#If I have another opportunity of becoming APC Chairman

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If I have another opportunity of becoming APC Chairman, I will turn it down - Oshiomole

If I have another opportunity of becoming APC Chairman, I will turn it down – Oshiomole

Adams Oshiomhole, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says if given a second chance, he will not lead the ruling party .

In a statement on Monday, Oshiomhole said he remains proud of the achievements of the party’s national working committee (NWC) under his leadership.

Oshiomhole, who said he holds no grudge against anyone who contributed to his removal, added…

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Blame Saraki, Secondus for PDP’s Woes in Kogi, Says Party Chieftain

A Chieftain of Peoples Democrat Party, PDP, in Kogi State, Mr. Toba Abraham, has fingered former Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, and the National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, as responsible for the dilemma of the party in Kogi State. Abraham stated that the way and manner the duo were running the affairs of the state party without recourse to democratic principles led the party to its present predicament in the state Abraham who spoke on Monday in Lokoja on the Saturday’s defection of former House of Representatives member, Sunday Karimi (Yagba Fed constituency, 2011 – 2019) from PDP to APC. He said, “The purported defection of Hon. Sunday Karimi from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressive Congress, APC is a calamity that is set to befall the PDP. “Sunday Karimi was a humble and loyal party man who worked hard to ensure the sustenance and survival of the party not only in Kogi west senatorial district but in Kogi state as a whole. Karimi remained one of the major financiers and pillars of PDP in Kogi State having helped to build the party to its present status. ” Sunday Karimi is a straight forward and honest politician with serious commitment to party development and peoples growth, having a political structure with support base across the 85 wards of Kogi West. Though he never asked his supporters to support APC in the last election but his body language and his refusal to support the PDP was no doubt largely responsible for the abysmal performance of PDP in Kogi West in the just concluded governorship/senatorial elections. “In Yagba where the running mate of PDP candidate comes from, Karimi was able to reduce the marging of lead substantially. This no doubt is a testimony to his political stature and popularity”. Toba expressed that PDP under the leadership of Uche Secondus led NWC got it wrong by giving the soul of the party to Senator Bukola Saraki who joined others to murder the party in Kogi State, “It all started when Secondus and Saraki came up with their automatic ticket agenda by giving the party ticket to Sen. Dino Melaye preventing others from the contest. Sunday Karimi was first disqualified by the party screening committee on a frivolous and fabricated reasons of not being a financial member of PDP, just to give way to Dino. “That scrupulous report was appealed and another screening was rescheduled and conducted at the PDP secretariat Wadata house, Abuja but to the dismay of everyone certificate of clearance was never issued to Sunday Karimi till today all at the instance of Uche Secondus and Bukola Saraki. What could be more ridiculous than this? Is this not a signal that Sunday Karimi was not wanted anymore in the party? How many politicians of Karimi’s stature would succumbed to this conspiracy and political assault?”, he questioned. Continuing, “But a non desperate Karimi against the decision of his group to challenge the mess in court opted to work for the success of his party which he did with vigour and all seriousness. Let it be told here that if Karimi had left the party that time the PDP would have been dead by now. Yet, Karimi put all those behind him and resolved to work for the success of his party not minding the way and manner he was treated. He spend so much of his hard earned resources campaigning and mobilizing for the party to win the 2019 general election. In fact, Karimi single handedly financed a campaign train which moved round the entire towns and villages in the 34 wards of Yagba federal constituency which he represented at the National Assembly. “Unfortunately and most painful of it all was the way and manner some PDP leaders and members engaged in anti-party activities by working against the PDP candidates for the House of Representatives which the party lost. All in an attempt to push Karimi away from the party. Since that time Karimi has been considering the option of stepping aside from the party activities until the likes of Chief Abiodun Ojo encouraged him to join Abubarka Ibrahim’s project. “It is quite worrisome rather unfortunate that those who are castigating Hon. Karimi for working for the APC today failed to questioned those who worked against PDP in the last election. Uche Secondus and Sen. Bukola Saraki should be questioned on their roles and involvement in foistering anti-democratic principles on the party which has largely affected the fortunes of the party. “However, Karimi can not be completely absolved of the blame for Uche Secondus undoing simply because in the run up to the PDP national convention where Uche Secondus led Executive emerged, Karimi worked hard for Secondus and Kola Ologbondiyan’s emergence; he was Secondus Coordinator for Kogi State and mobilizing PDP members at the national assembly even when he was warned against supporting Uche Secondus. It is obvious that for his openness, loyalty and hardwork, he was paid back with evil.” Toba however dispelled rumor that the former House of Representatives member defected because he could not secured the deputy governorship slot of the party for the last Guber election. “Having had one on one discussion with Karimi with a view to beg him to stay in the party, it will be wrong for any person to adduce the reason for Karimi defection to a failed attempt to secure the deputy governorship candidature of the PDP as being insinuated by certain persons. This is because, there was never a time Karimi’ choice of deputy governorship was discussed. He had never shown nor indicated interest in becoming a deputy governorship candidate. Nobody and I mean nobody can come out to say that Hon. Karimi at sometimes discussed the idea of becoming deputy governor with him/her, neither has he indicated his interest at any given opportunity in the position of Deputy Governor. “He had consistently assured his followers of his preference for the legislature. His support and commitment to Abubakar Ibrahim governorship project was purely on principle and not for any aspiration of his. For the former lawmaker who is a former PDP deputy chairman in the state to leave the party at this critical moment may further diminished the fortunes of the party in the state. “Karimi must have felt in his own wisdom he could no long continue to stay in the party that detest truth, abhor honesty but celebrate mediocrity. Though it was a difficult decision for him to leave the party he had worked hard with others to build but since it was obvious that the party under Secondus is not interested in party loyalty but highest bidder, there is no better time than now for him to bid the party bye.”

Read the full article

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How Etiebet’s 2016 letter offers new clues to N2.4bn debt to Access Bank

In a letter dated November 9, 2016 written by former petroleum minister and All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain, Don Etiebet, in respect of what is turning out to be a messy N2.4 billion indebtedness by an oil and gas company, Top Oil, to Access Bank plc, appears to offer a new narrative to the dispute. Writing in his capacity as chairman of Top Oil and Gas Company Limited, the letter shows an admission by Etiebet of the indebtedness and profused pleading for time to resolve the matter with the principal parties, CASTOIL that appear to have brought the business from Mobil Oil Nigeria Limited, for which Top Oil was hoping to profit from as a third party participant. However, the Etiebet letter seen by Business A.M. among the documents making the court rounds, also shows while CASTOIL had the direct supply business with Mobil Oil, Top Oil made have found the business very attractive as to take full responsibility of sourcing the funds, hence the Import Finance Facility (IFF) made available to it by the bank for the purpose of importation of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) for supply to Mobil. In the letter addressed to “The Manager, Access Bank Plc, Business Banking Division, Chevron Roundabout Branch, Lekki” with the heading, “RE: US$6.3 MILLION OUTSTANDING L/C PAYMENT”, Etiebet refers to the ‘demands’ by the manager for the payment of an outstanding letter of credit (LC) of US$6,382,666.00, “which was used to import 10,000MT of AGO to supply Mobil Oil Nigeria Limited from Augusta Energy.” In what appears to suggest an apology over the situation, Etiebet then wrote: “I regret that this payment is still outstanding till today. The true and correct position is that Top Oil and Gas Development Company Limited ( TOPOIL ) carried out this contract with a third party, CAST OIL and GAS LIMITED (CASTOIL) which brought the project from Mobil Oil Nigeria Limited. TOPOIL did not deal directly with Mobil Oil as it is common practice in the industry that companies cooperate to execute the project of this nature and share the profit,” Etiebet wrote. He went on to explain that after an initial payment made by the third party, CASTOIL, the latter failed to make a further payment, suggesting this to be the reason for the delay and failure to redeem the letter of credit sum. “Unfortunately, after the initial payment of N170,000,000.00 from CASTOIL into TOPOIL account with Access Bank Plc in August 2015 as agreed, CASTOIL failed to make further payments. CASTOIL then request (sic) TOPOIL to give it some time to reconcile certain issues with Mobil Oil and in the process issued TOPOIL a “PAYMENT COMMITMENT” in the sum of N1,321,431,000.00, which is what CASTOIL owed TOPOIL for the L/C at N200/$ at that time plus other costs and to pay up in three instalments by the 31st of August 2015 as per attached CASTOIL letter,” Etiebet, in the letter, also referred to how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had become involved, expressing confidence that the money would be paid to TOP OIL for it to settle Access Bank, what it owes it. The letter further reads: “When the commitment was not honoured, TOPOIL reported the case to the security agencies. In the process of the investigations, CASTOIL entered into another agreement with TOPOIL to pay up by the end of November 2015, with understanding to pay interests and any forex variation from N200/$ to the fx rate at the time of completion of payment. The case is being handled by the EFCC with CASTOIL’s Managing Director, Mr.TunjiAmushan being on Administrative Bail with sureties and his International Passport impounded as he reports to the EFCC every Thursday with promises to pay up. EFFCC has assured us that they would recover all the money plus interest and FX variation from him before long plus other sanctions.” The letter showed that apparently while TOPOIL was trying to resolve whatever difficulties it was having with CASTOIL over the payment it did not inform or carry along with its bankers. In further demonstration of remorse, therefore, Etiebet then stated in the letter: “I am very sorry that this was not reported to you before now because we thought CASTOIL would pay up as has been promised since last year for us to liquidate the outstanding L/C payment. So I take this opportunity to commit to you that the debts of US$6,382,666 to your bank shall, meanwhile, be paid from alternative sources including profits TOPOIL would be making from its current contracts with NNPC-Retail to supply AGO to Total-Offshore. “With other contracts in the pipeline including the supply of PMS to NNPC-Retail, I hereby give my personal undertaking to pay all the outstanding in the US$6,382,666 within 90 days. I want to let you know that we all in TOPOIL regret this unfortunate situation but thank you so much for your continued understanding and cooperation,” Etiebet concluded his rapprochement to the bank. Sources close to the situation said nothing came out of the promises made in this 2016 letter as the bank did not receive any payment. The bitter contestation of the indebtedness that is currently going on would shades this profound apologetic and hugely conciliatory position in this letter and raises questions about how things got to this point and what, if any, could be the underlying motive behind a complete repudiation of the debt that in this November 9, 2016 letter was fully admitted. In an advertorial widely published in the media, Obodex Nigeria Limited, a company in which Etiebet has large interest and is chairman, claims that it does not owe any debt to Access Bank, a claim which seems to contradict the November 9, 2016 letter. FACT SHEET TO POINT OF DISAGREEMENT On November 21, 2014, Access Bank, following an accepted offer letter to the TOPOIL provides a US$6 million Import Finance Facility (IFF) to facilitate the importation of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) for supply to Mobil Producing Unlimited by TOPOIL . The facility was tenured for a year with a maximum of 90 (ninety) days circle. In addition to the US$6 million IFF, TOPOIL was also availed a N100 million Revolving Time Loan vide the same offer letter for the purpose of facilitating the payment of Custom duties and other related Logistics. This was also tenured for 1 (one) year with a maximum of 90 (ninety) days circle. Several Letters of Credit (LCs) were issued on the facilities, but only 1 (one) remained unpaid which is A2015C1091CL. The facts on the stated LC are stated below: In April 2015 TOPOIL submitted a Proforma Invoice valued at $5,802,500.00 and informed Access Bank it had an order from Mobil. Consequently, LC A2015C1091CL was issued in favour of a company called Augusta Energy SA (“Beneficiary”). Upon presentation of all shipping documents required for this particular LC, funds were remitted by the bank to the beneficiary. In 2016, Access Bank increased the TOPOIL’s IFF from US$6 million to US$12 million and this was communicated to TOPOIL in an offer letter dated January 20, 2016. When the facility was not paid, the chairman of TOPOIL , Don Etiebet wrote to Access Bank in a letter dated November 9, 2016 that the LC was done with a third party known as Cast Oil & Gas Limited and committed to repay the Customer’s indebtedness. Due to TOPOIL’s failure to repay the sum of US$6,382,665.71 at the expiration of the facility, the said amount was converted into a N2.2 billion Term Loan through an offer letter dated July 4, 2017 and the unutilized sum of US$5,617,334.29 on the US$12million IFF was also converted to a N1,463,000.000.00 Time Loan through the same offer letter. The N1,463,000.000.00 Time Loan was, however, never utilised by the TOPOIL . Read the full article

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Oby Ezekwesili Presidential Race Withdrawal Saga

Punch Newspaper, Eniola Akinkuotu wrote: The Independent National Electoral Commission says it is too late for any candidate to withdraw from elections.

The Director, Voter Education, and Publicity, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, said this during a chat with our correspondent on Thursday.

Before that, Oby said:

“Following the reactions of Nigerian citizens at home and abroad to the 2019 Presidential Debate held on Saturday 19 January 2019, and after extensive consultations with leaders from various walks of life across the country over the past few days.

I have decided to step down from the presidential race and focus on helping to build a Coalition for a viable alternative to the APC PDP in the 2019 general elections.

This coalition for a viable alternative has now more than ever before become an urgent mission for and on behalf of the citizenry.

Over the past three months, I have been in private extended talks with other candidates to make a coalition possible that would allow Nigerians to exercise choice without feeling helplessly saddled with the APC PDP.

In doing so, I have not hesitated to offer my willingness to step down my candidacy in order to facilitate the emergence of a strong and viable alternative behind which Nigerians can line up in our collective search for a new beginning.

My commitment in this regard has been consistent and in consonance with my agreement, at the request of then aspirants under PACT in 2018, to supervise their internal selection process as an outside observer passionate about building this alternative force.

Despite disagreements within the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria on these and other issues, I have decided that it is now necessary to show by action and example my determination on this issue by stepping down my candidacy and focusing on building the coalition once and for all.

We have no right to allow citizens give in to despair. We will #Fight4Naija together, and prove to all that the mess that has now become the political class will not be allowed to destroy our spirits and the nation.

We are also determined to ensure that the message keeps resonating that our beloved country deserves better, and that if we are to get the best that we deserve, we must fight for it.

From last year, I have made it clear to the nation that Nigeria has always had a 20 year cycle of change – 1959, 1979, and 1999.

2019 begins another 20-year cycle, and together with all Nigerians of good will, I stand ready to play my part to ensure that we do not miss this opportunity to sing a new song.

We have no more time to waste. Let’s get to work!”

Oby Ezekwesili

It wasn’t long when “TheCable” announced that INEC has rejected her withdrawal. The report read thus: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is too late for any candidate to withdraw from contesting any position in the upcoming elections.

INEC said this while reacting to the withdrawal of Oby Ezekwesili as presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN)

Oby Ezekwesili announced her withdrawal on Thursday, saying she wanted to give room for a coalition against candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC).

But reacting via a statement, Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, said November 17 was the last date for withdrawal.

The statement read: “It is impossible for any presidential candidate to withdraw from the race now.

According to the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2019 General Elections, the last day for withdrawal by candidates or replacement of withdrawn candidates by political parties was 17th November 2018 for Presidential and National Assembly Elections.

“The deadline for Ezekwesili or any candidate in that category to withdraw or be replaced has passed.”

Section 35 of the electoral act, which gives deadline from withdrawal from any election, states: “A candidate may withdraw his candidature by notice in writing signed by him and delivered by himself to the political party that nominated him for the election and the political party shall convey such withdrawal to the Commission not later than 45 days to the election.”

Now that wasn’t all, according to The Vanguard newspapers, ACPN denounces Ezekwesili’s withdrawal, aligns with Buhari.

The Allied Congress Party of Nigeria ACPN has angrily reacted to the withdrawal of its Presidential Candidate, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili from the February 16 Presidential Elections, saying the former Education minister only tried to use its platform to negotiate a ministerial position in the next political dispensation.

Addressing a news conference Thursday in Abuja, the party said Dr. Ezekwesili never consulted with the party before withdrawing from the race.

Those who addressed the press on behalf of the party were its National Chairman and running mate to Dr. Ezekwesili, Alhaji Ganiyu Galadima, National Secretary, Chief Paul Isamede, Deputy National Chairman, South, Otunba Bosun Omosule and his counterpart for the North, Alhaji Ibrahim Goronyo.

They said they received with consternation but not surprising Ezekwesili’s withdrawal which was to preempt the decision that the party would have reached after its meeting on Thursday.

“She only preempted the decision we would have reached today which was to withdraw her candidacy and give to somebody else.

“Our presidential nomination ticket is N10 million and expression of interest is N500, 000 but when she came she said she did not have money, that she only had N100,000 and because we wanted to encourage women, we gave her our platform”, said Mr. Galadima.

Consequently, the ACPN has declared it’s support for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress APC.

“The reason for calling this press conference is to let the world know about the presidential aspiration of Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, which in actual fact, is not the truth.

We have been put into confidence by several of her aides one of which is named lyinoluwa Aboyeji also known as Maureen, that she only wanted to use the platform of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria ACPN to negotiate to be Nigeria’s Finance minister.

This she did not deem fit to inform the party whose mandate she is holding.

“If you will observe, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, is the only presidential candidate who was so militant in her campaign without any tangible thing on the ground to indicate any seriousness in the prosecution of her campaign.

No campaign secretariat, billboard or great commitment on the ground to indicate any seriousness.

“It is on this ground that the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria ACPN is withdrawing support for her presidential aspiration and endorsing the second term bid of President Muhammadu Buhari to take Nigeria to the next level.

“We also seek this medium to inform our former presidential candidate Dr. Ezekwesili to return to the party all the property in her possession especially the various donations that she has been receiving from all over the world.

Whatever she had received belongs to the party and we must render account to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC. So, it is mandatory.

We are aware of all the accounts she and her aides had opened for this election to which donations were made”, the party declared.

National Secretary, Chief Paul Isamede, on his part said Dr. Ezekwesili when confronted on why she was using the platform to raise money, she said; “she showed us a piece of paper and said there was $5000 in one account and then in another account, about N35 million in local donations and that if we wanted her to transfer it to the party’s account right away, she would do so.

That was over a month ago”.

Dr. Ezekwesili who was one of the 73 presidential candidates in next month’s election withdrew from the race, in a statement issued by the spokesperson for the Obiageli Ezekwesili Presidential Campaign Organization, Ozioma Ubabukoh.

Friday Olokor, of Punch Newspaper wrote:A former Minister of Education, Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili, on Friday faulted the claims by the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria following her withdrawal from the presidential race, describing the allegations as lies.

Get glued to Akoko’s Blog as we bring more info to you.

Written by David Obiakor

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Check out New Post published on Ọmọ Oòduà

New Post has been published on http://ooduarere.com/politics/bola-tinubu-hero-or-villain/

Bola Tinubu: Hero Or Villain Of June 12? By Temidayo Akinsuyi

By Temidayo Akinsuyi

Source: https://www.independent.ng/tinubu-hero-or-villain-of-june-12/

Before now, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state and national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC ) has always been regarded as one of the true heroes of the June 12 struggle. To many, Tinubu is a consummate politician, consistent democrat, tested and trusted leader and a staunch believer in the June 12 struggle.

In a recent interview, Chief Olu Falae, a former presidential candidate and elder statesman claimed that the 1999 governorship primaries of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Lagos was won by the late Funso Williams but leaders of National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), led by the late Senator Abraham Adesanya announced Tinubu as the winner as a compensation to him for his ordeal in the June 12 struggle which culminated in his going on exile.

According to Falae, ““Late Funsho Williams who won the primary election of the AD backed down after my intervention.

“I pleaded with Funsho Williams that by the grace of God if I become the president, I will give him legitimate recognition and opportunity to serve the country if he allowed Tinubu to become AD governorship nominee to save our leader, Pa Abraham Adesanya, the late leader of Afenifere, who announced him as the winner.

“Pa Adesanya was shot nine times by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha’s men. His children prevailed on him to stop leading NADECO but instead he replied that the struggle had just started. Ironically, Tinubu turned round to destroy Afenifere.

“It was Williams who won the AD primaries but there were some disagreements in parts of Mainland Local Government and Ikorodu; Pa Adesanya settled for Tinubu as the winner of the governorship primaries simply because he (Tinubu) was a key leader during the NADECO movement against the military government under Abacha.

“Tinubu suffered in consequence and was in exile abroad while I was detained with others for two years in Nigeria. Pa Adesanya insisted that one of us who suffered should be governor so that he could rehabilitate others”.

Throughout his tenure as governor, Tinubu, who said May 29 is not the original Democracy Day declared June 12 as a public holiday in Lagos State. With his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in charge, President Muhammadu Buhari last year conferred the highest national honour on the late MKO Abiola. This year, he officially assented to the Bill making June 12 Democracy Day and also renamed the National Stadium Abuja after Abiola.

Little wonder many Nigerians were shocked when Kola, the late Abiola’s first son in a recent interview claimed that Tinubu begged former Head of State, Sani Abacha to make him a Commissioner in Lagos even when Abiola was in custody.

According to Kola , it was after Tinubu had lost out that he decided to join hands with the National Democratic Coalition to fight for the actualisation of the June 12 mandate .

Speaking on Tinubu, he said “At the very beginning, he was part of the Yar’Adua PF group from Jos. He was a senator then, and as far as the group went, we related. The crisis started post-election. When Abacha came, one of the things he wanted to do was to be the administrator for Lagos”.

“Yes. I am sure you have seen pictures of him and my dad. He was hoping that there would be civilian administrators like we had under IBB but Abacha said no, that he was going to have military administrators. So he (Tinubu) said okay, in that case, can I be a deputy administrator? But Abacha said that there wouldn’t be deputies. Then he wanted the post of a commissioner”.

“Yes. Then it was a choice between him and someone very close to Jakande who has passed on now. I can’t remember his name, but because Babagana was already in the government, that guy was picked as commissioner. But really, Senator Tinubu had lost out already”.

“Yes, he was close enough. He and Adeniji Adele, a very good guy, were close to my father. In fact, Adeniyi was closer to my father and more dedicated to the process than anyone of them. When my documentary comes out, you will see Tinubu’s take on issues. So once he lost out, automatically, he became a NADECO member and Adeniji was incarcerated”.

Kola’s claim was corroborated by Chief Olabode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who described Tinubu as a “June 12 opportunist”.

George, the Atona Oodua of Yorubaland hailed Kola for deciding to make a documentary of the June 12 saga, adding that he must not be victimised for saying the truth since , as the first son of MKO , he was an insider.

He said , “It is true that Tinubu went to beg for a commissioner position . He was in the Villa and Gen . Oladipo Diya is a witness. He ( Tinubu ) said he wanted to be a deputy to a military administrator and when all that didn ’t work , he went into his activism .”

“Most of what Kola said is true. He spoke from the heart and he was trying to set the records straight in the face of the many narratives. He had been looking for who would help to recognise the June 12 saga so that his father wouldn ’ t have died in vain .

“In the course of this , he had bottled up so much . He went through a lot , having lost his mother and family businesses during the struggle . So , he was setting the records straight so that people would not rewrite history.”

However, these accusations did not go down well with Tinubu’s supporters in the APC and have fired back at the duo for describing Tinubu as a villain.

Joe Igbokwe, APC Publicity Secretary in Lagos in his reaction, said although APC did not find the need to “dignify a collapsed and a failed politician in Lagos or a little kid without sense of history with a response at a time like this, but we changed our mind because we do not want to allow lies to be told a thousand times so that some people will not believe it as the truth.”

He noted that before the annulment of June 12 1993 Presidential Elections Governors, Senators, House of Reps Members, State Assembly members had been in place and Tinubu was one of the elected Senators from Lagos.

“Now how can an elected Senator be asking for a mere appointment as Commissioner? Does it make sense to anybody who is privileged to be a sensible person?”

“In one breath the story tellers said Asiwaju asked for the post of a commissioner and in another they told us he wanted to be Deputy Sole Administrator Of Lagos. Now, do we have anything like Deputy Sole Administrator then? Was it in existence? Are they not liars from the pit of hell?”

Also reacting, Col. Tony Nyiam (rtd),a NADECO chieftain said Kola was not fair to Tinubu and others who fought for the June 12 struggle by labeling them as opportunists.

He said that even though he had parted ways with Tinubu, he would still not fail to tell the truth about the role he played in the struggle.

“In spite of my personal disappointment with Asiwaju, I cannot be a witness to Kola Abiola’s ungratefulness to the lowest depth. We need to set the record straight. It is noteworthy to see that I have for over four years distanced myself from my hitherto close friend, Asiwaju.” Those who are close to Asiwaju and my humble self know that”.

“Chief Kola Abiola’s questioning of the integrity of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s early support for his father, Chief MKO Abiola, on doubtful demand from Gen. Sani Abacha is completely unnecessary and so uncalled for. To what end is Kola’s negative observation directed? Who is Kola Abiola trying this lie to give comfort to?” he asked.

[thisdaynews]

Defections: APC, PDP shift supremacy battle to Senate chamber

New Post has been published on https://www.thisdaynews.net/2018/08/06/defections-apc-pdp-shift-supremacy-battle-to-senate-chamber/

Defections: APC, PDP shift supremacy battle to Senate chamber

Defections: APC, PDP shift supremacy battle to Senate chamber

Senators of the ruling All Progressives Congress and their counterparts in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party have vowed to resume hostilities over which party controls the majority in the upper chamber when the Senate resumes plenary on September 25.

Controversy surrounded the defection of 14 senators from the APC to the PDP as well as the African Democratic Congress; this pitted members of the two dominant political parties against one another.

There are 109 seats in the Senate with only two seats declared vacant following the death of two Senators. The deceased Senators are Ali Wakili (APC, Bauchi-South) and Mustapha Bukar (APC Katsina-North).

The Senator Ahmed Lawan-led APC caucus had after the defection of 14 APC Senators claimed that his party still maintained its majority status with 52 members while the PDP had 50; the ADC, three and APGA, two.

But two of the Senators who left the APC, Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara-South) and Isa Misau (Bauchi-Central), claimed in a statement they jointly signed that the PDP was now in the majority.

While APC Senators had asked the Senate President, Bukola Saraki to resign for leaving the APC, PDP Senators insisted he couldn’t be forced out because he now belonged to the party they claimed had become the majority.

Senator Dino Melaye (PDP, Kogi), on Sunday,  said the PDP would prove it was now the majority party in the Senate when the National Assembly reconvenes in September.

Melaye said, “The PDP, as I speak to you, clearly has the majority in the Senate. It is not about noise making or continuous Presidential Villa visitations. The APC senators have visited the Villa four times within one week. The Villa is now a pilgrimage centre.

“The numbers they are brandishing; definitely they are not talking of senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, maybe they include some senators from Mali or Ghana who are on their list. When we resume, seats would be allocated by majority and minority, and seats would be labelled with names. Then you will see clearly the party with the majority.”

The senator also berated the National Chairman, APC, Adams Oshiomhole, for claiming that the seat of the Senate president belonged to the APC.

Oshiomhole had asked Saraki to resign for leaving the APC.

Melaye said, “For those who are saying that Saraki should resign, I am so disappointed in the National Chairman of APC. He did not take time to look at the Constitution and our extant laws, to know that crowns are worn in the kingdoms, villages and communities; that there is no crown in the National Assembly.”

“But he has appropriated the seat of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to a political party. That is intellectual stagnancy.”

Speaking in a similar vein, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim (PDP, Kwara-South), stated, “They (APC) have forgotten that there is something called Constitution.

“Look at the example of those who are saying that the Senate President should leave the seat because he has defected. They have forgotten in just a very short period of time – not a long time that Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal defected then (from PDP to APC) as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Did the ruling party then ask him to step down as Speaker? But they (APC) were rejoicing.

“They should just calm down. If they want Saraki not to be Senate President anymore, they should gather the two-thirds of members. It is as simple as that.”

The two PDP Senators were responding to calls by their APC colleagues for Saraki to resign. Senator Abu Ibrahim (APC, Katsina-South) had in an interview said there would be no peace in the Senate until Saraki resigned.

Aligning himself to the position of Senator Ibrahim, a member of the Parliamentary Support Group for President Muhammadu Buhari, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, (APC, Delta),  said members of the ruling party were ready to retrieve the seat of the Senate President which he claimed rightly belonged to the APC.

Omo-Agege, who spoke with one of our correspondents, in Abuja, noted, “I don’t need to stress this matter: leaders of the caucus have spoken on behalf of all of us and they have indeed spoken our mind.

“It is very clear that the moment Saraki defected from the APC, he was no longer worthy of that crown; that crown belongs to the majority party in the Senate. And Saraki himself knows that there is no way he is going to remain Senate President.

“Saraki knows that there is no way that he can remain Senate President, having defected to the PDP. We are all waiting for him to do the needful. Whenever the opportunity arises or when we resume in September, we expect him to do the needful by resigning from that office before then. There is no way we are going to be in that Senate and allow Saraki to continue as Senate President.”

Defection not sufficient grounds to remove Saraki —Falana

Speaking on the move to impeach Saraki as Senate President on the basis of his defection from the APC to the PDP, a legal luminary, Femi Falana, in a statement he issued on Sunday, said, “The planned removal of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, by the APC should be stopped as it cannot stand.

“The attention of APC legislators ought to be drawn to section 52 of the Constitution which provides that the President and Deputy Senate President can only be removed by the resolution supported by the votes of not less two-thirds majority of the entirety of the members of the Senate.

“Since the APC legislators cannot muster the required two-thirds majority of the votes of the entire members, the plan to impeach Senator Saraki should be dropped forthwith.”

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Breaking - Saraki Decamps to PDP

I wish to inform Nigerians that, after extensive consultations, I have decided to take my leave of the All Progressives Congress (APC). This is not a decision that I have made lightly. If anything at all, I have tarried for so long and did all that was humanly possible, even in the face of great provocation, ridicule and flagrant persecution, to give opportunity for peace, reconciliation and harmonious existence. Perhaps, more significantly, I am mindful of the fact that I carry on my shoulder a great responsibility for thousands of my supporters, political associates and friends, who have trusted in my leadership and have attached their political fortunes to mine. However, it is after an extensive consultation with all the important stakeholders that we have come to this difficult but inevitable decision to pitch our political tent elsewhere; where we could enjoy greater sense of belonging and where the interests of the greatest number of our Nigerians would be best served. While I take full responsibility for this decision, I will like to emphasise that it is a decision that has been inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist. They have done everything to ensure that the basic rules of party administration, which should promote harmonious relations among the various elements within the party were blatantly disregarded. All governance principles which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government were deliberately violated or undermined. And all entreaties for justice, equity and fairness as basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as additional pretext for further exclusion. The experience of my people and associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and have been treated as outsiders in their own party. Thus, many have become disaffected and disenchanted. At the same time, opportunities to seek redress and correct these anomalies were deliberately blocked as a government-within-a-government had formed an impregnable wall and left in the cold, everyone else who was not recognized as “one of us”. This is why my people, like all self-respecting people would do, decided to seek accommodation elsewhere. I have had the privilege to lead the Nigerian legislature in the past three years as the President of the Senate and the Chairman of the National Assembly. The framers of our constitution envisage a degree of benign tension among the three arms of government if the principle of checks and balances must continue to serve as the building block of our democracy. In my role as the head of the legislature, and a leader of the party, I have ensured that this necessary tension did not escalate at any time in such a way that it could encumber Executive function or correspondingly, undermine the independence of the legislature. Over the years, I have made great efforts in the overall interest of the country, and in spite of my personal predicament, to manage situations that would otherwise have resulted in unsavoury consequences for the government and the administration. My colleagues in the Senate will bear testimony to this. However, what we have seen is a situation whereby every dissent from the legislature was framed as an affront on the executive or as part of an agenda to undermine the government itself. The populist notion of anti-corruption became a ready weapon for silencing any form of dissent and for framing even principled objection as “corruption fighting back”. Persistent onslaught against the legislature and open incitement of the people against their own representatives became a default argument in defence of any short-coming of the government in a manner that betrays all too easily, a certain contempt for the Constitution itself or even the democracy that it is meant to serve. Unfortunately, the self-serving gulf that has been created between the leadership of the two critical arms of government based on distrust and mutual suspicion has made any form of constructive engagement impossible. Therefore, anything short of a slavish surrender in a way that reduces the legislature to a mere rubber stamp would not have been sufficient in procuring the kind of rapprochement that was desired in the interest of all. But I have no doubt in my mind, that to surrender this way is to be complicit in the subversion of the institution that remains the very bastion of our democracy. I am a democrat. And I believe that anyone who lays even the most basic claim to being a democrat will not accept peace on those terms; which seeks to compromise the very basis of our existence as the parliament of the people. The recent weeks have witnessed a rather unusual attempts to engage with some of these most critical issues at stake. Unfortunately, the discord has been allowed to fester unaddressed for too long, with dire consequences for the ultimate objective of delivering the common good and achieving peace and unity in our country. Any hope of reconciliation at this point was therefore very slim indeed. Most of the horses had bolted from the stable. The emergence of a new national party executives a few weeks ago held out some hopes, however slender. The new party chairman has swung into action and did his best alongside some of the Governors of APC and His Excellency, the Vice President. I thank them for all their great efforts to save the day and achieve reconciliation. Even though I thought these efforts were coming late in the day, but seeing the genuine commitment of these gentlemen, I began to think that perhaps it was still possible to reconsider the situation. However, as I have realized all along, there are some others in the party leadership hierarchy, who did not think dialogue was the way forward and therefore chose to play the fifth columnists. These individuals went to work and ensured that they scuttled the great efforts and the good intentions of these aforementioned leaders of the party. Perhaps, had these divisive forces not thrown the cogs in the wheel at the last minutes, and in a manner that made it impossible to sustain any trust in the process, the story today would have been different. For me, I leave all that behind me. Today, I start as I return to the party where I began my political journey, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When we left the PDP to join the then nascent coalition of All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014, we left in a quest for justice, equity and inclusion; the fundamental principles on which the PDP was originally built but which it had deviated from. We were attracted to the APC by its promise of change. We fought hard along with others and defeated the PDP. In retrospect, it is now evident that the PDP has learnt more from its defeat than the APC has learnt from its victory. The PDP that we return to is now a party that has learnt its lessons the hard way and have realized that no member of the party should be taken for granted; a party that has realized that inclusion, justice and equity are basic precondition for peace; a party that has realized that never again can the people of Nigeria be taken for granted. I am excited by the new efforts, which seeks to build the reborn PDP on the core principles of promoting democratic values; internal democracy; accountability; inclusion and national competitiveness; genuine commitment to restructuring and devolution of powers; and an abiding belief in zoning of political and elective offices as an inevitable strategy for managing our rich diversity as a people of one great indivisible nation called Nigeria. What we have all agreed is that a deep commitment to these ideals were not only a demonstration of our patriotism but also a matter of enlightened self-interest, believing that our very survival as political elites of this country will depend on our ability to earn the trust of our people and in making them believe that, more than anything else, we are committed to serving the people. What the experience of the last three years have taught us is that the most important task that we face as a country is how to reunite our people. Never before had so many people in so many parts of our country felt so alienated from their Nigerianness. Therefore, we understand that the greatest task before us is to reunite the county and give everyone a sense of belonging regardless of region or religion. Every Nigerian must have an instinctive confidence that he or she will be treated with justice and equity in any part of the country regardless of the language they speak or how they worship God. This is the great task that trumps all. Unless we are able to achieve this, all other claim to progress no matter how defined, would remain unsustainable. This is the task that I am committing myself to and I believe that it is in this PDP, that I will have the opportunity to play my part.  It is my hope that the APC will respect the choice that I have made as my democratic right, and understand that even though we will now occupy a different political space, we do not necessarily become enemies unto one another. Thank you. Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON President of the Senate Read the full article

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Senate President Bukola Saraki has dumped the APC for the PDP. Here's why.

Senate President Bukola Saraki on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Saraki first announced his decision to leave the APC via a Tweet on the evening of Tuesday.

In a statement personally signed by him, Saraki described his exit from the ruling APC as a “difficult decision” he arrived at after extensive consultations with stakeholders.

Pulse lists five reasons why he left the APC for the PDP.

1. No peace in the APC

Saraki alleged that certain forces within the APC prevented true reconciliation of aggrieved members in the ruling party.

“While I take full responsibility for this decision, I will like to emphasise that it is a decision that has been inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist,” Saraki announced.

“They have done everything to ensure that the basic rules of party administration, which should promote harmonious relations among the various elements within the party were blatantly disregarded. All governance principles which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government were deliberately violated or undermined.

“And all entreaties for justice, equity and fairness as basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as additional pretext for further exclusion.”

 2. Three years in the APC has not been rosy.

The Senate President accused 'some elements within the APC' of making the party uncomfortable for him and his associates.

Recall that Saraki had battled the Federal Government at the Code of Conduct Tribunal within same period.

He recently won his case of asset declaration at the Supreme Court.

“The experience of my people and associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and have been treated as outsiders in their own party,” Saraki said.

“Thus, many have become disaffected and disenchanted. At the same time, opportunities to seek redress and correct these anomalies were deliberately blocked as a government-within-a-government had formed an impregnable wall and left in the cold, everyone else who was not recognized as ‘one of us’. This is why my people, like all self-respecting people would do, decided to seek accommodation elsewhere,” he added.

 3. Executive/Legislature friction

Saraki noted that the anti-corruption war was being used by the Executive to “silence some members of the Legislature.”

“The framers of our constitution envisage a degree of benign tension among the three arms of government if the principle of checks and balances must continue to serve as the building block of our democracy,” Saraki said.

“In my role as the head of the legislature, and a leader of the party, I have ensured that this necessary tension did not escalate at any time in such a way that it could encumber Executive function or correspondingly, undermine the independence of the legislature.

“Over the years, I have made great efforts in the overall interest of the country, and in spite of my personal predicament, to manage situations that would otherwise have resulted in unsavoury consequences for the government and the administration. My colleagues in the Senate will bear testimony to this.

“However, what we have seen is a situation whereby every dissent from the legislature was framed as an affront on the executive or as part of an agenda to undermine the government itself. The populist notion of anti-corruption became a ready weapon for silencing any form of dissent and for framing even principled objection as ‘corruption fighting back’.

 “Persistent onslaught against the legislature and open incitement of the people against their own representatives became a default argument in defence of any short-coming of the government in a manner that betrays all too easily, a certain contempt for the Constitution itself or even the democracy that it is meant to serve.

“Unfortunately, the self-serving gulf that has been created between the leadership of the two critical arms of government based on distrust and mutual suspicion has made any form of constructive engagement impossible. Therefore, anything short of a slavish surrender in a way that reduces the legislature to a mere rubber stamp would not have been sufficient in procuring the kind of rapprochement that was desired in the interest of all.

“But I have no doubt in my mind, that to surrender this way is to be complicit in the subversion of the institution that remains the very bastion of our democracy. I am a democrat. And I believe that anyone who lays even the most basic claim to being a democrat will not accept peace on those terms; which seeks to compromise the very basis of our existence as the parliament of the people.”

 4. Osinbajo, Oshiomhole tried but…

Saraki who expressed gratitude to Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and the newly elected chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, for their efforts in reconciling aggrieved members of the party.

ALSO READ: Kwara Governor dumps APC for PDP

But, the Senate President said their efforts came rather late.  

“The emergence of a new national party executives a few weeks ago held out some hopes, however slender. The new party chairman has swung into action and did his best alongside some of the Governors of APC and His Excellency, the Vice President. I thank them for all their great efforts to save the day and achieve reconciliation. Even though I thought these efforts were coming late in the day, but seeing the genuine commitment of these gentlemen, I began to think that perhaps it was still possible to reconsider the situation.  “However, as I have realized all along, there are some others in the party leadership hierarchy, who did not think dialogue was the way forward and therefore chose to play the fifth columnists. These individuals went to work and ensured that they scuttled the great efforts and the good intentions of these aforementioned leaders of the party. Perhaps, had these divisive forces not thrown the cogs in the wheel at the last minutes, and in a manner that made it impossible to sustain any trust in the process, the story today would have been different.”

5. No change

 Saraki said he was heading back to the PDP due to the lack of justice, equity and inclusion in the APC.

He maintained that the PDP had learnt from its past mistakes and would bounce back even stronger.  

“When we left the PDP to join the then nascent coalition of All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014, we left in a quest for justice, equity and inclusion; the fundamental principles on which the PDP was originally built but which it had deviated from. We were attracted to the APC by its promise of change. We fought hard along with others and defeated the PDP.  “In retrospect, it is now evident that the PDP has learnt more from its defeat than the APC has learnt from its victory. The PDP that we return to is now a party that has learnt its lessons the hard way and have realized that no member of the party should be taken for granted; a party that has realized that inclusion, justice and equity are basic precondition for peace; a party that has realized that never again can the people of Nigeria be taken for granted.  “I am excited by the new efforts, which seeks to build the reborn PDP on the core principles of promoting democratic values; internal democracy; accountability; inclusion and national competitiveness; genuine commitment to restructuring and devolution of powers; and an abiding belief in zoning of political and elective offices as an inevitable strategy for managing our rich diversity as a people of one great indivisible nation called Nigeria.  “What we have all agreed is that a deep commitment to these ideals were not only a demonstration of our patriotism but also a matter of enlightened self-interest, believing that our very survival as political elites of this country will depend on our ability to earn the trust of our people and in making them believe that, more than anything else, we are committed to serving the people.  “What the experience of the last three years have taught us is that the most important task that we face as a country is how to reunite our people. Never before had so many people in so many parts of our country felt so alienated from their Nigerianness. Therefore, we understand that the greatest task before us is to reunite the county and give everyone a sense of belonging regardless of region or religion,” the Senate President added.

Saraki urged the APC to “respect his choice and understand that even though we will now occupy a different political space, we do not necessarily become enemies unto one another.”

via NewsSplashy - Latest Nigerian News,Ghana News ,News,Entertainment,Hot Posts,sports In a Splash.

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Senate President Bukola Saraki

Governor Ahmed Abdulfatah

The senate president Bukola Saraki and the governor of kwara state Abdulfatah Ahmed, have dumped the All Progressives Congress for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

Saraki announced his decision in a statement on his verified social media accounts on twitter and Facebook on Tuesday. The statement on facebook read,

“I wish to inform Nigerians that, after extensive consultations, I have decided to take my leave of the All Progressives Congress…”

The Governor Ahmed on his part announced his decision via a statement issued on his behalf by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, in Ilorin.

The statement read,

“Following due consultations with the people and in response to calls by major stakeholder groups in the state, Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, today (Tuesday) defected to the PDP having realized that the APC can no longer serve as a platform for achieving the aspirations and expectations of his people.”

Saraki later issued a statement to explain why he had to dump the APC after he announced his defection through his social media accounts.

He stated, “This is not a decision that I have made lightly. If anything at all, I have tarried for so long and did all that was humanly possible, even in the face of great provocation, ridicule and flagrant persecution, to give opportunity for peace, reconciliation and harmonious existence.

“However, it is after an extensive consultation with all the important stakeholders that we have come to this difficult but inevitable decision to pitch our political tent elsewhere; where we could enjoy greater sense of belonging and where the interests of the greatest number of our Nigeria would be best served,” he said.

Saraki, who said he took full responsibility for the decision, emphasised that it was a decision that had been “inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist.”

The Senate President said, “They have done everything to ensure that the basic rules of party administration, which should promote harmonious relations among the various elements within the party were blatantly disregarded.

“All governance principles, which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government, were deliberately violated or undermined. And all entreaties for justice, equity and fairness as a basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as additional pretext for further exclusion.

“The experience of my people and associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and have been treated as outsiders in their own party. Thus, many have become disaffected and disenchanted.

“At the same time, opportunities to seek redress and correct these anomalies were deliberately blocked as a government-within-a-government had formed an impregnable wall and left in the cold, everyone else who was not recognised as ‘one of us.’ This is why my people, like all self-respecting people would do, decided to seek accommodation elsewhere.”

According to him, the framers of Nigeria’s constitution envisaged a degree of benign tension among the three arms of government if the principle of checks and balances must continue to serve as the building block of our democracy.

He said as Senate President and leader of the APC, he ensured that the necessary tension did not escalate at any time in such a way that it could encumber executive function or correspondingly undermine the independence of the legislature.

He added that he had over the years made great efforts in the overall interest of the country, and “in spite of my personal predicament to manage situations that would otherwise have resulted in unsavory consequences for the government and the administration. My colleagues in the Senate will bear testimony to this.”

Saraki stressed, “However, what we have seen is a situation whereby every dissent from the legislature was framed as an affront to the executive or as part of an agenda to undermine the government itself. The populist notion of anti-corruption became a ready weapon for silencing any form of dissent and for framing even principled objection as ‘corruption fighting back.’

“Persistent onslaught against the legislature and open incitement of the people against their own representatives became a default argument in defence of any short-coming of the government in a manner that betrays all too easily, a certain contempt for the constitution itself or even the democracy that it is meant to serve.

“Unfortunately, the self-serving gulf that has been created between the leadership of the two critical arms of government based on distrust and mutual suspicion has made any form of constructive engagement impossible. Therefore, anything short of a slavish surrender in a way that reduces the legislature to a mere rubber stamp would not have been sufficient in procuring the kind of rapprochement that was desired in the interest of all.”

The Senate President however pointed out that to surrender this way was to be “complicit in the subversion of the institution that remains the very bastion of our democracy.”

He added, “The recent weeks have witnessed a rather unusual attempt to engage with some of these most critical issues at stake. Unfortunately, the discord has been allowed to fester unaddressed for too long, with dire consequences for the ultimate objective of delivering the common good and achieving peace and unity in our country. Any hope of reconciliation at this point was therefore very slim indeed. Most of the horses had bolted from the stable.”

Saraki noted that while Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, the newly elected National Working Committee of the APC led by the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, and state governors were working to reconcile aggrieved members, there were forces who worked against him and his followers in the party.

He said, “The emergence of a new national party executive a few weeks ago held out some hopes, however slender. The new party chairman has swung into action and did his best alongside some of the governors of the APC and His Excellency, the Vice-President. I thank them for all their great efforts to save the day and achieve reconciliation. Even though I thought these efforts were coming late in the day, but seeing the genuine commitment of these gentlemen, I began to think that perhaps it was still possible to reconsider the situation.

“However, as I have realised all along, there are some others in the party leadership hierarchy, who did not think dialogue was the way forward and therefore chose to play the fifth columnists. These individuals went to work and ensured that they scuttled the great efforts and the good intentions of these aforementioned leaders of the party. Perhaps, had these divisive forces not thrown the cogs in the wheel at the last minutes, and in a manner that made it impossible to sustain any trust in the process, the story today would have been different.”

While Saraki said he had returned to the PDP – a party he left for the APC, he alleged that the injustice that forced him out of the then ruling party was now in the current one.

“For me, I leave all that behind me. Today, I start as I return to the party where I began my political journey, the PDP.

“When we left the PDP to join the then nascent coalition of APC in 2014, we left in a quest for justice, equity and inclusion; the fundamental principles on which the PDP was originally built but which it had deviated from. We were attracted to the APC by its promise of change. We fought hard along with others and defeated the PDP.

“In retrospect, it is now evident that the PDP has learnt more from its defeat than the APC has learnt from its victory. The PDP that we return to is now a party that has learnt its lesson the hard way and has realised that no member of the party should be taken for granted; a party that has realised that inclusion, justice and equity are basic preconditions for peace; a party that has realised that never again can the people of Nigeria be taken for granted,” Saraki said.

The Senate President expressed his excitement over the new efforts to build “the reborn PDP” on the core principles of promoting democratic values, internal democracy, accountability, inclusion and national competitiveness, genuine commitment to restructuring and devolution of powers as well as abiding belief in zoning of political and elective offices as an inevitable strategy for managing our rich diversity as a people of one great indivisible nation called Nigeria.

“This is the task that I am committing myself to and I believe that it is in this PDP, that I will have the opportunity to play my part. It is my hope that the APC will respect the choice that I have made as my democratic right, and understand that even though we will now occupy a different political space, we do not necessarily become enemies unto one another.”

All juicy appointments went to Katsina, Lagos – Saraki

Earlier in Ilorin on Tuesday, Saraki had met his supporters where he told them that he dumped the APC because of their insistence that he should do so and the guidance he received from God.

He further alleged that Kwara State was marginalised in terms of appointments by the APC.

Saraki spoke to journalists in Ilorin after a meeting attended by the state governor, all the members of the National Assembly from the state, 23 members of the state house of assembly and local government chairmen and members of the state executive council.

Saraki said, “We discussed this issue last week when I came home. You told me that you were tired of the APC, but I asked you to exercise patience. I told you that I will seek God’s guidance and feed you back on my return to Ilorin.

“The Federal Government appointed over 200 persons into juicy offices without allotting any slot to me or (Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu) Dogara. Everything went to Katsina, Katsina, Lagos, Lagos. If not for the love I have for Nigeria, we would have scattered everything. They don’t want us in their party. They don’t like us in Kwara.

“What I am after is for my people to enjoy dividend of democracy. I want us to be in the party that will love my people. Wherever we are, we will win elections. The governor told me he’s tired of the APC.

“Those we are talking to in the PDP have understood that we need to move Nigeria forward. There is no cause for alarm. We should forget about personal ambition as we move to a new party. What should be paramount in our minds is Nigeria’s progress. We will set up our committee which will be meeting with the PDP committee. I’ve met with great stakeholders in the PDP such as Prof. Sulaiman, Ajibola Simon and Yekini Alabi and we have all agreed to work together. We should cooperate with the PDP people who we are joining.”

Defection, end of APC’s merriment – Secondus

Reacting to the defection, the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, said the decision of the Senate President to quit the ruling party was a sign of the speed at which the ruling party was shrinking.

Secondus, said this in an interview with one of our correspondents, in Abuja. The PDP chairman equally expressed delight that Ahmed also took the decision to abandon the APC and pitch his tent with the PDP.

He said, “Gradually, the reality must now dawn on the national leadership of the APC that the merriment is over. We are expanding and they are shrinking.

“We just want to commend Saraki and the governor of Kwara State for their boldness and patronage. We commend them for being able to stand for the truth.

“We just want to ask others who are ready to join hands with patriotic Nigerians to wrest this country from the jaws of wicked rulers to do so without further delay.”

‘Tambuwal will join PDP this week’

One of our correspondents also gathered that the PDP was preparing to receive the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, “anytime from now.”

A source close to the national leadership of the party said that Tambuwal had given them his words that he would defect from the APC “anytime from now.”

The source said, “Tambuwal will defect from the APC anytime from now. The waiting game is over. People can no longer stomach the injustice in the APC and they are ready to leave.

“We expect Tambuwal to join us before weekend. He is one of us. We know he’s coming. Many other governors and ministers are also coming.”

Saraki, Ahmed’s exit won’t affect our fortunes – APC govs

But the governors elected under the platform of the APC have said the Senate President and the Kwara governor’s defection will not affect the party’s fortunes.

The Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Rochas Okorocha, who spoke on behalf of the governors, said since Saraki had taken the decision to join another political party there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Okorocha who spoke to newsmen in Abuja, on Tuesday said, “You are asking me how that will affect the APC; that does not in any way affect the party negatively. The issue there is that President Muhammadu Buhari will win the 2019 election. He is much stronger on the ground now than before in terms of electoral value.

“It is allowed. As they are going, many other people are coming into the party in their thousands. So, it is neither here nor there and so, we should not make a big issue out of it.

“Saraki is entitled to his political opinion and if he wants to leave, good luck and if the Governor of Kwara, my colleague, wants to leave, good luck. They are all responsible men and you cannot tie them down to one place.”

Saraki and Ahmed announced their decision to quit APC barely 24 hours after the APC National Working Committee dissolved the state party executive loyal to them.

It also came a few hours after a group of protesters stormed the party national secretariat to demand their expulsion from the APC for anti-party activities.

Bye Bye APC- Senate President Bukola Saraki Defect to PDP The senate president Bukola Saraki and the governor of kwara state Abdulfatah Ahmed, have dumped the All Progressives Congress for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

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I will write Obasanjo another letter in June — Kalu

New Post has been published on http://blueprint.ng/i-will-write-obasanjo-another-letter-in-june-kalu/

I will write Obasanjo another letter in June — Kalu

Former governor of Abia state, Dr Orji Uzo Kalu is used to locking horns with ex President Olusegun Obasanjo. In this interview with IBRAHEEM MUSA, the All Progressives Congress(APC) chieftain was reacting to Obasanjo’s recent statement, where he advised President Muhammadu Buhari to, among other things, shelve his 2019 second term ambition. Dr Kalu took the elder statesman to the cleaners as accused him of corruption and self righteousness.

In your reaction to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s statement on the state of the nation, where he advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election, you said that Obasanjo does not have the moral right to advise the president. Are you saying that all is well with Nigeria under this administration?

Honestly, from the rot that the All Progressives Congress(APC) government met, I will say that President Muhammadu Buhari is doing his best.

I am not saying that he has done is uttermost best but he is doing the best he can to salvage this country, considering what he met. Before he came, Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) was completely empty; money was carted away from the Central Bank without record. Have you ever heard anything like that before on earth? People looted the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC).

People looted all departments of government. So, how can Buhari function? Moreover, Buhari’s sickness was an act of God. He never knew he will be sick. So, we thank God for his life. We thank God that he has gotten better. Former President Obasanjo is used to writing letters. He is the only angel on earth. When he was president, nobody was criticizing him. If you criticize him you become his enemy. This man does not own this country! His brought corrupting into politics.

I was a governor under him. I had written him a letter and he has not replied. As governor, I wrote him and said that the corruption that he was talking about is under his table. He has not replied that letter till today. He knows that the international security agencies know that he has stolen a lot of money and channeled to some banks and industries. It is an open secret. If he doesn’t know, I know. So, all these his self righteousness should stop.

Honestly, former President Obasanjo is supposed to be in jail; he is not supposed to be moving around. Jonathan was supposed to put this man in jail; he was lucky because we had already agreed with Yar’adua that he is supposed to be in jail. He spent $16 billion on electricity. A man who came into office with only N20,000, go to Otta and see how his farm has been upgraded. Go to Abeaokuta and see his mansions. Where did he get the money from? He sponsored his failed third term but he denied doing so. Should Nigerians continue to trust a man like that!?

I am surprised that people still greet Obasanjo and open their houses for him to enter! That is the truth! I am very, very surprised! His letter to Buhari is just sheer arrogance. I still insist that he has no moral right whatsoever to have written that letter.

Your relationship with former President Obasanjo was cordial when both of you were in office. Was it when the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) refused to repay the N700 million loan that you gave to the party that your relationship became sour?

No,no,no. I loaned N500 million to PDP and President Obasanjo said that they should not give me back. Chairman Barnabas Gemade said I should be paid and he quarreled with Gemade, a very honest and gentle man. My quarrel with Obasanjo is not about that loan that he asked the party not to pay me. My quarrel is that he wasn’t doing what the constitution says he should do. After all, he christened me Action Governor of Nigeria in Aba when he came to commission projects.

So, my quarrel with him is his greed and self righteousness. The only righteous person in Nigeria is OBJ. How do you think a man like that can be useful to this country? He misused an opportunity given to him by God.

God gave him the opportunity to be an elected president in 1999 and he used that opportunity to acquire so much wealth for himself and left the country that he was asked to take care off. He sold almost all government properties to himself and his cronies by way of privatisation. And he thinks people don’t know?

President Buhari should investigate the activities of Obasanjo to know where we stand.

In spite of his health challenges, do you still think that President Buhari should seek a second term?

Of course President Buhari must run! There is no health challenge! Are you his doctor!? In June when I said that he will come back healthier, your paper attacked me, all the newspapers attacked me. But he came back healthier. You are not his doctor. And it is in the best interest of every Igbo man, living or dead, for President Buhari to be president for another four years. It will give us opportunity.

How ?

After his second term, it will be the turn of the Igbos to produce the next president.

But when the Igbo delegation went to Aso Rock to endorse him for second term, you were not there. Why were you excluded from the visit?

No, my name was on the list; my brother represented me. I was in Namibia at that time. Mind you, I visited the president for a dinner on Thursday night and flew out to Namibia. On Monday morning, they came back for that courtesy call. My name was there.

I am a great supporter of Buhari right from when he was running in 2003. And we gave him a chieftaincy title at Igbere, his title is Nwanne Jidamba, that means a brother that is elsewhere. When Obasanjo said that he should not come to Abia, I invited him to Abia and I followed him to wherever he went, even though I was a PDP governor. Apart from that, we thought it wise to give him an honorary doctorate degree in our university, Abia State University. They tried to stop it by DSS but I said no, we are independent. So, these are the issues.

I’m not a new comer, I don’t beg any president for anything. I have never asked Obasanjo for a favour, I have never asked Buhari for a favour. I never asked Jonathan for a favour. I never asked Yar’adua, though he was my friend. He gave me the title of Magayakin Katsina, he wasn’t the emir, he was the president. Yar’adua asked Abba Ruma(former Minister of Agriculture) to call me three days to the event. I never begged for the title. It was President Yar’adua that gave it to me. In life and in death, he is my friend.

It is argued in some quarters that by campaigning for Buhari’s second term in office, you are actually campaigning for yourself so that by 2023, he will support you to be president when it is the turn of the Igbos. How true is this argument?

No, no, no that is not the issue. The issue is for us to campaign for Buhari. Anything can come after that. I am qualified to be president, I am not afraid of telling you that. If the time of Igbos comes, I will be in the forefront. I have everything it takes to be president. I can finance it, I can fight for it, I have the six indices of power. So, I don’t see any reason why I cannot contest if the opportunity is given to our area.

But what are doing to expand the acceptability of APC in Igbo land?

We have done a lot; I’m sure you saw our rally in Abia state. That was the first rally that APC had that it’s really called a rally. It was not about any governorship candidate, senatorial candidate, presidential candidate; it was just our rally to show the popularity of our party.

So, we are working very hard in the South east. We have been able to explain to our religious leaders, our community leaders and traditional leaders that APC is not branded as it is said by people. And moreover, the support for Buhari is not only about me. You saw Governor Umahi of Ebonyi state the other day saying that he will go for his second term on the platform of PDP but will vote for president Buhari in APC. You read what the national chairman of APGA said the other day? He said that they may endorse him as their presidential candidate. PPA is not left behind. So, all political parties in Igbo land are endorsing Buhari. Forget those who are making noise; Igbo are very smart people. We know that we are going to follow Buhari and vote for him for another four years.

But it was advertised that Buhari will attend the Abia State Mega rally. He didn’t come and didn’t send a representative. What happened?

No, no, no Buhari never promised anybody that he will come for the rally. What happened was that the state chairman wrote him a letter and he didn’t reply the letter and he didn’t say that he will come and didn’t say that he will not. The timing was so short for him to have come because he was abroad when we planned the rally and by January 9th we had the rally. So, there was no way that they could have given the president 10 days notice, considering his busy schedule. I told them that it wasn’t going to be possible, having been a governor for eight years.

You advised a group of Nnewi businessmen who visited you a few days to the Anambra gubernatorial election that they should vote APC. The election has been lost and won. Why did APC lose Anambra state?

President Buhari is a very honest man. He removed his hands from rigging. I can tell you this authoritatively. He told them that nobody, I was there, should rig the election in favour of APC. There was no how, if the election was not rigged, we could have beaten Obiano who is a very popular governor, who is paying salary to workers in the midst of governors who were not paying salaries.

He was doing roads in the midst of people not doing anything. He is with his people and has curtailed the security problem in Anambra state. Obiano was just like my second term in 2003, when Obasanjo said that I cannot go again. But the people of Abia state prevailed. It’s the same story. Nobody could have stopped Obiano unless that result was written in a house which Buhari was against. It takes only a president like Buhari to do that. If it was PDP, they could have done Carry Go, which they have been doing.

In spite of the fact that the son of Chief Odumegwu Emeka Ojukwu defected to APC, the party didn’t win… (Cuts in)

You can’t say that. APC has made inroads in Anambra state. Chris Ngige will tell you the same thing and everybody will tell you the same thing. This is a party that had less than 5% in 2015 and in 2017, we had 35.5%. So, we have made tremendous inroads and I am very happy with the results. I’m very happy with the efforts I made. I’m very happy with the efforts of many people; although most of our party people sabotaged us and worked for APGA. So, we expected that and we saw it.

What happened to Slok Air, the airline that you started?

What you are trying to do here is to bring back Obasanjo. Obasanjo is a killer of business. He is a killer of democratic process. There is no pint of democracy blood running in his veins. So, this is why I am surprised that somebody like Obasanjo is writing letter to Buhari.

Obasanjo sacked 5,000 workers of Hallmark Bank. We had 14 aircraft on the fleet of Slok Air and president Obasanjo kept these aircraft for 15 months on ground. You should know how much loses we incurred. Then he went to cancel the license of Hallmark that he had no business to touch. He went and took our oil licenses and oil blocks. So, you can see a man that could have been a statesman becoming wicked.

He had the opportunity to turn this country to any of these Asian Tiger countries. But out of wickedness, he didn’t do that. I wrote him a letter and I am going to write another letter to him and copy president Buhari. He has charges to answer because the international intelligence agencies know that he looted Nigeria. And we know the banks where he put these money. And that is the truth; he put the money in two banks.

Can we know these banks? No I won’t mention them now.

Can you give me a snippet of what you will write in the letter to Obasanjo? I cant give you any snippet; I am going to write a letter to Obasanjo and President Buhari. Two letters will be written by June this year and there are going to very hot letters.

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THOU SHALL NOT UNDERRATE ATIKU

According to report for years, he was rejected at the polls and given a tag that demarketed him among the electorate. His opponents said

they knew how to get people to vote against him — just dress him up in the uncomplimentary toga and voters would avoid him like a raging plague. He tried as much as he could to explain that what people were saying about him was not true. That did not change the minds of his critics. Anytime he announced his intention to become president of Nigeria, many would scoff and ask: what exactly does this man want? Why is he so desperate to become president? Is it a must? Can’t he just accept that Nigerians would never vote for him?

But in 2015, everything changed. It was like a movie. The same Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, tagged as a religious bigot and dressed in the uncomplimentary toga of a jihadist for 12 years, suddenly became the darling of Nigerian voters outside his “core north” stronghold. The PDP stalwarts who said they knew how to win against him were shocked at the momentum he started gathering, even among those who disdained him for ages. Indeed, before the election was postponed, a survey suggested Buhari would beat President Jonathan by at least 11 million votes. The election was moved and Jonathan gained some ground but still lost — although by a more respectable margin.

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And that is why I am bemused by the way APC stalwarts and top officials of the Buhari administration are toying with the threat posed by the obvious presidential ambition of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, who has left the ruling party for the PDP. Much has been said about the rolling stone that gathers no moss; just imagine how many times Atiku has changed parties in 10 years. Much has also been said about his seeming desperation to be president. But by far the biggest toga that has been designed for Atiku, like babanriga, is the stigma of corruption. Mention Atiku and the first thing that comes to the mind is “corruption”.

I guess this will be the marketing strategy of the APC campaign machinery in the countdown to the 2019 presidential election. Of course, we are making certain assumptions already — that Buhari would run, barring any change of course, and that Atiku would get the presidential ticket of the PDP, which, for all you care, is the most feasible platform to confront the APC. We could well be getting our assumptions wrong that there is an imminent Buhari vs Atiku match-up. It is actually more likely for Buhari to be a candidate than for Atiku to get the PDP ticket, judging by the internal struggles in his party. But we are just assuming that PDP would see Atiku as its best bet.

Why shouldn’t Buhari take Atiku for granted? One, because Jonathan also took Buhari for granted. Until it was too late. True, there was always a mortal fear of Buhari in Jonathan’s camp, but they always consoled themselves by concluding that only certain parts of the north would embrace him, and he would never become president of the whole of Nigeria without a significant slice of the votes from other parts of the country. There was a permanent assumption, based on facts and figures, that Buhari lacked national appeal, would not do well outside his northern cocoon and was definitely unelectable. I am also hearing today that Atiku is unelectable.

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Two, the Jonathan strategists thought that by casting Buhari and APC as religious symbols, they would scare the hell out of non-Muslims and “moderate” Muslims. APC and Buhari were consistently linked to Boko Haram. The violence that followed Buhari’s loss in 2011 was given as a clear evidence of his taste for blood and his links to the Boko Haram fundamentalists. But when it was time for Buhari to become president, all these mattered not anymore. What this tells me is that the “corruption” tag on Atiku might not carry as much weight as it used to. The “jihadist” toga actually endeared Buhari to some voters. The corruption toga may endear Atiku to some voters.

I was shocked by what I heard at my barber’s shop recently. He said something to the effect that since Atiku is corrupt, he should know the “in and out” of corruption in Nigeria and is therefore the right person to fight it. On a previous visit, he had told me (I enjoy listening to his analyses, I must say) that Buhari is largely unaware of the stealing in his government because he is too detached, allowing things to be done behind his back. By saying Atiku will know the “in and out”, he was suggesting that Atiku is better placed to fight corruption. I could not believe my ears, but my ears hardly deceive me. By the way, my barber said he voted for Buhari in 2015.

What he said next set off an alarm. He quoted his friend as saying “Buhari is fighting corruption but we don’t have food and jobs”. I have been amazed at the way my barber has turned against Buhari in the last two years. He has moved from making excuses for Buhari to dismissing the same excuses. If this represents a trend among a class of voters, then it would be risky for Buhari to take anything for granted. Incidentally, I went to the barber’s shop with my doctor who said although he is disappointed with Buhari, he will never vote for Atiku — again because of the fear of corruption. This could be another trend in a different class of voters, who knows?

Three, who would the political class be more comfortable with between Buhari and Atiku? By political class, I mean the politicians. Many of those who toiled for Buhari in 2015 have been complaining to whoever cares to listen that they have not been rewarded. Globally, you play politics because you want political power. You don’t sit down at home and expect to be appointed. In a country like the UK, “technocrats” (as we call them in Nigeria) join parties to get elected into government or get appointments or both. In Nigeria, “technocrats” are sitting at home watching TV and saying “we are not politicians — go and win the election, then come and appoint us”.

Many of the politicians who worked for Buhari in 2015 are complaining bitterly and saying he is not worth fighting for again. There are hundreds of federal government vacancies that remain unfilled. We have been hearing of an “impending” cabinet reshuffle for over a year now. Except Buhari repairs his relationship with his political foot soldiers, he stands the risk of finding it difficult to convince them to put their necks on the line for him again. Atiku, on the other hand, is a professional politician. He knows how to play the game. The typical Nigerian politician would be more at home with Atiku than they would be with Buhari. This is a fact Buhari would ignore to his own hurt.

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Four, and finally, the nightmare scenario would be a disposition of “Anyone But Buhari” among the voters. There are many people who still argue that Buhari did not win the 2015 election; rather, they think Jonathan lost it. They believe it was more of a vote against Jonathan than a vote for Buhari. So it was a case of “Anyone But Jonathan”. Buhari was positioned as a better alternative. If this analysis is correct, even partially, then Buhari would have to up his game if he wants to do a second term. Atiku is already positioning himself as the better alternative, and it appears his message is targeted mainly at the youth.

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t love to be commenting on the 2019 elections in December 2017. I am so appalled that our understanding of democracy in Nigeria seems limited to elections. We seem to get excited only by elections. In fact, we are already discussing 2023 elections and what zone will produce the president and what zone will provide the vice-president. That is the way we are. We were created for elections. We exist for elections. Still, I chose to discuss 2019 today because it offers me an opportunity to, as it were, highlight Buhari’s vulnerabilities.

The threat of Atiku — and Atiku is a metaphor for opposition in this instance — should make this government know that it cannot take the love and trust of Nigerians for granted. Complacency set in long ago. Those who voted for Buhari in 2015 did so with certain expectations. I am not too sure they can sincerely say they are better off today or that they still harbour the same level of enthusiasm. The enormous goodwill has shrunk in quantity and in quality or, if you will, in volume and in value. Introspection, genuine self-assessment, is very critical for Buhari at this point. He must assess where things went wrong. Atiku is knocking on the door…

AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…

CHIBOK BOY

Anytime I see the picture of Ahmadu Ali, the little victim of Boko Haram, something melts in me. The boy from Chibok became paralysed after he was run over by a Boko Haram motorcycle. He would have gone the way of thousands of luckless victims but for fortune that smiled on him. With the help of the Dickens Sanomi Foundation, the boy has undergone surgery in Dubai and is back on his feet. Mr. Igho Sanomi, the CEO of Taleveras and chairman of the foundation, applied the icing on the cake by announcing a scholarship for Ali up till university level. Given the unending mindless exploitation of IDPs in this country, there is at least something to cheer me up. Touching.

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‘KILLER WIFE’

Ms Maryam Sanda, the woman who allegedly stabbed her husband to death in Abuja after reportedly seeing some text messages on his phone, is currently being detained at the Suleja prison in preparation for her trial. There is nothing to argue about that. What I find disturbing and incomprehensive is that her six-month-old baby is being brought to court, perhaps to witness the trial. She cried all through court proceedings on Thursday. Some things are pretty simple, aren’t they? What was the baby doing in court? And why is a woman accused of such a grievous crime being allowed within a touching distance of the vulnerable, little girl? Befuddling.

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POLISH POLICE

Anybody who has encountered the special anti-robbery squad (SARS) of the police will understand that the ongoing campaign to #EndSARS is not irrational. But ending SARS does not solve the problems. The entire police force is fundamentally flawed: from recruitment and training to equipment and operations. There is a patent disregard for human dignity. It would appear the police officers themselves are produced in a dehumanised environment and then unleashed on the society to vent their frustrations on hapless citizens. Scrap SARS and something worse will replace it. Reform the entire police force and see a difference. Symptoms.

REMEMBERING TAFIDA

I was at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja on Friday and watched prominent people pay tribute to Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. The former No. 2 man died in questionable circumstances 20 years ago while serving a jail term over an alleged coup plot against Gen. Sani Abacha. Ambassador Patrick Dele Cole’s testimony struck me the most: anytime people spoke Hausa around Yar’Adua in the presence of non-Hausa speakers, he would ask them to speak English since not everybody could understand what they were saying. Yar’Adua had a pan-Nigerian spirit, built bridges all over the country and promoted democracy till his death. Hero.

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APC: The Obstinate Journey to Shame via London – Pius Adesanmi

Those interested in the dustbin of Nigeria’s history will one day find APC inside the rubble, among the putrefaction, just beside PDP, and bring out her carcass for examination.

Such students of the dustbin of history will likely conclude that APC’s signature contribution to the Nigerian tragedy is not in the empirical failure to deliver on measurable electoral promises in virtually all areas of national life but in the deadening of the Nigerian mind.

A nation’s mind is lost when the capacity for ironic sentence dies. And no group of Nigerians, at any moment in our chequered national history, has contributed more to the assassination of irony than the Confederacy of parochial interests in the leadership of APC.

If blindness to irony stopped within the ranks of APC’s leadership, if it was limited to Governors, Senators, Reps, and other political figures within her ranks, I wouldn’t be so worried. It would be their funeral. I am not in the habit of shedding tears for members of Nigeria’s political elite over their intellectual impecuniosity.

My worry lies in how the leadership of APC has democratized blindness to irony, especially among their followers so effectively. If irony hits you like a Dangote truck and you are unable to recognize it as a citizen, you wear that condition of ignorance like a badge of honour and hit social media for celebration in this APC era.

Chief John Odigie Oyegun fired the first bullet to assassinate irony. APC had just won the election. She was still in that period of grace when the people could excuse anything. Euphoria was still in the air. One message of change that APC could send early and effectively in order to write her name in gold was in the retirement of campaign funds.

The notion of retiring campaign funds is a complete stranger in Nigeria. We have at least two adult generations who have never heard of it because it has simply never been practiced. No Nigerian has ever retired campaign funds. After elections, you privatize the leftover funds, campaign vehicles, and other resources. You keep everything for yourself and distribute some to your cronies. This, of course, is a crime routinely committed by every Nigerian who has ever run for public office: There is no separation between their bank accounts and campaign contributions.

President Buhari, especially, most especially, had a moral and ethical obligation to inaugurate a monumental paradigm shift in our policy by being the first politician to ever retire his campaign funds, especially after making such a show of seeking a loan for the nomination form. He lost that golden opportunity to inscribe his name in gold – as he has frittered away every other opportunity since his election. To this day, President Buhari’s campaign funds have not been retired.

Enter Chief Odigie Oyegun with an early press interview. APC, he assured the nation, was not the party that should retire campaign funds. The onus, he continued, was on PDP to retire her campaign funds. I gasped and nearly had a heart attack when I read such ignorant comments from the Chairman of the President’s party. To this day, Chief Oyegun has not explained the sources of his sick political theory of campaign finance retirement to Nigerians.

The irony was supremely lost on Chief Oyegun and APC. They had campaigned on a mantra of change but were telling Nigerians that the change ought to start with the party they had vanquished! Did PDP promise change? This was the beginning of a history of criminal blindness to the irony that has led APC to the dustbin of history.

More tragedy was to come from APC. The party promised financial prudence and frugality. President Buhari held on to the most visible evidence of the long history of financial irresponsibility by the Nigerian Presidency – the harem of presidential jets. No change here. The irony was supremely lost on the changers.

President Jonathan was a junketing President. He traveled the world so irresponsibly that Reuben Abati was forced to pen a funny piece on the gains of President Jonathan’s foreign trips. However, Reuben could not possibly have believed the nonsensical claims he was making in that essay.

Did President Buhari change the paradigm of fruitless and irresponsible presidential trips? For where? He doubled down on it, determined to cover in a few months the air miles that Jonathan covered in five years. But for the unfortunate illness that has largely truncated his trips, President Buhari was approaching a point where he could very much have offered to build an airport for a country without an airport in order to be able to visit such a country. No change here. The irony was supremely lost on the changers.

Fast forward. Roll over two years of daily evidence of blindness to irony on the part of APC and you arrive at restructuring. Suddenly, APC has a committee led by my friend, Nasir El Rufai, whose mandate is to help her understand restructuring and frame her position accordingly. APC’s entire electoral manifesto is a promise of restructuring by other names. They called restructuring all sorts of names in various parts of that document but they cannot possibly pretend not to know that restructuring is what they promised. In some places, they called it devolution. In other places, they used other names but it all still comes down to the fundamentals of restructuring: empowering the margins, de-centering the centre, putting an end to Nigeria’s obnoxious financial feeding bottleism from the centre.

All of a sudden, nobody in APC has ever heard of restructuring. They now need a committee to study it, help them understand it, and, Allah be praised, the committee just must comprise all the Governors in their ranks who have declared war on restructuring recently one way or the other! No change here. The irony was supremely lost on the changers.

The most difficult part of APC’s tragedy is the part of their manifesto and agendas pertaining to health and health care delivery in Nigeria. Nigeria would become the Dubai of health facilities within five years and progress on the road to Dubai would start to become noticeable within the first two years. You must, of course, read APC’s manifesto on health in tandem with President Buhari’s campaign statements vigorously condemning foreign medical safaris.

All of these promises have led to the sorry and tragic spectacle of APC Governors and the Party Chairman at a medical safari breakfast table in London. During President Buhari’s first stint in London, it had been the entire leadership of the National Assembly. It is painful to see what these leaders are doing to themselves. I take no pleasure in watching their naked dance in the marketplace. At various times, the President of Nigeria, the Senate President of Nigeria, the Speaker, Governors, and the Acting President of Nigeria have all gathered in London. No sense of shame. No trace of the understanding of irony in their demeanor.

I wager that they are doing it because there is a sense that they have so battered and clobbered the people into intellectual submission that the ability to engage and vigorously examine the empty ethical and moral proposition of their actions is no longer available in the land. I wager that they are doing this because their spokespersons, supporters, and foot soldiers have so battered and clobbered the people into submission and silence that nobody is going to even dare to ask: who funded APC’s Jamboree to London?

I wager that these Governors are going to say that the London trip is a working visit, hence the deployment of public funds on such a woolly-headed Jamboree at a time when, from Lagos to Port Harcourt and everywhere, Nigeria is showing the world a spectacle of flooding and salaries are not paid. If the Governors considered this trip to London a working visit and expended public funds on it – I suspect they did – this would be another tragic nail in the coffin of the changers.

From the same political party, the Acting President made a cameo appearance in London a few weeks ago, assured the nation that the President was in great condition and was primed to return to the country very soon. If we are to believe a Pastor of the Redeemed Church, what could have been so urgent that the APC Governors couldn’t wait for the President’s arrival? Could it be that they did not believe the reassurances of the Acting President?

Whatever be the case, this London trip is a tragedy on so many fronts. On that medical safari, breakfast table was assembled those who promised to change the paradigm by putting an end to medical tourism. The supreme irony was lost on them.

Also lost on them is another supreme irony – and this one is a tragedy for Nigeria. Wait for it: the only two instances of leadership by example on the issue of foreign medical trips that we have come to us from the cancerous stables of PDP. Idris Wada is one of Kogi’s worst Governors. He was also very accident prone. He never went beyond Abuja for his medical woes. All the broken bones he sustained from his many convoy accidents were treated in Nigeria. And His Excellency Chief Otunba Dr. Peter Ayodele Fayose (Jerusalem Pilgrim) has been doing a lot of chest beating about his own medicals in Nigeria.

Wada and Fayose as the best examples of the change promised by APC? Nothing makes sense anymore. APC has turned Nigeria into a Yeats-Ville where:

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.”

When the best lack all conviction and, blind to irony, fly off to London to waste public funds in defiance of the very principles they swore to uphold, you can see the worst running riot all over the land (Fayose, FFK, etc) with passionate intensity.

Yet, the irony is lost on the changers.

And their followers. And their defenders.

The post APC: The Obstinate Journey to Shame via London – Pius Adesanmi appeared first on Newsflash247.

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Breaking - Saraki Decamps to PDP

I wish to inform Nigerians that, after extensive consultations, I have decided to take my leave of the All Progressives Congress (APC). This is not a decision that I have made lightly. If anything at all, I have tarried for so long and did all that was humanly possible, even in the face of great provocation, ridicule and flagrant persecution, to give opportunity for peace, reconciliation and harmonious existence. Perhaps, more significantly, I am mindful of the fact that I carry on my shoulder a great responsibility for thousands of my supporters, political associates and friends, who have trusted in my leadership and have attached their political fortunes to mine. However, it is after an extensive consultation with all the important stakeholders that we have come to this difficult but inevitable decision to pitch our political tent elsewhere; where we could enjoy greater sense of belonging and where the interests of the greatest number of our Nigerians would be best served. While I take full responsibility for this decision, I will like to emphasise that it is a decision that has been inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist. They have done everything to ensure that the basic rules of party administration, which should promote harmonious relations among the various elements within the party were blatantly disregarded. All governance principles which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government were deliberately violated or undermined. And all entreaties for justice, equity and fairness as basic precondition for peace and unity, not only within the party, but also the country at large, were simply ignored, or employed as additional pretext for further exclusion. The experience of my people and associates in the past three years is that they have suffered alienation and have been treated as outsiders in their own party. Thus, many have become disaffected and disenchanted. At the same time, opportunities to seek redress and correct these anomalies were deliberately blocked as a government-within-a-government had formed an impregnable wall and left in the cold, everyone else who was not recognized as “one of us”. This is why my people, like all self-respecting people would do, decided to seek accommodation elsewhere. I have had the privilege to lead the Nigerian legislature in the past three years as the President of the Senate and the Chairman of the National Assembly. The framers of our constitution envisage a degree of benign tension among the three arms of government if the principle of checks and balances must continue to serve as the building block of our democracy. In my role as the head of the legislature, and a leader of the party, I have ensured that this necessary tension did not escalate at any time in such a way that it could encumber Executive function or correspondingly, undermine the independence of the legislature. Over the years, I have made great efforts in the overall interest of the country, and in spite of my personal predicament, to manage situations that would otherwise have resulted in unsavoury consequences for the government and the administration. My colleagues in the Senate will bear testimony to this. However, what we have seen is a situation whereby every dissent from the legislature was framed as an affront on the executive or as part of an agenda to undermine the government itself. The populist notion of anti-corruption became a ready weapon for silencing any form of dissent and for framing even principled objection as “corruption fighting back”. Persistent onslaught against the legislature and open incitement of the people against their own representatives became a default argument in defence of any short-coming of the government in a manner that betrays all too easily, a certain contempt for the Constitution itself or even the democracy that it is meant to serve. Unfortunately, the self-serving gulf that has been created between the leadership of the two critical arms of government based on distrust and mutual suspicion has made any form of constructive engagement impossible. Therefore, anything short of a slavish surrender in a way that reduces the legislature to a mere rubber stamp would not have been sufficient in procuring the kind of rapprochement that was desired in the interest of all. But I have no doubt in my mind, that to surrender this way is to be complicit in the subversion of the institution that remains the very bastion of our democracy. I am a democrat. And I believe that anyone who lays even the most basic claim to being a democrat will not accept peace on those terms; which seeks to compromise the very basis of our existence as the parliament of the people. The recent weeks have witnessed a rather unusual attempts to engage with some of these most critical issues at stake. Unfortunately, the discord has been allowed to fester unaddressed for too long, with dire consequences for the ultimate objective of delivering the common good and achieving peace and unity in our country. Any hope of reconciliation at this point was therefore very slim indeed. Most of the horses had bolted from the stable. The emergence of a new national party executives a few weeks ago held out some hopes, however slender. The new party chairman has swung into action and did his best alongside some of the Governors of APC and His Excellency, the Vice President. I thank them for all their great efforts to save the day and achieve reconciliation. Even though I thought these efforts were coming late in the day, but seeing the genuine commitment of these gentlemen, I began to think that perhaps it was still possible to reconsider the situation. However, as I have realized all along, there are some others in the party leadership hierarchy, who did not think dialogue was the way forward and therefore chose to play the fifth columnists. These individuals went to work and ensured that they scuttled the great efforts and the good intentions of these aforementioned leaders of the party. Perhaps, had these divisive forces not thrown the cogs in the wheel at the last minutes, and in a manner that made it impossible to sustain any trust in the process, the story today would have been different. For me, I leave all that behind me. Today, I start as I return to the party where I began my political journey, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When we left the PDP to join the then nascent coalition of All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014, we left in a quest for justice, equity and inclusion; the fundamental principles on which the PDP was originally built but which it had deviated from. We were attracted to the APC by its promise of change. We fought hard along with others and defeated the PDP. In retrospect, it is now evident that the PDP has learnt more from its defeat than the APC has learnt from its victory. The PDP that we return to is now a party that has learnt its lessons the hard way and have realized that no member of the party should be taken for granted; a party that has realized that inclusion, justice and equity are basic precondition for peace; a party that has realized that never again can the people of Nigeria be taken for granted. I am excited by the new efforts, which seeks to build the reborn PDP on the core principles of promoting democratic values; internal democracy; accountability; inclusion and national competitiveness; genuine commitment to restructuring and devolution of powers; and an abiding belief in zoning of political and elective offices as an inevitable strategy for managing our rich diversity as a people of one great indivisible nation called Nigeria. What we have all agreed is that a deep commitment to these ideals were not only a demonstration of our patriotism but also a matter of enlightened self-interest, believing that our very survival as political elites of this country will depend on our ability to earn the trust of our people and in making them believe that, more than anything else, we are committed to serving the people. What the experience of the last three years have taught us is that the most important task that we face as a country is how to reunite our people. Never before had so many people in so many parts of our country felt so alienated from their Nigerianness. Therefore, we understand that the greatest task before us is to reunite the county and give everyone a sense of belonging regardless of region or religion. Every Nigerian must have an instinctive confidence that he or she will be treated with justice and equity in any part of the country regardless of the language they speak or how they worship God. This is the great task that trumps all. Unless we are able to achieve this, all other claim to progress no matter how defined, would remain unsustainable. This is the task that I am committing myself to and I believe that it is in this PDP, that I will have the opportunity to play my part.  It is my hope that the APC will respect the choice that I have made as my democratic right, and understand that even though we will now occupy a different political space, we do not necessarily become enemies unto one another. Thank you. Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON President of the Senate Read the full article

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APC: The Obstinate Journey to Shame via London – Pius Adesanmi

Those interested in the dustbin of Nigeria’s history will one day find APC inside the rubble, among the putrefaction, just beside PDP, and bring out her carcass for examination.

Such students of the dustbin of history will likely conclude that APC’s signature contribution to the Nigerian tragedy is not in the empirical failure to deliver on measurable electoral promises in virtually all areas of national life but in the deadening of the Nigerian mind.

A nation’s mind is lost when the capacity for ironic sentence dies. And no group of Nigerians, at any moment in our chequered national history, has contributed more to the assassination of irony than the Confederacy of parochial interests in the leadership of APC.

If blindness to irony stopped within the ranks of APC’s leadership, if it was limited to Governors, Senators, Reps, and other political figures within her ranks, I wouldn’t be so worried. It would be their funeral. I am not in the habit of shedding tears for members of Nigeria’s political elite over their intellectual impecuniosity.

My worry lies in how the leadership of APC has democratized blindness to irony, especially among their followers so effectively. If irony hits you like a Dangote truck and you are unable to recognize it as a citizen, you wear that condition of ignorance like a badge of honour and hit social media for celebration in this APC era.

Chief John Odigie Oyegun fired the first bullet to assassinate irony. APC had just won the election. She was still in that period of grace when the people could excuse anything. Euphoria was still in the air. One message of change that APC could send early and effectively in order to write her name in gold was in the retirement of campaign funds.

The notion of retiring campaign funds is a complete stranger in Nigeria. We have at least two adult generations who have never heard of it because it has simply never been practiced. No Nigerian has ever retired campaign funds. After elections, you privatize the leftover funds, campaign vehicles, and other resources. You keep everything for yourself and distribute some to your cronies. This, of course, is a crime routinely committed by every Nigerian who has ever run for public office: There is no separation between their bank accounts and campaign contributions.

President Buhari, especially, most especially, had a moral and ethical obligation to inaugurate a monumental paradigm shift in our policy by being the first politician to ever retire his campaign funds, especially after making such a show of seeking a loan for the nomination form. He lost that golden opportunity to inscribe his name in gold – as he has frittered away every other opportunity since his election. To this day, President Buhari’s campaign funds have not been retired.

Enter Chief Odigie Oyegun with an early press interview. APC, he assured the nation, was not the party that should retire campaign funds. The onus, he continued, was on PDP to retire her campaign funds. I gasped and nearly had a heart attack when I read such ignorant comments from the Chairman of the President’s party. To this day, Chief Oyegun has not explained the sources of his sick political theory of campaign finance retirement to Nigerians.

The irony was supremely lost on Chief Oyegun and APC. They had campaigned on a mantra of change but were telling Nigerians that the change ought to start with the party they had vanquished! Did PDP promise change? This was the beginning of a history of criminal blindness to the irony that has led APC to the dustbin of history.

More tragedy was to come from APC. The party promised financial prudence and frugality. President Buhari held on to the most visible evidence of the long history of financial irresponsibility by the Nigerian Presidency – the harem of presidential jets. No change here. The irony was supremely lost on the changers.

President Jonathan was a junketing President. He traveled the world so irresponsibly that Reuben Abati was forced to pen a funny piece on the gains of President Jonathan’s foreign trips. However, Reuben could not possibly have believed the nonsensical claims he was making in that essay.

Did President Buhari change the paradigm of fruitless and irresponsible presidential trips? For where? He doubled down on it, determined to cover in a few months the air miles that Jonathan covered in five years. But for the unfortunate illness that has largely truncated his trips, President Buhari was approaching a point where he could very much have offered to build an airport for a country without an airport in order to be able to visit such a country. No change here. The irony was supremely lost on the changers.

Fast forward. Roll over two years of daily evidence of blindness to irony on the part of APC and you arrive at restructuring. Suddenly, APC has a committee led by my friend, Nasir El Rufai, whose mandate is to help her understand restructuring and frame her position accordingly. APC’s entire electoral manifesto is a promise of restructuring by other names. They called restructuring all sorts of names in various parts of that document but they cannot possibly pretend not to know that restructuring is what they promised. In some places, they called it devolution. In other places, they used other names but it all still comes down to the fundamentals of restructuring: empowering the margins, de-centering the centre, putting an end to Nigeria’s obnoxious financial feeding bottleism from the centre.

All of a sudden, nobody in APC has ever heard of restructuring. They now need a committee to study it, help them understand it, and, Allah be praised, the committee just must comprise all the Governors in their ranks who have declared war on restructuring recently one way or the other! No change here. The irony was supremely lost on the changers.

The most difficult part of APC’s tragedy is the part of their manifesto and agendas pertaining to health and health care delivery in Nigeria. Nigeria would become the Dubai of health facilities within five years and progress on the road to Dubai would start to become noticeable within the first two years. You must, of course, read APC’s manifesto on health in tandem with President Buhari’s campaign statements vigorously condemning foreign medical safaris.

All of these promises have led to the sorry and tragic spectacle of APC Governors and the Party Chairman at a medical safari breakfast table in London. During President Buhari’s first stint in London, it had been the entire leadership of the National Assembly. It is painful to see what these leaders are doing to themselves. I take no pleasure in watching their naked dance in the marketplace. At various times, the President of Nigeria, the Senate President of Nigeria, the Speaker, Governors, and the Acting President of Nigeria have all gathered in London. No sense of shame. No trace of the understanding of irony in their demeanor.

I wager that they are doing it because there is a sense that they have so battered and clobbered the people into intellectual submission that the ability to engage and vigorously examine the empty ethical and moral proposition of their actions is no longer available in the land. I wager that they are doing this because their spokespersons, supporters, and foot soldiers have so battered and clobbered the people into submission and silence that nobody is going to even dare to ask: who funded APC’s Jamboree to London?

I wager that these Governors are going to say that the London trip is a working visit, hence the deployment of public funds on such a woolly-headed Jamboree at a time when, from Lagos to Port Harcourt and everywhere, Nigeria is showing the world a spectacle of flooding and salaries are not paid. If the Governors considered this trip to London a working visit and expended public funds on it – I suspect they did – this would be another tragic nail in the coffin of the changers.

From the same political party, the Acting President made a cameo appearance in London a few weeks ago, assured the nation that the President was in great condition and was primed to return to the country very soon. If we are to believe a Pastor of the Redeemed Church, what could have been so urgent that the APC Governors couldn’t wait for the President’s arrival? Could it be that they did not believe the reassurances of the Acting President?

Whatever be the case, this London trip is a tragedy on so many fronts. On that medical safari, breakfast table was assembled those who promised to change the paradigm by putting an end to medical tourism. The supreme irony was lost on them.

Also lost on them is another supreme irony – and this one is a tragedy for Nigeria. Wait for it: the only two instances of leadership by example on the issue of foreign medical trips that we have come to us from the cancerous stables of PDP. Idris Wada is one of Kogi’s worst Governors. He was also very accident prone. He never went beyond Abuja for his medical woes. All the broken bones he sustained from his many convoy accidents were treated in Nigeria. And His Excellency Chief Otunba Dr. Peter Ayodele Fayose (Jerusalem Pilgrim) has been doing a lot of chest beating about his own medicals in Nigeria.

Wada and Fayose as the best examples of the change promised by APC? Nothing makes sense anymore. APC has turned Nigeria into a Yeats-Ville where:

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.”

When the best lack all conviction and, blind to irony, fly off to London to waste public funds in defiance of the very principles they swore to uphold, you can see the worst running riot all over the land (Fayose, FFK, etc) with passionate intensity.

Yet, the irony is lost on the changers.

And their followers. And their defenders.

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