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Tag: reconcile

  • Party to reconcile Kwankwaso, Shekarau

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership has begun moves to reconcile all feuding members of the party, particularly Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau.

    Shekarau is a founding member of the APC, while Kwankwaso recently left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    With his defection, Kwankwaso is automatically the party leader in his capacity as governor in accordance with the APC constitution.

    Despite the provisions of the APC constitution, Shakarau insisted that he is the party leader, because, according to him, he was a former presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), which gives him an edge over Kwankwaso.

    In an interview at the Kano Press Centre yesterday, an APC chieftain, Farouk Adamu Aliyu, said the party leadership is determined to reconcile all feuding members.

    Aliyu said the APC has resolved to put its house in order before the 2015 general elections, hence it has constituted a mediation team to reconcile and unite members.

    He said this is to actualise its ambition to effect a change of leadership, particularly at the party’s formative stages.

    “This is the time for us to put our house in order before the epic battle of 2015.”

    Aliyu expressed optimism that the APC would emerge victorious, so as to have the opportunity to transform Nigeria.

  • Suntai, Nyame reconcile

    After over six years of frosty relationship, recuperating Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai and his predecessor, Jolly Nyame, have reconciled.

    The reunion officially came at the weekend in the governor’s living room at the Government House, Jalingo.

    It was an emotional scene. A few onlookers were in tears –tears of joy, seeing Suntai and Nyame hugging after years of acrimony.

    Among the audience was Suntai’s Chief Press Secretary Hassan Mijinyawa, who said “it was a wonderful moment that the people of Taraba had prayed for.”

    A clip of the reunion was aired on the local Taraba Television (TTV).

    Suntai became governor, following the disqualification of Danladi Baido, who was Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in 2007. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who reportedly orchestrated the disqualification, asked Nyame to shop for a substitute and Nyame brought Suntai outside the ring of contenders.

    The trio – Nyame, Baido and Suntai – worked together to secure victory for the governor. But having won the election, the relationship between the governor and his benefactor became awry.

    The feud festered to a point that Suntai and Nyame could not greet or see eye-to-eye. Efforts to reconcile them failed.

    Suntai, who was re-elected for a second term, was injured when an aircraft he piloted crashed near Yola, Adamawa State, on October 25, last year.

    He spent 10 months in German and American hospitals before returning in August.

    Upon his return on August 25, Suntai wrote the House of Assembly on his readiness to resume duty. But he was stopped by the lawmakers on health grounds.

    Some of his new friends and political allies deserted him to for his deputy, Garba Umar.

    But Nyame, a cleric, refused to take his ‘pound of flesh’. He rose to Suntai’s defence, publicly opposing Umar and proclaiming his successor as fit to take charge.

    In the governor’s palour, Nyame held Suntai’s hand, thanking God for Suntai’s recovery and for the reconciliation. He also prayed for peace and development in the state.

    Nyame said: “This is the best time for me to come; it is the time God has provided for us to reconcile.

    “I have been watching; we can be together now, because the people who made us parted ways are no longer with you (Suntai).”

    According to the former governor, Suntai will “very soon” return to office.

    Suntai asked everyone he may have offended, to forgive him.

    He said Nyame remains the political leader of Taraba and praised him for “making Taraba what it is today.”

    “If not for your (Nyame’s) foundation, my administration wouldn’t have provided the amenities it is being commended for,” Suntai said.

    A prelude to the reunion began penultimate Sunday, when Nyame and Suntai worshipped at the same church.

    For following Suntai and Nyame to the church, the Head of Service, Augustine Bazing and the Chairman, Universal Basic Education (UBE) board, Bubajoda Mafindi were sacked by Umar.

  • Akwa Ibom 2015: Umana, senator reconcile

    The former Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government (SSG), Umana Umana and the Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Benin, Senator Effiong Bob, were at the weekend forced to reconcile their political differences.

    Umana was sacked by Governor Godswill Akpabio after he was alleged to have declared intention to contest the 2015 governorship poll, an allegation the former SSG denied.

    Bob, who is aspiring to the Senate for the third consecutive time to represent Uyo, was said to have been allegedly stopped by Umana’s political clan.

    The two top politicians are from Nsit Ubium Local Government.

    The duo were brought together by Apostle Isaiah Isong, at Ikot Edibon, the headquarters of Nsit Ubium Local Government during the constituency briefing by the member representing Nsit Ubium in the House of Assembly, Onofiok Luke.

    Isong, kneeling down and asking Luke to do same on behalf of the two political heavyweights, appealed to them to forgive each other and forge ahead as brothers for the benefit of the people.

    Isong also urged the two to embrace as a mark of reconciliation.

    Umana said he accepted the act in good faith and thanked Isong and Luke for facilitating the reconciliation. Bob only said: “Praise the Lord”.

    Briefing his constituents after the reconciliation, Luke said in the more than two years he has been in the Assembly, his impact has been felt as he has sponsored five bills, two of which have been passed into law.

    The lawmaker said as chairman of the Appropriation Committee, he had overseen the appropriation of funds by the Assembly to the state.

    “With the spirited contribution of other members of the committee, the 2012 and 2013 appropriation and supplementary appropriation bills were passed and in time.”

    He listed a number of constituency projects he had attracted to sections of the local government. These include town halls, school blocks, market stalls and water projects.

    Luke presented N100, 000 each to 170 of his constituents, which included women, widows, the physically-challenged, men and youths with seed funds for business start-up; 10 new cars to groups from the constituency in the second phase of the constituency transport scheme, a new bus to the paramount ruler of the area and another new bus to the students’ body of the local government.

    His words: “Let me reassure of my commitment to delivering quality leadership to this constituency in my capacity as House of Assembly member. This commitment will, however, amount to nothing beneficial without your support.”

    The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Sam Ikon, hailed Luke for providing effective representation for his people and for being a dependable member in the House.

  • Group urges Fayemi, Bamidele to reconcile

    The Coalition of Oodua Self Determination Groups (COSEG) has urged Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and House of Representatives member Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele to reconcile in the interest of the progressive bloc in the state.

    The group also warned politicians not to plunge Ekiti State into chaos, ahead of the 2014 governorship election.

    COSEG’s warning came on the heel of the recent reports of disruption of political meetings, maiming and killings, accusations and counter-accusations between the two camps in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The group urged the supporters of the two politicians to embrace peace.

    COSEG warned in a statement by its Chairman, Mr. Dayo Ogunlana, and Secretary, Mr. Razaq Olokoba, that any crack in the wall may make the enemy of the progressives to plot evil.

    The group urged the two leaders to guide against any act that could cause irreparable damage to the polity and socio-economic life of the people of the state, in particular, and Yoruba nation in general.

    COSEG wondered why should two brothers from the same party, who have paid their dues in the struggle of the Yoruba people and Nigerians for democracy, could become political foes.

    The association advised them to sink their personal differences and work for the good of Ekitiland.

    The group said that the political rivalry should not be allowed to degenerate into the ugly rift between Chiefs Adekunle Ajasin and Akin Omoboriowo, which led to killing, maiming and wanton destruction of property in the old Ondo State.

    COSEG added: “Ekiti is not only a centre of knowledge well known for the industry, it is also an important epicenter of Yoruba politics. Any major crisis in Ekiti would definitely not augur well for the rest of Yoruba, particularly at this time when the grounds lost to political miscalculations about a decade ago have just been regained and are being consolidated.

    “It is on this note that COSEG calls on well meaning Yoruba elders, both within and outside political parties, to join hands in stemming the tide of an impending disaster because a stitch in time, it is said, saves nine”

  • Chime, Nwodo reconcile for Local Govt elections

    A former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, and Governor Sullivan Chime have reconciled their differences.

    The two of them were together at the weekend campaigning for the PDP candidates of Igbo Etiti Local Council in next Saturday’s local government chairmanship and councillorship elections.

    Nwodo told the large crowd that Chime was a visionary with monumental achievements.

    The former PDP boss said the Chime has rendered selfless and exemplary services to the state .

    Nwodo said: “You have come to wipe our tears and we want to assure you that Nsukka People will always deliver 99 per cent to the PDP.”

    A former Deputy Governor of the state, Ezenwata Okechukwu, thanked the governor for bringing peace to Enugu State, adding that his refusal to tamper with funds meant for local government councils had enabled the councils to bring unprecedented development to the people.

    He said: “I have continued to say we have more than enough provisions in the constitution and state laws to ensure that governance gets to the grassroots and that states conduct local government elections.

    ‘“In Enugu, we respect our jurisdictions but the state and local governments work together to deliver services to our people. For example, when we didn’t receive allocations in September, we went to our reserves to pay our workers and also lent money to the local governments to ensure that they paid primary school teachers. That is how well we partner but they (Councils) are responsible for how they spend their money because we don’t interfere with their funds.”

  • Ajimobi, Lanlehin reconcile

    Ajimobi, Lanlehin reconcile

    Differences between Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and Senator Femi Lanlehin (Oyo South District) ended at the weekend, it was learnt.

    An impeccable source in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state told The Nation that Lanlehin visited Ajimobi as a sign of his willingness to end the rift.

    He was said to have discussed his grievances with the governor.

    “In fact, the two of them exchanged banters”, the source said.

    It was learnt that an influential figure in the state brokered peace between them.

    Lanlehin and leaders of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Oyo had criticised Ajimobi’s handling of the merger that gave birth to the APC.

    They complained in a jointly signed newspaper advertorial that they were not carried along in the planning of the APC’s inauguration.

    The Nation gathered that Ajimobi and Lanlehin have met twice since Thursday.

  • Jonathan, PDP ‘ll reconcile with aggrieved governors, says Dickson

    The Chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Henry Seriake Dickson, yesterday said President Goodluck Jonathan and the party will soon reconcile with all aggrieved governors.

    He said none of the governors is out to allow PDP to disintegrate.

    He also said the ongoing reconciliation of his committee has yielded results.

    Dickson, who spoke with reporters in Abuja, admitted that he is in touch with the aggrieved governors, some of who he described as his seniors.

    He said: “As I said earlier, you can only have too little reconciliation; we cannot have too much reconciliation. We have to reconcile, reconcile and reconcile. The Chief Tony Anenih-led committee is doing a great job which we are also going to look at. I am saying that in the context of the remark I earlier made that our primary focus is the non-PDP states and we are doing so precisely because of this issue.

    “I know that the Anenih committee is doing a lot of work in terms of engaging the governors and I am not aware of any PDP governor who is not happy with the party. All of us are in the party.

    “Yes, there may be one little complain but these are all legitimate because politics allows for that. The important thing is how we reconcile all of these. There are efforts going on by the Anenih’s committee and the Ekwueme’s report and I believe that, by the end of the day, you will have a truly reconciled set of governors because they are major stakeholders in the party and none of them will want the party to disintegrate contrary to what you hear.

    “We are colleagues and we talk. They all want a strong PDP but they are also entitled to their expectations and even when there are ambitions tied to it because it is politics and also because, sometimes in this game, you have got to manage differences of opinion, ideas and sometimes a clash of interest and sometimes even a clash of ego. So, all of that is part of the game.

    “So, I think, with what the senior members of the party are doing and I am happy that the seniors drive some of these efforts with our little humble support, we will resolve the problems. I don’t think it is true that the national chairman made the kind of comment that you talked about.

    “It is very possible he was quoted out of context because the national chairman is the head of our party and subjected to the person who is the overall leader, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

    “You are also aware that the President himself, a few days back, engaged some of the governors you are talking about. I am also in touch with some of them because they are my leaders and I am privileged to work with some as colleagues.

    “What you read does not matter, we meet at different levels and all share common idea of a united strong party. At all times, we should be united by national interest. Differences of views are allowed but you do all of that within the context of a common view about the national interest. “

    Replying a question, Dickson said that his committee had succeeded in its mission by clearing the coast of the PDP’s forthcoming National Convention.

    He said: “The reconciliation committee has reconciled the aggrieved parties that went to court, seeking various court orders, restraining the proposed mini convention.

    “We have recorded what I think can be described as a success because the gentlemen have come to make a case and made known their grievances to the reconciliation committee. So, we went into it and happily, at the end of the day, they saw the need to voluntarily withdraw the action they filed in court because with the committee, they have seen seriousness on the part of the party to address some of the cases which were already arising from those meetings.

    “They signed a letter of withdrawal and wrote to the judge in charge of the case and to their previous counsel that they wanted to withdraw.

    “Our expectation is that the court, upon being made aware of the decision of the plaintiffs to withdraw or being notified of their desire to withdraw the case amicably, should have, there and then, dismissed the case because the court exists to promote reconciliation.

    “The committee has provided a platform based on which the court will do the needful in accordance to the rules of court and law. So, I want to assure that our reconciliation effort has yielded some positive results within this short period such that we have established a basis for the withdrawal of the matter in court.

    “So, I don’t think there is any issue about the case going any further because the parties have withdrawn. We only expect the judiciary also to support this reconciliation effort. It means that the coast ought to be clear for the party to take steps to organize its convention and then regularize the various issues that needs to be regularized. For example, in the course of the various meetings that the committee will be holding with aggrieved members, we will stress the need to play by the rules because, in the past, Anambra State PDP has posed a lot of challenges and we hope that we will be able to overcome that.”

  • Anambra 2014: PDP factions reconcile

    Anambra 2014: PDP factions reconcile

    Anambra State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is putting its house in order, ahead of the 2014 governorship election. The reconciliation of the factions within the party is yielding dividends, reports NWANOSIKE ONU.

     

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is putting its house in order in Anambra State, ahead of the next year’s governorship election.

    The leaders of the party have woken up to the reality that the five factions cannot win power, unless they fuse together as a united group.

    When the converged at Awka, the state capital, recently, how to forge unity and settle their differences were on the front burner.

    The party chairman, Mr. Ken Emeakayi , the members of the State Executive Committee and party elders reminded the party faithful that only a united front can confront the ruling All Progresssives Grand Alliance (APGA) and effect power shift.

    In the last eight years, the PDP has taken a back seat in Anambra politics. Apart from APGA, the opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), is waxing stronger than the PDP. Nothing attests more graphically to the declining electoral fortunes of the party than the last February 6, 2010 governorship election. The PDP came a distant third. It was a shocking defeat, considering the political heavyweights who are member of the party.

    The reason was not far fetched. Besides taking the electorate for granted, the party chieftains played the politics of bitterness such that the unwritten code of “if not me, then, it should never be you” was evident at the end of the election. Party stalwarts had worked against the interest of the party.

    However, party leaders appear to have woken up from their slumber. At the Awka rally, they spoke passionately about the need for the party to forge a united front, reconcile all factions and work together to avoid defeat.

    Emeakayi, who set the tone for the rally, said the days of imposition of the candidates were over in the party. He said that President Goodluck Jonathan has given the assurance that he would not allow imposition of candidate during the electioneering. He urged aspirants to go to their respective wards and gird their loins. He noted that the true custodians of power are those at the grassroots, who also have the right to choose the candidates of their choice.

    “We are here to start anew. We all know what happened in the last governorship election. We don’t want to be sidelined again this time. It is now almost eight years that we have been out of power in the state. It is not that we do not have the calibre of people to lead the state; not that we do not have the material or means to campaign, but we frittered away the opportunity because of disunity, internal wrangling and factionalisation. Enough is enough”, he said.

    Emeakayi added: “We have decided to come together as united and indivisible family. We are here to start anew, having forgiven one another; to work for the good of our people. We have thoroughly reappraised ourselves and we now agree that only in unity and oneness can we make it happen”.

    To make good the plan to unite all factions in the state chapter, a Peace, Reconciliation and Harmonization Committee has been set up. It is led by a retired jurist, Justice Paul Obidigwe. Other members are the former Idemili North Local Government Chairman, Chief Okey Muo-Aroh (Secretary), Mrs Beatrice Ekwueme, Mrs Chika Ibeneme, Mr Bright Nnebedum and Chief George Okoye. The committee was also given free hand to enlarge its membership, if that would help it achieve its objectives.

    The Committee’s first duty was to register and re-issue a new party card to one of the national grand patrons of the party, Prince Arthur Eze. The brief ceremony was led by Emeakayi. Eze decried the division within the the party and expressed hope that the committee will return the party to victory. He also canvassed support for the Jonathan, saying it has the capacity to foster peace and cohesion, if it is given the support it needs.

    But the question is how far can the Emeakayi-led executive sustain the unity anthem it has begun? For a party that has five factions led by Senator Andy Uba, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, Emeakayi,Chief Mike Nwakalor and Chief Chris Uba, the task ahead is Herculean.

    The PDP has a big opportunity of reviving its political structure in the state at a time the APGA is in a war of attrition in APGA. But PDP also have another hurdle to cross. The ACN is not relenting in its efforts to win the next election. The party boasts of people like Senators Chris Ngige and Annie Okonkwo, who are great political warriors.

    Time will tell, if the PDP will bounce back in the state or not.

     

  • New group set to reconcile Jonathan, Amaechi

    A fresh move to douse the tension between President Goodluck Jonathan and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) Rotimi Amaechi has begun.

    Some politicians and technocrats were said to have waded in to reconcile the President with the NGF chair, who doubles as the Rivers State governor.

    It was learnt that the new team, referred to as “The Caucus” is behind the initiative.

    Members of the new group are said to be mutual friends and admirers of the two leaders.

    Some of them believed to be from the Niger Delta, are unhappy with the rift.

    The Caucus members reportedly met a week ago in Lagos with Amaechi as part of the reconciliation plan.

    The same group will soon meet with President Jonathan.

    There were indications that the reconciliation might have been completed before the election of the NGF billed for next month.

    A source at the session said: “We have been meeting on how to reconcile these two leaders. We believe that some opportunists had come in between the President and Amaechi for selfish reasons.

    “We have mapped out our strategies to put an end to the feud which is further polarising the Niger Delta.

    “So far, we have interacted with Governor Amaechi in Lagos. The meeting was very revealing as both sides were frank. Governor Amaechi was very forthright in his remarks. He told us that he has nothing personal against Mr. President, but with the system.

    “The system, according to Amaechi is not working in the interest of Nigerians generally and we are presented with an opportunity to correct it. He is hoping that with the governors working in conjunction with Mr. President, they can jointly correct it.

    “He believes that President Jonathan is a good and a wonderful person but he (Amaechi) is concerned that Mr. President has been unable to press that personality down to the Presidency.

    “He is uncomfortable that crucial issues have been handled in-house in the interest of the party, but Nigerians interest have sometimes been compromised while we pretend to be protecting the party’s interest.’’

    Another source from the Presidency said: “I am aware that some respected Nigerians, including state governors, have waded in to the matter. The President is an amiable leader, who wants peace but he is insisting that his office must be respected.

    “As the chairman of NGF, there are a few things Amaechi ought to have diplomatically addressed instead of going public. It is in the interest of all for the rift to end.

    “As a matter of fact, some government officers will buy into the reconciliation because they are close to both leaders.”

    The slow pace of the construction of the East-West Road; the suit over Excess Crude Account; the management of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF); moves to clip the wings of state governors; fuel subsidy removal; rumours over unsubstantiated presidential ambition of Amaechi in 2015 against Jonathan’s re-election bid; formation of PDP Governors Forum to undermine the NGF; and plot to remove Amaechi as the NGF chair, are some of the issues that pitted Amaechi against the President.