After the Senate rejected his proposal to make his aides delegates, President Goodluck Jonathan’s political strategists are desperately looking for options that will deliver success to him in the forthcoming party primaries. It is evident that President Goodluck Jonathan is making frantic moves to cushion the effect of the rude shock he suffered from the Senate’s refusal to endorse his proposed Electoral Act Amendment bill, by re-presenting the same bill as a private member bill to the Senate for reconsideration. The proposed bill, which was a forthnight ago thrown away by the Senate, aimed among other things, to confer the president’s hordes of aides delegates status during the primaries.



The presidential bill, Sunday Trust learnt, is expected to be represented to the Senate by the Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, as a private member bill, but the media aide to the deputy senate president, Mr Paul Udenyi, refused to deny or confirm the story when our reporter spoke to him on telephone. Udenyi said that “the deputy senate president is not ready to talk about that issue now. He would only talk next week (this week).”

But a member of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendment who spoke to Sunday Trust in confidence confirmed that there was that move by the presidency even though “it won’t sail through even if it is represented.” The president and his political strategists are disturbed by the unfolding events in the political space, particularly as the political pendulum in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), seems to be swinging to the side of the president’s political opponents.

Though the Senate threw away the controversial bill, the bill has already passed a second reading in the House of Representatives and is awaiting the third reading and likely passage, which, “if adequately and articulately utilised, can provide a respite and springboard to the presidential foot soldiers. That explains the presidency’s frantic efforts to lobby the lawmakers,” a presidency’s source, said.

As feasible as the president’s strategists feel their efforts may bear fruit, the situation may not be that easy if not near impossible. This may not be unconnected with the mood in the two chambers of the National Assembly as well as the bad blood the proposal has generated among Nigerians. According to a member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi), the presidential bill was not democratic and is also now history.

He told Sunday Trust that “In legislative procedures, once a bill is thrown out in a chamber, a member may propose another amendment to it at any point in time but the original one sent by the president is dead and buried. Members are at liberty to propose amendments. However, if it is killed in the two chambers, it can only be brought back after six months. However, I am telling you that I, Honourable Ningi, will not support it. What is the essence of what we did in the past? Section 87 ( of the Electoral Act was part of the recommendations of the Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais Electoral Reform Committee and the public hearing we did on the electoral reform bills. What the president proposed is undemocratic.”

Also, Rule 90 of the Senate Standing Orders and Order 12 and Rule 14 of the House Standing Rules declare that “when the second reading of a bill has been agreed to or negated, the question shall not be proposed for a second reading of another bill of the same subject matter during the same session. On the order of the day relating to such bill being read the Senate President shall direct that the bill be withdrawn.”

Despite this provision, the president’s men, it was gathered, are lobbying the Senate to rescind its decision on the bill by suspending Rule 90 of the Standing Rules to enable the bill be re-introduced on the floor of the Senate for a second reading again just as the lawmakers in the other chamber are monitoring the situation.
A desperate president

The action of the Senate in rejecting the president’s bill has caused a lot of damage to Jonathan’s ambition to clinch the party’s presidential ticket as well as expose his “incapacity” to exact influence on the legislature dominated by his party. It was in the light of this that the Vice President, Muhammad Namadi Sambo, was mandated by the president to “dialogue” with the leadership of the National Assembly to, among other things, make them see reason and endorse the president’s proposed amendment.

The vice president did meet with the National Assembly leadership at the Presidential Villa where he reportedly tabled the presidency’s demands. The meeting was attended by Senate President, David Mark, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Bayero Nafada, with Speaker Dimeji Bankole conspicuously absent.

The vice president also pleaded with the lawmakers to grant the request by the President to take another jumbo foreign loan of about $5 billion US dollars which they earlier resisted and expressed stiff opposition to. A source told Sunday Trust that the meeting which commenced at about 9:30 pm, lasted up to 12 midnight.

“But we told him that it won’t work. The Senate would not renege on its decision on the Electoral Act which many Nigerians have also opposed. On the issue of the foreign loan, we also told him that majority of members are opposed to it,” a source privy to the meeting said.

The lawmaker however said that “you should not underrate them. They are capable of doing that. That is why Nigerians should stand with the members of the National Assembly on these issues even though it is clearly stated in our rules that once a bill is rejected, it cannot be brought back until after six months.”

President Jonathan had requested that section 87 ( of the 2010 Electoral Act be deleted to allow political parties decide who constitute their delegates in the primary election which is seen in political circles as a move aimed at enhancing his chances of clinching the ticket of the PDP in the forthcoming presidential primaries.

But the presidency denied that the vice president met with the National Assembly principal officers with a view to lobby them into endorsing the president’s wishes, saying that the meeting was the usual “fraternal assembly” between the leadership of the legislature and the executive arm. Sambo was disturbed that if the Electoral Act, 2010, is retained without accepting the president’s amendments, it could affect their electoral fortunes during the presidential primaries.

The Senior Special Assistant, Media, to the vice president, Malam Umar Sani, said that “it should be appreciated that the presidency enjoys a good working relationship with the legislature and should there be a need for consultations, it will not hesitate to do so.” The presidential aide dismissed the report as “an attempt to bring to disrepute, the legislature and the executive and to portray the executive in bad light with regards to electoral matters.”

The presidency didn’t find it easy when the House of Representatives also rejected the Federal Government outstanding 2010 external borrowing plan forwarded to them by President Jonathan last week, describing presidency’s move as “unpatriotic.”

Vice President Sambo reportedly told the principal officers that “the contents of the amendments to the Electoral Act would have helped to deepen democracy in the country.” Some of the presidency’s demands to the lawmakers include the ones which asks that ministers and political appointees should be made automatic delegates at the PDP presidential primaries; presidential primaries to be centrally held in Abuja instead of at the state level as presently in the Electoral Act; caucuses of political parties to determine the nature of their primaries; reintroduction of the rejected bill as a private member bill, among others.

Not only that, more facts emerged that the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) had during its last meeting in Sokoto, refused to be dragged into politics shortly after President Jonathan delivered his opening address at the event.

The president’s strategists move to make a behind-the-scene maneuver, purportedly seeking the support of the traditional and religious leaders for his 2011 presidential ambition. “The members of the group politely and constructively rejected to be dragged into partisan politics even though they accorded him a warm welcome,” a source close to the meeting said.

Insider sources said that members of the council resisted subtle pressures to back the ambition of any presidential aspirant because doing so might undermine their collective integrity and independence.

The sources also disclosed that President Jonathan’s foot soldiers were not leaving anything to chances and, therefore, any available forum to secure advantage for their man needed to be exploited. The council members were scared of being involved with the ambitions of politicians so as not to compromise their reputation as an interfaith and neutral body, it was learnt.


Jonathan’s new strategy

With the on-going battle before the National Assembly, the president’s team, Sunday Trust gathered, are also planning another option of resolving the issue of zoning, which has been a cog in the wheel of Jonathan’s presidential ambition. The president’s strategists have already filed a suit at the Federal High Court; Abuja, seeking a judgement that will pronounce zoning unconstitutional.

The suit, which is allegedly being coordinated from the presidency, was filed by an Abuja–based lawyer who is a confidant of one of the close associates of Jonathan. The suit, with file number FHC/ABJ/CS/424 2010, has joined the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PDP and the 56 other political parties as defendants.

The president’s strategists are seeking the judicial determination of the following questions: “Whether in the light of Sections. 12(2), 14(2) (c) and 224 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 and Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 1990, anyone of the 1st to 57th Defendants as political parties in Nigeria can validly abridge the right of the people to freely participate in the government of their country and abrogate such right through a zoning policy.

“Whether in the light of Section 12(2) of the CFRN and Article 25 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 1990, the Nigerian State is obligated to ensure free participation in government by the people of Nigeria without permitting this freedom to be circumvented or abrogate by the policies of anyone of the 1st to the 57th Defendants as political parties in Nigeria.

“Whether in the light of Sections 86 (3)-(5) of the Electoral Act, 2006 and on the strength of Sections 12(2), 14(2) (c) and 224 of the CFRN, 1999 and Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, 1990, the 58th Defendant as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can be compelled to ensure that anyone of the 1st to the 57th Defendants as political parties in Nigeria does not zone elective offices in the government of Nigeria and thereby abrogate the right of Nigerian citizens to freely participate in the government of Nigeria.
“Whether anyone of the 1st to the 57th Defendants as political parties in Nigeria can qualify, modify, abrogate or alter the provisions of Section 131 of the CFRN 1999, to such an extent that the right of the people to participate freely in the government of their country is limited to a few people against the generality of Nigerian people.

“Whether arrogation of elective office by the 1st to 57th Defendants in favour of a few people in lieu of the generality of the Nigerian citizenry constitute a threat to national solidarity, and which solidarity the plaintiffs, under Article 29 (4) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act 1990, the Plaintiffs are obligated to preserve”.

A source told this newspaper last night that “should the court determine the questions in favour of the plaintiffs, then their prayers that zoning should be declared unconstitutional, null and void, and that INEC should ensure that all the defendants comply with the court decision will also be granted.”

Already, a memorandum of conditional appearance has been filed by the presidency. Also, an ex-parte motion for substituted service on some of the defendants that have been evading service has been moved last week.

But the Public Affairs Analyst of Jonathan/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mr Yakubu Datti, told Sunday Trust that the whole thing is pure mischief. “It is not true that President Jonathan is manipulating the Electoral Act. Those accusing him are the products of these manipulations they are accusing him of doing,” he said.


The mixed reactions

The issue has been generating mixed reactions from across the political divides. Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim (ANPP, Yobe East) told Sunday Trust that the attempt will suffer the same fate as it did during the previous one. “I don’t think that will be possible. If it is so, why did we throw out the bill in the first place? It won’t work and even if they send it again, it won’t get a positive consideration.”

The former Yobe State governor declared that the presidency’s proposals are undemocratic and capable of destroying democratic tenets and etiquettes. “The Senate is totally against making un-elected people delegates of political parties. That is the crux of the matter. The position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is so important to be given into the hands of unelected people to choose the presidential candidate. Let the people elect their presidential candidate. They should be allowed to decide who should be their president. It is undemocratic,” Senator Abba said.

This position was echoed by Representative Bala Ibn Na’Allah (PDP, Kebbi), saying that passage of the president’s proposed bill amounts to killing of internal democracy within political parties. He said that “altering section 87 ( of the Electoral Act is the most dangerous thing I have ever been called to do as a member of parliament. We voluntarily agreed that power must return to the Nigerian people. If we destroy internal democracy based on simple requests then I say bye to democracy.”

Also, Senator Kaka Malam Yale (ANPP, Borno Central) rhetorically asked why the Senate rejected the bill in the first place. “Why did the Senate reject the bill in the first place? The circumstance has not changed. The Senate has to be convinced on why we should re-consider it again,” he said.

The Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP, Cross River Central), also believes that the bill won’t sail through if it finally resurfaces as a private member bill. “It will not be tenable to bring back the bill again. I don’t know what argument has changed from then to now,” he said.

On the other hand, the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang (PDP, Akwa Ibom) believes that the bill is still alive in the lower chamber of the federal legislature. “The bill is pending on the floor of the House. The committee will report to the House. That it failed in the Senate does not mean it will fail in the House. We will consider it and pass it according to our rules. We will send it to the Senate for concurrence. For now, only one chamber has rejected it. It is very much alive in the House. The committee will soon report to the House,” he said.

Representative Enang’s submissions are some of the grey areas the presidency is trying to explore in the impending battle of supremacy between the president and his opponents in the PDP. It is being considered by the president’s strategists as a ray of hope for the Jonathan presidential mission.

The civil society and other opposition figures are also not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that the president’s wishes, which they consider very capricious, don’t see the light of day. A rights activist and President of the Civil Rights Congress (CRC), Malam Shehu Sani, told Sunday Trust that the president is rabidly ambitious. “The move by President Goodluck Jonathan to repackage and re-present to the Senate, the thrown out bill is a condemnable act. It’s nothing but a desperate attempt by Goodluck to gain additional advantages using the incumbency factor. Jonathan’s act is immoral, unethical and rabidly ambitious. The Senate should throw out his bill again,” he said.

The rights campaigner described the president’s commitment to free, fair and transparent elections as a ruse. “It’s ridiculous and hypocritical for a man who sings the song of free and fair elections on one side and on the other, he is desperately packaging bills to the Senate that will unfavourably thrust him up above others. Jonathan is just acting out of fear of defeat at the primaries,” Sani said.

A leading PDP presidential aspirant and former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said that the same bill the presidency is trying to sneak in through the back door will be shot down again. Abubakar who spoke through his director of media, Malam Garba Shehu, assured that the bill is doomed to fail again.

“We don’t have the details of the new bill but if it is the same thing all over again, it will be shot down. We are convinced that in rejecting the earlier amendment, the National Assembly voted with conviction. It is as if the government wants to use the back door, having failed to get entry through the front door,” he said.

The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), has described the development as unfortunate. The party, through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Aghanya Dennis, declared that, “it is wrong for the president to have thought of inserting that clause in the first instance because it is undemocratic. Since it was defeated at the first presentation, it would have been more honourable for him to accept it that way than engaging in an exercise that is capable of reversing the gains of our nation’s democracy. He is trying to arm-twist his political opponents thereby putting a question mark on his promise to conduct a free and fair election.”

He added that, “for the Senate to have thrown out the bill at the first instance without blinking an eye, it showed that he is also not in control, capable and an amateur to seek the position of the country’s presidency. The PDP does not have any programme for the country other than mismanagement. Our president is deceitful.”

The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) declared that the PDP-led government has never been sincere in its commitment towards electoral reforms in the country. This, according to the group who spoke through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Osita Okechukwu, believe that since it’s the same party that rejected the Uwais report, it is no surprise that the presidency wants to manipulate its way to victory.

“The same PDP-led government has rejected Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais report on electoral reforms at the detriment of Nigerians. The party is made up of self-serving people. It is no news that the president is manipulating the National Assembly to endorse his whimsicalities at the detriment of millions of Nigerian citizens.”

It is not clear whether the president’s men will have their way in the National Assembly this time around. But it is no secret that the battle line has been drawn between the president’s men and their army of opponents.











http://www.sunday.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5089:intrigues-as-jonathan-desperately-searches-for-plan-b&catid=57:cover&Itemid=126

JEGridlock= 666

Why is it so hard to ever find any substance in any article in this useless Daily Trust, but mainly conjectures and personal opinions of writers. Shiooor!!!.

I took my pain to read through the entire rubbish, but not once did I come across anything that comes close to a fact except the rejection of the proposed ammendment to the electoral act.

Some guys will upload any rubbish as long as it serves their fantasy and that of their paymasters.