Nigeria Not Implicated in the $15m Seized by South Africa!

       

Guest columnist: Femi Falana

Within the past three weeks, the Asset Forfeiture Unit in the office of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in South Africa seized two tranches of fund totalling $15million being payment for the alleged purchase of arms by the federal government. Initially, the sum of $9.3 million smuggled into South Africa by an Israeli and two Nigerians was seized last month.

The suspicion surrounding the transaction was fuelled by the disclosure that the South African company involved in the deal is not a licensed arms dealer and that the jet used to ferry the money belongs to Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), who is very close to the Presidency. The CAN has since said the plane, which was bought for evangelism was converted and leased to another company to raise some money!

Since the federal government could not justify the brazen violation of the money laundering law of South Africa by the three suspects, it decided to engage in the diplomatic resolution of the embarrassing incident. However, while the “diplomatic row” was yet to be resolved, another sum of $5.7 million wired by a Nigerian company to South Africa from Abuja for the purchase of more arms was also seized last week.

Convinced that the latest seizure could not be justified, the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), lambasted the South African Government and the fifth columnists in Nigeria who are bent on frustrating the federal government in prosecuting the war on terror. According to Mr. Karounwi Adekunle, the spokesperson for the office of the NSA, “a business transaction actually took place between a legitimate company in Nigeria and another legitimate company in South Africa through the bank. In the course of events, the South African company could not perform and decided to refund the money. What is illegitimate in this transaction done through the bank?”

It is interesting to note that the NSA has not said that it was the federal government that transferred the controversial fund to South Africa. Neither has the NPA indicted the federal government for the alleged criminality associated with the transaction. In fact, the NPA has not questioned the legal status of both companies. What is being investigated by the NPA is the legitimacy of the receipt of $5.7 million by Cerberus Risk Solutions of South Africa whose licence to deal in arms had expired before it entered into the contract. In actuality, it was the Standard Bank through which the fund was transferred which reported the “suspicious transaction”. And the NPA promptly applied for and obtained an order of the High Court for the seizure of the fund. Both companies -- Cerberus Risk Solutions of South Africa and its Nigerian counterpart, Societe D’Equipments Internationale -- are yet to challenge the interim order for the confiscation of the fund.

Therefore, contrary to the mismanagement of information traceable to the office of the NSA the federal government did not place any direct order for the importation of arms from South Africa. The fact that the NSA signed the End User certificate for the arms importation is not a licence for the companies involved in the deal to breach the laws of South Africa. In other words, the Israeli and two Nigerians who were arrested last month for smuggling the sum of $9.3 million and the Nigerian company involved in the transfer of the $5.7 million to South Africa are not public officers.  As independent contractors, they were awarded contracts for the supply of arms by the federal government and paid accordingly. It is indubitably clear that the suspects were negligent for failing to conduct due diligence.
Hence, they were dealing with companies that are not authorised to trade in arms in South Africa.

By the way, when was the responsibility of purchasing weapons for the armed forces of Nigeria transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the office of the NSA?
However, since the federal government cannot be held vicariously liable for the alleged criminal activities of the suspects, the office of the NSA ought not to have embarrassed the nation by giving the erroneous impression that Nigeria had breached the law of another country.

As a sovereign entity, the federal government can place orders for the purchase of arms either from another government or from independent arms dealers. But when the office of the NSA decided to award contracts to private corporate bodies for the supply of arms, it could not have clothed them with immunity or licence to breach local or foreign laws.
Instead of exposing Nigeria to further ridicule, the federal government should stop accepting responsibility for the alleged criminal actions of the suspects indicted in the alleged laundering of the sum of $15 million.

Having regard to the facts and circumstances of this shameful episode, there is substantial evidence to prove that the suspects breached the terms of the deal for the supply of the arms. To that extent, the federal government is perfectly entitled to sue them with a view to recovering the entire contract sum of $15 million. Notwithstanding their inexplicable negligence, the suspects should be advised to contest the order of the High Court, which authorised the seizure of the fund. To show that there was no means to breach the law of that country, the NSA may wish to testify for the suspects.

By threatening to deal with the South African government over the breach of the law by the private businessmen and corporate bodies involved in the suspicious transactions, the office of the NSA has called to question the moral integrity of the federal government. By asking South Africa to reciprocate the gesture of allowing MTN and DSTV to operate in Nigeria is the federal government saying that both South African companies are allowed to breach the law of the land? Regrettably, the National Assembly treated this matter of urgent national importance so cavalierly and in the process left many questions unanswered.

Otherwise, how could both chambers have failed to examine the statement of the NPA that the official explanations for the suspicious transactions are riddled with contradictions? Instead of grandstanding over the criminal enterprise, the federal government should apologise to Nigerians and call the NSA to order for dragging the name of Nigeria through the mud.

• Mr. Falana (SAN) is a member of the THISDAY Editorial Board

Boko Haram: Jokolo weeps for Nigerian military

    By KENNY ASHAKA.  

Former Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji. Al-Mu­stapha Haruna Jokolo, a retired Major and former Aide-de-camp to former Head of State and All Progressives Con­gress chieftain, General Muhammad Buhari, has expressed deep concern over the state of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The outspoken officer who had a distin­guished career in the military is disturbed that soldiers in uniform today are not being properly equipped, trained and inspired to give their utmost. He argues that this is the result of years of breakdown of the institu­tional framework and strict observance of the proper procedure for management of the finances of the armed services. In this two-part interview, Jokolo explains in some detail and indirectly highlights what needs to be done to begin the process of rebuilding the psyche of the military.
Excerpts…
The death sentence handed some soldiers who were alleged to have been involved in mutiny by the Military Court Martial has generated contro­versy. Some say the sentence is in or­der and others have contrary opinions. Which side are you? You are a military man because they say once a soldier man always a soldier.
I was a soldier. The Court Martial before and after is a very dicey situation that we find our­selves in. What led to the mutiny? That’s what one should find out first. For soldiers to mutiny is a very serious offence. But you cannot just take it on its face value to say they have muti­nied; then you make them face a court martial and they are sentenced to death. If I were the Chief of Army Staff or the Minister of Defence or the Commander-in-Chief, I will first of all order a thorough investigation by uninterested persons and not by the military themselves con­ducting the investigation. I will get retired mili­tary officers with knowledge of law, those with Military Police and Intelligence training, high ranking officers with junior officers to go to the scene of the crime to find out from the soldiers without the soldiers on the ground being there. Just isolate the officers, let the soldiers feel se­cured and free to open their minds and tell you what their grievances are. What would warrant them to mutiny? Was it that they did not have good training before being sent on a mission or that they didn’t know the seriousness of mu­tiny? Or there was some lackadaisical attitude from the officers themselves? Is it that they do not know how to treat their subordinates? Or, take a look at the operation itself. Were they handicapped that they did not have enough weapons, materials and equipment to fight the war? All these have to bear on the outcome of the investigations. Then, I will also find out from the officers, what warranted the soldiers to mutiny? What kind of training did these of­ficers have? Were they well trained to under­stand what relationship should be between the officer and the soldier? Because you have to know that the soldier is responsible for carry­ing out his duties as assigned to him. And you the officer is to supervise him.
But that espirit-de-corps must be maintained because sometimes, your life depends on that soldier. And that is why you train together as a unit so that if anyone of you makes one mis­take, you are given punishment together. Like in the NDA, we were trained together to dis­regard our tribes, religion, everything to look at ourselves as one unit so that if, for instance, there is an ambush, if anybody coughed during that ambush, it exposes your position and the enemy will know you are there. That enemy will bring hell fire on you or could cause your death. You are also trained to protect your col­leagues to the extent that if a grenade is thrown at you, you become brave enough to jump over that grenade to blow yourself to pieces to allow your friends to escape.
So, what happened that these soldiers mu­tinied against their General Officer Com­manding? We are not talking about Company Commander, Platoon Commander and up to Brigade Commander. We are talking about the highest-ranking officer in the Division, the GOC – a Major General! It is not funny. So, I will not easily just brush aside their grievances and condemn them. I must hear from them first. Secondly, were they trying to understand the gravity of that offence? Like if you do not know you are doing something wrong. How can somebody judge you wrong for doing something wrong? If your two-year old child sees a cobra meandering all over the place, do you think that two-year old would run away from that cobra? But if you, as an adult, see a cobra, will you stay? So, it depends on the training and at the same time the perception. Military men are trained to understand that if
 
 
 
 

you mutiny, it is punishable with death. You have to make them know the gravity of the of­fence they have committed. And if you are re­sponsible for their welfare, training, operations there and you are not giving them, how do you hold them responsible?
Are you surprised that the GOC has been retired in the midst of all these?
How can he just be retired like that? Why don’t you put him in the same category with those officers? That means something went wrong with him if he was retired. So, why blame the soldiers alone? Why don’t you put them together to face court martial? You can­not just because he is a General say he is above that. We had an incident in 1969 in Vietnam when Lieutenant William Kali, an American, massacred some Vietnamese. He was brought back to the US and investigated. He was sen­tenced. There is nobody who is above the law. Because you are a General doesn’t make you above the law. You must consider this: that if these soldiers knew what they did and just took advantage of their number and then insulted the officer by firing at him, then they were trained to know the implication, they should not be forgiven.
They should be court-martialed. But the beauty of it is that there are three different kinds of court martial. There is District Court Martial. I do not know how they did the Gen­eral Court Martial because in our days, there were three different kinds of court martial. We had District Court Martial, General Court Martial and Field General Court Martial. District Court Martial is applied only to less than officers, other ranks. So, how they gave them General Court Martial, I do not know. It is only when you have mixture of officers and other ranks that you can conduct General Court Martial; unless they erased the District Court Martial after I had left. For a soldier, you do not apply General Court Martial. You apply DCM. And there is a limit to what they can give. But definitely, the punishment for mutiny is death. So, the General Court Mar­tial is for everybody. Field General Court Martial is in only emergency, maybe during war. Then you can on the spot carry out the General Court Martial if you had to. But in this respect, the normal thing is that there will be a Judge Advocate and the officers have the right to object to the President of the Court Martial to call the officers who are conduct­ing the Court Martial, except the prosecutor. And they have to adjourn if there are genuine reasons for objecting to that. And even after they have passed the sentence, they still have to state these words in sentence: “subject to the approval of appropriate superior authority.” In this respect, whoever the convener is, whether the GOC or Chief of Army Staff would have to refer the judgement to somebody higher than him. That person will now have to send it to Lawyers in the Department of Legal Services to determine what it is all about and they can thereafter make recommendations. It has to go to the Army Council. And the Chairman of the Army Council is the President himself. If he is not able to go there, he would appoint the Minister of Defence. Even after this, those sentenced still have the right to appeal because Court Martial is equivalent to a High Court. They can go to Court of Appeal and from there to Supreme Court. So, it is not something that can be carried out immediately.
This issue is related to the fight against terrorism. How do you see the prosecution of the war against the in­surgents, generally?
My experience as a student at the Command and Staff College in 1982 and 1983 should be helpful here. Now it is called Armed Forces Staff College. I was given a scenario where there is a Nigerian oil rig in the sea and it was captured by terrorists. In that scenario, I was the Commanding Officer. I was given a bat­talion and told to go and recapture the oil rig. They asked me to make plans for the recovery of that oil rig. I went to the board with every­body, instructors, chief instructor, comman­dant and everybody there. I told them I could not do it. They were shocked. They thought I was joking.
I said I was not going to do it. The reason I said so was, first of all, there were some British officers training us at that time. I said even in Britain, America, Russia, Germany, and in all advanced countries, this is not a conventional operation. They do not use regular troops for that. It is a special operation. It needs specially trained officers and men. Like in Britain they have Special Air Service (SAS) or Special Boat Service (SBS), which is for underwater operation. In America, you have the Green Berets as well as the Special Forces, the Delta Force. We have Spetnez in this other country.
In Germany, you have GSG9. These are special forces for this kind of operation. Now what we have in Nigeria is insurgency, the highest of what we call guerilla warfare. Some of us were trained in guerilla warfare. Nowhere in Nigeria have we units for that purpose. And when they gave me that task, I told them that this scenario you have painted here is real. We have the oil rigs and we have tourists. I just told them so that they could be aware that there was need for training for that purpose. There was nowhere we were trained for that kind of thing. You could do it in the classroom and that’s it, but for military, you must physically go. Even the Special Forces, when they are going to conduct this kind of operation, they must stage it somewhere. They must rehearse. Look at what America is doing in Iraq and Afghanistan; look at what everybody is fac­ing in Syria, Lebanon and Libya. So, it’s not something you will overrun overnight. Take a look at the balance of forces, Nigerian Armed Forces on the one hand and the Boko Haram. They have Libyans and different nationalities and these people are veterans. They fought in Mali, Somalia, Libya and Iraq. They are still in Libya and Iraq. So when you saw the movie of how they attacked that Maimalari Barracks, you saw white men among them.
You heard people say they were being sup­plied by helicopter at night. Now, who was doing the supplying and from where were they coming? So, you do not totally blame the Nigerian soldier for the failure because it depends on the nation. Have you trained them enough to do the job they are supposed to do? Have you given them enough motivation? Do you have enough motivation for them? Do you have medical evacuation at all levels because if they shoot somebody, there must be field ambulance and medical doctors. There must be aircraft to take the wounded to where they will be treated. So, it is not enough to say go and fight Boko Haram. Some of the recruits you see do not even have boots to graduate with. Some of my colleagues were comman­dants there and they used to invite me to go and watch parades. Some have no boots; so half of the graduands could not take part in the gradu­ation ceremony.
What then is the problem?
I don’t know. Hear what I am going to tell you now. Here was an officer from the Finance Corps. Some two, three months ago, he said their problem was that they had no money. The next day, the Minister of Finance came on air to say that N130 billion had been released to them in four months. The next day again, the Ministry of Defence issued a statement that the money was not channelled through the ministry. It was direct from the Presidency to the services. Now, that is the mischief there. Later on, they said it was given to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Ihejirika. Now, if you have a situation where money meant for an or­ganisation was personalised, instead of you to go through the channel that it is supposed to be and there are laid down procedures for checks and balances for contract awards, what level is supposed to approve what, what the Ministry of Defence, Army Tenders Board and Presi­dency can do, the Federal Executive Council can do, if N130 billion vanished into thin air and nobody can account for it, don’t you think this country is sleeping or weeping? You have N130 billion given to the Army alone, yet they claim they have no equipment to fight at the field. They do not have. The governor said it. The people on ground said it, and some Sena­tors said there is so much hush, hush. Not only that, two barracks were attacked, one in Bama and the one in Maiduguri with heavy casualties. Some aircraft, tanks and artillery pieces were damaged. Some of the armoured personnel carriers were taken away and then used to attack the soldiers. And yet none of the service chiefs went there to see what happened on ground. There was no report of anyone of them visiting that place. What are they doing in Abuja? You have high-ranking officers, you have Generals, so many Generals that even in Russia, they do not have that number of Gen­erals. Yet we are being dealt with, terrorized. A whole barracks is empty now in Bama. The whole town is a ghost town. You have Michika, a big town. You have Madagali, another big town. You have Gwoza where we have the Mobile Police training school, which this Boko Haram people have taken over. They are now persecuting people, training them. Maybe some of the 20 policemen that were said to be missing are being forced to train them. Now you have Gamboru Ngala and Bama, a big city now in the hands of Boko Haram. And now you have Konduga, which is between Bama and Maiduguri. When I was 2nd Lieutenant, I was posted to Maiduguri; then from Maiduguri to Mubi to Bama and back to Maiduguri. So I know that area like the back of my hand. So, I wonder how these people came and took over these places. And yet we are sitting down ev­eryday and saying in the in the papers that we have killed 100 Boko Haram. You know where Konduga is? It is just a few kilometres from Maiduguri. They have already overrun these areas with all the things under their control and the resources available in all those places, the money, the food and everything, they are cart­ing them away. So, how do you expect these soldiers who do not have food, who do not have equipment to go and fight these veterans? The last time we had war experience was in 1970.
Until four years ago, which soldier was in that Army who fought the war? Some of these soldiers, their grandfathers were the ones who fought the war 44 years ago. Some of these soldiers are just 16 and 17 years old. So how do you expect them to face these people who have war experience in Libya, Lebanon and everywhere with superior equipment? You have blacked out communication and these people have communication. They are using Thuraya satellite phone and whatever com­munication to reach their members. You can’t communicate. So what do you do? And you have this kind of attitude. They just want to cause collateral damage as much as possible and instill fear into people by slaughtering people and showing it. When they capture you, they behead you, like they did to the son of my course mate, Air Vice Marshal Hedima. His son, Wing Commander Hedima was in his aircraft, overshot the area and it was shot down.
He bailed out alive and the next thing we heard was that he was beheaded. And the Boko Haram people said it and nobody denied it. And this instills fear into people now. And they don’t care because they do not appear be­fore war tribunals and because they do not also know what is called Geneva Convention, but the soldiers are subject to the dictates of the Geneva Convention. That’s what happened to Japanese and other war criminals. You have propaganda that they also use. Everyday you find one Shekau or another. While the military says Shekau is dead, they are saying Shekau is alive. The military are supposed to convince us that Shekau is dead through military intel­ligence. First, if Shekau is dead, where is his body? They said they killed Shekau and his second in command in Konduga. If you are able to lay that ambush in Konduga, why don’t you prove to us that you have killed him by showing us his body? Why don’t you show us the body of Shekau? But after you said you killed him, somebody looking like Shekau ap­peared again. What proof then do you have that you have killed him?
In other words, we are not prosecut­ing the war on terrorism well?
According to my training and what I know about insurgency and counter insurgency, we are not doing anything. Maybe now we have planners and that probably is what has led to the seizure of this aircraft with money in South Africa. Maybe there is something linked with that. As for the military, the answer is no. It is beyond perception and understanding.
Now that you have mentioned the South Africa deal, let me ask you if we are not now heading for contract scan­dals that may stall the prosecution of this war against terrorism because now people are talking about moles in the military and other security arms of government. Would you say that the alarm about the $9.3 million arms deal is misleading?
It is not misleading. It is a fact. There are moles. There is no doubt about that. You in­terviewed me before and I made reference to particular individuals. I questioned their service credentials and asked what business they had coming into the Army. I gave you an example of one person and said that person lied that he is a General. Now here I am with my family and I cannot sleep with both eyes closed. Since he took over as Minister, tell me the statement he has made regarding his plans to curb the insurgency. So if you are not speak­ing, it means you are doing something behind the scene. Unless you are doing something behind the scene, why are you not speaking? When the Minister of Finance said she gave N130billion to the army, the first body to speak was the Ministry of Defence. The Min­istry said it was not through them. First, that is disloyalty. If you have any disagreement with the Minister, you go to the Minister or the President, not on the pages of newspapers. Go and tell the President that the Minister did not tell the truth. Who did she give this money to? But you don’t go and disown her by saying no, it’s not Ministry of Defence. The implication is that there is a crack within the system. That’s the role of a mole. And I know who could pos­sibly do that in the Ministry of Defence.
The present Minister in the Ministry of Defence when he was the National Security Adviser was running down the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria who is now the Emir of Kano. That was the only time he made pub­lic statement when he spoke at a seminar. He ran down the Governor of CBN and the Chair­man of EFCC because these are two sensitive positions that he has his eyes on. As NSA, he wanted his protégé, one person who is work­ing for him to take over as Governor of Central Bank. And he was running down Farida Wa­ziri because he wanted somebody else there again so that he can now control the EFCC, the Central Bank and the NSA. So when he came in as Minister of Defence, he was not performing his job and everyday you hear the office of the NSA has done this and that. He is targeting the NSA now because he wanted that position before. He was telling everybody that they were going to make him NSA.
But the Minister of Defence should not take the blame alone, what is the NSA doing regarding the insurgency and now people feel that the NSA and the Minister of Defence have no plans for curbing of this insurgency. If there is any lapse in the Ministry of Defence, what is he doing?
You are putting me in a tight corner. I am going to give you the background of these two officials so that you can make your judgement. The NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki, everybody knows him to be an upright person. He is not a dishonest person. There is nowhere in his career where you find him dishonest. He was well brought up. First, he was brought up by Sardauna himself, because he is the first son of the former Sultan Dasuki. Sardauna married his grand aunt. So, he grew up in Sardauna’s house. So he has very good upbringing. Then, he was later brought up by his father as his first son. He had the best education you can think of. He was at the NDA and later went to university in America. He served as Military Assistant to Chief of Army Staff. So he knows about the Army. He served as ADC to the President. So, he knows about the Presidency. But the inter­esting thing is that when Aliyu Gusau was re­tired, it was the same Sambo Dasuki who got Babangida to appoint him NSA. But he is now throwing spanners in somebody’s job. Surpris­ingly, Aliyu is married to Sambo’s younger sister, same father, same mother. This is the irony of it. But whoever knows Aliyu knows him to be like that. That is why I will always refer to him as green snake and cobra. You can never be sure of Aliyu Gusau. He is not from Gusau. He is from Bebeji in Kano. Let’s get back to the issue of insurgency. Sambo is adviser to the President. He is not operational. He only coordinates and what he does is get reports from different organisations. Once he does that, he now collates them and advises the President. Don’t forget, it’s only the services that he gets reports from because they are also answerable to the President. The SSS, NIA, Chief of Army Staff and other military chiefs answer to the President. The Chief of Army Staff has a Director of Military Intelligence who reports to him. You have Director of De­fence Intelligence who reports to the Chief of Defence Staff. So, all these organisations have their own intelligence apparatuses. So the only thing the NSA to the President does is to col­late the information from these services. He doesn’t have troops. He doesn’t have field of­ficers. Even his office is staffed by members of these organizations – Army, Navy, Air Force. So, these are the ones who come to his of­fice. All that he does is that he signs end users certificates – if anybody is bringing anything from the military for the purpose of purchas­ing any military hardware. This role did not start from his tenure. It has always been like that. Aliyu Gusau knows it. He did it when he was NSA. It was the same thing when Sarki Mukhtar was NSA. I was in AS Mukhtar’s of­fice when he was NSA. Then there was a pur­chase of something from the Air Force without the knowledge of Sarki Mukhtar.
But for it to be allowed to come into the country, they needed end user’s certificate signed by Sarki Mukhtar who was the NSA. Unfortunately it was not signed by him. Rath­er it was signed by the Director of Defence Intelligence.
The airport people refused to authorise this movement because that was not the correct signature on the document. So, the function of the NSA is to advise the President. It is left for the President to accept. He cannot force the President to accept neither can he tell the various organisations you must do this. He is not in charge of operations. He will only do something that is directed by the President and sometimes if something happens within the organisations, he can only ask what hap­pened. They can then go together and explain to the President. Somebody is just being mis­chievous by saying the NSA did this and that because they know that he doesn’t speak.
There is this feeling by some Nigeri­ans that Boko Haram is the creation of the North in order to stall Jonathan’s Presidency. Would you consider that as a fair statement having regards to the situation on ground?
Boko Haram did not start with Jonathan and so couldn’t have been created because of President Jonathan. It started in 2002 or thereabout and that was when Obasanjo was President. Aliyu Gusau was the NSA. That was when it started. They will go and take over local governments and the police will harass them. That’s how they started. But the culmination of it was when these people were in Maiduguri and some of these gover­nors caused Boko Haram, not because of the President but because they wanted to use them as weapons against their opponents. Some of them call them Anti-Kalari, Bakassi Boys and different names. One of them became a com­missioner and Mohammed, their leader was operating in Maiduguri. How he was killed and what happened later is now in the public domain. So it was not done because of Jona­than. It started long before Jonathan and even long before Umaru Yar’Adua. It was gradual and that’s how it has happened. It started from gradual attitude and they didn’t care about it. It modified itself and became hydra-headed. That’s how it happened. If it is because of Jonathan, why should people be leaving their villages? Who are the people suffering from it now? Are they the Ijaw people or Christians? The people who are suffering more are the Muslims. They are taking away their children. Of course some Christians are there too, but it is a national phenomenon. Who in Bayelsa is suffering from Boko Haram? People are even accusing Dokubo-Asari as the one sponsoring Boko Haram.
•To be continued next week
TheSun

Will the Court Reinstate Nyako?

       

POLITICAL NOTE

Hope glimmers for the impeached former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako. Glad tidings of great joy rode on the crest of the last Friday’s statement by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Lagos that he would rule on a suit seeking his possible reinstatement on November 7.

The suit, filed on July 15 by a Lagos-based lawyer Olukoya Ogungbeje, challenged the legality of the former governor’s impeachment.  According to Ogungbeje, the impeachment was a clear violation of due process, hence his call on the court to reinstate Nyako. Joined in the suit filed by the Lagos-based lawyer are:  former acting governor of Adamawa State, Mr Umaru Fintiri; Adamawa State House of Assembly, the Acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ambrose Mammadi, the Chairman of the seven-member panel which investigated allegations of gross misconduct against Nyako, Justice Buba Kajama; the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP). However, the defence counsel’s had submitted that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case, arguing that the suit challenging the governor’s impeachment could be filed in the state where it was done.

Calling the suit an abuse of court process, the counsel also cited the fact that Nyako had also instituted action challenging his impeachment at an Adamawa State High Court in Yola.

Ogungbeje, in his response, had urged Justice Abang to discountenance the defence counsel’s arguments, citing the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had held that Nyako’s deputy, Mr James Ngilari did not resign in the eyes of the law, as paving the way for Justice Abang to write his name in gold by reinstating Nyako.  This latest development implies that Nyako is back in contention with Ngilari and Fintiri for the Adamawa Government House.                                 

––    Vincent Obia 

ThisDay.

Buhari Begins Quest for Aso Rock in Grand Style

       

Former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, would not have bargained for any better display of people’s power than what happened during his public declaration of intention to vie for the presidency last week. Onyebuchi Ezigbo reports

General Muhammadu  Buhari is one of the presidential aspirants on the platform of All Progressives Congress. Last Wednesday, Buhari stormed the Eagle Square, in Abuja, along with thousands of his supporters and top leaders of his party to formally tell Nigerians of his ambition to contest for presidency in 2015. His declaration was for a record four times since 2003.

An excited Buhari was driven into the arena about12.25pm. His entry roused the huge crowd of supporters to fever pitch. Crowds ran along with his motorcade round the arena before he climbed the VIP stand. Buhari who came in an open roof Jeep, stood up waving to the appreciative crowd of supporters.

High Attendance
From the day before the morning of Buhari’s declaration, all the roads leading to the Eagle Square venue had been virtually taken over by hundreds his supporters who had driven into the Federal Capital Territory in several convoys of buses to be part of occasion. Up till 12 noon on the D-day, crowds of supporters were still surging into the Eagle Square, making it almost difficult for party leaders to find a thoroughfare as they made their way to the VIP stand. Security men and party officials had a hectic time controlling the enthusiastic crowd of youths who took over the entry points to the covered stands, waving and displaying campaign banners. The ecstatic supporters drummed and danced round the arena almost endlessly till the end of the programme.

Speakers at the occasion repeatedly made allusion to the fact that the huge crowd was a clear affirmation of where the preference of majority of APC members lied.
Many serving federal and state legislators attended the rally.

Priority
The former military Head of State and three-time presidential contender, while formally declaring his intention to enter the presidential race on the platform of APC, promised to fight corruption and wipe out Boko Haram, which he described as “ungodly”.

Buhari, who was accompanied to the podium by four APC governors from Lagos, Rivers, Edo and Nasarawa states, said, “This is an occasion to celebrate our efforts and to resolve to continue until victory is won. I humbly wish to present myself before you, before all of Nigeria and before God, seeking to be elected as APC’s presidential candidate.”

The former military leader highlighted his priority areas if elected president. Among the areas Buhari said his government would focus were the protection of lives and property, pursuit of economic policies for shared prosperity, and youth employment. He said proper attention would be given to the provision of quality education for development, modernity and social mobility, and agricultural productivity to ensure food security and reduction of poverty.

Other areas Buhari pledged to focus on were the revival of industries to generate employment, development of solid minerals sector, restoration of honour and integrity to the public service, and a sincere fight against corruption. He said he would respect the constitutional separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary and respect the rights of citizens.

Maladministration
Buhari did not spare the Peoples Democratic Party, which he said had presided over the country’s decline.
“Since 1999, PDP has presided over our country’s decline. Nigeria, in my experience, has never been so divided, so polarised by an unthinking government hell bent on ruling and stealing forever whatever befalls the country.

“Interference in the form of rigging, which PDP government has practised since 2003, is the worst form of injustice – denying people their right to express their opinions. Whether they like it or not, injustice cannot endure.”
Buhari paid tribute to Nigerians who he said had endured all kinds of difficulties, especially growing insecurity. He, nonetheless, commended the Nigerian Armed Forces for their efforts to deal with the insurgency in the North-east.

“It is everyone’s duty to resolve and help the national effort to overcome these immense challenges. I would like us to place on record our appreciation for the efforts of our Armed Forces under a new leadership and police in confronting these challenges,” Buhari said.
On the economy and the power sector, he said the situation had continued to deteriorate while the agricultural and industrial sectors had all spiralled downwards.  Buhari said when PDP assumed power in 1999, Nigeria was generating 4,000MW of electricity, saying, however, that the situation has worsened.

“When PDP came to power in 1999, Nigeria was generating about 4,000MW of electricity. After 15 years and $20 billion spent, we are generating between 3,000MW and 4,000MW. No failure is more glaring than this.”

Commendation
Welcoming party members and supporters to the event, the former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, who chaired the organising committee for the rally, said the country’s economy and security needed intervention. According to him, Buhari has shown in his lifestyle and past performance in government that he is the one to proffer solution to the country’s problems.
He said to those who felt Buhari was too old to be president that age will not be an issue in the election because Buhari has experience and integrity to his advantage, which other candidates lack.

Senator Olurunnimbe Mamora from Lagos State addressed the gathering on behalf of a group known as the National Elders of APC. He said the wind of change was blowing and that come 2015 “we will have an APC government at the centre.”
He listed the problems of unemployment, poor power supply, decay in the education sector and insecurity as some of the biting problems that the APC government will tackle if voted into power.

Another stakeholder of the party and the Minority Leader in the Senate, Senator George Akume, spoke of the exploits of Buhari while he was the petroleum minister, when he was able to manage the country’s key economic resource creditably.
A woman leader, Hajia Rabiu Ishaq, on her part, urged women to support Buhari whom she said was the leader they could trust to ameliorate the plight of Nigeria women.  She described Buhari as the Nigeria’s own Mandela with regard to his integrity, honesty and caring spirit.

Professor Isah Odigie, who represented APC supporters living in Canada, said Nigeria at the moment needed an extraordinary leader in the mould of Buhari to implement the policies required to rescue it from self-inflicted crisis.

Anxiety
Many believed Atiku was rattled by the huge attendance at last Wednesday’s declaration rally for Buhari. But the impression from the the Atiku media office was that the reason more leaders of the APC attended the Buhari declaration rally in comparison to the former vice president’s declaration, was that they were not invited to Atiku’s declaration so as not to compromise their neutrality.

Among the leading figures in APC  that were at the Eagle Square to show solidarity with Buhari were, Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, Edo State Governor Adams Oshiohmole, Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al’makura, and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Aminu Masari.

Others were National Vice Chairman of APC (North East), B.D Lawal, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Senator Ahmed Yerima, Senator Abba Buka Ibrahim, Muoghalu, Sharon Ikeazor, Alhaji Mustapha Habib, Osita Okechukwu, Hajia Hadiza Usman, Tony Momoh, Professor Tom David-West, Alhaji Alhaji Abdullahi Adamu, Oluwatayo Oluwa, and Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN.

Rationale
But beyond the fanfare that accompanied the declaration of his presidential ambition, many Nigerians also wanted to know from the former Head of State why he decided to break his promise after losing to the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 not to contest for the presidency again.

Apparently, out of frustration after losing three consecutive times to the candidates of Peoples Democratic Party in 2003, 2007 and 2011, Buhari had vowed not to contest for the presidency again. However, that position would not stand the test of time as Buhari soon realised that apart from succumbing to pressures from associates, he had to contend with the political dynamics of the time.  First, the former Head State said he had found it difficult to ignore the deteriorating state of the country. For a man who went into the last presidential election on the platform of a new party, the then Congress for Progressive Change, barely six months to the election, his ability to still clinch a second position at end of the contest was, indeed, something significant.

For many of his loyalists and political associates, if Buhari could muster close to 12 million votes from the electorate even with the short lifespan and limited reach of the CPC, under the present dispensation, with the merger of three political parties to form APC, he should quite successfully coast home to victory.  It was this line of thought that propelled the decision of Buhari to abandon his position not to contest and to once again throw his hat into the ring.

Last Thursday, following his successful public declaration of ambition, Buhari proceeded to the APC headquarters in Abuja to purchase the party’s nomination form for the presidential primaries.

Consensus
Before making his public declaration of interest there were several attempts to broker a consensus arrangement and to get the party hierarchy to buy into the plan. In pushing for the consensus, Buhari and his loyalist had felt they could lobby other aspirants to accept a consensus arrangement in deciding the presidential flag bearer of the party in his favour. Buhari said his belief in the consensus arrangement was based on a desire to avoid a rancorous primary election.

But, Buhari who addressed a gathering of various youth support groups from around the country in Abuja as a prelude to his public declaration, said he would was ready to contest with other aspirants of the party for the presidential ticket.
Atiku has never hidden his preference for open primaries in choosing the APC presidential candidate. However, after weeks of political manoeuvring and intrigues, the party found that majority of its members wanted the electoral law and the constitution of the party to be adhered to by going ahead with the presidential primaries.

The huge attendance at Buhari’s declaration seems to be an indication of where the APC presidential ticket for next year’s election may head. But  time will tell  how far the former Head of State can go.

ThisDay.

APC to Rejig Timetable, Guidelines for Primaries

By Onyebuchi Ezigbo


The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it will review the guidelines for party primaries as well as readjust its timetable in preparation for the 2015 general elections.

THISDAY gathered that following disagreements among key stakeholders over the modalities for the primaries, the leadership of the opposition party met last night in Abuja to resolve some of the contentious issues and to see how to build confidence amongst the presidential aspirants.
The meeting, which took place behind closed doors at the Rivers governor's lodge in Asokoro, had in attendance the national leadership of the party, leading presidential aspirants, a national leader and former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, and some of the governors of the party.
The party has also ruled out speculations that its presidential aspirants may be asked to pay up to N27 million for nomination forms.
Speaking in an interview with THISDAY in Abuja yesterday, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the party might consider readjusting its timetable due to intervening factors like public holidays, which encroached into the initial plans.
Regarding fees for nomination forms, Muhammed said the party was yet to publish its guidelines, which include fees payable, adding that whatever guidelines approved by the party would be made public through a publication.
“Look, as far as I am concerned, the party is yet to publish its guidelines and the guidelines also include fees payable. I don’t believe that the party has finalised the fees as of today and so I don’t know where people get these figures from,” he said
Commenting on why the party's National Executive Council (NEC) chose the modified direct primaries, the APC spokesman said what the party wanted was a direct primary which would enable every card-carrying member to exercise his right to decide who represents the party during the elections.
He said part of the problems the party had been trying to solve is the issue of how to reduce the number of people that would participate in electing candidates during the primaries.
According to Muhammed, from its initial calculations, the party found out that the members who would have taken part in the presidential primary would reach an estimated 300,000.
However, he said the party's attention was drawn to a condition set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that presidential primaries and conventions must be held under one roof which make it difficult to get a venue that will accommodate the large number of members.
He said it was at this stage that the leadership of the party asked the national executive to go and review the modalities and to scale down the voting population to a manageable size.
“What we were trying to do is that relying on those delegates might probably not be representative enough and so we said let us enlarge it.
“Ideally, what the party wanted is a direct primary where delegates would be able to cast their votes. That was the most favoured option at the National Working Committee level. But the challenges of the direct primary was what led us to talk about modified direct primary.
“On the challenges of an open primary, the first is as of today, not everybody has the permanent card, what some have are temporary cards.
Then many people after our registration joined our party and they don't even have temporary slips, so how do you have a direct primary that will exclude those people? How do you have a direct primary when there is no way you can identify a particular member?
“Secondly, we looked at the logistics of holding primaries of 8,000 wards all over Nigeria and it was enormous in terms of cost and security implications. Finally, what will happen in other areas where there are security challenges? Can we honestly have direct primaries there?”, he queried.
Muhammed also reassured Nigerians that APC as a party would not endorse a presidential candidate before the primary, although he did not rule out individual or group endorsements by powerful leaders perceived as power brokers within the party.
“A lot of these things are decided before you go into the convention ground, but what is undemocratic is to have a sole candidate to the exclusion of others. For the party to proudly make a statement and say this is our sole candidate is undemocratic,” he said.
‪#‎ThisdayNews‬

2015 secret meeting fallout: Don’t field Atiku, Obasanjo warns APC

•  by Dayo Oketola, Fisayo Falodi and Jesusegun Alagbe

Obasanjo and Atiku

There are strong indications that former President Olusegun Obasanjo may have warned the All Progressives Congress not to field former Vice-President Abubakar Atiku as its flagbearer in the 2015 elections.

Obasanjo, during a recent visit by the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to his residence in Abeokuta, was said to have warned the opposition party against fielding an “unclean vessel” as its presidential candidate in 2015.

An impeccable source, who was at the meeting but did not want his name mentioned, told Saturday PUNCH that last week’s visit by Tinubu to Obasanjo was meant to remind the former President of the need to support the APC to realise its ambition of winning next year’s presidential election.

The source said, “Chief Obasanjo appreciated Tinubu’s visit to his home, but specifically warned the APC to shut its door against “unclean vessel.”

“Chief Obasanjo reiterated his refusal to join the APC when Tinubu visited him in his Abeokuta residence, but warned the party to beware of Atiku.

“The former President appreciated the move by the APC to find out what he knew about two of the APC aspirants seeking the party’s presidential ticket. He was happy that the party consulted him over whom to pick as its presidential candidate. The former President gave detailed information on the APC presidential aspirants to Tinubu.”

But Atiku’s media aide, Garba Shehu, said he was not aware of such comments by Obasanjo against the former vice-president.

Shehu, who said that Atiku had consulted relevant stakeholders on his plan to become Nigeria’s president next year, said, “You can quote me; we are not in any way aware of such comment. What I can say is that the former vice-president has written a letter to his former boss, respectfully informing him of his wish to bid for the APC ticket.”

He also said that Atiku had sent similar letters to other Nigerians.

“These letters, which were personally signed, had gone to thousands of other Nigerians, including politicians, traditional and religious leaders as well as friendly-diplomatic missions.”

Senate President David Mark and Tinubu had last Friday held separate closed-door meetings with Obasanjo. Both Mark and the former Lagos State governor said the issues discussed at the meetings held at the Obasanjo’s Hilltop residence in Abeokuta centred on the state of the nation.

Tinubu had told journalists that he had discussion with Obasanjo on “some of his former boys” who would vie for elective positions in the 2015 general elections, especially the Presidency.

He had said, “We are here to pay homage to our former President and discuss with him because he has a number of influences in the political sphere.

“We need to talk to find out his thinking about Nigeria and the future. We need to seek his observation on some of his former boys who are running for Presidency in our party.”

Mark had also described Obasanjo as the father of the nation with a wealth of experience.

The Senate President had told journalists after the meeting that he came with his team, including Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; the Peoples Democratic Party Women Leader, Mrs. Josephine Anenih; and Senator Polycarp Nwite, among others to discuss with the former President and raise some basic issues that affected both the party and the nation.

He said, “We discussed issues that will move Nigeria forward because Chief Obasanjo’s love for Nigeria is unquantifiable. So, we had a good discussion with him.”

Saturday PUNCH also learnt that the former president would support APC in its bid to win next year’s presidential election.

Party sources said Obasanjo did not need to defect to the opposition party before he could support it to win the poll.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, told one of our correspondents on telephone on Thursday that the recent visit to Obasanjo by Tinubu was part of efforts to ensure that the opposition party got the former President’s support ahead of the poll.

Though the APC spokesperson said that he was not fully privy to the topic of discussion between Obasanjo and Tinubu, he said that if the party leader had gone to visit the former President, it was about how the former president could help the opposition party win in the 2015 general elections.

He said, “I am not fully aware of what they (Obasanjo and Tinubu) discussed. But of course, did you expect they would discuss church matters? Clearly if he went to visit Obasanjo, it had to be about politics and the party. What else would you expect them to talk about?

“That would not be the first time the party chieftains would meet with the former President. There is no secret about it. We want the party to win in next year’s elections. That is it.”

When asked whether the former President might defect to the APC to help the party achieve its goal, Mohammed said, “Obasanjo does not need to defect to the APC before he could help the party.

“The former President needs not declare openly or defect to our party before he can help us. Someone went to visit him, he was chased out; Asiwaju Tinubu went to visit him and he was entertained. What are you talking about? What does that tell you?”

Obasanjo had in 2013 embraced the APC when some of the party’s national leaders and governors elected on its platform visited him in Abeokuta.

The APC leaders then sought Obasanjo’s support for the party’s bid to win the forthcoming elections.

Among Obasanjo’s visitors during the December 2013 visit were Tinubu, former APC Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Masari; former Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff; Senator Osita Isunazor; and Senator Bukola Saraki.

Tinubu, who hailed Obasanjo’s contributions to nation-building, had lamented that the country was divided more than ever.

Tinubu had added that the APC had resolved to rescue Nigeria and appealed to the former President to lead the mission.

He had said, “You have come out of tribulation and held the highest position in this country. We are here because of your courage. Nobody can say he has information more than you. You have surmounted a number of crises. Nigeria is divided more than before; to realise stable Nigeria, we want to encourage you to continue to speak the truth. We are resolved and determined to rescue Nigeria. We want you as navigator.”

But the Peoples Democratic Party, which apparently sensed that the APC might finally get Obasanjo’s full support, on Wednesday, made entreaties to beg the former President.

Obasanjo, a former Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees, had refused to identify with the party following series of disagreements he had with President Goodluck Jonathan and the running of the party.

The former President even as the chairman of BoT of the party shunned the meetings of the various organs of the party, including its National Executive Committee.

But speaking while receiving former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, who defected from the Labour Party to the PDP in Abuja on Wednesday, the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’Azu, begged Obasanjo to return to the PDP.

Mu’azu, who was reacting to an earlier apology offered by Daniel, said every member of the party must beg the former President for forgiveness.

He described Obasanjo as a pragmatic leader, who he said hailed from a zone he claimed had produced the best educated people in the country.

Mu’azu said, “I want to join former Ogun State governor, I want to join my dear elder brother and indeed all the teeming members here to very sincerely apologise to our leader, to our baba, my baba, General, President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to forgive us.

“We cannot continue. I know he has been very prayerful. In the Villa, I know he used to pray every morning. Very early, 5:30 to 6am, he is praying.

“And I know he keeps on praying all the time. As we say in our Lord’s Prayer: ‘Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who trespass against us’; Baba, you have to forgive us. I beg you in the name of the Almighty God, so that you too can be forgiven. We are your children. We are making mistakes, we have made mistakes, we have apologised.

“We will not agree even if you want to throw the baby away with the bath water, the baby will not go without you.

“So, please baba, we apologise. Come and lead us. Even the President (Goodluck Jonathan) is waiting for you. Come and lead us. You are our leader, we appreciate you, we thank you for your leadership.”

PUNCH.

AsiwajuTinubu lobbies for @Buhari2015

*APC presidential hopeful shifts declaration to Oct 15
*Saraki to head campaign organisation

As the battle for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) gathers momentum, former Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Tinubu, has intensified lobby for the emergence of former Head of State, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as the party’s candidate.
Sources told New Telegraph that Tinubu had stepped up efforts in recent days to ensure that Buhari would get the APC ticket at the December 2 national convention of the party.
He is said to be mobilising the party structures and providing the initial funding in the pursuit of Buhari’s aspiration. In return, it was learnt that Buhari had agreed that should he win, Tinubu would pick his running mate for him.
In preparations for his possible emergence as the party’s candidate, Buhari, it was also learnt, had begun putting together his campaign organisation, which will be headed by former Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, now a senator. Buhari has also shifted the formal declaration of his presidential ambition from today until October 15.
According to the sources, Tinubu, an influential leader of the APC, had on several occasions, met with Buhari in Lagos and Abuja to fine-tune the arrangements while associates of the APC presidential aspirant had held strategic meetings with Tinubu in Lagos and London on the Buhari presidential project.
It was learnt that the former governor is providing logistics and rallying the party structures behind the former military ruler who has contested the presidential elections three times – 2003, 2007 and 2011– based on the belief that he is the best candidate for the party to defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its adopted candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan.
It was learnt that though the Tinubu’s camp was not discountenancing the candidacy of Buhari’s major challenger and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, it was uncomfortable with Atiku emerging the standard bearer of the APC for the February14, 2015 presidential election.
“We have the right to support our choice of the presidential candidate. We are working towards the emergence of Buhari as the APC candidate. We are not considering Atiku at all. He has the money, but we have the party structures.
What Buhari lacks in finance, we will provide for his campaign. “Don’t forget that we provided Atiku with the platform in 2007, but shortly after the election, he jumped ship and moved to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
When he had issues with President Olusegun Obasanjo, we provided six Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) to defend him. But what did we get in return? Nothing. So, we can’t take the gamble on Atiku again.
We have pitched our tent with Buhari and we will ensure that he wins the election,” an associate of Tinubu, who is a member of the Board of Trustees of the APC told New Telegraph.
As part of the plan, the Buhari/Tinubu camp is assembling a team that will reach out to delegates to the national convention. “We have the structures. We will move round the states to ensure that the delegates do our bidding.
In the end, Buhari will emerge as the candidate,” another source said. An aide of Tinubu confirmed to New Telegraph that the former governor has been engaging APC governors and other stakeholders on the need to have Buhari on the ballot rather than Atiku. In the permutations of Tinubu, Buhari is the only person that can confront Jonathan in the 2015 elec-tion.
This is hinged on his electoral strength as demonstrated in the 2011 presidential election. In the 2011 election, Jonathan won in seven states, comprising Kwara, Kogi, Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Adamawa, out of the 19 states in the north.
Buhari, as the presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) one of the legacy parties of APC, defeated the president in the 12 northern states of Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara. Jonathan, as an incumbent, polled 22, 350, 242 votes to defeat Buhari, who got 11, 914,953 votes. Most of Jonathan’s votes came from the South.
“We are not ruling out other APC presidential aspirants, but we have cast our lot with Buhari. We consider Buhari above others as an asset to the APC in its quest for the presidency,” the source said.
Earlier before New Telegraph learnt of the position of the Tinubu camp, APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, had said the party would provide a level playing ground for all the aspirants. However, it was learnt that Tinubu had not been able to get the full commitment of all the party’s governors in the South-West to the Buhari presidential project.
It was gathered that while Governors Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) are rooting for Buhari, their counterparts in Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, were undecided between Buhari and Atiku. There is also a report of a division in the Tinubu’s camp as to who should emerge the running mate.
Some of the former governor’s associates are backing Fayemi while Tinubu is considering former Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yemi Osibajo, for the position. Osibajo, a professor of Law and a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), is being considered to balance the religious equation.
Tinubu who had been widely rumoured to be nursing a presidential ambition, had to back off following growing resent-ment in the party against a Muslim-Muslim ticket of Buhari and Tinubu. It was also learnt that Buhari has concluded arrangements to appoint Saraki as the Director General of his campaign organisation.
At present, a former PDP National Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, is holding forth as the campaign coordinator. A source told New Telegraph that Buhari had met with Saraki in Abuja in the past few days and the duo agreed to work together.
“At the meeting, Buhari told Saraki about his intention to run for the presidency. The former governor also informed the presidential aspirant about his intention to run for the same office, but later agreed to support Buhari,” the source said.
A former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, may also hold a sensitive position in the Buhari’s campaign organisation. “We are sure of winning the APC presidential ticket. So, we are working ahead. Saraki is on board.
Sylva will either head the Logistics or Finance Committee of the campaign,” an aide of the former head of state told New Telegraph. It was further learnt that Rivers State Governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, is to provide the director of media for the campaign organisation.
“He is looking towards picking a senior editorial staff of The Nation newspaper to fill the position,” the source added. Meanwhile, Buhari has shifted his formal declaration earlier scheduled for today until October 15.
A statement yesterday by Ogbeh, said: “The formal declaration ceremony by General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) of his intention to contest the 2015 presidential election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been postponed by one week.
“The declaration earlier scheduled for Wednesday, October 8, will now hold on Wednesday, October 15, at Eagle Square, Abuja. All earlier arrangements remain the same.” New Telegraph learnt that the long Sallah holiday informed the shift as necessary logistics could not be provided for the declaration.
It was further learnt that pressure is being mounted on Kano State Governor, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, to step down for Buhari. Kwankwaso has indicated interest in the APC presidential ticket.
SOURCE: newtelegraphonline