Monday, 5 August 2013

5 Northern Governors Meet with Danjuma, Differ over Joining APC

Former Defence Minister, Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd)

•Nyako's supporters eye APC

By Chuks Okocha and Muhammad Bello, with agency reports

As the five northern Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors continue their junkets in the name of consulting with eminent Nigerians ahead of the 2015 general election, a crisis of confidence is ensuing among the governors over moves by supporters of Adamawa State Governor, Alhaji Murtala Nyako, to join the newly registered All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governors, Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Nyako, who met with former Defence Minister, Lt. General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), late Saturday, are aggrieved with the state of the ruling PDP and have been going round the country in the last three weeks, consulting with prominent statesmen on how to resolve the multi-faceted crises in the party.

The governors have also not hidden their disdain for the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and are against President Goodluck Jonathan’s undeclared intention to contest the 2015 presidential election, which they believe should be zoned to the north by the ruling party.

However, the Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, who has been part of the group, could not join them at their meeting with Danjuma, as he had travelled to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj.

Besides, some of them have been touted to be in the group of PDP “renegade” governors that may defect to the APC.

However, it was learnt that the other four governors have disagreed with the decision of Nyako’s supporters to join the APC, a move that a source said others consider premature.

The four other governors, it was gathered, have asked Nyako to prevail on his supporters to wait until all consultations are concluded.

This is coming as the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told THISDAY that he was not aware of any move by PDP governors to defect to the new party.

Confirming plans by Nyako’s supporters to join APC, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ahmed Sajoh, told some reporters in Abuja at the weekend that they were considering the option.

He said: “The governor has made it clear that he is not leaving PDP, but the matter in Adamawa is beyond comprehension as the national chairman of the PDP (Bamanga Tukur) decides what goes on in the party in the state without an iota of concession to the governor.

“This is a sad situation we have endured for some time now. But if it continues unchecked, of course, we (supporters of the governor) will not rule out the option of having a rethink to make our flanks open for discussion with the APC in order to protect our future as politicians.

“The matter is not Governor Nyako as a person; he has nothing to lose even if he decides to be indifferent, but he may not have control over others who feel they should seek refuge in the new party to protect their political interests.”

THISDAY further gathered that three weeks ago, some Nyako supporters sought to register with the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in readiness for their eventual absorption into the APC.

A North-west governor told THISDAY that though Nyako’s supporters have been making moves to join APC, other governors have warned against such a hasty decision as consultations were still ongoing.

He said: “For now, the best thing to do is to engage in wider consultations rather than just jumping into a new party. There are many ways to kill a rat; if the PDP believes that without some governors it could go it alone, then when election comes, we shall see.

“That has been the position of the rest governors but it is only the Adamawa governor who is insisting that his colleagues of like-minds should dump the PDP now before 2015.

“I can tell you categorically that none of the governors is willing to join the APC. They were reached by the party in that regard but you know these governors are not kids; they are old war horses and politics is a game of interests.”

Asked to confirm if the PDP governors are making moves to cross over to APC, Mohammed said: “If the PDP governors are lobbying to join APC, I am not aware of that; but there is freedom of association, if they want to join APC, they are free.

“All I can tell you is that the APC as a party, with the kind of mobilisation going on and the acceptability nationwide, we are not reaching out to any PDP governor. But if the PDP governors want to join APC, they are welcome. But I am not aware that they are doing so.”

Despite their differences, the five northern governors were said to have met with Danjuma Saturday, which was the sixth in a series of meetings with prominent Nigerians and the president on the state of the PDP.

According to a source, who was privy to the meeting, “The governors said they were on a mission to rescue the country's democracy and bring about the building of national consensus in the country.”

It was gathered that Danjuma, who is being courted by the newly registered APC, was in a dilemma as to what choice or advice to give, as he was one of the stabilising factors behind Jonathan's presidency.

He was however said to be worried over what another source described as the lacklustre performance of the president.

ThisDay

Outrage: The Nation Newspaper Fires Whistleblowers Who Helped Nail Corrupt Business Editor

Ayodele Aminu

By SaharaReporters, New York

Controversial Business Editor of The Nation newspaper, Ayodele Aminu, resigned his appointment at the company last Friday on the heels of petitions to Managing Director Victor Ifijeh by two subordinates, and the recommendation of a panel of inquiry that he be fired for misusing his post.
After that, it got very ugly very quickly, as the Managing Editor—formerly Online Editor—brought in within week summarily directed the two petitioners, both females, to resign their appointments within 24 hours without providing any justification.
Contacted by Sahara Reporters, the reporters confirmed receipt of the memo, but expressed surprise that the management was in effect asking them to suffer for the sins of Aminu “because he is their boy.”
In his valedictory speech, Aminu who allegedly ran his own advertising business alongside his job and traded stories for private goodies, boasted that he prefers to be on his own because the Nation's management is divided. He clearly did not expect a man as powerful as himself to be mentioned in the same sentence as the word, discipline. "Whatever the management planned against the petition writer, some members of the management will inform them (petitioners), so leaving here is good riddance to bad rubbish."
With reference to one of the petitioners, he said, "If that woman knew that it would come to this, she wouldn't have written the petition. The Panel recommends that she be posted to the weekend as requested by her in her petition but the MD believes she is being used by some people within the organisation, hence baiting her with the directive to cover the new beat that was the bone of contention while the Panel was sitting, and she refused. Now she has been asked to resign. We are going together.”
Speaking further, Aminu, who joined The Nation after he had been fired at ThisDay, said, "I am not bothered. When I leave here now, I am going to the club [pub]. Imagine the Panel asking me, how many cars do I have? Foolish questions. At a point, I just kept quiet, I stopped answering them. I am glad to leave. This is good riddance to bad rubbish.”
He said he was having fun and enjoying myself, and bragged about his prospects. “I will proceed on my leave and go from there. No regrets. The Ibrus are already begging me to come to The Guardian, but I want to be on my own," he said. Over the weekend, nobody at The Guardian confirmed any interested in Mr. Aminu’s services.
Meanwhile, the petitioners have replied the management that they have no basis for resignation, since they are performing their duties regularly, and their petitions were in the interest of the Vintage Press Ltd, publisher of The Nation owned by former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu. One of them was said to be obtaining legal advice as to her options, and they are both concerned about their personal safety. “He (Aminu) also threatened that I would disappear, the day I told him I would report him to you concerning his high- handedness,” one petitioner had written in the conclusion of her July 5 memo.
Some of the information contained in the petitions, copies of which were obtained by SaharaReporters, are damaging not only to Mr. Aminu, but to his supervisors, Daily Editor Gbenga Omotosho, and Mr. Ifijeh, as they indicate they both knew they were harboring a corrupt and philandering Business Editor, but did nothing about it.
It seemed clear, for instance, that, using The Nation as cover, Mr. Aminu was effectively in a blackmail business for himself under which he obtained a retainer from willing banks not only to give them favorable cover in the newspaper, but to attempt to influence other newspapers as well. One of the petitioners recalled the day Mr. Aminu gave her money “in the presence of everybody” to be passed to such correspondents, saying he remembered that he was owing them.
“Three of them, Dele Fanimo of The Guardian, Bimbo Oyesola of The Sun and Victor Ahiuma Young of Vanguard always disagreed with him on request for killing of stories, "No way, we can't kill story for Aminu, he is not our employer", when I delivered his message to them,” the petition declared.
Mr. Aminu seemed to have lived his life in a happy lane. One of the more memorable quotations attributed to him by one of the petitions that will be of interest to journalists nationwide, as well as to the Nigeria Union of Journalists and the Guild of Editors is this: “Even the MD (Mr Ifijeh) said when he saw my N18 million new jeep that he knew I was the only one that could bring such car to the office. Even the car that the office gave me, I refused to pay instalmentally, I have given them cash. So I don't like people disturbing me when I am doing my business.” It is unclear how he could have paid cash on the basis of his wages at The Nation, for an N18 million car.
Clearly, the business he referred to did not seem to be the business of journalism, which is why that, and similar quotes, may keep many people at The Nation awake as to exactly how Mr. Aminu could so flagrantly maintain his unprofessionalism. Mr. Omotoso and Mr. Ifijeh are currently said to be going round engaging people they regard as the publisher's friends in order to save their jobs, giving the impression that the petitions were meant to bring down The Nation.
The second petitioner had a similar perspective in her letter to the Managing Director on July 8. “Since Mr Aminu came in 2011, he had in mind on how he wants to use the desk for his own business,” she wrote. “One of his plans is to bring people that will owe allegiance to him and displace those perceived as threats. I have known him for almost 10 years and one thing I know is that he is ready to do anything if he feels you are an obstacle to his business.
“A close friend of his once said “you have no problem with Aminu so far you are not writing against his interest and also not getting adverts from banks he has not been able to blackmail to be on his consultancy list.”
She added: “I will need to add that most things I will write here are things he says openly with the belief that no one can question him. As he usually says “everybody has a price tag to his name. There is nothing money cannot do.”
No official of The Nation was available today to explain to SaharaReporters why the two women were being thrown into unemployment because their supervisor who has dragged the profession into disrepute is being fired on account of their courageous complaints.

PDP’s ‘irresolvable’ reconciliation (1): Herculean task before Dickson committee

Festus Owete

The ruling party continues to strive to reconcile aggrieved members.

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has floated another committee to reconcile its aggrieved members across the country. The 30-member committee is headed by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, with a former governor of Borno State, Asheik Jarma, as deputy.

Announcing the birth of the panel, the acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Okeke, in a statement, said it would ensure comprehensive reconciliation and interest of the party.

According to the statement, “In furtherance to the efforts to ensure comprehensive reconciliation among members and interests of the party, the National Working Committee of the PDP has set up a National Reconciliation Committee to harmonize all interests and achieve a genuine reconciliation across board.”

Inaugurating the committee on Thursday last week, the PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, said though change and conflicts are permanent and inseparable attributes in human existence and co-existence, the party was in dire need of unity.

He charged the panel to give special attention to the non-PDP controlled states in its assignment, especially the six states controlled by the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and Labour Party, LP, in the South West zone, Anambra and Imo in the South East, Edo in the South-South zone, Nasarawa in the North Central zone, Borno and Yobe in the North East zone and Zamfara in the North West zone.

The national chairman noted painfully that “the entire South West zone except Lagos was under PDP governments and there can be nothing more tragic than the present disturbing reality of loosing that entire zone to the opposition.

“The birth of our problem in the South West and indeed other zones can be attributed to the inability of our people to manage our past successes.”

He vowed that the present leadership of the party was determined now more than ever, to reclaim the dominance of PDP in the South West, stressing that the people in the grassroots were “nothing but PDP.” According to him, the same tragedy affected the PDP in the South East and insisted that “the trend must be halted and must be reversed.”

Mr. Tukur also urged the committee to carefully evaluate the trends in the National Assembly vis-à-vis the party’s interest and progress.

Dickson accepts challenge

Accepting the challenge behalf of his team, Mr. Dickson underscored the necessity for reconciliation in the PDP, saying that though as a large party, it could not be devoid of several tendencies, conflict of interest and all manners of crises; as democrats, its members must evolve ways of appreciating them and resolving crises within the party without stifling people.

He added, “I think this is what you (national chairman) have done by setting the reconciliation committee. But all players in the political and non-political field must play by the rules of engagement. We must play the game within the ambit of national interest and not denigrate or destroy our institutions whether it is the office of the President, Judiciary, legislature, military and security services, professional bodies, media, traditional and religious institutions.”

Mr. Dickson assured that the panel would succeed in the assignment and urged party leaders, aspirants and members in state controlled by the opposition to take advantage of the establishment of the committee and work with it “to make our great party stronger.”

A history of re-conciliation

The establishment of the reconciliation panel came just a few months after Mr. Tukur led the members of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party on a similar exercise.

In April, the NWC, which sees to the day to day administration of the PDP, toured the six geo-political zones of the country during which it sought to mend fences with aggrieved members of the party.

The method employed by the NWC was unique. It picked the capital of one of the states in each of the geo-political zone where party faithful in the zones converge to discuss.

In the South-South zone, the national leadership met with party members in Port Harcourt, Rivers State; North East zone, Bauchi in Bauchi State; North Central, Makurdi in Benue State; South West, Ibadan in Oyo State; South East, Enugu in Enugu State; and North West, Kaduna. The grand finale was held in Abuja.

However, the effort was everything but successful. Not only were the parleys boycotted by those who should be there, including governors who were opposed to Mr. Tukur’s leadership, they were characterized by complaints of marginalization, imposition of candidates during elections, absence of internal democracy, among others.

Even the grand finale held in Abuja was no less so. Senior members of the party such as President Goodluck Jonathan; Senate President David Mark; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; and the Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, Tony Anenih, boycotted the event. Of the party’s 23 governors, only two – Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and Idris Wada of Kogi State- were on hand to witness the event.

BOT embarks on reconciliation

The failure of the NWC’s trouble-shooting adventure allegedly prompted the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the party led by Mr. Anenih to embark on another peace and reconciliation shuttle around the country.

The Board met with the PDP governors some of who expressed displeasure about the manner the party was being run.

The tour was allegedly sponsored by Mr. Jonathan who was said to be worried about the gradual disintegration of the party as well as the emergence of the All Progressives Congress, a merger of some opposition parties.

Comparatively, the BoT’s tour was far more successful than that of the NWC.

Yet, shortly after those efforts, the party’s National Caucus, in mid-June this year, appointed Mr. Jonathan to head another reconciliatory team to bring into the fold members of the party who had left out of grievance, and resolve multiple crises affecting the party.

No sooner was it announced than some prominent members of the party, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar openly criticized the plan.

Mr. Abubakar noted that “the President has no business setting up any committee on party matters when his interests are widely believed to be central to the ongoing acrimony within the party.”

Perhaps, the criticisms stalled the process as the committee never took off, let alone reconcile any aggrieved member of the party.

An unimplemented 2009 reconciliation

The PDP chairman, Mr. Tukur, had stated early in his administration that reconciling aggrieved members of the party was his priority.

Upon assumption of office in March 2012 and in deference to his 3Rs campaign agenda of Reconciliation, Rebuilding and Reforming, the national chairman, a founding member of the party, had requested to dust up the Ekwueme report on reconciliation of party members, which had been dumped by successive chairmen.

The report, which has become a template of sort for reconciliation purposes, was prepared by an 11-member panel headed by the Second Republic Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, himself a founding member of the party. Other members included prominent party members, including Adamu Ciroma, Jerry Gana, Fidelis Tapgun, Bode George, Abubakar Mogaji, Shuiab Oyedokun, and Ime Udum.

The committee, which was set up in 2009 by a former PDP national chairman, Vincent Ogbulafor, following a concern expressed by the then President Umaru Yar’Adua about division in the party, made far-reaching recommendations for reconciling its aggrieved members.

Among other things, the panel recommended the stoppage of the use of leader for some chieftains of the party as there was no provision for it in the party’s constitution.

The report noted that the position was not only interfering, it could also induce competition between such people and state and zonal chairmen of the party, statutorily recognized by the constitution.

Mr. Tukur had insisted that the only way to reconcile dormant founding members and other aggrieved members was to implement the report in full.

“There are many aggrieved and founding members who are dormant in the affairs of the party and with the implementation of this report, PDP will be working towards a total reconciliation of members,” he said.

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Gov Fashola’s father dies at 80, burial today •Jonathan, govs, Tinubu commiserate with him

by Lanre Adewole - Lagos

LAGOS State governor, Babatunde Fashola, lost his father, Ibrahim Ademola Fashola

on Monday, at the age of 80. He will be buried today.

A statement by the governor’s Chief of Staff, Mr Mikhail Olanrewaju Babalola, read: “In total submission to the will of Almighty Allah, we announce the passage of our husband, father, grand father and great grand father, Ibrahim Ademola Bayo Fashola, which occurred today at the age of 80.

“He is survived by his wives, children, grand children and great grand children. He will be buried on Tuesday, August 6, 2013 at Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi at 1.00 p.m.”

He left behind eight children — Arinola Fuwa, Olayinka Fashola, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Ademola Fashola, Omolara Fashola, Adewale Fashola, Ademola Fashola Jnr and Ademola Keji Fashola.

Jonathan condoles with Fashola
Leon Usigbe - Abuja

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has condoled with Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on the death of his father, Pa Ibrahim Ademola Fashola in Lagos on Monday.

According to a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the president, on behalf of himself, his family, the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria, conveyed sincere condolences to the governor.

The statement said that as they mourn Pa Fashola, Jonathan urged Fashola, his family and people of Lagos State to give thanks to God Almighty for the octogenarian’s very exemplary and accomplished life.

He urged them to be comforted by the knowledge that Pa Fashola was returning to his Creator as a very blessed and fulfilled man who lived to see his son become a two-term governor of one of Nigeria’s most populous and vibrant states.

The statement added that Jonathan joined Fashola, members of his family and the people of Lagos in praying that God Almighty will grant Pa Fashola peaceful and eternal rest from his labours on earth.

Sombre mood envelopes house As Mark commiserates with him
Bola Badmus And Dapo Falade

A sombre mood prevailed at the residences of the late Alhaji Ibrahim Fashola, father of the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, located at Ladipo-Labinjo Crescent and the governor’s personal home at Eric Moore, both in Surulere, following the death of the 80-year-old man.

The same also obtained at the Lagos State House of Assembly premises, the Governor’s Office, Government Secretariat, Alausa, as well as the governor’s official residence at Marina, Lagos.

However, family sources said Governor Fashola was currently in Saudi Arabia performing the lesser hajj and was said to be particularly grieved because of his closeness to his father, whom he very much resembled, but had accepted the death of his father as the will of Allah.

A statement issued by the state government, signed by the Chief of Staff (COS) to the governor, Alhaji Lanre Babalola, announced that the deceased, “our father, grand father and great grand father, Ibrahim Ademola Bayo Fashola died on Monday, August 5, at the age of 80.

It said that the remains will be buried on Tuesday at the Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi at 1.00p.m “to enable Governor Fashola who was on Ummrah to Saudi Arabia as at the time of his death to witness his burial.”

Alhaji Fashola is survived by his wives, eight children, grand children and great grand children, among them is Governor Fashola.

In a related development, the Senate President, Senator David Mark, has described Pa Fashola as an accomplished man who lived an eventful life worthy of emulation.

This was contained in a condolence message sent by Mark to the Lagos State governor, the government and people of the state over the demise of the governor’s father.

Lagos PDP expresses sorrow
Bola Badmus-Lagos

Lagos State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed sorrow on the death of Alhaji Ibrahim Ademola Fashola, father of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, who died in the early hours of Monday at the age of 80 after a brief illness.

Chairman of the party, Captain Tunji Shelle, expressed sympathy in a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune, while commiserating with the governor and the Fashola family, describing the deceased as truly accommodating and one who related very well.

Shelle, who said the late Alhaji Fashola was a patron of his club who did not underrate any person, adding that he was a simple, focused and thoroughbred ‘Lagosian’, “whose personal character was also a reason why the young governor got no pressure from his father.

“He was also known to be a silent achiever,” Shelle said.

“On behalf of my family and of the teeming members of our party in Lagos State, I express our deep sorrow on the death of Pa Fashola, the beloved father of Governor Fashola.

“It is very sad that Pa Fashola died before his son finished in office. I believe he must have loved to have a post service reunion with the son.

“No doubt, he died a fulfilled man. We join sympathisers in consoling the governor, just as we believe the governor would be really touched by the death of his dear father.

“We pray that the Lord bless his soul and grant the entire Fashola family the fortitude to bear the loss.”

I will miss Fashola’s dad a lot —Victor Olaiya
SIR Victor Olaiya, a highlife maestro and childhood friend of the late Pa Ademola Fashola, on Monday said he would miss the deceased a lot.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Fashola, 79, the father of the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, died in the early hours of Monday in Lagos. Olaiya, who was among the early callers at the residence of the deceased, told newsmen that he was humorous and loved to make people happy.

“I will miss his jokes and his smile. We were together many years ago when he was at Daily Times. He was nice, humble and kind and it would be difficult not to miss somebody like that,’’ the music legend said.

He gave Lagos, Nigeria his best —Tinubu

SENATOR Bola Tinubu has said that Pa Fashola gave his best to Lagos and Nigeria while he was alive.

“While in the USA, I received the news of the death of Pa Ademola Fashola, the father of the Governor of lagos State, Babatunde Fashola with great shock and deep sadness. His demise even at the ripe age of 79 years is a hurtful one and we have indeed lost a true, honest, steadfast and dependable father. Pa Ademola Fashola a man of integrity is a father no one would want to lose at a time like this. My family and I send our heartfelt condolences to Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola on this great loss.

“We must find solace and take comfort in the fact that Baba lived a fulfilled life and passed away with the knowledge that he gave his very best to his family, to Lagos State and Nigeria. There is no greater testimony to this than his son, Babatunde Fashola, the governor of Lagos who has given a new meaning to good governance and purposeful leadership,” Tinubu said.

As Mimiko condoles with him
Yinka Oladoyinbo - Akure

Ondo State governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, has condoled with his Lagos State counterpart, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), over the death of his father, Alhaji Ademola Fashola, who died on Monday at the age of 79.

In his condolence message, Dr Mimiko said the late Fashola would surely be missed by all, especially for his genuine display of love.

“It is sad that Papa did not wait to mark his 80th birthday, which would have come up next month, but God knows best,” Mimiko said.

“In his life time,” Mimiko continued, “Papa displayed genuine love to all and sundry. He was religious, very open and full of wisdom. I pray Allah grant him eternal rest.”

Dr Mimiko also prayed that God grant the bereaved governor and the entire Fashola family the fortitude to bear the loss of their late father.

“It is sad losing a good father like Pa Fashola, who was cherished and loved by all. But there is consolation in the fact that he lived a worthy and exemplary life and only God can give the bereaved family the grace to bear the loss,” Mimiko added.

Ajimobi too

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has condoled with his Lagos State counterpart, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, over the passing away of his father, Pa Ademola Fashola at the early hours of Monday.

Ajimobi, in a statement issued in Ibadan on Monday by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr Festus Adedayo, described the demise of the patriarch of the Fashola dynasty as a great loss to the family.

“Papa was a devout Muslim, community leader and a shining example of humility and philanthropy, as he shared virtually everything he had with the needy, irrespective of where they came from,” he remarked.

Although the governor said that the deceased would be sorely missed by his immediate family, the people of Lagos State and indeed, the whole of South-West, he admonished Governor Fashola and his siblings to take solace in the fact that he lived a fulfilled life.

Sen. Ajimobi prayed for the repose of the soul of the deceased, and the Fashola family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

Fayemi too
Sam Nwaoko - Ado-Ekiti

Ekiti State governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has commiserated with his Lagos State counterpart, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), on the death of his father, Alhaji Ademola Fashola.

Fayemi, in a statement on Monday, remarked that he understood what Governor Fashola was going through, having tasted the same experience of losing his own father four years ago.

The governor said although his Lagos counterpart would definitely feel the pain of losing his father, he urged him (Fashola) to be consoled by the fact that the deceased lived a fulfilled life and to a ripe old age.

He said: “On behalf of the government and good people of Ekiti State, the Land of Honour, I commiserate with my friend and brother governor, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, on the peaceful transition of his father, Alhaji Ademola Fashola.”

“I also commiserate with the entire Fashola family and the Lagos State government. I pray Almighty God to grant them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”

Dr Fayemi, in his condolence message, said the late Alhaji Fashola’s death marked a glorious end to a life well spent in the service of Almighty Allah and humanity.

He described the deceased as a devout Muslim, a community leader and a philanthropist who dedicated his life to the good of others and the development of his community.

The Ekiti State governor noted that the late Fashola, whom he described as a detribalised Nigerian and father to all, lived a fulfilled life and was exemplary in his deeds both in public and in private.

He pointed out that he left worthy legacies of hard work, love, good neighbourliness, generosity and piety for his children and other family members.

According to him, Alhaji Fashola will be remembered for being a disciplinarian and a personality who pursued any cause he believed in.

A great loss —Amosun

Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has mourned the death of Alhaji Ibrahim Ademola Fashola, the father of the Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN).

Amosun said he was shocked by the news of the death, describing it as a great loss.

In a press release by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Funmi Wakama, Amosun described Papa Fashola as a model of industry, discipline and integrity.

“He was a dedicated family man and devout Muslim, who trained his children in the way of Allah. It is not surprising that one of his children, Mr Raji Fashola, later rose to become the governor of Lagos, where he has recorded outstanding successes,” the governor said.

Amosun commiserated with the Government and People of Lagos State, family, relatives and friends of Papa Fashola, “especially my brother governor, on the exit of our beloved father, who led an exemplary life.”

He prayed Allah to grant him eternal rest.

NigerianTribune

Presidency: Ambitions will Destroy APC

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe

• Says Buhari, Tofa, Akande, Ikimi are expired politicians

*Okorocha dismisses suspension by APGA as irrelevant

By Chuks Okocha

The presidency Sunday predicted the imminent collapse of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the ambitions of its leaders would hasten the destruction of the party.

It also described notable APC leaders such as Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, Chief Tom Ikimi and the party’s interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, as analogue and expired politicians driven by ambitions and ethnic chauvinism.

The presidency’s upbraiding of the APC and its members came just as Imo State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, dismissed the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) over his suspension from the party for hobnobbing with APC, stating that it was “irrelevant”.

The presidency, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said: “It is clearly evident that the APC cannot and will not be an alternative to the PDP. This fact is further reinforced by the fact that even its political leadership parades politically expired, analogue and yesterday’s men, including the likes of Bisi Akande, Tom Ikimi, Bello Masari, Muhammadu Buhari, Audu Ogbeh, Bashir Tofa and their likes who do not promise any hope for today’s Nigeria and therefore cannot bring any meaningful change to the polity.

“In spite of the long years of existence of the ANPP, CPC and ACN, they have never been able to find credible personalities among their followers for national positions and offices.

“The ACN particularly is reputed to always outsource its presidential candidate to the PDP. It is not surprising therefore that in the new party’s national executive, six of its 11 members, which is about 60 per cent, are former chieftains of the PDP.

“The real question is whether this is APC or PDP 2? This is the poser Nigerians will resolve as time goes on”.

Okupe listed former PDP members, who were now on the executive of APC as the new party’s Deputy National Chairman, Hon. Bello Masari; Deputy Chairman (South-east), Senator Annie Okonkwo; Vice-Chairman (North-central), General Abdullahi Aboki; Deputy Chairman (South-south), Ikimi; and Deputy National Secretary, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.

He recalled that ACN in 2007 fielded former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, a PDP member, as its presidential candidate and later in 2011, fielded former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, another PDP member, as its presidential candidate.

“Isn’t it surprising too that since their coming together, Nigerians are yet to know what the APC stands for in terms of definite programmatic agenda? What do they have that is better than the PDP?

“They have no official manifestoes; rather, what we hear from one leader is a sharp contradiction from what we hear from another.

“For example, the leading ideologue of the APC in the North, Buhari delivered a lecture in London, where he spoke unambiguously against the much talked about restructuring of the Nigerian federation, resource control, sovereign national conference and other core demands of the defunct ACN.

“The other leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, went to a similar event more recently and ingeniously listed out their proposed programmes on power, agriculture and rail transportation, which are not in any way different from the contents of the transformation agenda of the PDP,” he stated.

In describing the APC leaders as “yesterday’s men driven by ambitions,” Okupe said: “The membership and composition of the APC are nothing progressive. They are ideologically ill-defined and seem to have come together for only one purpose which is to grab power from the PDP and are united on one sentiment which is their peculiar hatred for the person of President Goodluck Jonathan. Is it an offence in being a president from a minority tribe?

“Those who cooperate with them from the north are not true mainstream northern politicians but rather anarchists and irredentists who pursue political power based purely on ethnic sentiments.

“From the first day of the Jonathan presidency, these people have tried all methods to suffocate his administration and make it impossible for him to govern.

According to him, despite the overwhelming and daunting security crises, the administration had been able to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

Also at the weekend, the Imo State governor faulted the decision by APGA to suspend him, stating, “You don’t suspend a man that has since left APGA.”

He also defended his membership of the APC, which he said, would better serve the interest of Ndigbo in future.

Okorocha’s suspension has been blamed on his active involvement in the merger talks, which eventually led to the formation of APC.

This was buttressed by the National Executive Council (NEC) of APGA in Abuja on Saturday, which accused Okorocha of anti-party activities for associating with the APC

In a statement from Atlanta, the United States of America, the governor said at the Imo State Congress of America 2013 National Convention that his suspension was of little consequence as the APGA lacked the national spread to ensure the fulfilment of the Igbo political ambition of clinching the presidency.

“Igbos have not produced the president, vice-president, Senate president, Speaker of the House or the Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN), but I am confident that under APC, one or more of these positions will come to the South-east.”

“APC remains the best vehicle to promote the interest of our people. PDP has marginalised the South-east and has nothing to show for all its years in power,” he added.

Okorocha urged Ndigbo to embrace the APC because it guarantees equity and political opportunities that have been denied them by PDP.

Okorocha, in another statement by his media aide, Mr Chinedu Offor, also described his suspension as “irrelevant.’’

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported Sunday also quoted him as urging the people of the state to remain calm and be law-abiding.

The South-east chapter of APC also criticised the suspension of Okorocha, describing it as a sign that APGA had merged with the PDP.

APC zonal spokesman, Mr Osita Okechukwu, said APGA had failed to fulfill the political aspirations of its late leader, Chief Emeka Ojukwu, by not being part of APC.

“With the exit of Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Dikedioramma Ndigbo, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State commenced the final phase of the merger.

“Let’s not forget that our revered leader, Ojukwu, was the first chairman, BOT of APP, and if he were alive, he would have been the first Igbo man to embrace the APC,” he said.

ThisDay

PDP Braces for the APC Challenge

The Monday Discourse

Last Wednesday's registration of the All Progressives Congress was not a surprise to the Peoples Democratic Party, which was believed to have worked against the recognition of the merger. Thus, in expectation of the registration, the ruling party has commenced a gradual process of putting its house in order. Chuks Okocha re-examines some of the latest efforts of the PDP leadership to rise to the APC challenge

The registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has certainly altered the political equation and put the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on its toes. Though the PDP was not oblivious of the fact that APC would be registered eventually, it has since commenced the process of putting its house in order to stave off the challenge the new party will pose to its electoral fortune in 2015.

For the APC, the journey to registration has been rough. From the crisis of identity with another association, the African Peoples Congress, to allegations of sabotage; the APC, which is a merger of key opposition parties in the country, has never hidden its intention to create an upset in the 2015 elections. With the new party having in its fold heavy political weights and the speculations doing the rounds that some PDP governors would join the party, the PDP knew it could not treat with levity the APC challenge.

This explains why the PDP leadership has set up the reconciliation committee headed by Governor Henry Dickson of Bayelsa State and also the National Disciplinary Committee headed by the former Minister of Transport, Alhaji Umaru Dikko. These two committees, it was gathered, were aimed at righting the wrongs and whipping erring members of the party into line. The Dickson committee has begun to listen to the aggrieved members and is challenged to find solutions to their grievances where necessary and at the same time uphold party’s supremacy.

The Dickson Committee
The National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, who set the tone for the reconciliation, had charged the NRC to ensure the reconciliation of aggrieved party members and reclaim the South-west region in addition to other states in the 2015 general election. He noted that the party’s present leadership is more determined than ever to reclaim the dominance of the PDP in the South-west. Tukur added that it was painful the entire South-west zone except Lagos which used to be under the party is now under opposition party.
“There is no pretending to the fact that there are issues in the party that need to be resolved,” he said, attributing the party’s crisis in the South-west zone and some other parts of the country to the inability of most of its members to manage success. He therefore charged party members, particularly in the South-west, to work harder to ensure victory in the zone and to bring Edo State back to the party.
Emphasising reconciliation, the national chairman told the Dickson committee that, “There is no gain saying that we need reconciliation to be our guide across the country and the party,” adding that the committee is a critical necessity to hasten the realisation of “quick wins” in the party’s reconciliation platform.
Tukur identified the entire South-west states, Anambra and Imo in the South-east; Edo in the South-south and Nasarawa State in the North central as areas of concentration for the committee. Other areas, he said include Borno and Yobe in North east and Zamfara in the North west zone.

In his acceptance speech, Dickson described his chairmanship of the party’s reconciliation committee as a call to duty, saying “Mr. Chairman, there is no doubt that this national assignment you have handed us is a challenging task but I am confident we shall succeed on this committee, with experienced patriots who have accomplished so much in their chosen carrier. Let me assure you that this committee will routinely brief the NWC, party leaders and the relevant organs of our party.”
He said the stability of Nigeria as a nation depended largely on the stability of PDP, explaining that at no time in the annals of Nigeria has the unity of the country come under sustained and severe attacks as it is now.

“Instead of building a political platform for unity and development of the country the way our party is doing, the centrifugal forces are exploiting our diversity to expand the stacks and even making political capital out of them,” Dickson warned, stating that the PDP is the only party in Nigeria that has made the minority to produce the president of Nigeria since independence.
He admitted that a party as big as the PDP cannot afford not to have crisis, but the way it manages such a crisis without stifling members makes the party great. He therefore called on members to play politics according to the rule without denigrating or destroying institutions like the office of the president, legislature, the judiciary or the security services.

Later, Dickson and other members of the NRC were led to take the oath of affirmation by the acting National Legal Adviser of the PDP, Simon Jok. The committee is expected to facilitate the reconciliation of party members and leaders in target states particularly the non-PDP states. It will provide the template that will make the party organise credible primaries and select candidates for elections.
The committee will also facilitate closer interaction with PDP caucus in the National Assembly, know their problems and challenges and brief the party`s National Working Committee (NWC) on same. It is expected that the committee would support and work closely with other similar committees that had earlier been constituted by the party leadership.

Code of Conduct for Reconciliation
The committee quickly went to work and immediately released what it termed the code of conduct for its members and how it intends to address the reconciliation of aggrieved members of the party. According to the Secretary of the Committee, Ambassador Umar Damagun, the code of conduct will help it achieve the objective of reconciling PDP members.

He argued that “The Reconciliation Committee’s work shall place emphasis on utmost confidentiality of all matters brought to it. Members shall ensure strict confidentiality of all information received by them or such information that may be processed by the committee, its leadership or any of its organs (as may be established from time to time).
“In order to boost the level of confidence among our members nationwide while this committee undertakes its assignment, no member shall interact with the media on any matter under consideration by the committee, except with due approval of the committee or its leadership.”

Damagun said the committee shall be committed to the principles of neutrality, saying “To this end, no member of the committee shall serve in any Congress Committee in a state where such a member is an interested party. Similarly, no member of the committee shall hold any inappropriate meetings or contacts with any party member whose matter is under consideration of the committee, especially as regards to the subject- matter under discussion at the Committee.”
Also, the secretary said part of its code of conduct, members should be committed to the principles of fairness to all parties and that all party members to be reconciled should be guaranteed the right to fair hearing.

As part of its first target, the committee said, “In view of the INEC time-table for the imminent governorship election in Anambra State, the committee is conscious of the urgency to reconcile the various factions in the State chapter of the party. Similarly the committee is concerned about the on-going challenges in the Ekiti State chapter of the party.

“We therefore accord reconciling party members in these states our top priority for now. Accordingly, we urge all PDP leaders and members in these states in particular, and the country in general, to refrain from all forms of hostilities in order to give the committee the opportunity to do its work successfully,” he said.

The committee, therefore, called on all patty members at all levels, and irrespective of status, to refrain from comments, remarks, utterances or actions that may inflame tension among party members, and/or overheat the polity, explaining that “This is important in order to create the needed atmosphere for genuine reconciliation.”

Dickson Moves into Action
The first move by the Dickson committee was the intervention in the case of the three PDP members who took the party to court as it appealed to them to withdraw their suit seeking to stop the party’s special national convention. The members however defended their action, saying they went to court to strengthen the party.

The litigants, Bashir Maidugu, Yahaya Sule and Abba Yale, at a meeting with the committee in Abuja, explained that things had taken a dangerous turn in the party and they felt only the court could check the trend.
Maidugu, who spoke on behalf of others, said it took four days of frank negotiations with the Dickson committee to “arrive at where we are. Having extracted firm commitments from the committee to right the wrongs in the party, we were left with no option than to withdraw our suit,” he added.

In his response to the first victory of his committee, Dickson said “This is the spirit we want to see in every member of our party; to subsume your personal interests in the generality because collective interest is more important than individual interest.” The committee has also made significant progress in reconciling the crisis in Anambra and Ekiti state.

Enters the Dikko Committee
Not relenting in its efforts to put square pegs in square holes, the party set up a Disciplinary Committee, headed by Alhaji Umaro Dikko, a former national chairman of the defunct United Democratic Party (UDP) that was recently deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its inability to win a single councillorship election.

But Dikko has a rich political profile. Born in 1936 in Wamba, Nasarawa State, he was a trusted adviser to former President Shehu Shagari and an erstwhile minister for Transportation from 1979 to 1983 in the Shagari administration.
Other members of the committee include a traditional ruler from Bayelsa State, King Amalete Johnny Turner in Opume Kingdom in Ogbia Local Government and also a classmate of President Goodluck Jonathan. He is the Obanema of Opume Kingdom. There is also Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu from Imo State who is a member of the PDP Board of Trustees.

Also on the committee is Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun from Osun State, Hajiya Nana Ayishat Kadiri, Mr Hussaini Diraki and Senator Emmanuel Agboti, the acting deputy national secretary of the party, who is the secretary of the committee. He is from Ebonyi State.
PDP explained that the appointment of the committee was “pursuant to the provisions of Articles 57 (1), (2), (3) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).” But no date has been fixed for the inauguration of the committee.

PDP, Presidency and the New Calculations
THISDAY gathered that the party is gradually evaluating its chances in the zones to ascertain its weak and strong points. According to a source who outlined details of what could be described as the chances of the party in the face of ‘one leg in, one leg out’ of governors from the north-west and north-east in the newly formed APC, both the presidency and PDP are banking on the South-south, South-east and North-central for victory in 2015.

Inside sources in PDP and the Presidency said with the look of things, the APC would concentrate on the stronghold of the merger parties of ACN, CPC and ANPP but that Ondo which is a part of South-west where the ACN calls the shot might back the presidential aspiration of President Jonathan in the 2015 general election. Another source said by its calculation, the PDP is sure of scoring the mandatory 25 per cent in the states in the South-west states and more than 60 per cent in Ondo.

Following same permutation, the source explained that the PDP might be at home in majority of the South-south states, with a gamble in Edo State. The Edo scenario is hinged on the relationship between the state governor, Adams Oshiolmhole and President Jonathan. Observers noted that it was the relationship between them that accounted for Oshiomhole’s victory in the last governorship election in the state.
And since no governorship election will hold in Edo State by 2015 but in 2016, PDP is therefore confident that it would do well in such states as Akwa Ibom, Delta, Cross River, Bayelsa and Rivers, garnering more than 80 per cent of the votes.
Similarly, the presidency and PDP are said to be nursing equal optimism in all the South-east of Enugu, Abia, Imo, Anambra and Ebonyi states. By these extrapolations, the source said, “We will carry the day in Anambra and Imo States, despite the fact that it is under the governorship control of APGA. Majority of the voting electorate are in the PDP.

The party, in Anambra, has a majority in the State House of Assembly and two out of three senators are members of the PDP. The state governor, Peter Obi cannot conduct the local government elections in the state because of the fear that the PDP will win all the seats.
“Apart from this, Governor Peter Obi is very sympathetic of the PDP. He is a member of the PDP at heart and also a member of the President Jonathan economic team. So the state is for the PDP anytime.

“The party has perfect control in the states of Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia and even Imo. We are aware that Rochas Okorocha became governor because of the crisis in the state, where some members of the PDP worked for his governorship. The Imo State governor is playing a game. He wants to contest as a presidential candidate. As we talk, his party is in crisis of leadership between the Peter Obi who is seen as a PDP sympathiser and Governor Okorocha. All these are to the advantage of the PDP both in the governorship and the presidential election,” the source explained.

The North-west, the source contended, is where the PDP might encounter some problems, but not to the extent that the ruling party will not get more than 25 to 30 per cent of the votes cast. The source argued that in the run-up to the 2015 general election, there would be no governorship elections in Sokoto and Kebbi States. This is because of the by-elections in the two states that extended the gubernatorial elections in the states to 2016.

“PDP will get more than 30 per cent in Jigawa State, if Sule Lamido decamps to the APC. But if he remains in the party, the state remains a PDP state. The same will happen in Kaduna State. Vice-President Namadi Sambo will deliver his state for the PDP and President Jonathan. We may encounter some problems in Adamawa and Taraba, but other states like Bauchi, Gombe, Borno and Yobe will vote the PDP, or at least, the party will get more than 50 percent,” the source reckoned.

PDP may also have a good showing in the north central states of Benue, Plateau, Kogi and Kwara. The problem here might be Niger and Nasarawa States. Nasarawa is under the control of the CPC, but the majority of the state House of Assembly members is PDP.
“Like Jigawa State, if the Niger State governor, Dr. Aliyu Babangida stays in the PDP, there the state will vote for the PDP, but that may change if he dumps the PDP and joins the APC. The governors of Kwara, Kogi and Plateau States will ensure that PDP carries the day,” the sources said, noting that in the end, the PDP will still carry the day, but “all these plans depend on whether or not President Jonathan will seek re-election.

Although the extrapolations appear more self-serving and looks too good for a troubled PDP, what could however undo the speculated defeat of the party in 2015 is dependent on how well it is able to put its house in order, genuinely resolve the crises and reconcile the aggrieved members. Otherwise, the danger posed by the APC is more potent than the paper work of state-by-state analysis.

ThisDay