₦airaland Forum

EUROBOMBER:
Gbawe,
Passingshot,
Omenka.

Bro, my personal take is that the excessive focus on oil is indolent and typical of the African malaise whereby the inhabitants of the African continent are unable to think outside the box to then device local solution for local problems. We would all be better off looking at lobbying the Buhari government, which I believe is reasonable and open to developmental ideas, to deregulate and liberalise the commercial production of mineral resources - especially by giving States the power to work at their own pace unimpeded and according to their readiness to work for and gain a diversified and robust economy.

Personally, if I had the voice and power to do so, this is what i would insist all serious regions do. There are many nations of the world with not a drop of crude oil yet they are some of the most prosperous, innovative and successful nations known to man because the people of those Countries are innovative and able to squeeze 110% out of what they have to get what they want. I personally don't think Nigerians who are not from the North should focus on what the North will do if oil is found in the region in commercial quantity because, as we all know, oil can be a curse in the wrong hands.

We are in an age of ideas and it is inspirational, for example, to see what Fashola achieved to make Lagos virtually the only State that can finance itself in Nigeria and a State that would be among one of the biggest economies in Africa if an independent nation. We an in an age of ideas and anyone who wants to die over oil is free to do so yet the reality is that the unexploited income from non-oil sector is huge if only we can think innovatively and harness the vast potentials of these sectors. What people of all regions of Nigeria should be chasing is more local control over the processes and sectors that can provide economic wealth, economic diversity and socio-economic prosperity.

Larryjay4u:
All na wash. Politics on display

Maybe. Yet PDP left itself exposed with how it is a Party that loves impunity and criminal conduct to the extent its members routinely do the wrong things even when they do not have to.

The judgment is an audacious precedent against arbitrariness and impunity by political parties in the selection and nomination of their candidates. It is hoped that the PDP and other parties will be humbled by this judgment and refrain from political rascality and lawlessness in the interest of justice and democracy.

@OP.

The opinions of legal experts on the Taraba judgement now coming in. Read one below yourself.


https://www.nairaland.com/2723978/legal-examination-judgment-taraba-state#39834947

Please skip to the part in bold , to note the conclusion of the author, if you find article too lengthy.


http://saharareporters.com/2015/11/07/legal-examination-judgment-taraba-state-governorship-election-tribunal-inibehe-effiong

A Legal Examination Of The Judgment Of The Taraba State Governorship Election Tribunal By Inibehe Effiong


BY INIBEHE EFFIONG NOV 07, 2015

The decision of the Taraba State Governorship Election Tribunal delivered on Saturday, 7th November, 2015 has a lot of implications for our electoral jurisprudence. The judgment has laid down a radical, novel and insightful precedent in Nigeria. There is no judicial authority known to me whose facts are on all fours with this case.


Let me admit that I have not read the judgment. Therefore, my opinion on the judgment is neither infallible nor sacrosanct. However, the report of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the ratio (reason) for the epochal judgment is instructive. The material part of the report is reproduced below:

"The Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a Minister designate, Mrs Aisha Alhassan, as the winner of the April 11 governorship election in the state. In a judgment the three-member tribunal held that Ishaku was not validly nominated as candidate of the PDP and therefore was not qualified, ab-initio, to contest the governorship election."

"Specifically, the tribunal held that the governorship primaries purportedly conducted by the PDP in the state was done in violation of section 78 (b) (1)(2) of the Electoral Act which guides parties nomination to the position of governorship candidate. It held that contrary to the provision of the section, PDP conducted the purported primaries at its national secretariat, Wadata Plaza, in Abuja with no clear delegation from the local government areas in the state."

"The tribunal sustained the testimonies of INEC head of election monitoring that the commission was not aware of any primaries conducted by the party in line with the provision of the electoral act which produced Ishaku as the party’s flagbearer."

"Section 78 (b) (1)(2) of the Electoral Act states: In the case of nomination to the position of Governorship candidate, a political party shall where they intend to sponsor candidates:

(i) hold special congress in each of the Local Government Areas of the States with delegates voting for each of the aspirants at the congress to be held in designated centres on specified dates.

(ii) the aspirant with the highest number of vote at the end of the voting shall be declared the winner of the primaries of the party and aspirant’s name shall be forwarded to the commission as the candidate of the party, for the particular state."

"The tribunal held that the defence by the PDP that the primaries were shifted to Abuja because of security challenges in the state was rejected by the tribunal. It sustained the evidence of the INEC official that there was no primaries election in the state and the emergence of Ishaku through the purported election in Abuja was after the statutory stipulated time for party primaries had elapsed."

"It held that since Ishaku was not duly sponsored by the PDP, the party had no candidate in the governorship election in the eyes of the law. The tribunal therefore voided the votes of the PDP and Ishaku in the election saying ``it is a waste’’ and declared the APC and its candidate, which came second, as the valid winner of the April 11 election."

It is wrong to relate or compare this case with the locus classicus case of Amaechi v. INEC (2008) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1080) p. 227. Whereas the issue in Amaechi's was on who was the lawful and rightful candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as between Mr. Celestine Omehia and Mr. Rotimi Amaechi. The question in the Taraba's case is whether the PDP participated at all in the election in the eyes of the law.

By the provisions of Section 140 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), where an Election Tribunal or Court determines that a candidate who obtained the highest votes was not qualified to contest the election, it shall not declare the candidate with the second highest votes as elected, but it shall order for a fresh election. On the other hand, where the Tribunal or Court determines that the candidate who was returned as elected did not score majority of valid votes at the election, it shall declare the candidate with the highest valid votes as elected.

The law is now settled that qualification/disqualification is both a pre-election and post-election matter with concurrent jurisdiction exercisable by both the Election Tribunal and the High Court. The process of nomination of a candidate touches on qualification of the candidate and qualification is one of the four grounds cognizable by Section 138 of the Electoral Act upon which an election may be questioned at the tribunal. See the recent cases of Gwede v. INEC (2015) 242 LRCN 138 and Akpamgbo-Okadigbo v. Chidi (No. 2) (2015) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1466) 124.

Thus, the law has endorsed the hybrid status of qualification/disqualification of a candidate in an election. Accordingly, it is wrong for anyone to say that how the PDP nominated her candidate does not concern the petitioner and her party - the APC.

If the issue was solely on the qualification of the PDP candidate then the Tribunal's order declaring the APC candidate as duly elected was arrived at per incuriam (in error) as the proper order would have been an order for a fresh election.

[b]However, I need to restate that the main issue in this case is beyond the qualification of the PDP candidate, Mr. Darius Ishaku. Did the PDP as a political party participate in the April 11th, 2015 gubernatorial election in Taraba State in the eyes of the law? That is the crux of the matter. Although the Supreme Court held in the Amaechi's case that it is a political party that is voted for in an election and not the candidate, the law is explicit that a party cannot participate in an election without validly nominating a qualified candidate.

The fact that the purported PDP primary election was held outside the stipulated time as stated by an INEC staff whose testimony was accepted by the Tribunal is conclusive of the fact that the PDP never validly nominated a candidate as required by law. In essence, the PDP did not participate in the election. It has been argued by some that it amounts to "double standard" for the Tribunal which sat in Abuja because of the security situation in the State to invalidate the PDP primary election which was taken to the party secretariat in Abuja also because of "security concerns".

On the surface, this argument appears logical. However, the point should be made that the Tribunal was not the proper forum for the PDP to raise such a defence. If INEC that is vested with the constitutional power to monitor and supervise primary elections of political parties did not admit or agree with the defence of the PDP on why it held Its purported gubernatorial primary in Abuja instead of Taraba State as stipulated by the Electoral Act, there is no justification for inviting the Tribunal to consider, accept or agree with that defence.

[size=14pt]Also, it should be emphasised that even If the primary was held in Taraba State it would not have altered the decision of the Tribunal since it was held outside the stipulated time.[/size] The Court of Appeal and possibly the Supreme Court is open for the respondents who are dissatisfied with the findings of the Tribunal to test whether indeed the purported primary was held outside the stipulated time.

Having regard to Section 143 of the Electoral Act, Mr. Ishaku will vacate office as the governor of Taraba State for the swearing in of Mrs. Alhassan of the APC except he appeals against the decision of the tribunal within 21 days of the delivery of the judgment.

[size=14pt]I firmly believe that the decision of the Tribunal is legally defensible. Since the PDP cannot be said to have participated in the election, the Tribunal rightly held that the votes casted for the party and its candidate were invalid and wasted. The Tribunal's consequential order declaring Mrs. Alhassan of the APC as the winner of the election is plausible, inviolable and in obedience to the provisions of Section 140 of the Electoral Act given that she scored majority of valid votes at the election.[/size]

The judgment is an audacious precedent against arbitrariness and impunity by political parties in the selection and nomination of their candidates. It is hoped that the PDP and other parties will be humbled by this judgment and refrain from political rascality and lawlessness in the interest of justice and democracy.[/b]

Inibehe Effiong, Esq. is a Legal Practitioner

FreeGlobe:
ilekeh, superstar1, aresa, Aigbofa, mayoroflagos, mrmbam are you telling me you will allow joe igbokwe insult yoruba elders and leaders? He even called their names but couldn't mention the names of the igbo leaders he was talking about. get him!

Bruv (because I am 100% sure you are not a woman) let me tell you that Yorubas are not sentimental and senselessly clannish creatures you can rile up with your imbecilic taunts. Igbokwe did not insult Yoruba elders. He called out worthless Yoruba elders who are of no value to the very cosmopolitan and politically sophisticated Yoruba people.

Igbokwe shows he is an honorary Yoruba man with how he understands that Yorubas have no love or clannish tolerance for Yoruba leaders who are treacherous and are not 'omoluabis'. Yorubas do not defend the miscreants in their society merely because they share ethnicity with them. That is why Igbokwe is comfortable saying what he did. He understands Yorubas well enough to know we will not back rogues, misrulers and traitors merely because they are Yorubas like us. We will call them out and disown them.

philips70:
The INEC must be represented in every party's primaries for it to be recognized and authentic even if it is ratification of previously selected candidate. In this case, for INEC to testify that Ishiaku was not duly elected/selected in a primary means that provision was not adhered to. Truth is in this last elections PDP took imposition of candidates to another level up to the extent they refused selling forms to presidential candidates after collecting their monies. My happiness is the judgment will be a lesson to all political parties and sincerely pray it stands up till the supreme court.

Totally correct. And the reason they did this is because they assumed the elections would be business-as-usual and that GEJ would continue in power. They were therefore disinterested in abiding by laid down laws because they felt they could contravene it, even when they did not have to, and nothing would happen. They have now been voted out and it is natural, unlike before when PDP continued to perpetuate itself in power, that electoral malpractices, which the PDP is synonymous with, will no longer go unpunished. Buhari has told them that the era of impunity is over but they stubbornly fail to understand what he means. I really don't understand why PDP fans are shouting. Did those candidates you supported clannishly do wrong or not? That is the question to answer before accusing the APC or the judiciary of victimising any Party.

texazzpete:
Your post history says a lot about you. If this is the level of opposition you're talking about , Nigeria is well rid of the nonsense.

Abeg show me anywhere you condemned 'one party state' in the last few years when PDP were running things.

Indeed - and riding roughshod over the main opposition using the NPF, army, Nigerian press and media (eg AIT et al), DSS, SSS, EFCC, ICPC, NNPC and virtually every government institution and parastatal as an extension of the PDP. PDP and its fan now want to play victim of political injustice? Joke of the century. These same characters cheered while the DSS under GEJ raided APC campaign offices and locked up APC leaders while the foolish and compromised Ogar gleefully announced that APC were behind terror attacks simply because she never believed GEJ would be ousted. I can't even believe how dishonestly revisionist the fans of PDP on Nairaland can be. It must be in the DNA.

Whynotthetruth:
On your Ekiti rant...

1)Was Fayemi; a sitting governor so incompetent that Fayose even rigged his LGA?...because Fayose won even in Fayemi's LGA?

2)If gubernatorial election was rigged, how come that Ekiti APC NEVER won even a single seat in subsequent elections especially when buhari has won presidential election?

3)How come APC house of assembly was NOT able to impeach Fayose even under Buhari presidency?

4)You need to learn to keep mute...because the more you vomit ignorance here...the more stupid people rate you...

5)Nigeria has NO future if APC is peopled by empty barrels like you...sorry but that's the bitter truth

You are shameless. Are you saying fayose's popularity in Ekiti means he can act with impunity all the way to bullying a Senior army officer because of the desperation to win an election? Are you at all seeing issues clearly? All that has to be proven is 'intent'!!!! Obanikoro and Fayose made it clear they were willing to subvert the will of the people via using a compromised National army that was disgracefully acting as an extension of the ruling Party when it must be independent. This is why people like you will never become leaders or make good ones even if you accidentally find yourself in a leadership position as GEJ did.

You do not understand that it is not about theory and 'cramming' and can never grasp the underlying finesse relating to leading well and being seen to lead well. With your limited intelligence and ignorance you do not realise this is not about whether Fayose won or not. It is about Institutional integrity and the fact that the PDP and its leader show a readiness to always subvert the rule of law, even when they do not have to, in the effort to get their way. This now makes the PDP vulnerable and rightly so. Only a foolish and weak opposition, after defeating the PDP, will not use this self-inflicted weakness of the PDP to its own advantage. You are a learner buddy. Throwing insults around will not change what I have predicted will happen in the next few years while APC controls the centre.

Whynotthetruth:
You keep proving me right daily that you're an ignorant folk...Full of noise but NO substance...

1)Does tribunal have jurisdiction over pre-election matters?

2)Does a court grant judgement on matters not sought by Prosecutor?

3)Does court upturn people's mandate based on technicalities or grant rerun?

APC cum Buhari is CORRUPTING the system and INSTITUTIONALIZING corruption and may end up causing constitutional crisis...

You are the ignorant person here because I made it clear I was not talking about this case in particular since I don't have the detailed judgement as announced by the judge/s. I was addressing the fact that PDP has been getting away with wholesale electoral malpractice for the past 16 years as long as the Party succeeds to perpetuate itself in power.

That did not happen this time and naturally a non-PDP government will allow the judiciary to sit and do its job. It is therefore hypocritical, as we have seen on this thread, for PDP fans to be representing their awful and discredited Party as a "victim" of APC 'high-handedness' when it is the PDP that is universally famous for that sort of disregard for democracy and total lack of respect for the will of the people. Details are coming through and we will get the chance to study the judgement thoroughly but people like you need reminding of what the PDP is and what it is famous for doing. That is what I did with my posts here.

Descartes:
Gbawe the epistle writer, you're back with your usual concocted Google-generated epistles

Bruv, how market? See my response above to understand my post. All people are doing is preempting justice here. I have not seen any detailed article chronicling the judgement as handed down. Nonetheless, election rigging/mago mago and PDP go hand-in-hand so let the Party fight through the court because in their case, and because of what they have done time and time again over 16 years, it is guilty until proven innocent I am afraid.

Reyginus:
This makes little sense in explaining this case. If this decision stands then Samuel Ortom might as well lose

I am not talking about specifics of the case because the general public does not have the details yet. All we are getting is "breaking news" or sketchy announcement such as that Saharareporters is currently showing.

http://saharareporters.com/2015/11/07/election-tribunal-sacks-taraba-state-governor-darius-ishaku

I therefore do not conclude either way till I have the facts. My point is that the PDP, as usual, embraced brazen impunity and once agian do what it does best because of the belief that the Party will never lose power at the centre. People should therefore not cry or try to make out the PDP is some victim if the actions of the Party's candidates are now being scrutinised as Buhari promised would happen. No point preempting justice by saying who has a good case or not when there is not even a detailed copy of the judgement anywhere yet. My opinion is that the PDP has a history of this sort of behaviour so let the Party pay the price for its vile electoral character and history. this is what I was reminding the PDP fans of when they now come here to play victim and announce that "the APC will ruin Nigeria's democracy".

Validated:
The case is dead on arrival. Proper primaries does not mean declaring an opposition party winner. Case of Amaechi vs. PDP and Omehia Tribunal should be charged to court for fraudulent judgement. APC will destroy Nigeria democracy the way NPN did in 1983. Just wait and see.

It is PDP that has destroyed Nigeria's democracy and the entire world knows this. Did OBJ and the PDP not conduct, according to international observers, "the worst election in the history of the world" supervised by the dirtiest Umpire of them all i.e Maurice Iwu? You lot are quick to forget such lows in our history that damn and indict the PDP as a rogue Party fond of brazen electoral malpractices and routinely denying Nigerians their right to be led by leaders of their choice. We are now in an era of revisionism, from the PDP and her fans, so I am not surprised the new tactics is to portray the PDP as the victim while blaming others for the misfortune the PDP brought upon itself.

HIGHESTPOPORI:
All this happening becos Apc is now in Power,it suits them,they don't want opposition,thank God Biafra has come!

Not true. All this is happening because the PDP behaved with total impunity, as usual, because the Party expected to get away with it as it always does since PDP always retained power or handed over to another PDP hand at the Presidential level. It is time every brazen act of impunity and wrongdoing the PDP took during the 2015 election is reversed. We all know that PDP leaders never expected GEJ to lose so they stuck their fingers up at Nigeria and brazenly carried out all manner of electoral malpractices. They must have thought Buhari is joking when Mr.President announced that he would do all in his power to ensure all acts of electoral violence, arson, misconduct and vote rigging is looked into exhaustively. PDP getting what it deserves in my opinion.

When they hounded Captain Sagir Koli out of Nigeria, because he revealed how Obanikoro and Fayose were bullying a Senior Nigerian military office to assist their vote rigging plans, PDP fans mocked us on Nairaland when we complained over that development. The threads are still here where some of us insisted this was wrong and must not be ignored with culprit unpunished. GEJ, in all his unscrupulous glory, pretended he did not notice the biggest and most disgraceful scandal to hit Nigeria in a while. In fact, showing the total disdain GEJ had for Nigerians, he made Obanikoro a Minister after that disgraceful episode. PDP and GEJ fans even taunted us that Captain Koli should show face to defend his allegation if he dares. Well Karma is a naughty woman and she is here for payback. Make una enjoy. For the next four years PDP and its fans will know that a disciplined, resolute and principled leader is in charge and not a corrupt, unprincipled, totally shameless and weak reprobate. Please don't try and make out the PDP is a victim. PDP is simply reaping the reward of what it sowed.

It is time every brazen act of impunity and wrongdoing the PDP took during the 2015 election is reversed. We all know that PDP leaders never expected GEJ to lose so they stuck their fingers up at Nigeria and brazenly carried out all manner of electoral malpractices. They must have thought Buhari is joking when Mr.President announced that he would do all in his power to ensure all acts of electoral violence, arson, misconduct and vote rigging is looked into exhaustively. PDP getting what it deserves in my opinion.

When they hounded Captain Sagir Koli out of Nigeria, because he revealed how Obanikoro and Fayose were bullying a Senior Nigerian military office to assist their vote rigging plans, PDP fans mocked us on Nairaland when we complained over that development. The threads are still here where some of us insisted this was wrong and must not be ignored with culprit unpunished. GEJ, in all his unscrupulous glory, pretended he did not notice the biggest and most disgraceful scandal to hit Nigeria in a while. In fact, showing the total disdain GEJ had for Nigerians, he made Obanikoro a Minister after that disgraceful episode. PDP and GEJ fans even taunted us that Captain Koli should show face to defend his allegation if he dares. Well Karma is a naughty woman and she is here for payback. Make una enjoy. For the next four years PDP and its fans will know that a disciplined, resolute and principled leader is in charge and not a corrupt, unprincipled, totally shameless and weak reprobate.

IGBOPRINCE:
ok I understand you..
But in whichever way, apc has produced elected female governor in the history of nigeria but etiaba still remained the first female governor of nigeria.

Thank q

Yes this is factually correct. Personally, all this first to do this and that means nothing to me. The only thing I consider laudable is that the APC, in sexist Nigeria, gave a woman a chance plus protected and promoted her all the way to winning the actual gubernatorial election. Not an easy feat at all in Nigeria for Party or candidate to pull off.

airsaylongcon:
Ok I gerrit. Obi just went and randomly picked her from the street. She wasn't elected to an office that entitled her to become guv when Obi was impeached

you Nigerians sha. Una too like wahala and can never defer to facts and move on. You must always attempt to bolster your wrong argument with more wrong arguments. Did Etiaba run to be Governor? Was she even elected to be deputy Governor or did Obi choose her as his deputy? Please familiarise yourself with how deputy Governor and vice president emerge in the Nigerian democracy. To clear thing up permanently, in the hope you will not proffer another argument that makes no sense, I can tell you that Etiaba was not "elected" into any position that assisted her become deputy Governor and then Governor. She went from being the proprietor of a school she founded to take up the position of deputy governor to Obi. I hope all is crystal clear now.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Etiaba

She retired from the services of the Anambra State Government in 1991 and founded the Bennet Etiaba Memorial Schools, Nnewi, of which she was the proprietress. In March 2006 she resigned to assume the position of the Deputy Governor of Anambra State.

airsaylongcon:
I followed Taraba State gubernatorial election because of Mama Taraba and despite my political leanings I was rooting for her in my heart. But to say she is the first democratically elected is to be unfair to Etiaba. Mama Taraba did not win at the polls. She won at the tribunal. Etiaba was an elected official you know. I have absolutely no qualms wit Mama T but let's not change history because of political games

Sorry bruv but this is plain old pedantism you are deploying. Not very successfully I must add. Alhassan is the first democratically elected female Governor has produced because the people of Taraba, in their majority, voted for her and gave her the mandate to lead them. That mandate was denied her. Her rightful mandate has now been returned to her. If you lawfully buy a BMW and I steal it and park a Toyota in its place for you to use then does that mean you never bought or owned a BMW?

IGBOPRINCE:
e no mata . Eventho na 1week. She s the first female governor in nigeria.. Etiaba

No one is disputing this. The point is that APC has now produced the first elected female governor in the history of Nigeria. That is a great achievement starting from clinching the Party ticket to then defeating others at the main gubernatorial election. Etiaba did not contest any election and, like a VP who inherits power if a President is incapacitated, was merely in the right position at the right time.

airsaylongcon:
Nigerians and big big grammar. If she wasn't elected how did she become guv

Bros, would it kill you to do some basic research before you speak in a way that makes it obvious you are not well-informed? Etiaba became Governor after Peter obi was impeached due to the machinations of OBJ. Obi later regained his rightful mandate and Etiaba handed over to him. Whether you want to defer to facts or you wish to continue arguing obstinately cannot erase from history the fact that APC has now produced the first elected female governor in the history of Nigeria.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Etiaba

Her instatement came as the previous governor, Peter Obi, was impeached by the state legislature for alleged gross misconduct. She transferred her powers back to Obi three months later when an appeal court nullified the impeachment.

Etiaba is a native of Ezekwuabor Otolo-Nnewi in Nnewi North Local Council of Anambra State.

warrior01:
Gbawe, please enough of these lies. This APC government, just under six months has succeeded in turning Nigerians to beggars[b] and you're here spewing more lies on behalf of your pay masters[/b]. People are losing their jobs in droves, no light, worse state of roads, increased robberies and prostitutions and you're not even ashamed to be here with your lying tongue. Can you show the world one single capital project that is ongoing?

This 'paymaster' nonsense from you guys is getting boring. Perhaps you have never seen or made tangible money in your life. Perhaps Nigeria has warped your mindset to the extent you think everyone passionate about political change is 'paid'. Yet let me tell you that there are many self-made and talented men/women who do not need any reward to pursue their interest in good governance for their nation. You can believe what you want but Kachikwu, as one example, is doing a good job at the NNPC. That is not lie or propaganda. It is the deliverance of tangibles that is now plugging avenues of corruption and scams while saving Nigeria money. Continue hating blindly and insulting everyone because you want Nigeria to fail to justify your ludicrous claim Nigeria was "dsetined" to failb. You and your ilk will be disgrace by the grace of God and Insha Allah.

Bayswater:
APC, Gbawe and their penchant for lies. Na only God go save us for scam wey we enter so oo!

Whatever. No time to entertain negativity or those who are about negativity.

PMB and the APC will continue to disgrace the discredited and worthless PDP who held power for 16 years yet have nada to point to as evidence they did anything tangible for Nigerians.


http://cdn.pmnewsnigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/President-Muhammadu-Buhari-504x336.jpg

Buhari has saved Nigeria N1.4 trillion, says APC

Published on November 6, 2015 by · No Comments

https://cdn.pmnewsnigeria.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/President-Muhammadu-Buhari-504x336.jpg
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria

Nigeria’s ruling political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Friday said the country’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has saved the country a whooping N1.4 trillion as at September[b] owing to his moves to plug all loopholes in the system.[/b]
[size=14pt]The party further said the administration is embarking on a massive infrastructure renewal programme in the areas of roads, rail and power and that for this purpose, a $2.5 billion Infrastructure Fund is being put in place.
“Contrary to the disinformation being peddled by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the Buhari administration is poised to lift millions of Nigerians out of extreme poverty by providing social protection and safety nets with another N2.5 trillion Special Intervention Fund,” the APC said as response to an attack by the opposition PDP following the shut-down, by the Senate, of a motion seeking to implement the promised N5,000 to vulnerable Nigerians.[/size]
The APC assured Nigerians that the government would not renege on its campaign promise to pay the N5,000 each monthly to 25 million most vulnerable Nigerians, while calling on the citizens to ignore the mischievous attempt by the PDP to confuse and mislead them on this issue.
In a statement issued in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said even though the PDP-led Federal Government plundered the common wealth in its time, it (APC) has devised creative means not only to pay the money but also to fulfill its other campaign promises to Nigerians.
It said the non-implementation of the payment policy so far is due to the fact that it was not included in the 2015
budget, which was prepared by the PDP-led Jonathan Administration, and also because of the need to first block all financial leakages.
“Now, the Buhari administration has been busy putting into place measures that will make it possible to start the
implementation of this project. Such measures include the introduction
of the Treasury Single Account (TSA)
“We are happy to inform Nigerians that as at the end of September 2015, over N1.4 trillion – which hitherto was lying unproductively in various commercial banks – has been recovered and paid into the TSA,” APC said.
The party said that in its usual jumpy and superficial approach to issues, the irresponsible opposition has already rushed to judgement on the issue without bothering to hear from the APC,
which made the promise in the first instance.
“Had the PDP not sacrificed the truth on the altar of political expediency, it would have realized that the APC never at any time indicated it has reneged on its promise to pay N5,000 monthly to 25 million most vulnerable Nigerians.
“In our press statement of 30 August, 2015, we still reiterated our plan to redeem our campaign promises, including the social security payment policy, despite the primitive looting of the treasury under the watch of the PDP.
“It is therefore astonishing that the same PDP, which is becoming more and more infamous for its penchant for peddling
half truths and sensationalizing every issue, will rush to the press to celebrate the figment of its imagination that the APC will not fulfill its campaign promise regarding the payment,” it said.

twoMcfemad:
I love the simplicity of these women; they are as wonderful as their husbands. God Bless them, God Bless PMB/PYO, God bless Nigeria.

Wailing Wailers; Oya oo, food don ready!

exactly what I was saying on the thread below:

https://www.nairaland.com/2717630/aisha-buhari

basileze:
You are indeed gullible @Gbawe to believe she is now a saint.

For quitting PDP for APC @Nwaogu has suddenly become a change agent? What do you take Nigerians for?
If you are a Zombee, everybody is not.

Give yourself some sense.

Where did I say she is a saint? Why are you guys so fond of mischief? My point is that we are seeing tangibles that bears out her assertion that Buhari has indeed removed the veil of cabal and cult-like economic secrecy the PDP operated with in every sector. Secondly, you do not know her mind to conclusively come here to tell us she has not joined the APC to be part of the movement for change. It is amazing how you people are mind readers unable and unwilling to give others the benefit of the doubt. Whatever her antecedent, she may have had an epiphany on her own "road to Damascus" that has now made her ready to support change.

I have always touted the nation that Nigerians can behave and be good if those at the very top lead by example and show themselves to be about what is best for the people. This always has a trickle down effect same as Nigerians will loot and embrace criminality when those at the top show us that it is okay to rob your nation blind, bully others with guns and scam every sector cynically. We can all recall Buhari making the call for all hands, even those previously soiled severely, to reject the past and come together to help him move Nigeria forward. Some, regardless of their past, will heed this call and reform. this woman may be in this category and you have no right to assume otherwise. If PMB can formally extend a hand of friendship and reconciliation, all in the effort to move Nigeria forward, then you have no moral authority castigating this lady.

DTaj:
Although you were part of leprous PDP, you have said the truth!

Today, since August 2015, NNPC publishes its monthly financial statements and operating activities both in the newspapers and on its website! Same NNPC where everything was in secret and no one knew what government was doing with our money. Before Buhari/Kachikwu, NNPC was managed like a cult. Hear nothing, say nothing, see nothing, ask about nothing, feel nothing. Things have now changed positively...

Aside NNPC, Nigerian Customs now publishes income accruals! Customs! Before Buhari/Alli, Customs declared random revenue collections after granting daft, fraudulent, and unscrupulous waivers to political jobbers, boot-lickers, and contractors!

Zero budgeting is another huge plus! Before now, Federal Government budget was a mere annual ritual where Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) just mark up figures of the previous year without any rigour. That is the reason one sees ministries buying higher number of laptops, printers, generators, furniture, cars, air-conditioners every year as if we do not know that lifespans of such items may be between 3 or 4 years! Even when they are claimed to be supplied for the same offices for which they were bought in the previous year. With zero budgeting, transparency is assured!

Any Nigerian who says nothing has changed positively since Buhari got elected is either blind or shamelessly mischievous! It's a tough road, as things had really gone so bad, but with the Buhari/Osinbajo team, we are on the right track in Nigeria!

God bless Buhari, God bless Nigeria and its people!

god will bless you too ojare for this post. Reading erudite posts like this makes me realise that NL still has members who have a complete grasp of what obtained in the past and what is happening today.

I have to praise the wife of our VP as well. Another classy, elegant and decorous lady who is growing into her position day by day. One thing we all take for granted is the image our leaders, and those associated with them, portray to the world which in turn affects the perception others have of all Nigerians.

PEJ was an absolute disgrace and my non-Nigerian friends used to have a right cackle at my expense whenever she opened her mouth. Nation of 170 million people, with many professors and intellectual who lead their field, and this is the best we can do for first lady? People should understand I am not knocking PEJ's education, lack of erudition, lack of finesse or poor diction/speaking prowess. I simply despise her belligerence, disgraceful conduct, bullying ways, arrogance and totally inappropriate/offensive talk no one, especially her husband, was able to check. Whatever happened to remaining in the background, if you do not know how to conduct yourself gracefully, instead of disgracing the citizens of the biggest black nation on earth? I still shiver thinking about that woman. I thank God everyday she and her husband are gone.

gwales:
A virtuous woman unlike mama piss

Indeed. Aisha Buhari and PEJ mirror their respective husband accurately.

speedyGonzales:
well, I don't care about first lady... the rest of the world don't care either!

That is the point. No body cares because first ladies conduct themselves with the sort of grace and decorum which means we do not really notice them. That is how it should be. Not when some 'agbero', who cannot be controlled by her husband or anyone for that manner, assails our senses with her crude and offensive behaviour to then make the office of first lady the cynosure of all eyes for negative reasons. It is good to have a classy first lady again. That is my point.

Her clannish, provocative and incendiary "born throway" rant against the North, for example, is an absolute disgrace. She only succeeded to embarrass Nigeria and the presidency with how she sounded like the most crude of market women. I salute our new first Lady. We are not hearing of her for the wrong reasons as was the case with the meddlesome, uncouth, bullying and power-drunk "mama piss".

So far so good, and touchwood, how many Nigerians will say they are not happy with how our new first lady is conducting herself with class, grace, elegance and decorum in comparison to a former 'agbero'and "born throway" first Lady I will not even bother to mention because of how horribly she disgraced and demeaned Nigeria? When it is right (a man) then it is right completely and throughout (his wife also). A good, strong and upright man (PMB) will be surrounded by goodness whereas an unprincipled, weak and callous man (GEJ) will likely attract and be surrounded by similar.

Personally, I am a proud Nigerian again and I no longer have to deal with cringing when a certain former first lady is about to grab a Microphone.

basileze:
If you tell me @Ngozi Okonjo Iweala dumps PDP it makes reasonable sense.

This @Nkechi Nwogu has no political value

Is everything about political value? Is it not plausible she may just wish to be part of the positive change that is now clearly palpable? I keep saying it that PDP has bastardized the morality of Nigerians and made their thinking aberrant. Critical Ministry/portfolio una go call am "juicy" Ministry/portfolio. A politician defects perhaps to join a movement of change or progress you will ridicule the decampee as having "no political value" or label them as "embittered" after "losing out". When will we begin to see that politics, and everything attached to it, is merely a means to an end i.e a tool that facilitates the development of a people and nation?

gurunlocker:
political harlot

Does that invalidate her message we are all actually seeing happen live before our eyes? While the PDP uses middlemen to sell crude and to buy refined derivative of crude, e.g PMS, the APC has moved to abrogate such a terrible practise deliberately put in place by the PDP to loot Nigeria dry and make a few individuals very rich while poverty is the lot of the majority of Nigerians.

Those are the sort of development this woman is talking about. She can, as a former member of the PDP, point to steps the APC has taken which makes it a more transparent, more pro-people , more responsible and far more accountable Party than the PDP. When Buhari said he would "stabilize" the oil market I am sure you were probably one of those who laughed and insinuated our President is illiterate. Now you are seeing precisely what Mr.President meant with a series of moves, with many more to come, aimed at ensuring Nigeria's main income is collected efficiently and transparently to then be used on bettering the lot of Nigerians. The bold reforms and efforts to make the oil sector work for Nigeria and Nigerians, the first of his kind since the ignoble PDP took over in 1999, is gaining Buhari fans and goodwill worldwide while making many ask why it took Nigerians so long to kick out the very wicked, very corrupt,very evil, highly anti-people and totally worthless PDP.

It would do you and others good to get behind the train of change, as this woman has done, instead of singling out individuals to attack because they no longer, for whatever reason, wish to have anything to do with the thoroughly disgraced and discredited PDP which is being exposed daily as nothing but a congregation of thieves who put scamming practices in place, in virtually every sector, to help them loot Nigeria mercilessly and impoverish Nigeria in the process. Thank God for PMB.

IlekeHD:
Problem is, if Yorubas don't play this power play game, I fear the North will suck Nigeria dry. We're the only ones in their path.

Nigeria is a chess game.

The problem is that Yoruba leaders of the past were myopic and obsessed with frivolities. I don't see any reason why any well-led region in Nigeria cannot be exemplary, developed and united if led by visionary men and women who can focus on what matter the most. For example, the SW should be able to cobble together efficient solutions for things it can control like the provision of potable water, adequate healthcare, transport infrastructure et al. The current crop of Yoruba leaders simply need to be visionary, highly dedicated and disciplined. No region is constrained to work at Nigeria's pace if its leaders are driven, talented and dedicated.