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Tag: PDP

  • Rivers PDP: Power has returned to original owners, says Wike

    Rivers PDP: Power has returned to original owners, says Wike

    • Ex-militant ‘generals’ take over venue as new state exco is inaugurated

    • We want president not VP, former deputy speaker Opara tells Amaechi

    Amid tight security jointly provided by armed policemen, operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) and ex-militant ‘generals’ the Felix Obuah-led executive council of the PDP in Rivers State yesterday declared that the state is solidly behind President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term in office.

    It said the people of the state are not interested in the vice presidential slot, a veiled reference to the position allegedly being sought by the state governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

    The governor’s alleged ambition is at the core of his current face-off with the Presidency and many PDP members in the state.

    It has factionalised the PDP in the state with one group loyal to the governor and the other (Obuah exco) loyal to the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike.

    Even the State House of Assembly is not spared with 27 members, including the speaker on the side of the governor and the remaining five on the other side.

    The five pro-Wike lawmakers are officially suspended by the House while the 27 on the side of the governor have been suspended by the Obuah-led PDP for alleged anti-party activities.

    Leading the ex-militant ‘generals’ at yesterday’s dedication of the Obuah-led ecxo at an elaborate thanksgiving service was Soboma Jackrich, alias Egberipapa.

    The venue was the Port Harcourt Club 1928, old Government Reservation Area (GRA), in the state capital.

    In attendance were Wike, Obuah, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Austin Opara and Senator Lee Meaba, and the five pro-Wike State legislators- Michael Chinda (Obio/Akpor II constituency), Kelechi Godspower Nwogu (Omuma), Evans Bipi (Ogu/Bolo), Martins Amaewhule (Obio/Akpor I), Victor Ihunwo (Port Harcourt III) and a member of the House of Representatives from Rivers State, Kingsley Chinda.

    Traditional rulers, party men and women as well as cultural groups from different parts of the state witnessed the event.

    An anti-bomb police squad car with registration number: NPF 1764 C and an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) were among the security equipment deployed at the event ceremony.

    Policemen frisked every one going into the venue.

    Former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives (Austin Opara), who chaired the party’s reconciliation committee in 2011, described Obuah as the “real and authentic” chairman of the PDP in Rivers State.

    Opara said: “Let power go back to the people. Open your doors and carry everybody along. We do not want vice-president in 2015. We want president.

    “We are assuring President Jonathan that Rivers state will vote PDP in 2015. It is time for change. It is time for emancipation.”

    Wike, on his part, said that with the April 15 emergence of Obuah, through the judgment of an Abuja High Court power has returned to the original owners in Rivers.

    PDP, he said, remains one united family.

    Obuah declared that his administration is for peace and not interested in getting the governor impeached as being insinuated in some quarters.

    Wike said: “This is not a rally. This is a thanksgiving service. We are dedicating the executive to God, because without God, it would not have been possible for them to be here today. I will appeal first of all that we must understand our one family. One big umbrella family that is enough to accommodate everybody. PDP is one united family.

    “We agree to disagree. We disagree to agree. At the end of the day, all of us will still be in the same family, but one thing that is paramount is that power has returned to the original owners. The owners of the power are you and I. The members of the executive are just servants of the party. You are the leaders of this party. Your voice must be heard at all times. It is what you want that the party will do.

    “I will appeal to the executive, led by the chairman, Felix Obuah, as his name implies, go round, let all these things go round everybody. I also want to appeal to him (Obuah), not to be provoked.

    “Today, he has become a father. As a father, he must have a large heart. He has to have a forgiving spirit, to forgive those children, who may not behave the way you have told them to behave. Sometimes, you shout on them. Sometimes, you bring them back.

    “Let me say clearly that this party has regulations. President Jonathan is the leader of the party, as far as Nigeria is concerned. Let me apologise that if not for the tight schedules of Governor Amaechi, who is the leader of the party at the state level, he would have been here in person.

    “As my leader, he (Amaechi) has instructed me to tell you that he is a member of the PDP and he will continue to be a member of the PDP. I will also take back the message that you the supporters have sent that he (Amaechi) should be remembered. That I will do.

    “What is important to know, is that the governor of the state is the leader of the PDP in Rivers State. That is the structure of the party. As a minister, I am not the leader of the party.

    “Above all, a leader of the party is a member of the party and therefore, the party is supreme. Supremacy of the party is very important.

    “I thank all of you for coming, to have this thanksgiving. I am really overwhelmed. Let me tell you, do not be quarrelling with people. Do not be replying what people say. What you must know in life is that change is difficult to accept. When there is change, you do not except people at the same time to embrace the change. Sometimes, they have no choice, but to embrace it.

    “What is happening today is a natural reaction, because there is a power shift. Because the mandate has been returned to the people. Those who were occupying it before ordinarily will not be happy. So, whatever is happening today, do not be angry, then begin to ventilate your anger that people are abusing us. We are human beings. We must be abused. We are not ghosts. We are human beings. So, we must be abused.

    “The abuse cannot remain on our skin. So, you must be able to accommodate it. At the end of the day, you will see that everybody will come back here. I assure you, from now till December, what you see today, you will hear a different thing. It is not that they do not like Go Round, they like him, but just that they have to react, so that they will know that they are also not happy.

    “We are in PDP. We will follow the programmes of PDP. We have no choice, but to support his government. I am appealing to every true PDP member that we will continue to support the President and Commander-in-Chief, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. That is important.”

    The new chairman of the PDP in Rivers state noted that he was humbled and overwhelmed by the mammoth crowd of party faithful, who gathered and joined him and members of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the “great” party, to glorify God Almighty, for his love and faithfulness.

    Obuah said: “Since assumption of office, my executive committee has made efforts in moving the party in the state to the next level. Only recently, we inaugurated various committees, to help reengineer the party in the state. Party members with impeccable character, have been saddled with these responsibilities and by the special grace of God, we shall succeed.

    “Another important issue I want to address is the extent governance in Rivers state has been reduced to blackmail. Whenever impunity in governance is questioned, party members and stakeholders are blackmailed, as those who want to share Rivers money. This cheap blackmail is not acceptable to the leadership of this party in the state.

    “Let me also advise that there is no need heating the polity with hired demonstrators along the streets of Port Harcourt on a daily basis. A situation where top government functionaries gather and resort to raising false alarms of assassination and declaration of emergency rule in Rivers state. That only exists in their myopic imagination. It is to say the least, unacceptable.

    “This administration is for peace. We want to move Rivers state forward. We have not on any day, anywhere planned to impeach the governor (Amaechi). That is not our mission. We want to bring everybody together.

    “As we prepare to face 2015 elections, the party in the state must remain one family, to deliver PDP in Rivers State, as it has been PDP state since 1999 and must remain PDP state. Nobody, no group of people can change Rivers State from being PDP state.

    “The people that make things happen are all here gathered. To God be the glory. The PDP is still the PDP you all know.”

  • APC, PDP and the battle for ‘swing’ states

    APC, PDP and the battle for ‘swing’ states

    Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, takes a look at how the looming political battle between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the emerging All Progressives Congress (APC) may be fought and won in 2015

     

    Following the confirmation of the merger plan at the special conventions of the three co-operating political parties, namely the Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), the stage appears set for a titanic political battle between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the fast emerging product of the merger, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.

    The two political camps are sounding confident about how and where they will get the required votes to win the next general election, but beneath the ongoing political bravado from both sides, there seems to be a rough consensus about the shape the forthcoming political race is likely to take.

    Sources say top strategists from both camps have been working round the clock in anticipation of what pundits say will be a close battle between the two leading political parties across the states of the federation, given the current and emerging political scenarios in the country.

    While the two parties would be going for broke in the struggle for the presidency of the country, analysts say the real battle lies in the governorship contest in the thirty six states of the federation as the performances of the rivals in the gubernatorial elections, which is likely to precede the presidential contest by a week or two, will make or mar the quest for the presidency.

    Given the current situation where the allegiance of some governors, especially of the ruling PDP, to their parties are being questioned, some states have emerged as swing states or battleground states ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    The implication of this on the forthcoming election is that the ability of the two contending parties to swing victory in about thirteen states that appear up for grabs, as we speak, will determine which of them will control the federal government at the conclusion of political hostilities in 2015.

    Given the role of money and state apparatus in the politics of the country, pundits are of the opinion that the political affiliation of the governor of each state as at the time of the election will go a long way to determine which party will emerge victorious in which state.

    Consequently, the ongoing crisis within the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), especially among PDP governors has made it difficult to predict the likely performance of the party in some of the states it currently controls. Should some of the governors revolt against the party and or defect to the APC, as currently being insinuated on both sides, their various states will be up for grab in 2015.

     

    PDP states

    Today, the ruling party has its members as governors in twenty three states, accounting for nearly two-third of the thirty six states of the federation. The situation leaves four other parties to share the remaining thirteen states, about one third of the total number of states in the country.

    But with indications daily emerging that some of the PDP governors may dump the party in search of other political platforms ahead of the 2015 general elections, pundits say President Goodluck Jonathan’s party can only beat its chest assuredly in just about twelve of the said states.

    This uncertainty has thrown up about eleven PDP control states as battleground ahead of the 2015 general election, with both the ruling party and the emerging APC ready to do battle for their political souls.

    For now, the PDP and President Jonathan can be sure of victory in about the two southeast states of Abia and Enugu where its governors are popular and also committed to the party.

    With Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State needing the support of both the party and the presidency to curtail the menacing advances of his returning erstwhile godfather and former governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, his commitment to President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term ambition has been steady.

    In his state, Orji has also managed to become popular as a performing governor largely on the strength of his unending political brawl with his predecessor than for anything else. He appears to have a firm grip of the political machinery of the state and this may help him deliver the state again to the PDP in 2015.

    The trio of Bayelsa, Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom states are also likely to remain in the hands of the PDP come 2015. This is largely due to the loyalty of the governors in the state to President Jonathan, coupled with the fact that little or nothing of the opposition is currently being felt in the states.

    Save for Akwa Ibom State where James Akpan-Udoedehe, the ACN gubernatorial candidate in the last election, is keeping the ruling party on its toes, the opposition parties in Bayelsa and Cross-Rivers states have gone to sleep.

    In Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba and Gombe states, the PDP is looking good ahead of the forthcoming election. Barring any last minute surprises and or political maneuver by the emerging APC or any other party at that, the ruling party appears set to retain its hold on these states.

    Though the governors of Sokoto and Kebbi states are rumoured to be displeased with some actions of the national leadership of the party in recent times, the two are yet to give anybody serious cause to doubt their commitment to the PDP. If the situation remains the same till 2015, the ruling party is likely to win the elections in these states again.

     

    The battlegrounds

    However, the PDP is most likely to suffer defeats in Rivers, Niger, Adamawa, Kwara, Jigawa and Kano states. The governors of these states have one axe or the other to grind with either the PDP leadership or the presidency. This has led to strong indications that they are no longer comfortable with their membership of the party and may move elsewhere soon.

    Should this happen and the opposition, especially the APC, convince them to move into its camp, their various states will become swing states where any of the contending parties can claim vital victories.

    While Governor Rotimi Amaechi has been engrossed in an unending feud with President Jonathan for months now in what many describe as an ego war, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State’s reported interest in the presidency come 2015 has pitched him against the PDP establishment.

    It is this same fate that has befallen Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State. With posters proclaiming his desire to gun for the presidency all over the place, he appears to have drawn the ire of the presidency and as such may have to seek an alternative political platform in 2015.

    The supremacy battle between Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and the national chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur, who hail from the same state, has weakened the party tremendously with talks that Nyako may soon dump the ruling party.

    Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso and Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kano and Kwara states respectively are not known enthusiastic supporters of the President. Kwankwanso specifically has been quite critical of some of the President’s actions in recent past. All these make their states appear as likely political battlegrounds in 2015.

    Also, the races in states like Ebonyi, Delta, Kogi, Benue, Katsina and Kaduna will be tight. These are states where the oppositions are quite strong. The 2011 elections were closely fought in these states with the winners emerging with narrow victories. So with the merger of three leading opposition parties coming against the PDP, these states can swing either way.

    In Delta for instance, the decision of Senator Pius Ewherido of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) to join the APC and the fact that Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan will not be eligible to seek another term, the race has become very open. Consequently, the state is a swing or battleground state.

    Katsina and Kaduna were states where the CPC and the ANPP had impressive showings in the last election. With the two parties joining the AC N to form the APC, the PDP will definitely be given a run for its money in these states come 2015.

    There are also the two “undecided” states of Anambra and Ondo. The two are currently standing independent of the two leading gladiators. While Governor Peter Obi of Anambra is holding firmly to the remnant of a faction of the troubled All Prgoressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State is of the Labour Party (LP).

    But analysts say the two will not remain aloof for long. With the predictions that they will soon pitch their tents with either of the PDP or APC, these two states remain swing states where anything can happen in 2015 depending on where their governors decide to pitch their tents.

     

    APC strongholds

    As we speak, the APC is firmly in control of eleven states. The AC N came into the merger with six states firmly in its kitty. The states are the five southwestern states of Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Ekiti. The party is also in control of the south-southern state of Edo.

    Given the performance of its governors and the popularity being enjoyed by its leaders across these states, there is little or no fear of the party losing these states in 2015. Elections in Osun and Ekiti states next year are expected to further consolidate the grip of the AC N on the states.

    The ANPP brought three states into the APC. These are Zamfara State in the northwest and the duo of Borno and Yobe states in the northeast. The party, pundits say, look good to retain its control of the states beyond 2015.

    “There should be little or no fear of the ANPP losing its three states because the party is waxing stronger in the north today. The people want an alternative to PDP and the ANPP is one party they’ve known for long. I think the party will win some more states for the APC in 2015,” a source said.

    Currently, the CPC has one governor. He is Governor Umar Tanko Al’makura of Nasarawa State. Given his popularity as a performing governor, he looks good to retain the state for the APC beyond 2015.

    The cult followership enjoyed by the leader of the CPC, General Muhammadu Buhari, is another factor expected to swing votes the way of the APC especially in the northern part of the country.

     

     

  • Jonathan: Desperate race to 2015

    Jonathan: Desperate race to 2015

    The preparations for the next general elections may have diverted the attention of the power players from governance, reports Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU.

    Ahead of the 2015 general elections, President Goodluck Jonathan is baring his fangs. Among the targets for partisan political liquidation are the dissenting voices in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), combative opposition figures and a section of the media.

    The bone of contention between him and his perceived foes in the acclaimed largest party in Africa and the opposition parties is not the President’s constitutional eligibility for a second term. But certain forces in the PDP believe that zoning, the party’s real or imagined formula for rotating the highest office, should be revisited. Also, more worrisome to others is his fitness to continue in office, based on his performance as the number one citizen in the last three years.

    Many Nigerians agree that the major pre-occupation of the Jonathan Administration is the renewal of the presidential tenancy in the Aso Rock, the seat of power. The goal being projected is self-survival in office. It is believed that the management of the conflicts and crises generated by the preparations for the next general elections may have diverted the government’s attention from the pressing national issues. Thus, to the consternation of observers, the pursuit of the Federal Government’s transformation agenda may have taken the back seat because the commitment to good governance is fading.

     

    Challenging moment

     

    Many have observed that Nigeria is at a crossroads. Since 1970, when Nigeria survived a civil war, no particular issue has undermined the national stability like the insecurity. On the prowl is the Boko Haram sect, whose activities are said to be politically motivated. The President’s score card on security is therefore, poor, owing to the inability to nip the insurgency in the bud. When the former National Security Adviser (NSA), the late Gen. Patrick Aziza, drew a relationship between the grave security situation in the North to the neglect of zoning by the PDP, he was ignored and later shoved aside. The victim of the tension between constitutional eligibility for re-election and rotational principle is the polity, which is fretting under the excessive presidential weight. Opposition spokesman Alhaji Lai Mohammed berated the Federal Government for failing to restore order to a state of pandemonium. Other commentators have also described the President as a clueless administrator seized by the pursuit of personal ambition, instead of frontally confronting the security challenge and thereby paving the way for a conducive atmosphere for future elections.

     

    2015 and national

    expectation

     

    In two years time, the implementation of the ‘Transformation Agenda’ will become a campaign issue. Although the President has repeatedly assured Nigerians that miracles will happen before 2015, the opposition has maintained that morning shows the day. Defensively, the presidential spokesmen; Dr. Rueben Abati and Dr. Doyin Okupe; have rationalised the slow-motion approach of the Presidency. While Abati cited some reforms in the aviation and transport sectors as proofs of government’s commitment to the agenda, Okupe said that, before 2015, the perception of the people about the administration would definitely improve because the President would always rise to the occasion.

    However, the National Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Bisi Akande, disagreed. He observed that the problems have overwhelmed the administration, urging Nigerians to halt the PDP’s long years of locus. The ACN chieftain said that Nigerians are full of expectation for power shift in 2015, stressing that, in the last 14 years, PDP has not made a substantial impact on the polity. His grouse is that a President who has failed to find strategic solutions to the soaring unemployment, epileptic power supply and poor infrastructure has failed. “That is why APC is appealing to Nigerians to reject the PDP at the polls”, Akande added.

     

    Curious presidential style

     

    It is not the lack of charisma and carriage that has made critics to dismiss the President as a colourless and clueless leader. In practical statecraft, many think that he has not learned the ropes, three years after. On daily basis, his popularity may have been nose diving, unlike during the 2011 elections when Nigerians across the six geo-political zones voted for him. Curiously, in post-election period, , the presidential style of Dr. Jonathan seems to lacks appeal, tact and strategy. For example, against the run of opinion, the President proposed a change of name for the University of Lagos, Akoka. Although he renamed the institution after the winner of the 1993 historic presidential elections, the late Chief Moshood Abiola, the decision, which was decried by majority of Nigerians, could not stand. On the new year day, last year, he announced the removal of subsidy and crisis engulfed the country.

    Also, contrary to his statement that he would not negotiate with the faceless killers, Boko Haram sect, he turned around to offer amnesty, making some critics to chide him for double-speak. While his predecessor, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua attempted to make accountability his watchword by openly declaring his asset, De. Jonathan refused to toe the same path, saying that he was not bound by the law.

    The President also dazed Nigerians by his reaction to the pension scam. Instead of firing the fraudsters, he turned his face, claiming that it was a matter for the law. The anti-graft war he inherited from his predecessors have also suffered a reverse when he pardoned his former boss, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who had been convicted for corruption.

     

    Heating up the polity

     

    To convey the impression that election is war in Nigeria, pro-Jonathan campaigners have been making inflammatory statements on his alleged ambition, thereby heating up the polity. Jonathan’s kinsman from the Southsouth, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, has declared that there would be no peace in the Niger Delta and the country, if Jonathan is not returned as the President. He implied that the militants, who are now on holiday, owing to amnesty, would be recalled to terrorise the zone and disrupt petroleum exploration and mining activities. His ally is the Presidential Adviser on the Niger Delta, Kingsley Kuku, who also threatened fire and brimstone, saying that it is either Jonathan or Nigeria will see hell. Despite the condemnation that greeted these remarks, the Ijaw and Southsouth leader, Chief Edwin Clark, said that the remarks were not new, recalling that some northerners have made worse remarks in the past. At the presidency, mum is the word.

     

    PDP’s threat to capture

    32 states

     

    The threat by the PDP to capture 32 states, despite its unpopularity in many states, has been interpreted as an intention to rig the future elections. The PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who urged the party members to work towards the target, said that it is possible. But Mohammed pointed out that the agenda was unrealisable, unless the polls are rigged. It is an understatement. There are 36 states. Currently, ACN has six, All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has three, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has two, and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has one. Observer agree that the opposition governors are performing in their respective states. How can the PDP therefore, meet its target? Mohammed queried.

     

    Emasculation of

    perceived foes

     

    It fits into the calculations towards 2015 that the President, like his predecessors, should clamour for more control of the ruling party as the national leader. The casualties of this style are perceived foes in the fold. Top on the list is former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who unilaterally nominated him as running mate to Yar’ Adua in 2007. Today, the associates of the former leader in the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) have been shoved aside. Obasanjo’s influence in his native Ogun State has also been cut to sizes. But this pales into insignificance in the face of the crisis between the President and Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    Recently, the Rivers State House of Assembly cried out that pressures were being mounted on it to impeach the governor, following the rift between him and the President. The state government aircraft was grounded at the Akure Airport on account of the violation of the aviation rules. When the House suspended the elected Obiakpor Council chairmen and councillors, police invaded the council to reinstate them. Also, the Rivers State PDP has been seized by the protracted crises. Today, there are two parallel state executive committee fighting for the soul of the party.

    In Rivers State, the Minister of State for Education, Nyensom Wike, is coordinating the presidential battle against Amaechi. Sources said that the anti-Amaechi forces are working to achieve two goals. The first is to ensure that the governor does not have input into the election of his successor. The second is to ensure that his senatorial ambition is frustrated.

     

    War against Nigerian

    Governors’ Forum

     

    Since the Presidency infiltrated the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), the body has its unity and cohesion. Its chairman, Amaechi, was said to have made some remarks on national governance, which was considered offensive to the power-loaded President. When it was time for the NGF chairmanship election, hell was let loose when Amaechi signified his intention to re-contest. The meeting was rancorous, making the association to postpone the poll till this month. Sources said that the President’s men are working assiduously to ensure that another governor succeeds Amaechi as the next NGF chairman.

     

    PDP Governor’ Forum

     

    To counter the seemingly influential NGF, the PDP Governors’ Forum was hurriedly conceived by the party at the instance of the Presidency. The objective was to break the ranks of the governors, closely monitor the activities of the PDP governors, with the invocation of the doctrine of party discipline as checks, and protect the interest of the President. However, this strategy may not have achieved success as some governors in the North have continued to insist that they cannot be caged.

     

    New aviation rules

     

    Ahead of the next general elections, critics have alleged that a no-fly zone may be carved out, to the detriment of the opposition. Under the proposed rules, hindrances would be erected on the path of key opposition figures who have access to private planes for campaigns. If this works out, only the President may have the monopoly of airspace for presidential campaigns.

     

    Fake APC

     

    To prevent the registration of the proposed All Progressives Congress (APC), strange associations sprung up to seek registration as political parties. In their applications to the electoral commission, they deliberately adopted the acronyms that conflicted with that of the APC. Although the electoral commission rejected their proposal, they are still in court for the purpose of frustration the registration of the authentic APC, which is the merger of the ACN, ANPP, CPC and a section of the App Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

  • PDP governors hails President

    PDP governors hails President

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum has commended President Goodluck Jonathan for the declaration of emergency in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states.

    The forum, in a statement by its chairman, Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio, described the decision as a bold step.

    Ayobo praised the president for retaining the democratic structure unlike the practice in the past where governors and lawmakers in states where emergency rule was declared, were removed.

    He said the forum never met to move against the declaration of emergency rule in troubled states.

    The governor said the declaration of a state of emergency.

  • PDP’s claim of defection is deceitful, says Ogun ACN

    PDP’s claim of defection is deceitful, says Ogun ACN

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ogun State has described the report of mass defection from the party to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as “deceitful”.

    In a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Sola Lawal, ACN said the report was a “desperate engagement in wishful thinking by the PDP”.

    At the weekend, the PDP alleged that 2,000 ACN members, led by a former chairmanship aspirant, Mr. Yemi Duduyemi, dumped the party in Ijebu Mushin.

    ACN said Duduyemi went back to his original party, the PDP, with eight of his supporters, with whom he earlier defected to the ACN.

    It said: “The truth is that Duduyemi embraced ACN with eight of his supporters on the eve of the nomination for the council election with the hope of getting the party’s ticket.

    “Having failed to realise an inordinate ambition, he retraced his steps to the PDP with the eight members of his family that he came with. The eight others include Femi Duduyemi, Kole Duduyemi and Olaitan Duduyemi.

    “In the recently concluded revalidation of the ACN membership register, 523 members were registered in Mushin, which is one of the 10 wards in Ijebu East Local Government.

    “It is therefore a confounding illogicality that a party would allegedly lose defectors whose number triples the total number of registered members in the locality.”

    ACN wondered why many buses were deployed to ferry purported defectors to the venue, if genuinely they were from Ijebu Mushin, a small rural community.

  • No plan for emergency rule, says PDP

    •As Anglican Church Borno, Yobe kick

     

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP yesterday denied any plan to impose emergency rule on Borno, Yobe and Nassarwa states.

    The party spoke as Borno and Yobe residents and the Anglican Church warned against the imposition of emergency rule.

    A statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, yesterday described the anxiety by opposition parties as “fallacious and wicked”.

    According to the statement, the Federal Government has not reached any decision to impose emergency rule in any state of the federation.

    The statement reads: “The opposition parties in their usual noise making, homage to falsehood and lies and quest to always be in the news for frivolous reasons, purported in their statements that the Presidency planned to impose emergency rule in some northern states when no such decision has been reached.

    “We find it appalling and very disheartening that the leaders of opposition parties, made up of elderly persons, who ordinarily should have the interest of the nation at heart, have reduced themselves to noise-makers and rumour mongers who have nothing to offer but engage in wicked fabrications in their desperation for power.

    “While the security situation in the country remains a challenge to all Nigerians, it is public knowledge that President Goodluck Jonathan has been upbeat in seeking solutions in the interest of all, by way of equipping security agencies, opening opportunities for dialogue and recently, the consideration of amnesty for Boko Haram members.

    “It is, therefore, to say the least, despicable that the opposition, instead of supporting the laudable efforts by the Jonathan administration, would rather resort to fanning the ambers of violence through lies and fabrications in the media.

    “By always giving partisan coloration to the steps taken by the authorities in finding solution to the security problems, especially in the North, the opposition has shown that it is only interested in the mere pursuit of political power instead of the security and welfare of our people in the troubled states.

    “Their unrelenting attacks on the President, the PDP leadership and the PDP Governors’ Forum, even when there is no need for such and without proffering any solution, is a testament to the fact that the opposition, indeed, has nothing to offer.

    “We charge the opposition to show patriotism in responding to national issues and to learn that integrity, values and reputation are worth more than mere political successes.”

    The Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion yesterday advised the Federal Government against bowing to pressure to declare a state of emergency in Nassarawa State.

    Its Primate Nicholas Okoh said the Federal Government should seek a comprehensive security approach instead of declaration of a state of emergency that will be a piecemeal solution to the national debacle.

    The cleric, who spoke in Abuja during the pre-third session of the eighth synod, noted that a similar solution to the insecurity in Borno and other states did not yield any positive result.

    The primate also asked the Federal Government to urgently tackle the security challenges that Fulani herdsmen have posed in various communities.

    He said: “If the Fulani militant herdsmen are not disarmed, they will be worse than Boko Haram. They are shooting people, raping women and taking over everything. That is another colonisation.”

    The theme of the synod is: Christian Stewardship.

    The cleric advised political and labour leaders as well as other Nigerians in various positions of authority to be accountable so that the nation can progress.

    On Boko Haram, Okoh said: “We go further to talk about the proposed amnesty committee. We say that as desirable as it is for us to have peace, we must not have peace negotiated on Boko Haram’s terms. That is, whatever they want, we’ll agree to, if they stop fighting. That will be saving 10 people and destroying 160million or so.

    “One would have loved a situation where amnesty is the climax of a programme of discussions, not secret discussions or public discussions…”

    The Confluence of Borno-Yobe Citizens for Justice (CBYC-J) yesterday condemned the alleged plot to impose emergency rule on the two states in the Northeast.

    The group said a declaration of a state of emergency will contradict the ongoing Federal Government’s amnesty plans for Boko Haram.

    In a statement in Abuja by its Chairman James Musa Mshelia and Secretary Ibrahim B. Tarmuwa, the group said: “The purported efforts by the Presidency to invoke a state of emergency in Borno and Yobe states is like the case of ‘a rich first son who, after failing to provide clothes, blames the nakedness of his father on a distant cousin’.

    “The Constitution is unambiguous about whose responsibility it is to protect the lives of Nigerians and defend its territorial integrity.

    “No governor has an exclusive control over the military, police or any para-military since all service chiefs in the 36 states refer to their superiors in Abuja before determining whether to take the orders of governors or to act on what the Constitution provides in Sections 215 and 217.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • PDP crisis: Anenih canvasses new formula for presidential, governorship primaries for 2015 poll

    IN what appears to be a game plan for 2015, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih, yesterday said the party ought to evolve a new formula for selecting its presidential and governorship candidates.

    The politician, popularly called Mr. Fix It, kept the new system under wraps. He also admitted that some PDP governors have complaints against the national leadership of the party, led by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

    Anenih said if PDP breaks as a result of the inordinate ambitions of a few members, Nigeria’s democracy will suffer.

    The former Works Minister regretted that some PDP members have teamed up with “enemies” to undermine the Goodluck Jonathan administration. He also alleged that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has been hijacked by the opposition.

    Anenih spoke last night in Asaba, the Delta State capital, at a meeting of governors, federal legislators and state chairmen of the party from the South-South.

    The politician said presidential and governorship primaries have always caused crises in the PDP.

    He said: “Our party’s primaries have, over the years, been the most serious sources of rancour and disunity in our ranks. Almost two years are devoted to pre-election processes for political offices and another two in managing post-primaries/election bitterness and disunity.

    “More pernicious is the fact that we invest so much resources and energy fighting one another in the primaries that should have gone into the larger battle against our political rivals. We cannot continue this tradition of internal warfare. We must not live under the illusion that we can fight one another to the finish and hope that we can continue to have enough energy left to win elections.

    “We must (therefore) evolve a new system of selecting our flag bearers at the presidential and governorship levels that will preserve our unity and reserve our energy and resources for the greater battle for political power. We must seriously consider this to avoid frictions and acrimony in the overall interest of our party and the nation.”

    On the crisis rocking the party, he reminded party leaders in the South-South that if PDP breaks, Nigeria’s democracy would be in danger.

    Anenih said: “Today, ours is the only national party in Nigeria with its members spread across all the nooks and crannies of the country. We, therefore, have a strategic obligation to put our house in order to sustain the peace which we have enjoyed in the last 14 years.

    “We must always be conscious that if the PDP becomes fragmented as a result of the inordinate ambitions of a few members, our country, our democracy and our people will suffer. We must, therefore, subsume our ambitions to the greater good of our party and our country.

    “We must not live under the illusion that our party is invulnerable. Although, the existing opposition parties are still too small, fragile and sectional, we must not ignore the possibility that a merger of these parties may constitute a threat to our current dominance of the political terrain.”

    The BoT chairman admitted that some PDP governors have complaints against the leadership of the party.

    He added: “It is true that some governors have complaints against the leadership of the party; however, such complaints are not sufficient to warrant any rebellion, as speculated. There have also been some complaints against the governors. In any case, the problems raised are not insurmountable as, indeed, they are already being addressed by the leadership of the party.”

    Anenih decried what he called “a well-oiled wheel of insidious media propaganda, which has been tirelessly churning out sinister information about the Jonathan administration for the purpose of destabilising (and eventually replacing) his government”.

    He said: “Unfortunately, some of these political enemies have PDP members as accomplices. What the anti-Jonathan forces are doing is to create tension in a desperate bid to unsettle and disrupt the administration. Any of our brothers and sisters being used to play mischievous roles should be dissuaded from doing so.

    Although Anenih dismissed the proposed merger of opposition parties as no threat to the survival of PDP, he warned that the ruling party cannot be complacent.

    He said: “The proposed merger of four political parties, under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress (APC), appears to be a house built on sand, which is likely to collapse with the first rain.”

    He faulted recent activities of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), which he said portrayed it as an anti-Federal Government.

    He said: “Indeed, the general perception is that the NGF has become a formidable group of power wielders, seeking to control governments at all levels, including the Federal Government. What is now beyond doubt is that the NGF has been hijacked by opposition governors and is no longer promoting the interest of the PDP. It is for this reason that I fully endorse the formation of the PDP Governors’ Forum.”

  • PDP: Caretaker committee can’t save opposition

    The Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday said the caretaker committee set up by the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) cannot save the party in the state.

    This is coming as the opposition party received over 200 PDP defectors in Irepodun Local Government Area of the state.

    In a statement in Ilorin, the state capital, by its Secretary, Prince Yemi Afolayan, the PDP criticised ACN for allegedly lacking internal democracy.

    The statement added: “In the PDP, we practise politics of consensus but the ACN is known for autocracy under which candidates are anointed by the leadership in Lagos and imposed on state chapters, disregarding their choices. This is responsible for the exodus of ACN members to the PDP. So, the ACN is doomed.”

    The PDP said the appointment of a caretaker committee, headed by an Ondo man, “shows that governance would be controlled by forces outside the state, if the ACN had won the governorship elections in Kwara”.

  • PDP chairman expelled

    THE Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Patani Local Government of Delta State, Godbless Omoniyi, has been expelled for alleged misconduct.

    In a statement by the Disciplinary Committee Chairman, Ebi Oki, the PDP said Omoniye claimed that Patani PDP denies endorsing the House of Representatives member in the area for fifth term when such a decision was not reached or discussed.

    The statement alleged that the chairman was operating a dictatorship and does not consult before fixing meetings.

    The statement urged Omoniyi to handover all party documents and property in his possession to the new chairman, Fredrick Poawei.

    But Omoniyi said no one, except the state executive, has the right to expel him adding that “the self-acclaimed” chairman of the disciplinary committee is not even a member of the party.

  • Ogun PDP: still far from reconciliation

    Ogun PDP: still far from reconciliation

    There have been claims of reconciliation in the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But beyond the facade of a reconciled and united party, the crisis is far from over, writes ERNEST NWOKOLO. 

     

    The crisis within the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) is far from over.

    For party faithful in the state, the crisis ought to have been resolved soon after the conclusion of the April 2011 general elections. Ironically, the more efforts made to reconcile the warring factions, the more polarised the party became. Those who desired an early settlement of the differences have discovered to their dismay that they have only engaged in wishful thinking.

     

    Crux of the matter

     

    The main cause of the crisis has been who controls the party in the state. The belief, or so it seems, is that the party machinery is an invaluable trophy that must be won and kept at all cost. Expectedly, this has continued to engender bitter, if not fierce, scramble for it. The major contenders are former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Governor Gbenga Daniel; billionaire hotelier, Buruji Kashamu and former Minister of State for Finance , Alhaji Jubril Martins Kuye . It is not difficult to see why efforts at reconciliation have ended in illusion than reality.

    Before the April 2011 general elections, PDP held sway in the state. For eight years, it bestrode the state like a colossus, clinched all elective offices and dominated the politics of the state with enormous backing from the PDP controlled central government.

    With the mindset that the party would continue to win every election in the state, the stage was inadvertently set for the dirty political intrigues and desperation among the quartet of Obasanjo, Daniel, Kashamu and Kuye. The understanding, of course, was that whoever controls the party structure automatically determines who get what in terms of both elective and appointive posts in the state.

     

    How it all started

     

    The crisis started in the run up to April 14, 2007 election. The forrmer governor moved quickly to assert himself as the leader of the party.

    But this was largely ignored to enable the party go into the electoral contest as one big family and be victorious against the opposition parties – the Action Congress(AC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party(ANPP), National Conscience Party (NCP) among others.

    But the incipient crisis took a different dimension in 2008 when some members picked holes in the process that led to the emergence of the defunct Joju Fadairo-led executive committee. They claimed that the process was flawed. They alleged that it was manipulated by the governor to exclude others from participating which inevitably gave birth to the party executive committee filled by Daniel’s cronies.

    But what seemed like a simmering crisis graduated quickly to a full scale political war among the foursome during the preparation for the April 2011 elections, with each either fighting directly or through proxies to execute personal interests.

    Daniel, who had his mind fixated on having former Managing Director of Gateway Holdings, Mr Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka, as his successor at all cost, used the party structure headed by Fadairo to undermine the interests of others while advancing his.

    The other three parties went into an alliance to confront Daniel and his annointed candidate. That initial understanding among the trio of Obasanjo, Kuye and Kashamu was primarily to wrest the party structure from Daniel. The objective was simple: stall the plot to have his cronies run for elective offices.

    While Obasanjo mobilised the federal might and PDP’s national force against Daniel, Kuye and Kashamu tackled him in from other directions and fought him to a stand still through the judiciary.

    The National Executive Committee of the party waded into the crisis at that stage and recommended the dissolution of Joju Fadairo – led executives and harmonisation to accommodate all interests. It was the implementation of that recommendation that led to the emergence of the Bashorun Dayo Soremi led Executive.

     

    Worsening crisis

     

    Unfortunately for the party, rather than solve the problem, the harmonisation worsened the crisis. Daniel and his faction rejected the arrangement and continued to accord the Fadairo – led executive, not only recognition but also persisted in using it to pursue his political interest.

    The logjam within the Ogun PDP worsened with the emergence of parallel party executive leading to parallel congresses and parallel candidates for the 2011 polls. Many who could no longer bear the contradiction in the party, moved to other parties like the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) and Labour Party(LP) among others.

    PDP at the national level and the court recognised the congress conducted by Obasanjo’s faction and its outcome. At the same time , they rejected the congress conducted by Daniel’s group and all candidates who emerged from it.

    The development compelled the then politically cornered Daniel to herd all his supporters into the Peoples Party of Nigeria(PPN), a party he hurriedly floated while still in PDP.

    As to be expected, the PDP through the influence of Obasanjo, proceeded to pick former ECOMOG Commander and Sole Administrator in Ekiti State, General Tunji Olurin (rtd) as its governorship candidate in the April 2011 polls.

    It was in this tattered condition that the party went into the 2011 polls and failed woefully. Despite this, efforts were made to resolve the crisis that brought defeat and odium to the party. The party at the national level and former national vice – chairman, Southwest, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo inaugurated a Transition, Reconciliation and Congress Committee (TRCC) headed by Chief Bode Mustapha to reconcile all aggrieved persons and also conduct congresses in the state.

    According to Oladipo, “the reason for TRCC include the need to unify the party before the congresses, the need to provide a level playing ground for all interests within the party to be able to fulfil their aspiration, to midwife the congresses so that the executives to be produced in the congresses are acceptable to the generality of the party faithful.”

    But this did not go down well with the actors and only succeeded in shredding the initial alliance among the trio of Obasanjo, Kashamu and Kuye.

    The Kashamu group vehemently opposed the arrangement saying it was a ploy by the Obasanjo minority group to undermine the function of Dayo Soremi – led executives to pave way for the imposition of other persons as party officials.

    Not contented with just opposing the arrangement, Kashamu group equally approached the court and even got an injunction declaring the then Tajudeen Oladipo’s TRCC as illegal.

    According to Kashamu group, Obasanjo was pursuing a separate political agenda best known to him in Ogun State other than that of PDP.

    The group argued that if the overbearing influence of the former PDP Board of Trustees’ chairman was not challenged, it could spell doom for the party in future elections in the Gateway State. It then proceeded to conduct its congresses in the state in-spite of directive to the contrary by PDP National Working Committee (NWC).

    Expectedly, the new executive officers of PDP led by Bayo Dayo that emerged could not enjoy the recognition of all and the then National Vice – Chairman of PDP, Southwest, Mr Segun Oni, who succeeded Oladipo, maintained that another congress, which would accommodate all interests, would be organised in the state.

    In one of his visits to Abeokuta, Oni dismissed the congresses conducted in the state by Bashorun Dayo Soremi- led executives-that produced Dayo Bayo -led executive, ostensibly because all the forces at play, particularly, the interest of the former President, were not accommodated.

    Consequently, a congress that catered for the interest of the former President was conducted and Senator Dipo Odunjirin, a lawyer, emerged as the chairman of a parallel executive and the national body of the party began to relate with it to the chagrin of Bayo Dayo led executive.

    This was resisted by the Kashamu group which approached the court for judicial intervention and the attendant court judgment led to the sack of Oni, all the decisions he took in respect of Ogun PDP as well as Dipo Odunjirin led parallel executive committee.

    It was on the basis of that judgment, coupled with the directive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognising the Dayo Bayo led executive committee that the party and the NWC accorded recognition to the Kashamu group as the authentic state organ of PDP in Ogun.

    Today, the Kashamu group controls the party structure and operates from the party secretariat on IBB Boulevard, Abeokuta. What is still palpably missing, however, remains the unity, peace and harmony in the once powerful party in Ogun State.

    With the 2015 general elections inching closer, there have been series of private meetings within and outside the state by the power brokers – Daniel, Kuye, Alhaji Sarafadeen Tunji Isola, Alhaji Sule Onabiyi, Chief Niyi Adegbenro, Kashamu, Chief Alani Bankole among others on the advise of the NWC of the party but not much has been achieved.

    The big players in the state still relate with each other with deep seated suspicion. Recently, the Chairman, Board of Trustee (BoT) of partyPDP, Chief Tony Anenih, led a delegation of BoT members to Obasanjo in Abeokuta where he was urged to help re -build the party in the state. But it is not yet clear whether the former President would sit under the same PDP umbrella with former Governor Daniel who still control a large followers.

    The party chairman in the state, Dayo told The Nation that the reconciliation efforts are yielding positive result in all the factions or groups, except that of Daniel. He alleged that the former governor was already negotiating with another party in the state with a view to herding all his followers into it.

    Dayo hinted that the reconciliation has not yielded any worthwhile result from Daniel’s camp, saying it is being said that the former governor, who has the bulk of his followers in PPN, is spoiling to move them to either the Labour Party or Unity Party of Nigeria(UPN)

    In Dayo’s reckoning, the next task now is to take the reconciled party chieftains to Chief Obasanjo, and beg him for forgiveness where mistakes were made so that progress could be made in the party.

    He said: “What is left is for us to see Baba, Chief Obasaanjo, and beg him for forgiveness. You know in Yorubaland, the younger begs the elder even if the elder is at fault, the younger has to prostrate and beg for forgiveness in order for peace to reign.”

    But whether the desired peace will ever reign in the state’s chapter of the party remains to be seen.