₦airaland Forum

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended its Presidential Mega Rally, earlier scheduled for Saturday, February 9 in Abuja.

In a statement issued by the Director, Media and Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan on Saturday in Abuja, PDP said the decision followed the refusal to grant the party venue of the rally.

“This is in spite of the fact that the PDP had made payments to the authorities and obtained official approval to host the mega rally at the Old Parade Ground, Garki, Abuja.”

Ologbondiyan added that PDP had earlier scheduled its Lagos Mega Rally for the Tafawa Balewa Square on Saturday, before the All Progressives Congress (APC) came up with the same date “forcing PDP campaign to opt for Abuja.”

He, however, expressed hope that the Lagos rally scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 12, would be allowed to hold.

Read Also: Only God can punish PDP for looting Nigeria dry — Buhari
Ologbondiyan appreciated the commitment of Nigerians, particularly, those who had already converged on Abuja for the mega rally.

“While we regret the inconveniences caused by the action of the Presidency and APC, a rescheduled date for the rally will be communicated soon.”

He said: “PDP holds that these provocative actions, instead of deterring Nigerians from their determination to vote out the APC on Feb 16, has only succeeded in spurring more compatriots to support the people’s candidate Atiku Abubakar, to victory.’’

NAN


http://thenationonlineng.net/pdp-suspends-abuja-presidential-rally/

by Collins NWEZE


The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, yesterday, accused 10 unnamed commercial banks of money laundering.

He also condemned the increasing wave of illicit financial flows and vote buying in the country during elections.

Speaking in Lagos during a round table meeting with Managing Directors (MDs) of financial institutions, the EFCC boss said: “It is worrisome to note that in 2018, statistics available to the EFCC shows that out of about 28 commercial banks in Nigeria, 10 banks evacuated out of Nigeria through Travelex Nigeria Limited, the sums of GBP £50,832,560; USD $8,057,756; EURO #39,986,560 and RAND-7,500,000.

“The reasons for these evacuations are still sketchy. We must note that the impact of illicit financials flows from the country undermine the stability and integrity of the financial institutions.”

The EFCC boss expressed concern, that, the culture of large cash transactions was still being allowed in some banks, adding that there was no commensurate reporting of those transactions to the relevant agencies.

According to him, the banks still operate accounts without Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs), and have remained complacent in reporting those accounts to the relevant authorities, or freezing them in accordance with CBN policy.

“The banks are rather complacent in dealing with crypto-currency or bitcoins as the case may be and have not taken measures to monitor such transactions or put adequate surveillance on such accounts. The banks are observed to still hold customers accounts in their suspense accounts, making it difficult for law enforcement agencies to trace and have access to those funds,” he observed.

According to him, intelligence reports have shown, that, banks are aiding their customers to receive foreign financial inflow to their accounts in neighbouring countries, where they have branches like Ghana, Republic of Niger and other West African countries.

“The money is then couriered into Nigeria through the land borders to circumvent declaration and reporting,” he stated.

He added that banks had the habit of under-reporting transactions in some cases while carrying out defensive filing of transactions after they had been consummated.

Describing them as “gatekeepers”, Magu said no country could control illicit financial flows without the cooperation of financial institutions.

He, therefore, charged the managing directors to join hands with the Commission to save the country from being hijacked by criminals.

Magu, who spoke on the theme: “Roles and Obligations of Managing Directors of Banks in Nigeria in Curbing Vote Buying During an Election, Illicit Financial Flows and Other Related Matters in Nigeria,” recalled that the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, during a meeting with Bankers’ Committee, sometime in September 2018, made a commitment to work with the EFCC and the banks to curb this menace.

He said illicit financial flows will reduce the amount of resources available to the government to provide critical social services to the citizenry.

Speaking on vote buying during elections, Magu asserted that it would prevent credible candidates from running for political offices.

He said: “in Nigeria, vote buying has reached an alarming proportion, to the extent that politicians have now spread their tentacles to election officials, security agencies, election observers and even the media.”

By Chudi Felix


The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Friday condemned the reported directive by the Buhari Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to shut down the venue for its Presidential campaign mega rally in Abuja billed for Saturday.

It also alleged that the action was borne out of desperation, insisting that nothing can stop it from rallying in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Spokesman of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja.

He added, “It may interest Nigerians to know that the PDP duly paid and secured permission to host our mega rally at the Old Parade Ground, in Garki Area of Abuja, only for the officials of the facility to inform our party this morning that they have been “ordered” to shut down the venue and frustrate our mega rally for no just cause.

“Such a resort to self-help further exposes the irredeemable insensitivity of the Buhari Presidency and the APC.

“The overwhelming popularity of the people’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, which points to an imminent crushing defeat that awaits President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 16, Presidential election has pushed the Buhari Presidency into a panic mode.

“President Buhari has always been disheartened and jittery over spontaneous mammoth crowd of Nigerians at Atiku Abubakar’s rallies across the country, leading to the desperation to frustrate our rallies, resort to smear campaigns, vandalizing of our campaign materials and denial of venues, in APC controlled states, as was the case in Kano state recently.

“President Buhari is frustrated because he has failed in governance and as such, has no message for Nigerians.

“President Buhari daily continues to lose followership, in millions, to Atiku Abubakar; for which his handlers have now resorted to renting people for his rallies, including Nigerien thugs.

“The Buhari Presidency and APC would soon realize that the more they fight Atiku Abubakar, the more Nigerians are spurred to queue behind him as the rallying point in their quest to return our nation to the path of national cohesion and economic prosperity”.

The opposition party, therefore, charged Buhari not to allow his handlers to further pitch him against Nigerians.

By John Chuks Azu


“It is no secret that this government is dissatisfied with the alarming rate in which the Supreme Court of Nigeria under the oversight of Justice Walter Onnoghen has serially set free, persons accused of the most dire acts of corruption, often on mere technicalities, and after quite a number of them have been convicted by the trial and appellate courts”.

These are the exact words of President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, January 25 when he suspended Justice Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and inaugurated Justice Tanko Mohammed in acting capacity.

President Buhari accused the Supreme Court of Nigeria under the oversight of Justice Onnoghen of serially setting free persons accused of acts of corruption, often on mere technicalities.

The president added that “since there is nothing the executive arm can do after the apex court of the land has spoken on any matter, several of these individuals walk free among us today, enjoying what are clearly the proceeds of the corruption which for so long has defeated the efforts of this nation to develop and prosper”.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN), is the highest court in Nigeria. The Court is composed of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and such number of justices not more than 21, appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, (NJC) and subject to confirmation by the Senate. Justices of the Supreme Court must be qualified to practice law in Nigeria, and must have been so qualified for a period not less than fifteen years.

But checks by the Daily Trust on the judgments delivered by the Supreme Court since the inauguration of Justice Onnoghen on March 9, 2017, showed that the Supreme Court delivered only one major corruption case, that of Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki, in his favour.

The Supreme Court on July 6, 2018, discharged and acquitted Saraki on the three remaining counts of alleged false asset declaration after the cross appeal by himself and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal.

The appellate court in December 2017 upheld the verdict of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) discharging Saraki of false asset declaration by the EFCC in 15 of the 18-count charges.

The five-member panel of justices of the apex court led by Justice Dattijo Muhammad held that the evidence led by the prosecution in the trial was based on hearsay, and did not have direct link to Saraki.

The Supreme Court delivered a total of 297 judgments in the 2017/2018 legal year. Many of the judgements were on civil appeals and political cases.

There is also no record that the Supreme Court under Justice Onnoghen set free persons accused of acts of corruption who were earlier convicted by the trial and appellate courts.

Former Ekiti State Governor, Chief Ayodele Fayose, has described the statement credited to Governor Kayode Fayemi that his administration was an error as a mere political statement that shouldn’t be taken serious.

Fayose, who reacted through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, in a press statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, said that the Ekiti people knew that his administrations both the first and second, were never an error, rather they brought unparalleled blessings and development to the state.

Adelusi said, “We are not surprised by what Governor Fayemi said because in the first instance going by Nigeria and the kind of politics being played, he cannot praise the good works of Fayose and besides that, as a new governor he must say something to impress the people no matter how ridiculous it may be.

” If Fayemi said the administration of Fayose is an error, then the road projects, the High Court Complex, the Adunni Olayinka Women Development Centre, the new Governor’s Office, the Ministry of Finance building, the flyover bridge, the construction of chalets and renovation buildings in the Government House, among others are errors.

” The old Governor’s Office used by Governor Fayemi during his first tenure was built by Fayose and now that providence has bestowed second term on his shoulder, he will operate from the new Governor’s Office also built by Fayose. Are these errors as well? We stand to be corrected that Fayose administration put in place 70 percent of the infrastructure in the state.

Fayemi Takes Oath Of Office As Governor
“Governor Fayemi also accused the Fayose administration of plunging the state into debt of N120 billion. I want to reiterate that former Governor Fayose did not borrow a dime to run the state.

The debt which Fayemi is referring to are the loans which he took from the Capital Market and commercial banks. This debt was restructured by the Federal Government for easy payment. If Governor Fayemi is sure of what he is saying, let him bring out evidence or set up a probe panel. Governor Fayose is ready to appear before whichever panel.

He said he would submit himself to the EFCC and he did that. No state can borrow without the approval of the Federal Ministry of Finance and Debt Management Office ( DMO).

” We will advise Fayemi not to think the people of the state are gullible and can be hoodwinked into believing lies and cheap propaganda. Already people are counting the number of days he has left in office and it is better Fayemi starts building on the solid foundation laid by his predecessor and stop chasing shadows,” he said.

The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission on Monday said it will invite the state commissioner for Rural and Community Development, Musa Iliyasu-Kwankwaso, for “legalising kickbacks” allegedly received by the governor.

DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that the agency was “angry” with the commissioner’s “reckless comments” over the issue.

A commission’s official who spoke under the condition of anonymity said the commissioner erred in legalizing the kickbacks as “Sections 22 and 23 specifically say any benefit or favour is illegal.”

“The commissioner will be invited for questioning and dealt with accordingly. His comments are reckless,” he said.

Speaking in a programme titled Jagoran Gwamnati a Karkara aired on Freedom Radio in Kano on Sunday, Mr Iliyasu-Kwankwaso had said that “collecting certain percentage to award contract is normal in government.”

“There is nothing new in this. Who asked the contractors to give the money to the governor?” he asked.

The commissioner challenged the contractors to come out publicly to claim that they paid 15 to 25% before they were awarded contracts.

“Since the three years of this administration, the contractors have been giving the kickbacks, why did they fail to claim that they must pay 15 to 25% before they were awarded contracts until now?

“I challenge the contractors to come out and say that they must pay the percentage before they receive contracts. This is just blackmail to the person of Ganduje.

“This kind of percentage, though it is not legal, but it is rampant in every level of government, from federal up to the local government level. It is nothing new,” he stressed.

by Oluseyi Awojulugbe



Former president Olusegun Obasanjo says President Muhammadu Buhari’s hands are too weak to sign the African free trade agreement (AfCTA).

He made the statement on Saturday while speaking at the Babacar Ndiaye lecture series in Bali, Indonesia.

Obasanjo said he hopes that Nigeria will soon have a president who will sign the agreement.

“Africa cannot overcome fears of trade wars till it achieves 50 percent intra-Africa trade,” he said at the ongoing World Bank Group/International Monetary Fund meetings.

“The AfCTA is a good idea and for Nigeria, hopefully, we will have a president that will be able to sign it because the one that is there now, his hands are too weak to sign.”

Nigeria was absent in March as leaders from 44 African countries signed the agreement to form a $2.5 trillion continental free-trade zone.

The free-trade zone is the largest in the world since the creation of the World Trade Organisation in 1995.

Explaining its decision not to sign, the federal government had said a committee was reviewing the treaty and that it needs more input from stakeholders.

The selection of Peter Obi as running mate to Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been met with protest by south-east leaders.

David Umahi, governor of Ebonyi state, says the leaders of the region were not consulted over the nomination of Obi.

He said the development contravened an initial agreement that the leaders will collectively endorse a candidate for any position zoned to the region.

Umahi, chairman of the south-east governors’ forum, said Igbo leaders and governors were sidelined in the selection process.

He said any position zoned the Igbo must be deliberated upon by the key stakeholders in the south-east.

The governor said he has no ax to grind with Obi but maintained that the right thing must be done by the PDP.

Umahi and some Igbo leaders are expected to hold a meeting on the matter, and may ultimately reject the nomination of Obi as the PDP’s vice-presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, the south-west is on standby to put forward a candidate from the region in the event that Igbo leaders reject Obi and fail to reach a consensus on a replacement.

The south-west and south-east were the two regions from which Atiku was expected to nominate his deputy after emerging PDP flag bearer for the 2019 presidential election.

The ex-vice president, however, opted to select a candidate from the south-east.
Atiku had explained that he picked Obi due to his “vast knowledge of global and local economics as well as being a financial expert, all experience which Nigeria is in great need at this point in time”.

lalasticlala

Posted By: Robert Egbe


https://thenationonlineng.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Dane-593x470.jpg


A Lagos High Court in Igbosere on Monday heard that a Danish national, Peter Nielsen, once threatened to kill his wife Zainab, and their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Petra, while drunk or ‘mad.’

A prosecution witness, Daniel Simon Joel, told Justice Mobolanle Okikiolu-Ighile that the late Zainab was afraid her husband, who he called ‘Oga’, was “running mad.”

The court also heard that Nielsen made the threat in August 2017 and was arrested but afterwards released by the police.

Nielsen, 53, is standing trial before the judge for allegedly killing Zainab – also known as Alizee – and their daughter Petra, on April 5 at the couple’s BIsland, Lagos home.

At the last hearing of the matter on June 13, the court authorised the Lagos State Government to obtain Nielsen’s blood for DNA analysis.

At the commencement of proceedings on Monday, Joel, who identified himself as Nielsen’s former driver, testified as the prosecution’s first witness.

During his examination by Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem SAN, Joel narrated how the incident occurred.

He said around 1am on an unspecified day in August 2017, the late Zainab woke him from sleep and asked for his help to get security officials.

He said: ” In August 2017, the wife of Mr Nielsen came to the drivers’ lodge at Bella Vista Tower around 1am, banging on the door, calling me
‘Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!’ She said I should call the security guards, that Mr Peter was running mad at her, that he wanted to kill her.

“I opened the door, I saw Mrs Zainab standing with Petal. She said I should call security and the people around, that he was running mad.

“She said I should look at her face. She showed me her face, that Oga wanted to kill her. Then I called security; they responded that they received a call earlier. Then we all went to the house. We saw Mr Peter at the house.

“Madam Zainab was telling us that Mr Peter wanted to kill her so she did not want to stay with him anymore, that the marriage was over.”

According to him, the police soon arrived and arrested Nielsen, but he was released afterwards.

Joel said he was in Kaduna last April when he received phone calls that Zainab and Petra had been killed.

Under cross-examination by defence counsel Mr Olasupo Shasore, a former Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, the witness said Nielsen told him he had been drinking the night he threatened his wife.

Shasore: “Did he (Nielsen) say anything to you?”
Witness: “Mr Peter told me that he was drunk. When Mr Peter saw us heading to the house, he came to meet us. That was when he told me, ‘Daniel, I am drunk.'”

He said that he saw the deceased smoke cigarettes but that he never saw the defendant take Cocaine.

Earlier the defendant’s counsel brought two applications dated October 5, before the court, seeking approval to obtain medical samples from the prosecution to enable the defence carry out an independent DNA test and to grant them access to the crime scene, as it was under lock and key.

Both applications were granted.

Justice Okikiolu-Ighile adjourned till October 9, for continuation of trial, while the defendant was remanded in prison custody.

Nielsen was arraigned by the Lagos State Government on June 13 on a two-count charge of murder contrary to Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Adeniji told the judge that Nielsen murdered both Zainab and Petra at about 3:45am on April 5, at No. 4, Flat 17, Bella Vista Tower, Banana Island Ikoyi.

According to Kazeem, the offences contravened Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Nielsen, who has been on remand in prison custody since April 11, pleaded not guilty.

The defendant’s remand on April 11, was by a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos following an application by the police.

The police alleged that the defendant was habitually violent to Zainab, a musician, and that a fight broke out between the couple in their flat at about 3am, following which she and her daughter were killed.

lalasticlala

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, has said that no President of any country in the world can be as irresponsible in the usage of power as a Nigerian president.

He made this known in Akure, Ondo State on Friday while delivering the annual Ulefunta/Oyemekun Festival lecture entitled “Building blocks for a good society” held at the Francis Idibiye Lecture hall of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA).

According to Kukah, the structure of the Nigerian presidential office makes the holders of the office extremely powerful, so much that he can deploy power the way he wants.

“No president in the world has the kind of power the Nigerian president has and as such, no president in the world can be as irresponsible as the Nigerian president. His power is so much that he can give oil bloc to his girlfriend and many others. You thus can’t be a man of honour and live in a country like Nigeria and not be angry,” he said.

Kukah said that from the first Nigerian Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa to President Muhammadu Buhari, virtually all of them were dragged into the presidential office, maintaining that this was unlike the presidency of the United States of America where the president does not emerge by circumstance.

“What is the problem? It is the dilemma of leadership. In America, there are basic expectations of what a president should be. For instance, he must have gone through Harvard as an institution, he must have language and track records, not even wealth. You can’t surprise the system.

Here in Nigeria, local government chairman wants to be governor; the governor wants to be president and the president doesn’t want to go! Many states have two governors representing them at the National Assembly. Governors have control and monopoly of resources of state and they use same resources to oppress them,” he said.

Kukah, who said that the Nigerian society is in ferment, maintained that the instability type that Nigeria faces as a country is inevitable in any system.

He, however, said that developing mechanisms that will confront the instability is the hallmark of great countries.

In Nigeria, it is not a question of looking for trouble because trouble is already here. The Nigerian state has no capacity to protect itself and there is no loyalty to Nigeria from its citizens but to those who help individuals to get to positions in the system,” he said.

Kukah, however, singled two former Nigerian leaders out of the leadership rot, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Aminu Kano, whom he called “architects of a good society.”

“Awolowo, for his major quintessential evidence as somebody who already figured out what he would do with power if he got it. He understood the building blocks for an egalitarian society. Aminu Kano single handedly took on the feudal class in Northern society and had a deep understanding of society, even as he textually talked about a free society in a way and manner that didn’t offend religion,” he said.

While stating that it is not enough for a people to have the building blocks of a good society alone, Kukah also maintained that Nigeria has not been able to build a good society because the country has not obeyed the rules of design.

“We have to understand the building blocks of society which is not too different from the rules of building a house. A good society is not different from the building blocks of society. When a building collapses, it didn’t collapse in a day. It began to collapse a long time ago. For us to build a good society, we have to have eyes that monitor the needs, growth and development and feelings of that society. Then you can be sure of the quality of that society,” he said.

While reviewing the lecture, Professor Kole Omotoso, lauded Kukah for what he called a very profound lecture and said that the only point of departure he had in the lecture was Kukah’s submission that education has the potential to remedy the problems of Nigeria’s existence.

Guests at the occasion included the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, the chairman of the occasion, and many others.

The residents of Egan in Igando area of Lagos were shocked after two women known to be ministers in the temple of God, set aside their Bibles and engaged two other women in a messy public fight.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that during the fight the pastors reportedly tore their rival’s clothes and left them naked in public to the surprise of many present.

The incident happened at Palm Street off Oladajo Bus Stop along Isuti Road in Egan area of Igando, Lagos where they reside and where the church was located.

The two pastors, Prophetess Victoria Oyegbola and Abigail Shobayo have been arrested and charged before court for assault and remanded in prison custody.

The defendants were alleged to have attacked the two female complainants, Morenikeji Isaac and Olayeni Opeyemi in the public, tore their clothes and left them naked. It took the intervention of the neighbours around who reportedly provided clothes and rescued them from the attack of the defendants.

Many were left wondering what would have made the defendants to abandon their spiritual calling and Bible and fought publicly as unbelievers.

However, residents said that the victims were members of their church before they left for undisclosed reasons after knowing much about their church.

However, their action has landed them in prison after the police at Igando Division arrested and charged them before the Ejigbo Magistrates court for the alleged assault.

They pleaded guilty.

The prosecutor, Mr. G. Simon, informed the court that the defendants were ministers as he did not oppose their bail.

Thus, the Presiding Magistrate, Mr. L.K.J. Layeni, granted them bail in the sum of N50,000 with one surety in like sum.

They were remanded in prison custody pending when they will perfect their bail condition.

The matter was adjourned till 5th November, 2018.

P.M.EXPRESS gathered that the fight became an issue for discussion in the area as many residents were surprised that the defendants will conduct themselves in such a manner in the area having been known as ministers of God.

By Wale Elegbede 



The current political logjam between some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and members of the National Assembly in their states, may negatively affect the electoral fortunes of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 16, 2019 presidential election, Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

While the governors are out to stop the senators from returning to the National Assembly, the aggrieved lawmakers have vowed not to leave the APC but to stay in the party and work against it in the 2019 general elections.

The APC leadership had in the heat of the defection gale that hit the Senate, in which it lost 14 of its lawmakers to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), promised automatic tickets to the party’s senators, but the senatorial ambition of out-going governors is threatening the arrangement.

The governors, who have declared intention to take over from the senators representing their respective senatorial districts are Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Ibrahim Shetima (Borno), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo).

In some other states controlled by the ruling party, incumbent governors, who are seeking re-election are equally at crossroads with some serving senators, over plot to replace the federal lawmakers with their cronies.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, President Buhari is expected to be the presidential flag bearer of the ruling APC in the election having expressed interest to seek a second term in office. The president submitted his nomination form at the party’s headquarters in Abuja last Wednesday.

At the moment, some of the APC senators who are at loggerheads with their governors include Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara), Shehu Sani (Kaduna), Ajayi Borrofice (Ondo), Lanre Tejuosho (Ogun Central), Bukar Abba Ibrahim (Yobe East), Soji Akanbi (Oyo South), Ahmed Yerima (Zamfara) and Baba Kaka Garbai (Borno Central).

Speaking with Sunday Telegraph, a Special Adviser (Political) to one of the aggrieved senators in the South-West, said the untoward treatment of his principal and some other lawmakers in his shoes was unfair. He insisted that the pill is bitter to swallow for them.

“It’s bad that the governors treated our principals shabbily but it is worse that the APC leadership is not paying attention to the issues in the states and looking at how to redress some of the issues. We are still open to negotiations because we have not dumped our spirit of give and take.

Te governors are the ones who have foreclosed any chance of all of us coming together. But we foresee danger ahead, especially over President Buhari’s re-election because many of the aggrieved senators and their supporters may not actively work for the party in the general elections”.

Another supporter of a popular senator who is having a tough time with his state governor in the North-West advised leaders of the party to wade into the matter before it is too late.

He said: “Many people in the party know that danger is lurking with the draconic actions of the governors but they are turning a blind eye, waving us away as irrelevant. They have forgotten that it takes people for a party to win an election.”

On the next line of action of his principal, he said: “We still have till the end of this month to salvage relationships among members of the party.

There is no never in politics but one thing is sacrosanct, we are not leaving APC even if we don’t get the ticket to return to the National Assembly, but the level of our participation is what I am not sure of because of these treatments.”

Corroborating the fears of the senator’s aide about the performance of the APC in some states, an ex-officio of the party in one of the troubled states said that the situation at hand is worrisome to those who can see from afar.

He added that the purported winning streak of the party which is strongly dependent on President Buhari appears threatened with the rift in the states.

“The performance of the party in the states largely rest on what happens in the first election.

The way some governors are going about this thing, I am afraid that the president’s election, which is the first, may suffer because of this division that has made many foot soldiers of the party to be discouraged,” he said.

Also expressing concerns over the possible outcome of the frosty relationship between the governors and senators, a member of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), said there is need for both the party’s leadership and the presidency to intervene and broker a genuine truce among the warring factions.

He said: “We are worried about it and we are working assiduously to halt the raging crisis among all the parties because everyone is important in the party. We can only talk about political offices only when we are in power.

Nobody will be pushed to the wall to the extent of working against the party and most especially the presidential election which is crucial to other elections.”

Reacting to the development, the Coordinator of the Buhari/Osinbajo Support Group in Lagos, Mr. Kayode Salako, noted that the issue cannot be glossed over. He, however, said that the senators won’t work against the re-election of the President.

While stating that politics is a game of interest where every player uses his influence to negotiate their way, Salako noted that the issue is under control and is being adequately addressed.

“Talks are ongoing and I can assure you that the issues would be resolved and President Buhari will win the election in 2019,” he said.

by Samuel Adesanya

Anxiety is spreading within the top hierarchy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as pressure mounts on delegates to the forthcoming national convention to pick the party’s presidential candidate from the Northwest.

Proponents of a northwest candidate say it is the only way the party can stand a reasonable chance of defeating President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Buhari is from Katsina State, one of the seven states that make up the zone.

The zone has the largest voting population of about 18 million.

However, some other PDP members say there should be no micro-zoning the ticket to any zone as doing so will automatically foreclose the aspiration of the likes of Senate President Bukola Saraki (from Northcentral), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar (Northeast), Chief David Mark (Northcentral), Senator Jonah Jang (Northcentral) and Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo (Northeast), and generate bad blood ahead of an election they need to contest as a united front.

Also currently causing unease in the party is the venue of the national convention.
The Nation gathered that the convention might come up on Saturday, October 6 in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Many governors elected on the platform of the PDP see the host governor, Nyesom Wike, as a strong backer of one of the presidential aspirants, Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal.

They fear that Wike might unduly influence the process of the party’s primaries in favour of Tambuwal.

Some of the governors met in Abuja during the week and have been exploring ways of checkmating Wike from imposing a presidential candidate on the party.

The issue of consensus candidate has been discarded all together by the 12 PDP presidential aspirants with all of them fully focused on the primaries.

The aspirants are Atiku, Saraki, Mark, Jang, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, ex-Minister Tanimu Kabiru Turaki, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, ex governors Sule Lamido and Dalhatu Attahiru Bafarawa.

A governor elected on the platform of the party admitted that there has been pressure from power brokers in the party, PDP stalwarts and strategists to shop for a candidate from the North-West against Buhari.

His words:”Without prejudice to other presidential aspirants, there is pressure on PDP governors to zero in on the North-West for our presidential candidate.

“The argument of those pro-Northwest is the need for PDP to take the battle to the stronghold of Buhari where he commands cult followership.
“It is taken for granted that the Southsouth, the Southeast and a part of the Northcentral might be controlled by PDP.

“I must confess to you that most of us in the PDP Governors Forum are buying into the idea because with the exception of Atiku from the Northeast (whose nomination might split the party) no other aspirants could match Buhari in the North.

“We have a challenge with Atiku, Saraki, Dankwambo and others who are insisting that the primaries should be left open.

“Before some of these aspirants defected to PDP and even prior to the emergence of the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, our party had commissioned a research which favoured ceding the presidential ticket to the North with our target on the Northwest.”

Responding to a question, the governor said: “The danger of not micro-zoning the presidential slot in PDP is that the money-bag aspirants will use their huge cash to buy over delegates which might lead to the emergence if a weak candidate for our party.”

On the suspicion that Wike has bias for one of the presidential aspirants, the governor said: “We know Wike might want to use his political influence in favour of his preferred aspirant but we are battle ready to checkmate him.

“We want the best for PDP, we will not allow imposition by Wike who is showing a suspicious interest in the presidential primaries.”

On the choice of Port Harcourt, the governor said: “We learnt that Rivers State was the first to indicate interest than others because of the high cost implications.

“Also, it is a honour for Prince Uche Secondus who is from the state. Some members of the National Working Committee said the PDP cannot hold its convention in Abuja because it will clash with that of APC.”

Separate sources confirmed that most of the PDP presidential aspirants have lost interest in the idea of a consensus candidate.

It was gathered that the Board of Trustees (BOT) was unable to convince the aspirants to buy into the idea.

All the aspirants have insisted that they want delegates to determine their fate.

When contacted, the Director of Media and Publicity of Tanimu Kabiru Turaki Campaign Organization, Mr. Sola Atere said: “I thought the party has gone beyond that (consensus) because there was no agreement at the last meeting. The BoT chairman is raising a committee
“For our campaign organization, we have always been loyal, this is why our aspirant never defected.

“He was one of those who rescued the party from mercenaries. If they say consensus, it is fine with us; if they say primaries, it is well with us.”

Most of the aspirants have intensified their shuttles to delegates in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Findings also confirmed that some of the aspirants have set up full-fledged campaign structures.

How the aspirants have fared so far


SARAKI:

Saraki has a strong bond with many statutory delegates including members of the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly. By virtue of his position as a former governor, he is also at home with governors and others. The emergence of the President of the Senate as the National Leader of PDP has caused some political quake in the camps of Atiku and Tambuwal who hitherto felt Saraki would work for them. They are yet to recover from the declaration of Saraki for President.
He has a huge war chest and as a risk taker, he can deploy his fortunes to secure the ticket.

Apart from his romance with one of the foreign missions in the country, Saraki is well-connected in the business community such that sponsorship will not be a problem if he gets the PDP ticket.
He has been going round the country to talk to delegates.

This is likely to fetch him goodwill from Northcentral, some parts of the Southeast like Enugu where his political Siamese twin, the Deputy President of the Senate, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu comes from.

But what might work against him is the allegation that he is over-ambitious, which some PDP governors detest. His candidature might be a liability to PDP’s electoral fortunes in the North where he is regarded more as a Southerner than a Northerner.

This same feeling affected the presidential ambition of his late father, Dr. Olusola Saraki in the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the First Republic (1979-1983).
Contrary to his assumption, PDP bigwigs will not forgive him for making the party lose in 2015. All his recent trips to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and others may amount to nothing.

Saraki might have noticed the slippery terrain when in his state, nomination for Kwara Central Senatorial District is still left open. He might seek solace in a return to the Senate. He has a subsisting agreement to re-emerge as Senate President if PDP wins the 2019 poll.


ATIKU ABUBAKAR

He is a serial presidential aspirant and the most experienced political tactician among the lot although his “magic wand” has always failed him. He is also the oldest presidential aspirant in the PDP having been in the struggle since 1992.

Apart from his ambition to lead the nation, Atiku’s main problem is from the elites who do not want him for unknown reasons. If the race is credible and transparent, the ex-VP has enormous resources to outwit all other aspirants. But the conspiracy of the PDP governor may rob him of votes.

He has what it takes in terms of vision, economic roadmap, commitment to national unity and cosmopolitan outlook to give Buhari a fight but some power brokers like ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo will oppose him. Obasanjo, some weeks ago, said God would not forgive him if he supported Atiku’s aspiration. But the former VP still enjoys goodwill nationwide.


TAMBUWAL

He appeared to be the leading aspirant until the coming of Abubakar and Saraki. In the past few weeks, the tempo of his activities has been very slow because of the heavyweight presidential aspirants in PDP. The declaration of ex-Governor Attahiru Bafarawa for presidency is also a major setback because the former governor had the control of PDP structure in Sokoto State before Tambuwal defected. He has a big problem at home following the collapse of his alliance with Bafarawa and his campaign reach is limited nationwide.

He relies much on Governor Nyesom Wike, his bosom friend, and a prominent traditional ruler in the North to do the magic of delivering the ticket to him. But the Wike factor might also turn out to be Tambuwal’s undoing.
Sources say Tambuwal has a Plan B in the event that he fails to get the presidential ticket: a return to the Sokoto Government House. The risk appears enormous.

He has a big acceptability problem with the Jonathan elements in the party.


ATTAHIRU BAFARAWA

An astute businessman, Bafarawa’s ambition is causing ripples and nightmare for Tambuwal. Although he has a rich political experience, he does not have the financial wherewithal to prosecute a presidential campaign that can match other moneybags in the race. His lingering case with the EFCC might be a slight problem despite the fact that he recently survived 11-year trial by the same anti-graft agency. The general feeling in PDP is that he might step down for a stronger candidate.


TANIMU KABIRU TURAKI

Some see him as an underdog but his campaign organization has input from the loyalists of Jonathan, strategists of ex-President Ibrahim Babangida and ex-VP Namadi Sambo. He is intellectually deeper than some of the aspirants and his blueprint for economic recovery is outstanding. But he is a rookie presidential aspirant because the highest office he has occupied is that of Minister of Special Duties under Jonathan.

An aspirant without blemish, Tanimu has had campaign runs nationwide more than any of the aspirants. He has gained mileage in Kebbi, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Cross River, Taraba, Oyo, Bayelsa, Ondo, Osun, Sokoto and Niger. He might split the votes from Kwara and Adamawa at the convention.


AHMED MAKARFI

A brilliant chef whose cuisine revived the PDP, Makarfi is intelligent, cool-headed, contented and visionary. His success story in Kaduna State as a governor makes him to fit into the bill of a leader who can address the security and ethnocentric challenges facing the nation. He had an unwritten agreement with PDP governors who have jettisoned the pact. He is on his own with limited resources but exotic ideas. If PDP is a conscientious party, Makarfi should be its candidate. Despite his tortuous campaign nationwide, he is still a laggard.


SULE LAMIDO

An experienced politician whose fortress is party management, Lamido left worthy legacies in Jigawa State as a governor. His moral credentials for the presidency have been tainted by his implications in alleged contract scam alongside his children. With the smear, his campaign is dead on arrival despite his closeness to ex-President Obasanjo. The desolate nature of his campaign secretariat in an obscure place Abuja speaks volume of his mileage.


RABIU KWANKWASO

Kwankwaso is a political asset no doubt but he has a restricted politically volatile constituency in Kano State. Apart from his stint as a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Minister of Defence, he does not command national appeal compared to some of his co-aspirants. His delivery of Kano State to APC in 2015 remains his reference point.

But he was on a self-imposed exile in the last three years culminating in a diminishing return for his political empire. For his loyalty to Obasanjo, he was early in the race regarded as the “anointed” candidate of PDP but political calculations have not favoured him. Despite his presidential aspiration, he has a senatorial ticket tucked somewhere.

The recent defection of ex-Governor Ibrahim Shekarau and his irresolvable differences with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje made his chances very slim. Although he came second during the APC presidential primaries for the 2015 poll, he lacks the resources to repeat the feat now.
He might win sympathy votes from PDP delegates from states in the Northwest during the primaries.


DAVID MARK

The erudite but forgotten former President of the Senate, Sen. David Mark, is banking on past military glory and the agitation of the Middle Belt for proper integration to seek PDP presidential ticket. His campaign has a bedroom colour because he is not known to be keen. As a military strategist, PDP leaders are anxious to know what he is up to after being a benchwarmer in the Senate since 2015. He is gifted in all ramifications but his shuttles to states lacked any significant bite.


DAVID JANG

Another late comer in the race, ex-Governor Jang’s presidential race is belated because when he had the opportunity, he did not throw his hat into the ring at the right time. He is a Middle Belt emancipation zealot, a disposition which has limited his political horizon. Many PDP leaders and members are of the opinion that Jang’s aspiration is designed to cover up his ongoing trial by the EFCC.


DATTI BABA-AHMED

Datti, the owner of the famous Baze University in Abuja, is known for his sustained advertisements on the front page of some newspapers. He is erudite but apart from being a former Senator, his ambition is a matter of the future. He cannot even match Makarfi in Kaduna State much more nationwide.


IBRAHIM DANKWAMBO

A suave accountant, Governor Dankwambo has earned much respect with his commitment to grassroots development. A former Accountant-General of the Federation, the governor is noted for prudence. He has vigorously campaigned in all the 36 states but as a neophyte in politics, he has a slim edge of emerging PDP candidate. He has age on his side which qualifies him if PDP wants power to shift to younger generation.

by Samuel Adesanya

The battle for the control of the House of Representatives by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is gathering steam following the expected formal defection of Speaker Yakubu Dogara to the opposition party.

Dogara who has ceased to identify publicly with the APC for some time now was, on Thursday, presented with PDP’s nomination form by some of his constituents from Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa federal constituency in Bauchi State.

The APC remains the majority party in the House with members putting its strength between 181 and 192 and that of the PDP at between 156 and 165.

APGA and ADC have five members each, SDP has two while UPP and Accord have one each while one seat is vacant.

Although the two chambers of the National Assembly are currently on recess, The Nation gathered that key players in the APC and the PDP are doing everything possible to ensure that their party is in control of the House till the end of the eighth session of the NASS.

Sources said about 20 APC Reps who are loyalists of the Speaker are willing to switch camps with him once he moves.

The aim is to make the PDP the majority party in the House so that Dogara can retain his position as Speaker.

The APC is nothing relenting either.

Sources said the party is determined to retain its majority in the House and is expecting a sizeable number of PDP defectors mainly from Ekiti and Benue States.

Sources close to Dogara believe it will be difficult to remove him in view of the sheer number of votes required to do so.

Section 50 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended stipulates that two-thirds or 240 votes in the 360-seat House of Representatives are required to remove the Speaker.

Though, the Leader of the House and of the APC Caucus, Femi Gbajabiamila has maintained silence on the matter, a number of APC lawmakers feel that Dogara should not be sitting on the chair of the Speaker when the House returns from its current recess.

When asked to express his reaction to Dogara’s defection and the next steps being contemplated, Gbajabiamila only sent a terse text message: “No comment for now.”

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar said his life and those of his family are under threat by unknown person(s) because of his decision to contest the 2019 presidential election.

Atiku, an aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a petition to President Muhammad Buhari requested for more police protection for himself and family.

In the petition, which was dated September 7, the former vice president told the president that his wife and daughters have received separate text messages, warning them that unless he backs out of the presidential race, they would be raped and killed.

He gave the mobile number used to send the threat message as 08148228704, adding that the author said his family was being watched closely.

Atiku called on the president to order an urgent investigation into the matter, pointing out that it could lead to serious breaches and may constitute real danger to national security.

According to him, the author threatened that if he doesn’t withdraw from the contest, “we will kill, rape your wife and daughters”, whom they identified as Mariam who worked at Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Fatima, the former commissioner in Adamawa State.

He added that the author further threatened: “We will blow your plane off the sky and we will poison you and your family. You are going to see what we will do with your family. We know where and where your children travel to.”

The petition, which was copied to National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus revealed that the author of the message threatened that they will blow up all his property and those of his wife’s, adding “we control the aviation towers in Nigeria and South Africa.

“We are in government and Buhari will win again. Your party members will never select you and if they do, we will assassinat (sic) you. We will kill you by blowing up your plane.”

In the separate text messages to the wife and daughter, the author, according to Atiku, asked them to ask him to back down from the contest or they will be harmed.

“From the foregoing, Mr President can see that if adequate and urgent steps are not taken to identify and deal with these threats, it could lead to serious breaches and may constitute real danger to national security.

“Considering that this threats border on the right of my family and I to life, as well as my freedom to aspire for and contest for the presidency in Nigeria, I urge you to commence urgent investigation with a view to identifying the person (s) behind the threat, expose and prosecute the culprit (s) in accordance with the laws.

“I request that you ensure the continued protection of my rights to life, that of my family, my property and my rights and freedoms to associate and aspire to any political office as guaranteed under the 1999 Nigerian constitution (as amended),” he further demanded.

Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives, says he was asked to beg for the ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Dogara said this when he played host to some of his supporters at his Abuja residence on Thursday.

The supporters had presented 2019 forms of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to him, urging him to pull out of the ruling party.

But Dogara, who said he does not need the APC to be reelected, appealed to the people to give him more time for consultation.

“Truly, I have decided that I will not seek election again. They said they will give me ticket in APC but that I must go and beg for it. I said I do not need the ticket. In politics, I have never gone to anybody’s house to beg for ticket.

“My ticket is my people. I have assured them that even if I run under zero party, my people will vote for me. So long as it is Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa, even if we run under zero party; we will win by God’s grace.

We have thrived well in many political battles in the past and this one too, we shall overcome it. Nobody can threaten us or tell us that we cannot contest election in a political party we spent our resources to establish, only God can stop us.

“I had heard your voices and the voice of the people is the voice of God. We are in politics to serve and not to be served. As I said, if it were for myself, I will quit because truly I am tired and even thought of stepping aside. But we must run election so long as our people say so.

“I have seen the forms you brought. I don’t know how you got it but I must thank you for this sacrifice. Left for me; I will appeal that you give me sometime to go and consult further.

“I have a lot of supporters in the APC but I have not told any of them what I intend to do or where I will go because I was not given the opportunity but I will assure you that wherever you want me to go or whatever you want me to do I will obey you because you have been with me. This is leadership.”

Dogara also narrated how he gave the APC the condition to pacify some federal lawmakers before he could reconcile with the leadership of the party.

“Even when they were talking about reconciliation in APC, we told them that even if I will be given free ticket in APC, so long as they do not do justice to Senator Sulieman Nazif, Senator Isa Hamma Misau, Honourable Ahmed Yerima, Hon. Aminu Tukur, Hon. Maryam Bagel and others, I will not accept it. I even said that if they will do justice to these people I will be satisfied,” he said.

“You have now given us another opportunity to correct the greatest mistake we did in politics, which was to bring this present government in Bauchi State. This is one of the reasons we must run for election and do away with this plague, chase these termites from Bauchi State.

“I will not disobey you but before I fill these forms, I will have to inform all my supporters in the APC about the decision taken by my constituents since all politics is local.”

The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday said it would welcome Gov . Akinwunmi Ambode into its fold if he decided to dump the All Progressives Congress .

The Publicity Secretary of the party , Mr. Taofeek Gani , made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos .

Gani spoke following reports that Mr. Jide Sanwo - Olu , a former Commissioner for Training and Establishments in the state , had been adopted by the APC leaders to succeed Ambode .

The APC chairman in Lagos State, Alhaji Tunde Balogun , had told newsmen on Wednesday that the governorship ticket of the party was open to all aspirants .

NAN reports that the former Commissioner for Works , Dr . Obafemi Hamzat , is another aspirant seeking the job of Ambode with Sanwo - Olu .

NAN also reports that all the aspirants have since obtained and submitted their nomination forms.

The PDP spokesman said that the party would be glad to receive Ambode into its fold if he decided to leave APC for whatever reason .

Gani said , “ Any forward -looking party would not have rejected its main opponent joining it , especially a big personality like Ambode .

“ We are ready to welcome him (Ambode ) to our party if he decides to join for any reason . We are very ready to accept him if he decides to join us .

“ You see PDP is a party for all, so far value will be added . We cannot turn down our opponents , especially a big personality like Ambode .

“Therefore , he is welcome. His joining us will definitely add value and boost our chances to win the state . ”

He said the party would accord him all the rights and privileges with the existing members to realise his political ambitions.

NAN reports Chief Deji Doherty and Mr. Jimi Agbaje are among those who have picked the PDP nomination forms for the governorship ticket .
(NAN )

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja



As the submission of completed expression of interest and nomination forms for aspirants seeking the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) closed wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari was the only presidential aspirant who collected and submitted the nomination forms.

Consequently, he has emerged unopposed in his bid for a second term of office on the platform of the party.

He would, however, undergo other processes before he would be formally pronounced the presidential candidate of the APC for next year’s election.

According to the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, an unopposed aspirant would have to face a special convention or congress of his party to affirm his candidature.

Specifically, Section 87 (6) of the Electoral Act says, “Where there is only one aspirant in a political party for any of the elective positions mentioned in paragraph (4) (a) (b) (c) and (d), the Party shall convene a special convention or congress at a designated Centre on a specified date for the confirmation of such aspirant and the name of the aspirant shall be forwarded to the Commission as the Candidate of the Party.”

The party had in memo stated its clear intention to comply with this provision of the electoral act in a clarification he sent to its state branches on Tuesday, urging full compliance so that any victory obtained at the polls would not be susceptible to being successfully challenged at election petition tribunals.

What this means is that even though Buhari may have technically clinched the presidential ticket of the APC, he still has to face the process of ratification through the direct primary approved by the National Executive Committee some weeks ago.

The president had yesterday submitted his forms to the National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja.

Before the arrival of the president at the party secretariat, armed security men, comprising the police, Directorate of State Services (DSS), officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Nigerian Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), had cordoned off all the streets leading to the national secretariat of the party.

The president, who arrived at 3.44 pm, spent about 30 minutes with the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by Oshiomhole, during which he submitted his form.

Journalists were literally prevented from having a view of the president and his entourage as they entered the NEC Hall of the APC to submit the nomination form.

Journalists covering the APC national chairman were almost held hostage in the media centre throughout the duration of the president’s stay.

Only reporters attached to the Presidential Villa who came with him were allowed to cover the event.

The president’s visit also grounded activities at the party office for several hours as security operatives kept vigil around the secretariat preventing normal movement of people.

Even aspirants of the party coming to submit their nomination forms were not allowed access until the president’s departure.

Buhari had on Tuesday received the nomination forms for presidential ticket of the APC from a group known as Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN) at the State House.

The purchase of the nomination forms by the group at a whooping N45.5 million generated concerns by the media and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which criticised the action.

APC, however, defended the president saying that no law was violated; adding that funds for the president’s nomination forms were raised by supporters who want him back in office at 2019 general elections.

By Onyekachi Eze, ABUJA 



Former President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan said the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole is suffering from multiple personality syndrome.

Jonathan who described as misleading Oshiomhole’s allegation on national television that vote buying in Nigerian started when he was president, said it is disingenuous for anybody to link the former President with the incidence of vote buying.

Jonathan in a statement by his media adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, said voting buying in Nigeria started in Edo State gubernatorial election in 2016, a year after Jonathan his left office.

It noted that while in office between 2010 and 2015, the former president conducted many elections adjudged as free and fair by both national and international observers.

According to the statement, there was no incident of vote buying in the two general elections conducted by Jonathan in 2011 and 2015, and off-season gubernatorial and parliamentary elections in Anambra, Ekiti, Ondo and Edo States.

“It is instructive that in each case, the former president was given a clean bill, with both local and international observers commending him for having supervised a credible and transparent process.

”In November 2017, a United Nations delegation led by Ambassador Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, and Chairman of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission (CNMC) commended former President Jonathan for the positive outcome of the electoral reforms he initiated during his tenure, and prayed that the institutions he built and the high standards he set in organizing credible and peaceful elections are maintained and sustained by his successors.

“It is instructive that Jonathan also received plaudits from the visiting UN team over his conduct of the same 2015 elections which Oshiomhole had casually singled out for condemnation,” the statement added.

Jonathan recalled that Oshiomhole himself praised him for conducting credible election in 2012 that re-elected him as Edo State government, and wonder how he could turn around to blame his for vote buying.

He noted that the former Edo State governor is suffering from multiple personality syndrome, recalling how praised Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso only to denounce them the next day.

The former president said it appeared that Mr. Oshiomhole psychological strain, as he is in feud with everybody, including members of his party.

According to Jonathan, Oshiomhole’s false accusations might have stem from his own guilty conscience arising from the unenviable behaviour he exhibited during the September 2016 gubernatorial election in Edo State.

“After observing the Edo 2016 gubernatorial election, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) a coalition of over 400 civil society organizations spread across the country, said ‘the most frequent reported incidents (of electoral irregularities) are vote buying/voter bribery.’

“The trend was later to spread to Ondo, Anambra and Ekiti States governorship elections, all taking place after Jonathan had left office as President.

“What also changed was that Oshiomhole’s emergence as the national chairman of APC and the burden of ‘delivering results to his party’, has pushed him into exporting and escalating this vote buying dexterity to other states, as recently witnessed in Ekiti governorship poll.

“The fact is that inducement as a tool in the hands of politicians is an old malaise that no Nigerian can be proud of.

“It is bad enough that this has been allowed to fester and morph into the ugly trend that is today called vote buying.

“Given this circumstance, you would expect a statesman of Oshiomhole’s standing to offer perspectives on how to solve this problem that is already making our country an object of scorn in the eyes of the international community.

“That Oshiomhole only resorted to blame game rather than offer any useful suggestions to the election management bodies on how to solve this shameful problem, in the cited television interview, is a sad commentary on the quality and character of today’s political leaders.

“A government that continues to blame its predecessor rather than show its scorecard, less than one year to the end of its four-year tenure, is only giving the impression that it is already at its wit’s end.

“We believe that it is high time Mr. Oshiomhole began to put a leash on his unhelpful, ill-conceived comments and tumultuous style of leadership, to enable him offer quality service to the party he currently leads,” Jonathan added.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met with the national caucus of All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The meeting at the New Banquet Hall of the State House started around 8.30pm.

Those at the meeting included the the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, and the National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole.

The serving State Governors at the meeting included Borno, Jigawa, Niger, Plateau, Kogi, Adamawa, Ondo, Kano, Ogun, Oyo, Katsina, Osun, Yobe, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Imo, and Lagos.

Also at the meeting were Segun Oni, Femi Gbajabiamila, former Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, former Ebonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi, former Borno State Governor, Alimodu Sheriff, former Lagos State Governor, Buba Marwa, Lawrence Onoja, Jim Nwobodo, Kabiru Gaya.

Others are former APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, former Enugu State Governor, Sylva Chime, former Edo State Governor, Osunbor.

Also in attendance were the former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, former Ekiti State governor, Niyi Adebayo, former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Goodwill Akpabio, former Bayelsa State Governor, Sylva Timipre, Don Etiebet, and the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed.

Some senators and members of the House of Representatives also attended the meeting.

The meeting was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

By Eugene Agha,


Tragedy struck at Ikoyi Passport office of the Nigerian Immigration Service as applicant seeking Nigerian international passport slumped and died.

The incident threw both Immigration officers as well as other passport seekers into confusion as to what to do next.

It was gathered that the applicant had arrived the passport office at about 7.am accompanied by his wife.

It was also learnt that the couple were asked to wait along with others till 9.am when the office would be open to members of the public.

It was gathered that the man became restless around I0.am, when he started complaining of severe heat and discomfort.
He later requested to use the rest room.

An eye witness who spoke on the condition of anonymity said: "He was walking up and down complaining that he should be attended to as he and his wife arrive the passport office before other applicants the officers were attending to.

We told him that even though he came early, our official resumption time is 9.am, but he would not listen. Along the line, he said we should show him the toilet and we showed him.

"After about 20 minutes, his wife became worried that he has not come out from the toilet, but we calmed her down and our toilet attendants were asked to monitor the man. After about 40 minutes, we knocked several times and he did not respond.

We tried to open the door, but it was locked from the inside .The mistake was that we should had forced the door open, but we were warned by our superior not to break the door until the police arrived the scenes.

“The police later arrived and forced the door to the toilet open. What we saw was gory .He had removed his clothes and he was sitting on the stool, but he was dead.

He died few minutes before we opened the door, maybe he would have survived if we had rushed him to the hospital. "

A witness said there was pandemonium as people scampered for safety as the dead body was brought out from the toilet.

The Passport Controller in charge of Ikoyi Passport office, (PCO) Mani Yari, said: “Yes it is the true, an applicant died in our Toilet.

He came to our office with his wife. There was no queue, as he did not come to collect Passport .We attend to visitors as from 9.am. As from 9.am, we started attending to the applicants.

Along the line, the deceased said he wanted to ease himself .It was after about 40 minutes that the wife started raising the alarm that her husband had not come back from the toilet .

We thought it was the normal panic from a woman. But when we arrived the scene and he did not open the door that we called the police who came and bust the door open and we saw the lifeless body. The body has been deposited at a government hospital for autopsy.” He narrated.

By Oluwatoyin Bayagbon



President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected the historic Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) as passed by the national assembly, TheCable Petrobarometer understands.

The proposed law, which is conceived to liberalise the governance structure of Nigeria’s oil industry, is one of the four bills in which the omnibous Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) was broken into by the legislature after over a decade of motion without movement.

TheCable Petrobarometer learnt that Buhari has sent back the bill to the national assembly on three grounds.

One, Buhari said the bill, if signed into law, would whittle down his power as minister of petroleum resources.

Two, he said all the ministers he consulted over PIGB refused to support his signing it into law.

Three, the president said he did not see any “fiscal content” of the bill.

However, a separate law, Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill (PIFB), is currently being considered by the lawmakers.

The other subsets being considered are: Petroleum Industry Administration Bill (PIAB) and the Petroleum Host Community Bill (PHCB).

Buhari’s refusal to sign PIGB into law will be regarded as a big set-back for the reform of the oil industry after years of campaigns and controversies.

The harmonised bill was passed by both chambers of the national assembly on March 28, 2018.

The bill arrived Aso Rock on Tuesday, July 3, 2018 — after a series of back and forth at the national assembly.


https://petrobarometer.thecable.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/PIGB-highlights.jpeg


Below are nine highlights of the provisions of the PIGB as passed by the national assembly.



NNPC OUT, NPC IN
The provisions of the regulatory bill state that NNPC will be restructured by splitting the assets and liabilities of the company. This essentially means that much of what comprises NNPC today, including the refineries, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company ( NPDC) Ltd and the joint venture (JV) assets, will be transferred to the proposed National Petroleum Company (NPC). The NPC will not be subject to the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Public Procurement Act 2007.



THE NEW ENTITIES

The bill proposes the establishment of the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NPRC), the Petroleum Equalization Fund (PEF) and the incorporation of three commercial entities including the Nigeria Petroleum Assets Management Company (NPAMC), National Petroleum Company (NPC) and the Nigeria Petroleum Liability Management Company (NPLMC). The NPRC which will be formed by merging the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). It will be the regulatory entity for the whole industry. The NPAMC will manage production sharing contracts and back-in rights provisions, while NPC will be in charge of current NNPC joint ventures with international oil companies (IOCs) upon incorporation.



FUNDING THE NEW ENTITIES
The bill states that the funding of the NPRC shall be from the appropriation act through the national assembly. A five percent levy on all fuel sold and distributed within the federation will finance the PEF, subject to appropriation by the national assembly.

The NPAMC will be funded by the national assembly appropriation for the initial capitalization and subsequent financing of the company while NPC will also be funded by appropriation through the national assembly for the initial capitalization.



THE PETROLEUM EQUALISATION FUND (PEF)
PEF will ensure “economic balance of petroleum prices across all regions”. Uniformity is meant to be achieved through re-reimbursement of oil marketing companies for any loss that they incur solely and exclusively as a result of the transportation of petroleum products and for their provision of financing for infrastructural development throughout the federation. The PEF will determine the amount of reimbursement due to any oil marketing company for the purposes of equalizing products prices.



NO MORE REGULATORY OVERLAP
Full responsibility for environmental matters in the petroleum industry is now vested in the NPRC and not the federal ministry of environment. The NPRC is toensure strict implementation of environmental policies, laws, regulations and standards as it pertains to oil and gas operations. The regulatory body will also promote the healthy, safe and efficient conduct of all petroleum operations in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. However, the bill adds a clause that includes a voluntary collaboration of the commission with the Ministry of Environment.



MINISTER’S POWERS REDUCED
The minister of petroleum has been stripped of absolute power to incorporate other entities to assume and manage some of the liabilities of the NNPC. Under the petroleum act and the oil pipelines act, the regulatory functions of the minister of petroleum resources will be transferred to the NPRC, which will be governed by a nine-man board with a fixed tenure. The board’s composition includes one representative each from the ministries of petroleum resources, finance, and environment.

The commission is vested with the power to make regulations, similar to the powers of the minister of petroleum resources under the petroleum act but the PIGB enables the minister to retain certain powers of discretion to “do all such other things as are incidental and necessary” for the performance of his ministerial functions.



EXPANDED REPRESENTATION
The number of executive directors of the NPAMC increased from three to four. Similarly, the NPRC will have a governing board made up of 11 commissioners. The number commissioners also increased from nine to 11 in order to ensure proper coverage of the industry regulatory functions while the number of non-executive commissioners increased from 1 to 2 in order to strengthen the board. The bill requires that the principles of federal character in making the appointments into the governing board. Appointment and removal of the commissioners are subject to senate approval.



INCREASED SHAREHOLDER PARTICIPATION
PIGB requires federal government to divest 10 percent of shareholding in the NPC in a transparent manner, within five years from the date of incorporation. An additional 30 percent is to be further divested within 10 years from the date of incorporation. This means that citizens can own a stake in the national oil company subject to any terms put forward for the privatisation exercise.



ALIGNMENT TO PUBLIC PROCUREMENT ACT
The NPRC is subject to the public procurement act and a corporate governance code will be defined for the Nigerian Stock Exchange for the NNPC successor companies. The, NPC however, will not be subject to the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Public Procurement Act 2007.

Posted By: John Ofikhenua and Farati Adefila,


The Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola Monday advised the electricity distribution companies otherwise known as DisCos to compete to deliver power to customers or exit the electricity market for investors that are ready to satisfy consumers.

He directed the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to work toward eliminating estimated billings.
Fashola said supposing he had his way, he would have directed that estimated billing regime terminates immediately, but the local capacity is not enough to bridge the metering gap in the market.

The minister, who made this disclosure in a press briefing at Abuja, said complaints coming to government about meters, estimated billings and mass disconnections, where not everybody is owing cannot continue.

He said that “government must act. DisCos bought these assets with their eyes wide open and they must compete to deliver or exit.”

Fashola directed NERC to (a) ensure that the DisCos improve on their distribution of equipment and capacity to take up the available 2,000mw in order to optimize the use of electrical resources produced by the GenCos.

He mandated NERC to “enforce the contracts of the Discos to supply meters, and act to ensure the speedy installation of meters with a view to eliminate estimated billings and promote efficient industry and market structure.

“to stop the DisCos from preventing entrepreneurs from entering the market to supply the consumers whom the DisCos cannot yet supply and to license such persons subject to terms and conditions in order to promote competition and private sector participation and avoid a private monopoly in the market.”

He said that it is neither his intention nor that of government to take over the investors’ business, but the government desires to see the firms flourish in a competitive environment.

Government will however find a solution whenever the DisCos are inefficient and not ready to improve, he said.

He lamented that even where DisCos installed 10,000, about 8,000 were bypassed within weeks after installation.

Fashola ruled out the possibility of increasing tariff without adequate provision of meters, noting that metering is a condition precedent to tariff review.

Expressing his opinion in favour of tariff increase, the minister countered himself on the issue, stressing that “after that tariff increase why should we increase tariff without meters.”

He said for the customers to pay the correct tariff for the power they consume, the suppliers have to defray the distrust by first providing meters for consumers to know what they are paying for.

Asked by the directive if his statement that the DisCos should compete or quit is a direct invocation of revocation the privatization to the inefficient private investor, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Louis Edozien explained that the eligible customers regulation is a means of getting the customers who are not satisfied with the service they are getting from the DisCos to buy their power directly from the GenCos. Secondly, that the DisCos should not refuse unsatisfied customers from going to get power.”

He however noted that upon the realization that they have nothing to lose from the eligible customers’ policy, the distribution firms have started complying with the pitch reluctantly.

The NERC chairman, Prof. James Momoh, whom the minister asked to inform the public when the Metering Asset Providers licensees would start providing the meters, said that the meter manufacturing companies in Lagos are ready to roll them out.

As Fashola insisted that the chairman informed Nigerians on when the installation would begin, he mandated Momoh to after the briefing present to him, a report on the number of licensed companies for meter provision, the DisCos they are working with and the areas they are supplying meters to.
Momoh said that over 50 firms have been licensed to supply meters.

The minister, who asked the Permanent Secretary to take note of the directive, said that the customers should know when meters are delivered to their areas for them to make relevant arrangements.

On billing, Momoh said, NERC has put together a prepaid market for which customers can decide which power they want to use and for the appropriate rate to be paid for.”

He added that that with the investment in metering NERC will be able to eliminate estimated billings for people to pay their appropriate cost. The commission, he said, is working hard in the area of customer enumeration in order to avoid a foul play on the customers by the DisCos.

He said that NERC is putting in place penalties to ensure that the DisCos abide by the rules and regulations.

By Hendrix Oliomogbe -Benin


EDO State Deputy Governor, Comrade Phillips Shaibu narrowly escaped death by the whiskers on Sunday as his convoy was involved in an auto crash along the Benin- Agbor expressway.

Two persons, the personal assistant to the deputy governor and a police inspector attached to the deputy governor’s security detail were however unlucky as they sustained injuries.

Both men are currently battling for their lives at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) where they were rushed for treatment.

The spare car in the deputy governor’s convoy which was on its way to the Edo state capital from Asaba, Delta state reportedly skidded off the road as the driver attempted to avoid running into a police checkpoint.

According to his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Musa Ebhomiana, the accident occurred shortly after Abudu, headquarters of Orhionmwon local government council at a checkpoint mounted by a team of policemen.

Ebhomiana who spoke in Benin yesterday explained that the policemen had taken advantage of a bad spot on the busy expressway to mount the checkpoint which resulted in the crash.

The spokesman said: “To the glory of God, no life was lost in the crash aside the minor injuries sustained by the leader of the police team, an Inspector and the Personal Assistant to the Deputy Governor. They were immediately taken to the UBTH for treatment and necessary checks.”

The National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) has reacted to the exclusive story published by PREMIUM TIMES detailing how finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, skipped the mandatory national service and used a forged certificate to cover for it.

The story has generated outrage from Nigerians who called for an official investigation and asked the minister to resign from her post or be fired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Details published by this newspaper on Monday show that the certificate is among the set of documents submitted by the minister for her appointment and screening in 2015.

Speaking for the first time since the news broke, NYSC’s Director of Public Relations, Adenike Adeyemi, said the service is working towards responding to PREMIUM TIMES’s request for verification of Mrs Adeosun’s certificate.

This newspaper first wrote to the NYSC on April 16, 2018 requesting for the verification. After weeks of silence and promises, the paper’s editors decided to re-channel the request into a Freedom of Information request.

This followed disappointment suffered by journalists working on the story when the formal letter that was to be issued on June 1 by the corps was suddenly withheld.

Our reporter who was at the NYSC headquarters on Thursday, May 31, was told to come back the next day to pick up the organisation’s response to our letter, following scrutiny that afternoon that confirmed that “Folakemi Adeosun” was not in the register.

However, on arriving on Friday, June 1 to pick the response, a new decision was announced: the NYSC officials said the verification has been channelled to the organisation’s ICT unit to check its “electronic database.”

PREMIUM TIMES had made a payment of N2,000 through federal government’s Remita platform. The Remita receipt was later swapped with an official receipt of the NYSC at the organisation’s Account Department. The receipt is numbered 711133.

Frustrated by the sudden back-tracking, on June 8, this newspaper delivered a Freedom of Information request to the NYSC headquarters which is yet to be responded to.

The FoI Act mandates agencies to respond to requests within one week or write to seek for extension if unable to comply with the stipulated time.

But speaking to a PREMIUM TIMES reporter on Monday, Mrs Adeyemi attributed the delay to the need by the organisation to “get a little more time to get the records straight.”

Below is the text of the director’s interview with our reporter.


PREMIUM TIMES: What is the NYSC’s response to our request for verification of the certificate being paraded by the finance minister, Kemi Adeosun?


MRS ADEYEMI: You have sent in a request wanting to know, subjecting that certificate to verification. I agree with you, the request has been received at the NYSC headquarters, and you would want the NYSC to verify that certificate which you said was submitted by the honourable minister.

The NYSC as a public institution and organisation where some information is domiciled for public interest will definitely not hoard any information.

But whatever we are releasing from this organisation, from our tables, must definitely be subjected to every test so that when we say this is verified or not verified we stand by our words.

Your request has been received and is being worked upon and the moment the verification process is concluded you will be given the right response. At no point in time will the NYSC, being a public institution, not respond to public enquiry.

Any enquiry will be responded to and, definitely, everything that would come from our organisation would have been subjected to every test of integrity and having passed the test of integrity, which we uphold very dearly, the response will be given.

You may just need to give a little more time so that the verification process goes through every stage and at the end of the day when anything is being said on the verification we can stand by it. We can say we have done every test of integrity.


PREMIUM TIMES: Why is it taking this long?


MRS ADEYEMI: There are occasions when you need to…we are talking about records of the past. There are occasions where some information you may have to search very well and through different places; particularly too, the organisation moved sometimes from Area 3 (in Abuja) to the present headquarters. So there are various times when (for) some information, you need a little extra time to get your record straight. But we don’t want ever to give out information when every test has not been carried out. Just give us a little more time and we will get back to you.

Three northern governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are on their way to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) any moment from now, TheCable understands.

As many as 30 senators and 70 members of the house of representatives are expected to follow suit before the national assembly goes on recess in the next two weeks.

The potential defectors are members of the “reformed” faction of APC that recently emerged.

Most of them were in the PDP before defecting to APC under the aegis of “new PDP” in 2013.

Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state, Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), and Samuel Ortom (Benue) are in the “first batch” of big guns expected to defect, an insider has told TheCable.

“The plan also is that some APC governors will not defect but will remain behind to inflict maximum damage on the party from within,” a southern governor informed TheCable on Monday.

Tambuwal is rumoured to harbour a presidential ambition while Ahmed, who is coming to the end of his second term in Kwara, is expected to run for the senate.

“Ortom, on his own part, has been guaranteed safe return to the PDP by Senator David Mark. He is considered the best bet in the circumstance as the incumbent governor, and he can leave the party to George Akume,” another inside, who attended some of the strategy sessions, told TheCable.

Senate President Bukola Saraki is also expected to return to the PDP and is reported to be nursing a presidential ambition — bolstered by the recent supreme court judgment which freed him of criminal charges over allegations of false asset declaration.

Following the series of crisis that hit the ruling party at the state congresses in June, some of the APC governors and lawmakers who lost out have been guaranteed automatic tickets by the PDP to entice them to the party.

APC currently controls 24 states while PDP has 11 and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) one.

If the three governors defect as planned, PDP will increase to 14 while APC will reduce to 21.