The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Presidential election

  • 2019 presidential election debate gamble

    Another cycle of presidential election debate in Nigeria holds on January 19, on the home stretch to the February 16 presidential election. Presidential election debate is an American innovation which was formalized with the televised debate between Vice President Richard Nixon (Republican) and Senator John F. Kennedy (Democrat) in the 1960 U.S. presidential election.  Nixon was the front runner but the narrow victory of Kennedy was attributed to television’s portrayal of his youthful, handsome, telegenic charm that swung enough votes in his favour. In elections between 1960 and 1980 many front runner candidates dodged the debate to preserve their advantage.

    American Presidential election debates have been decisive in presidential election outcomes in two particular instances – the 1980 and the 1988 elections. In the 1980 election between Governor Ronald Reagan (Republican) and President Jimmy Carter, (Democrat) the issues were framed as the sluggish economy and weak leadership. Carter was at a disadvantage given the economic slowdown and his being perceived as weak for not decisively dealing with Iran for holding Americans hostage at the embassy in Teheran. I watched the debate, held on October 28, 1980, being among foreign journalists covering the presidential campaign that year, in Los Angeles, California. A rather flustered President Carter was on the defensive and when Reagan posed the rhetorical question to the millions watching the debate: Are you better off today than four years ago? (when Carter assumed office) it was a clincher that swayed the electorate.  The election result was a Carter wipe-out – he lost in 48 of the 50 states, winning only his home state of Georgia and in Minnesota, that of his running mate, Walter Mondale.

    In the 1988 encounter between Vice President George Bush (Republican) and Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts (Democrat) it was a trigger question that ruined a complacent Dukakis, the front runner. The issue in that campaign was framed around security and escalating crime rate and the willingness of the candidates to go tough on crime, including imposing the death penalty. I also covered that debate, this time as a resident foreign correspondent in Washington, D.C.  Bernard Shaw, who anchored the debate, had posed the question to Governor Dukakis:  If Kitty Dukakis (his wife) were to be brutally raped and murdered, would you support the death penalty for the murderer? Looking deadpan, an emotionless Dukakis had gone into evasive rambling. He lost the election for being perceived as soft on crime.

    In Nigeria’s 2019 presidential election debate, three major issues expected to feature prominently are insecurity/violent criminality in the land, joblessness and endemic corruption. For this debate, President Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressive Congress’ candidate, is the man to beat, given the advantage of incumbency, but also the man that could take the biggest fall, if he flounders badly in defence of his record of performance in office. Participating in the debate is, therefore, dicey for this president. Candidate Buhari had participated in the 2007 and 2011 presidential election debates, but in 2015, projected as front runner, he strategically avoided the debate, apparently so as not to jeopardize the sense of impending victory, with a fumbling President Goodluck Jonathan, put in a defensive position. As things stand today, there is a role reversal, with President Buhari backed to the wall.  Like President Jonathan in 2015, President Buhari is clawing at every straw to stay afloat in the turbulent political waters seeking to sweep him away. On the putative issues, can the President convincingly defend his record on security with resurgent Boko Haram, bandits on rampage in Zamfara State and murderous herdsmen, kidnappers, cultists, and ritualists having a field day across the land?

    To what extent has he been strong, decisive in tackling insecurity? On jobs, with business closures and the National Bureau of Statistics indicating increasing job losses, what figures can the presidency come up with to counter this official statement?  Or are the social welfare dole-outs – N-Power, tradermoni, farmermoni – substitutes for secure jobs?  However, on anti-corruption campaign, President Buhari is on firmer ground. Successes have been achieved in this crusade, in spite of lingering charges of selectiveness, with the exposure of corrupt judges, the landmark jailing of two former governors and recovery of huge sums of money. But even here, the opposition can give him a jibe: Where are the recovered monies?

    For former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and leading opposition candidate, he cannot be held accountable to much at the debate with regard to record of performance, except perhaps on the outcome of the privatization programme of the Obasanjo presidency when he was chairman of the National Privatisation Council. Of course, he has a perception problem with the notion of corrupt enrichment. But even the government has not been able to indict him on this.  Atiku has a reputation as a generous giver and may have to contend with charges that he would open up the national treasury. In our clime, a debate can become an exercise in muckraking, so the Buhari camp or the other candidates might rake up dirt on Atiku that could rattle the otherwise confident candidate. Ultimately, for Buhari and Atiku, the two major candidates, the presidential election debate is a big gamble.

    Without impugning the personal integrity of the other presidential candidates, they are merely have-runs, not having the wherewithal to constitute credible contenders for power. Including some of them in the debate is to massage their ego.

     

    • Dr.Olawunmi, former Washington correspondent of News Agency of Nigeria, is Senior Lecturer, Department of Mass Communication, Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State.

  • APGA and 2019 presidential election

    SIR: The 2019 presidential election would be the third presidential poll the All Progressives Grand Alliance is contesting since the party’s registration in 2002 and it looks set to be her finest outing yet.

    With the benefit of hindsight, the decision not to vie in the 2011 and 2015 presidential poll was an error of judgment. The political interests that APGA supported on the two occasions never reciprocated the gesture but saw it as the perfect opportunity to swallow APGA. Those abstentions from the presidential race stunted the growth of the party and helped to foster the misleading impression of a regional movement.

    However, two developments since 2015 have combined to brighten APGA’s prospects in 2019 elections. The first is the vibrancy that Governor Willie Obiano’s leadership has infused into the party. Doubtless, the mishandling of party primaries in some constituencies introduced drawbacks but indications are that leadership resilience is acting to heal the wounds. The second factor that has upped the ante for APGA is the choice of a presidential flag-bearer with glittering credentials.

    A doctorate degree holder, Maj Gen John Gbor (Rtd) stands out among the three leading presidential contenders. At 70, he is the youngest of the frontline candidates and Nigerians have good reasons to take note of the age factor in deciding who to entrust with the exhausting job of president. A Christian from Benue State, APGA’s John Gbor has no baggage of indictment, incompetence or allegations of misconduct from either 35 years of military service or political appointments. Aside job creation and educational development, Gbor has laid emphasis on fairness through restructuring of the federation in a way that resonates with progressive minded Nigerians.

    Surprises have been pulled before in elections and will continue to be pulled. Donald Trump was expected to suffer crashing defeat in the United States 2016 presidential election but he proved the bookmakers wrong. Balarabe Musa was considered the underdog in the Kaduna State 1979 governorship election but he won comfortably in a State the opposition NPN had two-third majority in the state House of Assembly. By whatever acts of omission or commission, Michael Otedola of the NRC clinched the Lagos State governorship in 1991 in SDP’s comfort zone.

    And in the event that no winner emerges in the first ballot – and this is not a far – fetched scenario considering the comparative strength of the party categories – APGA will become a courted bride. The APGA will be there to negotiate the disadvantaged parts of Nigeria into a fairer deal. Not winning a presidential election does not mean the end or irrelevance of a party. Coalitions and alliances remain a popular way of forming governments, sharing power and engendering stability even in advanced democracies.

    APGA’s is a powerful brand with long – lasting appeal. The APGA has a credible programme for restructuring of the Nigerian state arising from its founding vision. This historical and ideological content is far superior to the gallery playing of restructuring which some ambitious presidential candidates recently latched on to. Where is the commitment to restructuring in this overnight political correctness? As we say in Igbo, you can always tell the difference between the waters of rainfall and that poured on the ground by hand.

    The APGA is in the race to protect the interests of minorities and marginalised sections. It is going into the presidential election to deepen democracy, present wider choices to the electorate and to grow and strengthen the party.  The APGA will contest the 2019 presidential poll most keenly.  She will not be blackmailed into taking the election as a picnic.

     

    • Ifeanyi Afuba, <ifeanyiafuba@yahoo.com>

  • Now that they all want restructuring

    It is understandable that the Nigeria political terrain has become this charged as it is only about six months to the general elections. While all the elections are important, the most significant remains the Presidential election. This is because the direction of a nation is akin to the nation’s chief executive officer in our own case, the president. This is further made so by our system of government, our political structure, our form.

    No doubt, every nation has her peculiarities and it is such peculiarities that determine the way the nation is governed. While the players are all warming up for the task ahead, it is important to keep focus on the issues. With the incumbent and the party in power obviously leaving no stone unturned even if it means trouncing on the constitution to ensure they retain power it appears the issues have been relegated to the back seat. On the other hand despite all the opportunities offered by the incumbent by their perpetual failures and unforced errors, the opposition has failed to take advantage and so have remained the lesser of both players. Understandably, they are the opposition and are naturally will be most likely behind in the race of who heads the affairs of government in the next dispensation. Still, in comparison to what obtained about 3yrs ago when the party in power now was in opposition, there is still a lot of ground to be covered if they are to make serious impact.

    Every election has its peculiarities and the votes are driven by specific factors. They are rarely the same for every election year. In the last election, the then opposition made the most important of the factors to drive the votes the fight against corruption. So the last election became a referendum on corruption. What then should drive the votes in 2019? It is now a common rhetoric that Nigeria has never been this divided since the post civil war. This division has given rise to all manner of insurgencies thereby making insecurity to be at its peak. Daily, people get killed in droves and it doesn’t seem there is an end in sight to all these. Our government no longer mentions neither do they acknowledge. They are in perpetual denial all in a bid to perpetuate themselves in power. Our Army is regularly overrun and the dead are secretly buried without such recognition and respect befitting of soldiers who died in the battle field so the rest of us may be safe.

    The issues are a myriad and will not be solved by a single action. So no one is under the illusion that restructuring is the magic wand that solves the myriad of problems.  However, the problems have a nexus and identifying that nexus is a panacea for the solutions we sought. It is widely believed that most of these problems have roots that are easily traceable to the present structure. Our politico economic form has not profited us irrespective of our belief, region or religion. In his speech in July 2016, at the late  Gen. Usman Katsina Memorial Conference,  Alhaji Atiku Abubakar did posit that the present system which has largely evolved from the need to put us together almost at all cost especially following the civil war has not helped any region. Not even the North which is viewed by many as the only beneficiary of the present system. He has therefore continued to talk about the need to change our political structure or form. Unfortunately, while this position of his has earned him a place in the hearts of many, some persons, especially those in power have continued to deride him and tag him as merely playing politics. It is ironical that despite not turning up for the popular 2014 National Conference where the discussion of our form or structure held, the ruling party went ahead to include in its manifesto the promise to change our political structure. That this manifesto won them the election only goes to show that amongst other promises, the citizens believed their promise to restructure Nigeria. Having been in power for more than 3 years now, not a single bill or any other action has pointed to intent to fulfilling this promise. As a matter of fact, every effort by anyone to discuss the issue has been turned down blatantly by the President. Now as the election season approaches fast,   they have all began to turn around. Even those who have never mentioned a word about restructuring and have openly argued that there was nothing wrong with the present system, are all now shouting “restructuring.” This is so especially as the opposition party continues its search for a worthy candidate to fly its flag in the next Presidential election. The denial and refusal to see our structure as an albatross to our national growth and development cuts across the aisle and just saying they support restructuring now should not be enough to win the votes of the delegates. It is now very important that the candidates’ long time position on the issue of restructuring be well analysed and debated. Like they dangled “fighting corruption on electorates” we must refuse that they do same with this very important issue, now that they all want restructuring.

    Only a few days ago there was an ongoing debate between, the former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the same subject. What was obvious is that despite my disagreement by the Vice President’s characterisation of the former Vice President’s   restructuring as merely geographic, even the little expressed by the Professor would have gone some distance in achieving fiscal federalism. Hypocrisy was in full glare that a former Attorney General of a state that led his then state to the Supreme Court on those issues as expressed by him in that article can be part of a federal administration that today has turned down every attempt and effort to have the discussion on restructuring. Having faulted his stance on restructuring by Atiku Abubakar following the Vice President’s earlier speech in the United States, the 180* about-turn is in the least defensive. It was however a worthy debate, Nigerians only wished that Atiku Abubakar (a front runner for the presidency in the upcoming election under PDP) and President Muhammadu Buhari were the ones engaging in it, considering that the Professor’s position has not affected anything in this administration.

    It is hoped that Atiku Abubakar will get the ticket of the PDP and then an opportunity to debate these issues with the President who is set to be the ruling party’s candidate. We do hope that for the sake of decency, the need to deepen our democratic culture and national interest, President Muhammadu Buhari will accept the invitation to a debate when the time comes.

    • Dr Emenena Bright, a medical practitioner wrote from Warri, Delta State.

     

  • Afghan presidential election to hold April 2019

    Afghanistan will hold presidential election on April 20, 2019, six months after parliamentary and provincial council polls, the Country’s Electoral Body announced on Wednesday.

    During a televised news conference, Independent Election Commission (IEC) spokesman and commissioner Hafeezullah Hashemi said security and funding as well as the short time frame between elections would present the biggest challenges to the polls.

    Almost 14 per cent, or 56 of more than 400 districts, are fully controlled by the Taliban while 30 per cent are contested, according to figures by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) published on Tuesday.

    Long-delayed parliamentary and provincial council elections in the war-torn country are scheduled for Oct. 20.

    Read Also: Saraki, Ahmed return to PDP as APC issues query

    Parliamentary elections should have been held in 2015.

    However, they were postponed in the aftermath of the badly flawed presidential election of 2014, rising security threats and unresolved disputes about election reforms.

    The current Afghan administration under President Ashraf Ghani, who may decide to run again, is politically fragile.

    One of Ghani’s main backers, Vice President Abdul Rasheed Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek leader, has formed a new alliance with powerful leaders including former Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor and ethnic Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqeq.

    According to IEC figures, some 8.9 million people have registered to vote.

  • YOWICAN disputed presidential election tears CAN apart

    YOWICAN disputed presidential election tears CAN apart

    The past few weeks have been quite stormy for leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria(CAN) following emerging developments over the disputed election of the youth wing of the body, reports Sunday Oguntola 

    Top officials of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) are at loggerheads over the leadership crisis rocking the youth wing of the body (YOWICAN).

    The leadership crisis, which started as far back as January 2015, escalated last month with the election of a new executive council without the consent and handover of the outgoing executives.

    YOWICAN’s outgoing president, Engr. Dan Kazai, faulted the election on the ground that his tenure was still running. According to him, since he was inaugurated on November 2015, his three-year tenure should end by November 2018.

    Kazai told our correspondent last week the election that produced Apostle Nyeneime Andy of the Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria/Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (CPFN/PFN) bloc is an illegality that will not stand.

    He declared himself the substantive YOWICAN president, saying he couldn’t have been succeeded since he did not hand over. Kazai said: “I am still in office because I have not handed over. I still run my office and nobody has been using it but me. I still have my signatory on all the official documents.”

    The election, according to the Adamawa-born Kazai, is null and void because he applied for an injunction restraining CAN from conducting the exercise from an Abuja High Court.

    The original summons, the YOWICAN helmsman said was signed for by National Secretary of CAN, Rev Musa Asake as well as the National Director of Education, Women and Youth Development, Elder Biodun Sanyaolu.

    “They should be aware that as long as there is a case in court, all actions must be suspended until it is dispensed it. It is sad to note that CAN officials who should mirror justice and fairness can sign for a court document and still go ahead with the exercise in defiance,” Kazai stated.

    He alleged certain forces in the apex Christian body are bent on imposing people they can use for their clandestine plans ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    “They want to get me out of the way for someone they can use. They want to use CAN structure to make money from politicians next year,” he alleged.

    But Andy told our correspondents Kazai is fighting a lost battle for himself. “The truth is he is alone. He is the only one that has refused to hand over. His secretary and assistant have handed over, including others.

    “They even took us to the CAN President on Wednesday for introduction as the new YOWICAN executives. So, he is on his own and fighting for himself. Others have officially handed over to us.

    “I have my office and so do other executives. The same Kazai has a history of leaving every post he held with rancor. He did the same when he was YOWICAN chairman in Nasarawa,” Andy stated.

    A festering wound

    Checks by our correspondent revealed the troubles with YOWICAN started in 2014 when national election was called for. Barrister Samuel Kwamkur, the leading presidential candidate, was coasting home but forces within his ECWA/TEKAN bloc denied him nomination.

    On Election Day, ECWA/TEKAN delegates met and decided to nominate Kazai to represent the bloc. Kwamkur, who had the backings of many outside his bloc, realised he had failed a basic requirement to stand for election: bloc nomination.

    Kazai was massively voted but Kwamkur, a lawyer, headed to court, a development that embarrassed the CAN leadership and forced many peace meetings.

    At the end of the interventions, an out-of-court settlement was arrived at, an arrangement that leapfrogged Kwamkur to his current office as National Legal Adviser.

    Kazai was eventually sworn in on November 11, 2015, few months after the other executive members have started operations in January. It is on the basis of the inauguration date that he is contesting the length of his tenure, arguing it has been cut short by almost 11 months.

    Investigations revealed his fate was sealed at the last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of CAN in Abuja where the National Director of Education, Women and Youth Development, Elder Biodun Sanyaolu, presented a memo that was accepted by the house.

    The memo, insiders confided, requested for a go-ahead for the exercise after the adoption of the 37-year-old limit for candidates.

    Kazai, it was learnt, avoided the meeting knowing he would have no influence whatsoever in the final decision.

    Penultimate Wednesday, Sanyaolu followed up with a private memo to CAN President, His Eminence Rev Dr Supo Ayokunle.

    The memo, obtained by our correspondent, reads: “Your Eminence Sir,

    “I humbly wish to inform you of the following as regards the coming YOWICAN election:

    “a. This afternoon, we received a notice of originating summons filed by Dan Kazai whereby he has applied for an injunction to restrain CAN from conducting the election of Saturday 27th January. The case is to be heard on Tue 31st January at the High court in Abuja. No injunction order yet pls.

    “b. We have completed the screening of the candidates. Out of the three candidates for the Chairmanship, the one nominated by CPFN/PFN has been disqualified on the ground that he’s 8months above 37years which is the age limit as approved by NEC.

    “c. Following the publication of Guardian of 24th January, page 6 wherein, Dan Kazai claimed that the leadership of CAN has been given 5bn and has adopted PMB for a 2nd term, and that he’s the only one that opposed the adoption; a reason why we want to conduct election 10months into the end of his tenure, in order to punish him. I met with Senator Phillip from Nasarawa to explain the whole story and to debunk the falsehood.

    “After due consultation with the Director Legal, we are informing you of our decision to conduct the election as approved by NEC.

    Many thanks for your support sir.”

    Brewing troubles

    Andy’s initial suspension was upturned by the screening committee, much to the annoyance of Sanyaolu, findings revealed.

    Also, NEC was alleged to have accepted the proposal by Sanyaolu that YOWICAN presidency should be based on rotation to mitigate disputes.

    The Organisation of African Instituted Church (OAIC) and Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) were the only two blocs yet to have a shot at the youth presidency.

    But this too was ditched few hours to the election. Realising two vital components of his memo had been tampered with, a visibly angry left Abuja on the morning of the election for his base in Lagos.

    He was reported to have told people he would have nothing to do with the election, claiming some forces were out to manipulate the process.

    Without the National Director constitutionally empowered to conduct the election, the lot fell on Committee members of the Directorate to take over.

    Two out of the five-man committee, it was gathered, decided the election would go. They carried out the exercise that produced a winner with Andy scoring over 50 votes.

    Sanyaolu, it was learnt, resigned his appointment as National Director last week deeply touched by the sudden changes without his inputs in the exercise.

    A competent source told our correspondent Sanyaolu presented his letter to Ayokunle in Lagos during a parley with OAIC National leaders.

    Pleas by Ayokunle on him to consider the backlashes of such move did not yield efforts. Sanyaolu told our correspondent last Friday that he refused to conduct the election because the guideline stating contestants must be 37 years was not followed religiously.

    “I am a sticker for rules and democrat. The rule says a contestant must be 37 but the disqualified candidate was 37 years and eight months. In that circumstance, he shouldn’t have been in the race.”

    He however said he would present Andy as winner of the election to the NEC meeting this week in Abuja. “I have nothing against him. I will present him to NEC. If they say 37 is the same as being 37 and eight months, that’s fine by me.”

    Sanyaolu confirmed his resignation was upturned by the OAIC bloc that elected him for the directorate, stating that he had no choice than to follow the dictates of his bloc.

    Echoes of discord

    Aside from the resignation of Sanyaolu, checks revealed the disputed YOWICAN presidential election has further deepened the crisis of confidence in the umbrella Christian body.

    National Secretary of the body, Rev Musa Asake, told our correspondent that he wouldn’t be able to say much because he has been sidelined in the affairs of the organisation.

    “I don’t get to know much of what happens these days again in CAN. I have been here since 2012 but since the new leadership came on board, it has been more or less a one-man show.

    “Nobody told me what happened during the election officially because the Director said he wouldn’t report to me. They all report directly to the President, even when the constitution says it has to be to the National Secretary.

    “So, I am just here more or less a ceremonial secretary because I don’t know much of what happens at the secretariat again,” he stressed.

    The Vice President of CAN, Elder Professor Joseph Otubu, in a memo to some selected church leaders, also alleged imposition of candidates in the just-concluded exercise, describing it unconstitutional.

    In the memo, Otubu said: “I want to draw your attention to a just concluded youth election for the position of Chairman of YOWICAN.

    ‘The candidate of PFN for the election was disqualified on the basis of age limit but Rev Onifade (Senior Special Assistant to CAN President on Ecumenism) insisted that the candidate must be allowed to run for the election.

    “In reaction to Onifade’s insistence, Elder Sanyolu who is the Director of Youth in CAN resigned his position and did not take part in the election.

    “The duo of Ayokunle/ Onifade allowed the election to take place and the candidate from PFN emerged as winner of this unconstitutional election.

    “My concern is why a young man will spend so much money to render service as Chairman of YOWICAN? When did money become the most important thing to church leaders?

    “As it stands now Christians have been brought to believe that CAN elections are heavily monetised and whoever has a very deep pocket can emerge winner. I can longer see the difference between the behaviour of politicians and Christian leaders in CAN.

    “When we talk of CAN leaders today, Onifade literally runs CAN with the Confidential Secretary (Mrs. Eunice Araoye). How can a Confidential Secretary that was appropriated by Rev Ayokunle literally take on the position of a General Secretary?

    “So when we refer to CAN leadership as it stands today, it is Ayokunle, Onifade, the Treasurer and the confidential secretary.”

    When contacted, Senior Special Assistant on Media to Ayokunle, Rev Bayo Oladeji, denied all the allegations against the CAN President, saying they were handiworks of disgruntled elements afraid of the reforms being carried out by the number one Christian citizen.

    “He has nothing to do with the election. He was not even in the country when the exercise took place.

    “As a democrat, he allowed the Director to present his memo to NEC, which was exhaustively deliberated. He merely allowed what NEC decided to take effect.

    “He has no interest in who becomes YOWICAN President because he has more serious issues to attend to,” he stated.

  • YOWICAN disputed presidential election tears CAN apart

    YOWICAN disputed presidential election tears CAN apart

    The past few weeks have been quite stormy for leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria(CAN) following emerging developments over the disputed election of the youth wing of the body, reports Sunday Oguntola 

    Top officials of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) are at loggerheads over the leadership crisis rocking the youth wing of the body (YOWICAN).

    The leadership crisis, which started as far back as January 2015, escalated penultimate Saturday with the election of a new executive council without the consent and handover of the outgoing executives.

    YOWICAN’s outgoing president, Engr. Dan Kazai, faulted the election on the ground that his tenure was still running. According to him, since he was inaugurated on November 2015, his three-year tenure should end by November 2018.

    Kazai told our correspondent last week the election that produced Apostle Nyeneime Andy of the Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria/Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (CPFN/PFN) bloc is an illegality that will not stand.

    He declared himself the substantive YOWICAN president, saying he couldn’t have been succeeded since he did not hand over. Kazai said: “I am still in office because I have not handed over. I still run my office and nobody has been using it but me. I still have my signatory on all the official documents.”

    The election, according to the Adamawa-born Kazai, is null and void because he applied for an injunction restraining CAN from conducting the exercise from an Abuja High Court. The original summons, the YOWICAN helmsman said was signed for by National Secretary of CAN, Rev Musa Asake as well as the National Director of Education, Women and Youth Development, Elder Biodun Sanyaolu.

    “They should be aware that as long as there is a case in court, all actions must be suspended until it is dispensed it. It is sad to note that CAN officials who should mirror justice and fairness can sign for a court document and still go ahead with the exercise in defiance,” Kazai stated.

    He alleged certain forces in the apex Christian body are bent on imposing people they can use for their clandestine plans ahead of the 2019 general elections. “They want to get me out of the way for someone they can use. They want to use CAN structure to make money from politicians next year,” he alleged.

    But Andy told our correspondents Kazai is fighting a lost battle for himself. “The truth is he is alone. He is the only one that has refused to hand over. His secretary and assistant have handed over, including others.

    “They even took us to the CAN President on Wednesday for introduction as the new YOWICAN executives. So, he is on his own and fighting for himself. Others have officially handed over to us.

    “I have my office and so do other executives. The same Kazai has a history of leaving every post he held with rancor. He did the same when he was YOWICAN chairman in Nasarawa,” Andy stated.

    A festering wound

    Checks by our correspondent revealed the troubles with YOWICAN started in 2014 when national election was called for. Barrister Samuel Kwamkur, the leading presidential candidate, was coasting home but forces within his ECWA/TEKAN bloc denied him nomination.

    On Election Day, ECWA/TEKAN delegates met and decided to nominate Kazai to represent the bloc. Kwamkur, who had the backings of many outside his bloc, realised he had failed a basic requirement to stand for election: bloc nomination.

    Kazai was massively voted but Kwamkur, a lawyer, headed to court, a development that embarrassed the CAN leadership and forced many peace meetings. At the end of the interventions, an out-of-court settlement was arrived at, an arrangement that leapfrogged Kwamkur to his current office as National Legal Adviser.

    Kazai was eventually sworn in on November 11, 2015, few months after the other executive members have started operations in January. It is on the basis of the inauguration date that he is contesting the length of his tenure, arguing it has been cut short by almost 11 months.

    Investigations revealed his fate was sealed at the last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of CAN in Abuja where the National Director of Education, Women and Youth Development, Elder Biodun Sanyaolu, presented a memo that was accepted by the house. The memo, insiders confided, requested for a go-ahead for the exercise after the adoption of the 37-year-old limit for candidates.

    Kazai, it was learnt, avoided the meeting knowing he would have no influence whatsoever in the final decision. Penultimate Wednesday, Sanyaolu followed up with a private memo to CAN President, His Eminence Rev Dr Supo Ayokunle.

    The memo, obtained by our correspondent, reads: “Your Eminence Sir,

    “I humbly wish to inform you of the following as regards the coming YOWICAN election:

    “a. This afternoon, we received a notice of originating summons filed by Dan Kazai whereby he has applied for an injunction to restrain CAN from conducting the election of Saturday 27th January. The case is to be heard on Tue 31st January at the High court in Abuja. No injunction order yet pls.

    “b. We have completed the screening of the candidates. Out of the three candidates for the Chairmanship, the one nominated by CPFN/PFN has been disqualified on the ground that he’s 8months above 37years which is the age limit as approved by NEC.

    “c. Following the publication of Guardian of 24th January, page 6 wherein, Dan Kazai claimed that the leadership of CAN has been given 5bn and has adopted PMB for a 2nd term, and that he’s the only one that opposed the adoption; a reason why we want to conduct election 10months into the end of his tenure, in order to punish him. I met with Senator Phillip from Nasarawa to explain the whole story and to debunk the falsehood.

    “After due consultation with the Director Legal, we are informing you of our decision to conduct the election as approved by NEC.

    Many thanks for your support sir.”

    Brewing troubles

    Andy’s initial suspension was upturned by the screening committee, much to the annoyance of Sanyaolu, findings revealed. Also, NEC was alleged to have accepted the proposal by Sanyaolu that YOWICAN presidency should be based on rotation to mitigate disputes.

    The Organisation of African Instituted Church (OAIC) and Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) were the only two blocs yet to have a shot at the youth presidency. But this too was ditched few hours to the election. Realising two vital components of his memo had been tampered with, a visibly angry left Abuja on the morning of the election for his base in Lagos.

    He was reported to have told people he would have nothing to do with the election, claiming some forces were out to manipulate the process. Without the National Director constitutionally empowered to conduct the election, the lot fell on Committee members of the Directorate to take over.

    Two out of the five-man committee, it was gathered, decided the election would go. They carried out the exercise that produced a winner with Andy scoring over 50 votes. Sanyaolu, it was learnt, resigned his appointment as National Director last week deeply touched by the sudden changes without his inputs in the exercise. A competent source told our correspondent Sanyaolu presented his letter to Ayokunle in Lagos during a parley with OAIC National leaders.

    Pleas by Ayokunle on him to consider the backlashes of such move did not yield efforts. Aside from the resignation of Sanyaolu, checks revealed the disputed YOWICAN presidential election has further deepened the crisis of confidence in the umbrella Christian body.

    Echoes of discord

    National Secretary of the body, Rev Musa Asake, told our correspondent that he wouldn’t be able to say much because he has been sidelined in the affairs of the organisation. “I don’t get to know much of what happens these days again in CAN. I have been here since 2012 but since the new leadership came on board, it has been more or less a one-man show.

    “Nobody told me what happened during the election officially because the Director said he wouldn’t report to me. They all report directly to the President, even when the constitution says it has to be to the National Secretary. So, I am just here more or less a ceremonial secretary because I don’t know much of what happens at the secretariat again,” he stressed.

    The Vice President of CAN, Elder Professor Joseph Otubu, in a memo to some selected church leaders, also alleged imposition of candidates in the just-concluded exercise, describing it unconstitutional.

    In the memo, Otubu said: “I want to draw your attention to a just concluded youth election for the position of Chairman of YOWICAN. The candidate of PFN for the election was disqualified on the basis of age limit but Rev Onifade(Senior Special Assistant to CAN President on Ecumenism) insisted that the candidate must be allowed to run for the election.

    “In reaction to Onifade’s insistence, Elder Sanyolu who is the Director of Youth in CAN resigned his position and did not take part in the election. The duo of Ayokunle/ Onifade allowed the election to take place and the candidate from PFN emerged as winner of this unconstitutional election.

    “My concern is why a young man will spend so much money to render service as Chairman of YOWICAN? When did money become the most important thing to church leaders?

    “As it stands now Christians have been brought to believe that CAN elections are heavily monetised and whoever has a very deep pocket can emerge winner. I can longer see the difference between the behaviour of politicians and Christian leaders in CAN.

    “When we talk of CAN leaders today, Onifade literally runs CAN with the Confidential Secretary (Mrs. Eunice Araoye). How can a Confidential Secretary that was appropriated by Rev Ayokunle literally take on the position of a General Secretary? So when we refer to CAN leadership as it stands today, it is Ayokunle, Onifade, the Treasurer and the confidential secretary.”

    When contacted, Senior Special Assistant on Media to Ayokunle, Rev Bayo Oladeji, denied all the allegations against the CAN President, saying they were handiworks of disgruntled elements afraid of the reforms being carried out by the number one Christian citizen.

    “He has nothing to do with the election. He was not even in the country when the exercise took place. As a democrat, he allowed the Director to present his memo to NEC, which was exhaustively deliberated. He merely allowed what NEC decided to take effect. He has no interest in who becomes YOWICAN President because he has more serious issues to attend to,” he stated.

  • Gov Dickson, PDP and presidential election

    Gov Dickson, PDP and presidential election

    IN a statement last Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media, Governor Seriake Dickson suggested to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was about to conduct its national convention yesterday, not to focus entirely on the convention but to shift their gaze in the direction of recapturing the presidency in 2019. The convention, he advised, must be seen as a means to an end. According to him: “…And let me use this opportunity to caution our party leaders across the country. I hope we are not focusing too much on this convention instead of focusing on winning federal power. I think we should be strategic and focused and think of how to get an acceptable candidate through a fair process for all the zones; in a process that is open to all the three zones of the North so that we can get somebody who would have the support to win the presidency for us. That is the key thing. So, I advise that people should not see the forthcoming national convention as an end in itself. People should see it rather as a means to an end. Nevertheless, the convention is important because we need to get it right; the process itself must be right and the outcome should also be acceptable so that we can now move to the next stage.”

    Why Mr Dickson interpreted his party’s frenzied moves to conduct a successful national elective convention as being too preoccupied with it to the detriment of the 2019 presidential election is difficult to tell. While it is true that the party is consumed by a desire to make the convention successful, and was even more captivated by the dynamics of zoning and electing its chairman, it is even truer that everything party leaders and members did before the convention was predicated on the 2019 polls rather than merely conducting a successful convention. That objective was plain to everybody to see, including the Bayelsa State governor, had he looked more closely.

    Even if Mr Dickson misread what should be his party’s priority, prematurely talking of producing an acceptable standard-bearer for the presidential election when that process was still about a year away, he was nevertheless right to argue that the convention should be seen as a means to an end, and that their success in the coming polls must be anchored on a successful convention outcome. But, like all PDP leaders, Mr Dickson is also obsessed with the 2019 presidential poll and desperate to get the party back in Aso Villa. Yet, neither he nor any other PDP leader has spoken of the purpose of ‘reclaiming’ Aso Villa, nor of the lessons learnt in losing the coveted seat.

    They have ignored the salient issues of national vision, national ambition, and national ideology. For the 16 years they occupied the presidential office, they did not seem perturbed by the laxity they showed in pursuing great national, awe-inspiring goals, nor penitent about their appalling misuse of power, nor yet crushed by the obvious fact that they left the country poorer and more chaotic than they met it. Now, they are desperate to return to Aso Villa without the mortifying agency of the introspection and remorse necessary to remake and renew the country.

    This piece was written a day before the PDP convention. It is not clear whether among the grand speeches at the convention some speakers would be heard to reflect on what the party did wrong in office and how to redress that wrong and strategise their way into office. It is also not clear whether the new chairman, who will be the most powerful man in the party for as long as the PDP would not be in Aso Villa, would mastermind the rediscovery of the party’s self-confidence and inner strength, and put the machinery in motion to reform and reclaim public confidence in the party’s platform and ideology.

    If the party was preoccupied with the convention before yesterday, it was simply to ensure they got it right. But what they do thereafter to reposition the party to winning ways is even more strategic than the elementary mechanics of conducting a convention. After all, every potential standard-bearer, who by the way will not emerge until another convention sometime next year, would be interested in who won the chairmanship election.

    For the PDP to reclaim any good image it thought it had, it must first occupy itself with the methods and processes of remaking the party to engage with the electorate. That reengagement will not happen simply because the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has not quite met the expectations of the people. It will happen for other different reasons. For in the final analysis, the electorate will sensibly juxtapose the misdeeds of the PDP in their 16 years in office with the alleged disappointment caused by the APC in its about three years in office. It is unlikely that the electorate will see a fair comparison between 16 and three. The only way the PDP can stand a chance is to prove that it has learnt major lessons from its loss and is more than ready, with proof of its contrition, to reconnect with the electorate.

  • Lawyer urges other African court’s to emulate Kenya

    Lawyer urges other African court’s to emulate Kenya

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Sebastine Hon has commended the Kenya Supreme Court for exhibiting rare courage in nullifying the country’s last presidential election.

    Hon said the decision by Kenya’s highest court was not only a celebration of the rule of law, but an indication that democratic tradition was gradually taking root in the continent.

    He urged the Judiciary in other African countries to emulate the display of bravery on the part of the Kenya Judiciary.

    Hon said: “Recent happenings on the political landscape of Africa, including the defeat of a sitting President – Goodluck Jonathan – and his voluntary concession of defeat – all point to the fact that there is a positive upswing in African political thinking.

    “And with the pronouncement of the Kenyan Supreme Court, I think Africans are beginning to think out of the box now.

    “The trend is most welcome and should spread like wild harmattan fire across Africa.

    “Wake me up in the middle of the night; I will still be celebrating this victory for not just democracy, but also the rule of law, in Africa. It is an emerging trend that must be supported by all persons of good will,” Hon said.

  • 2019 presidential election to hold Feb 16- INEC

    2019 presidential election to hold Feb 16- INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Feb. 16, 2019 for Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    Similarly, Governorship, State Assembly and Federal Capital Territory Area Councils polls will hold on March 2, 2019.

    Mr Solomon Soyebi, National Commissioner of the commission in charge of publicity, made this known on Thursday in Abuja at a news conference.

    He said that fixing of the dates was part of efforts by INEC to standardise and ensure certainty of timetable for general elections in the country.

    Soyebi gave instances that in the US, general elections always held on the second Tuesday of November in the election year.

    And, in Ghana, according to him, it is Dec. 7 of election year, while in other places like Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Costa Rica and Switzerland, the dates are also known in advance.

    “In Nigeria, the Constitution provides for the elections to hold not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days to the end of the incumbent’s tenure.

    “In order to ensure certainty in our dates for elections, and to allow proper planning by the commission, it has fixed date for national elections for the third Saturday in February of the election year.

    “This will be followed by state elections two weeks later. Political parties, security agencies, candidates and all stakeholders are advised to note the dates,’’ Soyebi said.

    He explained that the dates were the nearest to 100 days towards the end of the tenures of the incumbents.

    He added that for states with staggered elections, the dates for their elections would also be determined by the expiration of tenures of the incumbents.

    On the 23 electoral officers indicted over their roles in the Dec. 10, 2016 rerun legislative election in Rivers, Soyebi said that the officials had been charged to court.

    He said that the commission had also decided to apply the provisions of INEC Terms and Conditions of Service to all those charged to court, as the alleged offences constituted gross misconduct.

    “The penalty for this is interdiction. All the 23 electoral officers will be placed on half salary and will not report for duty pending the determination of their respective cases by the court,’’ he said.

    The commissioner added that the commission had also decided to defer its decision on the EFCC report in which some of its staff members were indicted of misconduct during the 2015 general elections.

    He said this was to enable the commission to reconcile the EFCC report with its Disciplinary Committee report on the indicted workers as some of them were already part of those charged to court on the Rivers elections.
    Soyebi confirmed the receipt of applications for the registration of Advanced Peoples Democratic Party (APDP) and other 83 political associations seeking registration as political parties.
    “As at the last count, the commission has received 84 applications from political associations demanding registration.

    “The applications are at various levels of processes of registration,’’ he said. (NAN)

  • Ghana: Akufo-Addo wins presidential election

    Ghana: Akufo-Addo wins presidential election

    •President Mohama concedes, congratulates president-elect

    Crowds of jubilant supporters gathered outside the house of the 72-year-old New Patriotic Party (NPP) leader, Mr. Nana Akufo-Addo, on Friday night as he was declared winner of Ghana’s Presidential Election that day, defeating President John Dramani Mahama.
    The jubilation spread across the streets of Accra and beyond yesterday as President Mahama conceded defeat to the former Foreign Affairs Minister and leader of the main opposition, who was making his third bid for the top job.
    Electoral umpire, Osei, said Akufo-Addo defeated President Mahama by 53.8 percent to 44.4 percent.
    “It is my duty and my privilege to declare Nana Akufo-Addo as the president-elect of Ghana,” she told a news conference in the capital, Accra, on Friday.
    Prior to Osei’s announcement, Akufo-Addo said on Twitter that Mahama called him “congratulating me on winning the 2016 presidential election”.
    “I make this solemn pledge to you tonight: I will not let you down. I will do all in my power to live up to your hopes and expectations,” Akufo-Addo told supporters in front of his residence.
    Al Jazeera quoted the president-elect as saying, “The expectations they have of me, that I’m gonna bring them a new government, a new style; a government of honesty, a government that is concerned about the welfare of our people – that basic commitment is the one I am determined to fulfill.”