New PDP My Foot By Charles Ofoji

By Charles Ofoji

The Nigerian media cannot exonerate itself from woeful blames respecting the state of the Nigerian Nation. Nigeria would not be the pariah country it is today if the media rose up to its watchdog responsibilities. Unfortunately, our press is corruptible; the Nigerian media boasts mainly of brown-envelope chasers.
So it was not a surprise to me when the press acquiesced to the construction „The New PDP“ to refer to the disgruntled power sharers, who are re-scheming for resurgent relevance and deeper bite at the national cake. I had expected them to tell Nigerians that the old and “new PDP” are the same group of people, who have held the Nation hostage since 1999.
Democracy can not gain roots in Nigeria without an independent and vigilant media – not one that is for the highest bidder. We need pressmen and women, who will educate and sensitize Nigerians on their rights and issues that affect their daily lives. We need journalists, who would scoop and report scandals and keep it on the front-burner until justice is served. Is the Nigeria press still talking about the Halliburton scandal? Otedolagate or Lawangate? The Dana crash? Or has the media ever bothered to tell Nigerians why the country is broke as the Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala said? The same people who are saying that the country is broke are the same people who made it broke. Certainly, not ordinary Nigerians who toil day and night to eke out a decent meal.
Of course, the media has been commissioned to sell those who are in fact responsible for our country's problems under a new umbrella- The New PDP- as patriots and progressives, who are distraught with the direction President Goodluck Jonathan is taking the country.
Recently, some People's Democratic Party (PDP) members, mainly northern politicians, "rebelled" against the Bamanga Tukur-led PDP when they walked away from the party’s convention to elect new leaders for the party held at the Eagle Square. Reports had it that they went to the Shehu Yar’Adua centre to hold a parallel convention. That move split the party into two – a factional PDP and the so-called New PDP.
It would appear to me that the PDP , like a monster unleashed by its creator to bring mass destruction on the Nigerian State, has gone full circle. And like all agents of destruction that has completed its task, only one thing is certain: the monster is next for destruction. Since the return to democratic rule, the PDP has ensured that ordinary Nigerians are denied the dividends of democracy.
Nigerians are so disillusioned with the PDP that there is a broad belief that nothing good can come out of the party. The PDP party members attempting to sell themselves now as the “New PDP” are akin to wolves pretending to be sheep.
I would have been pleased if genuine progressives emerged in Nigerian politics. Unfortunately, those parading themselves under the new PDP are actually those who damaged the country. They are those who shared the wealth of this country among themselves, while Nigeria children died of hunger, preventable and curable diseases. These are no patriots. Rather people who think that Nigeria belongs to them. Most times, I wonder what they still want from this country. It is high time they stepped aside so that the rebuilding of the nation they have destroyed due to legendary greed and selfishness can take place.
The whole thing typifies the arrogance of the North. It is a kind of rejection of the right of the South and the minority to rule. This writer is an unrepentant critic of President Goodluck Jonathan. He has failed on his promise to Nigerians and I don’t think that before 2015 anything will change. Is he a bad president? yes. But who among the crowd in the "new PDP“ is better? Certainly, there is no difference between a black kettle and a black pot.
Except former African President, Nelson Mandela, who voluntarily said that he does not want a second term, I have not seen any sitting president who did not seek second term. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo did and in fact inordinately and unlawfully sought a third term.
As I have said on this platform before, based on the achievements of Jonathan so far, only an insane person will present himself for reelection. In any case, those who think that they can intimate an incumbent president to swallow his second term ambition, certainly want to cause trouble in the country. Democracy is mainly about accountability. Since the signs are such that Jonathan has decided to seek reelection, let the party delegates and the electorate decide, based on his stewardship, if his mandate will be renewed or not. This is the beauty of democracy.
If late President Umaru Yar' Àdua were alive and still in power, won’t he have sought reelection? Would there have been this same strong opposition coming from the North? I fail to fathom why the North cannot wait for another four years (if it is even their turn to rule again), at least for the interest of our country. The Igbos have been waiting since the civil war. New PDP, my foot!

Saharareporters

“It’s Time COZA Pastor, Biodun Answers These Questions – Church Member Japheth Omojuwa

Another COZA church member, Japheth Omojuwa has written yet another robust letter to the Abuja based pastor, Biodun Fatoyinbo asking him vital questions that he needs to answer urgently over his love affair with his female church members, especially Ese Walters. The note appears to be very long, but have patience and read on:

“Now read my lips, I know there are people here that are not part of our church, read my lips, we are going to speak but we are consulting to come out with a robust reply.”

“When we asked God, God said be quiet.” Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo in his non robust reply to the Ese Walter accusations on Sunday 25th August 2013.

One shouldn’t need a robust reply to say “I didn’t do it!” but I digress. The Miss Ese Walter – Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo affair has since come and for many, who’d rather the truth be buried, should be gone by now. Unfortunately, this will not go yet. The reason is simple; pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo just has to speak up. This was my initial take on the issue and you may need to read it to understand where this writer is coming from. If you haven’t read that, you’d not understand my mind with respect to how, no matter what we think or assume, we should never judge until all sides are heard. I now know more than I did from that last time and all sides have had at least 3 weeks to be heard.

Before I continue, let me address the men worshippers who go to church on Sundays and during the week sincerely believing they are worshipping God but in reality are bowing to the carnal desires of fellow men. My last year in Nigeria saw me spend more time in Abuja than any other Nigerian city. Anytime I found myself in Abuja, I’d always attend the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA) or on select occasions The Everlasting Arms Parish (TEAP) of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

My Lagos church has no branch. COZA was convenient for me for many reasons but the most appealing part was the fact that it was a church I could go without being treated specially. Yes, a few people would know and notice me but I’d largely be just another member of the congregation and my life needed just that. I was not just attending COZA though; I truly liked the church. I was committed to the church financially.

I may be did not give as much as many people but I at least gave enough to receive a gracious call from Pastor Fatoyinbo himself. I am yet to give anyone – including my mother – as much of my resources as I have given to COZA. More often than not my donations were in hard currency. Given a chance, I’d do this again. Giving is my culture anyway.

This point needs to be made because some hypocrites will come up here to pretend they love the church more than people they’d consider evil like myself because one has chosen to ask questions. I don’t know how else to prove one’s love for where one’s heart is without spending one’s money on same. I gave not because I was moved by words but because I was impressed by the church’s dedication to excellence. Hate him or love him, pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo was a man driven by excellence.

I was impressed because after each journey away from Nigeria, I’d visit COZA to see the aesthetics have been improved upon markedly. I was just impressed and I was even more impressed because being a man driven by excellence myself, it was great to see it in display in a Nigerian organization. That mattered to me because Nigerian positive outliers gain my attention for obvious reasons – excellence remains a scarce commodity in here.

I saw pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo for the first time in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, I think in 2007 when he came to preach at The Father’s House where I worshipped at the time. His depth impressed me. Again, hate him or love him, he knew his word. He knew (knows) the bible and he had – of course still has – the God given ability to not just preach the word but to teach it and impact people. His strongest attribute for me though would be his vocals. I don’t think there is a better singer than the man in COZA!

I have made all the above points because some would come here, not to read this or in search for the truth, but to defend their illusion and the lie they want protected in their hearts. I have said the above to let you know if you love the man, I love him too and if you love the church I do too. Unfortunately, I love the truth more and that was the reason I opened myself up to hearing the experiences of the many people who reached me after this article.

I exchanged emails with Ese Walter – she had reached out to me to encourage me during my Arik matter but I didn’t know that until after I sent an email to her to say to be strong – I was speaking from my understanding of what being in the media storm is. I received a call from an Abuja based counselor and had exchanges with people who had worshipped at pastor Fatoyinbo’s church in Ilorin. I did not reach out to any of these people myself; they sought me out themselves.

Loyalty is a necessity in every relationship. There must be a purpose and truth behind it. Should one remain loyal when one discovers that, that loyalty was pledged on the wrong premise? Every loyalty has a foundation and once that foundation is destroyed, loyalty must find a new shelter.

The Nigerian society is what it is because we do not care about the truth as a people, we only care about our interests. People think they care about the truth when the truth does not affect them, as soon as the table turns; their only care is about the protection of their own kind of truth or their own interest. It is the reason the same people say to you one day, “I love the way you write and focus on issues and the fact that you are unbiased” and the next time they go “what’s your interest in this? What is the point? I used to be your fan but not anymore!” I am so used to this yo-yoing from readers I never care about fans, friends or foes, I just care to put the word out based on what I think is right only being at peace with my conscience and my God. I don’t care to be loved or hated. I think I can do without caring for people whose feelings change at the direction of whether the matter affects them directly rather than whether the matter deserves one’s sincerity. This will open me to abuse but who cares about people whose lives and souls are subjected to what fellow men feel rather than what God cares about?

We may not be acutely aware of this as Nigerian Christians but while a man of God is truly a man of God, he becomes just another man when it comes to his own failings and addictions. A man of God who is addicted to drugs for instance is not addicted to drugs as a man of God, he is addicted to drugs as a man. The same thing goes for sex, stealing, adultery and all the other vices listed by the bible and our understanding of morality. When a man of God who is not married to you touches your breast, he touches it as a real man not as a real man of God. The hardness that comes with it is of his own blood, no matter what you want to assume.

Of course men of God have a special kind of grace, a certain level of Grace, but that grace has its purposive boundaries. You can have grace to pull 100,000 people into a stadium as a preacher but that grace may not be available to you if, say you invited people a year after to come hear you declare yourself to run for a public office. Every form of Grace has a purpose and a place for it. Will Pastor E.A. Adeboye gather as much people in Redeem Camp if the event was his declaration to run for a political office? I have gone at length to make this point about grace because as Christians in Nigeria, some of us have become passionate church going zombies! My words sound harsh but think mot juste – it is what it is. As long as pastor says it, it is right.

As long as pastor does it, it is right. So then, pastor is always right. Our thin line between pastor and God, which was supposed to be a clearly marked reality, has since become eroded. Pastors have indeed become our gods! We literally worship them now. My last service at COZA on the 25th of August showed this a lot. It was the loudest I had heard the church and trust me, COZA on a regular day is loud. On this day, I sat there in church and asked myself sincere questions;

Why is this church overly loud today, is it because of God or because of man? The extraordinary praise and worship session – which I really danced to because of my weakness for praises – and the loud cheers and applauses had a note to them that never used to be there. This was no longer about God, it had become about “our pastor.” I ordinarily would not tweet during a church service but I did on this day because I was so sure in my mind I was no longer in church. I realized I was in a theatre.

Everything was a show and it was at best a world-class show. It was no longer about God, it was about “our church, our pastor” and you are sure to see that put up here in the comments. Why have we suddenly assumed and believed that defending our pastors mean defending God? Who told us that when our pastors fall God will fall? Are we mad or are we just spiritually insane? Our Christianity is no longer about God, it has since become about pastors and our church’s brand. We are more obsessed with what people perceive of our church’s reality than what God cares about. Even the most seemingly independent minded among us lose their ability to rationalize anything as long as it is about defending these pastors and their increasingly way ward ways. In our usual way, we misinterpret the bible for our end, saying for instance “touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm.” I leave you with thisWhat does it really mean when it says not to touch the anointed? article.

This is our way of putting pastors above board, beyond questions and their actions protected inside our common ignorance of God’s word. People continue to perish for lack of knowledge. And you better not think this is a Pentecostal thing, it is as ubiquitous as you’d find religions. There is a fake version of anything that is original. If your religion has no fake version of its good leaders, your religion itself is fake!

There are of course true men of God and real churches dedicated not just to getting men and women focused on God and the things of God, but contributing extensively to the development of men, women and families including underprivileged in the society. The existence of a fake thing is proof there is an original. I work with some men of God fully committed to this and the works of the likes of Daystar and the Elevation Church in Lagos inspired this piece on what the church can do about poverty in Nigeria . I think pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo is a real man of God but he is a real man too; much more real a man than a god at least. And when these realities come clashing, we must not treat these separate phenomena as one. You can tear yourself to pieces over these questions as one of these folks with suspended minds, but he really needs to answer them or just let silence do the talking.

These are questions for the real man in pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo to answer:

Did he do what Ese Walter accused him of doing? When she came back to Nigeria and asked that he needed to step away from the pulpit, did he meet up with her, even tried to kiss her again and later called her to say he forgot something in her car after he left? Did the thing he forgot turn out to be N500,000 cash! Was this part of his personal earnings in church or was it part of the church’s income? Did they meet at another hotel – not in England – where he tried to pay for his own accommodation and had his cash refused because the hotel wouldn’t take cash so Ese had to pay with her card? Does he use an aphrodisiac perfume? Is that for the fun of it or for some kind of fun? Did he insist Ese Walter stay back in London after she came back to Nigeria defying his earlier demand? Ese Walter might have held back many details in her blog because no one gets to write it all on matters like that, but will the real man please stand up and say something? Oh, and our ultra-super-religious-and-spiritual-we-are-all-clean society has crucified Ese Walter, making sure others like her never dare come out to cast other pastors again. And trust me, there are other named ones. You see, we think we are a free people but we are not.

The person whose body is shackled is freer than the person whose mind is. We have been manipulated to assume certain things. It is so bad it has become so tough to confront falsehood in our society. In contrast, it has become the norm to confront those who dare ask questions around such. We remember the Bible verses that justify our ways as though even the devil doesn’t quote the Bible for his own end. Here is one thing you should take home; “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 17:15).

The sheer number of women who cannot speak up on their experiences like these shows how much the society condemns the brave and gives the halo of holiness to their mental oppressors. This is not limited to pastors, leaders of other religions are very much involved in immoralities with wives and daughters of trusted members but this is a mirror for my home. I ignored my Muslim followers who insisted I speak about their own leaders for obvious reasons. This remains Nigeria. I know they will have fearless people who will show them their mirror too. Some even already started with tweets on those yesterday.

One thing appeared constant in all the other alleged affairs; the pastor always used disparaging words for his wife, telling the other women his wife is “pretty on the outside, empty upstairs,” a theme that appeared in all the stories. This set me off over and again, hearing it from people who even as I write have never met themselves. Did the real man in pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo tell these women his wife is too fat and tried for years to lose weight but just couldn’t; and to think that the woman in question is not fat. There is more on this but better to reserve some questions. Is it true the wife is aware of the pastor’s issues to the point she makes sure to regularly keep tabs on him with phone calls? Is it true some of the pastors are well aware of this? Are they party to it like some of the women in this loop suggest?

What about these other stories?

One of the women – who admitted she was seeking counseling not because she felt abused by the pastor but because she felt used and dumped, because the pastor had abandoned her – had much to say. She said that it started when she went for counseling with pastor Fatoyinbo. That, they exchanged numbers and they started calling each other at odd hours. It went from phone sex to the bedroom.

There is no need to give the graphic details of the wildness she said transpired. The second story as relayed by the Abuja counselor was exactly like the first, from marital counseling to wild sex. This second person is actually married, and remains married. One of the ladies admitted she was so addicted to him she threw all caution to the wind.

The money according to them was another attraction they’d not deny. They didn’t say they were abused, they said they felt used and dumped. She said the pastor has a huge appetite for sex but gets bored easily and this explains his constant change of girls.

Hard to believe, but these stories from Ilorin make the hardness go a bit softer. Had an Ilorin student, who lived off campus, who was at the time his member, ever drive out pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo out of her room? Did he ask her to sit on his laps? Did he try to touch her breasts? Did he try harder until she threatened to shout?

Would the pastor remember if I added he used to visit the family, that they used to push his car at the time? Did any pastor at the time reprimand pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo after the lady in question had reported him? Does he still remember the words that man of God told him? Did the lady continue to come to church after the incident? She left the church eventually when she couldn’t stand seeing the pastor preach. People know about this, families know about this. These are open secrets.

What about this other girl pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo allegedly dated in Ilorin? She admitted they had a steady relationship, and that he would tell her how his wife was not homely, how his wife couldn’t cook. Pastor Biodun, according to her would tell her how he felt very homely and welcomed around her, how she was just like a mother. She admitted she dated the pastor for a very long time and even got pregnant and aborted for the man of God. People say there can be no smoke without fire but I don’t even agree with that because I know at least one gas that produces smoke without fire. Unfortunately, this is beyond the smoke of a gas, this is a thick, fat, carbon soaked smoke with burning flames that can only be associated with fire! Like Moses’ burning bush, something is wrong somewhere and silence will not help on this one.

Silence can be beautiful, silence can be ugly, silence can be so subtle no ones hears it and silence can be so loud it screams “guilty!” I defended pastor Fatoyinbo’s rights to be heard and I still do but I cannot defend his long silence. This silence is so loud it is too distracting. This silence is too robust to be ignored. Anyone who says it is better for the pastor to remain silent at this time is not only a hypocrite but also a church zombie. This is not me being abusive, this is me saying it as it is. Just look out for the meaning of the word.

When God created things, he said it was good, after God created man He said it was very good. God did not do all that so that we’d suspend our ability to think when it comes to matters of our pastors or anyone for that matter. Even God called out to Adam after he committed the first sin. God did not convict him, he gave him a chance to defend himself and Adam did present his case.

You see, after all said and done, we all like Adam, we fall short. King David fell short and prophet Nathan told him to his face. We all know what he did and the price he paid for that but we all know that several millennia after, King David remains an iconic figure in Israel. Israel’s flag and major national symbols bear his insignia to this day! King David said “hata al-Yahweh” (Hebrew for “I have sinned against God”) and his admission of his own human failings is the reason we can all read Psalm 51 today and raise our heads knowing God is able and willing to forgive us. God of course did forgive David but he never let go of the consequence of that sin. His life was spared – against the Law of Moses, which at the time meant David himself should have died – but he lost the child born by Bathsheba. Of course we never read of David committing that sort of sin again because the chastisements of God helped clean him like David himself wrote in Psalm 51.

Talking about Joseph; is this what the pastor says Joseph did not defend himself for? Would Joseph have defended himself if he was offered the chance and he lived in the society as a free man and not the slave he was? How did Moses write the account of what happened inside a room between Joseph and Potiphar’s wife if Joseph never made a point to defend himself at one time or the other? Would Joseph have kept quiet if he had a congregation to account to? How come a young lady in Abuja who had been in the COZA Ilorin choir knew Joseph was going to form part of the message on Sunday the 25th of August even before the pastor came on the pulpit?

Had this happened in Ilorin and pastor Fatoyinbo had to offer the same “the people who lived in Joseph’s time did not know he did not do what he was accused of, we are the ones that know” excuse? Should we forget these questions and wait for those who will be on earth in 5000 years time to know all these were supernatural co-incidental lies or would it be better for pastor Fatoyinbo to accept he is a real man of God yes but he is indeed a real man with flesh, with the ability to indeed fail?

Can pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo do what David did and admit his wrong to his congregation and let those who will stay, stay and those who will leave, leave? Is it better for the church members to know exactly what they are getting or should they all just continue to live a lie or in-between a lie and confusion? Sir, can we even just let go of the robust response and just say “I never did what Ese Walter accused me of,” because you were true to your conscience enough on Sunday the 25th of August not to deny it happened.

I remembered clearly no words were said to that effect. If indeed it did not happen, can we get an “I did not do it” short, simple and direct response before this robust reply is ready for our consumption? How can all sides be heard if one side decides silence should do the talking?

At least no one can say I wrote this because of the new COZA land or building project because I worked for the money I contributed to it. And I hope to visit when this project is completed. But our Christianity needs to rise above this carnality and obsession with buildings and what toilets and church seats should look like.

These are all cool and I’d always be likely to worship in a church that pays attention to all these but at the end of the day, this is not what Christianity is about. Our faith is about Christ and we were called Christians at Antioch for the first time not because of how beautiful our churches looked or how well our pastors/apostles spoke, it was because of our Christ-like attitude. Is this what the Nigerian church is about today or should we forget this question was ever asked?

Are we still worshipping The Way, The Truth and The Life or have we redefined God? We need to ask these questions and more about our Christianity. Let us even for a while forget what others think or say about us, who really are we? Now let the abuses rain on me. I need to shower myself. May the peace of the Lord be upon His church!

OsunDefender

Nigerian wins World Muslim beauty pageant

NDONESIA, JAKARTA : The newly crowned the Muslimah World 2013 Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola (C) of Nigeria speaks to audience during the Muslimah World competition in Jakarta on September 18, 2013. The finale of a beauty pageant exclusively for Muslim women was set to take place in the Indonesian capital on September 18, in a riposte to the Miss World contest in Bali that has drawn fierce opposition from Islamic radicals. AFP PHOTO

A Nigerian woman tearfully prayed and recited Koranic verses as she won a beauty pageant exclusively for Muslim women in the Indonesian capital Wednesday, a riposte to the Miss World contest that has sparked hardline anger.
The 20 finalists, who were all required to wear headscarves, put on a glittering show for the final of Muslimah World, strolling up and down a catwalk in elaborately embroidered dresses and stilettos.

But the contestants from six countries were covered from head to foot, and as well as beauty they were judged on how well they recited Koranic verses and their views on Islam in the modern world.

After a show in front of an audience of mainly religious scholars and devout Muslims, a panel of judges picked Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola from Nigeria as the winner.

While the event in a Jakarta shopping mall paled in comparison to Miss World on the resort island of Bali, in which scores of contestants are competing, Ajibola was nevertheless overwhelmed.

Upon hearing her name, the 21-year-old knelt down and prayed, then wept as she recited a Koranic verse.

She said it was “thanks to almighty Allah” that she had won the contest. She received 25 million rupiah ($2,200) and trips to Mecca and India as prizes.

Ajibola told AFP before the final that the event “was not really about competition”.

“We’re just trying to show the world that Islam is beautiful,” she said.

Organisers said the pageant challenged the idea of beauty put forward by the British-run Miss World pageant, and also showed that opposition to the event could be expressed non-violently.

Eka Shanti, who founded the pageant three years ago after losing her job as a TV news anchor for refusing to remove her headscarf, bills the contest as “Islam’s answer to Miss World”.

“This year we deliberately held our event just before the Miss World final to show that there are alternative role models for Muslim women,” she told AFP.

“But it’s about more than Miss World. Muslim women are increasingly working in the entertainment industry in a sexually explicit way, and they become role models, which is a concern.”

Hosted by Dewi Sandra, an Indonesian actress and pop star who recently hung up her racy dresses for a headscarf, the pageant featured both Muslim and pop music performances, including one about modesty, a trait the judges sought in the winner.

The pageant, which also featured bright Indonesian Islamic designer wear, is a starkly different way of protesting Miss World than the approach taken by Islamic radicals.

Snowballing protest movement

Thousands have taken to the streets in Indonesia in recent weeks to protest Miss World, denouncing the contest as “pornography” and burning effigies of the organisers.

Despite a pledge by Miss World organisers to drop the famous bikini round, radical anger was not appeased and the protest movement snowballed.

The government eventually bowed to pressure and ordered the whole pageant be moved to the Hindu-majority island of Bali, where it opened on September 8.

Later rounds and the September 28 final were to be held in and around Jakarta, where there is considerable hardline influence.

But there are still fears that extremists may target the event — the US, British and Australian embassies in Jakarta have warned their nationals in recent days of the potential for radical attacks.

More than 500 contestants competed in online rounds to get to the Muslimah World final in Indonesia, one of which involved the contenders comparing stories of how they came to wear the headscarf.

The contest was first held in 2011 under a different name and was only open to Indonesians, Shanti said, but after the media began comparing it to Miss World, it was rebranded as a Muslim alternative to the world-famous pageant.

Because of its popularity, organisers accepted foreign contestants this year for the first time, with Iran, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Nigeria and Indonesia represented.

VANGUARD

Casualties of Deadly Power Game

President Goodluck Jonathan’s shake-up of the cabinet further heightens the conflict in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, jeopardising reconciliation as well as dimming hopes of giving the nation some measure of good governance

By WOLA ADEYEMO
From conspiratorial whispers to loud advice for President Goodluck Jonathan, the clamour for a surgical operation on the federal cabinet is as old as the administration itself. By the beginning of this year, when some presidency sources expressed confidence that it would happen within the first quarter, expectations were raised that he would bring on board credible candidates to drive his Transformation Agenda. But throughout the first and the second quarters, the helmsman kept everyone guessing about what he would do with the cabinet, generally considered to be performing well below average. Jonathan entered the third quarter without an inkling that there might be a shake-up. So when he did it last week, it came as a surprise to those affected, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the proponents of a cabinet shake-up. The irony of it all, however, is that those who campaigned for it were not excited by the outcome.

The suspicion was that the exercise was done more to settle political scores than to address the inadequacies in governance. In fact, the groundswell of opinion was that the President gave the nine ministers the boot because he needed to flex muscles with people like former President Olusegun Obasanjo and seven governors also elected on the platform of his party, but who are currently in a tangle with him over the control of the PDP. Another reason, even close sources gave, is that the President’s strategists believe that a number of the affected ministers do not have the political wand to help him realise his ambition for a second term in 2015. Though Labaran Maku, minister of information and communication, insisted that the exercise was done to inject some new blood in the cabinet, the timing of the reshuffle makes the official reason a hard sell. There is widespread belief that some of those who have not been adding value to the Transformation Agenda of the administration are still sitting pretty in government, because they are considered to be blindly loyal to their principal. The general concern, last week, was that those who are power brokers within the cabinet, always flaunting their closeness to the President and sometimes taking actions that undermine his programmes or even cause national embarrassment, are left untouched. Prominent among people in this group are Dieziani Alison-Madueke, minister of petroleum resources; Stella Oduah, minister of aviation; Godsday Orubebe, minister of Niger Delta; and Nyesom Wike, minister of state in the Ministry of Education.

Alison-Madueke, one of the longest serving ministers in the cabinet, is believed to indulge in actions considered as deliberate attempt to flaunt her closeness to the President, to the extent of being contemptuous of her other colleagues in the Federal Executive Council. There is something about Alison-Madueke; it is either she is a victim of envy by her colleagues or she cuts controversy as a result of her attitude. For instance, she is said to attend the meeting of the Economic Team, of which she is a member, only when she wishes, and hardly stays till the end. It is said that she sometimes sends a civil servant, which invariably makes it difficult at times to furnishing the team with the statistics needed for economic planning. The same minister was believed to have sparred with Barth Nnaji, former minister of power, who reportedly complained to the President about her nonchalant attitude to the provision of natural gas for thermal power stations. Those who expected her ouster from the cabinet believe that the quantum of the petroleum subsidy scam allegedly committed under her watch stands as an indictment, weighty enough to warrant her resignation or removal.

As it has turned out, whatever yardstick critics use in measuring her performance, it is certainly not the same with that of the President, through whom she was first appointed into government since the days of late president Umaru Yar’Adua. The woman, whose profile has since risen after Jonathan became a substantive president, is believed to be a confidante of the commander-in-chief. An impeccable source confirmed that even the President so introduced her to the envoy of a Middle Eastern nation recently. The envoy had brought a message from his head of government, who wanted to give a critical report to Nigeria on how to track the Boko Haram insurgency in the country.

After a meeting with the President, the envoy was reportedly introduced to the minister for further discussion. Worried that the President might have committed an error, the envoy said he did not think it was appropriate for him to discuss security matters with a minister of petroleum since she was not handling a security portfolio. But Jonathan was said to have told the envoy that she was his confidante, adding that the envoy should feel free to discuss anything with her. Not convinced that such an attitude was complementary of efforts made by his government to support an ally, the envoy contacted his principal and eventually returned home without Nigeria availing itself of such help.

What the envoy did not know is that Alison-Madueke is one of the three persons who have the ears of the President. The second is also a cabinet member, while the third is a non-cabinet member who is an oil magnate. Those who claim to know say of the three, Alison-Madueke wields the greatest influence on the President. Part of the things she has contributed to government is the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, which remains one of the most lobbied bill in the National Assembly. The bill seeks to, among other things, increase local content in the industry. In her tenure, the country has increased its oil export and, by implication, national revenue. Unfortunately though, that has been diminished by the spate of oil theft, thus making budget implementation a great challenge. That is despite the controversial appointment of Government Ekpumopolo, aka Tompolo, as security contractor for the Niger Delta area.

Those who feel that she should have been relieved of her position say that she had behaved, of recent, as if she too expected that the worse could come. She reportedly has not used her office since the second quarter, preferring to operate from her residence. But some of her colleagues see her action as a demonstration of impunity, since civil servants now have to take to her home files that she ordinarily would have treated in the office. Whether it was a demonstration of fatigue or impunity, colleagues still see her as untouchable. For instance, recently Oduah is said to have quipped to a friend that Alison-Madueke enjoys a monopoly in getting the ears of the President.

If that is true, then it shows the degree of influence the petroleum minister commands in government. This is because Oduah is in fact believed to be another influential minister, who has survived thus far because she is in the good books of the President. The woman, who had survived possible loss of her job in the past, is seen by those who had been at the receiving end of her actions as an abuser of due process, a development that may have contributed to the frustration in actualising the planned national carrier. Some major airlines are said to have rebuffed her offer of partnership for a national carrier. The airlines considered laughable the minister’s scuff at their suggestion that the government should rather support Arik Air to assume the status of a national carrier. Whether or not they believed her argument about the embattled DANA Air being the best airline in the country, it was apparent that they are afraid of falling victim of the kind of treatment that had been meted out to corporate bodies that had had agreements with the government in the past. A similar partnership with the Virgin Atlantic ended on a sad note, even though the company later got compensation from the federal government. At home the Bicourtney Aviation Services and Maevis Nigeria Limited are not telling good stories about the public private partnership, PPP they had with government in the aviation sector.

In fact, if other airlines contacted could still give the minister of aviation the benefit of the doubt, Lufthansa will not rush into any deal with the ministry under her, conscious of the experience it had over a part of the binational commission agreement between Nigeria and its home government, Germany. The Minister unilaterally cancelled the agreement leading to a protest from the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel to the President and to the European Union, EU. Aside from the cancellation giving Nigeria a bad image abroad, particularly among EU nations, it also embarrassed Jonathan who had to personally apologize to Merkel.

In spite of her infractions, Oduah has recorded some achievements in the aviation sector. She has to her credit the complete remodeling of 11 airports and ongoing remodeling of another 11, in different parts of the country among other things. But the controversies she courts have put her on the list of ministers some people believe should be shown the way out. The concern is that some of the reversals she had done may come back to haunt Nigeria. That they survived this reshuffle gives credence to the hush-hush talk that the two female ministers are like cats with nine lives.

As a matter of fact when the duo of Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, former military head of state, visited Jonathan last year to suggest the replacement of the two female ministers, the President vehemently shunned the advice, complaining that he was the target of all those asking that his close confidants be fired. What the two former heads of state do not realise is that the support that Oduah gave Jonathan’s campaign in 2011, through the neighbour-to-neighbour campaign, is not something that the President is willing to do away with. He surely needs her again. The President also chose to delay the appointment of a substantive minister for the Ministry of Defence, contrary to the advice of the two retired generals. Notwithstanding the fact that they promised to help him shop for a strong and credible candidate, Jonathan probably thought the two men had some hidden agenda, and therefore decided to keep the job for a trusted associate.

Labaran Maku, one of the ministers said to be a strong ally of the President, may now step into that shoe. Though he may not be in the same league of those believed to have the ears of the President, Maku is one of the PDP leaders holding Nasarawa state now being governed by Tanko Al-Makura of the All Progressives Congress, APC. One of his colleagues who appears like a third force to the two amazons, in the ministries of petroleum and aviation, is Wike, the man who is leading the political battle for the first family in Rivers State, and now a major beneficiary of the cabinet shake-up. He appears to have more clout in the cabinet now than Orubebe, whose administration of the Niger Delta ministry is seen as uneventful. He too has been in the forefront of the battle with Amaechi. But he is not as involved as Wike, perhaps because he is not from Rivers. The latter now takes over the ministry of education, with the exit of his boss, Ruqquayat Rufai, a professor of Curriculum Studies. Insiders insist that his biggest qualification is his robust allegiance to the President and his family. The man who was originally nominated for the ministerial job by Governor Rotimi Amaechi is today the governor’s greatest political enemy, supposedly fighting the course of Patience, the wife of the President.

He too appears to be fighting to remain in the good books of the first family so he could in the future cash some political rewards. Wike is said to be a fighter for whatever he believes in. For instance, afraid that being number three on Amaechi’s list to the President after the 2011 election, he may not make the cabinet, he had ran to Tony Anenih, chairman of the Board of Trustees, BoT of the PDP. The latter reportedly visited Jonathan, whipped up sentiments and got Wike into the cabinet. He was said to have told the President that Tonye Cole, the number one man on the governor’s list, was the son of a political adversary and an itinerant pastor who had little or no political value. Instead, Anenih reportedly told the President that Wike, a grassroots politician had put his influence to use for the party’s victory in Rivers State. He remains in cabinet, with an enhanced status. Ama Pepple, erstwhile minister of Lands and Housing, who is from Rivers, was not that lucky. She reportedly lost out because of efforts she made to mediate between Jonathan and Amaechi. She had been appointed in the cabinet following the intervention of Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clarke, to represent the South-south geopolitical zone. Some hawks in the presidency concluded that such move is indicative of sympathy for Governor Amaechi.

She went the way of Olusola Obada, formerly minister of state, defence; Rufai; Olugbenga Ashiru, foreign affairs; Shamsudeen Usman, national planning; Zainab Kuchi, minister of state, power; Ita Ewa, science and technology; Bukar Tijani, minister of state, agriculture; and Hadiza Mailafia, environment. Obada’s case is particularly peculiar. She is not seen as such a political weight in her home state of Osun to personally swing the votes for the President, without leaning on her benefactor, the former governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, under who she served as deputy governor. Now, Oyinlola is secretary of the new PDP, an antagonist of the President’s camp. Worse still, Oyinlola himself carries the tag of an unrepentant loyalist of Obasanjo, whose frosty relationship with Jonathan both camps love to deny.

Rufai, an academic, is as well seen as not a political asset, who could rally support for the President. She has introduced reforms in education and the current industrial strike in the sector cannot be blamed on her, but on the inability of the federal government to fund the agreement it had with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU in 2009. But she was sponsored into government by Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, who is not only one of the ‘rebel’ governors, but also believed to nurse a presidential ambition. Rufai was even more endangered on account of the ambition of her benefactor, which is being spearheaded by Obasanjo. Jonathan had fallen out with the former president who is responsible for choosing him as running mate to the late Yar’Adua. The romance between Lamido and Obasanjo touched a raw nerve with the President last year when Obasanjo scorned an invitation to the independence anniversary at the Aso Rock Villa, only to grace a similar event in Dutse, Jigawa, where he said Lamido would make a better presidential material.

Ashiru is also said to have lost out because the presidency has to spite Obasanjo, his godfather, and then appointed a more loyal candidate for the job and a politician who will concentrate on rallying support for the President. In fact, Ashiru’s job had been threatened a few times in the past for the same reason of his ties with the former president. There was a time Professor Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate inadvertently saved Ashiru’s job, with a favourable comment on Nigeria’s intervention in the Mali situation. The President was so glad to have received that commendation from Soyinka, whose criticism of government activities had been a source of concern in the villa. Jonathan was said to have celebrated the don’s comment. But that was not the only time that Ashiru’s tenure has restored Nigeria’s glory abroad, with nationals treated with respect unlike in the past. The promptness with which the country also recognised the National Transitional Council, the group that supplanted the government of late Moammer Gaddafi in Libya, ahead of other African countries, is also seen as a diplomatic masterstroke. Those who covet his achievements further commend the speed with which the country responded to the harassment of Nigerians in South Africa, to the extent that that country’s government had to send its deputy president to apologise to Jonathan.

It is said that he is seen as being aloof when politics is discussed in government circles, making it difficult for his employers to gauge his political preference. The problem is that the more he tries to distance himself from politics, the more presidency strategists suspect him of having allegiance to political adversaries of the President. Since the goal of the reshuffle is to bring about a cabinet that will return Jonathan, an apolitical minister like Ashiru will not be an asset. He had to go.

Usman, until last week, minister of national planning, is another person who got the boot. He has been a holdover from the Yar’Adua cabinet where he served as minister of finance. He had been one of the two oldest serving members, since 2007. While Usman may not be on record as peddling opposing political belief to that of the President, he is known to be more of a technocrat than a political heavyweight in Kano, where Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the governor and an opponent of Jonathan, holds sway. Reports have it that there are some politicians from the state already lobbying to have the man’s job.

Kuchi may have survived the exercise, even with unclear report of her performance, but her benefactor, the vocal governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, has been told, in the calculation of presidency strategists, that somebody calls the shots at the centre. The achievements of Ewa in the ministry of science and technology is not enough consideration to retain him against the wish of Godswill Akpabio, governor of Akwa Ibom who is a strong supporter of the President. Bukar Tijani had to give way to a more politically savvy candidate, who may help the President in Borno. Sources also say that the replacement for Mailafia may be one of the politicians who has to be appeased for losing out in the recent power game in Kaduna.

Mike Onolememen, minister of works, had to continue to lean on Anenih, his benefactor, to ensure that he did not lose out in the ensuing power game. Caleb Olubolade, minster of police affairs, and Abba Moro of Interior Ministry were expected to come under the guillotine. This is because of the near helplessness of their ministries in the face of insurgency and kidnapping. Olusegun Aganga, minister of trade and investment, almost lost based on the argument that he is not a political asset. But the presidency could not take him out, since he is one of the few technocrats who have no renegade godfather.

Of the lot, there are those whose staying power in government is what they brought to the table. This group has Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy; Akinwumi Adesina, minister of agriculture and mineral resources, and Bala Mohammed, minister of federal capital territory, FCT. The finance minister has been battling with efforts to bring the economy back on its feet. Her intervention brought some sanity at the nation’s ports, though the impunity that rules the place appears to be rearing its head again.

Adesina is a favourite because of the vigour with which he approaches his job and some of the achievements recorded in that sector. Indeed, with his sterling performance, he is one of the very few ministers giving the administration whatever little credibility it has. It is perhaps in recognition of that effort that the National Economic Summit Group decided to make agriculture the main theme of this year’s conference, the first time in 19 years that the confab will be sector-specific in its annual deliberation. Mohammed is said to be pursuing the master plan of Abuja, part of which is the introduction of the new transport system.

Those who were clamouring for cabinet a shake-up actually wanted the removal of those they believe were not pulling their weight, and have them replaced with strong and dedicated hands, so that they can complement the efforts of the few good ones.

That hope is dashed, as the man at the helm of affairs appears to be too fixated on the race for a second term of office to consider removal of ministers based only on lack of performance. Governance, hitherto considered drab, will now be relegated almost to the background. That would mean that much of the President’s Transformation Agenda may have to be done only on paper.

The danger in it for the President is that the main objective of getting a second term may be a mirage. That too may affect the fortunes of the party, believed to have done little to improve the lot of Nigerians, since it got into government 14 years ago. What is more, the steps taken by Jonathan have further frustrated efforts at resolving the crisis in the party, and further widened the gulf among the contending interests. Though Ahmed Gulak, an aide of the President, said that the party will, as it is the tradition, resolve the logjam, the outcome of various meetings last week and the cabinet shake-up appear to have put the final nail on any genuine reconciliation. The months ahead promise to be even more interesting.

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No deal yet with Jonathan – Baraje-led PDP

The faction accuses the Tukur-led PDP of lying to the nation.

The “New” Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, led by Kawu Baraje, said on Wednesday that it had not struck any deal with President Goodluck Jonathan on its agitation, contrary to claims by the Bamanga Tukur-led faction of the party and the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio.

It, therefore, advised Nigerians to ignore what it described as “tissues and propaganda” being churned out by them.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the “New” PDP, Chukwuemeka Eze, said it was not true that the splinter group agreed at last Sunday’s meeting that Mr. Jonathan should run for the presidency in 2015.

Mr. Eze said, “The Alhaji Abubakar Baraje-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to advise Nigerians to ignore the tissue of lies and propaganda from the Alhaji Bamanga Tukur faction of the party on the outcome of our meeting with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan at the Presidential Villa last Sunday, 15th September, 2013,” the statement said.

“We have read various misleading accounts of what transpired at that meeting between our progressive Governors – Gov Kwankwaso of Kano, Gov Wamakko of Sokoto, Gov Amaechi of Rivers, Gov Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Gov, Nyako of Adamawa, Gov Ahmed of Kwara and Gov Lamido of Jigawa with President Jonathan on how to resolve the self-inflicted crisis in our party.

“We wish to specifically urge Nigerians and our supporters to ignore the concocted tales of Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom and Chairman of PDP Governors Forum. Akpabio lied by claiming that we have accepted that President Jonathan should contest the 2015 presidential election and that most of our demands are being met.

“The fact of the case is that no agreement has been reached on any of the issues we tabled before the President and until we see results, Nigerians should ignore the present efforts by the Tukur camp to deceive them.”

The faction said the party had a mechanism and system for picking its presidential candidate, adding that until it was set to do so, any speculation on the matter was a mere academic exercise.

He said, “On whether President Jonathan should contest the 2015 presidential election or not, we wish to say that we have a mechanism and system of electing our flag-bearers for any election and until the time to choose the party’s presidential flag-bearer comes, any speculation on this is just a mere academic exercise.”

The Baraje-led faction said the Tukur-led faction was not serious about peace moves, going by the actions the latter took a few hours after the Sunday talks.

It particularly lamented that Mr Tukur went ahead to inaugurate a caretaker committee for the party’s Kano State chapter without recourse to the governor of the state, who was also its leader.

The statement said, “Meanwhile, we have been vindicated in our claim that Alhaji Tukur and his faction are not serious about their purported search for the return of peace in our party.

“Just few hours after Sunday’s meeting between the progressive Governors and the President, Tukur’s faction once more showed its disdain for peace by unilaterally setting up a Caretaker Committee to run the affairs of our Kano chapter.

“This was done without recourse to either the Leader of the party in Kano State, Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso, or other stakeholders of the party from Kano.

“This illegality is a clear violation of our party’s constitution and was hurriedly done just to spite Gov. Kwankwaso, the Party Leader in the state.

The splinter group added, “We hereby urge our people in Kano State to ignore this illegality as we have set in motion the machinery to organise a proper election as stipulated by our party’s constitution.

“We are still at a loss why Tukur and his cohorts do not want peace to reign in PDP but no matter the odds we are very determined to ensure that peace is restored to our party with the prayers of Nigerians.

“Along this line, we once more appreciate the efforts of our Party Elders to resolve the current crisis bedeviling our party and wish them success irrespective of the evil designs of Tukur’s faction to elongate the crisis for selfish reasons.”

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I won’t resign, Okonjo-Iweala says, as Governors’ Forum wants her out

Bassey Udo

Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala

Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala suggested calls for her resignation were political.

Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Wednesday dismissed calls for her immediate resignation from office over her alleged refusal to comply strictly with Federal Government revenue projections in violation of the 2013 Appropriation Act.

Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, had said at the end of of the Forum’s meeting on Tuesday that the decision by the minister to entrust the constitutional responsibility of managing the country’s economy on the Economic Management Team constituted by the Presidency, rather than the National Economic Council, was a violation of the provisions of the Act.

But, responding to PREMIUM TIMES enquiry on whether she was considering complying with the demands by the governors, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said that was not part of her immediate plans, as she was too busy working to ensure the economy served Nigerians better.

“That (resignation) doesn’t arise at all,” the Minister said. “You know I’m not here to address those kinds of issues. I’m Minister of Finance for the country. I’m working with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, and I just do my job. I’m not here to address such issues. From time to time, I call you (reporters) to share with you what is happening in the economy. That’s what I am doing. So, I’m not answering to that. And as you see me here, do I look any close to resignation? I de Kampe!

“Don’t worry about that. You know we shouldn’t talk about political issues here.What I want to tell you is that the economy must be managed to the good of Nigerians. We are not going to be involved in any political thing. Let’s face facts of the economy – about roads built; agricultural jobs created; increase in production and things we are doing that you can go and check for yourself,” she said.

While reviewing the performance of the economy, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said the economy was doing reasonably well, though not perfect yet, adding that the realities on the ground attest to that, with 2.5 million seasonal and full-time jobs created in the agricultural sector alone, involving nine commodity chains, including cassava, sorghum, oil palm, cotton, cocoa, dry and rainy season rice.

The minister said that some of the commodity production have helped in moderating prices of food items in the market, such as beans and yam, adding that government aims to create more jobs in that sector and others in the economy.

She said government was also doing well in the area of manufacturing, with ongoing specific investments in petrochemicals and fertilizer, to help create jobs, while the community services scheme for the unskilled being run on the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) has created 178,000 jobs, in addition to over 2,000 beneficiaries under the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) for graduates and 19,000 jobs from the YOU-WIN programme.

On the fuel subsidy payment regime, she said the system had been audited and cleaned up, resulting in significant reduction in the amount being paid out to marketers from N2.3 trillion to about N950 billion, with the expectation that government would pay about N971 billion this year. Another tranche of the payment to petroleum marketers, she said, would be disbursed on Thursday.

In addition to these achievements, the minister said the fundamentals of the economy remained strong, with the country’s foreign reserves currently standing at about $46 billion, consisting of an Excess Crude Account (ECA) balance of over $5 billion, while inflation rate had remained at single digits at about 8.7 per cent and exchange rate relatively stable within a band of N155 and N160 to the dollar.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, she said, was still at about 6.5 per cent in the first quarter, and 6.18 per cent in the second quarter, while fiscal deficit is about 1.85 per cent of GDP, indicating that government was maintaining prudent management of the economy.

The minister said the prudent management of the economy had generated sufficient confidence for investors, particularly among the governors, most of whom, she said, believed so much in the performance of the economy that they were floating bonds to help fund various development programmes in their domains.

“If one does not have confidence in the management of the economy, one would not float bonds. One can only float bonds in an economy that works. We have a list of nine states that have recently floated bonds in the Nigerian Stock market. We have more applications from other state governments pending. This is a total mark of confidence in the economy and its management. I am glad to say that we have a good relationship with the governors, and will continue to work with them,” the minister said.

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Pro-Tukur lawmakers move against Speaker Tambuwal over handling of Baraje-led PDP faction’s visit

Tunde Eludini

Mr Tambuwal was lambasted for treating the visit by the Baraje-led PDP faction as a House affair, and not a single party affair.

House of Representatives members backing Bamanga Tukur as the Peoples Democratic Party chairman, rose against House speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, Wednesday, over his handling of Tuesday’s crisis-ridden visit of the party’s factional leaders to the House, accusing him of deliberately aiding the violent drama.

The lawmakers said Mr Tambuwal’s handling of the visit gave vent to the turmoil that saw members exchange blows, and accused him of jettisoning the senate’s option of receiving the visitors, which would have given him greater control of a House already charged by the crisis in the ruling party.

The legislators gave their rebuke early Wednesday at a closed-door session where members made it clear how embarrassed they were as legislators, lawmakers who attended the session said.

According to the members, Mr Tambuwal was lambasted for treating the visit by Abubakar Baraje and the seven governors opposed to the Tukur-led PDP, as a House affair, and not a single party affair.

For instance, while the Baraje team was received by the senate president, David Mark, assisted by other senators, in his official conference room; Mr Tambuwal allowed the meeting to be held in one of the House’s biggest conference halls where public hearings are usually held.

Fighting broke out after lawmakers supporting Mr Tukur jeered while Mr Baraje addressed the late afternoon meeting attended by Governors Babangida Aliyu of Niger state, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers, Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Aliyu Wammako of Sokoto and Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara state.

The pro-Tukur lawmakers said that open reception drew in crowd and allowed for a breakdown of order.

At one of the most unpredictable times for the ruling party, when two factions have drawn up supporters including federal lawmakers who believe everything, including leadership change is possible, Mr Tambuwal reportedly offered profound apologies to his colleagues, and urged them to let go of the past.

House spokesperson, Zakari Mohammed, however denied Mr Tambuwal apologized. He said the speaker only urged members to forget the past and focus on their legislative duties.

The tension on Wednesday provided another evidence that the PDP, deeply polarized over a surfeit of issues, remains a good distance from finding the unity its leaders so preach.

As the majority party wobbles in the House, its frustrations are providing a pad for the opposition that has lately gained in numbers with the formation of the All Progressives Congress.

“We are undoubtedly as are most Nigerians pleased with what is unfolding in the PDP. We are pleased not just for us but for the vast majority of the suffering Nigerian masses. In all of these happenings we see the hand of God,” the party caucus said in a statement, read by its leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, at a news conference Wednesday.

The APC members, numbering more than 130 members, said they were pleased with the misfortune of the PDP, and were already in talks with the party’s frustrated members who were willing to move over to the APC.

“..We want to invite our colleagues in the House who found their way into the PDP through craft or deception but who in their hearts are progressive in inclination and bent, and there are many of them, to join hands with us in pursuing our agenda of change and hope of saving Nigeria.

“This is our time, this is our moment. Let us seize it. There is much work to be done but the labourers are few. All hands must be on deck at this critical moment in our nation’s history. We must be watchful and vigilant. We must pray. We must fight a good fight believing that the end of this dark tunnel we have been plunged into is luminous,” the caucus said.

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