The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PRESIDENCY

  • 2015 Presidency: The North squares up to Jonathan

    The visit of four northern governors to the embattled Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as well as the vocal advocacy by Northern elders for power to return to their region, are the clearest indications yet of how political forces will line up for the 2015 contest. YUSUF ALLI, MANAGING EDITOR, NORTHERN OPERATION explores the scenarios in the ongoing power struggle.

    The surprise visit to Governor Rotimi Amaechi by four Northern governors – Kano’s Rabiu Kwankwaso, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Sule Lamido of Jigawa and Babangida Aliyu of Niger, was more just a solidarity visit to a colleague in trouble. The four governors are among those who have not hidden their disapproval of President Goodluck Jonathan’s schemes to seek a second term.

    The involvement of this particular set of governors is the clearest demonstration yet that a new coalition and realignment of forces is emerging to pave the way for power shift to the North. The litmus test for the agitation for power shift began with the election of Amaechi as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, a battle which Jonathan’s presidency lost. That humiliation is believed to be one of the factors responsible for the ongoing crisis in Rivers State.

    The new coalition gunning for power shift continues to test the waters. Most pundits believe that the four Northern governors were emboldened by power brokers, who were pulling the strings to send a message to the President that the 2015 project is a risky venture not worth taking.

    Out of the 19 states in the North, Jonathan could win convincingly in four or five states, including Taraba, Benue, Plateau, and Kogi, where voting population is not large. This in addition to his strategy of securing the six states in the South-South and five in the South-East.

    So far, most states in the North-West ( with hyper-active political followers and high voting population) are still in the firm control of the pro-power shift group in spite of the fact that Vice-President Namadi Sambo is from the geopolitical zone.

    It was the same zone where violence was more pronounced in 2011 due to anti-Jonathan sentiments and wider acceptance of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who was the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). The recalcitrance of Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano, Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Aliyu Wammako of Sokoto, Saidu Dakingari of Kebbi, and Zamfara’s Abdulaziz Yari shows that Sambo has not gained control of the zone in a manner that will aid Jonathan’s aspiration in 2015.

    The North-East does not fare better for the president because of the Boko Haram insurgency and the feeling of people in the zone that they have been discriminated against by the government of the day.

    In peaceful times, the zone had always voted for the opposition since 1979 except in states like Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawa. But with intra-party wrangling in Adamawa State; power play by political camps in Bauchi State; the alienation of key political figures in Gombe, and the desire for a return of power to the North in 2015, it requires a miracle for Jonathan to win the North-East.

    Of the six states in North-Central, it is still a split. While Niger, Nasarawa and Kwara are pro-Amaechi, the President is still enjoying the confidence of Benue, Plateau and Kogi. His readiness to reckon with kingmakers in Niger, Nasarawa and Kwara could save the day for him. The fears of the kingmakers, however, border on the fact that if Jonathan stoops to conquer, he might bare the fangs after securing the second term ticket.

    The bitter experience of ex-Governor Bukola Saraki with the Nigeria Police Special Fraud Unit has been a reference warning to most governors in North-Central to watch their back on where to swing support in 2015. Saraki had covertly worked for Jonathan in 2011 against the wish of the North and he almost paid dearly for it.

    A former governor of Kogi State has also been lobbying the powers that be against trial for graft whilst in office. He might enjoy a temporary reprieve as the president rallies support for 2015 but he might be worse for it after the poll.

    Although Jonathan has initiated moves to infiltrate the North-West and some parts of the North-East with some deft political calculations, he might still not be able to conquer the two zones. For instance, the release of Major Hamzat al-Mustapha has been projected to be a joker to split the North-West with the backing of the Abachas. But the strategists of the President have forgotten that military politics is different from real political challenges. In spite of huge resources at his disposal to change the political tempo, al-Mustapha might not succeed in upstaging Kwankwaso, who is the governor of his adopted state in Kano, or the governor of his home state, Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe State.

    The ongoing courting of Senator Ahmed Yarima (ex-Governor of Zamfara State) with the importation of marabouts and Islamic clerics to the Presidential Villa by the Senator to pray for the re-election bid of the President may also not work because the President’s men have started wielding religious card.

    Recently, strategists in Aso Rock flew a kite by raking up anti-Christian campaign against the new opposition merger, All Progressives Congress (APC). Despite the fact that Yarima can deliver the Sharia-inclined Zamfara State to any political party, the religious politics being promoted by Jonathan group might end the marabout romance between Jonathan and Yarima. The Hausa-Fulani do not joke with religion.

    MANIFESTATION OF PDP BITTER POLITICS /PERSONAL GROUSES

    The visit of the four governors also confirmed the internal politics within the Peoples Democratic Party where the President has hijacked the party structure, rendered governors irrelevant and suppressed all members because of the 2015 project.

    The governors have clearly drawn the battle line by showing that it will not be an easy ride for Jonathan in their states. Although they might not defect from PDP to another party, they can be part of the emergency coalition to stop Jonathan’s re-election bid. It is apparent that the governors may swing votes in their states for a coalition

    Each of the four governors has an axe to grind and with the Rivers crisis they might go the whole hog to take their pound of flesh from Jonathan. For Lamido, this is an emotional period because of the way the state machinery was used to intimidate him following rumours that he might contest the 2015 presidential election alongside Amaechi as his Vice-Presidential candidate. The presidency did not take the rumours lightly and it put a moral hurdle before Lamido with the arrest of his beloved first son, Aminu Sule Lamido for not declaring the $40,000 on him while going to Egypt for medical treatment.

    Aminu was convicted last Friday but the Jigawa governor saw the arrest and trial as a way to get at him over his presumed ambition. Since he lives with the stigma of having his son convicted, Lamido will find it hard to forgive the President while he is pretending that all is well.

    A source privy to the politics of the trial, said: “Actually, it serves Lamido right because he has been talking anyhow and he wants to be President when he knows that there is no vacancy.”

    It was also gathered that Lamido is unhappy with the way his godfather, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo is being maltreated by the PDP leadership. A committed party man, his eternal regrets would be leaving the PDP but as things are, he might have no choice. He has disdain for the opposition but he is perching on a tattered umbrella (PDP).

    As for Kwankwaso, his demand for power shift, independent-minded politics and support for Amaechi have created a wedge between him and the Presidency. A product of Kano’s radical politics, Kwankwaso’s grouses include initial lukewarm attitude of the presidency to the insurgency which almost crippled the economy of the state; lack of internal democracy in PDP, sycophancy, breathing down on governors like school children, and playing god. He also detests the way Obasanjo is being sidelined. Yet, the presidency could not move against Kwankwaso because of the volatile nature of Kano politics.

    Governor Babangida Aliyu leads the pack for a return of power to the North in 2015. He is also a frank and straightforward politician who believes the rule must not be changed midway. As the Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF), he opened the Pandora box that Jonathan had an agreement with PDP governors and leaders to serve a term in office. The disclosure of the secret agreement is a sin the President is hanging on his neck but he is prepared for the worst. Some forces tried to remove him as the NSGF chairman but the plot failed. He has also re-strategized to make sure the North is better for it with power in 2015.

    Adamawa State Governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako, has been having a running battle with the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur over attempt to take the state party structure from him. Tukur wants his son to succeed Nyako whose son is also interested in the governorship seat. Having had his position as the leader of PDP undermined by the national secretariat of the party, Nyako has been trying to be his own man moreso when the Presidency was indifferent to Tukur’s hijacking of the party structure.

    Last week, Nyako said: “As far as I am concerned, there is a cordial relationship between me and the national chairman. We only have political differences and that is what the people need to know. Our position as leaders of the party is to work collectively for the interest of the citizenry and not on our personal interest.”

    SERVING GOVERNORS MAY QUIT PDP?

    Going by the revolt of the PDP governors, the ruling party may be decimated before 2015 poll with consequences for its victory. Already, the opposition parties have benefited from disenchantment in PDP in the last five years translating to victory in some states. More than nine governors are said to be on their way out of PDP. The reality is that Nyako, Kwankwaso, Lamido, Babangida Aliyu have their days numbered in the ruling party. Even if they refuse to leave, the hawks in the party will frustrate them. They have to be strong enough to prove that PDP needs them more than they need the party.

     

     

  • Oil theft: Presidency absolves ex-militants

    Ex-militants currently on the Amnesty Programme have been absolved of complicity in oil theft.

    The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has declared that over 400,000 barrels of crude are lost daily by the country.

    The Presidential Amnesty Office (PAO) has however maintained  that beneficiaries of the  programme  are not involved in crude oil theft in the region, contrary to claims in some quarters.

    The PAO also indicted international oil companies for not doing enough to curb the negative trend.

    In a statement yesterday by Head, Media and Communications, Daniel Alabrah, the ex-militants are no longer in a position to embark on such capital-intensive venture.

    It reads: “Having being properly disarmed, demobilised and currently undergoing reintegration through various training programmes, the former agitators do not have the capacity to embark on the scale of oil theft in the region where the country currently loses about 400,000 barrels of crude per day.

    “While commending the security agencies in the Niger Delta, particularly the Nigerian Navy, for almost wiping out cases of illegal refineries in the region, the PAO notes that the incidence of oil theft is actually a setback to the amnesty programme, which had succeeded in ensuring the stabilization of security in the region.

    “It insists that the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman of the PAP, Hon. Kingsley Kuku, did not raise a false alarm nor was his call on the oil companies to look inward in their search for the culprits misplaced, as claimed by some of the oil workers’ union in their reaction to his (Kuku’s) comments.

    It also notes that the international oil companies (IOCs) in the region have not shown enough transparency in the process of award of their pipeline surveillance contracts, which tended to emasculate the communities and the Niger Delta people from the process of securing such critical infrastructure in the region.

    There is need for the communities and the Niger Delta people to be commensurably involved in the process of securing the oil pipelines,” Kuku noted.

    The Presidential Adviser reasoned that Shell declared last year that it spent one billion dollars ($1bn) on securing its facilities globally; 40 per cent (about $400million) of which it claimed was spent in the Niger Delta.

    “Where was such a huge amount spent when the company had greatly divested its investment onshore and offshore? When converted to Naira, $400million is more than the annual budget for the amnesty programme. So, who are the companies or individuals handling their security contracts?

    These are questions the oil workers should ask their employers rather than disingenuously pointing accusing fingers at the amnesty beneficiaries.

    Kuku said the Federal Government, working with some of the states in the region, has commenced security, legal and other steps to address this ugly trend.

     

  • Soyinka: Why Presidency is after Amaechi

    Soyinka: Why Presidency is after Amaechi

    Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday hinted at the root of the rift between Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and the Presidency.

    The elder statesman, who said he had been contacted by both factions before he addressed a joint news conference with activist Femi Falana (SAN) in Lagos, disclosed that the Presidency was unhappy over “conflict of interests on certain resources”.

    Soyinka said a special adviser in the Presidency, whom he did not name, visited him and outlined the official rationale for the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) debacle. He said the conflict over certain resources, was implied as the root of the division between the NGF and the Presidency.

    He said he passed the details from the encounter to Amaechi, who denied all the allegations.

    The playwright added that the core issues were the threat to democracy.

    Soyinka said: “Before the press conference held by Femi Falana and myself-that is, even before the Rivers Assembly fracas-I had been canvassed by opposing sides of the face-off, both via telephone and physically.

    “One such visit, perhaps the most significant, was made by a Special Adviser in the Presidency who outlined what can be regarded as the official rationale for the Governors’ Forum debacle.

    “In the process of this exchange, he did make certain complaints against Governor Rotimi Amaechi, including charges of a conflict of interests over certain resources. This was implied as the root of division between the NGF and the Presidency.

    “I wrote down details, informed the emissary that I would pass on these accusations to Governor Amaechi-which I did. That Amaechi hotly denied them and offered contradicting facts, which he urged me to verify, remains utterly irrelevant to the democratic core of the conflict-and this has been made clear to all interventionists:

    “The arithmetics of democracy involved in figures 16 and 19 at the time, and now, with increased confidence in impunity, the figures 27 and 5.

    “Whether or not it is democratic, even cultured proceeding that a state governor is barred from public access anywhere within his own zone of constitutional authority, with the massive security apparatus of the centre, on behalf of an unelected individual.

    “Even after the Rivers crisis has been resolved, this notorious proceeding will not be permitted to fester unchallenged.

    “For the rest, since beneath the surface of most Nigerian conflicts will be found inordinate greed for public resources, it is perhaps pertinent to remind ourselves that oil is not the only marvel to emerge from the Delta swamps.

    “There are also exotic creatures-mermaids, manatees, even mammy watas and hippopotami. However, unlike crude oil, which can be refined, you can extract a hippopotamus from the swamps, but you cannot take the swamp out of the hippopotamus.”

  • North’s elders: we’ll take back presidency in 2015

    North’s elders: we’ll take back presidency in 2015

    Elders from the North yesterday said the region is prepared to take the presidency back in 2015.

    Northern Elders Forum Secretary Prof. Ango Abdullahi said in Kaduna that the various groups in the region were working together to ensure that power returns to the North .

    Abdullahi, a former Special Adviser to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on Food Security, said has former boss begged the North to allow him have a second term since the original arrangement for rotational presidency did not include having two terms. He said the North granted Obasanjo’s request – in line with constitutional provision.

    Abdullahi, who spoke at a news conference, said he was speaking onbehalf of the (NEF).

    According to him, if the North cannot claim the presidency through rotation, it intends to do so, relying on its massive voting population. Based on population alone, the North can hold on to power in the country for as long as it wishes.

    North has three of the six geopolitical zones in the country.

    Abdullahi said: “I want to make it absolutely clear to you that the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and all these other groups that have emerged in the recent past are committed to the interest that underlies northern interest. There is no question about that.

    “The North is determined and is insisting that the leadership of the country will rotate to it in 2015 and I am making that very clear to you. On behalf of all of us, ACF in front because they have been the oldest group and the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) and our other groups that have been very active and strong.

    “All of us are likely to have this very tough and common agenda. Not that the North is power blind, no, it will be argued on the rational argument that is on the ground today. The North on the basis of one man, one vote can keep power indefinitely in the present Nigeria state.

    “If it is on the basis of one man, one vote, the demography shows that the North can keep power as long as it wants because it will always win elections.”

    The former Vice Chancellor noted that rotational presidency between the North and South was accepted many years ago at the 1987 Political Reform Conference, where it was resolved that every part of the country should be part of the leadership.

    He noted that the North had always made sacrifices in the interest of the country, adding that “some of us who participated in conferences – Constitutional Conferences from 1987 till the last one, the Political Reform Conference, it was accepted that every part of this country should feel part of the leadership and this is the basis of the acceptance of the rotation between the North and the South.

    “This is what happened in the constitutional conference. There was no question of geo-political zones. The geo-political zones were later introductions. So when this happened, of course, the argument was that it was supposed to be in the Constitution, but the government in power at that time said this ought not to be in the Constitution but should be something that parties can use to attract support and growth from all parts of the country.

    “This is what the PDP, the ruling party now, accepted quickly and I was part of the constitution drafting for the party. We incorporated rotation between the North and the South.”

    Abdullahi said the North allowed Obasanjo to become President in 1999 because the region had taken power for a long time and to pacify the Southwest over the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. The election was believed to have been won by Chief Moshood Abiola, who was detained and later died in controversial circumstances in detention while fighting for the revalidation of the poll.

    “These are the cumulative things that we decided that the South should start. That was how eventually Obasanjo came to be our president under that arrangement and it was clearly for four years. And then when he asked or rather begged for the arrangement to be extended to match the constitutional provision that the president could go for two terms, it was extended in an expanded caucus that the initial four years be added another four years, making it eight years for Obasanjo.

    “All of them were present. He was the first to sign quickly. This particular president (Jonathan) was there as deputy governor representing the governor of Bayelsa state at the time. He signed as number 37. It was found in the document.

    “So you see, we agreed that the south would have eight years and then, the north would have eight years but when eventually, Obasanjo having seen some lacuna, he even tried to abandon the zoning as well as the Constitution to seek for third term.

    “And we are now saying that since there is no consideration on morality and so on, the north is going to insist that the presidency will come whether on the basis of rotation or on the basis of voting powers and we have the voting power to make sure that it comes here.”

     

  • Why Nigeria is hosting al-Bashir – Presidency

    Why Nigeria is hosting al-Bashir – Presidency

    The Presidency on Monday defended welcoming Sudan President Omar al-Bashir to the country for an African Union health summit despite war crimes charges against him, saying it cannot interfere in AU affairs.

    The Sudanese leader arrived Abuja on Sunday for the summit on HIV/AIDS, turberculosis and malaria despite being wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

    AFP reports that the summit is due to take place on Monday and Tuesday.

    Rights activists in Nigeria planned to go to court on Monday to force al- Bashir’s arrest.

    “The event that is taking place is an AU summit,” Reuben Abati, spokesman for President Goodluck Jonathan, told AFP.

    “Nigeria is just hosting it. It’s not Nigeria that invited him. He’s not here on a bilateral visit. He’s here to participate in an AU summit, and Nigeria is not in a position to determine who attends an AU event and who does not attend … Nigeria is just providing the platform for the meeting,” Abati added.

    The ICC had issued two warrants against al- Bashir over the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region, where government forces and local Arab militias have been pitted against rebels drawn mainly from non-Arab populations.

     

  • Presidency mulls new DG for PENCOM

    Presidency mulls new DG for PENCOM

    • ‘N3.4 tr pension fund threatened’

    The Presidency is weighing the option of appointing a new Director-General for the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), The Nation has learnt

    A source disclosed that the Presidency will soon announce a replacement for the acting Director-General, Mrs. ChineloAnohu-Amazu, saying the government was unconfortable wih the furore that greeted her appointment.

    Mrs. Anohu-Amazu still has some years to notch-up before she could assume the headship of PENCOM, which is worth N3.4 trillion in pension contributions.

    The source said the announcement of the substantive helmsman of PENCOM, would be made soon by the Presidency.

    It was gathered that some former commissioners of the commission are interested in returning, or becoming its Director-General.

    According to the Pension Reform Act 2004, the Director-General/CEO, must possess professional skills with not less than 20 years cognate experience in pension matters, and or nsurance, actuarial science, or other related fields.

    The source explained that although Mrs. Anohu-Amazu is fit, she does not have the legal experience.

    When The Nation contacted other pension fund administrators, they claimed that MrsAnohu-Amazu is yet to garner 20 years. They also raised the alarm that the management of the N3.4 trillion pension fund should be looked into.

    The threat to the pension fund, they said, is coming from what they call “the inadequacy of the investment windows”.

    One of the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), who asked not to be identified, told The Nation, that “with the N3.4 trillion fund of PENCOM, the inadequacy of the investment windows is obvious and require urgent review”.

    He added: “The fears of threat to pension funds stems from the dumping of much of the accummulated funds in banks and federal/state government bonds.”

    PFAs invest in some financial instruments approved by PENCOM, such as money/capital markets, bonds and mutual funds.

    Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders expect good returns on investments from their accumulated contributions because their future retirement depends on it.

    An operator, who asked that his identity be veiled, decried the inability of thegovernment to appoint Board members to PENCOM, a situation, which has left the commission handicapped in applying the funds to other uses.

    According to the Pension Reform Act 2004, only the Board of PENCOM can take decisions on the management and investment of funds. F or months, the commission has been without a Board.

    The source said some regulatory challenges facing Pencom, have been ”agitating the minds of stakeholders and other watchers of the industry.”

    He listed some of them to include “the capability of Pencom as presently constituted to supervise the management of this large pool of funds; the calibre of people that government should appoint into the Board of PENCOM at this critical stage to achieve desired ends; and whether the PFAs have adequate expertise to handle investment decisions and fund management”.

    The government and the National Assembly, he said, need to take urgent remedial steps to respond to these challenges, so as “to address the fears being expressed by stakeholders over the health and safety of pension funds.”

    However, the source said it was gratifying, that the 2004 Act is being reviewed by the National Assembly.

    The pension experts have recommended that government should urgently reconstitute the board of pencom with finance and investment inclined individuals.

    Also, they are demanding that “due to the importance of this scheme and job to be don, political considerations should be down-played in the selection of these individuals, and the crop of staff at management levels in pencom with respect to qualification and experience should be appraised. Those not suitable should be replaced.”

    They said PFAs should be encouraged to seek experienced pension fund managers (local and foreign) for corroboration and partnerships while investment regulations should be loosed a little by admitting other investment options to help economic growth and development in Nigeria.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Infrastructure financing from pension funds will be a step in the right direction.

    We need a more creative PENCOM and PFAs to utilize this surpulus

    funds for the benefit of contributors and the economy in general.

    The Commission shall consist of a part-time chairman who shall possess a university degree or its equivalence with not less than 20 years experience;  a Director-General shall be the Chief Executive Officer responsible for the day- to-day administration of the Commission; four full-time Commissioners who shall each possess professional and cognate experience in Finance and Investment, or Accounting or Pension Management or Actuarial Science or Business Administration or other related field and be fit and proper persons; and Part-time members of the Commission who shall be representatives each of, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Nigeria Labour Congress, (iv) the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, (vi) the Central Bank of Nigeria ; and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Except for the par-time members of the commission others are out of office for now.

    Last week the Acting Director General of PenCom, Mrs. ChineloAnohu-Amazu hinted that the Commission was currently exploring the possibility of allowing contributors to utilize part of their Retirement Savings Accounts balances to part-finance the acquisition of low-cost houses.

     

  • Presidency behind crisis, say CPC, CNPP

    Presidency behind crisis, say CPC, CNPP

    President Goodluck Jonathan got some bashing yesterday for his alleged complicity in the Rivers State crisis, which the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) described as a sign of executive recklessness. The President is behind it all, CPC said.

    The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) said: “Dr. Jonathan cannot sit by and watch in glee while men who answer to him and his wife are igniting crises of such proportion.

    Niger State Governor Babangide Aliyu, who is also the chair of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), alleged that with the backing of the federal government, Rivers State Commissioner of Police Mbu Joseph Mbu has virtually taken over the security functions from the democratically elected governor.

    Aliyu alleged that concentration of too much power at the centre is responsible for the untoward actions of the police chief.

    Speaking while receiving Ambassador Zubairu Dada, Federal Commissioner of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), yesterday in Minna, Aliyu maintained that as long as the centre is still powerful without the devolution of power to states and local governments, there will always be problems as being witnessed in Rivers State.

    “There can hardly be progress in a country if things continue this way,” Aliyu said.

    He also frowned at the revenue allocation formula that gives over half of the nation’s receipt to the Federal Government. “There is too much money for the federal government to swim in. That is why it can use the resource which should be used for the provision of social amenities for the people to fight” he said.

    CNPP Secretary General Chief Willy Ezugwu, in a statement yesterday, said: “For five lawmakers to attempt claiming numerical superiority over a larger group of 23 or 27 lawmakers is totally irresponsible and must not only be condemned but sanctions, including criminal prosecution, must also be applied to serve as a deterrent to other would-be trouble makers.

    “It is totally appalling that President Goodluck Jonathan can sit by and watch in glee while men who answer to him and his wife are igniting crises of such proportion at a time when the nation is battling armed insurrection in some areas and widespread armed kidnapping in others. The body language of the President is beginning to suggest that he is a willing actor in the western written script that Nigeria would disintegrate in 2015 or how else does one explain his failure to call his men to order.”

    The conference also asked the National Assembly to “investigate the role played by the police in aiding criminality in Rivers State, particularly when video evidence strongly suggests that the police provided cover for people whose sole aim is destabilising the state Assembly.

    “It is not enough for the House of Representative to ask for the redeployment of the Police Commissioner for Rivers State Command, Joseph Mbu. An investigation could yield valuable information as to who Mbu answers to even though the public might have correctly insinuated.

    To the CPC, the Presidency is at the centre of the crisis.

    The party said the crisis has the trappings of executive recklessness and impunity.

    In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, the CPC demanded the impeachment of the President.

    It raised four posers for Jonathan and the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar.

    The statement said: “The infra-dig dramatised at the Rivers State House of Assembly, as captured by local and foreign media, has become a cause for concern among Nigerians.

    “The horrific spectacle, to us at the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), is a clear manifestation of the leadership deficit at the nation’s presidency.

    “The cause of the fracas was that on Tuesday, July 9, 2013, a group of five legislators- led by Mr. Evans Babakaya Bipialaka- sat (in an inquorate manner) ahead of the 27 other House of Assembly members, with the sole purpose of impeaching the incumbent Speaker, Mr. Otelemaba Amachree.

    “Apparently, as a way of executing this nefarious act, the group of five procured another mace that was different from what was in the custody of the incumbent speaker of the House of Assembly.

    The CPC said the Presidency cannot deny involvement in Rivers State crisis, including the First Lady’s backing for the self-imposed leader of the G-5 causing mayhem in the Rivers House of Assembly, Mr. Evans Babakaya Bipialaka.

    The statement added: “Despite the denials of the President’s media aides, who have perfected unscrupulous mendacious posturing, we believe very strongly that the Presidency is at the epicentre of the current security challenges in Rivers State.

    “We have noted the demeanour of Mr. Joseph Mbu, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, which, the House of Representatives agreed, is unbecoming of a patriotic Police officer.

    “We have also noted that the tumultuous entry of the First Lady, Patience Jonathan into Port-Harcourt in June was for the wedding of Mr. Evans Babakaya Bipialaka, the leader of this group of five.

    “We noted the suspicious acquiescence by the Rivers State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the infamy done by the group of five.

    “Unfortunately, the situation in Rivers State has degenerated since the formal takeover of the state Assembly functions by the House of Representatives.

    “The Police reportedly fired tear gas canisters into the Government House. We also learnt that the security detail for the governor have been withdrawn! These are pointers to anarchy in the state.

    “The relevant questions to be asked are:

    Did the group of five legislators have the legitimacy (under the nation’s extant law) to sit on Tuesday, July 9, 2013?

    If they acted outside the law, should legal proceedings not be commenced against them as a way of punishing this execrable villainy, thereby strengthening the Nation’s jurisprudence?

    Should the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, continue to allow Mr. Mbu function as the State commissioner of Police with the documented show of insubordination against the state governor?

    Is the President’s polarising content of the debacle in Rivers state not a manifestation of his undesirable leadership style?

    “As a party, we know that Nigeria is not a monarchy, where statehood is synonymous with the person of the holder of Executive Authority.

    “The President, through subterranean means, had unduly increased the entropy level of the political firmament in Rivers State for self-conceit. This, we believe, is unbecoming of a statesman. The National Assembly has the responsibility to investigate the President in the Rivers State saga. If found culpable, he should be impeached forthwith!”

  • 2015: North to negotiate presidency, says Aliyu

    2015: North to negotiate presidency, says Aliyu

    CHAIRMAN of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) Babangida Aliyu yesterday gave a fresh condition for the would-be president in 2015, saying the North would be prepared to negotiate the exalted office.

    Aliyu has consistently said President Goodluck Jonathan signed a pact with North’s leaders to serve a four-year single term.

    He, however, said the region was prepared to go along with whoever emerged as the President in 2015, adding that the North will negotiate properly with those seeking the exalted office.

    The Niger State Governor ruled out the possibility of the North blindly voting for any candidate in the general polls without first safe-guarding its interests.

    Aliyu spoke at the weekend during the inauguration of an office complex built by Edati Local Government Area for employees of federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), deployed to Enagi, the council headquarters.

    Aliyu said: “The North is prepared to follow whoever is duly elected in 2015. Whoever emerges as the president after a due and constitutional process, the North will support. But we are going to ensure that we properly negotiate for our interest and ensure that it is protected.”

    He denied the allegation that he has been advocating only northern candidates to seek the country’s highest office in 2015, maintaining that his position was that the promises made to the region are kept in the collective interest of all.

    The governor also frowned at the activities of some Abuja politicians, especially from his state, whom he accused of working against the interest of the region for selfish gains.

    Aliyu, who did not name such politicians, noted that their stock-in-trade was to flaunt their influence in Abuja and with the President, “all in an attempt to earn favour of the presidency in the 2015 bid” at the expense of the entire region.

    The governor cautioned against moves by self-seeking politicians to bring religion into the politics of his state, stressing that such move would not be accepted.

    “Here in Niger, we do not play the politics of religion. Such attitude would negate the development drive of the state and that of the country at large,” Aliyu warned.

    Commending the efforts of Edati council chief, Isah Kantigi, to improve the lot the electorate, the governor noted that the projects implemented by the council showed that the state government was not meddling in the management of funds allocated to it.

    “What we are witnessing today shows that we don’t interfere with our councils’ funds. That is why some of the councils have embarked on meaningful projects that touch people’s lives.

    “Edati Local Government Chairman has proved right by the projects executed today.”

    Aliyu promised a tour of the 25 local councils to appraise the projects being implemented at the grassroots ahead the council elections next year.

    The Edati council chair said his council slashed the overhead by 50 per cent to fund projects worth N260 million.

    Kantigi listed such projects to include the construction of offices for federal employees, a magistrate’s court and a 15-kilometre road.

    He pledged that the council under him would continue to implement projects that have direct impact on the residents, notwithstanding the paucity of funds.

  • ACN slams Presidency on Oguta poll

    ACN slams Presidency on Oguta poll

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has slammed the Presidency for seeking to usurp the role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by describing the rerun to the Imo House of Assembly in Oguta as inconclusive.

    In a statement yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it was up to INEC to determine whether the election was ‘inconclusive’ or marred by ‘violence and irregularities’, not the Presidency.

    “To the best of our knowledge, it is either the candidates or the parties involved in an election that can take a legal recourse over any perceived irregularities. It, therefore, baffles us that the Presidency has rushed to declare the election inconclusive and marred by rigging, and to call for the prosecution of those involved, simply because its preferred candidate lost.

    “According to the information at our disposal, the INEC cancelled the results in eight of the 232 polling booths for one reason or the other. That is less than four per cent of the number of booths; it is definitely not enough to make an election ‘inconclusive’, as the Presidency did by assuming the role of an umpire,” ACN said.

    The party also accused the Presidency of being selective in its quest for the prosecution of those who rig or engage in violence during elections, wondering where the Presidency was when the last Ondo State governorship election was marred by massive rigging and violence.

    It said: “Let’s be clear: It is not the business of the Presidency to pronounce any election inconclusive or marred by violence. That is the business of the INEC. The Presidency is wrong in trying to pre-empt the INEC, simply because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate lost the election to the Rochas Okorocha faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    “Would the Presidency have raised the alarm if the victor had come from the Peter Obi faction of APGA? Why didn’t the Presidency speak up over the Ondo State governorship election, which was marred by massive violence and rigging? Is it because its favoured candidate won?

    “We are the undisputed advocate of free and fair elections: one-man, one-vote, and of peaceful conduct of polls. But we will not support selective perception, as the Presidency is now doing. There must be no sacred cows. Whoever perpetrates rigging or violence must be brought to justice, whether or not they belong to the ruling/favoured parties.”

    ACN said the Presidency was afraid that the outcome of the election in Oguta may be a referendum on the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan and a sign of things to come; which of course it is!

    “The Presidency should be prepared for more of the drubbing it received in Oguta, because henceforth, that is what will happen to the PDP in subsequent elections. It is a sign of things to come, hence the Presidency is right to be jittery. But what it has no right to do is to usurp the role of the election umpire or assume the role of a political party,” the party added.

  • Jonathan Presidency promoting ethnicity, regionalism

    Jonathan Presidency promoting ethnicity, regionalism

    Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN reports that President Jonathan’s approach to some national issues is fuelling ethnic disunity, religious and regional intolerance in the build-up to the 2015 elections.

    Today, our unity is firm and our purpose is strong, our determination unshakable. Together, we will unite our nation and improve the living standards of all our peoples whether in the north or in the south; in the east or in the west. Our decade of development has begun. The march is on. The day of transformation begins today. We will not allow anyone exploit differences in creed or tongue, to set us one against another.”

    That was President Goodluck Jonathan’s mission statement at his inauguration on May 29, 2011, at the Eagle Square, Abuja. The declaration was intended to reciprocate the massive support given him by the electorate at the poll. The vote that brought him to power cut across party lines. He won in opposition states not because of his popularity or the appeal of his party’s manifesto, but probably to compensate his geo-political zone that had never produced a Head of State or President.

    Two years down the road, the question is: Has President Jonathan kept faith with his pledge to unite the country, improve standard of living and promote even development across all regions?

    Critics of the Jonathan Administration have accused it of giving covert and in some cases, overt support to aides of the President and others who are sympathetic to his administration as they play both ethnic and religious cards to sustain it in office, especially, beyond 2015.

    Critics have maintained that in a country where these two tendencies are treated with so much emotional attachment, the outcome could be inimical to national cohesion. Besides, they also point to some political developments, allegedly ochestrated by the presidency, which has put a lot of pressure and heat on the polity.

     

    Dividing the NGF

     

    Analysts point to the recent Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) election, which suddenly turned controversial, in spite of the emergence of a clear cut winner. They posit that the Presidency played a diabolical role in the crisis. Curiously, President Jonathan has sort of confirmed the point through his recognition of the faction, generally believed to have lost that electuion. Today, the elitist political forum is almost irreconcilably divided.

    Besides, there was also the sudden emergence of the Peoples Demo-cractic party (PDP) Governors Forum (PDPGF). Ananlysts believ that it is unhealthy and that it has the capacity to not only undermine the national body but also force other parties into forming their own governors’ forum. it is an open secret today that, the President’s position on who becomes the chairman of the NGF has put a lot of heat on the polity. Initially, the president made us to believe that he was not interested in who wins the NGF chairmanship election. But after the election, which Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi won with 19 votes as against 16 by his opponent, Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State, it became apparent that he was very much interested in it. President Jonathan has, for the second time. given official recognition to the group that lost out when he held a meeting with them despite the warning by Amaechi that Jang should stop impersonating him. Thus, the President has “successfully” broken up the NGF for personal political survival.

    The division in the NGF has been extended to the Northern Nigeria Governors Forum (NNGF). The split has pitched the governors of Northwest states (Hausa/Fulani) against the minority states. The Presidency is suspected to have a hand in the crisis because the governors of the minority states are the arrow heads of the weak Amaechi-must-go-campaign.

    Abuse of privilege

    Critical stakeholders are unhappy that under President Jonathan’s watch, ethnicity has been elevated to an art. The popular opinion is that the President has subtly applied the divisive policy in his dealings with Nigerians.

    The President, Civil Rights Commission, Mallam Shehu Sani, said President Jonathan has wasted the immense goodwill he enjoyed in the run- up to the 2011 election.

    Speaking to The Nation in an interview, Sani described President Jonathan as the most divisive leader ever in the history of this country.

    “His presidency has polarised Nigeria more than any other president in this country. His supporters and foot soldiers have been engaged in fanning the embers of discord and disunity. His supporters have heightened the tension in the polity. Jonathan’s divisive approach to governance has disappointed his friends and emboldened his adversaries.

    “Jonathan’s presidency has destroyed the historic political solidarity and cordiality between the North and the Southsouth. Under Jonathan, the unity of Nigeria and its future has come into question as the nation is subjected to voices of disintegration and disunity”, he said.

    The Coordinator of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER), Ayo Opadokun, said Jonathan was not the first leader to create division among people to achieve political ambition. He said it is a reflection of what is wrong in the society. Those accusing Jonathan of creating division among people , he said, would do similar thing when they are in power.

    Opadokun said Nigerian politicians would exploit the most suitable strategy to win comfort in their brinkmanship. “That Jonathan is using divisive method to neutralise the influence of his opponents is not out of place. The 2015 election is fast approaching; he’s in contention. He has government machinery and resources to divide them and win the election. When it comes to power, our politicians would go to any length to achieve their selfish interest”, he said.

    Social critic and political activist Prof. Tam David-West observed that President Jonathan has frittered away the goodwill that won him the presidential election in 2011. He said Jonathan is what he’s today because of northerners’ support. “Nigerians from all parts of the country voted for him to be president, without prejudice to my view that his election is stained.

    “Can the Ijaw or Niger Delta alone guarantee the constitutional provision that he must have won 25 per cent of the popular votes cast in two thirds of 36 states; that is 24 states? The answer is ‘no’. The total votes he had from his region was about 24 per cent. Now you turn round to say the Hausa/Fulani must not rule us again. People saying these are not the ones who put him there. They are abusing the people who put him there.

    “If Jonathan does not call them to order, his administration may be truncated. The abuses may have a backlash. He should stop the Ijaws surrounding him from making reckless statements and distance himself from the so called Ijaw leaders who are merely seeking attention and relevance”, he said.

    In the words of Sani, “Ijaw leaders, who were never heard during the military dictatorship, have now found a voice to churn out provocative and inciting utterances that clearly undermines the remnants of support Jonathan enjoys among Nigerians.

    “His administration is sustained by a barrage of propaganda and misinformation. The so called transformation agenda has turned into a political charade and facade for unbridled corruption and pervasive insecurity.

    “Worse still, Jonathan has not delivered on his promises and has only delivered Nigeria to poverty and crisis. He has abandoned governance for trivial issues in his desperation for re-election in 2015.

    “Just as he polarised the nation so also he split the PDP on whose platform he came to power. However, the disunity and confusion within the ruling party is a blessing for Nigeria. It is a sign of good things to come. A united PDP has been responsible for the destruction of Nigeria. The disunity in PDP will unite Nigeria”, he said.

    Playing up ethnicity

    The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has accused Jonathan’s kinsmen of promoting religious and ethnic division in the build-up to 2015. ACF noted that the inclusion of two of its members – Major General Lawrence Onoja (rtd) and Senator Wash Pam, who were among the leaders of minority ethnic extraction at the instance of the Ijaw leader Chief Edwin Clark, who visited to President Jonathan and urged him to stand for re-election in 2015 has an utterior motive.

    Recently, both the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Yoruba Unity Forum in the Southwest stormed Aso Villa to complain to the President that the zone is being shortchanged in terms of political patronage. The Igbo Youth Movement made similar complain. The Kalabari in Rivers State, too, had accused the President of ceding the oil wells in their land to Bayelsa, his home state.

    David-West had harsh words for Ijaw leaders for portraying Jonathan as primarily an Ijaw President. He recalled that the Save Nigeria Group (SNG), founded and headed by a Yoruba, Pastor Tunde Bakare and his compatriots, forced the National Assembly, when it was reluctant to do the right thing as stipulated by the constitution, to take action when the late President Umaru yar’Adua was terminally ill.

    “The person that finally moved the motion in the National Assembly to make Jonathan acting President was an Hausa man. There was no Ijaw input. Everything that made Jonathan what he is today as President, 24% of it came from his ethnic group. The other inputs were from other ethnic groups. When the likes of Edwin Clark and Asari Dokubo talk, they are creating more problems for Jonathan. It behoves him as the President and an Ijaw man to ask members of his ethnic group to, please, not make things difficult for him. They should help him to solve the problems he is facing and not add more to them.

    “A President who is elected by only a section of the country cannot reasonably be expected to bring Nigerians together and help them live up to their potential. That is to say a President cannot preside over a divided people and expects to succeed.

    US concern over polarisation

    In what is clearly an external concern over the growing ethnic division in the country, an American diplomat challenged Nigerian leaders to depoly the diversity of the country to its advantage. Speaking at a seminar, United States Ambassador to Nigeria Terence McCulley noted that this is a country of diversity of thought, diversity of culture and diversity of beliefs.

    McCulley said:”Too often, when we talk about Nigeria and with Nigerians, we hear about the differences: the Muslim North and the Christian South, the Hausa, the Igbo and the Yoruba. Nigerians deserve better; Nigerians can do better. While you should be proud of your religion, your culture, your background, your beliefs, you can do so in the light of the fact that you are all Nigerians, drawing inspiration from the uplifting words of your national anthem, he said.

    “I believe Nigerians must work together to build their nation irrespective of their religious beliefs. If one puts continuous emphasis on differences, rather than working toward overall betterment while co-existing, one risks chipping away at the very fabric of the nation”, he said.

    With the recent utterances by various stakeholders across the country, it is obvious that the delicate fibre that ties Nigerians together in the face of a multiplicity of ethnicity, beliefs or faiths, political persuasions and economic inclinations is being badly assaulted. This has far reaching implications for the country as it threatens directly its efforts at forging unity and oneness. Will the President intervene to reverse the trend before 2015?