The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Reconciliation

  • Need for Economic Reconciliation C’mittee

    SIR: The election of President Muhammadu Buhari has brought about some level of trust in governance of the nation by the international communities and the Nigeria people. His election on March 28 brought peace instead of the anticipated chaos. The peace that existed from election of President Buhari is more important than the celebrated acceptance of defeat by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan by a few who are looking for ‘non-scarlet’ cloth to clean their dented faces.

    It is hoped that by the antecedent of the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief Odigie Oyegun, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and others, the economy will be meticulously managed considering the empty treasury and battered economy APC inherited from PDP. While prudence is required from the President and his team, Nigerians from all walks of life should join their hands together, support them and believe in their ability to bring the desired change. Public servants, civil servants, workers in private sector, industrialists, religious leaders, civil society and non-governmental organizations should with sincerity of heart and purpose, work hard toward this new course of national development.

    Fraud and other corrupt practices should be exposed at both low and high places. The take off Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries is a welcome development. After 16 years they are now working.

    Having said this, it is clear that the new administration needs money to be able to fix the economy and fight insecurity. Every segment of the economy is sick and needs urgent attention. As oil price is not stable, and with the devaluation of naira, one other way to generate money is for all who have defrauded our commonwealth to return the money for national development. As the President said that he was not going to probe anybody but will recover money stolen from the national treasury, it may mean that he has ‘granted economic amnesty’ to looters of our economy.

    I therefore recommend the establishment of Economic Reconciliation Committee to manage the process and the proceeds. They should take advantage of this economic amnesty. Anything short of this, civil society organizations and well meaning Nigerians must mount pressure on the President to initiate a probe. Impunity must stop.

     

    • Dr. Eugenes Ndelekwute, Uyo,  Akwa Ibom State
  • APC: Thorny road to reconciliation

    APC: Thorny road to reconciliation

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is grappling with the challenge of reconciliation imposed by the rebellion of legislators during the recent election of National Assembly principal officers. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the hurdles to cross before a truce can be achieved between the party leadership and the recalcitrant legislators.   

    For the next three weeks, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will be battling with reconciliation. Its polarised leaders will be searching for solution to the self-inflicted crisis.

    Since the crisis broke out over the election of National Assembly principal officers, reconciliation has been a herculean task. Although the party, led by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, accepted its fate, following the emergence of Dr. Bukola Saraki as the Senate President and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, contrary to its directive, the lawmakers compounded the crisis by also rejecting the party’s directive on the choice of other principal officers.

    According to party sources, neither the party leadership nor the National Assembly leadership is in a vantage position to initiate reconciliation because they are parties in the dispute. The meeting of the APC National Caucus was put on hold to avoid the escalation of the conflicts. Although the National Executive Committee(NEC) of the party will meet today, sources said the crisis would not be discussed.  “Any reconciliation or peace meeting, without the President presiding over it, is a waste of time. Only President Muhammadu Buhari can unite the party now. APC is terribly polarised,” he said.

    However, the President appears not to be in a hurry to do so. President Buhari, according to a top party stalwart, has expressed concern about the implications of the crisis for the party and his administration, after a sober reflection. He has not officially received Saraki, Dogara and other principal officers, who were elected in controversial circumstances. The President, it is believed, was particularly irked by the emergence of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, as the Deputy Senate President. In a bid to keep the National Assembly at arm’s length, President Buhari has postponed ministerial nominations, it was learnt.

    The genesis of the conflict was the crisis of confidence between party leaders, who subscribed to the doctrine of party supremacy, and chieftains who loathed what they have described as dictation from party leadership. The division is visible in the National Working Committee (NWC) and the NEC. Party leaders, including Odigie-Oyegun, his deputy, Mr. Segun Oni, former Interim Chairman Chief Bisi Akande, National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, National Secretary Mai Buni, Senators George Akume, Barnabas Gemade, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and some “men of the old order” believe that members should be subjected to party supremacy to instill discipline and order. They also believe that certain political traditions, which had nurtured democracy in some countries, including the United States, should be emulated. In their view, the minority leader in the National Assembly should automatically become the majority leader, following the change of government. Thus, they supported former Benue State Governor George Akume for Senate President.

    Akume has served the party meritoriously as the Minority Leader for four years. He is from Benue State. The leaders argued that the Christian minority in the Middle Belt should be rewarded for their bloc support for the APC. Therefore, they endorsed Akume, the former governor, who worked tirelessly for power shift in the Northcentral state.

    In the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (Surulere, Lagos), has also served as the Minority Leader. Thus, the leaders believed that he was fit for Speaker, in accordance with traditions in mature democracies.

    However, according to Presidency sources, Buhari’s body language suggested that he did not want to endorse the former governor. Besides, the sources added, the President was sensitive to the complaints that Benue State has produced three Senate presidents-Dr. Iyorcha Ayu, Chief Ahmed Ebute and Gen. David Mark. “Having objected to the zoning of the Senate Presidency to the Northcentral, the President asked the party to consider the Northeast for the position. He was impressed by the bloc vote from the region for the APC, despite the insurgency. That was how Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe State entered the race as the candidate of the President and, ultimately, the party,” the sources said.

    Some chieftains also disclosed that Buhari confided in some APC leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Gombe State Governor Danjuma Goje and Governor Abdulazeez Yari, that it would not be a bad idea, if Lawan was elected Senate President.

    A party chieftain, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Buhari was not indifferent to the pedigree, tendency and sentiments of candidates for  Senate President. He said the President even confided in the NWC that he wanted people without blemish as leaders of the National Assembly because of his anti-corruption programme. “Buhari made it known that he did not want anybody that has been tainted with corruption in his government,” he stressed.

    But, the move by the party to endorse candidates did not go down well with other aspirants. They, therefore, resolved to thwart the agenda. The NWC suggested primaries for the aspirants for Senate President, Speaker and their deputies. Saraki and Dogara kicked against it, saying that the National Assembly should not be under the influence of the party when choosing principal officers. Before the mock election, Saraki was said to have insisted on secret ballot. The party agreed. The mock election conducted by the APC National Secretary was boycotted by the supporters of Saraki and Dogara. But, the party went on with the exercise. Lawan and Gbajabiamila won. Saraki and Dogara rejected the result.

    Ahead of the inauguration of the National Assembly, former Senate President Mark had said that the PDP would not run for elections of principal officers. But, when the crisis broke out, the National Assembly PDP caucus retraced its steps. Up came Ekweremadu as an aspirant for Deputy Senate President. As the crisis was brewing, the dead caucuses in the APC were exhumed. Some party chieftains started to agitate for the “equitable” distribution of offices. They pointed out that the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) produced President Buhari, the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) nominated Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) and the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) produced the National Party Chairman, Odigie-Oyegun. Therefore, they contented that the defunct New PDP should produce the Senate President and the Speaker. However, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi cautioned them, saying that APC should remain a united fold, said the source.

    According to party sources, the propaganda orchestrated to stop Tinubu also blossomed. Some party leaders misinterpreted the party’s position as an agenda by the National Leader to foist principal officers on the parliament. “The former governors from the North disagreed. They formed a resistance, despite the explanation that Lawan was Buhari’s candidate. But, they continue to say that since Tinubu nominated the Vice President and the National Chairman, Lawan’s ambition should be shut down,” added the source.

    Besides, some APC leaders from the Northeast believed that Lawan’s emergence as the Senate President may jeopardise their ambitions. For example, former Vice President Abubakar from Adamawa State is eyeing the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman. There are speculations that he will also run for the President in 2019. Goje, who has resented Tinubu’s influence, wanted to contest for the Senate Leader. Also, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, Baba Jiga and Kashim Iman-all from Borno State-are struggling for the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF). “They are all from the Northeast. So, if Lawan was picked, they were all out,” said the source.

    When the President returned from Germany, concerned leaders urged him to intervene in the crisis. It was suggested that the APC should not go for the inauguration of the National Assembly as a divided house. But, the situation was getting out of control. Ahead of the inauguration, President Buhari had sent the proclamation letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly, who is perceived to be  close to Mark and PDP senators. Suddenly, the PDP caucus bounced into reckoning because the rank of APC leaders was divided. A party chieftain, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said: “PDP senators said they will work with Saraki, if he picked Ekweremadu as his deputy. Those supporting Saraki were in this dilemma when the Vice President sought audience with the senators. But, he was ignored by the lawmakers.” Another source said that Saraki was also able to convince former President Olusegun Obasanjo to support his bid.

    The dust raised by the emergence of a bi-partisan leadership in the Senate had not settled when, in flagrant disobedience to the party’s directive, the Senate elected Senator Ali Ndume as the Senate Leader and Senator Ibn Na’Alla as Deputy Senate Leader. The move to take a similar step led to confusion in the House of Representatives. Also, the senators and House of Representatives members rejected the directive of the party on the selection of Chief Whips and Deputy Chief Whips. In fact, the Senate President and Speaker refused to read the letter of the APC National Chairman on the matter on the floor of the House. APC had endorsed Akume and Gbajabiamila for the positions of Majority Leaders.

    The President, according to sources,  felt betrayed by some party leaders who allegedly fuelled the festering crisis by supporting the senators who rejected the party’s directive. “This has led to some forms of mutual suspicion, mistrust, distrust and confidence. In fact, I suspect that the crisis is an eye opener for the President. These events may shape the next critical steps he will take, especially on appointments and the anti-corruption war.”

    The National Assembly has adjourned sittings till the last week of this month. During the three week-break, the Senate President and Speaker are expected to reach out to aggrieved leaders and stakeholders, who are bitter about the affront on the party leadership.  A member of the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) said that Saraki and Dogara are buying more time to consolidate. “During this break, the plan is to send powerful emissaries to the President and other aggrieved leaders so that they can put the past behind them. The fear is that, having ignored the party’s directive on the selection of the National Assembly principal officers, they may be excluded from making contributions to ministerial nominations. The Senate President and the Speaker will promise to give concessions to the Lawan/Akume and Gbajabiamila/Mongono camps during the composition of National Assembly Committees. But, the problem is that trust has been eroded.”

    He added: “The bi-partisanship leadership of the National Assembly has implications for the APC. The Deputy Senate President is from the minority party. In the absence of the Speaker, someone from the minority party will preside. Automatically, the Senate President is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment. He is the representative of the National Assembly in the ECOWAS Parliament. He receives the budget on behalf of the Senate from the President. This is the greatest problem for the ruling party now.”

    To end the crisis, party chieftains have suggested some solutions. These include the resignation of Ekweremadu, fresh election for principal officers and the sustenance of the status quo in the spirit of unity and understanding. All these options have implications.

    A party chieftain, who reflected on the crisis, said the solution lies with the President. They said, although reconciliation is difficult, it is not impossible “The President must call a meeting of stakeholders where there will be concessions and chieftains will elevate the interest of the party above narrow, personal interest,” he added.

  • APC and challenge of reconciliation

    APC and challenge of reconciliation

    The election of National Assembly officials has polarised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines steps that should be taken to resolve the crisis and achieve meaningful reconciliation. 

    The emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives, in deviance of the directive of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has generated crisis in the ruling party. Bothh Saraki and Dogora formed an alliance with members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in both chambers and went for the leadership slots. Eight APC senators-elect with 49 PDP senators-elect adopted Saraki for the presidency in the absence of 51 senators led by Senator Ahmed Lawan, who had won the party’s nomination in a straw poll. For the Speakership, Dogara slugged it out with the party’s candidate, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila in a keenly contested election and won by eight votes.

    Analysts described the scenario that played out at the inauguration of the National Assembly as a sad development for the ruling party. To them, it was an act of gross indiscipline and disloyalty on the part of Saraki, Dogara and their APC sympathisers in the two chambers. They likened the emrgence of Saraki as a coup because the 51 senators that are loyal to Lawan were disenfranchised from exercising their voting right to participate in the election of the leadership of the senate. The group is threatening to challenge the election in court.

    “The principle of separation of power is not watertight and nothing says that the party cannot have a say in who becomes what in the political offices available to the party. Party politics is about supremacy and it amount to political naivety or gross indiscipline for any member to see himself as being above the party”, they argued.

    With this development, the APC is caught between the devil and the blue sea. While the leadership is bent on ensuring discipline among its members, it is faced with the onerous task of sustaining unity. The party has threatened to sanction the law makers involved in the deal. According to the party’s spokesman, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, Senator Saraki and Hon. Dogara are not the candidates of the APC and the majority of its National Assembly members-elect for the positions of Senate President and Speaker, House of Representatives.

    Muhammed disclosed that the APC leadership has been meeting in a bid to re-establish discipline and to mete out necessary sanctions to all those involved in what has been described as a monumental act of indiscipline and betrayal meant to subject the party to ridicule and create obstacles for the new administration.

    But, analysts have advised APC leadership to tread softly and avoid using a sledge hammer to kill an ant.  In the present circumstance, they said neither the threat of court action nor punitive sanction can save the party from its current crisis. What is more important now is the capacity of the leadership to evolve an appropriate conflict resolution mechanism that would see it through the cloud of uncertainty that lies ahead of the new administration.

    A party stalwart, who spoke in confidence, said the damage has been done and that is the reality we have to admit. He bared is minds on steps towards reconciliation. He said: “I think the Senator Saraki should start the reconciliation move. He should reach out to his colleagues (APC stock) in the senate individually and collectively and offer the olive branch to them particularly the aggrieved senators of Unity Forum led by Senator Lawan. If he does that reconciliation will commence.

    “Saraki still need to pledge his loyalty to the party in view of what has happened. He should impress it on party members that he will ensure that he will works in line with the party programmes and policies. The party should carry him along in appointing principal officers of the Senate: Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Majority Whip and Deputy Majority Whip. These positions are very important. APC should ensure very competent and experienced senators occupied these positions in the interest of the party. The competence and experience should be taken into consideration because of the enormity of the job ahead. The party should put the Senate President in confidence in picking the principal officers because they need to work in tandem with the Senate President particularly now that the Deputy Senate President is not an APC member.

    “The party should realise that some committees are not equal in terms of relevance. For instance, for Rules and Business Committee, the Chairman of the committee should be an experienced legislator, not a green horn. Other important committees like Power, Petroleum, Works, Finance and Appropriation must be headed by experienced senators with key knowledge of the ministries in order to enhance the attainment of the party’s goal.

    “These concessions are also means of calling the truce in respect of aftermath of the leadership crisis. The same must go for the House of Representatives. All APC senators should meet with the President, Vice President and leadership of the APC to finally smooth the rough edges and pledge to work together not only in the interest of the party but Nigeria as a whole.”

    On the resolution of the crisis, a party chieftain, Chief Femi Majekodunmi expressed confidence that it will be resolved soon. He said the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has the political sagacity to handle the matter and urged him to begin the process of reconciling all the parties involved in the crisis.

    Majekodunmi, a close associate of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, said, given the immense contribution of Tinubu to the successes recorded by the party, the onus is on him to save the ruling party from what could lead to its disintegration. According to him, the former Lagos State governor has the skills needed to call a meeting of the major stake holders of the party where the crisis which erupted over the election of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senator President and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, as Speaker, House of Representatives respectively, can be settled once and for all.

    “Going to court by the aggrieved party will bring further damage to the APC. It is important for the party leadership to learn from and also move a step ahead of what happened when both Hon. Dimeji Bankole and Hon. Aminu Tambuwal were elected Speaker of the House of Representatives even when they were not the preferred candidates of their party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which did not sanction them.

    “With what Asiwaju Tinubu has done in the past, the time has come for him to deploy his political know-how to tilt the leadership of the party towards genuine reconciliation through a meeting of the necessary stakeholders which will make Nigerians not to regret voting for the party in the last general elections. The APC has to be careful not to give room for the opposition to come to limelight because the PDP will always be happy to capitalise on the foibles of the ruling party to catch attention of Nigerians.”

    One way out of the present quagmire is for the APC leadership to swallow its pride and see the development as a positive feedback and forge ahead without necessarily compromising the rules of standard behaviour amongst its members.

    The leadership of the APC appears to be towing the line of reconciliation when the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun said the party had decided to put the matter behind it and move ahead. He said the party is now disposed to working with Dr Saraki.

    Oyegun reasoned that: “It is high time the APC faced reality on the dispute, and work with the current leadership of the National Assembly even as the party tries to resolve the issue internally. What has happened is within the APC family and we are sorting it out within the family. People say they are going to court which is their right, but as a party we are coming out strong. We have faced greater challenges before and this too shall pass away.

    A member of the House of Representatives, Mallam Muhammed Sani Zorro,  has expressed satisfaction with the steps being taken by the party leadership in addressing the issue. Zorro, a former President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) said: “I can assure you that the measures being worked out by the party, the presidency, and the National Assembly are being triangulated and will involve all the three main institutional stakeholders. I can assure you that it will accommodate all the concerns and the fears at the end of it will provide a single template for everybody to key in.

    “Even the senate itself or some element, either in the Senate or House of Representatives that appear war-like, I can assure you that by the time this template is presented, if they look at it, it is based on reason and rationality and it is going to be based on the reality on ground. The party is no longer interested in sentiment. The damage has already been done, we want to keep it at bay and move on. That is what the party wants to do. We are moving on we are no longer interested in all that has happened.

    “We have decided to remain loyal to the party because we have seen this kind of situation before. For instance, some of us participated in Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) which had a similar crisis in the states it controlled between 1979 and 1983. Those who remained in the party actually triumphed.

    “I can assure you that, at the level of the National Assembly, we have the mechanism that will reconcile the whole differences in no time. So, we have met with the leadership of the party and we are fully satisfied with the explanations that the party has given to us and we can assure you that this is not beyond reproach and solution of the party.

    “I can assure you as a member of the House of Representatives, we are satisfied by the explanation by the chairman of the party on measures itemised first to clean up the mess, manage the crisis and de-escalate the tension and achieve early solution to the emerging political brouhaha.”

    “The APC has to be careful not to give room for the opposition to come to limelight because the PDP will always be happy to capitalise on the foibles of the ruling party to catch attention of Nigerians”

     

     

  • Mark advises Buhari on genuine reconciliation

    Senate President, David Mark, yesterday advised the in-coming administration of President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, to make the genuine reconciliation of all Nigerians top priority.

    Mark spoke at a thanksgiving Mass ahead of the end of the 7th Senate at St. Mulumba Catholic Chaplaincy, Apo in Abuja, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh.

    He said the action had become imperative in order to assuage the feelings of some aggrieved persons.

    He said: “What the nation needs now is genuine reconciliation of all sections of the country.”

    He said despite different political affiliations  on which public officers were elected, “what must be paramount is the service, welfare and security of Nigerians, irrespective of ethnic, religious or political differences.”

    He further stressed the need to address the insecurity situation, especially in the North East zone ravaged by Boko Haram.

    He advised public office seekers against desperation for power, saying: “There is no need to be desperate for power, since power comes  from God. Once we acknowledge this, we will not be at each other’s throat.”

    Mark gave credit to Almighty God for sustaining him throughout his tenure as the President of the Senate.

    He said: “My 16 years in the Senate and eight years as the President of the Senate is the Lord’s doing, not by my own wisdom, power, intelligence or fame and influence.”

    He specifically expressed appreciation to his colleagues in the Senate and by extension the House of Representatives for the support and cooperation which he said helped him to succeed as the President of the Senate.

    He added: “It has been a unique opportunity to serve in a public office. If God has not permitted us, we could not have achieved the much we have done for the people and above all for God.”

    Earlier in his homily, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, advised politicians to reduce the political tension in the country by avoiding the winner takes all syndrome.

    Onaiyekan urged the in-coming  administration of Buhari to take the nation as his constituency and carry everybody along in the scheme of things, adding, “Mr. President-elect should see himself as the President of Nigeria and not of the All  Progressives Congress (APC).”

    He further admonished the incoming  administration to use its  campaign mantra of change to reorientate and indeed change the attitude of Nigerians for good.

  • APC initiates reconciliation with Bamidele to win Ekiti for Buhari

    APC initiates reconciliation with Bamidele to win Ekiti for Buhari

    The national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has commenced reconciliation moves to bring back the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the last governorship election in Ekiti State, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele back to the party.

    Bamidele who is the House of Representatives member representing Ekiti Central Federal Constituency 1 defected to the LP in acrimonious circumstances from the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) shortly before the birth of the APC.

    The Nation gathered that the APC national leadership is wooing Bamidele to enlist his support for the candidacy of its presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in the February 14 poll.

    The APC Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Segun Oni, held a closed door meeting with Bamidele and his followers in the LP at the federal lawmaker’s residence in Iyin-Ekiti on Saturday.

    Sources present at the meeting revealed that Oni reportedly appealed to Bamidele to bury the hatchet on his political feud with Fayemi and the APC leadership in the state urging him to support , Buhari ahead of the February 14 presidential poll.

    Speaking with reporters after he emerged from the meeting hall, Oni said he was in Iyin-Ekiti to pay a solidarity visit to Bamidele, stressing that his party has a future with Bamidele and his political disciples. Bamidele also revealed that he was under tremendous pressure from both the APC and the PDP but he would have to make wide consultations before deciding on his next line of action.He said his meeting with the APC leadership was part of the ongoing realignment of politics in the run-up to the 2015 general elections.

    Bamidele added that he would want to support the emergence of a government that would be able to provide employment for teeming youths,  fight corruption and insecurity in the land.

  • Jatau: Reconciliation is on course in Bauchi PDP

    Jatau: Reconciliation is on course in Bauchi PDP

    House of Representatives member Hon. Auwal Mohammed Jatau is the Bauchi State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate.  The legislator defeated Senator Babayo Gamawa, Dr. Mohammed Pate and Alhaji Bappah Azare at the primaries. He spoke with reporters in Bauchi, the state capital, on the outcome of the shadow poll, his plans for the state and chances at the poll. Austine Tsenzughul was there.

    How are you relating with other governorship aspirants who lost at the primaries?

    Most of these aspirants are my very close associates; they are my elder brothers and I have been relating with them cordially. Even during the primaries, if you observed closely, we were discussing. If you recall, during my  brief acceptance speech, I appealed to everyone to put heads  together for our common good, because we are here for Bauchi State. We are all Bauchi State sons and I believe all of us have a positive agenda for the development of the state and our people. It  was not  about Auwal  Jatau winning the primary election, but it’s a victory for all of us; for democracy. After the election, I was able to get in touch with most of them. I have called  them on phone, I have also greeted them and I have proposed appointments with them, so that we will have more discussions on how to chart the way forward and  develop our dear Bauchi State and deliver the state for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at all levels because they are all PDP members.

    Being PDP members, most of them have benefitted  from the party; some were commissioners for eight years, others members of the state House of Assembly or the National Assembly, former ministers, deputy-governor and senators.  So, if you look at the positions they occupy or have occupied, the issue of their leaving the PDP is out of the question. We are all sons of the PDP. So, if you lose today, I believe there is always another opportunity to win tomorrow. I also believe they are responding to my appeal for reconciliation. Last week, I spoke with Senator Babayo Gamawa, he used to be one of my closest associates and I still believe he is. We proposed a date to meet this week. But, unfortunately, I had to leave Abuja for Bauchi. We will meet very soon, I believe. I called Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate, I sent him an SMS and he replied. So, I believe something positive would come out these proposed meetings from the brotherly way we started. Dr. Bappah Azare has already congratulated me and he has expressed his readiness to cooperate. I discussed with him on how we can collectively  serve our people. Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba also is ready to cooperate with me.

    What about Alhaji Aminu Hammayo and former Secretary to the Federal Government Alhaji Yayale Ahmed?

    Alh. Aminu Hammayo and Alh. Mahmoud Yayale  Ahmed did not contest; they voluntarily withdrew. So, if somebody has voluntarily withdrawn from election, he  cannot be part of the aggrieved contestants. But, my relationship with them is cordial and we are doing everything within our reach to ensure that we continue to work together as one family, so that we can all contribute to the success of the PDP in 2015 general election and the development of Bauchi and Nigeria.

    What are your plans for Bauchi State?

    We will first of all put in  our best to maintain law and order. The issue of security will be given top most priority, because peace is the only key to any meaningful development in Nigeria, Bauchi State and each segment of our communities and individuals. We thank Almighty Allah for the peace we are enjoying in Bauchi, which is one of the most peaceful states in the country, despite security challenges in the Northeast. This is due mainly to the efforts of the present  administration led by Gov. Isa Yuguda,  and we intend to consolidate and build more on this concrete foundation so that we will continue to secure the lives and properties of our fellow citizens. We will give priority to education, we will address education more  attractively, and make it more affordable to our people. We will also pay serious attention to agriculture,  I remember within my  two years at the National Assembly, I was able to mobilise over 2000 irrigation pumps for my people under this irrigation scheme. All a farmer needed to do was to show us his farm and we would sink a borehole or dig a well for him and give him the irrigation pump free.

    This scheme yielded  very positive results in in my area among my people whom I am representing  at the National Assembly.  If you are able to discuss with my people, they will tell you that there is a project of over N2 billion, in which I engaged a consultant that worked on river embankment in Madifa because of the gully erosion that destroyed the villages and a lot of farm lands. The consultant had compiled my people’s problems right from when I was at the  State Assembly, but due to lack of funds I did not succeed in addressing these problems. Fortunately, when I went to the  National Assembly I raised the issue again and today fantastic work on this project has been done and completed, and the issue of river erosion is now history. I have touched the lives of my people in so  many ways using agriculture and I want to believe that my approach to solving some of their challenges is the reason they accepted me.

    So, if by the grace of Allah, I become the governor of Bauchi State, I will pursue vigorously the issue of youth and women empowerment. This will be similar to what I did in my constituency. But, this time I will use agriculture. We will encourage dry season farming, throughout the state, it pays a lot, because if you go to my place in Zaki Local Government Area, you  will see how young men are getting wealthy,and changing their life style through dry season farming,  and I believe with irrigation scheme  our people will live in peace , they will have  more and better quality life.

    How are you going to cope with the financial demands of the campaigns?

    If you have the Almighty Allah and you have people and good friends around you, you don’t need to fear anything, I if you  recall the way the governorship primary election was conducted you  will believe that God can do everything for you. And look at what happened the explosion in the Bauchi Central Market. Immediately after the incident, friends and well-wishers contributed over N30 million, which  I gave to the people that were seriously  affected. The sum of N5 million was also contributed by friends and well-wishers in Bauchi this time around, which I equally handed over  to the victims who sustained injuries and are receiving treatment in the hospital. So, its not the issue of going into politics with or without  money.  But, if you have Almighty Allah and you have people who have been very supportive, people who always rally around you, you will move forward. Even the money we used fuel our cars to interact and reach out to  the delegates and party stake holders  before the primary election was contributed by my supporters, friends and well-wishers.  With Allah’s help, we have won the primary election.

     Many people said that you won the primary election because you are Governor Isa Yuguda’s anointed candidate….

    I don’t know what they mean by annointed candidate. At the primary election, delegates who came from different parts of the state  voted; it’s a real election, nobody was imposed on the delegates. If  I were made a commissioner, adviser or given a ministerial appointment, it will be right to say this is an anointed person. But, when people willingly vote at an election without intimidation, and during the  election. And before the election, the candidates came together and decide on how the election should be conducted,  and you eventually emerge as winner, it would be wrong to describe such a winner as an annointed candidate of the governor. Even at that election, the committee preferred to use 20 ballot boxes, but the aspirants disagreed; they did not want many boxes and Senator  Stella Omuh had to reduce the number of boxes to  five and finally we settled  for two ballot boxes.

  • Glo urges peace, reconciliation at Yuletide

    Glo urges peace, reconciliation at Yuletide

    National Telecoms provider, Globacom,  has wished all Christians in Nigeria a very joyous Christmas celebration and called on Nigerians to live in  peace with one another in line with the teachings of Jesus  Christ who is the reason for the season.

    The company  urged the Christian faithful in the country to use the  season of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ to  spread the joy of the  season and pray for the progress of Nigeria.

    In a goodwill message issued in Lagos, Globacom wished Christians a season full of love, unlimited happiness and  celebration.

    The  telecoms operator urged all Nigerians to use the occasion of the  Yuletide to make peace and reconcile all differences.  “On all fronts, we  need to encourage cordiality and peaceful co-existence; between friends,  families, political opponents , tribes, ethnic groups  and religions,” Globacom said in the  statement.

    “Nigeria can only thrive in an atmosphere of peace and unity. Therefore, Nigerians should imbibe the spirit of tolerance, forgiveness  and forbearance as exhibited by our Lord Jesus Christ. Ethnic, religious and political differences should therefore be transformed into the plank for enduring unity, and not be pushed to extremities”, the statement counseled.

  • Ogun APC and burden of reconciliation

    Ogun APC and burden of reconciliation

    All is not well with the Ogun State  All Progressives Congress (APC). The Olusegun Osoba group has dumped the party for rival platform. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the implication of the group’s exit for the progressive bloc in the Gateway State.

    The fervent wish of party faithful that the warring parties in the Ogun State All Progressives Congress (APC) would reconcile their differences is fast becoming a mirage. The dumping of the APC by the three senators elected on the party’s platform for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) suggests that the attempt to reconcile the two groups have failed. The senators are: Akin Odunsi (Ogun West), Gbenga Kaka (Ogun East) and Gbenga Obadara (Ogun Central).

    The aggrieved group has defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

    The Ogun State APC has been embroiled in crisis due to power struggle between Governor Ibikunle Amosun and Chief Olusegun Osoba. The emergence of two parallel executives from the parallel congresses held on April 26 was the climax of the frosty relationship between the two leaders. The recognition accorded the executives committee produced by the governor’s faction by the national headquarters of the party was the last straw that broke the back of the carmel.

    After the congress, some chieftains defected to the PDP. They included Mrs. Abimbola Lanre-Balogun, special adviser on environment, Mrs. Adijatu Adeleye-Oladapo and Mr Samson Onademuren, who are members of the House of Assembly, representing Ifo II and Ijebu Northeast constituencies respectively.

    The APC National Executive Committee made efforts to reconcile the warring factions, but nothing came out of it. A committee headed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar prevailed on Osoba and his group to have a rethink on their plan to dump the party. The committee had proposed a 60:40 power-sharing formula. But, it was rejected by the former governor.

    The recent letter written by the deputy governor, Prince Segun Adesegun, to the governor has not helped matters. Analysts describe it as a spanner thrown into the reconciliation process. Adesegun  alleged injustice saying he had not been enjoying the rights and privileges of a deputy governor since the administration came on board in 2011. One of the allegations leveled by Adesegun against his principal was that he deliberately starved his office of funds and he also allocated old vehicles to him. He also alleged that his September and October feeding and out- of -pocket and sundry allowances were yet to be paid.

    The governor’s silence on the allegations did not help matters. It gave opposition parties something to rave about in their quest to unseat the governor. For instance, the Ogun State  Labour Party (LP) accused  Amosun of running a government of vendetta. The party said: “If the governor can treat his deputy with disdain and outright contempt like this, then it shows that an ordinary citizen of the state is of no value to him. We want to say categorically that he has no human face and the electorate should vote him out at the poll.”

    The PDP said: “While we empathise with the deputy governor on his ordeal, we pray that the Almighty God will touch the heart of Governor Amosun to give him (his deputy) what is due to him. We can only hope this intractable fight will not hamper governance and further impoverish the people of our dear state. We appeal to the good people of Ogun State to keep hope alive, knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Their tears will soon be wiped by a government with a human face. That is the PDP promise and deliverable”.

    The supporters of Osoba had been holding meetings with the opposition parties, particularly the PDP. Indeed, chieftain of the APC, Alhaji Azzees Ajetunmobi, said the Osoba group has entered into an agreement with the PDP to defeat Amosun in next year’s  election. The sympathy displayed by the PDP and the LP on the deputy governor’s ordeal, he said, is a proof that they belong to the same political family.

    Ajetunmobi said: “It beats my imagination how such a simple and mundane matter could become a public matter. Well, we are in the era of stomach infrastructure. There is no one in this country who does not know that Amosun is the most frugal governor. When he came on board in 2011, he made it clear that he and his team had come to make sacrifice. He said things were so bad in the state that they could not afford to live big. So, we were not surprised when he slashed the salaries of political office holders.

    “The good thing is that the deputy governor has not accused Amosun of living in luxury while asking others to tighten their belts. He has not accused the governor of constitutional breaches. He has not complained of paying for his official residence because the governor’s aides pay some money monthly from their salaries for the government quarters in which they reside.”

    A lawyer, Mr. Kunle Ademoroti, described the deputy governor’s decision to go public, instead of treating it as an internal matter, as cheap blackmail. He said it was a deliberate act to portray the governor in bad light and curry undue public sympathy for himself and his group. Ademoroti said the allegations contained in the letter are too elementary for a holder of the office of the deputy governor to present.

    Ademoroti said the complaints are all about prerequisites of office. He said: “His salary was not affected. He is not complaining about the government policies or programmes as they affect the people of Ogun State. It sounds ridiculous that a deputy governor is blowing hot and cold because of the unpaid two months allowances. To me, the deputy governor is selfish.

    “If he can’t endure, he should quit. In fact, the governor had tolerated him for long. His loyalty to his benefactor is undermining the government. His commitment to the business of governance is questionable,” he said.

    The relationship between the governor and his deputy has turned into a cat and mouse affair. A source disclosed that, since the governor started his local government tour to assess the performance of the government programmes, the deputy governor accompanied him only on two occasions.

    The source said the deputy governor is pre-occupied with the mobilisation for his new party, holding senatorial meetings  in Ogun East and Ogun Central. The deputy governor is believed to be using the opportunity provided by the governor’s assessment tour to the 20 local governments to meet factional members on the umbrella of Matagbamole Group, as the Osoba-led faction is known, in different locations, telling the members of the group to remain steadfast and be committed to their objectives.

    On the prospect of the SDP as a platform, Obadara said there is no problem. “We have been mobilising and creating awareness among the people. The response has been very encouraging. We have our own structure. Our leader, Chief Osoba, had contested governorship election in the state twice and won. We have the people behind us. The party is an alternative to tyranny. The election is four months ahead. We are going places and the acceptability of the party is not in doubt.”

    But, Ajetunmobi disagreed with Obadara. He said the SDP, the platform the late Chief Abiola used for the presidential election in 1993, is quite different from the present SDP put in place by the Afenifere to undermine the political influence of the APC in the Southwest. “It is wishful thinking for any group to expect that the party’s name would the magic wand to win election in this dispensation,” he added.

    The lawyer recalled that the SDP fielded a candidate in the last governorship election in Osun State and failed woefully. “Why didn’t they win the election, if the old fame is capable of doing the magic? I think the Osoba group is not interested in winning election, but they are out to play the role of a spoiler. Their motto is: If you can’t get it, waste it.

    “They should learn from history. In 2003, the late Alhaji Ganiyu Dawodu regarded as the leader of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Lagos State had political differences with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who was the state governor then. In order to stop the re-election of Tinubu in 2003, Dawodu had pulled out of the AD and contested the governorship election on the platform of Progressives Action Congress (PAC) to stop Tinubu. But, Dawodu lost his deposit in that election. That was how Dawodu lost relevance in Lagos politics.

    “The Osoba group has the right to contest on the platform of any party, including the SDP. But, they should not take people for granted. Name dropping has no role to play in this dispensation, your antecedent is what matters most,”  he added.

  • New Lagos PFN chairman preaches love

    •Seeks reconciliation

    The newly-elected chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Lagos State chapter, Bishop Sola Ore, has called on church leaders to close ranks and learn to work together.

    He said only then will their passion to expand the kingdom of God come to fruition.

    Ore spoke last Friday during the inauguration of the new executive council of the body in Lagos.

    He lamented that there are some pastors who do not see eye-to-eye with others, a situation he said was counterproductive to the mandate and image of the church.

    While calling for love among gospel ministers, Ore said the foundation of the gospel is not “prayer, it is not fasting. It is not breakthrough and it is not water or Holy Spirit baptism.”

    The gospel, he explained, is built on love for one another. “If we ever succeed in this assignment, it must be by love. Divided we fall, united we stand.”

    He regretted the division among church leaders, saying it must be reversed to save the church.

    “It’s in the church that we fight one another. It’s in the church that we kill our wounded soldiers. We not only do that, we also supervise their burial.

    “There are pastors who don’t see eye to eye. Their followers should be pitied. There is bitterness in the heart of many of our pastors. Let’s love without hypocrisy. Our community is waiting for us,” Ore stressed.

    He stated that he did not expect to be elected as the new chairman of the body.

    According to him: “The news came to me as a shock. I did not expect it. I did not bargain for it. As a matter of fact, when one of our fathers broached the idea with me, I simply said I was not interested.”

    Ore however offered himself for service under the guidance of God.

    He pledged to pursue peace, reconciliation and empower member-churches to become change agents in all facets of life.

  • ‘No reconciliation in Osun PDP’

    ‘No reconciliation in Osun PDP’

    Supporters of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Osun State Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi have criticised the chapter for the slow pace of reconciliation, following the controversial April 5 governorship primaries.

    The senator, who addressed his supporters in Osogbo, the state capital, expressed dissatisfaction with indifference of the leadership to reconciliation. He maintained that the ward congresses that preceded the primaries were severely flawed.

    At the meeting, Akinlabi’s supporters complained about marginalisation anmd exclusion  from party activities.

    In a communique issued at the end of the meeting, the Akinlabi Campaign Group said the party may proceed into the governorship poll as a divided house, unless urgent steps are taken to reconcile the blocs in the chapter.  The communique was signed gy its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Ayo Aluko-Olokun.

    The group also warned that the party may not succeed at the poll, unless there is peace in the chapter. However, the members said that they had no intention of defecting from the party.

    According to the group, there are outstanding issues that must be resolved, if the PDP is desirous of victory.

    The statement added: “We wish to restate our commitment to the PDP while pursuing the quests for justice, fairness and internal democracy within the Party.

    “The reconciliation of all the governorship aspirants and their supporters with the party should have taken place before the unveiling of the governorship candidate, if truly the party was sincere with its vouched reconciliation move.

    “We wish to observe that the impression being created inadvertently is that, with or without the other governorship aspirants and their supporters.