The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Political parties

  • Politics Nigeriana: The lines are indeed falling in fine places

    Nobody could have put the state of politics in Nigeria better than when my adorable, and much respected  senior at Christ’s – School, Ado – Ekiti (UP SCHOOL!!!), Emeritus Professor Jide Osuntokun, writing on the topic: Political Fragmentation and Consolidation’ in his column in The Nation of Thursday, 2 August, 2018 averred, inter alia: “The changing of parties in the National Assembly in Abuja has created some kind of crisis and depending on who you are, Nigeria seems to be entering a long dark tunnel while optimists feel it is a good thing for birds of the same feather to flock together rather than political parties being an all-comers affair without any ideological or moral cement binding members together and separating each party from the other. There is, he wrote further, a need for the emergence of broad ideological parties that can either be identified as people oriented party as opposed to those who believe the people should eat from the crumbs falling from their tables. Even within parties it will not be strange to have left wing and right wings of the parties as one finds in the Labour and the Democratic parties in the United Kingdom and the USA respectively. The parties of the left usually agree on social democracy which most right thinking people would ordinarily subscribe to. Opposed to this tendency will be the Republican and Conservative parties of the United States and Great Britain respectively with their beliefs in cut throat capitalism and survival of the fittest even though this soulless political tendency is moderated by a sense of noblesse oblige in which rich and aristocratic people feel they have a responsibility to bring up the less fortunate people in the society. I am sure, he concluded, we can find these tendencies in Nigeria for people to coalesce around rather than around ambitious people who are just using the people to get power with which they loot the treasury and rob the people. We need to build political parties around ideas rather than the ambitions of money bags who made their monies by ripping off the system and appropriating what belongs to the people and putting it in individual pockets. If both the APC and the PDP can organise themselves around well-articulated visions and specific missions, then something positive may yet come out of the current political shenanigans going on in Abuja”.

    Professor Osuntokun should know. A scion of the indefatigable Osuntokun family of Okemesi-Ekiti amongst who is numbered my unforgettable boss, the distinguished, world reputed medical scholar, Professor Kayode Osuntokun of blessed memory, himself a distinguished Professor of History who capped his academic career as an Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Germany and has, since on retirement, been giving readers of his column in The Nation of every Thursday, seminal lessons on issues of the moment in our beleaguered country. Reading him in the afore- mentioned topic this past week, my mind went straight to no other person than that giant of integrity, the 6 foot plus President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, besides whose exemplary moral leadership, especially his anti corruption war, nothing could have so herded together the political bandits of Nigeria, what Yorubas call jegudujeras, separated at least in large part, from those of our politicians who still spare a thought for the poor. The lines, as the Holy writ says, are truly falling in fine places!

    I saw them gathered in Abuja same past week, amidst ululation, dancing and backslapping, unknown that Nigerians were laughing at these agglomeration of these political reprobates just as my mind went to poor Kwarans when I saw the man most of them go on bended kneels to address, the outgoing Senate President, that is if he has any honour left in him, Bukola Saraki, being widely cheered back to the vomit he exited, exactly four years ago.

    It must say something for this man’s venality that not less than four members of The Nation’s commentariat, without any prior discussion, had to write about the danger this man constitutes to the good health of Nigeria in the past one week. What then could I have remembered reading about Sam Omatseye’s Eleyinmi, if not Dr Jide Oluwajuyitan’s: ‘Saraki’s Wars and Victories’, in his week article? Wrote my dear friend who I shall quote at some considerable length, and who by the way is, like Osuntokun and I, also of Ekiti extraction (says something of our moral upbringing in that hilly country): “Modern senates modelled after the original Roman senate whose essence, besides making laws, amending budget or repealing public policy and guarantee freedom and prevent tyranny, are meant to be chambers of “sober second thought” and are often made up of men of honour. Rather than strive towards these ideals, our senate since the birth of the fourth republic seems to approximate everything that is wrong with our nation – corruption, greed, treachery impunity and vileness. Saraki’s current 8th senate regarded by many Nigerians as the worst in our nation’s history, in addition boasts of not a few comedians and men without ambition. Bukola Saraki, inheritor of a fiefdom called Kwara State, is not and cannot be a democrat. It is therefore not a surprise that while swearing in the name of democracy, this veteran of civilian coup has done everything but promote the ideals of democracy in the last three years. Like Adolph Hitler, he is, however, not averse to using democrat’s tools such as parties and elections to fight democrats. His latest coup could therefore only have come as a surprise to some naïve leaders of APC who ought to have used the big stick when Saraki first demonstrated his lack of discipline to be a member of a political party which like a cult group has no room for traitors. His latest coup bore the hallmark of his style – some drama and some theatrics while assaulting the very basis of democracy. Since he started his political career fresh from a medical school in Britain as Obasanjo’s special assistant on budgeting, he decided his war for democracy must start with budget padding. The major actor in budget preparation is the executive since a government budget is the political tool with which government in power fulfils its electoral promises to the electorate.  The legislature debates, examines and authorises spending of public revenue while areas of joint cooperation between it and the executive include implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting. But Saraki who has never known failure has other ideas.

    Thus when the 2016 Budget submitted to the House in December 2015 was returned some five months later, Audu Ogbeh, the agriculture minister, was the first to claim he and his team discovered 386 “strange” projects worth N12.6billion inserted by the National Assembly after reducing the ministry’s budget proposals from N40, 918 billion to N31.618 billion to accommodate their own constituency projects. The Minister of Transport raised similar alarm about the cancellation of the Lagos – Calabar rail project to accommodate N3b National Assembly constituency projects such as provision of tricycles, town halls, classrooms, solar street lights, and pedestrian bridges. (His Health counterpart said his ministry’s budget was unrecognisable).

    The 2018 budget suffered the same fate. The National Assembly, according to President Buhari, had made cuts amounting to N347 billion in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to N578 billion. While many of the projects cut, according to the president, “are critical and may be difficult, if not impossible, to implement with the reduced allocation”, some of the new projects inserted by the National Assembly have not been properly conceptualised, designed and cost and will, therefore, be difficult to execute.”  But for Saraki and his supporters, it was a triumph of democracy.

    Long before the collapse of his trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, ever confident Saraki had dismissed his trial as an assault on democracy. The weighty allegations by Michael Wetkas, a detective with EFCC, before a tribunal that Saraki as governor diverted Kwara State government funds to pay loans he took to buy properties through his aides, one of whom lodged between N600,000 and N900,000 in the former governor’s account 50 times on a particular day were attributed to enemies of democracy. So was his allegation that ‘Saraki collected salary as the governor of Kwara State for about four years after completing his second term in 2011’ . Even when it was confirmed by Secretary to the Kwara State Government, Isiaka Gold, that N578, 188.00 which increased to N1, 239,493.94 monthly from October, 2014 was paid to Saraki not as salary but as pension, his supporters only hailed their champion of democracy. (No thanks to River’s State based judicial consultants but Nigeria will survive). Last week after arrogantly directing his most strident supporters in the senate to defect to PDP and ordering his Kwara APC constituency to join PDP, he gave no indication he was about to honourably vacate the senate presidency seat he has for three and half years deployed not for serving the country but to wage personal wars with eyes on personal victories”.

    You will pity Nigeria, and  naturally feel like puking when you realise that Saraki was the king for whom the Abuja gathering was arranged, even though he was archetypical of all that gathered; old hands, and returnees to the most depraved political party on the face of the earth. But you’ve seen nothing yet  until that party of anything goes presents Saraki as its alternative to Mr Integrity, Muhammad Buhari, in the 2019 Presidential elections.

    And why not: do they consider Nigerians any better than MUMUs?

     

     

  • Coalition of political parties

    The shape of competition for the 2019 elections is beginning to unfold with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by a coalition of 39 political parties.

    Tagged: Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), the group is anchored around the Peoples Democratic Party PDP and a splinter group of the All Progressives Congress APC –Reformed APC which recently announced its emergence as a faction of the ruling party.

    The coalition also has in its fold, the Social Democratic Party SDP, African Democratic Congress ADC and National Conscience Party NCP among others.  Their overall objective is to erect a broad-based coalition that will field one presidential candidate to challenge APC in the 2019 election. They also seek to present common candidates in the governorship, national and state assembly elections with a view to producing the needed constitutional majority to effect changes in the 1999 constitution.

    In this regard, they seek “to promote acceptable core values for the restructuring of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, secure lives and property, rebuild and redirect the nation’s economy back to the path of growth, respect for human rights and put right the country which unfortunately has now been dangerously divided along ethnic, religious and tribal lines”.

    But the APC dismissed the coalition contending that the so-called R-APC is not a faction of their party which remains united under the leadership of President Buhari. Its national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole called members of the R-APC mercenaries paid to cause chaos in the party. At another occasion, Oshiomhole again said he would not lose sleep if the leader of the R-APC is not happy. For him, neither the national chairman of R-APC, Buba Galadima nor the faction he claims to lead is an issue to worry about. Elsewhere, the coalition is viewed variously depending on the divide one is standing.

    Even as the APC leadership seeks to dismiss the R-APC, it is obvious that its current posturing is something to worry about especially as the elections draw nearer. Before now, members of the group operating under the sobriquet N-PDP had catalogued several grievances with a time frame for them to be addressed. Though some attempt was made to hear them out, nothing tangible came out of it.

    Apparently frustrated by the outcome of the negotiations, they transformed to a splinter faction of the APC-the Reformed All Progressives congress R-APC with Buba Galadima as its national chairman. They also made public the names of the national executive committee of the group as well as some of their state chairmen. With that move, it is no longer a matter of doubt that the RAPC has parted ways with the APC. That accounts for attempts by the ruling party to discredit them as mercenaries whose exit offers little consequence to the fortunes of the APC.

    But the picture of the overall strength of RAPC is yet to fully emerge given that some of its key promoters are yet to come public to identify with their course. It is speculated that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, some three governors and a substantial number of legislators from both chambers of the national assembly are part of the game.

    In the days ahead, the full strength of the coalition and what it portends for the coming elections will begin to manifest more clearly. However, their emergence has thrown up a number of issues germane to the coming election campaigns. Restructuring the polity, security of lives and property and revamping of the national economy came top in the package with which they intend to seek the mandate of the electorate. They are also committed to diffusing the burgeoning influence of ethnicity, religion and sundry primordial tendencies that have been in the ascendancy since the current regime.

    There is no doubt issues raised by the coalition vividly capture much of the nagging challenges of this country presently. Restructuring the country can no longer be wished away given that it will not only reposition the nation for rapid development but stave off some of the systemic inequities that have overtime polarized the country threatening its foundation and corporate existence. Incidentally, restructuring was a key agenda in the manifesto of the APC with which it prosecuted the 2015 elections.

    Since after that election, the party has not shown serious commitment to it. Though it did set up a committee on the matter, the action was largely seen as a delay tactics given the increasing popularity and support the agitation is receiving from a broad spectrum of the Nigerian population. For now, it is doubtful the ruling party will activate the processes leading to the restructuring of the country before the elections. The coalition intends to capitalize on the equivocation of the APC on this critical matter to seek votes at the coming elections.

    Given the above, the APC will be hamstrung in promising restructuring given its inability to activate the process since the regime came to power. Even then, President Buhari consistently showed strong aversion to restructuring when he imputed selfish motive as the main reason for the agitation. At another time, he would want the matter be left to the National Assembly. Security of lives and property, increasing ascendancy of ethnic, religious and primordial tendencies and the parlous state of the economy will also count heavily during the coming elections. The coalition will be capitalizing on these challenges to market itself as a credible alternative to the ruling party.

    But it has huddles to scale especially given its commitment to producing a common presidential candidate to face the ruling party in the 2019 elections. How it tends to achieve this and the modalities for it, are still foggy. Will they handpick the candidate or allow all the parties vie for the position under whatever contrivance they arrive at? Is it possible for the PDP to cede that position to a credible candidate from one of the parties to the amalgam? And where will that leave the PDP in the political equation? These are some of the challenges that will confront the coalition as events unfold. Already, a former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana has unveiled his intention to run for the presidency under the SDP platform.

    From all indications, the RAPC will eventually merge with the PDP if the case it instituted against the APC seeking to be recognized as the authentic leadership fails to materialize.  Worthy of note also is the presence of the ADC and SDP in the coalition. Soon after the national convention of the PDP, some of its aggrieved members led by the duo of Jerry Gana and Tunde Adeniran accused the PDP of some ills and decamped to the SDP.  Curiously, the same Gana wants to run for the presidency under the platform of the SDP which is one of the parties to the coalition. How the coalition intends to harmonize these interests remains a big puzzle.

    And just recently, loyalists of former President Obasanjo’s third force fused into the ADC which is now part of the coalition. This signals the collapse of Obasanjo’s third force as a veritable alternative to APC and PDP. He may have come to terms with the fact that if regime change has to be actualized, it must be through the biggest opposition party-the PDP. That may have accounted for the presence of the ADC in the coalition.

    No doubt, the coalition has many rivers to cross in producing a common credible candidate to face Buhari in the coming election. But that challenge is not entirely insurmountable. The emerging scenario is that of two strong political parties that will act as a check against the other. This is good for the country given the mushroom of registered parties that cannot make any electoral impact. It will also act as a check against one party state which the penchant of politicians to gravitate to the ruling party is inexorably foisting on this country. Our democratic experiment will be better for it.

  • What the coalition of united political parties (cupp) portends for nigeria

    HE woke up to a new development where PDP, outside power, has now managed to create another coalition. As facts continue to emerge, they listed 36 political parties. “Our analysis of that coalition reveals that a number of political parties were included in that coalition fraudulently. “Part of the 42 political parties they listed is Accord Party and the chairman of the party is here with us. If you are creating a coalition, you need to be honest about it as to who and who are members of the coalition. “As of today, the membership of that coalition is in doubt. Two members also listed at that coalition are here. We are not part of that coalition because we represent a type of politics, which is in total contradiction to what they are doing. “We do not believe that our country should be governed by people whose only objective is to capture power. Of what purpose is that coalition0? Is it for the purpose of taking Nigeria back to 1999 and 2015 or is it for the purpose of building a new Nigeria? “That purpose has not been stated, even in their memorandum. The only thing in their MoU is to agree to capture power in 2019. Their programme has not been made known to the Nigerian public. We will not be part of a coalition that does not have a programme for Nigeria,” – Alhaji Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, Peoples Democratic Party Chairman.

    Just as well, as I almost called it a coalition of Nigerian rogue politicians. I almost did or  what do you call a group of people  that puts out their very first baby steps by fraudulently, claiming as many as 20 political parties, namely:

    Accord Party, Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), United Progressive Party (UPP), Advanced People’s Democratic Alliance (APDA), Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). Freedom Justice Party (FJP), Fresh Party, (FP) New Nigeria’s Peoples Party (NNPP), Nigeria’s Peoples Congress (NPC), Nigeria Peoples Movement (NPM), Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), National Action Congress (NAC), and NDLP as members when they know they are not?

    Aren’t they, in reality, playing true to what Nigerians already know of this coalition of politicians being driven almost solely by the ambition to be the Nigerian President?

    We can barely wait till their presidential primaries come August, 2018 when the Nigerian press will be obliged to clinically, and meticulously, x-ray these assortment of Panama kingpins and bank killers, this ensemble of wannabe Presidents among who, as President – God forbid – there are those who would attend a meeting of the United Nations only at the risk of being jailed by the Americans already in wait for them. I trust Nigerian investigative journalists to outperform the EFCC in conducting due diligent check to expose these people, many of who have already been hauled before the courts for sundry malfeasance, and who may actually be heading to gaol in the foreseeable future.

    It is the APC I congratulate the most, for having all these people, described by the inimitable Louis Odion as ‘ APC’s illegitimate kids’, in his last week column in this paper, exiting the party in one fell swoop. A better elixir the party would never have as the Buhari government can now perform without some in-house enemies posing as allies. By that Odion was referring to the Yoruba quip that a family comes asunder the moment its illegitimate child comes of age. Looking back, I feel certain APC would now wish they had been long gone so some serious issues of governance would have been put behind. What would the party not have given to see the nPDP people depart as long ago as when Senator Bukola Saraki singularly gifted the PDP the Senate Deputy Presidency in total disregard for both party, and well known democratic practice.  As I have severally suggested on these pages, that was when APC should have bade senator Saraki and all those who supported him bye. Seeing the party failing to seize that moment, the senate, which should have ensured a smooth running of the Buhari administration, even though not as an executive lackey, has since transmogrified to the Buhari government’s most truculent opponent, erecting barriers, all the way, on the President’s every move, especially, those intended to rein in corruption, and those aimed at enhancing the nation’s security. For a Senate President Saraki, always with an eye on the country’s Presidency, de-marketing, if not embarrassing President Buhari, simply became an article of faith. In this sacrilegious mission, he not only has a muscle man, an effant terrible colleague who doubles both as his mouthpiece, and executive whiplash, he has almost the entire membership of an unquestioning senate, in total concurrence with his every wish – thanks to the very lucrative senate committees’ membership which he adroitly constituted to make him much more than a mere primus inter pares. No wonder, they were always lining behind him on his many trips to the Code of Conduct Tribunal which has now, mercifully, been terminated by the Supreme Court. You would never know whether these senators knew they were being used as mere puns to pressure the courts in Saraki’s life and death tango with near political ruination.

    And so what is the cause of their belligerence this time around? What ailed the then nPDP, an assortment of political wayfarers who, I am sure, have not yet reached their destination as, sure as death, they will soon kill off the new coalition, the CUPP, the minute Senator Saraki does not get whatever it is he wants. That, however, will be at the next electoral cycle, since their types are never satisfied, but forever craving.

    Their angst have been in the public space for upwards of three months when  Baraje, another of his lackeys,  came out, claiming that “ the Buhari administration, and the APC leadership had neglected its members, despite their contributions to the party’s success in the 2015 elections”, even as they had the entire national assembly under their lockdown , with both the senate Presidency,  and the House Speakership as well as  chairmanship of several of the most lucrative committees in both chambers going to their members. Three things irked them the most: First, President Buhari paid them scant, if any attention, at all. Incidentally, that has always been the advice proffered by this column. Secondly, the Kaduna State governor, El Rufai , gave them not only a short shrift  but a large dose of his ever irreverent tongue,  and thirdly, Senate President  Saraki’s barely hidden presidential ambition which he knew  was absolutely unachievable in the APC.

    In reaction to their threat, El Rufai very disdainfully retorted:

    “What are they talking about? Who are these new PDP people that are threatening? This is Kwara, Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Rivers but Amaechi is not part of them”. “So let’s take these four states and go back to 2003.  Buhari, then under ANPP, won in all these four states. Go back to 2007, Buhari won in these four states. Even when Shakarau was running as a presidential candidate in 2011, Buhari defeated him in Kano. “And, I have no doubt in my mind that even if they leave, it will have absolutely no impact on the presidential election as the president will win Sokoto, Kwara and Adamawa easily. Kano is already in the bag. It has always been the president’s base”.

    That was the point at which desperation met desperados, and in comes the heavily blighted PDP which has been running from pillar to post, twice postponing the submission of the report of its  Lyel Imoke contact committee.

    Until birds of the same feather, the nPDP came over, not many politicians, at least not one with any  integrity, would touch the PDP, notwithstanding Mr Secondus’ apology to Nigerians regarding the party’s totally reprehensible thieving frenzy while in power.

    The party chairman, Secondus, had on Monday, 26 March, 2018 declared, half- heartedly, as follows without ever mentioning its unprecedented corruption by name Declared the party chairman:  As the National Chairman, I do admit that the PDP made a lot of mistakes; we are humans, not spirits and the ability to admit is key in moving forward. “We admit that we have made several mistakes; we have passed through all our challenges and have acquired the experience no other party can boast of. “We were sanctioned by Nigerians at the polls in 2015; let me use this opportunity to apologise for our past mistakes.”

     

    PDP so messed up Nigeria, stealing anything and, everything, and leading the country unerringly to recession that it confounds any sane mind that they could be thinking of regaining power in this decade, whatever the permutations of the likes of former President Obasanjo who, this past week, unashamedly returned to his vomit, when he reportedly stormed a PDP campaign rally in Ogun State.

    It is impossible to completely capture the ruination PDP visited on Nigeria during its 16-year stranglehold on the country. They not only masterminded crude oil thefts, they ensured that billions of dollars oil revenue were never paid to the federation account. They were so selfish, and unreflective, they looted billions of dollars meant for equipping the military in its ferocious war against Boko Haram and thought nothing of bribing INEC officials, and others, with billions of naira provided by their face of  corruption, intent on sexing up the results of the 2015 presidential election.

    Be not deceived: CUPP is nothing but a rebranding of an amalgam of nation wrecking politicians, and you need not take my word for it: simply ask Google!

    Search each and every one of these big politicians and forensically examine them to see if you will come to a conclusion different from mine.

    But they could still play a salutary role for our country.

    If both President Buhari and the APC know exactly what is good for them, and, ipso facto the country, then they should realise that power devolution can no longer be delayed, nor should they be that remiss, they would let the report of the party’s committee on Power Devolution die in the technical committee to which it has been sent for that purpose, as I was reliably informed.

    And why do I say so? As dangerous as CUPP is for our country, it can make life absolutely uncomfortable for the APC and could render President Buhari’s re election no longer so certain. No thanks to the activities of the murderous Fulani herdsmen who have turned life in Nigeria short, and brutish. This is going to have tremendous negative effect on APC especially in all the states in the North Central geo political zone as well as some states in the president’s own Northwest. To make up for the votes that will be lost in these states, therefore, I wish to recall that the report of the party’s Power Devolution committee was extremely well received in the Niger Delta area where both the Bayelsa state governor and the Ijaw Youth Congress hailed the recommendations, just as it was sweet music in the Southwest which it  should further solidify behind the president in its support, even though our Afenifere elders believe, not unexpectedly, that  they did not go deep enough to earn their full endorsement.

    For many like me, it is a solid beginning which can rapidly be further improved upon when stake holders, from all over the country, especially at extended public hearings in the National Assembly, meet to further discuss the recommendations. I do not think President Buhari and the APC, any longer, have an escape route from seeing these recommendations to fruition before the next presidential election.

     

     

  • Ekiti 2018: 25 political parties adopt Fayemi

    The governorship bid of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has received a boost as he has been adopted by twenty five political parties.

    Citing what they called Fayemi’s “superlative and sparkling credentials” and life-changing policies and projects during his first tenure, the parties pledged to work for his victory at the Saturday poll.

    The parties also praised President Muhammadu Buhari for reducing corruption in the Nigerian society, saying this will help in stabilizing the country economically within the next few years.

    Read Also:Ekiti 2018: Why I want to rule Ekiti again – Fayemi

    Addressing reporters on Wednesday, KOWA Party State Chairman and spokesman of the group, Pastor Ade Ogunkolade, said the decision was arrived at “in the interest of Ekiti

    Some of the parties include Action Alliance (AA), Alliance for Democracy (AD), African Democratic Congress (ADC), National Conscience Party (NCP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), National Action Congress (NAC), among others.

    Ogunkolade said Fayemi was the first governor to introduce free education up to the secondary level in the state unlike now when kindergartens were being mandated to pay taxes even in private schools.

    He said apart from declaring free education for pupils, that Fayemi also created avenues for employments of youths, such as the State Peace Corps, Volunteer Corps, Social Security scheme, among other policies that affected the lives of the masses positively.

    He said: “After careful studies of all these achievements, the CNPP decided to give him all the necessary supports and strongly advise Ekiti people to come out on Saturday ad vote massively for Dr Fayemi to return Ekiti to the golden age of abundance.

    “Ekiti people must not be deceived into another era of anarchy, tyranny oppression, indebtedness and deception”.

    The CNPP condemned Governor Fayose for allegedly incurring a staggering sum of N117 billion as debt as revealed by the Debt Management Office (DMO) without nothing to show for it as achievements.

    “We appeal to the federal government to deploy more policemen to the State to prevent any rigging by the PDP-led government in the state.”

    CNPP appealed to Ekiti electorate to cooperate with security agencies to make the coming election a success.

  • 2019: Political parties agree on rules of engagement

    Ahead of the next general elections, political parties have agreed to abide by a set of rules before, during and after the polls, to make the process peaceful, free and fair. The exercise was brokered by the Political Parties Leadership and Policy Development Centre of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). Correspondent TONY AKOWE, who obtained a copy of the Code of Conduct, reports.

    REGISTERED political parties in the country have resolved to ensure the 2019 general elections is devoid of inflammatory languages, hatred or intimidation based on ethnicity, religion or gender.

    The parties have resolved not to allow any of their members to wear uniforms and emblems depicting militant activities or carrying dangerous weapons during political rallies or at election venue or registration centres and that any party should not be seen to have sponsored such activities.

    This is contained in the Code of Conduct for political parties brokered by the Political Parties Leadership and Policy Development Centre of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) and signed by the leaders of majority of parties in Abuja, the federal capital territory, recently.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and about 12 other parties failed to sign the document, which is meant to guide the activities of political parties before, during and after elections.

    The Nation gathered that the Code of Conduct, which has been deposited with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is also meant to stem the use of incumbency factor by candidates to the disadvantage of other parties and candidates.

    The code reads in part: “No political party or its candidates shall during campaign resort to the use of inflammatory language, provocative actions, images, or manifestations that incite violence, hatred, contempt or intimidation against another party or candidate or any person or group of persons on grounds of ethnicity, religion, gender, social status or any other reason whatsoever. These conditions apply to the use of social media by political parties, members and/or their candidates.”

    It also states that all political parties taking part in any election will sign a peace accord ahead of the contest, while all the parties, their candidates, officials and agents shall work towards ensuring an environment conducive for successful, peaceful, free and fair campaigns.

    The code also makes it mandatory for all political parties to ensure that the process of nomination of their candidates comply with the provisions of the Nigerian constitution, as well as the Electoral Act and the party constitutions.

    The code, a copy of which was obtained by The Nation states that: “All political parties shall sign a peace accord ahead of all elections at all levels, while their candidates, officials and agents shall work towards ensuring an environment conducive for successful, peaceful, free and fair election campaigns.

    “All political parties shall mobilise in ensuring that their members and Nigerians of voting age are encouraged to fully participate in the Continuous Voters Registration exercise. All political parties shall ensure that their agents and officials are sufficiently trained to mobilise for Continuous Voters Registration and other election related activities.

    “All political parties shall take all necessary steps to coordinate their campaign activities in such a way as to avoid holding rallies, meetings, marches or demonstrations close to one another at the same time.

    “Where there is a clash in the date, venue or timing of any such activities of different political parties, their representatives shall meet, in the presence of law enforcement agencies or the Commission, where necessary, to resolve the issue amicably, without recourse to intimidation, force or violence.

    “No political party shall sponsor or cause to be sponsored or allow the wearing of uniforms and emblems depicting militant activities or the carrying of dangerous weapons during rallies, marches, and at polling, collation and registration centres.”

    The code also frowns at a situation where parties influence the release of persons arrested with dangerous weapons of engaging in violent activities during elections, saying: “All political parties, their agents or their candidates shall not protect, or exercise undue influence for the release of persons arrested for carrying offensive weapons, violation of any electoral law, regulations and guidelines of Commission and the provision of the Code of Conduct.

    “All political parties or their candidates shall not prevent other parties or their candidates from posting their posters or distributing their leaflets, handbills and other publicity materials in authorized public places.

    “Furthermore, all parties and their candidates shall give directives to their members and supporters not to remove or destroy the posters and other campaign materials of other parties or their candidates. All parties, their members and supporters shall ensure that all their party posters, leaflets and other election campaign materials are removed from public places as soon as practicable when the campaign period ends.

    “All political parties shall discourage their members in government from using their power of incumbency to the disadvantage of other parties or their candidates during campaign.

    “All political parties shall specify in their constitutions and guidelines, ceilings on spending during nomination and campaign in accordance with existing legal framework.”

    It also stipulates that: “Political parties should ensure that the processes of nomination of candidates for any election comply with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), various Party Constitutions and the Commission’s guidelines and regulations.

    “They should also ensure that the nomination processes, including the substitution of candidates, are transparent, democratic and non-violent and are conducted by legally recognized organs of the party and also ensure that nomination and/or substitution of nominated candidates are done democratically within the period stipulated by the Commission.”

    The code also states that all political parties, their candidates and agents shall respect the law restricting access of unauthorised persons to polling stations, collation centres and discourage undue interference with the voting process.

    It adds: “All political parties shall instruct its members and supporters that no dangerous weapons shall be brought to the polling stations or collation centres and that no party attire, colours, symbols, emblems or other insignia shall be worn to a polling stations or collation centres, on Election Day.

    “All political parties, their candidates and members shall cooperate fully with law enforcements agents to ensure the safety and security of election materials, election officials, party agents and the electorates on Election Day.

    “All political parties shall refrain from procuring votes and/or election results by fraud, invasion or forceful occupation of polling or collation centres, manipulation of ballot boxes and/or result sheets.

    “All political parties and their agents shall work with the Commission to ensure that persons living with disabilities (PWDs) are able to cast their votes without let or hindrance.”

  • 2019 polls: political parties to sign code of conduct

    SIXTY-eight registered political parties will today sign a new code of conduct for political parties to guide their conduct before, during and after the 2019 elections.

    Speaking at a validation workshop, where the code was adopted yesterday, the Chief Operating Officer of the Political Parties Leadership and Policy Development Centre of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Prof. Habu Galadima, said the code was subjected to rigorous expert review before being presented to the parties to deliberate on and agree upon.

    Galadima said the code is a voluntary Code of Conduct that provides a set of rules of behaviour for political parties and their supporters relating to their participation in the election process.

    He said that centre is a beneficiary of a grant of 2.7 million Euros, under the European Union Support for Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EUSDGN) to implement component three of the project aimed to enhance pluralism, tolerance, internal democracy and equality of opportunity of political parties.

    Project Director of the European Centre for Electoral Support, Davis Le Norte, described political parties as the primary stakeholders in the political system.

    He noted that their conduct impact considerably on the electoral process and outcomes and by extension, the stability of the democratic system.

    “Building a virile political party system in which actors will play politics according to the rule and regulation, and subscribe to minimal ethical standard and code of conduct is therefore a basic condition for consolidation of democracy,” he said.

     

     

  • Political parties failing Nigerians yet again

    SIR: The lack of internal democracy, mobilising political support along tribal and regional lines, and using violence to intimidate rivals or force certain opinions are some features of some of the political parties in Nigeria today. They are also used as vehicles of transporting leaders from one election to another with very little activity between the elections.

    From 1999 on, the parties seems to have been articulating the communal and personal interests of their respective leaders. Personal interests were conflated with communal or ethnic interests. How parties mobilised political support along ethnic lines widened social and political schisms. The parties have also failed to promote a culture of internal democracy, accountability, and good governance. Although they are required to foster internal democracy through free and fair elections, the last eighteen years have witnessed increased internal conflicts within the parties. Where parties have attempted to conduct internal elections, the results have largely lacked credibility.

    This period has also witnessed conflict between the interests of party leaders and the interests and aspirations of voters. Party supporters clearly prefer to have the local leaders they can trust to articulate their interests. But the founder members or the national leadership of the party prefers individuals who are loyal to them.

    All this is happening because the mechanisms by which voters can hold their party leaders accountable are not in place. The various political parties are owned by the party leaders; party members have no voice in the running of party affairs. The alliances also represent the individual interests of the founder members of the parties comprising the alliance.

    Importantly, political parties in Nigeria, have no data base verifiable to the general public. My visit to the national secretariat of some of the political parties in Nigeria discouraged me from participating in the 2019 general elections. None of the national secretariats of the major political parties in Nigeria have an idea of their membership strength. This makes it easy for party leaders to change the party register at anytime to favour their preferred aspirant during political parties primary elections.

    The Independent Electoral National Electoral Commission (INEC) has also shown little or no interest in addressing the problems in the political parties. The Commission is so fearful of political parties and their leaders, that it cannot take action on any party or party leader who has committed an offence. It’s well known that INEC has not sued any political party leaders who have been accused of hijacking party process to their own favour, all these pose a lot of danger to our democracy.

    Lastly, it should be known that once the masses loose interest in democracy, doom and anarchy awaits our country. We must save our democracy now as  rebellion will continue to build up if we keep suppressing the wishes of the majority.

     

    • Comrade Ahmed Omeiza Lukman, Former Chairman, Nigeria Community In Ukraine.

  • Camping and decamping

    Since our democracy as practiced came to stay in 1999, some terms have become synonymous with the process, aside from the universally known ones; political parties, general elections and such like.

    In the vocabulary of Nigerian democracy, certain definite terms are key, everyone needs to know them; to mention six of them we have:

    • Political Relevance
    • Political Godfather
    • Dividends of Democracy
    • Constituency Projects/ Constituency Briefing
    • Stomach Infrastructure
    • Jumbo Pay

    Another constant is, has been, RESTRUCTURING. Successively trampled upon but never going away the current version goes ‘Change must Begin with Restructuring’!

    This year now, we are in the season of ‘Endorsements’. We also have another term to cram this year: Election Sequence.

    However, our focus here will be on the first listed: Political Relevance. The quote under the heading is from Dan Agbese; he maintains that this is the season for a new wave of carpet crossing by the politicians. He says that “since we returned to civil rule in 1999, carpet crossing has become the rule rather than the exception. There is not one political party registered by the generals in 1998 that has remained the same and intact. Not many of the politicians have remained in one party since 1999. They have crossed the carpet back and forth. Not for ideological reasons but for reasons of what has been dubbed stomach infrastructure.

    Carpet crossing has become the defining expression in our kind of political pragmatism. When people see the light, for which, read opportunity, in another political party, they flock to it. You should recognize this as chop-chop polities. It is the only kind of politics we know; it is the only kind of politics we practice.”

    So now we have approximately one year to go to elections -Nigerian politicians are very busy at this period – decamping across the two major political parties.

    In this pre-campaign climate, the current wave is no more a surprise.

    2019: APC Chairman 7,000 others decamp to PDP,

    so rings out the screaming headlines.

    But hold up – a few short years ago the reverse was the case… thousands decamped from PDP to APC!

    Ask any of those doing the decamping and carpet- crossing why; and they will come up with highfalutin, logical reasons and arguments. The Real Reason is: Political Relevance. Every single politician wants to be in political reckoning. All the time.

    Also, Nigerian politicians hate to be outside their concept of the nexus of power. And so like moths to a flame they zoom in on the ruling party; only to look across and see the “other” party is the ‘ruling’ party, and faster than the speed of light; they up and move again.

    This particular season, it is not the ‘movement’ that boggles, it is the Who and it is the How.

    And the most recently featured decamping exercise absolutely takes the cake.

    Two Fridays back, the man who directed the 2015 governorship campaign of the APC candidate in one of the states, no less defected to the PDP!

    Even to that level! And naturally, several other APC members reportedly also defected with him, including ward chairmen and youth leaders.

    The man who defected has been a Local Government Chairman and a member of the House of Representatives!

    Before 2015, he was a PDP stalwart, then he left for the APC in the run-up to the 2015 elections. So much for the Who, what about the How?

    When the man was received that Friday by top PDP leaders in that state, he said and I quote,

    “We heard about change, but the change turned out to be from frying pan to fire. At least, let us come back to the frying pan”!

    (Apparently as umbrella, the party symbol, was hastily brought out and opened over him. This statement was then corrected to:… come back to the umbrella!!). Na Wa.

     

     

    The best dressed man in lagos bows out

    fter the person who introduced us saw Charles Edem, Esquire off, he came back and whispered to me that ‘Mr. Edem is called ‘the best dressed man in Lagos’! Interesting.

    The story goes that Charles Edem grew up as a boy in Lagos with his maternal Uncle and cousins Tessy and Winnie.

    His mother had died when he was pretty young and his uncles and aunts lavished all their care and attention on him. After high school, they sent him to university in Paris where they regularly travelled to check on his well-being.

    At the end of his course, Charles the erstwhile Ikoyi Boy returned from Paris armed with a degree in Journalism. Much more, he transformed to a dapper, French-speaking gentleman, dressed in the best French suits and drinking the best French wines.

    Spinnero as he was popularly called then started out as a youth corper in the Vanguard newspapers. Over the years he rose to become the Head of Special Projects. Charles Edem was the person who introduced the concept of News Supplements in the Vanguard Newspaper.

    The stylish dresser later became the Head of Marketing of Vanguard Media Ltd, helping Vanguard become one of Nigeria’s leading dailies.

    Mr. Edem later went into private business before he relocated to Abuja.

    Last November, he opened his Dry-cleaning company, tragically he died weeks back and has since been laid to rest; leaving a wife and young children behind.

    Of his dear cousins (more like sisters) left behind: Tessy has become the General Manager of a State Government Parastatal. Winnie is Mrs. Winnifred Oyo Ita, the current Head of Service of the Federation.

     

    • Send rejoinders to 07055547031 SMS or Whatsapp

     

  • Ex-president’s statement in order, say political parties

    Ex-president’s statement in order, say political parties

    Some of the minor political parties yesterday hailed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s statement.

    National Secretary of Action Democratic Party (ADP) James Okoroma said the statement had set the stage for what he described as a new Nigeria.

    Okoroma said: “The damage caused by the Buhari government is enormous and we must endeavour to rebuild our country.

    “According to Obasanjo, Buhari cannot be credited with any achievement in any sector: Security, education, economy, national cohesion and infrastructural development. Never have we been as divided as we are today.

    “Obasanjo has thrown the challenge to all Nigerians. He has even volunteered to be part of a Coalition for a new Nigeria.”

    National chairman of United Progressives Congress, (UPP) Chief Chekwas Okorie described the letter as “timely”, adding that the Buhari administration had done enormous damage to the unity of the country than any administration before it.

    National Chairman of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN)  Alhaji Ganiyu Galadima said: “The advice of President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Muhammadu Buhari not to contest in 2019 is apt and sincere. President Obasanjo is a former Nigerian president known for his truth and bluntness.

    “He is different from other partisan Nigerian leaders who engage in macabre dance of shame and insincerity. He says his own, not minding whose ox is gored.

    “Whether anybody likes it or not, the health of President Muhammadu Buhari is an issue in 2019. The question is this, is he fit enough to be president again in 2019?

    The Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM) said Nigerians should join forces with the Coalition for Nigeria being advocated by Obasanjo as a third political force to rescue the country from the impunity of the APC and the PDP.

    Deputy Director General, (Media, Communications, Publicity) Mallam Nasser Kura said it was ready to go into alliance with the new Coalition being suggested by the former President.

    “The leadership of NIM shall be ready, in the succeeding weeks, to enter into strategic talks and alliance with more platforms sharing similar philosophy and ideology towards the consolidation of the much desired Coalition for Nigeria advocated by the former president,” Kura said.

  • Socio-cultural groups or political parties?

    SIR: With many socio-cultural groups in Nigeria, one expected that Nigerians of all walks of life at this time would be alive to responsibilities, addressing national questions of inequality, poverty; nepotism etc., etc., away from the approach of cultural groups perennially playing the games of victimhood.  After all, norms shape individual habits and what better group but cultural groups to help teach correct norms of interdependence and communal living.

    Disturbingly, observers are beginning to see a cultural shift where cultural groups which are not political parties today are nimble-footed in joining issues with government, elders, and retired statesmen without respect. Are cultural groups’ now political parties? Giving ultimatums? Drawing borders?

    Cultural groups never fight shy of ethnic groupings, and allow people into the larger room that development provides. They work with borders and never discuss trans-border issues and disasters. You never hear them promote cultural tourism to grow the economy. Good governance starts and ends with the central government and never with leaders of their cultural groups and regions. What fraud? We have leaders not prepared for office everywhere. Leaders in whose world road constructions are linked to development. And whose standard of governance is so abysmal that you wonder if ever we can be classed as a great country. Groups quick to mention the achievements of past regional leaders but are never as disciplined as those leaders.

    Before independence from Britain, in the early 1950s cultural groups sent men of unassailable character to represent their locality and people in elections before alliances to major political parties which were hitherto unknown then. To test the relevance of today’s cultural groups, leaders of such groups should either change from being called socio-cultural groups to form political parties and run for political offices or sponsor people with integrity to run for offices and provide good governance instead of engaging in the time wasting caper of blaming everyone but themselves and their regions for the problems of Nigeria. Cultural groups everywhere in the world work as a think-tank to help government provide medicine, hospitals, schools, drinking water, tragedy management, tackle terrorism, and do not settle for the easy task of seeking attention and relevance.

    What do you have here? A cherry-picking cultural group that believes that A is parenthetically better than B and are peopled by ethnic jingoists who come acting as if they fight for the interests of all other groups.

    We know better.

    UNESCO sits idly waiting to give aid for cultural cenotaph’s preservation everywhere in Nigeria but our groups have chosen to become politicians not by preparation but by prattles. The growth of Nigeria depends on the working together of all cultural groups for development and not on false supremacy which groups champion always.

     

    • Simon Abah,

    Abuja.