₦airaland Forum

why should he leave?

he should stay in ACN and try next time

Monday, 25 April 2011
Suleiman M. Bisalla


Presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Malam Nuhu Ribadu may call it quits with the party in the coming days following his dismal outing in the presidential election in the south west. Ribadu may be heading for Gen. Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a source close to the CPC candidate has disclosed.


According to the source, Ribadu is yet to understand the record low turnout and ACN’s poor outing in the presidential election of April 16, a phenomenon that was exactly the opposite of the party’s feat during the National Assembly election the week before.


“In fact in the next two weeks, there is the possibility of him dumping the ACN for CPC,” the source said adding that some pressure groups within the ACN and the CPC are already holding talks.

The ACN won all but one of the senate seats and cleared most of the federal constituencies in the region that were contested on April 9. However, Ribadu lost to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in all the states in the zone apart from Osun State. In Lagos State, home of the party’s strongman Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the ACN lost woefully to the PDP which scored over a million votes leaving the ACN trailing behind with a little over 300, 000 votes.

“We feel completely betrayed by the ACN leaders. They brought him on board to give the party the semblance of a national party and also win international acceptance because of his international status. But you can see that they were clearly not sincere to us. If they say anything to the contrary, how could ACN lose steam within seven days and how do you explain the low turnout?” the source asked.

Reflecting back on the election, the source said the party’s leaders had starved the north of funds that were to be used to mobilise agents and failed to mobilise canvassers and agents in many states of the south west.

“They left us vulnerable in the north. We could not mobilise our agents most of whom succumbed to inducement by the PDP. We were also told that they failed to mobilise canvassers and agents like they did the previous week. In fact one senior leader of the party called me while voting was still going on and said we were losing Lagos already because of these problems,” he said.

The source also said three reasons informed the decision of the anti corruption tsar to look the way of the CPC. “First, he stands for the same principles as General Buhari especially on fighting corruption. Second, he has an untainted record of service like General Buhari and third, both men have a passion for reforming the system and getting it to work for the benefit of future generations,” he said.

According to him that is why Ribadu agreed to step down for Buhari in the last round of alliance talks before the election. Ribadu is also said to be angry that he was kept in the dark by Tinubu and some party leaders during the alliance talks with ACN.

The source also expressed regret that the ACN leaders are battling with the backlash of the party’s loss during the presidential election.

The source said: “They are in serious confusion now, thinking that it may boomerang. In fact Tinubu’s fear is that he might even lose Lagos, that is why you see the adverts and jingles have more than triple.

“You can trust PDP has every reason to justify whatever they do to win the election. They will say after all we won just last week.”



http://www.dailytrust.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17733:ribadu-set-to-dump-acn-for-cpc&catid=2:lead-stories&Itemid=8

The identities of the six firms and their facilitators contracted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to print ballot papers, result sheets and other sensitive materials for the 2011 general election were Tuesday unravelled by THISDAY.


They were Tip3, a Spanish company represented by Hashim Dikko, and Graphic Inline (Gi) with Sanni Lamido as proxy.
Also on the list were Kalamazoo, represented by Dick Jackson, a Nigerian-Briton married to a lady from Kano; Aero-vote represented by one Yerima; and SanFrano, a German/Polish company represented by Sanni Musa.
The sixth company that benefited from the printing contract was VI Solutions, sponsored by Yahaya Sani.
SanFrano, according to investigation, was the firm that went to China to print the papers but failed to deliver on time for the April 2 elections.


The six contractors received over N13 billion for the printing of the 75 million ballot papers and result sheets for each of the elections. The contracts were awarded to the companies by INEC in late February this year, according to investigation.
Going by the terms of the contract, each of the companies was expected to print 75 million ballot papers and result sheets for the elections in respect of the National Assembly, presidential, governorship and state assembly elections. The number of registered voters is 73 million.


THISDAY gathered that 75 million copies for the main presidential election and another 75 million copies for a run-off, totalling 150 millon were authorised by Jega and awarded to Tip3 Company, the Spanish firm.
It was also leant that the Nigerian partners of Tip3, having assessed the volume of work involved in their contract, made representation to the commission that given the time constraint, they could not guarantee timely delivery of the job, but INEC was said to have urged them on.


THISDAY investigation also showed that the Spanish firm being naïve about the importance of the job,  went ahead to print the run-off election papers first and returned the job on the main election to INEC on March 23 with the excuse that it could no longer handle it.

THISDAY gathered that trouble started when the four committees returned from their overseas assessment tour of facilities of printers of security materials and raised another committee headed by the INEC National Commissioner in Charge of Logistics, Col. M. K Hammanga, to harmonise the reports.


The harmonisation committee, in its report, recommended that the ballot papers, result sheets and other sensitive materials be printed in Germany, France and Poland.
The committee also recommended that US should be excluded because of distance, while England was also rejected because of high cost of printing there.


It also rejected South Africa because of the 2007 general election experience which led to the delay, as some of the sensitive election papers were still on ground during the poll.


The Hammanga committee subsequently shortlisted 21 companies and the list was submitted to Jega.
It was discovered that to the utter surprise of the committee members, INEC dumped the shortlisted companies.
“Since then, the issues on the award of the contracts for the printing of the ballot papers, the result sheets and other sensitive election materials was shrouded in secrecy. The files relating to the contracts were always kept in the office of the INEC chairman,” the source said.


Graphic Inline, one of the firms that mistakenly went ahead to produce the ballot papers for the re-run elections, told INEC afterwards that its next delivery for the ballot papers would be April 12.
This development, THISDAY learnt, accounted for the firm’s failure to meet the deadline and forced INEC to re-award it to another firm, V.I. Solutions.

but BAT already has "money"

Used to think tinubu was a "good guy" and wanted the best for naija.

just want to know who is lying: tinubu or bafarawa

@johnie

There is no doubt tinubu got it wrong this time

But why must he be vice-president

.
Sunday, 27 February 2011 00:00 By Kodilinye Obiagwu (Lagos) and Eric Meya (Sokoto)


.DISCORDANT tunes have continued in the camp of the opposition as to the failure of the trumpeted merger/alliance talks between the Action Congress of Nigeria ACN and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

Former governor of Sokoto State and presidential aspirant of the ACN, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, yesterday joined the fray by refusing to accept the explanation of former governor of Lagos State and the ACN leader, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that agents of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had a hand in stalling the alliance talks.

Bafarawa said in Sokoto that contrary to that statement, Tinubu should be held responsible for the failure of the parley.

According to him, if there was anybody to be blamed for the failure of the alliance talks, “then that person is Tinubu,” adding, “if he (Tinubu) is blaming the PDP and its agents, then, I believe that he is the agent of the PDP.”
Tinubu had opened the Pandora box at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos last week, accusing the agents of the PDP of truncating the alliance talks between the ACN and the CPC.

He said that the PDP was out to ensure that the process failed because of threat it posed to its continued hold to power and the possibility of losing power to the alliance.

The claims had attracted instant and varied reactions. The CPC disagreed with Tinubu and blamed his ambition to be the running mate to the presidential candidate of the CPC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as the reason for the failure of the talks.

CPC chieftains dismissed the talks of spies in the process of the discussions and noted the ACN leader was not telling the truth about the alliance’s failure.

Indeed, Bafarawa yesterday re-echoed that alleged stance of Tinubu not telling the truth about the alliance’s failure.

Bafarawa said: “If there is anybody to hold responsible for the failure of the alliance talks, then that person is Tinubu.

“It is unfortunate the way and manner the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu is going about talking about the alliance and merger talks issue.

“Sincerely, nobody should be blamed for the failure of the talks better than Tinubu. He should not be blaming the PDP. If he is blaming the PDP and its agents, then, I believe that he is the agent of the PDP.”

Bafarawa accused Tinubu of monopolizing affairs of the ACN and excluding him from the alliance talks even as a high-ranking northern caucus of the ACN.

He said: “I happen to be a member of the caucus of the ACN but there is no day that we have been informed of who we, in the ACN, are going to have a serious merger talks with.

“I have never been invited to be part of that meeting. I always read about it in the national newspapers. So, for this failure of the alliance talks and merger, Tinubu should be responsible.

“In every meeting, we will see him either meeting with Buhari in Abuja or in Lagos talking with other people without me, who is a member of the (party) caucus from the North.

“That is what has been going on. So, I am surprised, for Tinubu to come out to give excuses on the failure of the alliance talks.”

Bafarawa recalled that the last time, Tinubu gave another excuse for the alliance’s failure, “and this time, he is giving another excuse. He is the man behind the failure of the merger because of his selfish interests.”

He wondered why Tinubu was blaming the PDP, “when the role he played was clear to every person,” asking, “what role did PDP play in the failure of the talks? But his (Tinubu’s) handwriting is all over the place.

Bafarawa continued: “Buhari told us that he (Tinubu) wanted to be his running mate but he refused because that will amount to having a Muslim/Muslim ticket and it won’t work. And Tinubu has not refuted what Buhari said.
“His selfish interest brought about the failure of the merger talks. He killed the alliance talks; he should not blame anybody, as far as I am concerned.”

However, the former Sokoto governor dismissed any talks of disagreement with Tinubu, whom, he said, was unfortunately trying to turn himself into a kingmaker.

“There are no disagreements or hard feelings between me and Tinubu,” he said. “We are still members of the ACN, but I don’t want records to be misquoted; I want records to be corrected.”

“As a member of the ACN, I don’t want people to take what Tinubu is saying as the truth without me correcting them. I did not join the ACN to be a ‘yes man’ to anybody. I want things to be properly stated and corrected.
“Whatever the records are, let them be seen to be true. I will never be a party where I have not seen the truth and for me to keep quiet. It is not how I was brought up politically. Let the truth be told.”

Bafarawa’s reaction is certain to add to the inquisition on the failure of the ACN/CPC alliance talks.
Had it succeeded, the alliance would have been the first major coalition after the opposition parties
failed in the talks to form a mega party, to face the PDP in the April polls.


http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=39917:acncpc-alliance-tinubu-is-lying-says-bafarawa&catid=1:national&Itemid=559

@SkolAbroad ,@Xorcyst ,@justwise . Thanks very much.

@skolAbroad
so u r saying it is normal 4 the school to ask 4 a copy of his passport before issuing the CAS number

Please, a friend of mine applied to a school in England and was offered admission. After paying the required deposit fees to enable him receive his 'CAS' number, so he can apply for a student visas. The school asked him to send a copy of his passport(i think its the data page) before his CAS number will be sent to him.
        I just want to know if that is the general requirement before your CAS number is sent, or it depends on the school.

Please, a friend of mine applied to a school in England and was offered admission. After paying the required deposit fees to enable him receive his 'CAS' number, so he can apply for a student visas. The school asked him to send a copy of his passport(i think its the data page) before his CAS number will be sent to him.
I just want to know if that is the general requirement before your CAS number is sent, or it depends on the school.

Please, a friend of mine applied to a school in England and was offered admission. After paying the required deposit fees to enable him receive his 'CAS' number, so he can apply for a student visas. The school asked him to send a copy of his passport(i think its the data page) before his CAS number will be sent to him.
        I just want to know if that is the general requirement before your CAS number is sent, or it depends on the school.

Please, a friend of mine applied to a school in England and was offered admission. After paying the required deposit fees to enable him receive his 'CAS' number, so he can apply for a student visas. The school asked him to send a copy of his passport(i think its the data page) before his CAS number will be sent to him.
I just want to know if that is the general requirement before your CAS number is sent, or it depends on the school.

please, where can i download these songs. i just heard plantain boy and i like it