then became the happy chore of the Ebora Owu, as he strutted, commissioning one project after another.

    But the irony is not lost on any discerning mind. Back then, but with a wink, Obasanjo nearly torpedoed Ameachi’s hard-won ticket. Indeed, but for the courts that taught the polity a lesson in the futility of impunity, Amaechi’s “K-leg” would have stayed that way and, as Nigerians love to say, “nothing would happen!” But see the underdog of yore come to give the former thundering over-dog a rare platform in the sun, after his own godson had practically run him into a ditch?

    From Amaechi’s side, it is a study in resilience. A country should be governed by law. Even then, citizens themselves should wake up those laws — rudely if possible — whenever their powers were threatened by the powers-that-be. The beauty of Amaechi’s story is that he fought a good fight and crowned it with good service to his people.

    Lesson for Jonathan? Power is transient. After all, what people will remember you for is not how many high-profile sacks you pulled off or how good you were at political intrigues. Obasanjo was master of all those, but see how he craves attention now — even from mere boy, Amaechi.

    Jonathan must learn from Obasanjo and do his job meticulously. But so far, the signals are not too good. But perhaps if Saul turned to Paul, there is always hope of some Pauline conversion to good — is there?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Amaechi urges action against corruption

    Amaechi urges action against corruption

    •Straw: opposition vital in democracy

    A former British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said yesterday that it is stupid to marginalise political opponents. He insisted that a strong opposition is essential in a democracy.

    Straw noted that widespread corruption and democracy were incompatible, saying with the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria would be better administered. Leaders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will be put on their toes, he added.

    Straw reiterated that there is apprehension in Nigeria over the 2015 elections, declaring that there is a long way to go in the country, to conduct free, fair and credible elections.

    A former Prime Minister of Ireland, John Bruton, also stated that there must be no preferential treatment or favouritism in the fight against corruption. To him, every country in the world is searching for good governance, which he described as a process.

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), maintained that Nigeria is a bit helpless and slightly hopeless, with corruption being celebrated. Citizens’ action is needed, he added.

    A frontline human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said Nigeria was not more corrupt than many Western countries, while accusing Britain and the United States as causing part of the problem of terrorism.

    The eminent personalities and others spoke yesterday at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Port Harcourt at an International Conference on Democracy and Good Governance. Prof. Steve Chan of the University of London was the moderator.

    Bruton spoke on “The Dynamics of Contention Within the Realities of State Building: Debasing their Essence and Limitation,” while Straw’s paper was titled: “Democracy, Nationhood and Citizenship Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities in the Global Order.”

    The former British foreign secretary said: “Emphasis must be placed on social justice and equality. The wealth of the nation must not be in the hands of a few persons. Corruption must be tackled frontally. There is high level of inequality in Nigeria and the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few persons.

    “Elections must be free, fair and credible. We must have trust in the ballot box to sustain democracy. There is a long way to go in Nigeria in conducting free, fair and credible elections.

    “Opposition party can bring about change, but it is a tough and thankless task. It is stupid to marginalise the opponents. In a democracy, nothing lasts forever. A strong democracy must listen to the opponents and opposition’s views must be heard. Strong opposition will keep the government on its toes.

    “Winner takes all can be damaging. Those who feel disenfranchised may resort to violence. Widespread corruption and democracy are incompatible.”

    Straw also stated that the elected representatives must be accountable to their people, thereby promoting good governance.

    The ex-Prime Minister of Ireland said: “One of the most important ingredients of democracy is free speech, which is available in Nigeria today. Nigerian government should make efforts to attract to return home, Nigerian professionals who are doing well all over the world, through good governance.

    “Without independent judiciary, you cannot have strong democracy. The rule of law and Independent Public Prosecuting Service are also essential. Justice must not be selective. Prosecution of crimes must be equal.

    “When you are defeated in an election, learn to be a good loser and congratulate the winner. There is need for tolerance and party discipline. Politicians should be close to their constituencies. Economic conditions must be improved upon and inequality reduced in the society.”

    Amaechi said: “When I was at the University of Port Harcourt, we would not hear of stolen $20 billion and the school would not close down. There would be no lecture. We would summon an emergency Students’ Union meeting. The next morning, you would see students on the streets of Port Harcourt, protesting against the stealing of the $20 billion.

    “Now, you have students’ leader who has siren with police escorts and imagining that he is a governor. He is already identifying himself with those who are stealing money, because he wants to come and steal money.

    “What are the students of the UNIPORT, Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt and other universities doing about the challenges we are facing? That is what is called citizens’ action. I am 48 now. I should not be part of the citizens’ action. Except if the situation is so bad that I will be part of the people who will be on the streets to protest. At their age, we held this country to ransom, while I was in the university.

    “Now, students clap for leaders who come to their campuses with Jaguar cars. When I was there, if you came with Jaguar car, you would go back with motorcycle.

    “The country is a bit helpless and slightly hopeless, because you need to have a statesman leader. A weak man, but capable leader can establish strong institutions through his ideas. There is a difference between a strong leader and a capable leader. The system will fish out a corrupt judge, not the government in power. You can be in PDP, you can be in APC, the system will fish you out and throw you into jail. The moment the first person goes to jail, the second person goes to jail, the third person goes to jail, everybody will change.

    “In Nigeria, we celebrate corruption. The highest we do is to transfer them from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Labour or we remove them and the persons will continue with politics. So that when the next government comes into power, Nigerians and the government would forget that the persons were removed in the last administration. The person would be given Minister of Finance. In that case, nobody would ask him about corruption again or may be given Minister of Petroleum, but they would prosecute those talking about corruption.

    “The Constitution is very clear about how to remove a governor. The Constitution says by impeachment, through the court or you serve out your tenure, but in this era of suspension, the governor can be removed from office by suspension. We thought it was impossible to remove the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor (Sanusi Lamido Sanusi), but he was suspended. The ingredient of democracy is freedom of speech. Nigeria is in a civilian regime, not democracy.”

    Falana also lauded Amaechi for promoting the cross-fertilisation of ideas in Rivers State, through the international conference.

    “We have the best expression of strong opposition in Rivers State, viz-a-viz the people in Abuja. Governor Amaechi has succeeded because for the first time, in about 14 years, issue of governance, good schools that can be compared with those in Europe and America; good hospitals; good roads, among others, are being given to the people.

    “Those who are fighting Governor Amaechi do not appreciate that there is a difference between having a government that promises to deliver and never delivered for 14 years, and one that promises to deliver and delivering, in terms of good governance.

    “On corruption, Nigerians shamelessly ranked 144 in the index of corrupt nations, but it takes two to tango. I have had a running battle with the British Government and Western Governments. Nigeria is not more corrupt than many Western countries, but in the ranking of the Transparency International (TI), it is only the victims of corruption, countries that are allowed by the West to loot their treasuries and move to the vaults of the Western banks, that are ranked as corrupt.

    “I wrote to the British Prime Minister, when a governor was convicted in Nigeria and the judge descended on the former governor, but what of the financial institutions in Britain? What of your banks that warehouse the loot of the governor? The bulk of the money stolen from Nigeria is taken to the West, through capital flight. You can block it there.

    “The United States, last week, released $458 million of the wealth stolen by Abacha. Abacha died in 1998. I am going to demand of the Obama’s government to give us the interest, because the money had been in their banks.

     

    Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora, described election as the pillar of democracy and must be free, fair and credible, while the rule of law is critical, noting that without an activist judiciary, Amaechi would not have been governor, through the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court on October 25, 2007.

    Mamora, a former Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, said: “You cannot have good governance and strong democracy, without virile opposition. The opposition’s voice was drowned in Nigeria, until the birth of the APC.

    In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte said Nigerians were still in search of good governance, which he said the people believed in.

    Karibi-Whyte added that good governance would not discriminate, with the benefits to flow to everybody, which he said the people wanted from their leaders.

     

  • 2015: Can small parties escape INEC’s hammer?

    2015: Can small parties escape INEC’s hammer?

    Apart from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), there are over 25 parties on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) register. But, do they have prospects in 2015? Musa Odoshimokhe examines the fate of the parties on the fringe as the country prepares for the general elections.

    The 2015 elections will be a straight fight between the two dominant parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). The minor parties may become spectators during the presidential election.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has over 25 political parties on its register.

    The small parties include the Liberal Democratic Party of Nigeria (LDPN), the Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN), the Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ), and the National Conscience Party (NCP). Others are the National Democratic Party(NDP), the National Solidarity Democratic Party (NSDP), the National Movement of Progressive Party (NMPP), the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), the Peoples Progressives Party (PPP), the United Democratic Party (UDP), and the Mega Progress Peoples Party (MPPP).

    The relevance of these parties will depend on their alliance with the two dominant parties. For the PDP and the APC, it is not going to be business as usual. The defections in the political camps point to the fact that a tough contest is imminent.

    The PDP and APC are consolidating their strongholds, ahead of 2015. But, the minor parties are diminishing in strength. Thus, would – be voters are raising eyebrows over the extension of subvention to them by the electoral commission.

    The Labour Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Accord Party (AP) fielded candidates in the 2011 polls and won some seats in the state and federal parliaments. For instance, the LP won the governorship election in Ondo State and seats in the House of Assembly. APGA has maintained its hold on Anambra State. The Accord Party is struggling for survival in Oyo State. It has some seats in the House of Assemly.

    As the polity prepares for the next elections, are the minor parties in the reckoning? Can they make any difference in 2015? Will they form alliance with major parties?

    The MPPP, which held its national convention in February, has said that it would spring surprise. Its new chairman, Mr. Dare Falade, said the party will fly, despite the resignation of its national chairman, Hon. Rasheed Shitta-Bey, who has defected to the APC. He did not rule out the possibility of going into alliance with any of the major political parties.

    However, the National Chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Alhaji Balarabe Musa, expressed misgivings about the two major political parties. He said the minor political parties have rejected them and would have nothing to do with them. This position contradicted the views of Falade, a member of the forum.

    Musa said that, if the country is to achieve a breakthrough, the solution does not lie with the APC and the PDP. He urged the minor parties to rise up to the occasion to save the country. He said the manifestoes of the two leading parties have failed to address poverty, insecurity and infrastructural deficiency.

    Musa said: “All the other political parties have rejected any merger with either the APC or the PDP. Therefore, the most logical thing they should do for their own survival and relevance is to form democratic alliance with the strongest among the minor parties.

    “They should forge ahead and prepare against the PDP and the APC. They have to be led by one of the political parties that have structures on ground. The party should control, at least, one state government. If this is done, they will be in a position to give the PDP or the APC a fight during the 2015 election.

    “The political situation in the country today clearly needs such an alliance that will save the country because, if this is not done, the country will not move forward. It is clearly in the body language of the dominant parties that they want to either perpetuate themselves in power to enslave the people or want to take over power for their own selfish interest.”

    The Chairman of the Civic Consciousness Initiative, Prof. Idowu Sobowale, said the lukewarm attitude of Nigerians to election must be addressed. He said political apathy is not the solution.

    Sobowale said: “It is not a subject of assigning role to minor political parties. It is a question of whether they are coming out with new idea. It is a question of whether they are coming out with sincere ideas to move the country forward. If they do, the chances are that they could be invited by one of the major groups or they could come together and in turn form a third major party”.

    The university don said that minor parties could be encouraged, if the electorate live up to their civic responsibilities.

    He added: “The usual attitude that politics is evil and should be left to those people who can play the dirty game has been the bane of the failure of government.”

    A chieftain of the PDP in the Southwest, Chief Ishola Filani, said the relevance of the minor political parties depend on their philosophy.

    He said that parties will attract votes, based on their manifestos.

    “These parties will determine the role they can play in the next electoral dispensation. Under the law, they have the right to contest, except the law says otherwise”, Filani added.

    The party chieftain said the gates of alliances are not closed, adding that, if the smaller parties chose to join the PDP, they are free. “There is no law that bans them from integrating with any of the major political parties of their choice,” he stressed.

    The Coordinator of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER), Mr. Ayo Opadokun, said that it is still too early to reflect on what the smaller parties will do in 2015. He said that the political landscape is still evolving and re-adjusting to reality.

    Opadokun said: “The year 2015 will open its space to accommodate the minor parties and we will all see the role they will play”.

    A Chieftain of the Pro National Conference Organisation (PRONACO), Linus Okoroji, said available statistics indicate that majority of the eligible voters do not vote, stressing that this vacuum gives opportunity to politicians to enjoy underserved victories at the polls.

    “Any credible Nigerian, who finds it difficult to contest elections on the platforms of big parties, can organise and contest on the platforms of the relatively smaller parties and, with proper mobilisation, they can win.”

     

     

  • The price of loyalty

    The price of loyalty

    I got the unfortunate news about mid-day last Wednesday when my phone rang. The person at the other end, a senior Journalist with one of the nation’s frontline newspapers, simply broke the unexpected news to me without much fuss: “The President has removed Bolaji Abdullahi as Minister.” Although that piece of news jolted me, it was not quite unexpected given the current political trend in the country. I managed to ask an incoherent question: “Why will the President do so at this time when the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament in Brazil is just three months away?”

    The events leading to the Minister’s removal were, to me, some cock and bull stories or what is tantamount to giving the Minister a bad name in order to hang him. However, the case against the former Minister was put in the public domain by many of the newspapers the following day, in different banal headlines. One of the papers wrote on its front page: “The case against Abdullahi…did not identify with PDP’s plan to dislodge APC in Kwara; refusal to speak at PDP’s Ilorin rally; seen in company of Saraki and Goje, who are APC Chiefs; failure to fund PDP’s activities in Kwara State; and late arrival at the Emir’s Palace where Jonathan visited.

    Let us take these accusations one by one. It is alleged that the former Minister did not identify with the ruling party’s plan to dislodge the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kwara State. Yes, the Minister hails from Kwara State in the North-central geo-political zone of the country. Before his appointment as a minister of the Federal Republic, he was a commissioner in his state. If I am correct, he started as a Special Adviser to the erstwhile Governor of the state, Bukola Saraki, who is now a Senator of the Federal Republic. And it follows that it was Saraki who nominated Abdullahi as Minister.

    Now that the Senator has pitted his political camp with the APC, an opposition party that is pulling all the stunts to seize power from the ruling PDP, it would be absurd for Abdullahi to work against his political godfather. This is enough reason to put him under the prying binoculars of his pay masters. And to think that Abdullahi would fully participate in the antics of the ruling PDP to dislodge the APC from Kwara State would be daydreaming, more so, when the former Minister is adjudged to be apolitical in nature.

    It was, therefore, not surprising that Abdullahi avoided speaking at the Ilorin rally which was held some three days before he was shuffled out of the cabinet. Those who appointed him as a Minister should have known that all the while, he has never played politics with his job. Even those who knew him when he was a Commissioner have attested to that fact. So also is his political godfather, who said the young man was too married to his job than politicking all over the place. It is on record that Abdullahi was one Commissioner who never got himself involved in the revelry and jamboree of going to do ‘break-dancing’ at the airport each time Saraki, his boss at that time, was flying into Ilorin by air during his tenure as governor.

    Now, people expected this type of fellow who has cut out his own unique lifestyle among the multitudes of flotsams and jesters who daily flock around politicians looking for a mess of porridge to feast on to distance himself from the company of those with whom he has found comfort all this while. I mean the accusation that he was seen at innocuous hours in the company of his former boss, Saraki, and Danjuma Goje, the former Governor of Gombe State, who is also a Senator. Apparently, both Saraki and Goje are among the 11 senators who have changed camp from PDP to APC. Are these people now saying that one of the requirements of being a Minister in this country today is that once you are a minister, you do not have the right to choose those to associate with? Therefore, if seeing Saraki and Goje amounts to a crime, then it sounds as ridiculous as it is unthinkable.

    The same people have accused Abdullahi of failing to fund PDP’s activities in his state. If I may ask: Is there any evidence that the former minister was funding or had at any time funded the APC either? This question is necessary because right from the onset, he had been known to be apolitical. If this is so, why should anybody think he should dissipate energy and resources over any political party for that matter? At any rate, where will the money to fund the party come from? Is it from statutory allocations to his ministry, personal emoluments or inflated contracts? It would have been a different story if his accusers had said that he embezzled money that was given to him for onward delivery to the PDP in his state. If that did not happen, then it means that the former minister was expected to deep his hands into the public till to satisfy the financial want of some greedy, gluttonous and godforsaken politicians.

    It was also reported that the former minister was reluctant to attend the jamboree in Ilorin because he had an assignment to do outside the shores of the country but he was prevailed upon to stay behind and attend the President’s campaign visit to Ilorin. Even at that, a mischievous party chieftain who was in the same vehicle with the former minister was said to have quoted the former minister as saying: “If not that I am from this place, I would not have been on this entourage.” That statement means that the former minister had to work against his wish in order to satisfy the wolves that had encircled him and were hunting and hounding him ever since his political godfather jumped ship. It is a pity.

    I had a chance meeting with Bolaji Abdullahi on January 26, 2012, in London. At that time, he was Minister for Youth Development having been appointed a minister in 2011. He was later saddled with the task of supervising the Ministry of Sports before he was appointed substantive Sports Minister in March 2012. The venue of that meeting was at the Heathrow Airport in London. I had spotted him at the check-in queue on arrival at the airport that chilly winter morning. Although we were meeting for the first time, he instantly recognised me.

    As we exchanged banters, I was overwhelmed by his humble disposition. We soon got talking. I told him I was in London for the annual Presidents’ meeting of the EMEA Region (Europe, Middle-East and Africa) of the global Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, EO. He said he was also in London for a series of meetings for the Paralympics games and other games coming up in London that year. He told me about his determination to overhaul the National Youth Service Scheme to make it more relevant to the needs of contemporary Nigeria and other issues bordering on his vision for his ministry. Two months after, he was moved to the Sports Ministry. As we departed that day, the impression he gave me was that of a quiet, unassuming young man. He struck me as a person who knows his onions and could go places if given the opportunity to excel.

    Since that meeting, I have followed his performance and meteoric rise as a public servant and I must confess that he has been wonderful with what he had done as a minister. It is a pity that his zeal to excel has now been scuttled. The wolves may have succeeded in getting Abdullahi, their prime target, out of the way. By doing this, they have unwittingly caused the country a great harm; they have sacrificed merit for sycophancy.

    Above all, Abdullahi’s gargantuan achievements will live after him in the annals of competent administration and good governance in the country. No wonder, his achievements are already reverberating in the public domain and will remain permanently etched in national consciousness for a long time to come. He has done well for journalism, his profession and his generation.