THE NEWS BEAT PORTAL

Wednesday, 18 February 2015

Nigerian Military And Illegal Election Duty, By Jide Ojo

2/18/2015 08:39:00 am | No Comments |

"…It must be stated, by way of emphasis, that the Armed Forces have no role in the conduct of election (and) must not be involved except perhaps, in the area of providing logistics services to the agencies of government in the preparation for the election." —Justice Abdul Aboki of Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Monday, February 16, 2015

The courts have spoken! The Nigerian judiciary has ruled that the deployment of troops for election purposes is an aberration, an infraction on the Nigerian constitution and the Electoral Act. First, a Federal High Court sitting in Sokoto on Thursday, January 29, 2015 had declared that the deployment of military for election duties in the country is unconstitutional.

Justice Mohammed Rilwan, who gave the ruling while delivering judgment in a suit challenging the deployment of the military for election duties, said that apart from protecting Nigeria's territorial integrity, there is no constitutional provision for the deployment of the military for elections. In the case instituted by the Deputy Speaker of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, Bello Goronyo, the Judge said that for the Federal Government to do so, it must have recourse to the National Assembly which would enact such a law.

On Monday, February 16, 2015, the Justice Abdul Aboki-led five-man Appeal Court sitting in Abuja upheld the position of the Federal High Court, Sokoto, on the matter. Justice Aboki gave the ruling in the Ekiti governorship election appeal case which was resolved in favour of the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose. Justice Aboki raised some fundamental questions in coming to the conclusion reached which ousted the role of the military in elections.

According to eminent justices of the Appeal Court, Abuja, "The question is that who ordered deployment of military or soldiers in the Ekiti governorship election? Was there any act of insurrection to warrant the call on the military to restore order? And was such deployment in accordance with Sections 217 (2)(c) and 218(4) of the constitution?" Their lordships submitted that, "There is nothing before us in the records in answering the posers positively."

"With this, whoever unleashed soldiers on Ekiti State disturbed the peace of the election on June 21, 2014, acted in flagrant breach of the constitution, and flouted the provisions of the Electoral Act which required an enabling environment by civil authorities in the conduct of elections."

The appellate court therefore barred the use of the Armed Forces in the conduct of future elections in the country. The court further averred that "Even the President of Nigeria has no powers to call on the Nigerian Armed Forces to unleash them on peaceful citizenry who are exercising their franchise to elect their leaders."

These two judgments cited above are heartwarming particularly at this critical juncture where the role of the military in politics is being viewed with distrust. It will be recalled that a couple of weeks back, an audio tape was allegedly released by one Captain Sagir Koli where a purported rigging plan of the June 21, 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State was perfected.

The recording professedly captured some political actors in a meeting discussing strategies for rigging the Ekiti governorship election where they also allegedly gave directives to the military to favour the PDP, claiming they were working for the Presidency. Two of the dramatis personae were reported to have owned up to attending the meeting but disagreed with the context.

It will be recalled that on June 19, 2014, the same military denied some All Progressives Congress stalwarts entry into Ado-Ekiti on a spurious "order from above." It is this patent partisanship coupled with the fact that recently the National Security Adviser wrote to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission saying that the security agencies would not be able to provide security for the earlier scheduled elections on February 14 and 28 thereby causing INEC to shift the polls by six weeks that make these judicial pronouncements laudable.

It will also be recalled that just last week, the national leader of the APC and a former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, raised the alarm about the siege laid to his house in Lagos by some soldiers. It also did happen that in Imo State last week, some soldiers allegedly acting on the orders of a minister of state blocked the entrance to the Imo State Government House with Armoured Personnel Carriers. The APC had also cried out that the telephone lines of its national chairman and many of its chieftains may have been bugged. These are ominous. No wonder former president Olusegun Obasanjo also alleged partisanship on the part of the military.

Now that the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which is a superior court, have both made legal pronouncements on the role of the military in elections, what is the implication of these judgments on our elections?

To my own mind, it does not bode well. Nigerian Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) as well as all major security agencies (Police, Civil Defence, Department of State Services, Federal Road Safety Commission, etc), about 16 of them, are all members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security established by INEC in 2011 to provide some logistic support to the commission particularly in the distribution of both sensitive and non-sensitive election materials as well as provisioning of security for election personnel and materials. It is good that the appeal court had said the military can help out with the logistics. However, exempting them from providing election security needs to be revisited.

Just last Friday, February 13, the National Human Rights Commission released a 80-page report where it stated that 58 persons had died in election violence across the country between December 3, 2014 and January 31, 2015. The Chairman, Governing Council of the ‎commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, while highlighting the contents of the report, noted that the 58 deaths had resulted from 49 election-related violence across 22 states in the country. If we had lost 58 lives within 60 days, that shows how volatile the forthcoming elections has been and will be. Can we then leave election security solely in the hands of the Nigeria Police, DSS and NSCDC? Will they be able to effectively police and secure the North-East zone and other hotspots across the country? It will be a suicidal gamble.

In order not to act ultra vires, I hereby enjoin President Goodluck Jonathan to do the needful as prescribed by Section 217 (2) (c) by writing to the National Assembly on the need to approve the military deployment in aid of INEC which is a civil authority. This can and should be done now that the National Assembly is back to work after their recess. In approving this however, a well spelt-out code of conduct must be handed down to the military about their limited role of providing logistic support to INEC as well as complementing the police and the DSS in providing election security. Any breach of this code should be visited with stiff punishment.

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Opinions expressed above are those of the author, Jide Ojo. You can follow him on twitter: @jideojong
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Opinion

Was David-West Right About Nigeria? By Uche Igwe

2/18/2015 06:23:00 am | No Comments |

On January 27, I attended a press conference in Port Harcourt where the eminent Ijaw-born erudite teacher of virology and former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tamuno David-West, was a guest speaker. During his short intervention, he expressed surprise and disappointment with the frequency of politically motivated killings happening all over the country especially in Rivers State. He concluded that Nigeria was a failed state under President Goodluck Jonathan because his government had not been able to protect citizens. Before you call him controversial, let me say that the reputable university teacher was not the first person to pass such a verdict on the performance of the Nigerian state under the incumbent President. However, his comments drew a lot of debate partly because, as the President's kinsman, he was supposed to, like many other prominent people from the region, abide by the code of silence about the dismal performance of their brother.

That assertion from such a highly knowledgeable personality made many of us apprehensive though many others chose to dismiss his statement as partisan while others began to contest whether the Nigerian state is only weak and fragile or is actually pushing towards failure. As the debate raged on, the current hostilities in the North-East continued to stare us in the face. So far, thousands of people have been either killed or displaced. Daily, territories of Nigeria are being snatched and annexed in the presence of a helpless and disillusioned army. Neighbouring countries that have been impacted by the insurgency could no longer continue to look away and have now joined in the fight against the scourge. The President was thus forced to quit grandstanding and screamed for help both from within the African continent and beyond. As preparations for the 2015 elections climaxed, the citizens woke up to a letter written by the Nigerian Army to the Independent National Electoral Commission that they would not be able to provide security to the citizens for the scheduled elections. A few days later, the Commander-in-Chief came on live television to tell the world that the military did not brief him before they wrote to INEC. Is this a mere plot by a seemingly politicised military or an empirical indictment of its dwindling capabilities? Is the Nigerian state really failing?

To answer this question, let us turn to the definition of a failed state. The Global Policy Forum, an independent watchdog that scrutinises global policymaking, defined a failed state as one which cannot perform basic functions such as education, security or governance usually due to fractious violence or extreme poverty. Another online source defined a failed state as one whose political and economic situations have become so weak that the government has lost control and unable to fulfil the basic responsibilities of the sovereign state such as security, power, eradication of poverty, education and job creation. Dr. Anke Hoefler of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford, situated state failure around failure to provide security and economic opportunities. She argued that the most basic role of the state is to provide security by maintaining a monopoly of organised violence within society.

Beyond politics, the performance of Nigeria on relevant global surveys provides an indication of how the country is being perceived globally. For instance, the 10th Annual Fragile States Index 2014 has just been released and Nigeria's performance is not looking good. Nigeria was ranked in the 17th position beside countries like Guinea Bissau, Syria, Cote d'Ivoire and Iraq. Such a depressing ranking calls for concern and reflection as these countries are either currently at war or recently emerged from one. According to the report, some of the contributory factors to fragility and failure include violence through internal conflict, existence of fault lines between identity groups defined by language, ethnicity, religion and areas of origin; competition over resources; predatory or fractured leadership as well as corruption and unresolved group grievances. One needs not to look too far to see that the Nigerian state is already manifesting many of the features highlighted above as they push the Nigerian state towards a possible brink.

A cursory look at the indicators utilised for the survey will confirm this further. Economic indicators like declining and uneven development as well as deepening poverty and disenchantment are already evident in our country. Our earnings from oil have decreased considerably and our foreign reserves have declined.

On the social side of things, demographic pressures have become intense with refugees and internally displaced persons littered within and without. Many group grievances remain unresolved while a few more are budding in several parts of the country. The Nigerian elite are effectively factionalised. Capital flight and brain drain in the past few months have been so enormous beyond what data can immediately capture and may not be reversed soon.

Many small arms and light weapons are currently in the hands of many non-state actors waiting to be used for one conflict or another. That is what the Nigerian state has become under President Jonathan.

Besides the North-East zone of Nigeria, Rivers State has become an important hotspot that exemplifies the possible failure of the Nigerian state. In the past few months, there have been several unresolved killings of loyalists of politicians and their supporters. In a particular scary case, these murderers moved from door to door in the Omoku area of the state snuffing life out of people who did not hold similar political views.

What a shame! As I was concluding this piece, very disturbing news filtered that unknown gunmen invaded the venue of the rally of the All Progressives Congress in Okrika Local Government Area. The hoodlums shot at the crowd repeatedly and disrupted the rally throwing several explosives at them.

For many weeks, the APC in the state has been seeking for permission from the police in order to hold its rally. If the event in Okrika will be used to gauge the elections in the coming weeks, then there is a clear danger in the air. What is the fate of the ordinary Nigerian going forward? Shall we resort to self-help where security agencies have either failed or have become partisan? Was Tam-David West right? Is President Jonathan and the security agencies simply helpless or are they part of a grand plot?

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Opinions expressed above are solely those of the author, Uche Igwe.
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Opinion

Dwindling Oil Revenue And The Nigerian Economy, By Ogunbiyi

2/18/2015 06:13:00 am | No Comments |

It is no longer news that the Nigerian economy is currently experiencing a downward trend. The fall in the price of crude oil, a major source of revenue for the country, has serious implications for the country's economy. As part of its response to the challenging economic situation in the country, the Federal Government came up with a series of austerity measures while at the same time scaling down the crude benchmark for the 2015 budget from $78 to $73 per barrel.

According to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, government's resolve to cut revenue projection was part of measures designed to maintain economic stability, boost non-oil revenues further, plug loopholes and waste, as well as cut unnecessary expenditure in order to cope with the situation.

Presently, the economic situation is biting so hard in some states in the federation that monthly receipt from the federation allocation has sharply declined. Consequently, some of the states can no longer meet up with their financial obligations. Thus, only a few state governments are able to pay their workers as and when due, while many others are unable to meet their obligations to their workers. Some Federal Government agencies are equally not faring any better in this respect. The private sector is also not totally immune from the gloomy economic reality in the country as it has impacted negatively on the value of the naira.

With the diminishing value of the naira, local industries are facing serious challenges that could actually lead to downsizing of workers if the situation is not quickly addressed. Hence, from every perspective, these are, indeed, trying times for the country.

However, no matter how gloomy a situation is, there is always a silver lining around the corner. Some economic analysts have actually stated that the current slide in crude oil price, and its attendant threats to the nation's economy, could eventually be a blessing in disguise for the country. There is, without a doubt, some degree of truth in this. For one, the current economic trend in the country has called the attention of everyone to the danger of operating a mono-economy. The nation's sole dependence on crude oil makes the economy vulnerable as fluctuation in the global crude oil price easily makes it unstable. Naturally, any economy that depends solely on one product would be incapable of meeting the expectations of the citizenry. Consequently, now that we have seen the folly of running a mono-economy, our leaders ought to be working seriously on how to diversify the nation's economy.

One way of addressing the situation is to revamp the country's ailing agriculture sector. Various administrations in the country have come out with different policies and programmes aimed at transforming the sector, but the results have not always been anything worthwhile. For instance, the much celebrated "Operation Feed the Nation" and "Green Revolution" of the Obasanjo-led military government and the civilian administration of Shehu Shagari respectively did little to ensure food security for the country, let alone leading to a boom in the economy.

Over the years, as a result of the neglect suffered by the sector, the export potential of cash crops such as cocoa, groundnut, cashew among others, has seriously diminished. It is sad today that Nigeria is no longer a major exporter of cocoa, groundnut, rubber, and palm oil. Ironically, these were the produce that the nation's founding fathers built the prosperity of the country upon. It is amazing how a nation that was once the biggest poultry producer in Africa now has its total output reduced from 40 million birds annually to about 18 million. The truth of the matter is that agriculture has suffered from years of neglect, poorly conceived government's policies as well as lack of basic infrastructure. Despite the fact that agricultural production rose by 28 per cent during the 1990s, per capita output rose by only 8.5 per cent during the same period.

Therefore, agriculture has not been able to keep pace with Nigeria's rapid population growth as evident in the sad reality that Nigeria, which once exported food, now relies heavily on food imports to sustain itself. Contented in its newly found oil wealth, successive governments in the country simply allowed investment in agriculture to decline to a ridiculous level. As against the United Nations specified 10 per cent of annual budgetary allocation, what we budget for agriculture in recent time is just around three per cent. The prospect of the sector, nevertheless, still reflects in its being accountable for over 26.8 per cent of GDP and two-thirds of employment in the country.

Government needs to really appreciate the potential of the sector as a catalyst for economic and industrial transformation. Consequently, government needs to recreate a modernised professional and commercial farming sector, supported by improved infrastructure and research into high performance seeds and livestock. To encourage the teeming army of unemployed youths in the country to take to agriculture, government should make access to loans meant for agriculture much easier while large scale farming powered by mechanised infrastructure should be the central goal.

Aside from revamping agriculture, improving the tourism sector could also be a boost to the country's economy. Tourism is a veritable instrument for socio-economic development. It impacts directly on the economy through the provision of resources and income that could be deployed to enhance economic growth, accelerate development and reduce poverty.

Similarly, it is a good public relations mechanism through which a city, state or country could attract needed foreign investment. Having come to terms with the socio- economic benefits of tourism, some states in the country are now drawing from the examples of cities such as New York, Hong Kong, Nairobi, Rio de Janeiro, among others, that have fruitfully utilised tourism for positive economic ends. In Africa, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt are renowned for their rich and economically viable tourist sites. With its numerous attractive and historical tourist centres, the Nigerian economy certainly stands to gain a lot if efforts are renewed to explore the tourism potential of the country.

However, it needs to be emphasised that the power situation in the country has to improve considerably before a significant improvement can be experienced in the economy. For instance, regular and stable power supply will enable small scale businesses to thrive better if more creative schemes are put in place to guarantee unhindered power supply. Equally, multinational firms that have closed shop in the country because of the epileptic power supply could be lured back if the power situation improves. This would not only bring back lost jobs, but will certainly restore lost ones.
On a final note, for the nation's economy to get out of the woods, the Federal Government, needs to be more creative, innovative and inward looking.

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Ogunbiyi, a policy analyst, is of the Features Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

Opinions expressed above are solely those of the author.

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Opinion

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

Exposed: PDP Faction Wants Jonathan Out As Candidate, As Party Faces Deepening Schisms

2/17/2015 08:16:00 pm | No Comments |

Sahara Reportershas learned of a new twist in the desire of some top officials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for a six-month postponement of polls in Nigeria, with several sources saying a faction of the party would work to replace President Goodluck Jonathan as the party's presidential candidate.

In separate interviews with SaharaReporters, numerous PDP officials disclosed that many founding members of the party had lost confidence in Mr. Jonathan's viability as a candidate, adding that a faction within the party had discussed easing the incumbent president out of the presidential race, and replacing him with another candidate from the Niger Delta zone.

"The only obstacle to the plan is that the South-South might kick against it, so we have arrived at a consensus to find another candidate," one of our sources, a northerner, said.

"If elections could be postponed for six months, we will definitely replace President Jonathan as our candidate," another member of the faction confirmed.

In a clear sign that the party was crumbling was within, several high ranking PDP members said they regretted letting President Jonathan carry the party's flag as a presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections. Some of them confessed to being aware that the party's prospects looked dire with Mr. Jonathan holding the presidential ticket.

"We are the ones who started the push for six months delay in the elections to enable us [to] put in place an interim government which would then enable the party to change its presidential candidate to somebody that is more competitive," one official confessed. He added that Mr. Jonathan's faction also sought the extension for their own designs, which was to explore ways of rigging the elections.

Our interviews revealed that many PDP governorship candidates in the north and elsewhere in the country were secretly working against Mr. Jonathan's re-election or quietly distancing themselves from him.

One party leader revealed that some candidates in the northern area were all but campaigning for Mr. Buhari, the presidential flag bearer of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, some PDP officials told SaharaReporters that, while they hoped that President Jonathan could be sidelined to increase the chances of the party in the upcoming elections, they also wished that the APC would also dump Mr. Buhari as its presidential candidate.

The party officials claimed that key political figures across Nigeria continue to view a Buhari Presidency with mortal fear because of his stubborn personality and his promise to punish the corrupt.

Several of the PDP officials told SaharaReporters that the rift between Mr. Jonathan and a large faction in the party that wants him dumped was reflected in the responses to former President Olusegun Obasanjo who two days ago dramatically announced his resignation from the PDP, publicly tearing his membership card. Two of the officials disclosed that, while Mr. Jonathan's aides launched direct attacks on Mr. Obasanjo, the officials at the party headquarters in Abuja adopted a more cautious and subdued tone, regretting that the former president had decided to leave the party.

Some officials stated that the party hierarchy viewed Mr. Obasanjo's public departure from the party as a dangerous signal and as a major threat. "Chief Obasanjo doesn't just come out swinging the way he has done recently unless he is privy to the existence of some third forces that are against President Jonathan. And to the best of our knowledge, the former president has never fought a battle like this and lost, no matter how long it takes him," one of the officials said.

"The truth is that many senators, honourable members of the House of Reps and governors are loyal to Baba, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. So they are doing Baba's bidding even though they are giving Mr. President [Jonathan] the impression that they are with him," another party official in Abuja said.

The party officials acknowledged that the statements of former President Obasanjo in the last three days had caused a major havoc on the party's plans to work towards an interim national government.

Several of the PDP officials attributed the fractiousness within the party to the way Mr. Jonathan and his wife, Patience Jonathan, imposed unpopular candidates on the party in various parts of the country. Even though they agreed that Mr. Obasanjo had imposed candidates on the party in the past, one PDP official said the Jonathans consistently backed candidates who were extremely unpopular within the PDP and unelectable.

Asked if President Jonathan was aware of plans to replace him, some of our sources said the president knew that many powerful members of the party were not satisfied with his style and low performance. One source said former Vice President Alex Ekwueme and even the party's chairman of the board of trustees, Tony Anenih, were far from enthusiastic about Mr. Jonathan's re-election.

"President Jonathan's candidature and unpopularity are damaging the party," one official stated. He added that the party's electoral prospects in the general elections had dwindled dramatically. "We are only sure of carrying about 11 states in the country, according to our internal polls," one party official disclosed.

Party officials also said they were determined to change numerous candidates for governorships, the Senate and House of Representatives in several states if the six-month postponement ever became a reality.

"The way President Jonathan and First Lady Patience Jonathan picked many candidates has now weakened the party across the country," one top official in Abuja complained.

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Source: This news first appeared on Sahara Reporters
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Politics

Rigging Plot Exposed: Presidency Contracts Ikimi, Nwosu, Others to Write Election Results

2/17/2015 07:49:00 pm | No Comments |

It is becoming increasingly unlikely that the PDP-Led government is prepared to hold on to power at all cost and ensure another four years of leadership in the country.

Already, several theorists have opined that the current regime is too scared to concede to defeat that they are working tooth and nail to sabotage whatever victory strategy the opposition All Progressive Congress has put in place.

In a featured article posted on Abusidiqu.com, the presidency has commissioned a high powered think tank group to write the result of the elections scheduled for March 28 and April 11.

To lead the pack of this high powered think tank is a former Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Tom Ikimi.
Ikimi, famous for his "Oba-sanjo, Oba-sanjo, Oba-sanjo pronunciation, was the returning officer for the 2003 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), presidential primaries held at the Eagles Square in Abuja.

He defected to the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which later joined forces with other political parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC), only to return back to the PDP after he failed to clinch the Chairmanship position of the APC in 2014.

Another member of the think thank contracted by the presidency include the former Chairman of the defunct of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Professor Humphrey Nwosu, who conducted the 12 June 1993 election, seen as the freest and fairest election to date, in which Chief Moshood Abiola was presumed to have won.

Others include former Chief of Staff to President Jonathan, Mike Oghiadomhe, former Minister Iyorchia Ayu, Chief Tony Anenih, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam and four others.

According to our source, the think tank group are expected to do a clean job of writing the result of the elections in connivance with some top members of the Independent National Electoral Commission and some Resident Electoral Commissioners.

The think tank group particular have a mandate of writing the results in the South South and South East States excluding Imo State, while the results of some states in the South West and the North including Lagos, Plateau, Sokoto and Kano will also be written by the group.

To that effect, the presidency our source said met with some of the INEC commissioners ready to play ball on Sunday evening at Protea Hotels around Apo Road, Abuja with the aim of discussing the rigging of the coming elections.

Prior to involving the commissioners, the think tank group was said to have approached the Chairman of INEC, Attahiru Jega to get him to play ball, but Jega insisted on conducting a free, fair and credible election.

In attendance at the Sunday evening meeting said to have been spearheaded by one of the most senior commissioners in INEC, Ishmael Igbani were the president of the Senate, David Mark, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, Chief of Staff to Mr. President, Mr. Arogbofa, spokesperson of the PDP presidential campaign, Fani-Kayode and Special Adviser to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe.

The source added that the INEC commissioners will be paid a sum of N50m each for agreeing to use the results which the think tank group will write in place of the result that would be turned out in the election.

It was gathered that this is about the second time the meeting between the presidency and the INC commissioners to discuss the rigging plan was held.

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Big Story: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo Quits Politics, Tears PDP Membership Card http://bit.ly/1L76VOw

Exposed: Presidency Schemes To Bribe National Assembly Members To Postpone Elections Again http://bit.ly/1yJNtyz

President Jonathan Is Afraid Buhari Will Jail Him, Says Former President Obasanjo http://bit.ly/1EdOXFV

2015 Presidential Election Ballot Papers Found In London http://bit.ly/1A7kpF5

New Leaked Documents Reveal Nigerian Army Board Of Inquiry Tried Capt. Koli For Exposing Ekiti Rigging http://bit.ly/1uTDAmL

"If One Of My Men Is Killed During Elections, I Shall Kill Twenty Civilians," Police AIG Mbu Warns http://bit.ly/1CpfqxH
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Source: ABUSIDIQU
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News, Politics

Save Me From Defeat, President Jonathan Begs PDP Governors

2/17/2015 12:22:00 pm | No Comments |

Not wanting to take chances or ignore the formidable forces arrayed against him within and outside his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the build up to the rescheduled general elections, President Goodluck Jonathan, on Friday night met stakeholders of the party.

The object of the meeting was how to maximise the opportunity offered by the new poll's date, March 28, 2015, to swing more support and votes for the second term ambition of the President.

According to Dino Melaye, former member of the House of Representatives, who first broke the news in his official twitter handle (@dino_melaye), the meeting was attended by PDP governors, members of the party's National Executive Committee and some key persons, including Tony Anenih, chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and Edwin Clarke, a party leader.

"The President who spoke after lengthy discussions by participants at the meeting chaired by PDP National Chairman, Adamu Mu'azu, thanked those present particularly the governors and NEC members, assuring them of his total support.

"He appealed to the governors to stave off the impending loss at the poll and called for collaboration to ensure victory at the polls.

"We must work hard to save the party and all our contestants. It is true, the report out there is call for great concern and this is why we must use the new window in the poll shift to talk to Nigerians, woo them and even beg them where necessary," Melaye said.

Also speaking, Chief Anenih begged the gathering to put more efforts in their various states to ensure victory in the coming election.

For him: "It is either we win or perish together."
Melaye also revealed that Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, blamed the conspiracy by some unnamed elements, in reply to an otherwise rhetorical question by Clark as to why the President is seemly unacceptable despite all his laudable achievements.

"Please my people I beg you, this election is a must win for our president and all of us," Chief Clark was quoted as saying.

The meeting was attended by all governors under the party's platform, except Isa Yuguda and Sule Lamido Bauchi and Jigawa states respectively, who were also not represented.

At the meeting, which held at the First Lady's Conference Hall in the Presidential Villa, ending minutes after 6 a.m. on Saturday, Mu'azu was said to have lamented the way inter-party wrangling had been allowed to degenerate to the point where five governors dumped the PDP at the same time.

The governors are Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) who was subsequently impeached; Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers State); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano); and Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto).

They were part of the group called G7 Governors in the aftermath of the elections of the now splinter Nigerian Governors Forum, dumped the party first for the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), before moving to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the nation's main opposition party. The other two: Dr. Babangida Aliyu and Lamido of Niger and Jigawa respectively, however, chose to stay back in the PDP at the last moment.

As the meeting progressed, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State was said to have announced a Presidential approval for the distribution of N20 billion among some state governors, just as key swing states like Kano, Lagos, Rivers and Kaduna would get N2 billion to woo voters.

Another "N2 billion was also set aside to buy some political and public analysts to talk more about Mr. President and his achievements over the last six years. Some TV stations such as AIT and Channels would do the job," he added.

Those at the meeting, Melaye continued, were particular pained by the exit of the governors of Rivers and Kano, which were PDP strongholds before now.

It was further learnt that there was a mild drama at the point when the party chairman tactically blamed the First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, for allowing matters to degenerate to the point where the problem she had with Amaechi snowballed into his leaving the PDP.

The intervention of Clark was said to have saved the situation from going worse.
The party's chairman was also said to have taken a hard look at the build-up to the election and cautioned Femi Fani-Kayode, Director, Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, who was also at the meeting, and Olisa Metuh, Publicity Secretary of the party.

Melaye said both men were told that their propaganda activities seem to be having a backlash and rather making the APC candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari more popularly rather than the contrary.

"Instead of the current situation, he called for more issue based campaigns rather than attacking Buhari's people as most of the campaign materials already churned out have done, if the PDP must get good support from the ordinary northerner.

"The meeting agreed to reduce negative adverts on Buhari, but Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti and his counterpart from Ondo saw it differently," he noted.

Calls by Daily Independent to the phone
numbers of Metuh, the PDP spokesman, did not connect, just as short messages to his phones were not replied as at press time.

When contacted on telephone, Fani-Kayode who neither confirmed nor denied that the meeting actually held promised to return a call to him. When he did, he said it was not true.

"No meeting of such took place," he said.

In a phone interview with our correspondent on Sunday evening, Anenih, who allegedly arrived the meeting venue in company of Clarke, denied knowledge of such a meeting, talk more of being in attendance.

He told Daily Independent from his Abuja base:
"I am not aware of such meeting. I have been in Benin and just landed in Abuja.

Chief Anenih: "When was the meeting held?

Daily Independent: "Between Friday night and very early Saturday morning, Sir.

Chief Anenih: "I have been in Benin (City), I just arrived Abuja… Why not call Mu'azu…"

But another source told one of our correspondents that the meeting indeed held and that members of the PDP National Executive Committee moved from the party's Wadata Plaza secretariat in Abuja, where they held a meeting to the Presidential Villa that Friday night.

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Source: Daily Independent/
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News, Politics

I’d Rather Tear My PDP Card Than Sit And Watch Jonathan Use PDP To Destroy Nigeria - Obasanjo

2/17/2015 09:34:00 am | No Comments |

Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday night took to popular social media platform, Twitter, to explain the idea behind his theatrical tearing of his Peoples Democratic Party membership card.

In the tweets, he reiterated his earlier position that the interest of Nigeria was far greater than individual or political interests.

He equally maintained that it was best he served the nation as a freelance citizen rather than be part of a PDP-led government that is already championing the doom of the country.

In the tweets, Obasanjo said: "I'd rather sacrifice my political party for the interest of Nigeria than sacrifice my country for a political party led by a drug baron.

"I'd rather tear the PDP membership card than sit down and let Jonathan use PDP and corruption to tear my beloved country apart.

He concluded by saying, "I have national and international standard to maintain. For this reason I'd rather stand alone than be in the same political party with Kashamu."

According to vanguardngr.com, Obasanjo said that the party card he tore was one of the considerations to him in the bid to project Nigeria, pointing out that there was nothing he could not sacrifice for the interest of the nation.

He boasted that despite the destruction of his party card, he would not be cowed by anyone, as he was still ready to comment on any matter that required his comment or view.

He said: "If there is anything that requires my comment, position or views, I will say it. It is only when you kill me that I will stop doing so."