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Tag: Saraki

  • Buhari to take actions on IGP/Saraki issue, others – Senate Leader

    President Muhammadu Buhari would soon take appropriate actions aimed at addressing the `not too cordial’ relationship between  National Assembly and the Executive arm of government.

    Senate Leader Ahmad Lawan revealed this on Tuesday when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the closed door meeting between the president and the 10-man senate delegation.

    He said the president had pledged to address all issues concerning the two arms of government including the impasse between Senate President Bukola Saraki and Inspector-General of Police Idris Ibrahim.

    Cue in audio – Lawan

    “Well the IGP thing was one of the issues discussed on a general note But of course it is right that the committee was set up after some incidents had happened.

    “But let me said that the issues are beyond IGP/Senate affair. We have so many other issues that bother on ensuring that we work better with the executive arm of government.

    “So, the IGP issue was just one of those issues that were discussed.

    “Well we have told the president all the issues that we thought we should discuss with him and of course those issues we were mandated to discuss with him and he has taken notes and would take appropriate actions,’’ he said.

    Cue out audio – Lawan

    The Senate leader expressed the hope that the meeting would promote more understanding between the executive and the legislature for the general good of the country.

    He described as `normal’ cases of misunderstanding between arms of government, saying that efforts were being put in place to ensure that “the executive and the legislative arms are on the same page.’’

    It would be recalled that the Senate had on May 9 passed a vote of no confidence on the IGP, describing him as “enemy of democracy’’ over his failure to honour its invitations twice.

    Idris, however, asked the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations), Joseph Habila to represent him at the senate.

    Saraki on Wednesday also accused the IGP of plotting to implicate him and Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara in a murder case involving some suspected cultists.

    The Senate on Thursday raised a 10-man panel to meet with Buhari over the allegation leveled against the IGP by Saraki.(NAN)

  • Saraki/IGP face-off: Senate leadership meets Buhari

    The leadership of the Senate on Tuesday met President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors over alleged plot by the Inspector -General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to frame the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, on a murder charge.

    The Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, told State House correspondents at the end of the meeting that they came to confer with the President on how to smoothen the working relationship between the legislature and the executive.

    But former Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Adamu, told journalists they came  to meet the President because of the alarm raised by the Senate president on the plot to implicate him and Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, by suspected hoodlums.

    Adamu said: “The Senate President made some comments to the effect that he received a call from his governor that some persons suspected to be cultists who are undergoing investigation in Ilorin would be transferred to Abuja and it is becoming a problem that is why the governor intimated him.

    “That is why it was decided that we should come as leaders in the Assembly to hear what is going on and if anything can be done about it.”

    Asked why policemen were not allowed to perform their duties, the lawmaker added: “That cannot stop us from coming to see the President on the matter and to hear from him if you really know what has been happening at the National Assembly.

    “That cannot stop us from coming to see the President on the matter and to hear from him if you really know what has been happening at the National Assembly.

    “If there is a harmonious working relationship between the executive and legislature and even the judiciary all these type of things will not come up and even if they do come, not in the way they are coming up now.

    “A small matter is often overblown and it becomes a problem for everybody. This is the result of some unnecessary utterances because things are not going as expected. So long as suspicion and accusations continue to exist within the minds of some people who ordinarily shouldn’t have them, these things will continue.”

    Also in the delegation were the – Senate Chief Whip, Olusola Adeyeye, Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, Danjuma Goje, Abiodun Olujinmi, and Sam Egwu.

  • Saraki vs IGP: Senate delegation meets Buhari at Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari is meeting with 10-man senate delegation raised to address the ongoing impasse between the Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Inspector-General of Police over a criminal case involving some suspected cultists.

    NAN reports that members of the senate delegation included former governors of Nasarawa (Abdullahi Adamu), Gombe (Danjuma Goje) and Akwa Ibom, Mr Godswill Akpabio.

    NAN observed that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly matters (Senate), Mr Ita Enang also accompanied the senators to the meeting with the president.

    It would be recalled that the Senate had on May 9 passed vote of no confidence on the IGP, describing him as “enemy of democracy’’ over his failure to honour its invitations twice.

    Read Also: Senate panel, Omo-Agege trade words over appearance at sitting

    Idris, however, asked the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations), Joseph Habila to represent at the senate.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki on Wednesday also accused the IGP of plotting to implicate him and Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara in a murder case involving some suspected cultists.

    The Senate on Thursday raised a 10-man panel to meet with President Buhari over the allegation leveled against the IGP by Saraki.

  • APC to meet with Saraki, Dogara, Wamakko, others

    Buoyed by the olive branch from leaders of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party(nPDP),the All Progressives Congress(APC) is to meet with  Senate President Bukola Saraki, House Speaker Yakubu Dogara and others.

    Other aggrieved bigwigs on the radar of the party are Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal,  ex-Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso, Aliyu Wammako and Danjuma Goje.

    There are also senators and members of the House of Representatives.

    Former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola stayed away from yesterday’s meeting in Abuja because “he has made up his mind to team up with his boss, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, to form a coalition against President Muhammadu Buhari”.

    The party will however submit a comprehensive report to the Presidency after consultations with all those aggrieved.

    According to sources, the APC opted for more talks, following  “positive signs” with leaders of nPDP at the meeting.

    The source said: “Our meeting provided more insights and we are looking at the next phase. In the second phase, the party will meet with nPDP leaders including Saraki, Dogara, Kwankwaso, Tambuwal, Wammako, Goje and others.

    “There is likelihood that the party will sit down with these leaders and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo before finally reuniting all. So, we take the meeting up to the highest quarters in the interest of all.

    “It is an election year, we will not allow them to go anywhere. The nPDP leaders warned that APC should “not push them to the wall to defect to any party. We will avert being pushed to the wall because time is not on our side.”

    The source gave insights into the talks by the two sides.

    The source added: “The defunct nPDP team was led by its chairman, Alh. Kawu Baraje and five members of the House of Representatives led by Ali Madaki from Kano State.

    “The party was represented at the closed door session by its Deputy National Chairman( North), Sen. Lawal Shuaibu and the National Secretary, Mallam Mai Mala Buni.

    “At the session, they stood by the contents of their letter to the party and insisted that they  were unhappy because the APC leadership did not play its roles as a party in government.

    “They complained over gross indiscipline in the party and how the party formed with good intentions has derailed.

    “These leaders said they never wanted to defect to any party if everybody and every group are respected and given a sense of belonging.

    “But they were forthcoming that they will leave APC if only they are pushed to the wall by APC leadership.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “Throughout the meeting, they made it clear that they have no grudges with President Muhammadu Buhari, they only blamed the leadership of the party.”

    On the outcome of the meeting, the source added: “The situation is redeemable if the issues raised are adequately addressed.

    “The leader of the  APC team, the Deputy National Chairman ( North), Sen. Shuaibu  will brief  the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and other members of the National Working Committee( NWC).”

    “After all the phases of meetings and consultations, APC will then write a comprehensive report to the presidency which will serve as a guide on how to address the grievances of the nPDP leaders.”

    APC said yesterday it would address the grievances of the members of the defunct nPDP in its fold, who complained of marginalisation.

    The party’s Deputy National Chairman Lawal Shuaibu said the party was taking the complaint seriously.

    He spoke after a meeting of the party leadership with the nPDP team at the party’s secretariat.

    The meeting was called in response to the call by the nPDP members for action to be taken on their complaints.

    Shuaibu, who led the APC NWC team to the meeting on behalf of National Chairman Oyegun, said: “We have not yet resolved. They wrote a letter to us, they are partymen, they have grievances, we looked at the letter,their grievances are genuine. And they requested a meeting within seven days and before the seven days expired, I called them and they were not ready to come, they said we should shift the meeting till today, which we did.

    “So, we are listening to them, we have listened to them and we are taking up their matter seriously, we will address it. We don’t ignore our people except if you don’t send your grievances to the party, but if you send, we will always address your grievances.”

    However, the nPDP leader  Baraje expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by the party to address their complaint, saying “So far so good, we have just started and when you start a race, you don’t say whether somebody wants to see you until you are getting to the middle or to the end. But it is a good start, it is a good beginning”.

    Baraje said: “As you are aware, we requested that we wanted to see the party, and the party, very sensitive party, very responsible party, responded to our requests adequately and we think it is a very encouraging time.

    “Since last week, they have got across to us but because of logistics  we couldn’t come until today. We begged the party to shift the date till today and we have seen our party. We are party members; this office is our office, we have only come home to discuss those observations, which we wrote in our letter. The meeting was very beautiful.”

    Baraje refused to respond to the allegation by Sen. Abdullahi Adamu’s group, saying “I am not ready to do that because somebody has earlier responded to them adequately. I think the former Youth Leader of the defunct nPDP, Timi Frank, responded to them and once somebody has responded, there is no need beating around the bush.

    “In any case, in any group, particularly political groups, you are bound to have a splinter; why they splint is best known to them. As far as we are concerned, the group that   sent us here are 95.9 per cent intact.”

  • ‘Saraki, IGP face-off needless’

    Lawyers have urged Senate President Bukola Saraki and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris to sheathe their swords.

    According to them, the two public officers should stick to their constitutional roles.

    Saraki had accused the IGP of plotting to frame him up “to settle scores.”

    He claimed that the transfer of some cultism suspects, who were arrested in Kwara State and were under investigation by the police in Ilorin, to the Force Headquarters in Abuja, was meant to coerce them into implicating him.

    But the Police dismissed the Senate President’s and Kwara State government’s claim as “untrue, misleading and an obstruction” and vowed to not allow anybody to obstruct the course of justice.

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) Executive Director Adetokunbo Mumuni said the brickbats were needless, adding that Nigeria’s interest should always come first.

    He said: “The police must be professional in whatever matter they handle, so that the outcome will be consistent with the truth, ethics and morality.

    “I don’t want to believe the Senate President; I also don’t want to believe the IGP. But they must do a professional job. That is what is important in Nigeria, so that we don’t hide crime under politics and we don’t hide politics under crime.”

    For Lagos lawyer, Abayomi Omoyinmi, the Police were merely carrying out their constitutional duty.

    ”The police should be allowed to do their work and it’s obvious that where anyone tries to interfere and or obstruct police investigation, such person or persons will be committing an offence under the law,” he said.

    Omoyinmi, a member of the Ogun State Judiciary Service Commission, said the unsubstantiated claims between the two must end.

    “This is very unnecessary and should be handled with caution. The police should be categorical about the situation surrounding the allegations about their intentions without allowing any perversion of the course of justice from any quarter,” he added.

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja Branch Welfare Secretary Samson Omodara believes Police have acted within the laws.

    He said: “The alarm as raised by the Senate President is also his right if he suspects infringement or apprehension of infringement.

    “But for now, the police should be allowed to do their job as the Senate president should also assemble his legal team to ward off any act of intimidation.

    “It is also a way to strengthen our democracy and jurisprudence,” he said.

  • APC, nPDP in talks to avert Saraki, Dogara, others exit

    NWC meeting with Baraje, other ex-PDP leaders ‘not to negotiate’

    All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders are to meet today with leaders of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) over their grievances.

    A group of APC members led by one-time Acting PDP National Chairman Kawu Baraje, claiming marginalisation of its members by the APC-led Federal Government a fortnight ago, gave the party a one-week deadline to meet with it and address its grievances.

    Although another group of ex-PDP members, led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu and House of Representatives member Abdumumin Jibrin, told the party to call the bluff of the Baraje-led group, it was learnt yesterday that the leadership opted to discuss with the Baraje group so as not to be accused of lack of fairness.

    The party was said to be aware that some of the nPDP leaders had made up their minds to defect from the ruling party, but wanted to give those protesting the opportunity to air their grievances. The outcome of the meeting will be presented to the Presidency and other organs of the party for consideration, a member of the National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said.

    Among those suspected to be planning their exit are Senate President Bukola Saraki and House Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

    Yesterday in Ilorin, Baraje confirmed that his group had been invited to a meeting in Abuja today with the party leadership.

    Baraje said: “The last time we met here (Baraje’s house) in 2016, I told you that the way the party was going on we were on the road to perdition.

    “If you look at the letter  we wrote,  we never said we gave ultimatum but that we advised them;  we hinted the party because  of the ongoing  primaries of the party. Now the party has invited us, exactly on the seventh day of the letter and they  wanted us to meet  that same day but because we were speaking for several leaders across the country we told them we couldn’t meet that same day; so now they have scheduled  a meeting for tomorrow (Monday)  anytime from 2pm.”

    He dismissed the opposition to the group led by Adamu, saying the nPDP is such a large group that it cannot but have some dissent.

    “We have travelled a long way with the APC and now we are seeing things worse in APC than in PDP. If we are leaders worth the name we should be bold enough to speak about it,” Baraje said.

    The NWC member said: “We asked the nPDP leaders to come for interaction on their letter to shed more light on their grievances, collate facts and figures and get their opinions on the way forward.

    “He who alleges must prove. We want to get the facts and figures on the allegations they have put in the public domain.

    “We have also invited the nPDP leaders to give them a sense of fair hearing in order not to give them any justification for leaving APC.

    “The truth is that politics is about dialogue, shifting grounds, and finding solutions to issues.”

    Asked of the next step after today’s meeting, the source added: “We will relate the outcome to our leaders in the Presidency, the NWC and all other organs of the party.

    “At the end of the day, we will take a decision on the way out.”

    Another NWC member said: “We know some of the nPDP leaders have made up their minds to leave APC, no matter the nature of dialogue we have with them.

    “This meeting with them is not negotiation in any form whatsoever. We do not have the mandate of the organs of the party to negotiate with them. We need to clear the air before they mislead the public.

    “They are party elders and we will be fair and equitable to hear their side before briefing other organs of APC.”

    Lending credence the feeling that some of the nPDP members are already on their way out of the APC, Baraje said: “Let me warn that every politician has aspirations, either as individuals or as a group. And every politician will go to where his aspirations will be fulfilled.”

    He, however, added that the group was working for the reelection of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari has declared his ambition for the 2019 elections and those of us in APC are desirous of his victory. That necessitated the letter we wrote. What we are saying in the letter is that for us to win big in the election is to review and revisit all the agreements we have reached with one another in APC. We are only reminding the party.

    “We are desirous that Buhari wins, are desirous that our party wins the presidential election and the only way we can do it is to ensure that everybody is carried along. This is the right time for those of us who are aggrieved to complain so that we do not carry the grievances to elections period. It is not as if we are rebelling,” Baraje said.

    He urged the party leadership to disregard the Adamu group:

    Baraje lamented what he called the high rate of internal  conflicts within the ruling APC, which has culminated in “parallel state congresses in about 21 states”. He said contrary to insinuations in some quarters, the nPDP’s letter to the leadership of the APC was to forestall such occurrences.

    Other members of the former nPDP in the APC believed to be aagrieved and being wooed by the PDP and other political parties are Governors Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara). Ot

    There are also  Senators Rabiu Kwankwaso, Dino Melaye, Danjuma Goje, Adamu Aliero, Shehu Sani, Suleiman Nazif, Aliyu Wamako, Hamisu Misau, Sani Yerima and some House of Representatives members.

    Baraje is Saraki’s political acolyte.

    Former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, one of the signatories to the nPDP’s letter to the APC leadership, has resigned from the ruling party to join former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s African Democratic Congress (ADC). He was the coordinator of the Coalition for New Nigeria floated by the former President before it fused with the ADC.

  • PDP’s secret deal for Saraki, Dogara, Tambuwal, others

    •Party’s Contact and Integration Committee gets two-week extension
    •Jonathan’s ex-minister emerges dark horse in the race
    •Ex- Gov. Boni Haruna is Turaki’s Campaign DG
    •Dogara walks tight rope

    WHAT’S ON OFFER TO WHO

    • KWANKWASO: State PDP structure in Kano,  governorship ticket to his preferred candidate and Senatorial seat

     

    • SARAKI: PDP structure in Kwara,  governorship ticket to his candidate, Senate Presidency
    • presidential primaries, ministerial ticket if he loses 

      WAMMAKO: PDP structure in Sokoto, governorship ticket to his candidate, Senatorial seat

       

      DOGARA: Speaker, House of Reps; Ministerial appointment

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has given its Contact and Integration Committee a two-week extension to wrap up negotiations with Senate President Bukola Saraki, House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who are keen on switching camps.

    Other bigwigs being expected are Governors Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto) and  Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Senators Rabiu Kwankwaso, Danjuma Goje, Aliyu Wammako, Ahmad Sani Yerima, Adamu Aliero, Sulaiman Nazif, Isa Hammah Misau,  Muhammad Muhammad, Shehu Sani and Dino Melaye; as well as a former PDP national chairman, Alhaji Kawu Baraje; and about 120 members of the House of Representatives.

    The Nation gathered yesterday that the secret deals have dragged this long because of persistent review of positions and shifting of grounds by the personalities involved.

    Highly placed sources gave our correspondent an insight into the demands of some of the intending defectors whom the PDP committee has rated as “assets” and what the PDP is willing to concede to them.

    Former Kano State Governor Kwankwaso is being offered control of the state structure of the PDP and the governorship ticket to go to his candidate.

    But the party does not see him going far in his presidential bid.

    “The best he can get from PDP is a return to the Senate because he cannot go far in his presidential bid,” a source said.

    “The party will allow him to contest its presidential primaries but he may not be the ultimate flag-bearer. Other concessions to Kwankwaso are handing over the State PDP structure to him and governorship ticket to go to his candidate.”

    The party expects some backlash from the camp of a presidential aspirant, ex-Governor Ibrahim Shekarau once Kwankwaso returns to the fold.

    Accordingly, it plans to placate Shekarau with a ministerial slot and ask him to “name his terms.”

    Regarding Tambuwal, the source said: “Nothing can stop his desire for the presidential ticket of PDP because he is desperate for it and he has invested heavily on his ambition across the country such that none of the aspirants can match his goodwill at present.

    “But his aspiration, buoyed by a prominent and PDP-inclined Northern Emir, may not translate to victory at the presidential primaries of the party.

    “Certainly, he is a major contestant for the presidential ticket in PDP except that with ex-Governor (Sen.) Aliyu Wammako, he needs to work on Plan B in case he fails in his bid.

    “The most visible alternative if he fails to clinch the presidential ticket is a ministerial appointment.

    “A smart and slippery politician, Tambuwal has hijacked the APC structure in the state from Wammako. Learning from the need to protect the home front, Wammako’s negotiation centres on the need to control the PDP structure in Sokoto State and produce the next governor of the state having not enjoyed much from Tambuwal who was foisted on him in 2015. Wammako is said to be sure of a return to the Senate, courtesy of PDP.

    “Both Tambuwal and Wammako have a game changer and grassroots politician, ex-Governor Attahiru Bafarawa (also a presidential aspirant) to contend with. It was Bafarawa who brought Wammako (popularly called Alu) into politics.

    “The people of Sokoto State will be willing to offload Tambuwal who hardly stays in the state because of his shuttles for the presidency.”

    The source said Saraki would have loved to be PDP’s presidential candidate but having weighed his chances; he prefers retaining “his present powerful position of President of the Senate which he seems to be enjoying.”

    The PDP has assured him that the position will be retained in the North-Central, especially Kwara State.

    It has also promised to grant him the control of the structure of the party in Kwara and allow him determine the governorship candidate and candidates for other elective offices.

    The source added: “Saraki will determine the fate of his godson, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, who has been pleading for the senatorial slot of Kwara South District.

    “Ahmed can either be a Senator or a minister since the present ministerial position given to Kwara State resides in Kwara South District.

    “What will become of our former national chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje is left to Saraki to decide. Although Baraje, a sharp, patient and visionary ex-principal with depth in party politics, nurses gubernatorial ambition, but for historical reasons, the  Ilorin Emirate Council is not disposed to him.

    “His gubernatorial ambition is limited and it is left to Saraki not to make him a complete loser again after he led the New PDP (nPDP) revolt in 2014.”

    It was also gathered that strategists of President Muhammadu Buhari are working out a response on the security reports available to them on Saraki’s moves and PDP offers.

    This includes “wooing some of the present PDP leaders in the state like Moshood Mustapha (a hitherto trusted ally of Saraki), a young and sensational governorship aspirant, Alhaji Luqman Mustapha, and Senator Gbemisola Saraki, among others.”

    The plan is “not only to win Kwara State (which looks Herculean) but to defeat the Senate President in Kwara Central Senatorial District and forestall his return to the Senate.”

    The PDP is said to be in a sort of dilemma on the fate of House of Reps Speaker Dogara, a Christian minority from Bauchi State as it is difficult for him to seek a Senatorial slot or be a governorship candidate.

    The options for PDP on him are to “concede a return to the House of Representatives to him so he can retain the seat of a Speaker if the party has the majority or make him a minister if the opposition defeats the APC in 2019.”

    The probability of Dogara becoming Speaker again is however said to be remote because the PDP wants to use the position as a bait to woo the South-West and defeat Buhari in the zone.

    Sources said Dogara is adamant on a return to his seat as Speaker.

    Another source, who is neck-deep in the defection talks, said: “Dogara is a major challenge for us because aside his Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency, he is a paper weight in Bauchi State politics.

    “There was a time he visited his constituency with about 250 policemen and soldiers. He cannot aspire to either be a Senator or a governor in his state because he is a Christian minority.

    “But if he is able to win re-election in his constituency, where he is almost a perpetual winner in the past few years, the PDP can retain him in office to appease the Middle Belt. Otherwise, the best he will get is a ministerial appointment.”

    “Other Senators from Bauchi namely Sulaiman Nazif, Isa Hammah Misau, and Muhammad Muhammad who all desire automatic return to the upper chamber have been promised senatorial tickets by the PDP.

    The PDP rates Senator Danjuma Goje highly and is willing to cede the party structure in Gombe State to him.

    “The fact that he is in control of Gombe State politics is not in doubt,” said a second source.

    “His main asset has been his excellent performance in office as governor which has remained unbroken. If not for the rebellion of some of his political godsons, APC would have produced the governor of the state in 2015.

    “The PDP has taken note of his reunification of his political family and it is banking on Goje for a landslide victory. The deals with Goje include securing the PDP platform, allowing him to produce the governorship candidate, and offer of a senatorial seat.”

    But Goje may be resisted by Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo who cannot leave his political fate to the senator to determine.

    When Goje’s wife died and Dankwambo accompanied First Lady Aisha Buhari to commiserate with him, Goje poured invectives on the governor. It won’t be easy for him to regain control of PDP structure in Gombe from Dankwambo, both sources acknowledged.

    For Senator Ahmad Sani Yerima whose political son, Governor Abdul-Aziz Yari has built a parallel platform in Zamfara State, his safe berth will be PDP.

    If his deal sails through, this will be the first time he will be in PDP camp since 1999.

    The top source added: “For Yarima, who has been in the Senate since 2007, he needs PDP to assert his role as the godfather of Zamfara politics.

    “With his ally, ex-Governor Mahmud Shinkafi defecting from PDP to APC, the calculation of the opposition is that Yarima is a big catch.

    “Yarima wants the party structure, Senatorial ticket, the right to nominate the governorship candidate, which Yari will not allow him to do.

    “His problem is turning against President Buhari. Since 2007, he has sold Buhari to the people of the state and it is a dilemma to turn around and paint the President bad. The consequence of a volte face might be politically costly for him.”

    Sources also told The Nation that it has not been smooth sailing for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the PDP since he returned to the party from the APC which he accused of sidelining him.

    They said he rushed to defect to PDP without “proper negotiation.”

    “The only thing he has benefited from his defection is the amendment to PDP Constitution which gives equal rights to new and old members, especially aspiration for presidency,” one of the sources said.

    “So far, he is savouring this right to aspire for the presidency but he has since discovered that he has more hurdles to cross and more aspirants to contest with.

    “He appears to be a lone ranger with PDP governors playing a hide and seek game with him.

    “Whatever is the situation, PDP will allow  Atiku a symbolic shot at presidential primaries (as a veteran since 1993), put the party structure in Adamawa under  his arm pit and allow him a substantial say in the nomination of governorship and ministerial candidates. If he loses the party’s presidential ticket, he will remain a local political benefactor.

    “His former boss, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo is his albatross,” the source added.

    The PDP has ex-Osun Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola on its radar as the coordinator of the coalition against APC in 2019.

    The source said: “We don’t know whether or not he is returning to PDP or staying put in CNM (Obasanjo’s inspired Coalition for Nigeria Movement) or ADC.

    “Whatever it is, the PDP might grant him a Senatorial ticket or a ministerial nomination which he had expected from the current APC administration.

    “But Oyinlola is reputed to be the brain behind the emergence of Senator Ademola Adeleke after the death of Sen. Isiaka Adeleke. He has been fingered in the governorship ambition of Ademola which the PDP may buy into in order to win Osun State Governorship poll.”

    The scenario in Kaduna appears an arduous task for PDP where an influential politician Isa Ashiru and Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi (a politician with large following) are seeking the governorship ticket of the PDP following their sealed defection from APC.

    “Both Ashiru and Hunkuyi are already trying to outwit each other for the governorship ticket. It appears Ashiru might get the slot and Hunkuyi will return to the Senate with Shehu Sani if he moves to PDP,” sources said.

    The horse-trading in PDP is likely to continue over the next two weeks before the gale of defections begins.

    A party source said yesterday that the PDP leadership “extended the timeline of the Committee contact and Integration Committee by two weeks.”

    Asked to react to the ongoing deals by defectors, the National Publicity of PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan, who was non-committal, said: “Certainly, everybody has his interest and politics is a game of interest. They might want to find expression in our party and how to go about it.

    “Our party is open and we welcome every member who has become despondent with the administration of APC. We urge all democrats wherever they may be to allow the coalition to work in order to chase away this inept government of President Buhari.”

    It was also gathered that Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs in the Goodluck Jonathan Administration, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), is in the process of joining the presidential race on the platform of the PDP.

    Turaki, who is considered an aspirant without blemish, is being promoted by what a member of the National Working Committee (NWC) described as a “Third Force in PDP.”

    Some in the party see him as a dark horse in the race.

    Turaki has already set up his campaign directorate with ex-Governor Boni Haruna as Director-General.

    To assist Haruna are  ex-Military Governor of Bauchi State, Col. Habibu Shuaibu (rtd),  (Deputy DG North), and  ex-Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Steve Oru as Deputy DG (South).

    “The composition of the directorate during the week suggested a bigger accord and alliance in PDP,” a member of the NWC said.

    A member of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), speaking on the ongoing horse-trading in the party said: “The odds favour a dark horse. Go and look at the history of past presidents and how they earned their tickets, it has been a story of dark horses.

    “Ex-President Shehu Shagari least expected his nomination; ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted only an eminent role as a statesman and he came out of Yola Prison to become President; ex-President Umaru Yar’Adua never aspired to be President and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan was having lunch in Transcorp Hilton when Obasanjo invited him to come and be the nation’s Vice President which later propelled him into presidency with the Doctrine of Necessity.

    “Some leaders of the party are of the opinion that we should ignore lousy aspirants; those who have cases with anti-graft agencies and those who have issues with leaders of the coming coalition which may give President Muhammadu Buhari a fight. Unlike APC, we will pay much attention to age factor too. No room for old men like me.

    “If there are other younger elements like Turaki, we will all sit down and look at all the options. Dankwambo has age on his side but he is from the North-East. The only way to defeat Buhari is to get a presidential candidate from the North-West.

    “Governor Tambuwal is favoured by age but he has a challenge bordering on the fact that Governor Nyesom Wike and some of his colleagues are desperate to force him on the party. This is undemocratic. We will leave him to contest the primaries but he might not secure the ticket.”

     

     

  • Saraki, IGP’s naked dance in the village square

    SHEER ego brought us to this low. Nigeria, we all do know, is saturated with quite a number of laws. Unfortunately, these laws are mainly operated in the breach such that the privileged few have developed a template through which they trample on and abuse the law with irritable arrogance. That is why the law is not an ass here. It panders, mostly, to the dictates of those who wield power. For the vulnerable millions who cannot afford its price, they hardly escape its full weight or wrath as the case may be. Most often than not, criminality is measured by the size of your pocket or the quality of influence you exert. Perhaps if everyone has surrendered to the supremacy of our laws and constitution, the Senate and the Nigerian Police would not be dancing naked in the market square so shamelessly over a simple matter bordering on national security. Now, the flip side to this is that national security has different coloration here. Its meaning is not as straight forward as the words sound. Sometimes, calling the President by his first name or asking a senator to visit a police station for interrogation may be considered as tantamount to breaching national security and exposing a senior citizen to danger. We are that petty.

    Let me place it on record that the ongoing war of attrition between the Senate and the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, is a gratuitous insult on our collective intelligence. The huffing and puffing from both sides of the divide will only add to Nigeria’s long-running narrative of hollow posturing as a democratic nation sauced with a mindset of military mentality. Lest we forget, we are where we are today on this matter because a serving lawmaker, Senator Dino Melaye, chose to ignore a routine invitation by The Police to defend himself in an alleged criminal indictment by suspects in their custody. Dino could have honoured that invitation in company with his lawyer and the processes, I believe, would have gone smoothly without any drama. Instead, he paid little attention to the matter, carrying on as if it was business as usual until the Police declared him wanted and effected his forceful arrest. Whilst Dino was at his dramatic best shooting one abusive videos after the other, none of those hailing him as a victim of police brutality against a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria reminded him that he was under obligation to honour the official invite. I doubt if they told him that his short but brutal dramatic skits on the social media, impugning the integrity of perceived enemies can never replace the need to obey the official summon. At least, not one single senator was on record as advising him to address the allegations as every law abiding citizen would. No one reminded him that being a senator does not transmute one into an untouchable—someone above the law.

    By the way, this does not mean that one is grossing over Dino’s fears about the police or their tendency to rope him into a criminal case just to silence him. Having said this, his suicidal attempt to escape from police custody by jumping out of a moving vehicle while he was being ferried to Kogi somewhere in Area 2, Abuja must be condemned. It was a tactical blunder regardless of his status. If any petty criminal had played that fast one on any of the security agencies, I doubt if such person would live to threaten anyone that he would kill himself and cause problems for the country as Dino did in a video that went viral. Such a person would have been dead given the frequency with which security men accidentally dispose of stubborn suspects. And so, Dino is lucky to be recuperating in one of the best medical facilities as he faces his travail like a cowed lion.

    Yet, the question remains: did we need to get to this banal low before commonsense prevails? The answer is no. We are here because the opportunistic elite hardly tell themselves the home truth. As usual, on this matter, their conscience revved into action when they saw one of their own being stretchered to the court first in Abuja and, later, in Kogi to answer to charges on bothering on criminal conspiracy. It was at that moment they realized that Idris and his men have crossed the proverbial red line. They were flummoxed, flabbergasted and railed with uncontrollable rage. It was at that moment they realised that Idris, the same top police chief whom President Muhammadu Buhari publicly acknowledged as disobeying his order to relocate to Benue State at the height of the mass killings by armed herdsmen, had violated national security. Pronto, they moved in to cut his wings. Idris was summoned to, as the letter read, “brief the Senate on the inhuman treatment meted on Senator Dino Melaye over a matter that is pending before a court of competent law court (sic); and other killings across Nigeria.” By the way, this is the same Senate that didn’t hesitate to suspend one of its own for daring to disagree with its decision and seeking redress at a court of competent jurisdiction!

    Of course, it has been a ding-dong affair as Idris simply refused to honour that invitation. The subsequent appearance of a senior police officer did not assuage the senators. They wanted Idris’s head on a plate. It is either that or nothing. With riotous anger, they tabled their case against a man they tagged as unfit for any public office, a persona non grata before Buhari. As usual, the President promised to look into that matter. But they know better than rely on a presidential promise with no maturity date. Meanwhile, their sacred cow, Dino, was still under the custody of the police even in the hospital. What then should be the next action as the police insist that security matters cannot be discussed in the public glare as the Senate would have liked. Tired of what it called Idris’ straw holding tactics, the Senate became fired up by Senate President Bukola Saraki’s latest allegation that information at his disposal suggest that the IGP was planning to frame him in a case involving some arrested cultists and subsequently indict him and the Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatai Ahmed, as retaliatory measure for his insistence that Idris must account for his stewardship in office amid the killings and human rights abuse by the Police.

    Listen to Saraki: “In my own View, this plot is an act of desperation, blackmail, intimidation, abuse of office and crude tactics aimed at turning our country into a Police State where top officials cannot be made to obey the law, follow due process and subject themselves to constituted authorities. I want to bring this dangerous development to the attention of all of you my colleagues, the entire country and the international community so that you can be aware of the level of impunity in our country and the danger it constitute to our democracy.”

    Of course, the Police swiftly denied the allegation made by the Senate President, describing it as “unbelievable claims, unverifiable allegations and unfounded accusations with no iota of truth.”  Now, this is not the time to accuse anyone of attempting to impede justice or crying wolf where there was none. Saraki, in his speech, hit on the real problems—the reign of impunity in high places. When the Senate points a finger of “desperation, blackmail, intimidation, abuse of office and crude tactics against the Police, it should realise that the remaining four leprous fingers sorely point back at it. Truth be told, Nigerians are tired of this shenanigan. Without prejudice to his fears, Saraki should have availed himself of the privileged channels open to him to express his thoughts, to wit blackmail, without playing to the gallery and relish in the folly with which his colleagues concoct fallacious allegations against a constituted authority saddled with the arduous responsibility of protecting lives and properties. Shouldn’t he have allowed the police to discharge its function of investigating the arrested criminals who allegedly murdered eleven people without Wednesday’s drama at plenary? Would he have said the same thing that he was being targeted if these criminals were moved from Ogun State to the Force Headquarters? And when did his state governor become the chief intelligence officer of the federation such that he would hastily conclude that his godfather was the target of the transfer of the culprits to Abuja?

    One thing is sure: this ego fight, shadow boxing and display of infantile impunity inflict more collateral damage on the country’s image. The way we play cheap politics with everything and anything is deleterious to our collective wellbeing. If simple rules had been obeyed at the beginning, there wouldn’t have been any need for the muscle-flexing that is now threatening the fractious peace that was in place. Until the law becomes truly a blind ass that is a no respecter of status, creed or position, we will continue stewing in this self-inflicted pot of ignominy. Pity.

  • Saraki, IG fight dirty over arrested killer-cult suspects

    Senate President Bukola Saraki on Wednesday accused Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris of plotting to frame him up “to settle scores.”

    The police rejected the claim, vowing that it would not allow anybody to obstruct the course of justice.

    According to Saraki, the transfer of some cultism suspects, who were arrested in Kwara State and were under investigation by the police in Ilorin, to the Force Headquarters in Abuja, was meant to coerce them into  implicating him.

    In a statement he read to the Senate at plenary, Saraki said: “Last night, my State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, revealed to me an information at his disposal that a group of suspects who had been in police cells for several weeks for cultism and whose investigation had been concluded with prosecution about to commence under the State law based on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the Ministry of Justice were ordered to be transferred to Abuja this morning.

    “According to the information available to the Governor, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Idris Ibrahim directed the Commissioner of Police in Kwara State to immediately transfer the men to the Force Headquarters. The plan, as the Governor was made to understand is that, under duress, the suspects would be made to alter the statements they already made in Ilorin. They will then be made to implicate the Kwara State Government, and in particular, myself, in their new statement.

    “This plot is part of the strategy by the IGP Idris to settle scores over the declaration by this honourable Chamber that he is not qualified and competent to hold any public office, within and outside the country and that he is an enemy of Nigerian democracy based on his usual disrespectful conduct towards lawful authorities.

    “In my own view, this plot is an act of desperation, blackmail, intimidation, abuse of office and crude tactics aimed at turnlng our country into a Police State where top officials cannot be made to obey the law, follow due process and subject themselves to constituted authorities.

    “I want to bring this dangerous development to the attention of all of you my colleagues, the entire country and the international community so that you can be aware of the level of impunity in our country and the danger it constitutes to our democracy.”

    The Kwara State Government said it was concerned about the transfer of four suspected cult members from the state police command to Abuja.

    Director of Public Persecution (DPP) Jimoh Adebimpe Mumini said the offences “are state-based and triable under the state laws”.

    The DPP, who wondered why four out of the 17 accused persons were transferred to Abuja, said the state had successfully prosecuted some notorious cases of cultism in the past.

    “We had cases of   notorious and dangerous killers in the state, which have been handled in the state. Our hope is that the Nigeria Police Force will return the four accused persons to the state for trial.”

    Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor Chief Leke Ogungbe, said the state security council hoped that the transfer of the suspects “is not politically- motivated”.

    But the Police dismissed the Senate President’s and Kwara State government’s claim as “untrue, misleading and an obstruction”.

    The statement urged the Senate President “not to interfere with police investigation,” warning that “until investigation is concluded, any person (s) or group(s) who tries to interfere in the investigation process by action or utterances is committing an offence.”

    The police said they were “shocked at the unbelievable claims, unverifiable allegations and unfounded accusations being peddled against the IGP by the Senate President, accusing the Inspector General”.

    In “setting the records straight”, the police said the Kwara State Police Command on May 11 paraded six suspects in Ilorin. They named the suspects as

    1. Abolaji Safti Ojulari of Kankatu area, Ilorin.
    2. Lanre  Mohammed Soliu (a.k.a Askari) of Ile Nda Compound, Ilorin.

    iii.      Azeez Moyaki of Moyaki Compound, Gambari Area Ilorin.

    1. Suleiman Babatunde of Gambari Area, Ilorin.
    2. Yusuf Habeeb of Kangile Village, Kulende, Ilorin and
    3. Umar Yahaya of Kangile Village, Kulende, Ilorin.

    “The suspects admitted and confessed before the press and the public to have killed 11 innocent persons in Kwara State and other states.

    “The victims, according to the suspects, were targeted and killed on the instructions of their sponsors.”

    The statement listed those killed “in cold blood” as:  (i) Bukola Ajikobi, killed on 18/01/2016 at Ajikobi Area in Ilorin (ii) Azeez Lawal, killed in February, 2018 at Oja Oba area of Ilorin (iii) Lateef (Surname unknown), killed February, 2018 at Ode Alfa Nda area of Ilorin (iv) Jamiu (Surname unknown), killed in February 2018 at Idi Ape area, Ilorin (v) One Segun (Surname unknown), killed in September, 2017 at Kankatu area of Ilorin (vi) Wasiu (Surname unknown), killed in September 29, 2016 at Shao Garage of Ilorin (vii) Musiliu (surname unknown), killed in February, 2018 at Shao Area, Ilorin (viii) Bayo Ajia, killed on January 18, 2018 at Taiwo Road, Ilorin (ix) Another Lateef, killed in January 2016 at Baboko Area of Ilorin (x) Abbey, a student of Kwara Polytechnic, killed in April, 2017 at Niger Road, Ilorin (xi) Lanre (surname unknown), killed on 23rd August, 2015 at Isale Aluko Area of Ilorin.

    “Consequent upon the public confessions, the statutory procedure and practice in the Force is that such a heinous crime and capital offence is transferred to the Force Headquarters for further investigation. This is to enable a thorough and discreet investigation into the crime.”

    The statement added that the IG’s interest is to ensure “that justice prevails in the matter. Nobody, no matter how highly-placed, would be allowed to interfere or obstruct Police investigation to pervert the course of justice.”

    The statement added that the police had in the past transferred arrested suspects in high profile cases like those of the mayhem in Ile-Ife, Osun State, the Zaki Biam, Benue State killings to the Force Headquarters. It wondered why this Kwara case is different.

    The police said the statement by the Senate President could “dissuade and discourage living victims/deceased families of those who must have been killed by this vicious hired assassin gang from coming forward to give evidence against them”.

    The statement told the public “to disregard and discountenance the claim of plot by the IGP against the Senate President as a ruse, unfortunate and an attempt to divert Police investigation into the killings,” adding that  they would not “leave any stone unturned and will do everything within the ambit of the law to ensure justice in this matter, no matter whose ox is gored”.

  • Police warns Saraki against interfering with investigation

    The Police on Wednesday expressed shock over the allegation by the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki that the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris  is plotting against him.

    The Police said the claim was an attempt to divert the Police investigation into the killings of more than 11 innocent people from kwara State and other States of the Federation by the killer squad who operates under the guise of a cult group.

    The Police also warned Saraki not to interfere with investigation, noting that attempts to do so is an offence.

    The Police while justifying  its transferring of  the cases,  highlighted some cases that were transferred from State commands to the Force headquarters.

    It also explained that the transfer was in accordance with Police investigation procedures, adding that the IGP had no vested interest in the case.

    The Police stated its position in a statement on the matter in Abuja on Wednesday by the Force Spokesman, ACP Jimoh Moshood.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to Press Statement credited to the Senate President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki  of “Plot against him by IGP”.

    “The Nigeria Police Force is shocked at the unbelievable claims, unverifiable allegations and unfounded accusations being peddled against the IGP by the Senate President, accusing the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris of plot and strategies against him to settle scores.

    “The Force therefore wishes to categorically state that, there is no iota of truth in the allegation and false assertion by the Senate President of plot against him by the IGP to implicate the Kwara State Government and the Senate President in any criminal matter.

    “Until investigation is concluded, any person (s) or group(s) who tries to interfere in the investigation process by action or utterances is committing an offence.”

    Giving more insight about the suspects mentioned by the Senate President, the police said:  “To set the records straight, the Kwara State Police Command on the 11th of May, 2018, paraded the following suspects before the Media and the Public, namely;

    Abolaji Safti Ojulari of Kankatu area, Ilorin,  Lanre  Mohammed Soliu a.k.a Askari of Ile Nda Compound, Ilorin, Azeez Moyaki of Moyaki Compound, Gambari Area Ilorin,  Suleiman Babatunde of Gambari Area, Ilorin,  Yusuf Habeeb of Kangile Village, Kulende, Ilorin and Umar Yahaya of Kangile Village, Kulende,  Ilorin.

    “The suspects admitted and confessed before the press and the public to have killed 11 innocent persons in kwara State and other States of the country.”

    The Police said the suspects confessed to have killed their targets on the instructions of their sponsors.

    Names of some of the victims who were killed in cold blood according to the Police are; “Bukola Ajikobi killed on 18/01/2016 at ajikobi Area in Ilorin,  Azeez Lawal killed in February, 2018 at Oja oba area of Ilorin,  Lateef (Surname unknown) killed February, 2018 at Ode Alfa Nda area of Ilorin,  Jamiu (Surname unknown) killed in February 2018 at Idi ape area, Ilorin and One segun (Surname unknown) killed in September, 2017 at kankatu area of Ilorin.

    Others are: “Wasiu (Surname unknown) killed in September 29, 2016 at Shao garage of Ilorin,  Musiliu (Surname unknown) killed in February, 2018 at Shao Area Ilorin,  Bayo Ajia killed in January 18, 2018 at taiwo Road, Ilorin, Another Lateef killed in January 2016 at Baboko Area of Ilorin,  Abbey a student of Kwara Polytechnic killed in April, 2017 at Niger Road, Ilorin and Lanre (Surname unknown) killed on 23rd August, 2015 at Isale Aluko Area of Ilorin.”

    On why the case was transferred to the Force Headquarters, Moshood said : “Consequent upon the public confessions of these vicious and notorious killer squad to the killings in cold blood of more than 11 innocent people in Kwara State and other States of the Federation, the statutory procedure and practice in the Force is that such a heinous crime and capital offence is transferred to the Force Headquarters for further investigation.

    “This is to enable a thorough and discreet investigation into the crime.”

    On whether the IG has any special interest in the case,  the statememt stated: “It is pertinent to state that, there is no vested interest by the Inspector General of Police in the ongoing investigation into the several murders committed by this killer gang, other than ensuring that justice prevails in the matter.

    “Nobody, no matter how highly placed would be allowed to interfere or obstruct Police investigation to pervert the course of justice.”

    On some of the cases transferred to Abuja, Moshood said : “It is also imperative to let the public know that last year, suspects arrested over the mayhem and killings of innocent people in Ile-Ife, Osun State and those arrested in Southern Kaduna crisis in Kaduna State and suspects arrested in connection with Zaki-biam killings in Benue State were all transferred to the Force Headquarters, Abuja for further investigation before they were arraigned in court of competent jurisdiction.

    “Therefore, transferring this hired assassin gang masquerading as cultists in kwara State to Force Headquarters, Abuja for further investigation is in accordance with Police investigation procedures.”

    The Police said the statement credited to the Senate President can discourage living victims and deceased families of those who must have been killed by the gang from coming forward to give evidence against them.

    The Police urged members of the public to disregard and the claim of plot by the IGP against the Senate President as a ruse, unfortunate and an attempt to divert Police investigation into the killings of more than 11 innocent people.

    The Force also said it will leave no stone unturned and will do everything within the ambit of the law to ensure justice in the matter, no matter whose ox is gored.