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Tag: PDP

  • CPC asks court to dismiss PDP’s claim to Katsina senatorial seat

    The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and Senator Abubakar Yar’Adua (Katsina Central) have asked a Federal High Court, Abuja, to dismiss a suit by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Senator Ibrahim Ida.

    Ida is seeking an order of the court to declare him as the winner of the election into the Senate.

    The Supreme Court, in its December 16, 2011 judgment, had sacked two senators and eight House of Representatives members in Katsina.

    The politicians contested on the platform of the CPC.

    They are: Senators Abdu Umar Yandoma and Ahmed Stores, as well as Representatives Musa Salisu, Aminu Ashiru, Murtala Isah, Muntari Dandutse, Umar K, Umar Dankawa, Tasiu Doguru and Mohammed Tukur.

    Justice Walter Onnoghen held that “the courts cannot still decide as between two or more contending parties which of them is the nominated candidate of a political party; that power still resides in the political parties to exercise”.

    Following the decision, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) issued new Certificates of Return to candidates the CPC, which it claimed it sponsored for the April 2011 general elections.

    They are: Sadiq Yar’Adua (Central Senatorial District) and Hadi Sirika (North Senatorial), Hon. Ahmed Kaita (Kankia/Ingawa Fed Constituency) and Hon. Salisu Salisco (Kaita/Jibiya).

    Others are Honourables; Sheik Umar Abubakar (Katsina), Salisu Daura (Daura/Maiaduwa/Sandamu), Isa Doro (Mani/Bindawa), Sani Mashi (Mashi/Dutsi), Abbas Machika (Kankara/Faskari/Sabuwa) and Dr. Mansur Funtua (Funtua/Dandume).

    Acting on this, the beneficiaries were sworn in by the National Assembly.

    Dissatisfied, Ida filed an originating summons wherein he asked the court to declare that he was the rightful candidate to step into the seat of Sadiq YarAdua.

    Since Ahmed Stores that lawfully participated in the election has been replaced, Ida is contending that the CPC had no lawful candidate for the election.

    In an originating summons filed by his lawyer, Chief Alex Izinyon, SAN, Ida is asking the court to declare that it was wrong for INEC to withdraw the certificate of return from Stores and issued it Yar’Adua.

    He also preayed the court to hold that Yar’Adua should not have been inaugurated as the senator representing the senatorial district.

    Relying on Sections 68 (1) and 75 (1) and (2) of the Electoral Act 2010, the plaintiff is asking the court to determine whether or not the INEC had any power to withdraw the certificates of return to issue new certificates of returns to another set of persons.

     

  • Who is next PDP BoT chair?

    Who is next PDP BoT chair?

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) will pick its new chairman today in Abuja. Assistant Editor AUGUSTINE AVWODE writes on the contest.

    Today is the D-Day. For nine months, the position of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT) has been vacant. But it will be filled today. The position became vacant, following the sudden resignation of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in April, last year.

    PDP BoT secretary Senator Walid Jubrin disclosed a month ago that no fewer than 20 persons have indicated their interest in the position.

    According to Section 12(76) of the party’s constitution “a person shall be qualified for appointment into the Board of Trustees (BOT). If he or she is a registered card-carrying member of the party for not less than four years consecutively.

    Also, he must have been paying his annual subscription regularly. Besides, the person must have attained the age of 50 years. The person should be a man or woman of integrity.

    The constitution equally spells out the composition of the board in Section 12.76(1). It should be made up of all past and serving Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who held or hold the respective posts as members of the party and who are still members of the party. Also, all past and serving national chairmen, deputy national chairmen and national secretaries of the party who are still members of the party are members. All past and serving Presidents of the Senate and Speakers of the House of Representatives, who are still members of the party are also members.

    The PDP constitution also states that two women should be selected from each of the six geo-political zones. Three members, at least, one of whom shall be a woman, from each of the six geo-political zones.

    It is from among these people that officers of the board which include the chairman and secretary, are to be elected as stipulated by Section 12.77 of the constitution.

    “The Board of Trustees shall elect a chairman and a secretary from members of the Board…The chairman, secretary and other members of the board are to enjoy a single term of five years”.

    The major responsiblity of the board, according to Section 12.80 of the party’s constitution, is to “ensure highest standards of morality in all the activities of the party by acting as the conscience of the party, with power to call to order any officer of the party whose conduct falls below the norms”.

    When Obasanjo was appointed as the BoT chairman, he was the only one eligible for the post. The constitution had been amended to permit his sole candidature being the only former president elected on the platform of the party. Obasanjo literally strolled into the office after he served out his second term as president. However, with the amendment of the constitution after Obasanjo’s exit, other members of the party who are interested can now vie for the office.

    Expectedly, the race for the chairmanship has attracted a lot of passion and interest within and beyond the party, not only because of the duty the BoT is expected to perform as the “conscience of the party,” but because of perceived political advantages the occupant of the post can swing in anybody’s favour.

    To many PDP leaders, whoever emerges as the chairman will play a crucial role during the 2015 general elections, particularly, the presidential election. That, perhaps, explains why almost every group of note within the party is doing everything possible to protect its interest and ensure that its preferred candidate clinches the chairmanship seat.

    As at the time of filling this report, those at the fore-front of the race include former Senate President Ken Nnamani; former Minister of Works, Chief Anthony Anenih, who once held the office; former PDP national chairman Dr. Ahmadu Ali; former Chairman of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) Board of Trustees (BoT) Chief Harry Akande; former PDP deputy national chairman Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, and PDP chieftain Chief Emmanuel Iwanyanwu.

    As it is often the case, the position and interest of the President will play a major factor in deciding who will eventually emerge as the winner. It would be recalled that notwithstanding the concerted opposition to the candidacy of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as the national chairman from his Northeast geo- political zone, President Goodluck Jonathan’s insistence on having him as the chairman of the party brought all other contestants to their knees. But in this instance, it has been difficult to identify the President’s preference for the job.

    The appointment is not based on zoning. But, the agitation for equity reared it head last week when the Southwest caucus of the party demanded that the zone be allowed to produce the BoT chairman.

    Besides, indications are that for the first time, the chairman of the board may emerge through election, rather than the usual consensus method. Whatever the case is, the party will have a new BoT chairman today.

     

     

  • PDP can’t win Lagos if … – Obasanjo

    PDP can’t win Lagos if … – Obasanjo

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday hinted that the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party does not stand a chance of wresting power from the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria if it remains divided in the state.

    Obasanjo urged leaders of the party in Lagos to place its interest above of that of individuals in order to form formidable force strong enough to win the state in 2015.

    According to him, PDP as a party is in wilderness in Lagos and its therefore imperative for leaders of the party  to work together and restore it to the right path.

    The former president spoke when the PDP executives in Lagos State paid him a courtesy visit at his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    “If only the leaders would sink their ego and regard the party’s interest as supreme and above that of individual, then the party will come out strong and able to wrestle power from the ruling party,” Obasanjo said.

    He thanked his guests for their concern for him, particularly on the fire incident which ravaged his home last week.

    Addressing reporters, the Chairman Lagos State PDP, Mr. Tunji Shelle, said they were in Abeokuta to commiserate with Obasanjo over the fire incident and to also seek advice on how to move the party forward in the state.

     

  • PDP demands respect for President

    PDP demands respect for President

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday urged opposition parties to show respect for the office of the President, saying it remains the only institution that unites the nation.

    A statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, deplored the manner opposition parties “abuse President Goodluck Jonathan in the name of criticism.”

    The statement reads: “The Presidency is the highest institution in the country and it deserves our collective respective. There should be a limit between criticism and abuse.

    “That President Jonathan is from a minority geo- political zone should not be the reason why the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and other opposition parties should be heaping insults and abuses on him in the name of criticisms.

    “There must be a limit and we implore that we use the spirit of the New Year to say that enough is enough.”

  • PDP hails Ondo people at New Year

    PDP hails Ondo people at New Year

    •Mourns Adegbonmire’s death

    The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has congratulated members, supporters and people of the state as they marked the beginning of 2013.

    A statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Wale Ozogoro, reads: “We are convinced that this New Year will usher in good governance and development in our state.

    “We have rated the present government, led by Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and found it wanting.

    “The governor has pauperised the people, engaging in profligacy and indebtedness and abandoning the projects initiated by his predecessor.

    “The Labour Party (LP) administration has achieved nothing. Indigenes and residents of Ondo State are yet to enjoy the dividends of democracy.

    “We commiserate with them on the death of Chief Wumi Adegbonmire. He was a believer in good governance. He was a welfarist.”

     

  • Seek the face of God, PDP tells leaders

    Seek the face of God, PDP tells leaders

    The Peoples Democratic Party has charged the nation’s leaders to retrace their steps and seek the face of God in their dealings with the people.

    This, according to the party, is the only way the nation can win the battle against the various ills plaguing its growth and development.

    In a New Year message signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party lamented what it described as the dwindling patriotism among Nigerians, stating that the major pre-occupation of the PDP in 2013 will be to engender positive attitudinal change among the people.

    It therefore urged the leaders of the party at all levels to brace up for the challenge.

    The statement reads: “Are we referring to corruption, terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, tribalism, religious intolerance, nepotism and what have you; the solution lies in the change of attitude among Nigerians. We must return to the path of patriotism and those in authority must lead the way.

    “Our vote for attitudinal change in 2013 is informed by the simple fact that the commonest denominator of the systemic challenges facing our national growth is the dwindling fervor of patriotism on which our founding fathers laid the foundation of our dear nation.

    “The adverse implications of this have manifest in various ills that retard our movement to greatness. As the party entrusted with the mandate of the people, the onus is on us to show the light so that the way will be made perfectly clear to them.

    “All our members elected and appointed into positions of authority at all levels now have a double responsibility of meeting up with the performance target we have already set as well as lead the way, with exemplary conduct in this course of value change.”

    The statement argued that the twin evils of corruption and insecurity which inflicted the deepest cut on the memory of Nigerians in the year just ended could be overcome with the relegation of warped values by the people and their leaders.

    Metuh said achieving attitudinal change is not a duty for the President alone, stressing that it demands the collective efforts of all Nigerians.

     

  • PDP directs members to pray for Wada

    PDP directs members to pray for Wada

    The People’s Democratic Party has directed its members to observe minutes of prayers on Saturday for the speedy recovery of Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State.

    The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Olisa Metuh, gave the directive in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday.

    Metuh said the party was deeply shocked by the news of the accident in which two of his aides died while the governor sustained leg injury.

    “The party has yet to recover from the shock arising from a recent similar incident; we therefore wish to direct all our members to observe minutes of prayers for Governor Wada,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Metuh as saying in the statement.

    He also prayed for the repose of the soul of the governor`s aides who died in the accident and asked God to comfort those they left behind.

    The governor was involved in a motor accident on Friday on his way from an event in the state and was taken to the Abuja National Hospital for treatment.

     

  • PDP accuses chieftain of anti-party activities

    •’We lost because of our choice of candidate’

     

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has accused the Director-General of the Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation (OOCO), Dr. Dare Bada, of romancing the Labour Party (LP).

    It debunked Bada’s alleged claims that former Governor Olusegun Agagu was instrumental to Oke’s emergence as the party’s candidate in the October 20 governorship election.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Wale Ozogoro, PDP said: “First, it must be put on record that Bada was one of the governorship aspirants of the PDP before Oke’s emergence. Bada was economic with the truth when he alleged that Agagu persuaded the governorship aspirants to endorse Oke.

    “Agagu was not part of the selection process that led to Oke’s emergence. The aspirants met and presented Oke as a consensus candidate. So Bada should stop playing to the gallery and admit that he is acting out the script of his pay master, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.

    “Oke, who was chosen by consensus, obtained the party’s nomination form and was unanimously elected as the PDP’s candidate. No leader or member of the party stopped Bada from obtaining same and contesting the primary election. At this juncture, he should be considered a clown or, succinctly put, a traitor empowered to carry out onerous assignments.

    “The PDP is aware of Bada’s secret meetings with the LP leadership before, during and after the election. We confronted him during the election, but he denied it.

    “After the election, he was asked to account for funds appropriated to his office as OOCO D-G and he started behaving funny. Bada was yet to account for the N65 million in his kitty when he started fighting the party’s leadership to prevent them from asking about the money.

    “Most disturbing is the fact that Bada emerged OOCO DG at the mercy of the PDP’s State Working Committee after much plea from him. It is surprising that he could turn himself into a clown and a pawn on the chess board of the LP government because of the paltry sum Mimiko offered him.

    “The party is highly disappointed, but we wish him well in his new-found love. We look forward to reclaiming our stolen mandate at the tribunal.”

    Bada said the PDP’s statement was a deviation from the truth.

    He said the party lost the election because of the wrong choice of candidate, poor funding and bad leadership by Agagu.

    Bada said PDP won “marginally” in Okitipupa and Ilaje local governments, adding that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) won in three local governments, spread across three divisions in two senatorial districts.

  • Ondo PDP: no withdrawal of petition

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State yesterday said it was not under pressure to withdraw its petition challenging the victory of Governor Olusegun Mimiko in the October 20 election.

    PDP said its candidate, Chief Olusola Oke, was not being lobbied by the party’s national leadership to withdraw the petition.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Wale Ozogoro, PDP said: “As of today, our party’s national leadership and the presidency have not called Oke or the leadership of the state party to either lobby or direct them to withdraw the petition.

    “Rather, the national leadership commended our performance at that election, stating that we performed creditably well despite all odds. The letter was personally signed by the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

    “No meeting has been called or held to facilitate the so-called withdrawal of the petition that was submitted in good faith with the intention of reclaiming our stolen mandate.

    “Oke and the party toiled day and night to successfully pilot the party to the level it is today. We remain focused and unshakable. We have resolved to approach equity with clean hands.

    “We are not unaware of the desperate move of the governor, in his usual manner with his cohorts, to continuously deceive the people. This is by sponsoring hyper media propaganda and surreptitious moves interred with deceit, falsehood and pretense, all aimed at suggesting a comeback to the PDP, which is a fluke.

    “Before the election, it was generally speculated in the same manner we are witnessing now that the governor was coming to our party by the same source orchestrated by his paid cronies in Abuja.

    “Our party will not lose sight of history and the antics of Mimiko, as he abandoned an earlier promise he made to the National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who helped him secure the judgment that ousted the Chief Olusegun Agagu administration.

    “Ondo PDP will continue to pursue its case with the support and collaboration of our national leadership. The Mimiko we know is not ready to come to the PDP. His major interest is how to heinously and tactically explore all avenues, including the media, to get the PDP and Oke to withdraw the petition, having being advised by his counsel that, indeed, the PDP has a strong petition against him.

    “After a thorough study of the petition, Mimiko’s counsel implored him to continue, in his usual manner, to recruit dissents and compromised individuals with the intention of portraying the party as divided and not capable of genuinely accomplishing its quest to recover its stolen mandate.

     

     

     

     

     

  • I am still alive – Obasanjo

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dispelled rumours about his death, saying, “am still alive anyway.”

    He said this when he met with the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur in Abeokuta on Saturday.

    Obasanjo expressed worry why people should spread death rumour about him.

    He said that keeping quiet on issues of national importance was not the best option for him because of his love for Nigeria.

    “Because, if there is no Nigeria, there will not be a party and if there is no party, there will be nothing to govern on the platform of the party.

    “If there is anything that requires my own comment, position or views I will say it.

    “It is my passion, patriotism and love that will continue to make me say my own. If I see something that is inimical to the growth of the party, I will talk,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the former president as saying to Tukur.

    Obasanjo expressed his delight over Tukur’s visit, describing the PDP chieftain a respected leader.