₦airaland Forum

Oloriegbe leads Saraki in day one of Kwara Must Change senatorial poll

The All Progressive Congress (APC) senatorial candidate in Kwara Central, Dr Ibrahim Oloriegbe is currently leading Dr Bukola Saraki of People's Democratic Party (PDP) by 74% to 26% votes in the ongoing Kwara Must Change senatorial poll.

After 24 hours of voting on Kwara Must Change platform on Facebook, more than 2,200 votes have been casted and the APC Candidate is leading with landslide.

The poll is still very much active and the general public have 5 more days to vote.

Kwara Must Change

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Is Political Third Force A Mirage? The Olawepo Hashim's factor

Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Ojo Maduekwe write that so long as political parties won’t unite to challenge the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party dominance, the emergence of a viable political third force may remain a fantasy

Nigeria has 91 political parties. Of this number, 23 are new, recently registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in August 2018. Most of these parties are only operational on paper, yet boasts of popularity that can only be imagined.

During interviews they claim to be the third or fourth most popular party after the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yet majority of them have never won elective positions into any of the three tiers of government.



Some of the parties even go to the length of self-deceit and thinking they can stand shoulders high with the likes of PDP and APC in a political contest, even when the reality is that they don’t have the needed political structure and finances to win major elections.

At the heat of the controversy generated by the Nigeria Elections Debate Group (NEDG) to invite only five political parties to debate ahead of the 2019 general election, the presidential candidate of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Tope Fasua, said the ANRP was one of the top four political parties Nigerians wanted at the debates.

Also peeved by the debate organisers for not inviting its candidate, the African Action Congress (AAC) in a statement by Malcolm Fabiyi, Director-General of the TakeItBack Movement / Sowore 2019 Campaign, claimed it was “one of the three largest parties in Nigeria.”

Then the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) also, in a statement by its National Director of Publicity, Ifeanacho Oguejiofor, said it was the “third largest political party” in Nigeria, with a serving governor and “numerous members in the state and national legislative assemblies”.

However, information gleaned from an Independent National Electoral, INEC, publication signed by Mrs. O. O. Babalola, a director has

revealed that the People’s Trust (PT) political party, which is fielding Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as its presidential candidate, has emerged top amongst the recently registered political parties fielding candidates for the presidential and national assembly elections. From the ‘Summary of Submission of Form CF002 for Presidential and National Assembly Elections’ issued by INEC, the PT is presenting 194 candidates. The breakdown shows that the party has one presidential candidate and one candidate for the office of the vice president. There are 52 senatorial candidates and 140 aspirants for the House of Representatives respectively running on its platform. Following the PT closely are the Justice Must Prevail Party (JMPP), 182, Mega Party of Nigeria (MPN) 176, the Action Democratic Party (ADP), 136, the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), 115 and the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), 106. Nigeria’s senate is populated by 109 members, comprising equal representation of three senators from the 36 states of the federation and one senator representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), while the House of Representatives has 360 members.

At the bottom of the ladder are the New Generation Party (NGP) and the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) that both have one contender each for the House of Representatives. The Modern Democratic Party (MDP) and the Youth Party (YP) have two nominees each for the House of Representatives.

Four of the 89 political parties vying for various offices only have candidates for the position of president and vice president. They are the People’s Coalition Party (PCP), We The Peoples of Nigeria (WTPN), AUN and the Reform and Advance Party (RAP). Other parties whose total number of candidates for the 2019 presidential and national assembly elections in are in the single digit bracket are the Save Nigeria Congress (SNC) which is fielding five candidates, the Change Nigeria Party (CNP) with seven contenders and the Liberation Movement (LM), presenting nine runners. A total of 6,510 contestants have thus far being registered for the elections, comprising 4496 for the house of representatives, 1856 for senate and 79 apiece for president and vice presidential positions.

Dr. Abiodun Adeniyi, Senior Lecturer, Mass Communication at the Baze University, Abuja believes the issue of a political third force in this dispensation is very fluid and should be addressed in categories, though, according to him, the PT appears to have an edge over all other newly registered political parties. He said there cannot be an absolute understanding of what constitutes a political third force. “Nevertheless, it underlines the factor of political character. It also depends on the time of our history you are referring to and what your yardstick is. Because it could well be argued that, there was a third force in the first and second republics. In those republics, the processes were natural, but could not unfortunately grow. In the botched Third Republic, it was decreed by the military that a third force should not be in place. Perhaps, the story would have been different. In our present circumstance as well, we may not absolutely deny the forces represented by candidates like Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, Kingsley Moghalu, Oby Ezekwesili, Omoyele Sowore, amongst others. Olawepo-Hashim has particularly being celebrated as the Third Force candidate. These features cannot be undermined on the altar of a nebulous construction of a two-party system.”

According to Adeniyi, the emerging forces can be represented from two perspectives. “The first is the trend of the youthful and somewhat much more urbane, contemporary candidatures of Olawepo-Hashim, Ezekwesili, Moghalu, Sowore, and Fela Durotoye, and some others. These ones are relatively young, vibrant, and forward looking, besides fact that they represent the growing trend of youth leadership that is gaining grounds in sections of the world. Their coming out is sending a message to the older, traditional and more entrenched club of leaders that the future is going to change. The second trend, I can see are the equally educated, informed and futuristic set of leaders. They are older, and obviously belong to a former generation, given their past exposures. I will put Profs. Jerry Gana and Yemi Osinbajo in this class. Then add some former governors like Donald Duke and Orji Uzor Kalu and you will not be wrong. We can therefore look at the emerging political trends from the angle of the individuals or from the trend they represent.”



Painting a picture of what a true political third force should look like, Dr. Asukwo Mendie Archibong, Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria for Democracy political party (NFD) said, the people who comprise such a political group must have the interest of the nation at heart. He gave further criteria, “they must be willing to sacrifice for the nation. They must be intrinsically honest. They type of people who do not see politics as a do-or-die affair.”

Previously a self-effacing individual, the NFD presidential candidate argued that more educated Nigerians need to come out of their comfort zone to take an interest in the political process and governance to enable the emergence of a true third force. He said members of the NFD have a genuine desire to effect changes in the country.”

Again, as the February 16 date for the presidential election draws closer, Nigerians, like it happened in 2015, are torn between making the choice of what has been termed two evils: the APC’s candidate and incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari and PDP’s Atiku Abubakar.

For a time it was thought that a third choice would be thrown in the mix to neutralise this dominance by both Buhari and Atiku. In the first quarter of 2018 the idea of having a third force party that would stand up to the status quo was thrown around by notable political figures and headed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

As it was conceived by Obasanjo, the third force proponents converged under the banner of the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM), and were made up of a loose membership of people interested in the development of Nigeria. They planned on transforming into a political party.

The idea behind the CNM, as laid down by Obasanjo, was to have a political party grounded in the grassroots, with the youths who make up more than 65 percent of Nigeria’s population retaining a 30 percent stake in all its organs, while women would have 30 percent stake as well.

Many of the recently registered political parties with young presidential candidates gunning for the number one seat were inspired by this idea of replacing the old guards in politics with young minds and fresh ideas but failed to live by Obasanjo’s most important condition: Unite.

This factor was emphasised by Adeniyi. He noted that a third force envisages the possibility of another group or groups challenging the dominance of the notable two. “The third force is the alternate force separate from the well-known forces. Call it a C force and you would be right, but note that the C force can also grow to be an A or a B force, just as the B force became an A force in 2015.”

In the thinking of Idumonza Isidahomen, a senatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Edo State, his party has already emerged as the political third force. His position also favours an amalgamation of these political parties, “Structurally, an overwhelming percentage of these parties would be classified in the lower-middle tiers on the Nigerian political echelon. Regardless, a summation of these tributaries into a centralised political movement would be the most efficient definition of a Third Force. The possibility of a political harmonization is exciting to the imagination and may, perhaps, throw open the challenge at the federal epicenter and subsequently squeeze Nigeria out of this prevailing sociopolitical quagmire that has been promoted by the respective governments of the PDP and APC. However, Nigeria is still a distrusting society with an avalanche of vested interest in the power play. Designing a blueprint that underscores a common denominator and still factors individual interests of these political parties in the food chain, maybe the apparent impediment in the emergence of a Third Force.”

The former president said that the third force “cannot do it alone” and would have to “join others” to defeat the APC and PDP. From the selfish manner the remaining parties have conducted their affairs, it appears their only interest is in seeing their party logo on the ballot paper.

When one traces the history of the proliferation of political parties in Nigeria, the idea of doing it solo won’t come as a surprise.

Until about eight years ago, the federal government was still paying subventions to registered parties. This easy money meant that aside seeing their logos on ballot papers, most of the registered political parties were seasonal parties, appearing every four years.

A policy that was introduced at the start of the current democratic dispensation in 1998 and was intended to assist the parties function optimally and increase political parties amongst the citizens began to be abused by leadership of the different political parties.

It became a trend for political jobbers to register a political party, then wait for election to receive subvention from the government. Once that was done, they take the money and make no efforts to win. Political parties, for these people, was purely a platform for making easy money.

Not much has changed though. Presently, some parties organise online and offline fundraisers, while others are alleged to endorse bigger candidates of the APC and PDP in exchange for money.

“Often bigger parties like APC and PDP induce smaller parties to work with them,” according to the Akwa Ibom Governorship Candidate of the ANRP, Mr. Iboro Otu.

Otu believes the third force should not be seen as a one party, arguing that “The Third Force can only be possible through inter-party coalition; political parties and ideas coming together because of a shared purpose… the space is too crowded; no single party will be strong enough to dislodge PDP or APC without a broad-based coalition.”

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria for Democracy (NFD), Dr. Mendie Archibong, sees nothing wrong with the proliferation of parties. According to him, “We are witnessing the growth and strengthening of the democratic institution in Nigeria. The number of political parties should not be the main concern, rather, let’s be concerned about the ideology of the political parties and the quality of the persons in these parties.”

Archibong believes that for democracy to thrive, political participation “by all viable and duly registered political parties” was important. “Eventually some of the less than viable parties will fall off and the viable and strong ones…will be left occupying the appropriate political space.”

The primary reason why several observers were receptive of a third force was because it was envisioned to serve as a unifier, giving every Nigerian irrespective of ethnicity and religion a sense of belonging. Members of the third force were expected to put country before tribe and religion.

Why this was important is because political party formation and voting patterns in Nigeria before the renewed clamour for a third force majorly assume the colouration of tribe and religion. Observers believe that this divisive characterisation of parties into the tribe and religion of its majority membership is why it’s imperative to have a uniting third force.

A third force was supposed to be inclusive of everyone and ideas, and also assimilate diverse party, individual and societal interests.

On the contrary, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Senatorial Candidate for Edo Central, Mr. Isidahomhen Idumonza, is of the opinion that among the elite class, party formation was not influenced by ethnicity or religion, but rather a selfish drive to accumulate wealth.

“At the top of the food chain, there are never changing cartels that are holding Nigeria plain and bear… The structure that bind the cartel together is relatively detribalised… Those who influence political leadership at the party level and even beyond are rather doubling down on protecting personal interests and expanding their optical empire.”

Otu shares this assertion with Idumonza. According to him, “The major problem of leadership in Nigeria has always been the sharing formula of our resources between godfathers and gladiators. If there’s anything that has destroyed Nigerian politics and leadership, nothing has done it quicker than the politics of godfatherism and personal interest.”

He believes that this can be solved by the newer and smaller political parties. “The newer parties have an edge in mitigating this by drafting constitutions that would make godfatherism difficult.”

Senior Lecturer in Mass Communication at the Baze University in Abuja, Dr. Abiodun Adeniyi, also shares same opinion as Otu that the smaller and newer political parties have an advantage over the APC and PDP.

Tracing the history of two-party system in Nigeria to the military regime of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, when we had the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adeniyi said he believes the APC and PDP can go the way of NRC and SDP.

“That system partly collapsed because it was not organic, besides the fact that the midwife was not sincere. What we seem to be having now is an unconscious variant, which might also mutate at some point into something else. I do not also believe the present arrangement can be cast in stone, because one of the so-called behemoths is a merger, which sends an instruction on the possibilities of other mergers that could dislodge the seemingly dominant two,” Adeniyi postulates.

At the moment it appears the idea of a third force capable of upstaging the ruling APC and main opposition PDP is a work in progress. Not everyone think the third force would emerge as a singular party like the APC did prior to the 2015 general election that brought them to power.

Otu believes that “In order for the new thinking to do away with the old and for the Third Force idea to take hold, there has to be a kind of broad based coalition amongst smaller parties in every state in Nigeria, and this means different parties will emerge as Third Force in different states.”

He also believes that “For a third force to emerge, our electoral institutions and processes have to be fair and simplified. Next would be on the youth population – especially first time voters – to look beyond party and vote in competent individuals.” It remains to see if this can this happen this year.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/01/14/is-political-third-force-a-mirage/

OPINION: The Third Force best bet ahead of 2019 elections

Editor's note: Public affairs analyst, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, writes on the ideal presidential candidate who should represent the emerging Third Force Movement to challenge the duo of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming 2019 presidential election.

Read below:

I have great respect for all Third Force presidential candidates and I believe they deserve more respect than they are getting. Nobody thought Barack Obama could be US president until he became US president. Many of those who mocked him for aspiring in the first place eventually became his most ardent supporters. This is how life works.

So, if you are supporting a Third Force candidate, be proud of yourself because not many people often get the message in early stage, you are one of the special few. Believe me, when I see people supporting any Third Force candidate with so much vigour and commitment, I admire those individuals greatly. It's not easy to break away from the bandwagon effect. Many often wish they can be like you, but lack the courage to do so.

Ademola H Adigun has stated that he his rooting for Madam Oby Ezekwesili even when he knew she wouldn't win. That is a principled stance based on conviction.

Hon Mustapha Mudasir Ayanfe is rooting for Kingsley Moghalu, though he asserted that he knew he also would not win. That is also principled.

For Inibehe Effiong, it's Omoyele Sowore or nothing. For him, Sowore has the conviction that he would win, but would he? Everybody knows that I am for Gbenga Olawepo Hashim and I strongly believe that he's the best candidate in this election, not only in terms of ideas and capacity, but also in planning and projection. If you are truly looking for a Third Force candidate capable of winning this election, do not ignore Olawepo-Hashim, who has gathered so many important endorsements, ranging from the Middle Belt Forum led by many of it's past governors, ministers, generals and others. You can not ignore him because of the numerous other political parties that have adopted him as their candidate.

Just yesterday, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) also did same and all of their governorship, senatorial and house of representatives candidates in south west joined list of his endorsers. Many others are rooting for Tope Fasua, Fela Durotoye etc. For me, irrespective of the Third Force candidate you are rooting for, you deserve some commendation for standing out and I respect you.

Now, let's get to the basics of the presidential contest. For a candidate to be declared winner of the election, he must, in addition to having the popular vote, have 2/3rd majority.

This means that, to stand a chance of being a serious contender in this election, the Third Force candidate must be well spread in at least, 2/3rd of the country. By spread, I mean a structure, which include having candidates running election in 2/3rd of the country or at least, be structurally available in 50% of the country.

The Third Force candidates must not just think about being on the ballot and on the media, there must be a deliberate plan that is practical to cause a major upset. Unfortunately, out of a possible 450 national elective positions to be contested for, Tope Fasua's party, ANRP has only 17 candidates.

Fela Durotoye party, ANN has only 21 candidates. Omoyele Sowore's party, AAC has only 31, Oby Ezekwesili's ACPN has only 56 and Kingsley Moghalu's YPP has only 70 candidates. If you add all these numbers together, it gives us about 190 candidates. So, while Tope, Sowore, Fela, Kingsley and Oby joined together has about 190 candidates, Olawepo-Hashim alone has more than their combined force in terms of spread.

Olawepo Hashim's party, People's Trust (PT) nominated about 200 candidates and one of the most vibrant candidate running under PT is Barrister Tony Akika, a former Attorney-General in Nasarawa state, running for House of Representatives.

Apart from the PT, which fielded the highest nomination among all newly registered party, several other political parties have equally formed alliances with Olawepo-Hashim's PT, raising his spread to over 2/3rd of the country. This is a basic requirements to be a strong contender and in my opinion.

The point I am trying to make is that, rather than go into this election, knowing fully well that most of our vibrant candidates do not have the structural spread to compete for victory even from a constitutional point of view, why not support Olawepo-Hashim who is in the prime position to compete?

In terms of the issues, Olawepo-Hashim has been adjudged as the one with most in-depth understanding of the issues and has proffered practicable solutions.

In terms of experience, he is a global business man with investment in four continents of the world, particularly in Nigeria's energy and oil and gas sector, coupled with his human rights credential as a 1989 amnesty international prisoner of conscience and his political participation as member of G34 that led the process of returning Nigeria to democracy in 1999. Olawepo-Hashim has proven that he his well prepared.

Read more: https://www.legit.ng/1216691-opinion-the-third-force-bet-2019-elections.html

Breaking: People's Trust Hashim divides Buhari’s camp in the north

Contrary to the bold face being put up by supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term campaign, there is a widening division among the president’s inner men in the northern part of the country.

Investigation by The Guardian discovered that similar to what transpired at the build up to All Progressives Congress’s (APC) national convention, when the Buhari camp was divided between those against and those in support of tenure elongation for Chief John Odigie-Oyegun’s National Working Committee (NWC), some prominent members of the party, especially from the Northwest geopolitical zone, are becoming averse to the president’s second term.

It was learnt that during a meeting at the Abuja residence of a retired military officer, who is in the present administration, the president’s performance at the televised townhall media programme, The Candidates, became a major talking point, with majority of those in attendance expressing fears that the president was on the verge of losing the election.
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A source at the meeting, who is also a high ranking former military top brass, confided in The Guardian that although the meeting was not preplanned, “it happened that most of us were disturbed in equal measure about His Excellency’s capacity and comportment.”He said: “From the frank discussions, it dawned on most of us that the television programme exposed certain things that should not be in the public domain. One of that is the issue of hearing aid for the president, which some people stood against after his second medical trip to London in the belief that it would open baba to attacks from the opposition.

“There are other things, which many people did not know before the television show. The president no longer exercises independent thought and judgment in decision-making. So some of us believe the best we can do for now is to settle for a presidential candidate to support in the election, because even though the president may not get maximum votes at the first ballot, a runoff would seal it against him.”He said using money to lure masses to campaign rallies to create the impression that the president is popular might not be enough cover to justify whatever outcome that might be produced from the polls.

The source disclosed that when the candidate of Peoples Trust (PT), Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, was suggested the near unanimity among those present showed dissension, stressing that while “those of us from Northwest were in support of Hashim, our brothers from Northeast did not want to have anything like that.”

Explaining the rationale for Northwest search for alternative candidate, the source said it is common knowledge that a Southwest politician was pushing the President’s candidature for personal and possible zonal advantage, “but those of us from northeast believe that that would not pose a problem after the election is won.”

He added: “I am from the Northwest and we don’t want a repeat of previous experience. We have the highest number of registered voters but whoever tells you President Muhammadu Buhari would return maximum number of votes cast in the forthcoming election is not at home with our people.“I don’t know if those of us from Northeast are secretly working for Atiku or for their own selfish political interest, but it is the Northwest that have the upper hand in terms of number of registered voters that should be listened to.”

However, when another prominent member of the president’s kitchen cabinet who was at the meeting was confronted with the question whether there were plans to adopt Plan B in the event of certain developments in the polity, he shot back: “who told you? Is it every time you see two or three politicians together you start speculating?”

But regarding the issue of division in the north over President Buhari’s electoral fortunes, he paraphrased an Hausa proverb that says, “if you mess yourself in the presence of a loud mouth, the wise thing to do is to sit on your mess rather than have your misfortune become public ridicule.”

As if acting on a possible intelligence of what transpired at the private meeting in Abuja, former President Olusegun Obasanjo released a public statement in which he noted his concerns about the likelihood of rigging next month’s election and the declining mental alertness of the president. Obasanjo had stated: “While Nigeria must appreciate Buhari for the little he has done and allow him to depart for home in peace if he allows free, fair, peaceful and credible elections, we must also tell ourselves that Nigeria deserves better at this point in time than what Buhari is capable of offering. “History will note that he has been there. Nigeria now needs a man with better physical and mental soundness, with an active mind and intellect.”

Also a former buxom friend of President Buhari, Buba Galadima, has in media interactions referred to the shenanigans of the President’s handlers, stressing that the cabal knows the truth they are bent on force-feeding him to Nigerians for their selfish interest.But National Publicity Secretary of APC, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, told The Guardian that I cannot respond to such a mischievous imputation, pointing out that as far as he was concerned, “President Buhari is sound in mind and body.”
He debunked as rumours making the rounds that the party was already considering the option of adopting any of the presidential candidates from opposition political parties from the Northwest over fears that President Buhari is unfit to administer the country.

The APC spokesperson expressed surprise over the notion in certain quarters that President Buhari will not be able to survive a second term if elected, arguing that President Buhari’s resolve to lead the nationwide campaigns of the party was enough pointer that nothing untoward has happened to him.He said: “The president has demonstrated not only that he is ready but is also agile, healthy, focused to run the race. The naysayers have said he would not be able to campaign and that he has passed such responsibility to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. But they are same people now crying that they are overburdening the president over the campaign.

“The president is facing this election squarely because he is a man with a mission and he has taken upon himself the responsibility to achieve the goal. And it has pleased God to actually support him to succeed in the interest of Nigerians. The president has a place in history in delivering good governance to Nigerians. I found the question as to whether the party is scouting for his replacement in the North-West not only very funny but irresponsible, I am sorry to say.”

On his part, the PT Presidential candidate said initially the president’s men, commonly referred to as the cabal, did not want him on the ballot, citing the crisis in Alliance of New Nigeria (ANN), “But that disposition has suddenly changed and it is Atiku people that are all out after me.”Hashim rejected suggestions that the recent endorsement of his candidature by the North Central geopolitical (Middle Belt) was precipitated by some members of ‘the cabal’ or as a result of the secret post Jumat prayer meeting in Abuja last week.

https://guardian.ng/politics/hashim-divides-buharis-camp-in-the-north/amp/

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Kwara Must Change Senatorial Online Polls begins

Leading Pro-Democracy group in Kwara State, Kwara Must Change (KMC) has announced to all eligible voters in Kwara State that its online Senatorial polls ahead of the 2019 general election has commenced and it urges all members of the general public to observe and participate in the poll.

In a statement released on Thursday, signed by its State Coordinator, Comrade Yusuf Olatunji, Kwara Must Change stated that it believes that the result of the 6 days poll would indicate, to a great extent, the direction of the 2019 election in Kwara State.

The online poll currently running on Kwara Must Change (KMC) Facebook group and page respectively was created few hours ago and as at the time of writing this statement, the Kwara Central senatorial poll has recorded about 1000 votes, While Kwara South and Kwara North senatorial polls have recorded about 700 and 400 votes respectively, shared between the two main political parties, All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Experts have argued that, accurate predictions of elections can be critically important for business and social purposes. Households and businesses may base important economic decisions on the likely policies of a future government, if polls indicate a possibility of change.

Reliable polls would also help citizens make better informed plans ahead of time, rather than reacting chaotically to an unforeseen turn of events.
Additionally, U.S based Pew Research Center have maintained that, although election polls attract a great deal of attention for their ability to predict the outcome of elections, their most important function is to help journalists and citizens understand the meaning of the campaign and the election.

Polls help to explain, among other things, what issues are important, how candidate qualities may affect voters’ decisions, and how much support there is for particular policy changes.

Kwara Must Change (KMC) therefore calls on all members of the public to carefully follow the poll on its facebook platform and also participate if necessary.

'O TO GE' movement will send Saraki into political oblivion by Abdulrazaq Hamzat

Editor's note: Public affairs analyst, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, writes on the 'O TO GE' movement in Kwara which is affiliated to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, and is threatening to deal an heavy blow to the political network and structures of Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.

Read below: Immediately one steps into Kwara state, either through Kogi state, Osun state, Oyo state, Niger state or even through Benin Republic, the first thing that stirs one in the face is ‘'O TO GE,’ the All Progressive Congress (APC) popular shibboleth that has sent the name Saraki into sudden lethe in Kwara state.

The slogan literally means, 'Enough is Enough.' It was adopted by Kwara state chapter of All Progressive Congress (APC) as a representation of the feelings and resolve of the people to end Saraki’s hegemony and even before the election, it appeared the slogan has sent the name Saraki into sudden oblivion in the state.

Unlike in the past, when Saraki would be the dominant name ahead of the election. It appeared today, that the only name being heard in Kwara is Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and his O TO GE slogan. It has been observed that in the past few months, life has not remained the same for the Senate President, as his girth on Kwara state has percolated before his very eyes and every effort to reverse the trend seem counterproductive.

Realizing the impact of this 'O TO GE' shibboleth on Saraki’s waned popularity, the Kwara state government initiated some intervention to stop the opposition from further using the slogan, claiming it received a petition from the palace of Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Zulu Gambari against the slogan, but the legendary royal highness of Ilorin quickly dissociated the palace from such petition, furthering government’s confusion.

Furthermore, when the attempt to stop 'O TO GE' slogan failed to yield any positive result against the growing popularity of the opposition, the ruling party decided to be clever by half, adopting the same slogan for their campaign and more like impersonating the opposition with a distorted message to confuse the public.

The ruling party produced several campaign materials with the same slogan using it to discredit the federal government and blaming the president for the woes of the country. However, it turned out that the efforts of Kwara ruling party is rather making the opposition stronger.

While the Saraki led PDP is still finding ways to contain growing opposition popularity, suddenly, out of the blues, a giant billboard with 'O TO GE' mantra boldly in-scripted on it surfaced in Offa town, with picture of notorious armed robbers that killed more than 30 people in the town in 2017.

The armed robbers, when arrested at the time claimed they were political thugs of the Senate President and the billboard was reminding the people of Kwara, what needed to stop. This move was seen as a master stroke against the ruling party and without wasting much time, thugs allegedly loyal to the PDP vandalized the Offa billboard and hundreds of others across the state.

Before the dust of this vandalization died down, the opposition turned it into a rallying point, as about a week later, a street walk was staged with a personalized 'O TO GE' banner being waved by a large group of people, while a bigger version of the vandalized billboard was restored.

The fear in camp of Saraki was obvious and for the first time in a long time, the Senate President was forced to appear in a syndicated radio interview, which was also streamed live on all social media platforms. He wanted to respond to certain questions fueling opposition popularity and hopefully turn the tide.

When he was asked about the Offa robbery incident, in which the arrested suspects claimed they were his political thugs, Saraki said he was being framed by the police. According to him, all funds available in all banks robbed in Offa was just N7million and when he went to condole with the community, he donated N10 million, arguing that he his beyond sending armed robbers to attack the community.

However, this explanation didn’t go down well with many, as they have been asking, how did Saraki know the amount available in all the 4 to 5 banks robbed? Some even chided the Senate President for demeaning the memory of the over 30 people who lost their lives in the unfortunate incident by focusing on money.

Reacting to the claim that Saraki donated N10million to the community after the robbery, prominent people in Kwara state, including Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed have tackled the Senate president, claiming that he lied about donation.

Furthermore, while the live radio interview was streaming online via Saraki’s own account, it could be seen that majority of Kwarans following the interview were against the Senate President.

It would be recalled that few months ago, Saraki’s candidate was defeated in the Kwara by-election won by APC House of Representatives candidate, Honorable Abdulraheem Ajulo and this has been said to be a testament to the imminent collapse of the Saraki dynasty. As the 2019 election draw nearer, observers are keen to watch how this history unfolds in Kwara.

Read more: https://www.legit.ng/1217342-opinion-o-to-ge-movement-send-saraki-political-oblivion-by-abdulrazaq-hamzat.html

Caviar:
This bilms and mrrights are bloody liars

Tell the truth

nakunuto:
did the whole middle belt to endorse him

Yes

Hum

Gohashim2019

Why Olawepo Hashim was endorsed for President by middle belt region

https://mrrightsng..com/2019/01/why-olawepo-hashim-was-endorsed-for.html?m=1

EOPLE’S Trust (PT) presidential candidate, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim recently move closer to achieving his aspiration to become president of Nigeria with the Middle Belt Forum adopting him as its candidate for the February 16 election.

Leaders of the forum, at a meeting in Abuja, ratified the choice of Olawepo-Hashim, capping a process that started some six months earlier.

The forum’s leader, former Plateau State Military Governor Air Commodore Dan Suleiman (retd), who announced the news to a gathering of its elders in Abuja, said the choice of Olawepo-Hashim has been ratified by the forum.

The forum has presence in 12 of 19 Northern states, its leaders said.

The leaders also added that the new development could alter the calculations ahead of the 2019 election.

Explaining why Olawepo Hashim was adopted by the middle belt region, he said, the journey for the ratification of a common Middle Belt candidate started, when the Southern leaders asked the Middle Belt to produce a common candidate that would be supported for the Presidency by the Southern and Middle Belt Forum.

He said the forum identified many aspirants from the Middle Belt and later shortlisted three of them, who met with the leaders at the home of former Kwara State Governor Chief Cornelius Adebayo in Lagos.

Suleiman said the forum had assured the three shortlisted candidates that a final choice would be made and that all of them must be ready to work together.

He also stated that the Middle Belt would continue to network with Southern leaders on the adoption of the common candidate.

“What we are doing here today is to tell you that the Middle Belt has completed the exercise and we have settled for a candidate and that candidate is you (Olawepo-Hashim),” the retired Air Force officer and former Chieftain of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) said.

In announcing the decision, Suleiman recalled that the process of endorsing a candidate started last year when the forum invited three presidential candidates from the Middle Belt for screening.

He said although the forum earlier gave the three contestants the option of meeting and coming up with a consensus candidate to be supported, they returned and asked the forum to take the decision for them and they would support whoever emerged.

He said, “Recall that we invited the three of you from the Middle Belt to listen to you.

Other leaders of the Middle Belt present at the brief gathering included the President of Middle Belt Forum Dr. Pogu Bitrus, Chief Adebayo, former Rivers State Military Governor Maj.-Gen. Zamani Lekwot (retd), former Niger State Deputy Governor Nuhu Zagbayi, retired DIG Porter Dabup and members of the executive committee of the Middle Belt Forum.
https://mrrightsng..com/2019/01/why-olawepo-hashim-was-endorsed-for.html?m=1

Hum

Will voting take place on tv and online?

Meanwhile, Hashim is the leading candidate, even online. Google will help you with evidences

Very bad

Hum

What support?

#WhatiF: Buhari is really cloned?

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has been accused of being cloned.

The propagators of this allegation claimed that President Buhari died 2017 while in London and that he has been replaced with one Jubril from Sudan.

While President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the people of Nigeria that he is not a clone, the opposition parties are re-echoing the propaganda and asking, #WhatiF Buhari is really cloned?

https://whatif.ng/2018/12/25/whatif-buhari-is-really-cloned/

khingTony:
This man should keep quiet, He knows he cannot get up to 200 votes in the forthcoming election, so he wants to gain popularity at the expense of our President Elect

Slap or Punch or kick, 2019 is Atikulated

Are you alright?