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  • Gang up against PDP will crumble – Jonathan

    Gang up against PDP will crumble – Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan declared on Tuesday that the opposition ganging up to wrestle power from the ruling People’s Democratic Party in 2015 would crumble.

    The President stated this at North-West zonal rally of the PDP tagged Unity Rally held at the Ranchers Bees Stadium in Kaduna.

    Jonathan told the audience not to be troubled over the gang up, stressing that the PDP would emerge victorious.

    “We are told that some people are ganging up in different names and we assure you not to be bothered about any gang up.

    “From 1999, there was a gang up. Two to three parties came together; Presidential candidate from one; vice presidential candidate from one; Secretary to Government from one; all from different parties.

    “But they did not go anywhere. They ganged up before. They failed and they will continue to fail. The gang up will go, just like when you mix different acidic contents in a container.

    “Do not be worried; it is not a new thing; they will continue to gang up but they will continue to fail,’’ he said.

    He said the North-West geo-political zone, comprising Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Zamfara and Sokoto states, belonged to the PDP.

    Jonathan assured that come 2015, PDP would not only retain the four states controlled by the PDP, but would take over Zamfara, Kano and Sokoto states controlled by the opposition.

    The President underscored the importance of the North-West zone in the political setting of the country having 25 per cent of the entire population of the country.

    The President said that the unity rally was not a political campaign but a gathering designed to re-unite the party members and to welcome new members.

    “The North-West is a special zone. This is the only zone that we have seven states and the zone that has the highest population in this country.

    “We are here for a unity rally and to re-assure all of you that the PDP is the only party that can lead this country to the next level’’, he said.

    The President noted that in the history of great political parties known in the globe, “they do not change everyday like a rock passing through metamorphorsis.’’

  • Ekiti poll: PDP clears 13, drops Olowoporoku, two other

    Ekiti poll: PDP clears 13, drops Olowoporoku, two other

    •Knocks for INEC over voter cards

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has disqualified three of its 16 governorship aspirants in Ekiti State.

    Senator Bode Olowoporoku, Mr. Peter Obafemi and Mrs. Bosede Dada were dropped by the Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba-led screening committee.

    Ndoma-Egba told reporters yesterday that Olowoporoku was disqualified for failing to provide his tax clearance certificate and the court judgment he claimed overturned his expulsion from the party.

    Obafemi was rejected for failing to produce his NYSC discharge certificate.

    Mrs. Dada was dropped because she could not produce her secondary school leaving certificate, evidence of tax and membership dues payment.

    Those cleared are former Police Minister Caleb Olubolade; former Governor Ayo Fayose; Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, Mr. Oluwadare Bejide, Mr. Bodunde Adeyanju, Erelu Ogundipe, Mr. Gbenga Aluko, Mr. Mr. Abiodun Aluko, Mr. Adewale Aribisala, Mr. Adebisi Omoyeni, Mr. Oluropo Ogunbolude, Mr. Omolara Adubiaro and Mr. Ayodeji Ajayi.

    The disqualified aspirants are free to approach the party’s screening appeal committee.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been scored low by stakeholders in the issuance of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs)in Ekiti State.

    Speaking yesterday at an interactive forum with stakeholders, including a coalition of Civil Society groups, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi from the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) said: “INEC failed to sufficiently sensitise the electorate for the exercise.”

    The civil society groups lamented the insufficiency of personnel across the 2,195 polling units, adding that only one ad hoc staff (a youth corps member) attended to a large crowd while many collected their PVCs through proxies.

    Representatives of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, African Centre for Leadership , Strategy and Development, HEDA Resource Centre, New Initiative for Social Development, West African Network for Peace, Centre for Democracy and Development, National Council for Women Societies and Electoral Reform Network were present.

    Dr. Akiyode-Afolabi said: “Incidents of relocation of registration units led to confusion over designated points of PVCs collection in some councils, while attention forms were inadequate in most polling units. There was tension at some registration units as people scrambled for the few available forms.

    “We expected INEC and other stakeholders to sensitise the people on the importance of the exercise. Most people came to the venue without knowing what they were there to do.

    “The names of deceased persons were on the register. For example, at Igbehin in Atikankan Registration Area, PU 002, Fakorede’s House, the name of the former Deputy Governor, the late Mrs Funmilayo Olayinka, among others, was on the list.

    “Party agents interfered with the registration process under the guise that one youth corps member assigned to a unit cannot singlehandedly attend to the hundreds of people on the queue and this is not good for our democracy, considering the experiences of the past.”

    The civil society groups urged INEC to “fine tune electoral procedures and clean up the voter register”, so that Ekiti could have a credible election on June 21.

    Director-General of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation Bimbo Daramola said the exercise showed that INEC did not overcome past errors.

    Daramola said: “While some would say it is normal to expect criticisms from the Fayemi camp, it is obvious that there were lapses in the exercise, which make one wonder if INEC was prepared for it.

    “I attended INEC stakeholders’ session, which was presided over by the commission’s Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, and one of the things he said actually came into play. For example, the impression I came off with at the meeting was that the number of cards that would be available would reflect the number of people posted on the voter register. But, it turned out not to be so.

    “I imagined that everyone whose name makes it into the register would have a complementary PVC, but that was not so. I cannot help asking if Jega was aware of steps to be taken before the date to avoid mistakes as have been noticed?”

     

  • 2015: PDP to decide if contest will be open, says Akpabio

    2015: PDP to decide if contest will be open, says Akpabio

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio yesterday said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will decide if the 2015 governorship election will be open to all the aspirants from the three senatorial districts.

    Akpabio spoke in response to a question posed by Senator Effiong Bob who sought to know where Uyo Senatorial District belonged in the 2015 power tussle.

    He described Uyo as a special senatorial district.

    The governor spoke during the on-going town hall meeting of the Etinan Federal Constituency in Etinan council, Akwa Ibom state.

    The governor said if Uyo Senatorial District does not contest in the primaries of the PDP, Uyo will contest in the opposition party.

    Akpabio said: “In 2015, if PDP were to speak in clear conscience, it can no longer say that two senatorial districts are going to contest. By 1999 till 2015, two senatorial districts have tasted power.

    “Uyo Senatorial District under former Governor Victor Attah. Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district under Governor Godswill Akpabio. The only senatorial district left is Eket Senatorial District, therefore the party will speak.

    “If the party wants to open it up for the three senatorial districts so be it. Even in 2007 it was still open to the whole state. The main opposition that I had was from Uyo. Uyo is very enlightened. It is the capital of Akwa Ibom.

    “Even if we go 2015, if the candidate of the state is not from Uyo senatorial district, the next person from the opposition will be from Uyo. I hope you know that. Uyo cannot fail to contest election. It is a fact. This one that Senator Effiong Bob is asking where is Uyo, Uyo knows that it will contest election.

    “Whether you like it or not Uyo will contest. If Uyo does not contest the primaries of the PDP, Uyo will contest in the opposition. Even the opposition leader if we had any today, is he not from Uyo? The reality is that Uyo is too important and nobody can ignore Uyo. Uyo will never be left out of government. At what stage can you leave Uyo out?”

    Akpabio explained that after the town hall meeting, the stakeholders and elders of the state will sit and decide on how to zone positions.

    His words: “After this town hall meeting, the next thing we will do is to sit down as stakeholders and elders and attempt to zone positions so that when we bring it out you will know that if this person takes governorship, another person takes deputy governor.

    “Those who are going to be aspirants must sign the MoU that this sharing formula approved by the circus of our party is what they will adhere to then immediately after that we will make our pronouncement.”

     

  • PDP Northcentral rally a jamboree, says APC

    PDP Northcentral rally a jamboree, says APC

    The Niger State All Progressive Congress (APC) has flayed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for holding a rally in the Northcentral Zone at a time the area is freting under the scourge of insecurity.

    Its Interim Chairman, Senator Ibrahim Musa, told reporters in Minna, the state capital, that the rally was ill-timed, adding that it was a deceptive ploy by the ruling party to flag off the second term campaign of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He however, said that the rally would not affect the fortune of the APC in the state. Musa added: “A million rallies by the PDP in Niger State cannot move us or change the fortune of the PDP. We are now on ground. Let them hold more rallies. It will not affect our fortune”.

    The APC chieftain berated the ruling party for lack of prioritiation, stressing that, instead of solving mounting national problems, President Goodluck Jonathan was involved in a jamboree.

    Musa said: “The so-called PDP Northcentral Solidarity and Unity Rally is a jamboree. It is unfortunate that when our citizens are being killed in the Northeast and in Plateau State, which is in the Northcentral, our President is busy shuttling from one state to another doing jamboree.

    “The PDP has no welfare plan for the citizens. All they are concerned about is 2015 and how they will manipulate the 2015 election results, which, God will not allow. They will not succeed in manipulating the election results”.

    The politician said that Niger State PDP decided to host the rally because the state government has lost the popularity battle. He said the party has failed the state in the last 14 years.

    Stressing that the APC is unperturbed by the rally, he said: “The jamboree will have no effect on the rising profile of the APC in Niger state. The rally cannot change the perception of the people in Niger State about the PDP as a failed party and their preference for the APC.

    “The President’s visit will not in anyway affect the strength of the APC in Niger state. The PDP has never won election in Niger State. All the victories given to the PDP were a ruse. So, there is no hope for President Jonathan or the PDP in Niger State and the rally will not improve their chance in any way.”.

    Musa said that it is worrisome that Governor Mu’azu Aliyu, who is the Chairman of Northern States Governors Forum, hosted the rally at a time the peace is the region is being threatened bt the Boko Haram sect.

    He said: “As the chairman of Northern governors, Aliyu should not be organising a jamboree. Rather, he should be concerned about putting an end to the problems of the North. He has shifted his priorities”.

    Also reacting, Mr. David Umaru, a lawyer and governorship candidate of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), said cannot change the peoples’ perception about the PDP.

    He said: “No amount of rallies held in Niger State can shake us; neither will it affect the fortune of the APC in the state. We are strongly on ground.”

  • Do as I say

    Do as I say

    • Jonathan wants leaders to make people-centred policies their watchword!

    Although he was recently in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, for a purely partisan purpose – to receive decampees from other political parties to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) – President Goodluck Jonathan made a thought-provoking and statesmanlike remark. He called on political leaders in the country to make the welfare of the people the thrust of their policies and programmes. This is in tandem with the maxim of the pursuit by the state of the greatest happiness for the greatest number of the people.

    But democracy naturally should serve as a vehicle for promoting public welfare and development only when public officers, particularly elected ones, rise above brazen partisanship, subordinate themselves to the rule of law, promote transparency and accountability and elevate the public interest above personal considerations. On all these counts, it is doubtful if President Jonathan is faithful to his own counsel. As President, he has not shown the example he is recommending to other political leaders.

    President Jonathan is the leader of all Nigerians and not just members of the PDP. In that case, should he have been at Ilorin to receive politicians decamping to his party? Could he not have left that task to the party chairman and other partisan functionaries? Is the presidency not too elevated an office to be trivialised this way? Beyond this, what exactly is Dr Jonathan’s notion of the welfare of the people?

    In his words on that occasion, “We ask ourselves why you get yourself into politics. You have to think about your people, not yourself. People who think about the people follow the People’s Democratic Party and PDP is the only people’s party”. This is a rather pedestrian view of ‘people-oriented governance’ advocated by Jonathan. We would have expected the President to emphasise such key indicators of service delivery as power supply, education, health, infrastructure, security and job creation, which transcend partisan boundaries.

    Even then, if supporting the PDP is the magic wand to promoting the people’s welfare as insinuated by Dr Jonathan, why have the conditions of the majority of Nigerians steadily worsened under the watch of the PDP in the last 15 years? And this is despite the fact that the PDP has been controlling the Federal Government since 1999 and has received the bulk of the country’s revenue! Still extolling what he believes are the virtues of the party, the President said, “If you get outside Nigeria and you ask the people from all over the world the names of the political parties we have in Nigeria, they will say PDP and others because you know it is only PDP that has members in every voting unit in this country”.

    Some may excuse this kind of statement as understandable campaign rhetoric but it is unbefitting of the office of President of Nigeria. It is also insensitive to the need for a plurality of viable political parties to engender the kind of competitive governance that can promote public welfare.

    Obviously still in the mood of the occasion, the President said “it is only in PDP that people like me can come from low level and stand here as the President of this country because PDP is not owned by any individual”. But is the PDP really free of the deficiencies that have characterised political parties in this dispensation? After all, it is public knowledge that the party has been seriously hit, especially with recent damaging defections specifically because of the President’s perceived hijacking of the party.

    Things must have gone incredibly bad for the President to become his party’s campaign manager; indeed, it is the height of desperation to get attention and possibly coerce people into joining the fast sinking ruling party. For the umpteenth time, we urge Dr Jonathan to be more cautious and reflective in his public utterances. It is tragic if despite how bad things are in the country, he could still find time to embark on this frivolous mission, wasting the tax-payers’ time and money in the process. No wonder the country keeps regressing in his time.

     

  • 2015: Can Kwara PDP spring surprise?

    2015: Can Kwara PDP spring surprise?

    President Goodluck Jonathan has visited Kwara State to boost the morale of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members, wo have lost many of their leaders to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Correspondent ADEKUNLE JIMOH examines the challenges confronting the troubled chapter, ahead of the 2015 elections.

    The defection of the Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members led by Senator Bukola Saraki, to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is taking its toll on the party. For 11 years, the PDP was the ruling party. But, now, it is in the opposition, struggling for relevance in the Northcentral state.

    The defection has changed the political landscape in Kwara. Following Saraki’s defection to the APC, the 2011 governorship candidate of the defunct ACN, Dele Belgore (SAN) and his supporters left the APC for the PDP. Also, the son of the late Governor Mohammed Lawal, Hakeem, his supporters, and the former Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) governorship candidate, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, who is Senator Saraki’s sibling, also defected to the PDP.

    When Gbemisola returned to the fold, PDP stakeholders were happy. They said that the defection of his brother, will not diminish the popularity of the party. Saraki’s men who have not defected include Senator Simeon Ajibola, from Kwara South, his predecessor, Senator Sulaiman Ajadi, who has been appointed the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, the Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Prof. Oba Abdulraheem, and former Transport and Sports Minister Alhaji Bio Ibrahim.

    President Jonathan, the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, and other party leaders also believe that the PDP still has a future because these chieftains have not left the chapter. At the recent PDP rally in Ilorin, the state capital, the national leaders basked in the euphoria of hope.

    Speakers at the event said that the huge crowd at the Metropolitan Square was encouraging.

    Dr Jonathan said: “Today is a great day because, as all the speakers that spoke first have spoken, Kwara is a PDP state. Kwara truly believes in the PDP because, for now, it is only the PDP that can bring liberation.

    “We ask ourselves: why do you get yourself into politics? It is your people that matter in politics and not yourself. If you get involved in politics, you have to think about your people, not yourself. People who think about the people follow the people’s party and the PDP is the only people’s party.

    “PDP is the party that, even if you go outside Nigeria and you ask people from all over the world which are the political parties we have in Nigeria? They will say, ‘PDP and others.’ Because you know it is only in the PDP that everybody voting has in this country. It is only the PDP people that can take this country to where we want it to be. I say it without any contradiction. Because only in the PDP that people like me can come from the low level and stand here as the President of this country because the PDP is not owned by any individuals.

    “It is not owned by any group of people. We do not have dictators in PDP. We have leaders who believe in people; that s why in PDP we talk about one man, one vote, one woman, one vote and one youth, one vote.

    “PDP is the only party that can liberate everybody and also liberate Kwara State; it is only the PDP that can give you what you want.”

    Senate President David Mark boasted that, “those who are pretending to leave the party would soon come back”. He urged the people to have the large heart to accept them when they come back.

    He added: “The only party that promotes democracy and good governance is the PDP. This is the reason why we have this large turn out of people to welcome Mr. President. The turn out was so impressive that I almost shed tears.”

    Vice-President Namadi Sambo, who thanked President Jonathan for what he had done for Kwara State in education and agriculture, said that¸ “the PDP train is moving and anybody that does not join it now is late”.

    To Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio, Kwara belongs to the PDP. He said: “PDP shall reclaim its mandate in Kwara. We worked for it and we shall not allow it to be snatched away by anybody.”

    Adducing reasons for his defection, Belgore said: “We are joining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which has shed the very core of the liabilities that made our people run away from it.

    “We are joining hands with other like minds in the PDP, who were unjustly shut out because of their progressive bent to endear the party to the people of Kwara State.

    “Together we will work to advocate and bring about economic liberation, equal opportunity for all and positive development to our dear state and its people.

    “We join forces to break the shackles of oppression and restore our state back to its former glory. It is never easy to leave a party that one has nurtured to such an enviable position.

    “My supporters and I call on all those who wish Kwara State well, both within and beyond Kwara, indigenes and non-indigenes, to support us in the PDP to fight this just and noble cause so as to bring a brighter day to the lives of our people and to renew their positive aspirations.”

    Belgore added: “Today is very symbolic. It is symbolic because people have waited for us to make a pronouncement on our political future”

    Senator Gbemisola Saraki said her return would boost the fortune of the chapter. She said: “Three years may not be so much a long time, but it has been long enough for me to learn very important lessons. During this period, I have interacted more and intimately with thousands of Kwarans from different towns and villages. I have closely related with people of varied status. I have related with the very poor, the common people, the educated and the uneducated, the workers, the unemployed, the old and the young people.

    “I have interacted with the traditional rulers, the community and religious leaders. I have lived every day of my life as an Ilorin woman and as a Kwaran. I have had my happy moments. I derive my utmost joy when I have you, especially the common people, around me. You have had my low moments. Unfortunately, this has been more pronounced because each day, I see despair and helplessness from people who are ordinarily hardworking, honest, and courageous. I hear tales that are heart rendering”

    Gbemi, as she is fondly called, said that the defection of her brother to the APC notwithstanding, the PDP remains the party of majority of Kwarans. She stressed: “The majority of the people of Kwara State remains in PDP. We must therefore, show our strength.

    “We must begin to pull together and give our support to President Goodluck Jonathan. It is clear that the reason for the defection by a loud few is because of their personal and selfish reasons. It is not about Kwarans, majority of whom remain solidly committed to our party and the national leadership.”

    The Chairman of the PDP Caretaker Committee, Solomon Edoga, said that the party would wrest power from the APC in 2015 elections.

    He added: “We have seen that the PDP is Kwara and Kwara is the PDP. The ground that President Goodluck Jonathan is coming to cultivate is a politically very fertile and the harvest is going to be jumbo. The shackles of bondage will finally be broken on that day and the President is coming here to cut the freedom cake. Kwara is now free. Every voice will now be heard. Decisions will become bottom-top approach.

    “As from 2015 elections, votes will count and will be counted. The one man one vote mantra will be in place in the state. Elections will now be based on the voice of the people and that is why we are putting in place an elders’ committee. The committee will midwife all the processes that will lead to the elections of our ward, local government and state executives.”

    Gbemisola said that the PDP is on course because of its commitment to internal democracy. She added: “Internal democracy is now liberally practised in the PDP. The PDP is trying to make itself the biggest party in Africa. That shows how universal we are. The PDP we are building is one where godfatherism will not count, where one man show is an aberration.”

    However, keen observers of Kwara politics contend that the PDP faces a difficult future. “Its leadership is now weak,” said an observer. Other analysts are of the opinion that Kwara PDP has become an amalgam of ambitious and power crazy politicians who will not kowtow to any consensus arrangement.

    They argue that the choice of party leaders at the next congress and selection of ther governorship candidate next year will tear the party into shreds.

    It is believed that Abdul-raheem, Ibrahim, Belgore and Gbemi Saraki are interested in the governorship race. Thus, observers contend that, when the party is seized by post-primary crises, there will be no strong leadership to broker peace and reconciliation.

    The determination of the APC family to retain the state is also a setback to the PDP. The APC now has the majority in the House of Assembly. As the ruling party, it also leans on the power of incumbency, which the PDP lacks.

    An observer put this into perspective: “Saraki has never lost any election in Kwara. They made a mistake of allowing him to leave the party. With the large number of supporters behind him, the APC, under his leadership, will retain the state.”

  • Jonathan’s wife honours friends of women

    Jonathan’s wife honours friends of women

    As part of the events marking this year’s International Women’s Day, the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has honoured some “women-friendly leaders” of the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Presenting the awards yesterday on behalf of the First Lady, the State Coordinator of the Women for Change and Development Initiative, Chief (Mrs) Abosede Ogunleye, said the awardees were chosen after a careful appraisal of their support for women.

    Among the award recipients were former Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Alhaji Rafiu Ogunleye; Chairman, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee, PDP, South West, Prince Buruji Kashamu; Chairman, Elders Council, PDP, Ogun State, Alhaji Agboola Alausa; State PDP Chairman, Engr. Adebayo Dayo; former acting Zonal Secretary, Chief ‘Pegba Otemolu; PDP chieftain, Chief Tunde Olowu; State PDP Secretary, Alhaji Semiu Sodipo; party stalwart, Chief Zacchaeus Oyekunle and governorship aspirant, Kayode Amusan, among others.

    Kashamu, who spoke for the recipients, thanked the organisers of the event for the honour. He donated N1million and three cars to the organisation.

    He also announced the donation of office space to the organisation within the premises of the Goodluck Jonathan Political Centre, Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State.

  • Osun PDP suspends secretary

    Osun PDP suspends secretary

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State yesterday suspended its state Secretary, Mr. Raphael Towobola.

    A statement by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Bola Ajao. Said the secretary was suspended as a result of a vote of no confidence passed on him by his ward over allegation of anti-party activities.

    He said the suspension would be in place until the State Disciplinary Committee presented its findings.

    “The action is in line with Section 57 (3) of the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party 2012 as amended,’’ Ajao added.

     

  • We‘ll resist PDP’s ‘rigging plan’

    We‘ll resist PDP’s ‘rigging plan’

    The campaign organisation of Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has told Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors to stop strategising on how to win the June 21 governorship election, stressing that the people will take their destiny in their hands and vote for the most credible candidate.

    The organisation was reacting to a meeting held by the PDP Governor’s Forum at the weekend in Minna, Niger State, where the Ekiti and Osun governorship polls were top on the agenda.

    In a statement by its spokesman, Mr. Dimeji Daniels, the organisation said: “This is 2014, three years and five months since Ekiti people started enjoying good governance under the Fayemi administration. The people, having seen in less than four years of the Fayemi administration what the PDP could not do in the seven-and-a-half years when it ruled the state, are angrier with the PDP and are ready to resist its evil machinations.

    “In less than four years, the life expectancy of Ekiti people became the highest in the country because of the administration’s free health missions and the N5,000 monthly stipend given to 25,000 senior citizens.

    “This is historic, the first in sub-Saharan Africa. Before Fayemi became the governor, the child and maternal mortality rate under the PDP administration was 420 per 100,000 births, because 62 per cent of expectant mothers were delivered of their babies at home.

    “In less than a year after Fayemi assumed office, the mortality rate dropped to 135 per 100,000 births because under the administration’s free health policy, expectant mothers can walk into any government-owned hospital and be attended to. This is why Ekiti has the lowest child and maternal mortality rate in the country today.”

    The organisation said PDP-controlled states have not been able to achieve this feat despite the billions that accrue to them as allocation, adding that the Ekiti State government, through Fayemi’s creativity and prudence, has wiped off the tears of its people, “which were brought about by the PDP’s seven-and-a-half years of misrule”.

    It described Akwa-Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio’s claim that Ekiti people were ready to vote for the PDP in June as erroneous and mischievous, adding: “Governor Akpabio is obviously being misled by his PDP lackeys posing as governorship aspirants in Ekiti State. These are fellows who are more interested in the money they can make off President Jonathan for the June 21 poll. As far as they are concerned, this governorship contest gives them an opportunity to make money.

    “It is business for them, as usual! I would think that no leader who knows his onions would rely on lies to draw conclusions. We are ready to host Akpabio in Ekiti State, so that he can have a feel of what good governance means and how a leader does not need billions of oil money before he can miraculously turn around the fortunes of his people.

    “He would also have the opportunity to know first-hand that Ekiti people see PDP as a party they never want to have anything to do with. While Akpabio’s statement that Ekiti was a PDP-ruled state in 2007 is true, it is necessary to refresh his knowledge of Ekiti history and politics.

    “Ekiti has always identified with progressive politics. An attempt to forcefully change this was what led to the 1983 election carnage in the old Ondo State, which Ekiti was part of. At the return of Nigeria to civil rule in 1999, Ekiti toed the progressive path again, only for the then President Olusegun Obasanjo to foist a character like Ayo Fayose on the state in 2003.”

    The organisation warned the PDP to shelve “its rigging plans”, adding that it would be shocked by the volume of resistance it would get, if it fails to do.

    It said: “We recall the words of former House of Representatives Speaker Dimeji Bankole, when he boasted in Igede-Ekiti at a rally for Mr. Segun Oni before the 2009 rerun that the PDP ‘will use soldiers’. Indeed, true to Bankole’s words, they brought soldiers to Ekiti to chaperone the Ayoka theatre of the absurd, but God and the people of Ekiti rejected them, such that they ended up in ignominy. That was in 2009.”

     

  • Osun PDP suspends secretary

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State on Monday suspended its state Secretary, retired Maj.  Raphael Towobola.

    This was contained in a press statement signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Mr Bola Ajao, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo.

    Ajao said the secretary was suspended as a result of a vote of no confidence passed on him by his ward as well as allegation of anti-party activities.

    He said that the suspension would be in place until the State Disciplinary Committee presented   its findings.

    “The action is in line with section 57 (3) of the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party 2012 as amended,’’ Ajao added