₦airaland Forum

[img]http://media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2015/06/860x483xPIC.2.-PRESIDENT-JONATHAN-MEETS-PDP-POST-ELECTION-REVIEW-COMMITTEE-IN-ABUJA.jpg.pagespeed.ic.WOfcchigSf.webp[/img]

The South East chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has expressed outrage at the statement credited to the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, that he vied for the position in order to help the region avoid marginalization.

Mr. Ekweremadu, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, emerged Deputy Senate President in a controversial election where 51 of the 109 senators were absent. His election confounded observers as the PDP is a minority in the Senate and the absent lawmakers at the inauguration all belonged to the APC.

In a statement on Tuesday by its spokesperson, Osita Okechukwu, the South East APC said it was outraged by “the crass and unimaginative propaganda dished out by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on why he re-contested for his former office.

Mr. Okechukwu quoted Mr. Ekweremadu as saying that “it was when we saw that it appears that the South East and South South were being marginalized in the scheme of things, we decided to take a shot so that our people will be part and parcel of government, so that every Nigerian will have a sense of belonging.”

The spokesperson said, “Whereas, we do not begrudge our dear brother Senator Ekweremadu for his re-election as Deputy Senate President; however it beats our imagination that the Distinguish Senator relied on gossip-terrorists in reaching the conclusion that the South East and South South will be marginalized. It is miles far away from the truth.”

The party said there was no ground to posit that President Muhammadu Buhari would marginalize the South East, since he is yet to name members of his cabinet.

Also, it said the statement by Mr. Ekweremadu was capable of denying the region the position of the Secretary General to the Government of the Federation, a position many believe the region will clinch.

“For the avoidance of doubt, as of Saturday 13th June, 2015, and to date, when this unimaginative propaganda was riled out to hapless and anxious crowd by Senator Ekweremadu; President Muhammadu Buhari has not named the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Ministers, Advisers, Ambassadors, Boards etc. On which plank was this propaganda predicated?

“We are therefore at a loss, why the Distinguished Senator should choose this auspicious moment to play spoiler game, by wittingly or unwittingly throwing spanner on our wheel to clinch the coveted office of Secretary to Government of the Federation. Pundits may grab his unintended headline that we have been settled.

“May we ask, does the office of Deputy Senate President, in real political terms actually make South East and South South part and parcel of Buhari’s government? We do not think so.

“Or in other words we challenge Senator Ekweremadu to enumerate what he achieved for South East and South South with the office under President Goodluck Jonathan, his party man? Why didn’t we get additional state under their watch?”

“To us, without being immodest, one may amass wealth with the office; but Deputy Senate President in real-politics is more symbolic than substantial. Otherwise why the 2014 Constitutional Conference after our brother chaired the National Assembly Constitutional Amendment twice?”

The South East APC appealed that the zone as well as the South South zone “should not be denied any position due to us because of our brother’s unintended headline that we have been settled.”

Stating further, it said, “Contrary to Senator Ekweremadu’s submission, Ndigbo will not vote for Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) again, for impunity will no longer triumph. With President Buhari’s program to revamp Enugu Coal, build refineries, fix our roads, improve electricity among other projects, we see the South East and South South providing the critical supplement to President Buhari’s vote bank in 2019.

“In sum, we re-affirm our implicit confidence that President Muhammadu Buhari will not marginalize or penalize neither the South East nor the South South; for Mr President has repeatedly maintained that he belongs to everybody and that the past is prologue.”

However, in reaction to Mr. Okechukwu’s statement, the Enugu West Peoples Forum urged the spokesperson to “first address the issue of the N133 million campaign windfall tearing the Enugu State Chapter of the APC apart before seeking undue attention by delving into realms beyond his intellectual and political capacities”.

In a statement signed by the National Coordinator of the group, Paul Anikwe, and made available to newsmen in Enugu, the group, linked to Mr. Ekweremadu, said it regretted that Mr. Okechukwu could not tell the difference between appointive positions and substantive positions in the Federal Government, which Senator Ekweremadu referred to.

“We are surprised that the self-appointed spokesman of the APC for the South-East does not understand the difference between the first seven positions in the Federal Government, namely President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker, Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN), Deputy President of the Senate, and Deputy Speaker, none of which is in the APC’s plan for the South East and South-South.

“For all we know, APC’s official position for these offices are North West for President, South West for Vice President, North East for Senate President, North Central for Deputy President of the Senate, South West for Speaker, North East for Deputy Speaker in addition to the judicial arm of the Federal Government, which is headed entirely by the North East as CJN, President of the Court of Appeal, and Chief Justice of the Federal High Court”.

The Forum said such exclusion of the South East and South-South from these substantive positions despite the fact that the South East produced two APC Members of the House of Representatives in Imo State, while the South-South produced several Members of the House of Representatives and a Senator, could not be compensated by appointive positions, whose occupants could be sacked at will.

“Besides, the ministerial positions, which Mr. Okechukwu referred to are entitlements of every State of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory going by the provisions of Section 147(1), (2), (3) and Section 302 of the 1999 Constitution as amended”, the statement added.

The group also said that the Federal Character provisions in Section 14(3) and (4) of the Constitution as well as provisions against discrimination in Section 42 of the Constitution already covers the primary interest of the zones in the appointment of ambassadors and other appointive positions listed by Osita Okechukwu.

“Therefore, President Muhammadu Buhari would only be deemed to have favoured the two zones if he appoints them into key ministerial, ambassadorial, and other positions”, the group added.

It however said it would continue to give the Buhari administration all necessary support to succeed in the interest of the country as urged by Mr. Ekweremadu if the administration was ready to work.

The Enugu West Peoples Forum congratulated Mr. Ekweremadu on his historic election as the Deputy President of the Senate for the third straight time, expressing satisfaction with his representation.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/185036-apc-attacks-ekweremadu.html

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Senators elected under the platform of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, are currently meeting with the National Executive Committee of the party at the International Conference Centre Abuja to pick a candidate for the office of the Senate President.

The NWC had earlier in the day met with members-elect of the House of Representatives after which a mock election was held for the candidate to run for the office of speaker.

That election was won by Femi Gbajabiamila, although his main challenger, Yakubu Dogara, led his supporters out of the venue of the meeting before election commenced.

The meeting with Senators is also expected to be followed with a mock election for a candidate of the party in Tuesday’s election at the national assembly.

Like that of the speaker, there are also two candidates running for Senate President: former governor of Kwara state, Bukola Saraki, and the chairman of the senate committee on public account, Ahmed Lawan.

As at 11p.m., most Senators loyal to Mr. Lawan had arrived the ICC, while the national chairman of the party, John Oyegun, and other members of the NWC, had also arrived.

However, Senator Saraki and most Senators loyal to him were yet to turn up.

A source informed said the Saraki group are currently holding a meeting at a different Hotel in Abuja.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/184474-breaking-apc-leaders-meet-senators-elect-to-choose-candidate-for-senate-president.html

ABUJA, the nation’s capital city, on Friday, May 29, played host to world leaders. That day, global attention shifted to Abuja for the inauguration of Nigeria’s fifth democratically elected President, Muhammadu Buhari.

Ahead of the inauguration, a sitting president contested an election, lost, conceded victory and handed over to the opposition candidate.
When historians settle down to document the history of Nigeria, it would be part of it that 16 years into PDP’s permutation of close to a century it would be in government, the former ruling party suffered a crushing defeat by the opposition APC, the first time such would happen in our nation’s political history.

Besides the removal of former President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP from office in the election by Buhari, the PDP was also defeated at both the Senate and the House of Representatives elections which it controlled.

PDP, before it crashed in the March 28 election, controlled the National Assembly. In 1999, it had a comfortable majority in the House of Representatives with 214 seats; in 2007, the number rose to 263, but dropped to 208 and 137 in 2011 and 2015 respectively. This period was enough to be a stock taking one for the ruling party, it would have been a period for re- assessment, putting things right and discard the regime of impunity and lack of internal democracy at the time it lost a large number of 55 seats in 2011.
The PDP could not manage its success. At the upper red legislative chambers, the party had 87 seats in 2007, 71 in 2011 and crashed to all time low of 49 in the 2015 general elections. The party would have also seen the handwriting on the wall when it lost 16 senatorial seats in 2011. The bandwagon effect that happened to PDP was not only at the legislative level, but also with the governors which number dropped from 28 states controlled by it in 2003 and 2007 to 23 in 2011 and 13 states in 2015.

With the take off of the APC government of Buhari, the PDP, now in the opposition, will no longer control the government at the centre.

Loyalty
The national secretariat of the party would have been very busy now, but the hands of the clock has changed to the national secretariat of the APC because failure does not have friends. Loyalty must shift and that is beginning to happen with PDP members dumping the party for the APC.
In the first week of being in the opposition, the hitherto very busy Wadata Plaza, the national secretariat of the PDP, has suddenly become virtually empty as the staff do not have work to do, some only come, stay briefly and leave.
Uncertainty is boldly written on the faces of the staff at the PDP national secretariat. They fear there may be downsizing of staff at Wadata Plaza, Peoples Democratic Institute, PDI, and the Legacy House, even as a meeting slated for Monday, May 25 at the National Executive Committee, NEC, hall has been shifted indefinitely.

The leadership of the party, according to a memo signed by the National Director of Administration, Alhaji Gurama Bawa, on behalf of the National Secretary, Professor Adewale Oladipo, dated May 22, with official no PDP/NS/EST/124 and addressed to all the Directors, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, Heads of Departments and all staff, would have used the meeting to brief the staff on the PDP opposition status, the issues on ground and how to adjust to the new challenge.

Members of the National Working Committee, NWC, are also not left out against the backdrop that since President Buhari’s inauguration, penultimate Friday, it was only last Wednesday that they showed up at the national secretariat. But the absence of the leadership of the PDP may not be unconnected with the one-day retreat of the party’s elected members into the forthcoming National Assembly held in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Monday, June 1 even as it was gathered that, on Thursday, some of the NWC members travelled to Ekiti State on a solidarity visit to Governor Ayodele Fayose.

The PDP, in its first week in opposition and to prepare for the new challenge, had to organise the one-day retreat which involved senators-elect and House of Reps members-elect.

The retreat became the first official outing of the new governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, to host some of his colleagues from other states, party leaders and stakeholders. Also present at the retreat were Senate President David Mark; Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; Governors Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State; Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State; Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe, Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, and Chief Dave Umahi of Ebonyi, represented by his deputy. Former President Jonathan was absent.

Formidable opposition
The retreat, put together by Ekweremadu and held under the theme: “The role of the opposition in facilitating development and good governance”, was apt and reflective of the promise by the party to present a formidable opposition to the ruling APC.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, who promised that the PDP will provide a strong opposition to the APC, said, “Our supporters may think we are weak, it is not being hailed in the social media. Let the President settle down; what we will do is that after one week we clock the mileage, one month, six month, one year, periodically we will assess the between the progress they have made and what happened with the PDP government and Nigerians on their own will decide which party is best to progress democracy in this country.”
If the PDP had won the election at the centre and holding a retreat of this kind, members, supporters, stakeholders would have been falling over one another because of the large turn out that would have been at the function.

It was a brilliant decision to have been taken by the opposition PDP to hold the retreat in Port Harcourt, Rivers, a South-South state, to save cost and for proximity, especially considering the fact that almost 80% of its elected legislators are from the zone and the South-East. At the moment, PDP has only four governors outside the South-South and South-East: Darius Isyaku of Taraba ; Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe; Segun Mimiko of Ondo and Fayose of Ekiti.

Speaking at the retreat, Ekweremadu urged PDP members in the yet to be inaugurated National Assembly to hold the APC accountable to its promises like the release of the Chibok girls, creation of two million jobs every year, among others. “Members of parliament have always been the springboard for their parties’ return to power each time they suffered defeat. The PDP lawmakers in the 8th National Assembly should hold the ruling APC accountable on each of its campaign promises.”

Now that the PDP has rounded off its first week as an opposition party, we watch as it faces the new challenge and as events unfold.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/06/first-week-in-opposition-pdp-struggles-with-the-challenge-of-new-status/#sthash.0QSkQXQS.dpuf

[b]NNPC's business model is unsustainable....... This is why GEJ and his cronies have been hiding this report.
God Bless HRH Emir Sanusi for blowing this whistle. The issue is even worse than just $20Billion missing.

"A major consideration centers on the ownership of oil and gas assets controlled by NPDC.
Subject to additional information being provided, we estimate that the NNPC and NPDC
should refund to the Federation Account a minimum of $1.48billion as summarised in the
next page."

"We did not have access to NPDC's full accounts and records and we have not ascertained the amount of costs
and expenses which should be applied to the US$5.11billion Crude Oil revenue (net of royalties and PPT paid)
per the NPDC submission to the Senate Committee which should be considered as dividend payment by NPDC
to NNPC for ultimate remittance to the Federation Account".

"Between 12 January and 29 January 2015, NNPC provided transaction documents
representing additional costs of $2.81 billion related to the review period, citing the NNPC Act
LFN No 33 of 1977 that allows such deductions. Clarity is required on whether such
deductions should be made by NNPC as a first line charge, before remitting the net proceeds
of domestic crude to the federation accounts. If these are deemed not to be valid deductions,
then the amount due from NNPC would be estimated at $2.07 billion (without considering
expected known remittances from NPDC) or $4.29 billion (if expected known remittances
from NPDC are considered)."

"We also recommend that the NNPC act be reviewed as the content contradicts the
requirement for NNPC to be run as a commercially viable entity. It appears the act has given
the Corporation a "Blank" cheque to spend money without limit or control. This is untenable
and unsustainable and must be addressed immediately. The Corporation should be required
to create value, and meet its expenses entirely from the value created. Proceeds from the
FGN’s crude oil sales should be remitted entirely to the Federation accounts. Commisions for
the Corporation services can then be paid based on agreed terms."

"For the period reviewed, we identified possible errors in the computation of crude oil prices at
the NNPC that resulted in a $3.6 million shortfall in incomes to the Federation account. The
major beneficiaries were Fujairah Refinery - $805,545, NNPC (KRPC/WRPC) – $697,995
and NNPC (COMD) - $2,107,275. Subsequent to our identification of this issue, NNPC has
amended the errors, and have reflected the amendments in the remittances to FAAC in
October 2014."

"The accounting and reconciliation system for crude oil revenues used by Government agencies
appear to be inaccurate and weak. We noted significant discrepancies in data from different
sources. The lack of independent audit and reconciliation led to over reliance on data
produced from NNPC. This matter is further compounded by the lack of independence within
NNPC as the business has conflicting interests of being a stand-alone self-funding entity and
also the main source of revenue to the Federation account."[/b]

dinachi:
My brother, I believe it is high time we dissociated ourselves from this Ijaw deception. Our blind support for Jonathan in the last elections has cost us heavily politically. Now seeking to further isolate us by telling Igbos to ignore the central government is just plain miscalculation. The Ijaws are down politically already and they want to drag us down politically. Our best options had always been to align with the north. In the sixties that gave us president and senate President. In the seventies that gave us vice presidency. Our alignment with Ijaws could only give us sgf, deputies in the national assembly. We need to be wise! The Ijaws only collaborated with us because they were the senior partner in the coalition. They got Presidency which is the highest price. We have suffered and bled with the Ijaws. It is now time to move on and negotiate our deal with our traditional partners the north. There is nothing left to do with the Ijaws. The so called coalition has outlived its usefulness. We should extricate ourselves from their political misfortune and reintegrate our selves into national reckoning. That is the way to go! Regional politics is the politics of yesterday. The South west have realized that already! That is why they formed a coalition with the north.

[b]Your post has shown the deep understanding of political expediency that APC supporters are known for.

If you recall, the current Minister of Interior Abba Moro was basically David Mark's (a fellow Benue man) slot for ministerial appointments in GEJ's govt. Mr. Moro was given national honors by GEJ after the woeful Immigration recruitment fiasco because his godfather is the sitting Senate President. So much to show the benefit of having a SP by your side.

The OP's myopic and rather naive assertion that the position of the SP for eg is not beneficial is because he is looking through the kaleidoscope of failed leadership in Nigeria. The offices of the legislative leaders can bring much needed development to their regions if well applied.

Imagine where a SP from the South East under GMB will build a concensus in the house and push for the implementation of the recommendations from the National Confab held under GEJ (which Mr.clueless ignored until elections came around).

Finally, I agree that a SS/SE coalition by itself will not fetch the constituent regions much. If anything, it adds to the SS but takes away from the SE. The SE is supposed to be more politically mature than where it is today. Both regions need to reach out to other regions across the Niger to build beneficial alliances. On the flip side, the incoming APC govt should also woo these losing bloc in preparation for 2019 and for general progress in Nigeria.

After all, only interests are permanent.[/b]

An embedded brave reporter captures Chadian troops in action firing against Boko Haram fire in Borno, Nigeria near the border with Cameroon.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmHWAYhRoPM

http://newsrescue.com/new-real-war-video-chadian-troops-in-action-against-boko-haramisis-in-borno/

I asked this question on Jan 30, 2 months ago. It is still valid. Will GEJ be presented by the PDP in 2019 as its presidential candidate?

cc: Lalasticlala, Ishilove, Maclatunji, Obinoscopy, OAM4J