₦airaland Forum

While I always believe in the presumption of innocence for accused persons, Okonjo Iweala has not done herself any good in her several responses to allegations from different individuals.

She keeps attacking the personalities involved without addressing the issues raised by them. Her attempt at sophistry will not make the allegations disappear.

The questions are quite simple:

1. Did she disburse more than the amount appropriated for subsidy at any time during her tenure

2. How much exactly has she received from the Abacha loot and what was it spent on in her entire time as minister of finance under OBJ and GEJ

3. What was the basis of releasing unappropriated funds to the NSA under GEJ knowing fully well that it was illegal to do that

4. Was she aware that NIMASA was earning in dollars and remitting in Naira at NIMASA's predetermined rates? If she was aware what steps did she take to address the issues and if she wasn't aware how did such infractions escape her notice as both Finance minister and CME.


These are some of the issues that she needs to articulate her positions on instead of personalizing issues.

That SDP and other parties would collect money from PDP shows clearly that they were political mercenaries. And to think that this old man and his cronies attempted to fool us into thinking they supported GEJ because of national conference. Meanwhile their souls were already bought. There is no more Afenifere what we have now is "Afeniferawon". By the way, has anybody heard of Yinka Odumakin recently?

Let the wishes of the Bayelsans or any other people be reflected in determining who rules them.

Plurality of ideas is a necessary ingredient for a vibrant democracy and advancement of mankind.

We should all pause to ponder why God allows Christians, Muslims, Buddhist, Atheists, and others to coexist when he could have done otherwise!

Damikevin:
if he don't take time, He has killed his career with his own hands.

Olamide crossed the line of civility on this one and I wish his PR team, if he has one, would advise him to desist from this destructive rants.

How can you insult people's mothers and expect a.pat on the back. And if he felt insulted by Don Jazzy's offer he could have told Don J to come and get a car for each of MAVIN's act.

He keeps shouting street, is he more street than Tupac Shakur? But guess what, Tupac is 6 feet under cos of this too much belief in the street and life goes with several other street lords controlling the game.

Olamide should take care lest he destroys his career. Corporate sponsors don't like stuffs like this; he.should learn from Idris Abdulkareem

lezz:
How many foreign telecommunications firms are in south Africa?

Do I add that South Africa is very hostile to African companies seeking to do business there? You prefer FDI from Europe and the West.

Mtn 5.2 million unregistered subscribers is a matter of criminal negligence and administrative malpractice. Your Chief CEO Sifiso Dabengwa, admitted complacency and resigned in South Africa.

For long, the international community has derided Nigeria for her seemingly week institutions, lack of implementation of laws and corruption and dubbed her the nation of "anything goes".

We're turning that around and you still complain?
Tell me about China. Just this week China slammed foreign shipping and cargo companies millions of dollars. Their crime? They were encouraging monopoly and artificially raising prices. Need I remind you that Chinese economy is based on cheap labour, taxes and export of these foreign companies? These companies are from Japan, Germany, Scandinavia and south America. They owned up, paid the fines and promised the Chines government the incidence won't occur in the future.

Last year, British multinational, GlaxoSmithKline, BMW, Audi were caught breaking the Chinese laws, they were heftily fined millions in dollars. These companies tendered a heart warming apology to the people of China. After paying the fine.

Nigeria's shouldn't be too different. We open up our market for you, you play by the rules and abide by the laws that was prerequisite to your licence issuance.


And just for the records, mtn is in no position to peacock with Nigeria. We are the 10th largest mobile Internet users world-wide, we are Africa's number 1 GSM subscribers and Mtn biggest market. You don't intimidate us or blackmail us. You can't comply by the rules, then ship off to Soweto.


Other GSM operators had complied and were fined roughly #200,000 per subscribers for the breach.

Mtn's huge data of unregistered subscribers that totalled a jaw-dropping 5.2 million, plus your uncooperative attitude with NCC, DSS necessitated the fine.

If this happened in South Africa, you would go xenophobic on the rest of Africa. Pay up or buzz off.

Well said, you are a true patriot!

plaetton:
op must be a real idi.ot if the entire media chat can be summarized into his sensational title thread of " what do Igbos want ".

It is both silly, malicious, and goes to the core of who is a Nigerian, who is Yoruba, who is Hausa ,who is Igbo ?, etc.
It wasn't too long ago that Yoruba elders met and declared that they were being marginalized in GEJ government.
Before that , the northern elites had similar cries, and before that, the Niger Delta militants held the nation hostage for many years until they were splashed with national cake cash and contracts.

In fact, if my memory is right, few short years ago, this very same Buhari stated publicly that the government of GEJ should LISTEN to the GRIEVANCES of the murderous terrorists group Boko Haram.

Yes.
It's amazing how short our memories can be( selective amnesia) when it has to do with the "other " people, the Igbos.

The Igbos are not expected to have a voice, not expected to express anger or frustrations.
No indeed, that would be a violation of the conditions of our national forced marriage.
Right ?

Ironically, this answers your very silly question.
A voice, an equal, unencumbered voice.

I don't know hve never met a Nigerian Igbo that wants special preferencial treatment in national political or economic affairs.

Every Igbo wants what every Nigerian , every human wants. Nothing more and nothing less.

The fraudulently contrived federal structure robs every Nigerian, including Igbos, of their full potential as human beings.
It is a slave structure.
It robs every Nigerian, except for very few parasites in the system.
It doesn't and hasn't worked.
It needs to be rearranged.

That is what most Igbos want.

Reading your post has given me hope in the possibility of a new Nigeria that can work.

Your reference to the fact that the present structure robs every Nigerian is spot on.

However, in pursuing the various alternatives available to us, be it restructuring or self determination struggles, we must eschew violence.

For instance how do you explain a situation where OPC will claim to be fighting for Yorubas and yet they will be manhandling same yorubas; IPOB will claim to be fighting for Igbos and yet they will be preventing lawful igbo traders from opening their shops as it happened during the demonstrations; Nokia Haram will claim to be fighting for Northern Muslims and yet they go about killing same people. So who is fooling who?

Let all of us shun ethnic bigotry while we look for solutions to Nigeria problems.

Whenever and where ever they are looting us you will find that all ethnic groups will be represented.

These are not the best of times for Nigeria and Niger Delta in particular.

However, the Niger Deltans need to brace up for any eventuality by doing the following:

1. Holding their current crop of leaders accountable such that whatever allocation accrues to the state's would be used for the collective benefits of all. Encouraging their leaders to steal because other regional leaders are stealing should be jettisoned. No leader from any region deserves to steal our common wealth.

2. They should lobby the Federal Govt.to put in place a plan of action which will be targeted at developing the region's infrastructures.

3. Their leaders should pay more attention to ensuring that the Oil Companies maintain standard environmental support or clean up required of them instead of always collecting handouts from these exploiters.

4. The other regions must be encouraged to develop their capacities to generate revenue without relying on crude oil so that they can contribute towards the development of the Niger Delta.region

Hello fellow pig farmers, pig Pens are available for rent at Ajebo town (besides foursquare church) on Lagos Ibadan Expressway.

For those who may be interested 20 room pig pen too will be available for sale at the same location starting from 2016.

If you are interested you can get the details via mail at

TonyeBarcanista:
Only an ignorant person will abuse Ribadu.

I remember when Ribadu left for PDP, I was devastated because I was pro-APC as at then. Less than six months later, I (myself) left APC to PDP. Many felt let down and bad but I later understood why Ribadu left in the first instance.

A man like Ribadu is a man of integrity. He couldn't stand corrupt Nyako as his leader. He believed that Nigeria need change and he switched to PDP that he feels he can actualise it (though he stood higher chance in APC but we all know that Atiku as party leader will NOT support Ribadu as APC candidate). Unfortunately, forces even within the PDP in Adamawa worked against Ribadu candidacy. They knew that a Governor Ribadu will mean "No Business as usual". Right now, the guy can't cope witj the position of his party and majority chieftains on corruption. I mean, a man like Ribadu can't endorse shielding corrupt people under any guise. If he wants to return to APC, the APC should see it as a boost to their image. Ribadu is an asset! He's the man I want PDP to jealously guide. Should he leave, it will be a heavy blow to PDP. The era where goats will seek for more power after eating yams is over. Votes now counts.

Again you have made some profound statements here. Although I felt Ribadu shouldn't have decamped to PDP when he did, although that is my personal opinion at best.

However, I completely agree with you that Nigerians are wiser now and would only vote for people they trust and believe in.

It is not even about political parties anymore because people make parties. And with the penchant of our politicians for cross carpeting it becomes difficult to track which party did what and this is why Nigerian youths must refrain from this PDP versus APC online fights. Thus, I suggest that we track the actions of individual politicians and reward or punish them with our votes as appropriate.

There must be consequences for actions or inactions of political office holders.

anonimi:
www.nairaland.com/attachments/3041343_resize_jpeg_jpeg384963ae8ea3da4721c0ff0a90d0291d

The same youths you refer to as "mumu" are still the ones you will later attempt to sell the candidacy of your preferred politicians to during the next campaign.

When the same youths voted for GEJ you didn't refer to them as mumu or did u?

Everybody has a right to support their candidate of choice, I will not support anybody that calls you or any other person mumu based on your electoral choices.

TonyeBarcanista:
There is a difference between a noisemaking group and a political party. The former will gather their likes but will find it dfifficul to penetrate the neutrals. This is because when you talk and keep ranting, people will look at your antecedents and ask two questions; what have you done? What is your own alternative? APC were 'suCcessful' because of Buhari's perceived integrity(which even PDP chiefs publicly testified) anf the need to rid Nigeria of official corruption.

Quite frankly, without attempting to patronize you, when I read Deji Adeyanju's piece I said to myself that Tonye could have done a better job as PDP social media director. You may recall my disagreement with some of your submissions in the past but God bless you for this piece.

PDP's strategy of alienating neutrals through name calling and the rest would continue to haunt them, regrettably.

Politics is all about the numbers and you need a lot of persuasive skills to win people over.

fasho01:
Jonathan's issue is a discussion for another day.

America doesn't just rely on oil and as such has the means to service their debt. With dwindled oil prices, can same be said for us?

There is actually no problem with borrowing. The major problem is what you end up doing with the borrowed funds.

If the fund is meant to finance capital expenditure which will aid our cash inflows in the future then there is a good justification for it.

In capital budgeting you will consider the internal rate of returns (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) to either reject or accept projects after factoring the cost of debt into the equation.

If well used the borrowed may be able to pay itself back. It smacks of mischief when the likes of FFK criticize this budget without criticizing PDP senators like Ben Bruce who had encouraged PMB, after the release of the MTEF, to borrow a substantial amount to jumpstart the revival of infrastructures instead of borrowing piecemeal.

omohayek:
No, the problem is that import substitution schemes are not good policy, even if they look good to laymen without economic literacy. Putting aside the fact that even a corruption-free scheme would still hurt consumers more than it would benefit rice growers, any time politicians are given an opportunity to tamper with trade, they are also provided with a new means to enrich themselves through corrupt practices. Under a free-trade regime, there would be no room for subsidies, import licenses and other such invitations to corruption.

The strange thing about political interference with markets in Nigeria is that the Nigerian masses never learn that these interventions are never to their benefit. One would think most Nigerians would be aware by now that the only parts of the economy that work properly are exactly those bits where the politicians have least influence.

Very beautiful submission. I couldn't have said it better. The looting gang are miles ahead of the masses and that is why they keep succeeding in their escapades.

TonyeBarcanista:
Why making the reporter the scapegoat? What about the Editor that allowed it to be published and the Sunday Editor of Tribune? Itsa Sagay should sue them

Tonye you are so on point. If a case of irresponsible journalism is established the Editor and Sunday Editor should be fired too. That is why they are the bosses.

tunex23:
The Profile of the New EFCC Boss shows he will be more deadly than Ribadu, although I don't like APC but let those looters and Criminals be sentenced to dead by hanging, Olisah Mummu should also be investigated

God bless you for this post. We don't all have to like the party in power but we have a responsibility to support them when they are fighting corruption which is the cancer that is denying the Nigerian masses the good things of life.

Witch hunting or not, witches and wizards are meant to be hunted. Now I understand why the association of witches and wizards supported the reelection bid of GEJ in 2015; they needed him in power to keep looting our collective wealth without consequences.

The members of association of witches and wizards would certainly include Dasuki, Diezani, Dokpesi et al.

tunex23:
The Profile of the New EFCC Boss shows he will be more deadly than Ribadu, although I don't like APC but let those looters and Criminals be sentenced to dead by hanging, Olisah Mummu should also be investigated

Thanks for your beautiful post. We all don't have to like the party in power but we must support them on issues like this that has to do with issues like this where they are tackling those witches and wizards that have denied the masses of this country the dividends of democracy. Witches and wizards deserve to be hunted.

Now I understand why the association of witches and wizards supported GEJ's re-election bid in 2015 in national dailies; perhaps they were just positioning themselves for further sucking of Nigerian wealth!

TonyeBarcanista:
Lol, they want to attract sympathy from PDPians but they are on a looooong thing. As long as I'm concerned, every person that has looted the treasury or benefited in treasury looting should answer their father's name.

Very pathethic response from the Dokpesi family. And @TonyeBarcanista you are very right in saying anyone caught with their hands in the cookies jar should be sanctioned. I mean these guys just loot our common wealth for themselves and family members. They care less about the other people, even their own political supporters.

The masses are only useful to them as political canon fodder that can be used and dumped at any time. I feel pity for those of us who blindly follow these people even when they are requested to defend their actions.

In matters like this we should rise above partisanship to collectively request the diligent prosecution of any one of them so accused.

Oniemo:
@teepain

Good aftnoon. Pls where is ur farm located? Is it in Lagos, Ogun or Oyo state? If any of these of the states, do you have pens that I can rent and learn from you? Thank you.

@Oniemo
Good afternoon. My farm is located on Lagos Ibadan expressway. You can send me an email on adetunde.ojo@gmail.com or you can drop your email address or phone details and I will reach out to you.

obailala:
I may be wrong, but I don't think Dokpesi is in any trouble here. He received money from a 'PDP' chieftain to organise media campaigns, he did not steal the money in question and it is not his business to know where the money he received came from. The owner of a restaurant cannot be held responsible if a fraudster walks into his eatery to buy food.

The only person who I believe is in trouble here is the NSA and his boys.

That Defence may fly in the face of logic if it is proven that Dokpesi collected the said amount from NSA and spent the same as he could be prosecuted for being an accomplice for allowing his account to be used for money laundering. The case of madam Agama (Allison Maduekwe's mother) comes to mind. The case is even more serious with Mike Ozekhome admitting that his client never did any business with the office of the NSA. Either way these people would have their day(s) in the court.

Oniemo:
Good day. I'm a housewife but will like to go into pig farming because of the not so much supervision it requires. I've a family member who has been in the biz for yrs in oke aro & I've discussed about starting there by renting a pen & paying for the mgt while I come like 3times a week. I'm yet to visit the place but I hope to start in jan next year. But ur assessment of d place has put a dampener on it. In your opinion, what can I do differently to be successful in the biz? Input from others will be welcome as well who are familiar with the place.

My experience at Oke-Aro was not too fantastic. Note I was there for a year before I moved to my permanent site. I only used the place to multiply my herd size. The issues I had with the place are as follows:

Disadvantages:

1. The environment is very unkempt and dirty. The secretariat is not doing as much as they should be doing.

2. The attendants there are mostly fraudsters who are out to milk newbies.

3. The proximate positioning of many farms makes it very easy for your attendant to sell your feed.

4. Most farmers aren't ready to help you; they are just out to take advantage of your ignorance.

5. You have no control over bio security.

Advantages:

1. It is easier for you to sell few animals. You can sell even one because the buyers aggregate their purchases by taking a few here and there to make up their need.

2. It is easier to source for feed. You can buy one or 2 bags or as many as you require. On your own personal farm you won't enjoy this luxury.

I will advise that you look for a successful pig farmer who is willing to share his experience with you while he allows you to have some hands on by renting out space and other resources to you. Cheers.

AdviserGeneral:
If you insist the deduction made was legal, and the contract binding between both parties (Systemspec and FG), why did they return the #8.6 Billion they deducted back to the treasury?

That System Specs returned the money does not make the deduction illegal. They (System Specs) have already written to the President - I do hope you know - stating their sides of the story and requesting the President to assist in ensuring remittance according to the contractual agreement.

The Company's action of returning the money shows that they are not willing to resort to self help or to go through litigation if it can be avoided. I think they have shown good faith with regards to that but mark my words, should the Federal Government refuse to pay that 1% commission that has accrued (the #8.6 Billion) then we should expect that Systems Specs will approach the Law Courts to legally enforce their contractual rights and that may come with interest charges on delayed payments as well and then we would all know the meaning of illegality.

Cheers!

AdviserGeneral:
For God's sake Dino is a Senator of the federal Republic, an indepedent arm of government that is armed with checkmating the excesses of the Executive arm. If as a Senetor he over-looks a seemingly suspected fraud against the treasury of the Nation in the name of fellow party member, then the survival of this country will be in danger. Dino is not fighting President Buhari, rather he is fighting corruption. He raised the alarm to notify the populace he is representing of the illegal transaction going on. If not because of Dino alarm, System Specs wouldn't have returned the #8.6 Billion they deducted. We are in a democratic system for crying out loud; everything about the government must be transparent, and not shrewded in secrecy.

At the bolded, what is illegal in a contract that was won through a competitive bidding process and payment made on the basis of that contractual agreement? Was it that the service was not rendered and payment was made to the vendor or that the vendor deducted beyond the 1% agreed?

For God's sake Dino is a Senator of the federal Republic, an indepedent arm of government that is armed with checkmating the excesses of the Executive arm. If as a Senetor he over-looks a seemingly suspected fraud against the treasury of the Nation in the name of fellow party member, then the survival of this country will be in danger. Dino is not fighting President Buhari, rather he is fighting corruption. He raised the alarm to notify the populace he is representing of the illegal transaction going on. If not because of Dino alarm, System Specs wouldn't have returned the #8.6 Billion they deducted. We are in a democratic system for crying out loud; everything about the government must be transparent, and not shrewded in secrecy.

I would not blame Dino Melaye or any other person for raising questions over this issue. However, the unfounded allegations that he made while at it suggests a not so noble objective. For a Senator who has access to information more than an average citizen to publicly state that "a Company stole $25 billion in a single day for doing nothing was alarming". At least, if senate had queries they could have invited CBN,System Specs and other parties for clarification and at the end of the day, they can make available their findings to the public instead of making mockery of themselves

cymidas:
Govt of propaganda, everything bad is good luck and everything good is Buhari, why didn't the president review the policy before implementation like he as always reviewed every thing the last govt did.

PMB could not have reviewed a contract that was signed, sealed and delivered as it was in this case. What he could have done was to wait for the expiration of time, if the contract had a tenor.

emmasege:
But for the whistle blowing, no one would have known that TSA was GEJ's initiative. APC-led FG made us believe all this while it was their own idea. Now, that questions arise on TSA-related corrupt practices, they are quick to tell us that na GEJ conceive the idea. Who does that?, only immatured and kids do that.

From the beginning it was public knowledge that GEJ conceived the TSA through Okonjo Iweala, however the angst was that Jonathan didn't ensure that there was a compliance with the policy directive.

The accolade that PMB enjoyed was as a result of enforcing compliance. At least this issue was roundly debated on this forum and other places.

modath:
TSA is not in the best interest of the lawmakers, they will fight it with every breath inside them..

Dino isn't whistle blowing, he is only rabble rousing & looking for ways of forcing the status quo to remain..






The only comma for me is that the contract should have been vetted properly & re-worked to favourably serve the nation, so this kind of mud slinging & buck passing would never have arisen...

Modath nice suggestion there. However find some of my thoughts below:

(1)it might be difficult to renegotiate a contract that is already in force except there is a clause that allows that in the original contract. For instance if the contract had tenor it might be renegotiated at the expiration of the period

(2) if the vendor (System Specs) was selected through a competitive bidding process (as we have learnt) by the outgone regime of GEJ why didn't anybody question the 1% charge which is to be shared by System Specs, Commercial Banks and CBN?

(3) the very people who didn't allow GEJ to fully implement the noble TSA initiative are still around and they aren't going to give up without a fight

(4) before the introduction of TSA what were the charges like? Some banks were charging as high as 25% and yet they were round tripping by lending the money back to govt at say another 20-25% Now, how government kept her money with banks and the banks were lending same to govt beats me. It was a scheme that was enriching the mafias in the banking industry. That explains why it was difficult for the banks to lend money to the real sector as govt as a lender was more attractive.

(5) in engaging System Specs on this issue (and I support this) government has to be tactful because the contract is legally enforceable and there could be a penalty clause for abrupt termination of the contract especially where it can not be established that the vendor (System Specs) has breached any of the contractual terms and conditions.

(6) lastly, we have to be careful because it is System Specs today and it could be another Company tomorrow. We should not send signals to entrepreneurs that whatever contract we entered into with our govt may be willfully terminated at any time.

banki:
Wow Nigerians already know the owners of system spec!

Fayose na so you talk nonsense and Nigerians voted out pdp don't you learn

It is because of people like Fayose that PDP lost the election at the centre and it is because of such people PDP will keep losing. In the run ups to the 2015 Presidential Election, instead of PDP concentrating on the achievements of GEJ and their future plans for the country they were busy wasting time on peddling falsehoods against the person of PMB.

Do they really think that we are that stupid not to discern when they are peddling falsehoods? I was hoping that they would change their strategies to win more liberal minded electorates but nope they aren't done yet with their failing strategy.

Bisjosh:
I just see gullibility in you all saying NCC should go through with this.

It will backfire in the Labour market when your sisters and brothers are sacked from MTN and back to the streets unable to feed their family.

MTN has the largest coverage in Nigeria.

Remember if you throw a stone from the market it might hit your house or a friend's.

But where is our sense of national pride and security. Are you suggesting that you prefer the way MTN willfully disregarded the directive of the NCC leading to the situation where our fellow citizens were being kidnapped by kidnappers who used unregistered SIM.

Besides a lot of Nigerians who had businesses that employed south Africans were not spared xenophobic attacks simply because some south Africans would lose their jobs.

National security is an overriding objective.

chiddye:
I feel PDP is just lazy , and not ready to reform itself why run after those that ditch you and sold you off. until there is internal democracy and transparency from the ward to the national level they would just keep dreaming about 2019

this is the time PDP governor should go to the drawing board and bring their state to prosperity that the only way they could sell reform to Nigerians all this lobbying and hobnobbing with the enemy for me is no reform just doing the usual in a recycled form

I remain a proud PDP member.

Very good observation bro. PDP hasn't come to terms with the fact that the fate of any contestant or party would be determined by the electorates come 2019 and not some godfather or party bigwigs. Only the performance of the current office holders of PDP extraction can sway the voting public when the time comes otherwise they will only share their money in vain. The same thing holds true for APC and other parties.

simplyOJ:
I sympatize with the PDP, they are only saying what they are expected to
say any way. But really, can we say APC has failed after less than a year
of a four years tenure? To what extent are we now enjoying the promises
made by the PDP in the last 15 years. Politicians are simply two face of the same coin.

It's about time we go above all these petty! petty!! mudslinging and come
together irrespective of party affiliation and forge a unified front at tackling our
numerous challenges. The victory of the recent under 17 Golden Eaglet
comes to mind; irrespective of where they all came from, they all had a target,
and that was to win the cup, which they did and we ALL celebrated together irrespective of where we are from.

The Political elites are the ones sowing all these seed of discord. Poverty knows
no bound, whether from The West, North, East or South; let us
wise up, please.

I could not have said it better, God bless u my brother. While APC may not be a perfect party PDP should be ashamed of herself.

These foolish old men who had contributed in no small measure to the failing economy are talking about non implementation of campaign promises for a party that is less than 1 year old in govt.


How many campaign promises did PDP implement while the party held sway for 16 years?

Firefire:
Congratulations to all the noise makers.

Please start on high speed as Nigeria and Nigerians are already looking forward to the positive impact of your noises.

May the Almighty God guide and lead you right.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Great post! Despite your political inclination you have deemed it fit to wish these ministers God's guidance; this is a lesson for others; there is a time for campaign, there is a time for election. Once winners emerge we have to move on and pray for their success.

God bless Nigeria and God bless u too.

TonyeBarcanista:
Just yesterday, the Taraba state governorship election petition tribunal that sat in Abuja nullified the election of Governor Ishaku Darius of the PDP in favor of Hajia Aisha Alhassan of APC. The decision was based on the ground that Architect Ishaku Darius was not validly nominated by the PDP in contravention of Sections 78, 85 and 87 of the Electoral Act(EA 2010). Specifically, the tribunal held that the PDP never had legal candidate for the Taraba poll.

If we are to go by the judgement, then it will be fair for the Benue state election tribunal to nullify the election of Governor Samuel Orthom of APC because his nomination contravened S 78(b)(1)(2), 85(1) and 85(2) of the Electoral Act as well.

Governor Orthom's Illegitimate Nomination:
According to INEC's timetable for 2015 General election, primary election of candidate was slated for October 2 and December 11, 2014.

The APC Governorship primary election for Benue state was originally slated for December 4/5 2014, but it wasn't held. It was again shifted to December 11, 2014(deadline) but NO primary election was held on the said day. No report that any delegate participated in ANY primary election on that day. The party 'elders' settled for a consensus candidate before the midnight of the day. Even the pro-APC Nations Newspaper reported that;

"Chief Ortom emerged after other governorship aspirants stepped down for him at the end of a close door meeting brokered by the senate minority leader, Senator George Akume, in Makurdi."
www.thenationonlineng.net/benue-apc-settles-ortom-governorship-candidate/

In fact, the five other APC aspirants including, Emmanuel Jime, Mike Iordye, Akange Audu, Sen Joseph Waku and Prof Steve Ugbah released a statement on December 12, 2014 to REJECT the arrangement of the so-called party elders in Benue state (see here www.leadership.ng/news/394871/benue-apc-primaries-5-guber-aspirants-reject-ortom).

Further more, INEC was NOT present at the dead of the night to witness the illegitimate arrangement that was held inside somebody's parlour. Let us no forget that Goodluck Jonathan though a PDP consensus candidate, went through formal primaries to fulfill the Electoral Act.

APC Has No Legal Gubernatorial Candidate For Benue state:
Going by the above, the arrangement that brought Samuel Orthom as the APC candidate for Benue state governorship election contravenes sections 78(b)(1)(2) and85(1)(2) of the Electoral Act 2010.

Section 78 (b) (1)(2) of the Electoral Act states: In the case of nomination to the position of Governorship candidate, a political party shall where they intend to sponsor candidates:

(i) hold special congress in each of the Local Government Areas of the States with delegates voting for each of the aspirants at the congress to be held in designated centres on specified dates.

(ii) the aspirant with the highest number of vote at the end of the voting shall be declared the winner of the primaries of the party and aspirant’s name shall be forwarded to the commission as the candidate of the party, for the particular state.

The arrangement that brought Orthom never met the above condition. Hence, the APC technically has no candidate for Benue state governorship election 2015. There is no record that APC Benue delegates endorsed Samuel Orthom as candidate through voice votes or ballot box. There is also no record that INEC witnessed any Benue APC governorship primary election on or before December 11, 2014 which is in contravento to S85 of the Electoral Act.

The PDP candidate Terhemen Tarzor should have been declared as the legitimate winner of the election by INEC and the Tribunal.

INEC's and Judicial Glaring Hypocrisy:
The position of INEC on Taraba and Benue states reeks double standard. While they testified that they never witnessed ANY primary legitimate PDP primary for Taraba state governorship contest, the FAILED to testify same for Benue state. This issue though part of PDP's petition, must be seriously pursued by the PDP at the Court of Appeal to reclaim Benue state to the people.

The Petition tribunal in Benue state unfortunately dismissed the issue on "technical" ground in the rulling on September 21, 2015 in order to keep Orthom in power. This is double standard from the Judiciary. You can't nullify A and Uphold B when they bother on the same matter. I'm optimistic that the Court of Appeal will upturn the verdict.

What is good for Taraba should be good for Benue.!!!


May God Bless Us All and Bless Nigeria

Unfortunately the law is an ass! The judges can't give any relief that is not sought by the petitioner. You may need to advise us if this relief was sought by the petitioner in Benue.

Salmoneus:
PDP screwed this country up for 9 years and you expect it to be fixed in 6 months?

Actually PDP screwed the country for 16 years as against the 9 years you mentioned