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By Ochereome Nnanna IT is none of our business whom the president of Nigeria appoints as his personal aides. If he likes, let him put his children there, or crowd himself with people from his hometown. We get interested when he picks people to act as Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. At this point, we are concerned with issues of personal track record: qualification, competence and integrity. We want to know if the appointment follows due process. We check if the cabinet reflects the constitutional principle of federal character and national spread. But when it comes to certain federal institutions that require the reinforcement of the principles of “independence” to enable them serve the country and not just the government, we must not just be keen, we must be vigilant. Of all such federal bodies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is pre-eminent. The INEC underpins our democracy. If the independence of that body is compromised our country as a whole is in danger. During the President Olusegun Obasanjo years, the INEC was not independent. It more or less, worked for the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). We had a dominant one party dictatorship. The opposition could not muster the strength to create alliances that could compete. Buhari contested presidential elections three times and failed woefully. He became so frustrated that he wept openly before his supporters who came to tell him to run again in 2015. That was when he threatened that if the 2015 election was “rigged” the dog and baboon will “soak in blood”. During the general elections, Buhari’s al majiri mujahedin across the North were massed for an orgy of killings. They were only stopped because former President Goodluck Jonathan, the father of Nigeria’s modern democracy, conceded victory to Buhari. Jonathan’s patriotic action was the culmination of a well-calculated agenda to upgrade our democracy and put it among the world’s best. It was under Jonathan that the PDP decided to hands off their tampering of the independence of the INEC. It started with the appointment of Prof. Attahiru Jega, a man widely acclaimed by Nigerians as an independent-minded activist. Jonathan never knew, let alone met Jega in person, yet he bowed to public opinion and appointed him. He could have given the job to a fellow Ijaw man or a crony from elsewhere. In the end, the same Jega conducted an election that stopped Jonathan’s re-election. Today, GEJ has returned to Otuoke. Buhari is in power. Nigeria, rather than exploding in a paroxysm of genocides and national disintegrated as predicted by America, has moved forward to the applause of the entire world. That is the dividend of the independence of our INEC. Is it not an infuriating irony that Buhari, the man who suffered under a compromised INEC, is now taking the electoral body back to the dark days of Obasanjo? This man has forgotten his serial defeats and profuse weeping. Or, maybe he wants to inflict the same pains on others? How else would you describe the shoddy change of guards we witnessed at the INEC last week? On 30th June 2015, Jega’s tenure ended and he handed over the mantle to a National Commissioner, Ambassador Ahmed Wali to hold the forte until the president appointed a new Chairman. Eight hours later, Buhari meddled in the affairs of the Commission by reversing Jega and appointing Hajiya Amina Zakari as Acting Chairman. This move smacks of a sinister political footwork. Why would the president dabble into routine internal affairs of the Commission when he should be submitting the name of the substantive INEC Chair to the Senate? Why did he ignore Jega’s letter reminding him of the imminent end of his tenure? Why did he wait for Jega to hand over to Wali before intervening? Did someone whisper into his ear the need to key Zakari in as a prelude for further action? What will happen on or before July 21st, the day Zakari’s tenure will ends, which is also the day the National Assembly will reconvene? Will Buhari take the clumsy step of looking for another Acting Chairman pending the Senate’s approval of his nominee for Chairman? It does not make sense at all. It is, therefore, safe to speculate that Buhari is probably poised to submit Hajiya Amina Zakari’s name to the Senate as the next INEC Chairman! The implications are grave for the survival of our democracy. It will signal the return of the electoral body to the dark days of being tied to the apron strings of (a) the ruling party and (b) the president. Amina Zakari is one of the Northern hawks at the INEC. She is strongly linked to the APC, and she is a known close ally of the party’s top hats such as Nasir el Rufai and President Buhari whom she calls “Uncle”. Along with el Rufai, she was part of the Afri-Projects Consult, which carried out contracts for the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) which Buhari headed under General Sani Abacha. As the head of hiring in INEC she has been reported to have favoured the North with staffing during the Commission’s major programmes. More importantly, she is an ardent proponent of the discredited 30,000 extra polling units that nearly tore the North and South apart before the 2015 general elections. Such an officer, if appointed as substantive INEC Chair, can be used to entrench the APC against the wishes of Nigerians. We may see an end to the trend of losers congratulating winners which was beginning to take root under Jonathan. We may see an upsurge of violence and vicious ligations watered by corruption at electoral tribunals. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/amina-zakari-and-her-uncle-buhari/ Cc: lalasticlala
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He said: “Going by Section 50 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, that Office doesn’t belong to anybody or party. It belongs to Nigerians. That is why APC lawmakers became Speakers in Plateau and Benue State Assemblies last June even when the APC was in minority. By the way, are some people trying to tell Nigerians that if the PDP had won majority in the National Assembly, which is an independent arm of government, and head both chambers, the President Buhari Administration would cease to function?” ![]() |
DEPUTY Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday, dissociated himself from the amendment of the 8th Senate Standing Rules, saying he was no longer a senator when the rules were made. Senator Ekweremadu spoke through his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, on a Ray Power Radio morning programme, tagged: “Political Platform”, where he responded to questions on the alleged forgery/amendment of the Senate Standing Rule, 2011. He washed his hands off the allegation, saying at the time the said Senate Standing Rule/Order 2015 was made, he had ceased being the Deputy Senate President and so was no longer a principal officer to have contributed to the making of the document in question. He said the making of a new Rule/Order for a new Senate or House was entirely the business of the National Assembly bureaucracy and asked those striving to frame him up to look elsewhere. He said: “Let me just explain here that every National Assembly, that is every Senate or House has its Standing Rule/Order as every Standing Rule/Order normally has a life span of four years. So, if you go to the Office of the Clerk to the National Assembly now, you are likely to find Standing Rules/Orders of 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and the current 2015. “From the point of the valedictory session of the 7th Senate on 4th June, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Distinguished Senator David Mark and the rest of other members of the 7th Senate ceased to be senators until the 9th of June, when the 8th Senate was inaugurated; and as usually done, the new senators received new Standing Rule/Order 2015. “The making of that 2015 edition of the Senate Rule/Order is the business of the bureaucracy of the National Assembly. What the 8th Senate can do, which its predecessors have sometimes done is to amend as suitable. And the process of the amendment is spelt out in the that document. “So, if you say that the current Senate or Ekweremadu or whoever altered the Standing Rule that brought them to power, it is just like saying that former President Olusegun Obasanjo forged the 1999 Constitution upon which he was inaugurated as a president. You know it wasn’t his making and the governors that came that time too, it wasn’t their making. What happens is if Nigerians don’t like what is contained in the 1999 Constitution, they try to amend it. It’s the same with the Rules/Orders of the National Assembly. But you cannot even amend it until you are inaugurated as a Senator or Member. So, haven been inaugurated, anybody not comfortable with any part of the Standing Rule/Order 2015 upon which the Senate was inaugurated can follow the laid down procedure in the Rule within the lifespan of the Senate. “So, you can see that what they call an amendment is a new document with a life of its own. It couldn’t have been done by any member of the 8th Senate. It is just impossible for it to have been made by Ekweremadu. I guess it is all politics” Asked whether his principal did not work behind the scene to influence the alleged changes in the Senate Rule, Mr Anichukwu said: “How could he have worked behind the scene to amend it because from the 4th of June, when the 7thSenate ended, he ceased to be a senator, just like every other senator. “You could remember that after the valedictory session on that day, Ekweremadu and Senator David Mark left without their usual official cars. That showed they were no longer senators or occupying their offices in the Senate. So, how could he have worked from behind the scene? And do not forget that even the main matter they are contesting is not Ekweremadu’s eligibility. They claim the old Rule for the 7th Senate prescribed open ballot in which you mention the name of the person you want to vote in as the Senate President or Deputy President of the Senate, while the Clerk to the National Assembly used the open secret ballot system in which your name is called, you are given a piece of paper to write down the name of your preferred candidate and drop in the box in the full glare of everyone and on live TV watched all over the world. No one has complained that the election was rigged. Even Senator Ali Ndume crossed over to Ekweremadu and gave him a very warm congratulatory embrace” He explained further: “There is an important point I want to make here, how a new Senate or House is inaugurated is entirely the business of the National Assembly bureaucracy “Remember that in the 6th Senate, Senator George Akume ran against Senator David Mark for the position of the Senate President. You would remember that some people said no, he was not qualified to run for that office going by the old Rule because he was a new Senator. But the then CNA, Mr. Ogunyomi, said no, ‘this is how I want to run it.” When told that some people, especially from the opposition APC felt that his principal took a seat that rightly belonged to the APC, Mr Anichukwu said the seat did not belong to any political party. He said: “Going by Section 50 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, that Office doesn’t belong to anybody or party. It belongs to Nigerians. That is why APC lawmakers became Speakers in Plateau and Benue State Assemblies last June even when the APC was in minority. By the way, are some people trying to tell Nigerians that if the PDP had won majority in the National Assembly, which is an independent arm of government, and head both chambers, the President Buhari Administration would cease to function?” http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/senate-rules-ive-no-hand-in-alteration-ekweremadu/ Cc: lalasticlala
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agarawu23:Nah! ![]() |
agarawu23: |
Some people won't like to hear this ![]() Runs out of thread!!! ![]() |
Nice move.....but my worry is our judiciary. ![]() @simeonii_1 |
wrote a piece titled, Why Boko Haram don’t deserve our amnesty. Does this mean they want the amnesty now by proving a point? ![]() @simeonii_1 |
Reading |
Saw this online.... ![]()
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Sad.... ![]() Bombs becoming like a mere firewoks on a daily baisis. @simeonii_1 |
AlPeter:Same question ve always asked.... May be someone really need to define the word 'Betray' ![]() @simeonii_1 |
Noted: ![]() |
Dbrainiac1: ![]() |
The Wailingwailers were not needed... ![]() @simeonii_1 |
jimohibrahim:How did u beat me to No1...u related to Usain Bolt? ![]() |
Noted... ![]() @simeonii_1 |
ABUJA – The Presidency yesterday said that due process was followed in the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as the Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. It will be recalled that Mrs. Zakari was appointed by President Mohammadu Buhari on Tuesday to replace the immediate past Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega whose tenure elapsed on the same day. Mrs Amina Bala Zakari But her appointment has generated concerns and reactions from many quarters. One of such quarters is the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP which accused the President of naming an ally of his to pave way for the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC reclaim the PDP controlled States at the election Tribunal through some dubious means. The party also accused President of over ruling Jega who had earlier handed over to another senior staff of the Commission. But reacting to the concerns raised by the PDP, the presidency through the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina said that due process was followed in making the nomination. In a statement issued late last night, Adesina said that “Mr Metuh’s spurious claims of her appointment having been influenced by “personal relationship with the Presidency” and a Governor in the North-West “to pave the way for the APC” at election tribunals should be disregarded by the public.” He added that Buhari did not over rule Jega in the appointment of Zakari. According to him, the allegations were unfounded, deliberately made to denigrate the president. The statement read thus: “We have noted with regret, the latest tirade against President Muhammadu Buhari issued today by the PDP’s Spokesman, Mr Olisa Metuh. “Other than boring reporters at his press conference with a rehash of baseless allegations of inaction against the President, Mr Metuh clearly had nothing new to say apart from his charge of nepotism and partisanship in the appointment of the Acting INEC Chairman, which also lacks any factual foundation. “President Buhari certainly did not “overrule” Prof. Attahiru Jega in appointing Mrs. Amina Zakari as the Acting INEC Chairman, as Mr Metuh alleged. “Prof. Jega’s purported handing over to another Commissioner cannot be construed as an “appointment” because only the President has the constitutional authority, which he exercised to appoint Mrs Zakari as acting Chairman of INEC. “Contrary to Mr Metuh’s allegations, President Buhari’s appointment of Mrs Zakari as Acting INEC Chariman was based entirely on merit, her vast experience in the internal operations of INEC and the President’s commitment to affirmative action in support of gender equality, because, apart from being fully qualified for the position, Mrs Zakari was the only woman among the six Commissioners considered. “Due Process was certainly followed in Mrs Zakari’s appointment. Mr Metuh’s spurious claims of her appointment having been influenced by “personal relationship with the Presidency” and a Governor in the North-West “to pave the way for the APC” at election tribunals should be disregarded by the public. “The allegations are nothing but falsehoods contrived by Mr Metuh to unjustly denigrate a President popularly elected by Nigerians to undo the damage done to the nation by years of PDP rule. “His claim that the PDP has rejected Mrs Zakari’s appointment is also laughable after he had admitted that the right and power of the President to make such appointments cannot be questioned. http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/buhari-has-no-personal-relationship-with-zakari-presidency-tells-pdp/ Cc: lalasticlala
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Man got to work for his pay...nothing is free even in freetown... ![]() @simeonii_1
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Noted.... ![]() @simeonii_1 |
May be the reverse was what he actually meant... ![]() @simeonii_1 |
They didn't even allow him finish his celebration... ![]() @simeonii_1 |
@simeonii_1 |
LordMecuzy:That's true....so sad some people don't have a heart ![]() |
"Assuming we go ahead to announce the party’s position, which recognises members of the Northeast and Southwest as principal officers which the Northcentral members have already made a very strong allegation against APC, what happens?Dude already planning to run the house base on assumption... ![]() |
Luedave:Really? ![]() |
He however did not say what the President’s exact directive is. Now I don't get this, who is giving all this directives? ![]() |
In a related news, Presidency expels German Radio correspondent from Aso Rock for asking "embarrassing question"http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/185792-exclusive-sss-fights-back-accuses-buharis-adc-of-ignorance-overzealousness.html Cc: lalasticlala
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lalasticlala:Was wondering too .... |
Title and content kind of different.... Oga lala come make me bring touch dis night as I hear where is President Buhari, like say him dey Miss... ![]() Keep my touch and grab my blanket....goes back to bed. Its late already. Simeonii
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smada13:Even after all he said, if u still skeptical then wait patiently till monday...but is safe using the online method...after your pin details, u will be required to type you Token code...and dats all. Simeonii |
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