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The Director-General of the Progressive Governors’Forum (PGF), Salihu Moh. Lukman, has charged the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, to convene the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party or resign immediately.

The PGF Director-General’s call came on the heel of the multiple internal crisis rocking the party in the states across the country, the most current of which is the worsening power tussle between Oshiomhole and his successor as governor of Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki, which Lukman described as embarrassing to the ruling party.

Lukman, in a statement he personally authored, titled ‘APC and our Inconceivable Organisational Challenges: Urgent Call to our Leaders’ and made available to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, said the National Working Committee (NWC), an administrative organ of the party, including just a select members of the NEC and is tasked with the responsibility of executing decisions of the NEC, had hijacked the responsibilities of the apex decision-making organ of the party, the NEC, which he said seemed to have been suspended.

According to him, many of the crisis facing the party in the state, many of which had cost the party some states hitherto considered as its stronghold states, are those that the NEC or National Caucus meeting of the party are designed to sort out.

He reminded Oshiomhole that his constituency, as National Chairman of the party goes beyond his home state of Edo, but the whole of the country, charging him to follow the party’s constitution by convening the NEC, face the party in the process of resolving the myriad of crises facing it or simply accept that he is not capable of leading the party any further and resign his office as National Chairman.

“Side by side with the news of the vote of no confidence was also the discomforting report of the Federal High Court judgement in Abuja disqualifying Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo as our Deputy Governorship candidate for the November 16, 2019 Bayelsa election. While expecting that every necessary step will be taken to vacate the judgement, it is very depressing for every committed party member to be subjected to such ignominious reality, which only remind us of our reckless conducts in states like Zamfara, Rivers, Bauchi and Adamawa, which chiefly gave away electoral victories to PDP.

“Instead of focusing on working to win elections, we are busy undermining ourselves. All these are ominous signs that we are about to re-enact the Zamfara, Rivers, Bauchi and Adamawa experiences in Bayelsa. It is Bayelsa today, Anambra, Edo and Ondo are being setup for similar experiences. Somehow, unfortunately, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party, which is the organ vested with the statutory responsibility of responding to all these challenges appear to be suspended. The last time it met was August 2018. In its place, the National Working Committee (NWC), which is an administrative organ with the responsibility of implementing decisions of NEC and other higher organs seems to have usurped the powers of NEC.

“Sadly, even the NWC, as at today, is a shadow of itself, as it has lost many members either on accounts of appointment into government or controversial suspension. For instance, Otumba Niyi Adebayo, Deputy National Chairman (South) is today a Minister of the Federal Republic. Sen. Lawal Shuaibu, Deputy National Chairman (North) is allegedly suspended. Alh. Inuwa Abdulkadir, National Vice Chairman (North West) is similarly suspended.

“We may recall that in June 2019, the NWC allegedly suspended Governor Rotimi Akeredolu SAN. During the 2019 general elections, on accounts of the roles of former Governors Rochas Okorocha and Ibikunle Amosun against the candidates of the party, they were similarly suspended. Whether all these actions are permissible by provisions of the APC’s constitution is highly contestable.

“Why should all these be allowed to happen? Why is it impossible to convene a NEC or even National Caucus meetings, which are supposed to hold every quarter to resolve all these issues? Why should the NWC under Comrade Oshiomhole continue to imagine that it can conduct affairs of the party without mandatory meetings of party organs? What legacy is Comrade Oshiomhole hoping to achieve as a National Chairman by running the party in a way that suggests almost zero commitment to issues of party development?

“It is very painful for many of us who have had the privilege of being mentored by Comrade Oshiomhole to see him being devalued to a local factional leader from a very high pedestal of an illustrious national leader. As National Chairman, Comrade Oshiomhole hardly appreciate that he now has a national constituency and not just a state constituency, which may have been responsible for his apparent intemperance in the handling of matters affecting Edo State. I wish he paid similar attention to handling of issues affecting Rivers and Zamfara states during the 2019 elections.

“In the current circumstance, nothing short of a NEC or National Caucus meeting of the party can resolve all our increasing organisational challenges as a party. It is either Comrade Oshiomhole respect the provision of party constitution and convene superior organ meeting to deliberate on all our challenges, or he should just accept his inability to manage the party and simply resign.

“Our national leaders must rise to the challenge facing us as a party and take all necessary measures to convene superior organ meetings to begin to resolve all our challenges as a party. The current public disgrace must end”, he said.

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday heard that Abdullahi Babalele, a son-in-law of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, allegedly gave former President Olusegun Obasanjo the naira equivalent of $140,000.

An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness, Bashir Mohammed, told Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke that he delivered the cash to Obasanjo on behalf of his “close friend” Babalele.

Babalele is on trial for allegedly laundering $140,000 in the build-up to the 2019 general elections.

The EFCC arraigned him on two counts of money laundering in August.

He procured Mohammed “to make a cash payment of $140,000 without going through any financial institution,” the anti-graft agency claimed.

EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, said the money exceeded the threshold stipulated by the money laundering Act.

The alleged February 20, 2019 transaction contravened Sections 18 (c) and (2)(b)of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, Oyedepo said.

Babalele pleaded not guilty.

On Tuesday, the EFCC called Mohammed as its first witness.

Led in evidence by the EFCC counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, the witness narrated how he allegedly delivered the sum to the former president at his Abeokuta, Ogun State home.

Obasanjo endorsed Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of this year’s presidential poll.

But Atiku lost the election to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mohammed said he got a phone call from Babalele sometime in February, requesting him to deliver a message to “an elder statesman.”

He said on Babalele’s request he supplied two bank accounts, which were credited.

The court heard that the witness took the money to Obasanjo’s residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Mohammed said: “When I got to the gate, somebody came and took me inside where I met former President Olusegun Obasanjo and delivered the message.”

“I called the defendant in the presence of former President Obasanjo and informed him that I had delivered the message. He said that was good and thanked me.”

Under cross-examination by the defence counsel, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Mohammed affirmed that he wrote a statement at the EFCC office during the investigation.

Ozekhome’s bid to tender the statement as an exhibit was, however, opposed by the prosecutor.

Justice Aneke adjourned till today to rule on the admissibility of the statement.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said that the military would not be involved at the polling boot security, except on the invitation of the lead security agency, the Nigeria Police.

Consequently, said the commission, the military would only patrol as a standby force in case of trouble beyond the control of the internal security forces.

The commission clarified that the Nigeria Navy and the Nigeria Air Force have been selected for a special duty of airlifting sensitive electoral materials and protection of the INEC staff in Bayelsa State, but ruled out their presence of the Nigeria army completely within the polling areas.

INEC said that the Nigeria Police shall be in charge of all security issues during the two elections on November 16.

The position of INEC was disclosed to THISDAY by the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye.

When asked whether the military would be involved during the two governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States, he said no, emphatically.
Later he sent a written position of the commission titled: “The Army and Bayelsa and Kogi Governorship Elections” to THISDAY.

The document says: “The Nigerian Police is the Lead Agency coordinating election security operations.
“The Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies have presented their deployment template to the Inter Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security Co-Chaired by the Chairman of INEC and the National Security Adviser and it has been adopted and approved.

“A rainbow coalition of unarmed security personnel will be deployed in the inner cordon of the polling units. Armed Mobile Police Officers will patrol the outer cordon of the polling units while a combined team of armed security personnel will protect critical national assets, the Registration Area Centers, INEC offices at the Local Governments and INEC State Offices.

“In accordance with section 29(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended), the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has requested the assistance of the Nigerian Navy to assist with gunboat’s to protect electoral officials and personnel on the high seas especially in the riverine areas of Bayelsa State.

“The Nigerian Air Force will also assist in airlifting electoral materials for the commission to far distances and difficult topography.
“However, it is within the remit of the lead agency on election security to request for further assistance of other security agencies based on its assessment of the security situation in each state of the federation.

“Let me point out that election security operations must be separated from existing deployment of the Nigerian military for internal security operations in some states of the federation. It is a matter of common knowledge that in some states, the Nigerian military are permanently deployed for internal security operations.
“The commission has absolutely nothing to do with the internal security duties and operations of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

“The main political forces in the two states have a duty, a responsibility and obligation to create a serene ambience that enables duly registered and willing voters to cast their votes with dignity and civility. Heightened tension, threats of breakdown of law and order, unwholesome electoral practices and negative narratives will cast a dark shadow on the elections and disengage the voters from the electoral process.”