The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pro-Buhari group

  • Onnoghen’s resignation: PDP should hide their face in shame, says pro Buhari group

    The Buhari Media Organisation on Monday lashes out at the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over their support for the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, asking them and their leaders to go hide their face in shame after Justice Onnoghen tendered his resignation letter over corruption allegations.

    In a statement signed by its Coordinator, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, the pro Buhari group said it is funny that the opposition elements and their allies stood firmly behind a senior judicial officer that was facing serious charges and sought to make political capital out of it.

    He said that the resignation of the former Chief Justice has proven that President Buhari has proved that he acted in national interest by suspending the tainted Chief Justice, saying “Nigerians all saw the manner PDP and its leaders, including its former Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, ran from pillar to post before the election in a bid to defend Justice Onnoghen.

    “The party leaders even suspended their flagging Presidential campaign at that time for 72 hours! Just to be seen to be fighting perceived injustice, but discerning Nigerians knew they were playing to the gallery.

    “They were quick to shout political witch-hunt to the high heavens and that was in spite of the overwhelming evidence which they insisted on not interrogating because the CJN’s suspension tallied with the wrong impression of a dictatorial government that PDP was keen on selling to the electorates in the run up to the election.

    “We were also not surprised that another key PDP leader, the usurper Senate President Bukola Saraki, attempted to drag the Senate into it until the All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus which had a clear majority shot it down.

    “We won’t also forget PDP governors in the South-South region in the hall of infamy, especially as they encouraged the man who was at the time the custodian of the nation’s law not to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).”

    “And now that Onnoghen has done what he should have done in the first instance rather than engage in judicial rigmarole, does it not amount to a smear on what is left of the character of these PDP elements. All these prove that PDP is still what it is-a party that supports and glorifies corruption”.

    According to them, President Muhammadu Buhari also deserves an apology from a segment of the civil society who castigated him for suspending Justice Onnoghen on the basis of a valid order from the CCT.

    The group said: “We at BMO have every reason to demand an apology on the President’s behalf from everyone, including the latter-day rights activists who were actually paid hacks, and the real ones who failed in their duties to hold people in government accountable.

    “These are the people that used the traditional and social media to whip up enough sentiments that some members of the international community bought the lies and took the unusual step of upbraiding the Presidency in a move that amounted to interference in the country’s internal affairs.

    “The positive take away from this is that those who made genuine mistakes in misreading the situation would now see President Buhari from our own perspective as one who acts always in national interest, no matter whose ox is gored”.

  • APC chairmanship: Pro-Buhari group roots for Oshiomhole

    A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Abia State and  Director-General of the Buhari Southeast Youth Movement (BUSEYM), Engr. Nwabueze Onwuneme, has declared support for Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s emergence as the National Chairman of APC in the forthcoming national convention.

    Speaking when he visited the Comrade Oshiomhole Campaign Organisation office in Abuja, Onwuneme stated that the party desperately needs Oshiomhole, who he described as a steadfast progressive, nationalists, mobiliser, a man of good conscience and above all a man who greatly and positively distinguished himself credibly on various national and state assignments such as his leadership of the NLC and governor of Edo State where he left indelible marks of achievements.

    Onwuneme stated that the party greatly needs the leadership and result-oriented qualities Oshiomhole is known for to lead the party to victory in the forthcoming 2019 election and continuous good standing of the party in the future.

    He charged the delegates to vote massively for Oshiomhole. Onwuneme also promised to mobilise the youths and the women of the Southeast zone to support Oshiomhole now and after his emergence as the chairman of the party.

  • Pro-Buhari group to Saraki: why our ban cannot stand

    Senators to ‘stand by’ Omo-Agege

    Fear over Adamu’s likely suspension

    Despite being banned, the Parliamentary Support Group (PSG) is spoiling for a fight with the Senate leadership.

    The PSG, which is backing President Muhammadu Buhari on the order of elections, said yesterday that its ban could only stand, if similar groups in the Senate were banned. It was learnt that 20 governors are behind the group.

    Some members of the group’s Strategic Committee, who met in Abuja yesterday, said it would ask Senate President Bukola Saraki to disband groups like the Like Minds, Northern Senators Forum (NSF) and others. The Like Minds facilitated Saraki’s emergence as Senate President about three years ago in defiance of the directive of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The PSG, which is considering a six-point plan, resolved to reconvene on Wednesday. It said it would  stand by its secretary, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who was suspended last Thursday.

    A member of the Strategic Committee, who spoke in confidence, said the PSG would not be disbanded.

    The source said: “We are not going to disband it because the Senate did not form it for us. The freedom of association is guaranteed in our Constitution, the freedom of speech is also guaranteed. It is a matter of interest.

    “If not for groups like this, the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, won’t have emerged as our president. When we formed the Like Minds Group, we disrespected the directive of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to elect him as the Senate president.

    “We have resolved to ask the Senate leadership to let us start by disbanding the Like Minds Group, the Northern Senators Forum  and other groups in order to create a level-playing ground for all. Look, the Northern Senators Forum is even more discriminatory than PSG”.

    On the allegation that the PSG was trying to create a parallel organ in the Senate, the source said: “We are no threat to the president of the Senate because we are not plotting against him, we have no plan to impeach him. Nobody can use us against him.

    “We do not  meet in the Senate, we always meet in somebody’s house. We have never announced any plan on the floor. Even when we were collecting signatures to oppose the plan to override President Muhammadu Buhari’s veto on the sequence of elections, we were usually going to somebody’s house to sign”.

    Responding to a question, the source added: “We will continue to meet. We have fixed a meeting for Wednesday and the Strategic Committee will hold a session on Sunday ( yesterday).”

    A ranking Senator in PSG listed the six-point plan as follows:

    • Ensure the passage of 2018 Budget
    • Block plans to override the President’s veto on order of elections
    • Push for the confirmation of nominees for some public offices which was withheld by the Senate
    • Pass vote of confidence on the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu.
    • Give full support to Senator Ovie Omo-Agege in his legal battle to regain his seat.
    • Continue to support President Muhammadu Buhari.

    On the sequence of the 2019 elections, the source said: “We are doing our best to block the plot to override the President’s veto and 20 governors are behind us.

    “And if the Senate wants the reintroduced bill on sequence of elections to go for second reading, we are battle ready because it is in bad faith. Do not forget that they have to take it back to Mr. President.”

    Another member of the group gave insights into what happened in the Senate before Omo-Agege was suspended.

    The source said: “It was really unfortunate that Senator Omo-Agege was suspended. In fairness, a principal officer had intervened  and assured PSG members that he will prevail on the leadership to accept the Senator’s apology.

    “He said he was guaranteeing that Omo- Agege will not be suspended. We met on Wednesday before he was suspended on our line of action and we sent to  the said principal officer to the Senate leadership to remove it from the Order Paper.

    “Even when Omo-Agege saw the issue of his suspension on the Order Paper, he tried to reach out to the said principal officer without access.”

    Asked of the next step, the source said: “We are already in court, the suspension is illegal and subjudice.

    “The Senate does not have a right to suspend any member for expressing his views. It is only in the standing order to suspend a member who is unruly on the floor but not for more than two weeks.

    “There is a subsisting judgement that the Senate cannot suspend a member for expressing opinion because the right of expression is guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.

    “There is a subsisting court judgement in favour of Senator Ali Ndume which says that you cannot suspend a Senator for a day for expressing his views. The Senate has  gone on appeal and there is no stay of execution of the judgement till date. So, it was illegal to suspend Omo-Agege.

    “Under the guise of the rule of law, some senators run to the court when it is about their interest but when they come to the Senate, they turn the rule of law upside down and come up with different interpretations.

    “Most Nigerians do not know that the report of the committee which the Senate used to suspend Senator Omo-Agege was  signed by six out of 16 members of the panel. And all of the members except two are from an opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”

    There were fears over the likely suspension of the former NSF Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

    A quiet member of the PSG said: “We learnt the report on Senator Adamu is ready and it might be tabled this week.

    “From all indications, Senator Adamu might also be suspended for expressing his views. But the tyranny of the gavel will not last.”

     

  • Senate: Fresh row over ban on pro-Buhari group

    Some federal law-makers elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are angry with the leadership of the Senate over its decision to disband a pro-Buhari group as part of the conditions for suspending Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.

    The APC lawmakers believe that the Senate leadership headed by an APC party member is being unnecessarily harsh on fellow party members who make up the pro-Buhari group, especially in the crucial months leading to the 2019 elections.

    The lawmakers, The Nation gathered yesterday, met on Friday to review recent events in the Red Chambers of the National Assembly and could not understand why the Senate leadership seems to be targeting APC members for sanctions.

    They reportedly questioned why Senate President Bukola Saraki allowed the suspension of Omo-Agege of the APC to go through despite the intervention of the party’s leadership and other prominent chieftains in the matter.

    “It is even more insulting to all of us as APC members to be told that a pro-Buhari group must be disbanded for Omo-Agege to return to the Senate,” a source at the meeting said.

    “We are amazed that in an election year, our own party man is allowing the opposition to get the better of our party by suspending our members and calling on us to stop supporting our President openly.

    “It is becoming too much and we have resolved to resist it all. The APC caucus in the national assembly is divided over this matter but those of us with Omo-Agege are determined to go all the way.”

    The Nation learnt that the legislators have resolved to approach the national leadership of the APC once again to urgently intervene in the matter while they await the return of President Buhari from his current overseas trip.

    “The meeting agreed that we should once again formally invite the leadership of the party to intervene while we wait for the President to come back. He is the leader of the party, so we will also report the matter to him as part of the initial formalities.

    “We also resolved to approach other party organs like the National Reconciliation Committee headed by our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. We believe it is time to put some things on record because we will resist the continued garrison-like administration of the senate. So, it is important for it to be seen that we exhausted all possibilities before taking drastic actions.”

    A senator from Ogun State who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ‘sins’ being counted  against Omo-Agege and others are largely based on their support for President Buhari and wondered when it became an offense to stand up and speak in favour of the President on the floor of the senate or even outside the chamber.

    “Though not everybody is brave enough to be part of this I can tell you that the majority of APC legislators are not happy with all these. Soon, they will all find their voices,” he said.

    Senator Omo-Agege was last Thursday suspended for ninety days by the Senate over his comment that the amendment to the Electoral Act 2010 to reorder the sequence of polls in a general election was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari.

    One of the conditions given by the Senate for his recall is the dissolution of the pro-President Muhammadu Buhari group in the Senate.

    “Also, we note that as part of the resolution of the issues, the Senate President, Distinguished Senator Bukola Saraki ruled that the Parliamentary Support Group, PSG, (Senate) for President Muhammadu Buhari should be disbanded. This should be a matter for the over 50 members of PSG to decide, possibly with President Buhari on whose behalf they openly work as Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic,”  the source said.