₦airaland Forum

The Conservatives will be the largest party after the General Election, according to an exit poll carried out for the major broadcasters.


The poll put the Conservatives on 316 seats, Labour on 239, the Scottish National Party on 58, the Liberal Democrats on 10 and UKIP on two.

The first results of the night saw Labour holding Sunderland Central, Houghton and Sunderland South and Washington and Sunderland West.

The parties are trying to get 326 seats to command a majority.
And if the election result mirrors that of the exit poll, David Cameron will be just 10 seats short - the number predicted to be won by the Lib Dems.

Former cabinet secretary Lord O'Donnell told Sky News it would leave David Cameron with two choices - forming a coalition or leading a minority Government.

A Conservative party source told Sky News Mr Cameron was "pleased" with the exit poll.

And Home Secretary Theresa May said: "If the results of the exit polls are correct it shows a clear win for David Cameron and the Conservatives.

"But it is only an exit poll, I think we have to wait until all the votes have been counted and we can see what the results are.

"Whatever the result, we are clear that the Conservatives will make the choice that is right for the country."

Harriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader, told Sky News the party was "very sceptical" about the forecast.

She tweeted: "I'm hoping for a good night but I think 58 seats is unlikely! #GE15"

Labour's Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said: "Clearly if the exit poll is right it is a terrible result for Labour in Scotland. I really hope it’s going to be wrong."

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party could play some role in the formation of the next Government if the poll is correct.

When asked whether they were ready to enter negotiations, deputy leader Nigel Dodds said: "We're always available to talk when it's in the interest of the country."

The Greens are predicted to win two seats, Plaid Cymru four and others 19, according to the survey.

The Ipsos MORI/Gfk NOP poll was carried out for Sky News, ITV News and the BBC at 141 polling locations in 133 constituencies across Great Britain.

http://news.sky.com/story/1479761/david-cameron-pleased-with-exit-poll

Who else is following the polls? Exit polls at the moment suggest a Conservatives victory.

Not in my favour at the moment...

#teammilliband

I hope he does. These conservatives policies are becoming more racist by the minute.

With regard to the bolded above, an examination of the relationship and nature of President-elect Buhari's personal and professional relationship with his second in command under his previous administration is in order.

Babatunde (Tunde) Idiagbon, one of the few respected officers and former second-in-command during the military rule of Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, January 1, 1984- August 1987 died on March 24, 1999. He was only 56 years old and reportedly collapsed in his home in Ilorin, Kwara State. Let's place the man within a historical context to achieve a better meaning regarding what I believe was a very remarkable and consequential life. First, Idiagbon, famous for his stern attitude, morose demeanor and iron-fist approach to governing had a love-hate relationship with his countrymen. Initially, many felt he was too dictatorial and left no room for compassion for errant fellows. Some, at the time, also felt his approach was right for Nigerians, an unusually boisterous group of people in their country.

He set a clear, firm tone for ruling (with his boss retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari). Comparatively, retired Generals Obasanjo, Babangida and Nigeria's current ruler Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar Buhari are quite different from the late Idiagbon. Where Obasanjo, Babangida and Abubakar employ wily tactics to deal with most issues and gradually revealing their intent as masking other numerous goals, Idiagbon never left you in doubt. His uncharitable critics say that's why he did not survive in the system. Unlike Idiagbon, the other three had cheerful outlooks regardless of whatever was happening in (and to) the country.

Nigerians will miss Idiagbon, among other fine if imperfect qualities, for proving, although by force and threat of sanction, that Nigerians can stand on a bus line, and indeed any line (INSIDE Nigeria), to wait their turn. Miracles will never end, my compatriots said, at the time. He proved conclusively that it's not in our stars to be disorderly. The late patriot Idiagbon embodied the capacity for Nigeria's renewal. He, alongside other patriots like Mokwugo Okoye, Aminu Kano and millions of other patriots dead and alive, validate the fact that Nigerians and Nigeria are not cursed to a bestial gamut of unethical damnation and wanton corruption. Even after leaving government, he refused to be "purchased" or used as prop for any regime's slimy games and uncouth shenanigans. Babatunde was not one, to the best of my knowledge, to be used by any regime, including the more-you-look-the-less-you-see regime of incumbent Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar.

History will recall the late Idiagbon, son of a very modest Muslim family, as a nationalist, albeit an iron-surgeon in search of solutions for his ailing fatherland. Where his military colleagues flinched and became the triple-horned architects of economic decline and king toads of the moral swamp and corruption which have dwarfed Nigeria's destiny, Tunde Idiagbon had the gumption and courage to jail the terribly corrupt, the not-so-corrupt and their team of enablers.

Reference
Usafricaonline.com, (2015). USAfricaonline - General Tunde Idiagbon Departs. [online] Available at: http://www.usafricaonline.com/IdiagbonDeparts.html [Accessed 5 May 2015].

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It is only when we know where we are coming from that we can predict where we are going. Going by General Buhari's precedence, Professor Osibanjo might end up with even more powers and responsibilities delegated to him, especially as he is a technocrat unlike his principal, and Idiagbon.

In the light of the conflicting perspectives thrown around this forum on the role of the incoming Vice President according to the 1999 constitution, let us briefly examine the role of the VP;

The VP.

The Vice President of Nigeria is the second-in-command to the President of Nigeria in the Government of Nigeria. Officially styled Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Vice President is elected alongside the President in national elections. The office is currently held by Namadi Sambo.

Eligibility

A person shall be eligible for the office of Vice President if he or she is a citizen of Nigeria by birth, at least 40 years of age, is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party.

Functions Of The Vice-President Of Nigeria

The executive functions of the Nigerian vice president includes participation in all cabinet meetings and, by statute, membership in the National Security Council, the National Defence Council, Federal Executive Council, and the Chairman of National Economic Council. Although the vice president may take an active role in establishing policy in the Executive Branch by serving on such committees and councils, the relative power of the Nigerian vice president's office depends upon the duties delegated by the president.

Reference:
Services.gov.ng, (2015). The Vice President - Services Portal. [online] Available at: http://services.gov.ng/the-vice-president [Accessed 5 May 2015].

Interesting perspective. It's not rocket science to decipher that the incoming and the incumbent are cut from completely different cloths.

The personalities and not the regions, should be of interest.

That phone must be recording the lesson.