Nigerian Newspapers
2015: Buhari’s ambition and APC’s dream to unseat PDP
The insistence by a former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to contest the 2015 presidential election on the platform of the newly registered All progressives Congress, APC, is likely to have implications on the fortunes of the new party, writes FELIX NWANERI.
It is not yet uhuru for the newly registered oppositions’ mega party – All Progressives Congress, APC, despite the euphoria that greeted its registration recently, as the issue of who flies its flag in the 2015 presidential election is already causing uneasiness within the party.
Though leaders of the party, who realised the tricky nature of the issue, carefully left it out during talks between the various parties that merged to form the APC to avoid upsetting its apple cart, the insistence of a former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to contest the election is likely to have implications on the fortunes of the new party.
His ambition is however said to be at variance with an earlier understanding that he and the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, regarded as principal promoters of the merger arrangement that gave birth to the APC, would not run for any elective office to give the new party a “semblance of a new beginning.”
Already, some names have been touted and they include the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as well as the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha. But former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Rotimi Fasakin, who insisted that nobody can stop Buhari from testing his popularity at the APC’s presidential primary, said there was no time such an arrangement precluding Buhari from contesting for the presidency was made.
Fasakin, who said that he has an inside knowledge about the initial agreement on the merger, described the purported arrangement to oust Buhari and Tinubu from the APC presidential race as a ruse, adding that only the decision of the party members at the presidential primaries can alter the former Head of State’s plan to run for 2015 Presidency.
He said: “We all know that the said arrangement is a mere propaganda to stop Gen. Buhari from again testing his popularity but it will not work. Come 2015, Gen. Buhari will participate at the APC presidential primaries and nobody can stop him, I repeat, he will contest and no one can stop him from doing so.” Buhari, who also spoke on the issue last week, however said whether he would run in the 2015 poll or not would depend on whether the APC wanted him or not.
“My decision will be tied to the constitution of the APC. If the party chooses me as its candidate, I will contest. If the members do not consider me, I will not contest but I will still support the party. My decision to run for 2015 will solely be that of the party,” he said.
He revealed that he had thought of a merger of political forces to wrest power from the PDP in 2007 because none of the opposition parties can challenge ruling party successfully. “I thought about this merger in 2007. This is because I found out that none of the opposition parties can challenge PDP successfully.
But if we come together with those that have representation at the National Assembly and the Houses of Assembly and go back to sensitise our constituencies, even if the PDP want to rig they would find it impossible to rig. “I discovered that by being so divisive, we made ourselves very vulnerable. So, the best way to survive and for this country to stabilise, we just have to come together and I believe, along the line, we made necessary sacrifices.
“The tension in the country has already come down; people now think that they have a viable alternative. These feelings and belief is across the country, not only in the North or in the South-West. There is a good feeling about the party in all the political zones of the country.
Our next important step is the mobilisation of constituencies to make sure that elections are conducted according to the law.” However, some APC chieftains, who are not comfortable with Buhari’s position, particularly his ambition, opined that he should talk less on it.
A party source, who spoke to a team of journalists in Abuja, last week, disclosed that “Buhari’s posture to run is coming rather too early.” He added: “Our earlier thinking was that the two leaders (Buhari aand Tinubu) should provide leadership for the new party and groom an acceptable candidate that will beat PDP’s Goodluck Jonathan, because from all indications, the PDP will present him.
“By our calculations, a younger and vibrant politician should run as our candidate so as to give the PDP a good fight; but from the way things are, we are stuck in between telling Buhari out rightly not to run and allowing him to continue with some ripple effects coming our way later.”
The source added that the APC was already working on the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, to join its camp, with a view to presenting him as the party’s candidate in 2015. Tambuwal, he explained, is younger with an appreciable appeal across party lines, and partly because he is from the North-West, which is the highest voting bloc in the country. The Katsina State-born general is not new to the presidential contest, having made three unsuccessful attempts in the past.
His first shot was in 2003, on the platform of the now defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) but was defeated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo of the PDP. He was back in 2007, also on the platform of the ANPP, but was defeated by late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who hailed from the same state with him. In March 2010, he left the ANPP to found the CPC (also defunct).
He described the party then as a solution to the debilitating, ethical and ideological conflicts in the ANPP. It was under this platform that he vied for the 2011 presidential election against the incumbent, Jonathan (PDP), scoring 12.2 million votes against Jonathan’s 22.4 million.
The intrigues and power play which characterised the elections, especially the collapse of an alliance between the CPC and then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which would have given the PDP a run for its money, forced Buhari to declare at the eve of the presidential poll that he will not seek any elective office again.
At the grand finale of his electioneering campaign, Buhari said: “This campaign is the third and last one for me since after it I will not present myself again for election into the office of the president.” He, however rescind the decision last year saying: “I am still in active politics until the polity is sanitised and people enjoy the fruits of democracy at all levels of government.” Though a political school of thought is of the view that the detour unsettled some elements in the North, who have been waiting to step into Buhari’s shoes, some analysts have argued that age is no longer on his side for a tough contest such as that for the presidency.
The former military ruler would be 73 in 2015. Others, however, opined that he would be embarking on another “political gamble” that may jeopardise the oppositions’ bid to unseat the ruling party. But how will Buhari’s ambition affect the fortunes of the APC? Many have asked.
The PDP National Chairman, Bamangar Tukur, whose party, the opposition alliance is poised to confront, believes that the ambition of the former Head of State will tear the new party apart.
His words: “Don’t worry, this is not the first time Nigerians would hear about merger. Let elections come and everyone will see the problems within them. They will be torn to rags because of ambitions.”
The pessimism over Buhari’s chances is not only held by members of the ruling party. A Kaduna-based human rights activist, Salihu Lukman, who is believed to be working for a chieftain of the APC interested in the 2015 presidency, had in reaction to Buhari’s renouncement of his decision to stay off active politics, said that such move will not bring the desired changes expected in the polity.
In an open letter to Buhari, titled: “Your aspiration for 2015 is ill-advised,” Lukman advised Buhari to drop his aspiration to contest the 2015 presidential election. The letter read in part: “To strengthen opposition parties in Nigeria would require a strategy that would throw up completely new candidates at all levels in 2015 including the presidential election.
Your moral authority to serve as the facilitator of this will engrave your name in the sands of Nigerian history as one nationalist who sacrificed everything, including his personal aspirations to ensure that the monster called the PDP is defeated.” But Buhari’s camp, in allaying fears over his ambition, however said the former military ruler is electable and would be accepted by the APC because of his high electoral value.
It said: “Many people do not understand the average Northerner. The preponderance of these people is in rural areas. These are people Gen. Buhari is popular with. The general belief is that Gen. Buhari is adjudged as a leader. “There are not many of these Northern elements that have the kind of popularity that Gen. Buhari has. The electoral value of Gen. Buhari is never in doubt. It is a fact. He has created a niche for himself. The truth of the matter is that Buhari is a man with amazing and remarkable character. He is a dependable leader in terms of service delivery.”
The assurance, notwithstanding, most analysts believe that a Buhari candidacy is unlikely to gain the support of some people in the South, particularly the South-East, who see the APC as a Hausa/Yoruba party despite the fact that one of the merging parties, the ACN, enjoys an almost absolute control of the South-West zone.
This, perhaps explains their call for the Bisi Akande-led interim National Working Committee, NWC, to unveil the party’s power sharing formula and other vexatious issues such as zoning to convince them that not only the South-East, but even the South-South where the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan hails from, have a stake in the party.
They argued that the North-West (Buhari’s zone) and South-West, which are key partners in the merger deal, have taken their respective turns to rule the country for no less than a decade each, both during the military and civilian era, as opposed to the South-East that has not taken a shot at the presidency.
But Senator Annie Okonkwo (the party’s Deputy Chairman, South), who allayed the fear of marginalisation of the zone in the new party, said: “We, the people of the South-East observed that the only political party where an Igbo man will have a say and ample opportunity to actualise his presidential ambition is in the APC.”
He added: “With the signatory of the Imo State governor, Okorocha, APC has become a recognised national party and every position will be shared equally. The focus point of APC is internal democracy and I am very optimistic that an Igbo man will emerge as the presidential candidate of APC in 2015.”
The question then is: Will the leadership of the APC opt for a zone with “less stake” in the party to produce its presidential flagbearer in 2015, even when it is indisputable that Buhari enjoys a near cult-followership in the North?
The party’s interim National Chairman, Akande, who doused the tension on the issue after the maiden meeting of the APC Interim NEC in Abuja, last week, said: “We listened to some people talking about presidency, talking about governors; we have not reached that stage at all.
Our major preoccupation is to set up the structure of our party. It is after that, maybe in November or December when we hold our national convention where our national executives will be elected; there is yet no idea about who becomes president or who becomes a governor.”
The presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) in the 1993 elections, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, who proffered a way out of the seeming impasse, said it would be a mistake for the new party to insist that Buhari drops his ambition.
His words: “Dropping Buhari and Tinubu’s ambitions will be a serious blow to the APC, in my opinion. So, they must be allowed to aspire to whatever they fancy, and let democracy determine their nomination for that position.”
Tofa argued that Buhari and Tinubu, and not their parties are the important factors in the merger arrangement, saying that the former Head of State will lose his political relevance, while Tinubu will also lose his interest if they are compelled to drop their respective ambitions in 2015.
“Buhari and Tinubu must be allowed to aspire to whatever positions they fancy, and let democracy determine their nomination for that position. If Buhari withdraws, 95 per cent of CPC is out.
If Tinubu loses interest, 50 to 70 per cent of the funding is lost. But if they genuinely decide on their own without any pressure from anywhere to opt out and remain faithful to the new party, that will be a big credit to them.
But, I do not see that happening without a serious loss to the new party.” A member of the APC Merger Committee and National Publicity Secretary of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, Osita Okechukwu, who also agreed that Buhari has the right to contest APC’s presidential primaries, noted that internal democracy in the new party would be strong enough to decide those to contest elective positions on the party’s platform.
Okechukwu said: “The most prominent thing that the members and supporters of the APC have put ahead is to save the country, to save our democracy and even save our constitution which the PDP has bastardised. So, the song is to redeem the country because if there is no country there is no ambition to talk about.
“For them, this thing is about the country. Nigeria is drifting dangerously into a failed state. So these patriots are saying that they are going to salvage this country and let personal interest go down the drain.”
The CPC’s governorship candidate in Enugu State in the 2011 election, Okechukwu, while assuring that Buhari is ready to give maximal support if a more formidable candidate emerges as the party’s presidential candidate in 2015, said the former Head of State’s statement about his presidential ambition was misunderstood and misconstrued. Okechukwu said that in the unlikely scenario that Buhari did not emerge as APC’s presidential flag bearer, he will support a better candidate, as a liberal democrat.
His words: “If you understood what Gen. Buhari said, he indicated interest to run under the banner of the APC. He gave a caveat that if there will be a better or more formidable candidate, he will support the person.
So, it is not as if Gen. Buhari is going out of his way to say if I am not the presidential candidate, there will be no APC – of course he did not say so. “To be honest and sincere, Gen Buhari had always said: ‘I support the merger wholeheartedly and if the merger adopts or elects me as its presidential candidate, fine, but if it doesn’t, I will support the person that will be elected as the presidential candidate.”
Similarly, a former Secretary to the Lagos State Government, SSG, in the Second Republic and chieftain of the APC, Olorunfunmi Basorun, who expressed optimism in the ability of the APC to resolve issues concerning Buhari’s presidential ambition, however insisted that the former Head of State does not require the intervention of people to persuade or dissuade him from his bid to come back to power.
He also expressed optimism that Buhari will abide by the decision of the APC leaders that everyone subsumes his or her ambition for now until when everything has been put in place. “He has said the party will decide who would be. So, if he has surrendered himself to the party, let us take him for his word,” Basorun said.
While it may be too early to draw a conclusion on what becomes of Buhari’s ambition in 2015, as politics remains the doctrine of the possible, the power play in the months ahead will determine if the former Head of State, who has always predicated his interest to lead the country again on two compelling objectives – need to sanitise the Nigerian polity and ensure that Nigerians enjoy the dividends of democracy at all levels of government – will return to the seat he vacated close to three decades ago.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: National Mirror Newspaper
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Tribune
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
This Day
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Vanguard
Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
Premium Times
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria