2015 presidential bid Buhari Denies Picking Tinubu as Running Mate

 by Fidelis Mac-Leva (Abuja), Misbahu Bashir, Kaduna

Former Head of State, retired General Muhammadu Buhari

. Other Presidential Aspirants Are Left Guessing

. PDP Behind Muslim-Muslim -Ticket Rumour - Alhaji Argungu

Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Head of State, retired General Muhammadu Buhari has described as false, media reports saying that his party had sealed a deal to pair him with former Lagos state Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as running mate for the party’s presidential ticket in 2015.         
There have been speculations in recent times, particularly in the media, that power brokers within the party hierarchy have concluded plans to present a Muslim/Muslim ticket for the 2015 presidential election; a development that has sparked controversy.
Reacting to the matter, however, Buhari’s media aide, Malam Ya’u Darazau, said APC did not plan to pick Tinubu as a running mate to General Buhari in the 2015 presidential election, adding that the three time presidential candidate has not made up his mind about the 2015 contest.
Yau’ Darazu said the rumour making the rounds over a planned Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket by the APC was without foundation and should be ignore, as, according to him, the former Head of State was rather devoting much of his time trying to foster unity among party loyalists and Nigerians.
 He said: “Those who will be presidential and vice-presidential flag bearers will be named during the party’s convention. It is untrue that the General will have Tinubu as his running mate in the 2015 elections and the matter hasn’t even been discussed. The General and, indeed, other party leaders are trying to unite the party now and ensure the success of the congresses. We don’t know where and how the rumour emerged because convention has to be conducted before presidential candidate and his running mate is chosen and this has not yet been done.”
Although the interim National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed declined comment on who is likely to get the ticket, saying talking about the presidential ticket of the party now amounts to putting the cart before the Horse,  national publicity secretary of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) and chieftain of the APC, Osita Okechukwu said the speculation and reports over the presidential candidate of the party would be a surprise if the formation of APC in the first instance is anything to go by especially from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“The context emanates from the truism that the registration of APC on 31 July 2013, an outcome of the first consummation of merger of major political parties in the annals of our political history, has set the stage to propel our fledgling democracy to the zenith of liberal democracy. Naturally pundits and minders of the PDP are speculating and making all manner of permutations on the ticket of the APC, especially when the party draws large followership from the two prominent electoral zones - North West and South West”, he said.
Former Deputy Governor of Kebbi State and member of the state congress committee of the APC, Alhaji Suleiman Muhammed Argungu, said the purported Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in the party was the handiwork of the ruling PDP. 

DailyTrust

We won’t give any vote to PDP in 2015 - Saraki

by Abdullateef Aliyu, Ilorin

Saraki spoke in Ilorin shortly after the conduct of APC’s local government congresses.A former Governor of Kwara State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Bukola Saraki yesterday restated his resolve to absolutely deliver the State to the party in the 2015 elections.

The congresses were held peacefully across the 16 local government areas. Saraki participated in the exercise in Ilorin West local government area where he hails from.
The former governor, who expressed satisfaction over the smooth and peaceful conduct of the exercise that produced the party officials through affirmation, charged them to start working for the party ahead of the 2015 general elections.
Saraki, who recently dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for APC alongside his loyalists and supporters, including Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, restated that the APC remained the winning party in the State. According to him, “Those that still want to learn from history, be rest assured that Kwara is solidly an All Progressives Congress (APC) State”.
He said, “Here, we are one family. Here, we are committed to delivering in totality the entire Kwara State to the APC family. Those we have today as Ilorin West local government executives, I charge you all to go out and start the work of winning the State for the APC. We have less than eleven months to the 2015 elections and we must start the work now.
“We do not want to give any vote. We want to win totally. We want to send a message across Nigeria. We want to send a message to the pretenders that in Kwara State, we are not seasonal politicians. What do I mean by seasonal politicians? People, who after election, they go home and lock their doors and windows. They only care with their families. They don’t open the doors to anybody. Then, nine months to elections they will come and are looking for votes.
“We are here day in day out with our people and our people appreciate it. That is why they will come out to vote massively for APC”.

DailyTrust

APC Calls GDP Rebasing PR Gimmick

 APC LOGO

•  Says economic data is spurious
Onyebuchi Ezigbo 

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the data released by the federal government on the rebasing of the Nigerian economy as an orchestrated distraction and a mindless public relations gimmick, which the “masterminds said has seen the country emerge as the largest economy in Africa”.

In a statement issued Thursday by its interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said coming after the damning World Bank report which declared Nigeria as one of the countries harbouring the largest population of extremely poor people in the world, there is no doubt that the rebasing noise is the government's response to the classification by the Bretton Woods' institution.

“However, the federal government has only succeeded in opening itself to ridicule. This is because if ever there was a clear play at oxymoron, this is it: The largest economy with the largest population of the poor, the largest economy with the largest population of the unemployed, the largest economy with the largest population of citizens living in darkness, and the largest economy with the worst infrastructure.

“Simply put, there is too much poverty in the midst of plenty, and the so-called economic growth which the federal government has been trumpeting with its dubious statistics is not a result of any deliberate government policies.

“Policies of government are expected to result in reduction in unemployment, increase in capacity utilisation by manufacturers, increased access to basic needs of life (food, water, electricity, health care, education, healthy environment, etc), increase in transparency and accountability, etc. On the contrary, the country continues to slip down the ladder on all of these fronts,” it said.

APC said the federal government carried its joke too far by even giving the impression that the so-called emergence of the Nigerian economy as the largest in Africa was a function of the economic policies under President Goodluck Jonathan, rather than a rejigging of figures calibrated to fool an unsuspecting public.

The party said fortunately, no one had been fooled by the government, even though it had succeeded, at least temporarily, in diverting attention from the pervasive and worsening insecurity in the land.

According to the party, “The move was also to cover up the hopeless power situation that has seen Nigerians publicly protesting being thrown into perpetual darkness, the ticking time bomb of rising unemployment, especially among our youth, the unprecedented massive frittering away and looting of the commonwealth and the total absence of governance.

“The reactions of the economic experts and the business community within Nigeria as well as at the World Bank level to the rebasing hubbub have taken the wind out of the government’s sail and dampened its undue ecstasy over what is nothing but window dressing.

“For example, the business community has noted that while Nigeria, with the rebased GDP, is now ranked number 26th in the world with regard to the size of the economy in 2013, it is ranked 147th in its ease of Doing Business report of the World Bank, out of the 189 countries profiled. Even Sierra Leone and Liberia had better ranking.

“In the same vein, our ranking in the UNDP Human Development Index is 153, out of 210 countries. There is no better illustration of the disconnect between growth and development; between growth and quality of investment climate.

“Also, the World Bank, in a subtle but clear thumbs down, made it clear that the living standards of the citizenry and the productivity that generates those living standards are the key issues here, and that investors in London, New York, Beijing or Tokyo are not necessarily looking at the GDP statistics but how profitable their investments will be in a country.

“Therefore, President Jonathan and his shadow-chasing economic team should therefore quit wallowing in unnecessary chest-beating over the rejigging of figures and the play on statistics and put their shoulders to the wheel to push our nation forward. If they cannot, they should get out of the way and allow those who are capable to do so. Enough of this choreographed distraction.”

ThisDay

Beyond the Muslim/Muslim Ticket

The Pendulum By Dele Momodu, Email: Dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Fellow Nigerians, our country witnessed something unprecedented some 21 odd years ago. It was the audacious move by Chief Moshood Abiola who chose to appoint a fellow Muslim, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, as his Presidential running-mate for the June 12 1993 election. It appeared sacrilegious in a country that has always been sharply divided along ethnic and religious lines. The decision caused so much commotion in the ranks of the Social Democratic Party at that time. Indeed, Papa Adekunle Ajasin, elder statesman and former Governor of Ondo State, was so infuriated that he put a call through to Abiola and scolded him in strong words. A no-nonsense man, he was quoted as telling Abiola “…with this your unacceptable decision, you’ve murdered Christ a second time!” Abiola, a master at dousing tension with powerful wise-cracks was said to have replied “Baba, mi o si ni Calvary sir…” (I was not in Calvary sir). Papa Ajasin and other enraged leaders allowed Abiola to carry on with his gamble but I doubt if it was as simple as we tried to play it.

Even for us Abiola’s foot-soldiers at the time, what he did was a dangerous taboo. The news was broken to us by Dr Doyin Abiola, our boss at Concord newspapers, who invited Dele Alake, Segun Babatope, Tunji Bello and I to her office where she dropped the bombshell. According to her, “Daddy called from Abuja and asked me to tell you guys that he has changed his mind about picking a Northern Christian as his Vice Presidential candidate.” We all sank into our seats, in total shock and utter disbelief. The sad part was that we had earlier gone to town telling our media friends that Abiola was going to run with a Christian. We wondered the wisdom behind this damaging volte face. How were we to confront our colleagues with this apparent monstrosity?

Dr Abiola lectured us a bit on what her husband had taught her over time: “Daddy believes that if you must convince anyone about anything, the first person to convince is yourself… He has already convinced himself that the Muslim/Muslim ticket was doable. It is now up to you guys to convince yourselves.” It was more of an instruction than an argument or persuasion. By the time we picked ourselves up to brace up to the atrocious challenges we were sure to face, we received another salvo from Dr Abiola: “Daddy is set to flag off his campaign in Kaduna without announcing his running-mate” This was getting interesting.

Not only was Chief Abiola under intense pressure to pick a Northern Muslim he was also being inundated and suffocated with names of potential candidates by lobbyists and godfathers. It was such a big mess. But I think the SDP Governors won the day when they got Abiola to announce their choice of Kingibe. The rest is history. The didactic message from my preamble is that some seeds of discord were already planted in SDP from that moment on. I seriously suspect that many of those who lost the argument and the bid on that occasion only went away to nurse their injuries quietly but never forgave Abiola in the real sense. When the major conundrum erupted, it was like payback time.

History has a way of repeating itself. There are serious rumblings within the major opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC). The cause is the believable rumour that some powerful forces may have decided to try a Muslim/Muslim ticket again in the next Presidential election of 2015. A Nigerian journalist asked me on a flight to New York last week if I thought it was possible. Of course, Nigeria is a nation of possibilities. This epistle you are reading sums up my analysis during our long flight.

It is easier for a Muslim/Muslim ticket to work than that of a Christian/Christian. The heavily populated geo-political zones in Nigeria namely North West, South West and North East each have a large Muslim presence. Also the North Central is thickly populated by Muslims. The South East belongs almost totally to Christians just like the South South minus Edo State where we have pockets of Muslims. What is my verdict? A Muslim/Muslim ticket can win an election in Nigeria over and over again. The way Nigeria is currently configured makes it very practical and realisable. You and I can protest to high heavens and till kingdom comes, but the stark reality is that democracy is a game of numbers.

What I just postulated is not mere theory.  We have seen the actualisation of it in the annulled mandate of June 12.  There is a caveat however.  Muslims or Christians are not likely to vote automatically for candidates on the basis of religion. Christians are as sharply divided as Muslim sects, though Muslims are likely to be more cohesive. I have lost count of how many Christian denominations there are. The Pentecostal churches seem to be more liberal than the Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Jehovah’s Witness, Methodists, and other old generation sects.

Religion is actually not the number one agenda on the list of politicians. It is money, raw cash. Money unites enemies on a regular day. On awkward days, its force is even more potent because the dark forces only have to deploy a greater amount of money and they are surely liable to have their way. 

The second item on the political agenda is power. The in power holds the aces. He deploys the perks and largesse of power as he feels. The greatest of the greats eat from his palm. Some juicy appointments can instantly transform a certified pauper into a certificated billionaire. No one can compete with PDP on that level. The third is ethnicity or where you come from. The Nigerian commonwealth is a giant cake being rotated amongst the majorities. Jonathan’s emergence which catapulted a lumpenproletariat from a minority zone into a position of absolute authority was either a deliberate accident or a complete miscalculation on the part of our Mafia dons. Now that he has grabbed power for a region that perceived itself as downtrodden, it has become difficult to dislodge him.

Other minorities in the country see him as a rallying or focal point.  It is now no longer easy to discountenance the minorities or relegate them to the background. Power-play in the Republic has changed and there is a new Sherriff with his full complement of dogged and loyal Deputies in town.  The President thus holds three of the four aces for becoming maximum ruler in our terrain. These are money, power and the area you come from.  The fourth is religion. The President certainly has enough resources to gather as many Muslims as Christians if he plays his cards right. He therefore has the unparalleled privilege of having the capacity to hold all the aces!

While the opposition seems to have the numbers on paper, mainly because the generality of the people who appear to be fed up with the ruling party, the choice of very controversial candidates may capsize their boat. Politics is like a game of football. You need both strikers and defenders to win. Only a foolish team would play the Brazilian style in a game against Brazil. APC has a guaranteed 60 to 70 percent of angry army of unemployed and very bitter youths just waiting to connect with the better candidates they know only APC can unleash. It cannot afford to try and match PDP cash for cash or insensitivity for insensitivity.  It must dare to be different even at great sacrifice to personal ambitions. 

The game would be sweeter for APC, with a combination of experience and youthfulness, so as to tap into the abundance of restless youths plaguing our political landscape looking for salvation in the form of a leader whose ideals and vision are rooted in the 21st century.  Therefore, as a rule, one of the candidates for President or Vice President should currently be in service. Neither must have been out of touch for too long. That would be like recalling Segun Odegbami, Christian Chukwu or Stephen Keshi to come and play for Nigeria in the 2015 World Cup. Our coaches must be more creative and imaginative than that.

The opposition must be sensitive to the deep religious sentiments in Nigeria today. A government that preaches change must never be seen to seek to trample on rights and freedom of the people. Even if a Muslim/Muslim ticket can win in the long run, we must not run the risk of stoking the embers of religious conflagration. We already have enough problems in our hands, we should not add to it. To assume that Christians won’t mind a Muslim/Muslim ticket is a subtle way of turning them into inferior minorities. This type of insensitivity led to the collapse of law and order in the South/South where the militants had to take the law into their hands. The money that should be used for developing Nigeria in general is now being squandered on some nebulous amnesty program. We would have saved ourselves from this outlandish hocus-pocus if we had distributed our resources with simple common-sense.

This leads me to the next thesis. This is the first time the region that produces our golden eggs would be allowed to manage the poultry. The opposition seeks to sack their Farm Manager for several reasons all bothering on lack of effective leadership. The people of the South/South are insisting their son must serve the eight years of two terms permissible under our Constitution. Would it not be reckless to remove him and not give the zone at least the number two slot which may even be taken to be only a token gesture by those concerned? It is almost certain that Nigeria would know no peace if and when it happens that the South/South has lost out to other regions, so soon after the miracle that catapulted Jonathan to power, without the opportunity to at least play second fiddle.  This perfidy will be compounded by ignoring the religious background of the region and its strong Christian affiliations.  It will be like adding insult to injury. This is the crux of the matter.

The whole hullabaloo of angling for power in Nigeria is about gaining access to the oil wealth. How fair would it be to kick Jonathan out without having one of their own on the new ticket? I’m convinced APC has found itself in a volatile quagmire. How it wriggles out would depend on its willingness and readiness to think beyond politics of self and embrace politics of equity, justice and fair-play. There are many stars from every part of Nigeria who have the requisite brilliance to lead us out of the present mess. I would not say that Jonathan must remain in power by force, whether he performs or not, but we must also discourage any attempt to side-line the region that has suffered most despite its huge contributions to Nigeria’s development. It would have been easier to suppress this sentiment if our country was very normal but we are very far from it.

As a matter of fact, APC has a lot of convincing work to do in the Niger Delta in particular. It is not going to be an easy task persuading them to abandon the number one position for even number two. To suggest a worse position than number two would be tantamount to rubbing raw pepper to a fresh wound, and an affront of the worst order. Nigeria is already in its most delicate state and hanging so precariously right now. There is no guarantee that even the north would not see the intrusion of the South West into the current permutation as a surreptitious way to return to power so soon after President Olusegun Obasanjo’s eight years in office.

Those who genuinely love APC must speak up now. Many people are not speaking out for fear of ex-communication but we know the views mostly expressed in private. APC will fail if the people cannot see any serious difference between its operatives and the people they wish to replace.  In this regard, the alarm raised by Femi Fani-Kayode should not be dismissed offhandedly. Forget the messenger and let us deal with the message.  It does not matter to me if Femi has other personal motives. He has voiced out loud and crisp what many people are discussing in hushed whispers. His missive is strident and clear, in the dramatic fashion only patented for him.

The change we want can only be thrown into the Atlantic Ocean by APC. Many have decided to try them out under an uncommon article of faith. But it is doubtful if APC itself appreciates the magnitude of the burden it is expected to shoulder. They have done extremely well to have come this far. Their fall would be too cataclysmic and we may not recover from it for several decades. 
Sadly for Nigeria, we would have been sentenced to many more years of retrogression.
That would be democracy despoiled and another hope aborted. 

Big shame! 

ThisDay

Edo APC ward congress: Inside story of how Oshiomhole’s consensus gospel failed in Edo South on April 12, 2014 / in Politics 12:37 am / Comments

Tension in Bini land as Odubu, Ize-Iyamu loyalists battle for the soul of APC
Cancelled ward congress holds today

By SIMON EBEGBULEM,  BENIN CITY

The much awaited ward congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo state held last Tuesday in Edo state but the echoes of the congress is still giving the party members a great concern ahead the 2015 general elections in the state.

The congress was postponed last Saturday to Tuesday April 8, 2014, due to what the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Godwin Erhahon explained as the late arrival of materials and officials of the Congress committee from Abuja to the State. Besides, he said that “the leadership of the party also agreed that leaders should harmonize the list of their executives before Tuesday so as to avoid a rancorous primaries”.

The top hierarchy of the party were jittery over the congresses because it is coming at a time that is very close to 2015 general elections. There won’t be governorship election in Edo state until 2016 but those eyeing the position are preparing grounds to make their ambitions a reality.

Having considered the situation and what a crack in the party will mean for the PDP, Governor Adams Oshiomhole went around the three senatorial districts prior to the congresses, appealing to party leaders to make the exercise a family affair. He succeeded in his native Edo North senatorial district and Edo Central but met a brick wall in Edo South senatorial district known as the Benin area.

In order to show leadership in the harmonization process, the governor who already was locked in a political battle with a leader of the party in his Etsako West Local Government, Alhaji Usman Shagadi conceded positions to Shagadi. They both hugged themselves and laid down their arms. The same thing happened in other local governments in the North and Central districts. The consensus in these areas made the Tuesday congress a mere formality.

But in Edo South, Oshiomhole’s gospel of consensus was shot down by the former South South Vice Chairman of the party, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu who preferred that the candidates emerge through a pure congress. But the governor disagreed, sensing the bloodshed that may be experienced if they are allowed to go for a full blown congress.

Ize-Iyamu, the Deputy Governor of the state, Dr Pius Odubu are both from Orhionmwon Local Government Council and it is no longer a secret that their governorship ambitions have factionalized the party not only in Edo South but in the entire state. The situation would have been worst if Oshiomhole has not been using different groups such as the Edo in Safe Hands led by his Commissioner for Works, Osarodion Ogie and the Edo Solidarity Movement (ESM) led by his Political Adviser, Charles Idahosa to check their excesses.

Oshiomhole held series of meetings prior to the Tuesday primaries to reconcile the two groups but as usual, his Deputy Odubu will always listen to his boss but Ize-Iyamu saw it differently and disagreed with the issue of consensus, insisting it will be better for people to test their popularity at the grass root rather than embarking on consensus which he believes is undemocratic.

Having failed in his effort to ensure that they concur with the consensus, Oshiomhole had no choice than to allow them go for full blown congress in the South, but with a proviso, “there must be no violence”. The governor vowed that if anybody is killed in the process, he was going to treat whoever was involved like a murderer. The two groups signed undertakings of no violence and went to work.

On the said day of the congress, there was a large turnout of party members in Edo South, including Orhionmwon where the duo came from. It was actually like a carnival as party members danced and drank, awaiting to be counted. There was presence of soldiers, mobile policemen and armed vigilante groups in Orhiomnwon monitoring the exercise.

Unfortunately, the exercise was marred with paucity of materials and lack of presence of officials from the National Secretariat and result sheets. A leader of the party told Saturday Vanguard that “there was actually no result sheet, what we were told was to conduct the exercise and write down the results in a sheet of paper with the supervision of the INEC representative and party officials from the state.

However, at Urhonigbe North where the deputy governor of Edo state, Pius Odubu voted, there was wild jubilation by his supporters just as he described the exercise as very democratic”. Asked why they refused to harmonize like his boss pleaded, Odubu said that “everybody tried to harmonize but it was difficult. Certain persons didn’t want that so we have to come to the field.

Congresses will come, it is one ingredient of democracy. People must be allowed to choose whoever they want in whatever capacity. We are aware that one person must be the preferred one and as a party that thrives in democracy, we encourage those who participated to rally round the victor. Win, lose or draw, we remain party faithfuls. I want to commend governor, Adams Oshiomhole for providing a level playing field for those that participated in the congresses.

The ward congress was peaceful, no violence of any kind was recorded and the people came out in their numbers in no mistakable terms to express their preferences for their candidates. I want to commend the governor for making the people come out to choose their preferred candidates. He should be commended for making adequate arrangement for security. We have come to the field now and the result is so loud and clear.

You can see the crowd celebrating and do you know why? Because from the results, we have won in the entire 11 wards. This is not the noise they make in Benin, this is practical politics in play”.
Reacting in his ward 5 ,Ugboko Niro said they voted and a chairman and other executive members emerged in his ward but there was no result sheet to record the scores.

He said,“the only unfortunate thing was that when the other people saw the massive crowd, they decided to announce the result that they have won. But we have the INEC woman, the police and the representative of the party. So, we asked them to count and they have the records. This same thing happened in all the wards and the other side said they have won and for me, it is funny. But I hope the party will address the abnormality. If we are talking democracy in the party, we must show that we can do that internally,” he stated.

At Ikpoba Okhai, the exercise was also peaceful. A party leader in the area attributed the delay in the arrival of materials to the harmonization of positions across the wards in the state. “I can rightly tell you that most ward executives of the party have been harmonized by the party.This was achieved after series of meetings involving the party chieftains and the Governor of the state.This issue of harmonization became necessary to avoid rancour or crisis in the party”.

Following what was regarded as victory for the Odubu group in Edo South, loyalists of Ize-Iyamu stormed the NUJ Press conference to call for the cancellation of the exercise. The protesters led by the Eson of Benin Kingdom, Chief Amos Osunbor warned that they may seek an alternative party if the exercise was not cancelled.

But the party in a swift response, through its Publicity Secretary, Godwin Erhahon,declared that the party is ready to entertain genuine complaints but it would not succumb to blackmail when the aggrieved members are threatening to pull out from the party.

However, the protesters including Nosa Adams, Mrs Evelyn Igbafe and three members of the state House of Assembly, called for the dissolution of the committee sent from Abuja to handle the congress, asserting that “the committee members became invisible, no committee members  were seen even when we were asked to send names. And due the absence of the congress committee members, no material was on ground to record the results.

“As if the whole exercise was designed to fail, they sponsored violence, armed thugs beat up and unleashed mayhem on fellow party members. So, we called for the immediate cancellation of the purported congress and dissolution of the committee incharge of the exercise” Chief Osunbor declared.

Erhahon asserted that, “it is too early for any member of the party to begin to threaten. Congresses were held yesterday, if there are complaints, such could only be received today. So, it is too early for people to threaten. So if anybody is threatening that he is pulling out, you will know that even before the congress he or she has made up his mind to pull out because it is too early. On our part, the party is following due process in receiving and considering appeals and where there are good cases, it will be addressed and reviewed but we shall not succumb to blackmail”.

Worried by the protest, Oshiomhole summoned a meeting of all the leaders of the Edo South Wednesday night and it lasted till about 1am. After reviewing the situation, he faulted the process and reiterated the need to adhere strictly to democratic tenets in order to avoid crisis in the party. He therefore ordered that a fresh congress should holds today Saturday 12th April.

Vanguard

Reps uncover fresh plot against Tambuwal

Speaker House of REPS Hon. Tambuwal

by: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

A fresh plot to unseat Speaker Aminu Tanmuwal of the House of Representatives has been exposed.

The plot came to light on Wednesday at a close-door meeting of the Representatives.

The day was, however, only saved by the maturity of the Speaker and his loyalists who are in the majority, sources said yesterday.

So charged was the session that anti-Tanmbuwal Reps created a scene with a female member of the House, said to be loyal to a minister from the South-South, mounting a table to shout at the Speaker. A crisis almost erupted in the process.

A principal officer of the House(who is interested in becoming Speaker) and two loyalists of the serving minister are the arrowheads of the plot,it was gathered.

Some governors are also alleged to be part of the plot.

Their specific roles were not clear at press time.

What is clear is that the three plotters, alongside some pro-Presidency Representatives, had on Wednesday asked the Speaker to account for every Kobo budgeted for the House.

They sought details on how the House votes had been spent.

They also demanded an increase in their quarterly allowances and running costs as preconditions for passing the 2014 Budget.

But majority of the members saw through their demands and put up a resistance ,leaving the arrowheads to rue what might have been.

One source said: ” At a point, a female Representative from the South-South climbed a table and started shouting and banging the table to provoke the Speaker and his supporters.

“With the support of some members, she asked the Speaker to render an account of how the House budget had been spent. The agitators also said the 2014 Budget would not be passed if the allowances payable to members were not increased by the leadership.”

A member from the South-East said: “They even said there was need to increase the allowances because the election year is almost here and members would have to spend more.

“Some of us, however, suspected foul play when a hitherto reserved and eloquent female member rose up to cause a scene over nothing.

“Initially since her point was on money, there was sympathy, but when members discovered that the agitators were after the Speaker, they lost our sympathy.”

A Representative from the North-West said: “The truth is that these forces are after the Speaker and they have mapped out a four-point plot.

“The plot entails creating disorder in the House to slight the Speaker; awaiting court judgment on 37 Representatives who defected to APC to create rumpus in the House; planning to use the tyranny of PDP majority to hold the House leadership to ransom; and removal of Speaker Tambuwal.

“But they have forgotten that they cannot force a Speaker on the House even if PDP is in the majority. What is the likelihood that the PDP candidate will be acceptable to members who are mostly independent.

“I hope they will not stoke the fire of North-South war in the House. Tambuwal’s leadership transcends party lines.”

Another Representative said: “Most members did not buy into it. So, the plot fell flat on its face. They wanted to use the agitation for enhanced allowances as baits to cause crisis in the House, but members resisted them. They are the same forces who had wanted to lead the House but were rejected.

“It was shocking that those who claimed to be loyal to President Goodluck Jonathan did not want the House to pass the 2014 Budget unless more allowances were paid to them by the leadership.

“This contradiction made many of us to suspect that there was a bigger picture behind the sudden agitation by the affected members.

“These forces have not been happy that the Speaker refused to declare the seats of some Representatives who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) vacant.

“They decided to latch on any issue to cause commotion in the House and embarrass Tambuwal.”

A Principal Officer said: “The Speaker gave a satisfactory response which was acceptable to members. He said the budget of the National Assembly had remained at N150billion and he could not exceed appropriation limit.

“Tambuwal reminded members that the same scenario of more allowances forced the House under ex-Speaker Dimeji Bankole to take N10billion loan from a bank.

“He said at the end of the day, Bankole was sacrificed by members as he was made to face an avoidable trial.

“At the end of it all, Tambuwal was firm when he declared: ‘I won’t take loan to pay more allowances to members. I won’t go beyond House budget.’ ”

TheNation

Nigeria is sliding towards imperial presidency under Jonathan, Tinubu warns

Tinubu

 Yusuf Alli and Sanni Onogu, Abuja 

A former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has raised the alarm that the nation is sliding towards imperial presidency under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

He urged the media to save the nation from drifting from democracy.

He also asked the Nigerian press to avoid partisanship as the countdown to the 2015 elections approaches.

He said the hijacking and distortion of news reports by powerful interests have turned the media into a commodity with a price tag.

He said the media, as a monument or symbol of Nigerian democracy, is at risk because of a weakening foundation at this critical period in the nation’s life.

Tinubu bared his mind on the state of the nation in some remarks presented during the N850millon fund-raising dinner for Editors’ Plaza at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Thursday.

The remarks were presented by the Chief of Staff to the former Governor, Mr.Sunday Dare.

He said: “The character flaws and the political footworks of our present leaders are similar to the jackbooted-back steps past leaders took when we suffered dictatorial leadership.

“The approaching sounds of the drum of ethnic tension are now heard, religion has become a tool of hate-thy-neighbour politics.

“An imperial yet parochial presidency arrogates to itself the powers of national assembly and the courts. Meanwhile, it withholds funds from state and local governments in order to bring them under heel and to quash political dissent and opposition.

“As long as it persists in this effort to use the enormous resources and powers of the federal government to intimidate or impoverish those who are not in their camp, the federal government has wedded to the path of arbitrary rule and an over-concentration of power. These bear the marks of dictatorship and they imperil the sanctity of the Nigerian national project.

“The people need to understand that a great change is underway, but not the change they want. Instead, of wobbling slowly forward, the government is taking  us steadily backward.

“We move not towards the future, but towards the past. The people are being feted on a false feast of true lies.”

He urged the Guild of Editors to save the nation by being in the vanguard of building a new Nigeria.

He added: “To save Nigeria, we need a whistle blower or a courageous town crier to alert and wake us. In this vein, the media remains the one vital institution upon which we depend to play the role of watchdog.

“You, as an institution, must hold the political system under your gaze and hold those who operate it accountable to the people. The Guild of Editors should be in the vanguard to build a new Nigeria.

“As an organization for journalists who have achieved the exalted position of Editor at their various publications or media organizations, the Guild possesses the calibre of people that can lead other journalists in the right direction towards crisp investigative and reporting and political analysis.

“If you maintain your integrity and that of your publication, if you show the way by example, if you remain objective, open and uncompromising, you will show the path for the media, the political class and others to follow.”

Tinubu questioned the purported non-partisan role of the Federal Government.

He said: “ However, recent events bring into question the purported non-partisan stance of the organization when one considers how many editors have turned their publications over to select interest groups.

“Servicing interests at variance with the sacred oath made to the public to disseminate factual and comprehensive news and information is not the way of professionalism. The hijacking and distortion of news reports by powerful interests have turned the media into a commodity with a price tag. It has made a mockery of the very notion of non- partisanship to which the media subscribes.

“Editors and newspapers that willingly turn over their pages or wittingly publish misleading and false stories that serve narrow interests or spike the more accurate reports dealing with an alternative viewpoint have lost their way.

“They may be making money, but they choke democracy just to curry favour and gain a few pieces of silver. The only partisanship allowed of the media is neutral partisanship that stands on the side of truth”.

The APC leader set agenda for the media on 2015 elections by asking them to be objective and balanced.

He said: “Today, that monument is at risk because of a weakening foundation. We approach a sober moment in the nation’s history.  Next year, elections will be held and they will pit the incumbent conservative elite against a band of reformers.

“If things go as they are, many of you will meekly report what the government suggests. Or you will report at the superficial level regarding the various personalities and interest groups that comprise both camps.

“However, a few of you will get to the core issue: That the two sides have vastly different visions for the nation. We are engaged in a ideological battle for the soul and future of the nation. Yet, you report as if such a struggle does not exist.

“Those of you who say this battle does not exist are simply being disingenuous, lazy or cynical. The contrast is there, but you must have the intellectual courage to report it. That is your job.

“Once you have done so, the people will be amply informed and they will make the choice according to their collective wisdom.  Let us try to rescue this democracy by giving the people a chance to exercise that collective wisdom by giving them your best journalistic product at this time.

“If you do less than this, you fail your national mission. If Nigeria fails, if democracy falters, your profession is again endangered. Why risk a return to a time when being principled journalists made you an enemy of the state and placed your life and limb at risk?

“As editors, you hold the key to change our society. The media has a role in upholding the rule of law, justice and fairness for all. Let us build this democracy together. Then, the edifice you launch today will stand the test of time.

“The storm of change is blowing. There is change in the air.  I urge you to be part of that change.”

TheNation