₦airaland Forum

while Mr. Jonathan’s aides launched direct attacks on Mr. Obasanjo, the officials at the party headquarters in Abuja adopted a more cautious and subdued tone, regretting that the former president had decided to leave the party.

Some officials stated that the party hierarchy viewed Mr. Obasanjo’s public departure from the party as a dangerous signal and as a major threat. “Chief Obasanjo doesn’t just come out swinging the way he has done recently unless he is privy to the existence of some third forces that are against President Jonathan. And to the best of our knowledge, the former president has never fought a battle like this and lost, no matter how long it takes him,” one of the officials said.

PDP Faction Wants Jonathan Out As Candidate, As Party Faces Deepening Schisms


SaharaReporters has learned of a new twist in the desire of some top officials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for a six-month postponement of polls in Nigeria, with several sources saying a faction of the party would work to replace President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s presidential candidate.

In separate interviews with SaharaReporters, numerous PDP officials disclosed that many founding members of the party had lost confidence in Mr. Jonathan’s viability as a candidate, adding that a faction within the party had discussed easing the incumbent president out of the presidential race, and replacing him with another candidate from the Niger Delta zone.

“The only obstacle to the plan is that the South-South might kick against it, so we have arrived at a consensus to find another candidate,” one of our sources, a northerner, said.

“If elections could be postponed for six months, we will definitely replace President Jonathan as our candidate,” another member of the faction confirmed.

[size=14pt]In a clear sign that the party was crumbling was within, several high ranking PDP members said they regretted letting President Jonathan carry the party’s flag as a presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections. Some of them confessed to being aware that the party’s prospects looked dire with Mr. Jonathan holding the presidential ticket.

“We are the ones who started the push for six months delay in the elections to enable us [to] put in place an interim government which would then enable the party to change its presidential candidate to somebody that is more competitive,” one official confessed. He added that Mr. Jonathan’s faction also sought the extension for their own designs, which was to explore ways of rigging the elections.

Our interviews revealed that many PDP governorship candidates in the north and elsewhere in the country were secretly working against Mr. Jonathan’s re-election or quietly distancing themselves from him. [/size]

One party leader revealed that some candidates in the northern area were all but campaigning for Mr. Buhari, the presidential flag bearer of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, some PDP officials told SaharaReporters that, while they hoped that President Jonathan could be sidelined to increase the chances of the party in the upcoming elections, they also wished that the APC would also dump Mr. Buhari as its presidential candidate.

[size=14pt]The party officials claimed that key political figures across Nigeria continue to view a Buhari Presidency with mortal fear because of his stubborn personality and his promise to punish the corrupt.
[/size]
Several of the PDP officials told SaharaReporters that the rift between Mr. Jonathan and a large faction in the party that wants him dumped was reflected in the responses to former President Olusegun Obasanjo who two days ago dramatically announced his resignation from the PDP, publicly tearing his membership card. Two of the officials disclosed that, while Mr. Jonathan’s aides launched direct attacks on Mr. Obasanjo, the officials at the party headquarters in Abuja adopted a more cautious and subdued tone, regretting that the former president had decided to leave the party.

Some officials stated that the party hierarchy viewed Mr. Obasanjo’s public departure from the party as a dangerous signal and as a major threat. “Chief Obasanjo doesn’t just come out swinging the way he has done recently unless he is privy to the existence of some third forces that are against President Jonathan. And to the best of our knowledge, the former president has never fought a battle like this and lost, no matter how long it takes him,” one of the officials said.

“The truth is that many senators, honorable members of the House of Reps and governors are loyal to Baba, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. So they are doing Baba’s bidding even though they are giving Mr. President [Jonathan] the impression that they are with him,” another party official in Abuja said.

The party officials acknowledged that the statements of former President Obasanjo in the last three days had caused a major havoc on the party’s plans to work towards an interim national government.

Several of the PDP officials attributed the fractiousness within the party to the way Mr. Jonathan and his wife, Patience Jonathan, imposed unpopular candidates on the party in various parts of the country. Even though they agreed that Mr. Obasanjo had imposed candidates on the party in the past, one PDP official said the Jonathans consistently backed candidates who were extremely unpopular within the PDP and unelectable.

Asked if President Jonathan was aware of plans to replace him, some of our sources said the president knew that many powerful members of the party were not satisfied with his style and low performance. One source said former Vice President Alex Ekwueme and even the party’s chairman of the board of trustees, Tony Anenih, were far from enthusiastic about Mr. Jonathan’s re-election.

“President Jonathan’s candidature and unpopularity are damaging the party,” one official stated. He added that the party’s electoral prospects in the general elections had dwindled dramatically. “We are only sure of carrying about 11 states in the country, according to our internal polls,” one party official disclosed.

Party officials also said they were determined to change numerous candidates for governorships, the Senate and House of Representatives in several states if the six-month postponement ever became a reality. “The way President Jonathan and First Lady Patience Jonathan picked many candidates has now weakened the party across the country,” one top official in Abuja complained.

obi4eze:
Good you are here. I did not read anywhere you said he asked you for money but I think the tone of the PM was suggestive. Very soon, he will say something else about PDP if they don't give him what he wants.

IbnSultaan:
Gbawe. Am quiet sad of the events happening
Pls don't reply dz folks





I Am a buharian better still buharist till death
I am committed to fighting the forces of evil
I am and agent of Change

obi4eze:
Gbawe said he is self-serving but I don't know if he directly asked for money. The self-serving part is true from the PMs.
If someone alleged that I asked for money and I did not, directly or indirectly, I would refute it but the PMs suggest that he wanted political favour from the wrong person. Is Gbawe Fashola or Oyegun?

CyberWolf:
Gbawe said that he requested for financial gratification..Pls don't form innocent here ..If someone made that kind of allegation on you before the whole world, what will you do?

@APC fans.


I can tell you all 100% that Barcanista is not who you think he is. Cleverly, Omenka, Rawani, Sincerenigerian, genius100 and others have worked him out somewhat with their gut instinct but I can tell you guys I have 100% proof Barcanista is a divisive and entirely self-serving individual, much like GEJ, who is working for his own agenda and motivated by what he can get for himself. Dude has PMed me a few times. His PM are all self-serving requests even the most self-serving mercenary would be proud of. I graciously and diplomatically 'swept him aside' every time because I don't trust people I do not know and I am aware that people can be full of deceit and claim to be what they are not.

As an honourable man, I will not reveal the content of the PMs from Barcanista. Suffice to say I have been a member of this forum for 5 years and people know I am solid, dependable and stand for what I stand for yesterday, today and tomorrow. Barcanista switches sides like a prostitute. I became aware of him on NL because of his passionate defence of Obanikoro. I pointed out to him that Obanikoro is a failure and Nairalanders can go and trace our exchanges back then. Today , backing Koro no longer 'pays' for Barcanista. I have watched all his antics of late and laughed to myself. I would even have continued to ignore this thread and let Barcanista carry on with his two-faced attempt at deceiving the biggest online community of Nigerians, because I felt I owed him a dignified slience over our PM exchanges that shame him and reveal his true motivation, if Barcanista had not gone too far with his "Now you know your friends" quip.

I can tell you all this guy is a self-serving turncoat trying to play all sides against each other and profit personally in the process. APC fans know me here and many understand I am not interested in attention, money or anything else. I just want a Nigeria that works. Not so self-serving individuals like Barcanista. I really struggled with my conscience to come out with this because I did not want to out Barcanista even as I also felt strongly about what he is doing which I know to be dangerous and pure grade A deceit. I had felt I owed Nairalanders the truth about Barcanista for a long time but I also wrestled with the fact that a PM (Private message) should remain that and not be used to compromise anyone. That said, I knew what Barcanista was up to when he began initiating subtle anti-APC threads. I had hoped he would come to his senses and change his ways especially because Barcanista knows he has shown himself to an outspoken APC supporter in myself. Yet Barcanista did not stop. Instead he grew more brazen in his attempt to deceive the forum and begin his new 'contract' of working for and laundering the image of GEJ.

APC fans, I sincerely urge you guys to begin ignoring this guy. We are here to gain a better Country. Politics is not even my thing per se. I am here because I want a better Nigeria. Someone called Barcanista an "enemy within" earlier. That is what he is and I warn APC fans to be strong and united because the 7 weeks postponement of the election is to facilitate a huge financial drive to sabotage Buhari through the use of anyone who makes their mercenary services available to the PDP for monetary reward. Barcanista wants to leverage on what he assumes to be his "APC Nairaland leader" popularity to begin sabotaging the chances of the Party from within. I have warned APC fans. Barcanista forced my hand with his deceitful behaviour and pretense. He went too far, knowing I know what he is about, with his "I am objective" duplicity. The last straw that broke the Camel's back is his " I Know my friends" attempt , after I know the deceit he is practising, to make out APC supporters have now turned against him wrongly. Many of you know my integrity is not in doubt here. I am still here after many of my Nairaland contemporaries have left because I passionately want a Nigeria that works as well as the nations of the world I have access to. When Barcanista starts these sort of threads, kindly ignore him so he can talk to his PDP comrades. [size=14pt]Barcanista is exactly like Femi Fani-Kayode. [/size]

kaeycea:
Hired writer disguised as an editorial...

Chiaka:
Same way US came to Nigeria with guise to find Chibok girls and nothing came out of it, or same way we begged them for Ebola medicine to cure our female medical specialist (Her soul rest in peace) and they refused to, but thank God Nigeria survived Ebola without their help.
GEJ tried and all the good people of Nigeria, the honourable health Minister and all health workers and the disease was contained. US should stay out of Nigeria politics for now! we don't want any political Ebola, we are matching forward and we will arrive.

Ebola: US Refuses Nigeria's Request for ZMapp Drug


US health authorities have turned down a request from Nigeria for an experimental drug to combat Ebola, as there are not enough doses available.

The health minister of Nigeria had asked the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for access to ZMapp, a serum made by San Diego-based company Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc.

However a CDC spokesman was forced to turn down the request, saying that "there are virtually no doses available."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the world's leading immunologists and the director of the US National Institutes of Health, added that, according to the manufacturer, it would take two to three months to produce even "a modest amount" of the drug.

ZMapp was administered to two American health workers who were brought back to the US after contracting Ebola in Africa.


The two doctors now seem to be recovering, but it is not known if the improvements are a direct result of the drug.

"We don't even know if it works," Fauci said.

ZMapp was still in its experimental phase when it was administered to Nancy Writebol and Doctor Kent Brantly. It has not yet been assessed for safety on humans or approved for use by the US Food and Drugs Administration.

By dragging out the race, Jonathan stands to deplete his rival’s campaign coffers while he continues to use state funds and institutions to bankroll his own.”

masterpower:
Lies. You are severly deformed by lack of proper information.

As at today a dollar was exchanged at 190 naira.

All these APC imbeciles who havent even seen a dollar only spewing thrash about the exchange rate.

philips70:
PDP Card tearing trending like ALS ice bucket challenge in Nigeria. You guys just watch, na Nigerians way.

dammytosh:
Lol

Obasanjo is a Don.

Very soon, tearing pdp card will be a signature move.


Hahahahaha i dey laff ooo

New York Times Slams President Jonathan

In an editorial on Monday, the New York Times slammed the postponement of the Nigerian elections. It pointed out that the action might have been more credible if President Goodluck Jonathan’s government had not spent much of the past year playing down the threat posed by Boko Haram and if there were a reasonable expectation that Nigeria’s weak army has the ability to improve security over the next few weeks.

“It appears more likely Mr. Jonathan grew alarmed by the surging appeal of Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who has vowed to crack down on Boko Haram,” the article said. “By dragging out the race, Mr. Jonathan stands to deplete his rival’s campaign coffers, while he continues to use state funds and institutions to bankroll his own.”

Recalling that Buhari led a coup against a democratically elected government in 1983, it argued that his emergence as potential winner of the forthcoming election is more of an indictment of Jonathan’s dismal rule than a recognition of the former military chief’s appeal.

It criticized Jonathan’s performance over the abduction of the Chibok girls and the attacks by Boko Haram, saying they have exposed the weaknesses of Nigeria’s armed forces and the dysfunction of the government.

“Beyond security matters, entrenched corruption and the government’s inability to diversify its economy as the price of oil, the country’s financial bedrock, has fallen have also caused Nigerians to look for new leadership. Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, and a relatively young democracy, cannot afford an electoral crisis.”

It would be recalled that following an endorsement of Buhari by The Economist in its edition dated February 7, a sulking Jonathan said he did not need the support of the magazine.

Text of the editorial by the New York Times:

Nigeria’s Miserable Choices

The Nigerian government was supposed to hold presidential elections this past weekend, which presented voters with the dispiriting choice of keeping a lousy incumbent or returning to power a former autocratic leader. Now they will have to wait at least six weeks to cast votes.

The Nigerian election commission said earlier this month that it had pushed back the vote until at least March 28, after the country’s security chiefs warned that they could not guarantee the safety of voters in northeastern areas of the country where Boko Haram, the extremist militant group, captured international attention last spring when it abducted hundreds of schoolgirls. On Friday, Boko Haram fighters attacked a village in neighboring Chad for the first time, an alarming sign of the group’s expanding strength in a region that also includes areas of Cameroon and Niger.

Any argument to delay the vote might be more credible if President Goodluck Jonathan’s government had not spent much of the past year playing down the threat posed by the militants and if there were a reasonable expectation that the country’s weak military has the ability to improve security in a matter of weeks.

It appears more likely Mr. Jonathan grew alarmed by the surging appeal of Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler who has vowed to crack down on Boko Haram.[size=14pt] By dragging out the race, Mr. Jonathan stands to deplete his rival’s campaign coffers, while he continues to use state funds and institutions to bankroll his own.[/size]

That Mr. Buhari, who helped launch a coup against a democratically elected government in 1983 and ruled until late 1985, has emerged as potential winner is more of an indictment of Mr. Jonathan’s dismal rule than a recognition of the former military chief’s appeal.

Nigerian voters have grown increasingly worried about the stunning rise of Boko Haram, which has committed terrorist atrocities including bombings.

The abductions and attacks by the group have exposed the weaknesses of Nigeria’s armed forces and the dysfunction of the government. Although Mr. Jonathan’s government has in the past been less than enthusiastic, and at times obstructive, in response to offers of American and European aid, he appears to be growing increasingly worried. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last week, he said he would welcome American troops to fight the insurgency.

Beyond security matters, entrenched corruption and the government’s inability to diversify its economy as the price of oil, the country’s financial bedrock, has fallen have also caused Nigerians to look for new leadership. Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa, and a relatively young democracy, cannot afford an electoral crisis. That would only set back the faltering effort to reassert government control in districts where Boko Haram is sowing terror. The security forces may not be able to safeguard many districts on Election Day. But postponement is very likely to make the security threat worse.

*An editorial by New York Times published today with the title, ‘Nigeria’s Miserable Choices’

SirShymexx:
Lol. We can move to the other one then ------>>>>>>>>

Anyway, what do you think about Barcanista? That's my nyggah from way back when he used to educate us on Ijaw history.

But do you think he's taking the internet too seriously, and that has made my nyggah an attention seeker? He's a man with no principles/loyalty and a weak one? He sold his soul for riches? Or just a decent guy with a voice?

But Uncle Gbawe though - he should've let it go, and just talk to the guy like a man.

barcanista:
Porting? same hypocrisy shopping from PDP. My dear, Senator Koro is a very credible man, he's at the Heart of Lagos and SW PDP. he's not defeating to any Crooked party as represented by BRF and His god Tinubu. Koro is bigger than Tinubu Politically, intellectually, mentally and in all ramifications. Should he run for 2015, ACN should be ready to assume the role of opposition in Lagos State

barcanista:
By the grace of God i was among the constituents when Koro was in the Senate during the 3rd term saga, i can tell you categorically that i saw nothing wrong in it. Look at the views of Koro before concluding. Just that opposition in Nigeria like to OPPOSE EVERYTHING proposed by the government, and also Nigerians as people love to abuse privileges. Koro DID NOT disappoint any of us in Lagos Central while in Senate. In fact, he remains the BEST SENATOR we ever had. GOS and Oluremi are bunch of JOKES

Desola:
Abegi move over no be today I sabi your sorry a55. Back then you were jubilating over me tackling your insurmountable mountain -Gbawe that is- and you were egging me on telling how I was putting him in his place. I roundly shut you down and told you in unequivocal terms that I did not seek your cheap reinforcement or support. I knew you then just like I know you now to be a vulture waiting for a carcass. You do not support barcanister but only happy to see what appears as discord in the anti jonathan group.

Yes Gbawe called me omo alata and like I reminded him then, only strong independent women bear that tag with pride even though small minded nincompoops such as your demented self use it derogatively.

cheap tw4t!!

WombRaiders:
Allow me to post one of my old classics here.

Gbawe you are in it

Shilling monkey

Sunymoore:
Now that the thread is deleted, I humbly ask @barcanista and @gbawe to settle this issue out of here. Thanks

maestroferddi:
The simple appellation for your attitude is bigotry and intransigence.

The mark of objectivity and intellectuality to defer to superior arguments and not to sustain polemics for its own sake.

You don't have to malign the Barcanista chap. I believe he made a compelling argument.

biafranqueen:
His popularity has been eating away at you all this time it shows in your post. Giving yourself so much credit, pointing finger but 3 point back, check yourself Bro. Did he say he is now a GEJ fan you have been waiting for this moment, instead of counter with intellect you went low very low to warn people not to follow him because he sent you incriminating selfish PM's? Chai!

NwabekeyiDike:
Kellene, Gbawe made his points but you discounted them and rained abuses on him.
Now answer my question, do you want to replace your old husband with barcanista? Do you have dreams that barcanista is an Adonis and a hunk?