Nigerian Newspapers
PDP and deft moves ahead of 2015
Ahead of 2015 general elections, political gladiators in Nigeria have commenced serious moves towards positioning themselves for the seat of power.
Their actions and inactions have ignited quite a number of issues of interest and they all boil down to preparations for the battle in the coming general election year.
Following their aspiration for governorship and presidential positions, many a politician are currtently engaging in serious battles. While some are being fought within the parties, others are fought among parties.
Among the numerous parties lacing the nation’s political firmament, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to be more enmeshed in trouble than any other. Many of the crises it is contending with are, no doubt, capable of making or marring it’s chances in 2015.
Although PDP has described its internal wrangling as “family affairs”, political analysts are of the view that the crises have gone beyond what it can ordinarily contain, considering how several efforts to reconcile warring factions had failed. It is also believed that the ruling party had created a crack in its wall, which opposition parties are currently exploiting to penetrate it.
Worried by the present state of the ruling party, for example, many PDP founding fathers, governors and chieftains are unhappy and are bent on going to any length to put things in place before the 2015 elections to prevent it from total collapse.
In the last few days, there have been several meetings between the party’s chieftains and some former Head of States and president, and they come across as moves borne out of skillful political thinking.
Last Saturday, President Goodluck Jonathan had a closed door meeting with former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in Abeokuta.
The meeting is believed to be a follow up to the one held between the former president and chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, the Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, last week in Abuja, to shore up support for Jonathan in his bid to return to office in 2015.
Prior to Akpabio’s meeting with the former president, PDP’s national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and the party’s BoT chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, had paid visits to Obasanjo. Five PDP governors, Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Babangida Aliyu (Niger) Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa), under the aegis of G-5 governors, on Saturday and Monday, also held a meeting with three former number one citizens over the need to urgently intervene in the crises rocking the party.
Last Saturday, four governors – Kwankwaso, Nyako, Wammako and Lamido – had a closed door meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, shortly after President Jonathan met with Obasanjo.
According to a reliable source, the president and the four governors’ meetings held at different times centre on 2015 elections and the crises in PDP.
While President Jonathan is believed to have moved out of his comfort zone to personally market his re-election bid in the face of growing opposition ahead of the 2015 presidential poll and to mend fences with the former president, the governors were reported to have visited Obasanjo to inform him about their discomfort in the PDP and their plans ahead of the 2015 elections.
On Monday, two days after the Abeokuta meeting, four governors – Aliyu, Wamakko, Lamido and Kwankwaso – also took their campaign to former Head of States, Generals Ibrahim Babangida, and Abdusalam Abubakar. They met with the two former leaders at the Presidential Lodge in Minna, where they deliberated on the state of the nation.
Speaking after the meeting, General Babangida described the governors as real patriots for the role they are playing to ensure peace in the polity. “I want to commend the governors and some of their colleagues.
I was very impressed because they have seen the problem of the country as our problem and they have taken the right steps to consult widely in trying to find solutions to some of these problems. These governors are real patriots and I am very happy and I told them so,” he said.
To many Nigerians the visit of the governors who many see as anti-Jonathan’s re-election bid because of the role they played in installing Governor Amaechi as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) against the president’s wish, is very significant.
The view that they are anti-Jonathan is also underscored by the manner they stood solidly behind Amaechi in his perceived battle with the presidency and PDP gladiators.
The visit of the key Northern governors to the former Head of States is seen as a strategy to mobilise and win some key players in Nigerian politics to their side if any of them or any other candidate from the North decides to contest for the presidency.
Going by the words of some of the governors in recent time, analysts are of the view that with the political network some of the Northern governors are currently building across the country and their romance with the pro-Amaechi governors in other geo-political zones, especially in South-West, they may move into the proposed All Progressives Congress (APC) or form a new platform to challenge the incumbent president in 2015.
Attesting to the fact that some PDP governors may work toward the death of PDP if the present situation in the party persists, Governor Nyako, while speaking on the G-5 governor’s initiative, said that unless serious-minded Nigerians intervened on time, the PDP, “which all of us built and nurtured to maturity will die of natural death.”
Governor Nyako who spoke through his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Alhaji Ahmed Sajoh, stressed that: “We will continue to make efforts to save the party (PDP). But, if our efforts fail to work out, we have no alternative than to fold our arms and see PDP dead.
We will help in burying it. We have held consultations with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Board of Trustee (BoT) chairman of PDP on the need for him and other major stakeholders to save the party from dying.”
Governor Aliyu, while speaking after the four governors meeting with Babangida and Abubakar said that the initiative being embarked upon by the governors is a platform they could use to actualise their political dreams.
His words: “It is a platform we could use to actualise our political dreams. We are consulting with our elders and leaders and let’s look at some of the problems and find solutions to the problems some of us perceive we are facing.
We are consulting to make sure that we all understand the issue and we all come out with a solution. We also have to carry our people together as we go along.”
In a swift reaction to the threat by some PDP governors that they would dump the ruling party, Tukur, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Prince Oliver Okpala, said that PDP would outlive those wishing her premature death.
“The PDP, as an institution, has come Tit bits to stay and will never die; like democracy was propounded by Socrates and it outlived Socrates and became universally acceptable, the PDP will outlive those wishing her premature death and gain more recognition worldwide as the largest political party in the black world,” he said.
The instructiveness of the meetings of the governors with Obasanjo and Babangida is seen in the fact that it points out the relevance of the leaders in the political calculations of the country.
A look at the roles played by Babangida and other political gladiators from the North and South in the emergence of Obasanjo as president during 1999 presidential election and his re-election in 2003 are very important.
The roles played too by Obasanjo and some others in the emergence of the late Umar Yar’Adua as president in 2007 and the emergence of Jonathan who is from the minority group as President in 2011 against all odds, are also clear examples.
The relevance of these key people, obviously informed the move by the governors, knowing that Obasanjo and Babangida, among a few other people, give direction to the nation’s political reign, especially, in view of the interests of the North and the South.
It may be relevant to note here that in the last few months, the relationship between Obasanjo and his political son, Jonathan, has gone sour, fuelling the impression that Jonathan’s ambition to return to office in 2015 may be adversely affected.
On several occasions, Lamido and Amaechi’s rumoured presidential ambition has been linked to Obasanjo, based on their romance with the former president. Obasanjo is believed to have also, tactically, endorsed the two men.
Obasanjo, while delivering his keynote address on May 29 (Democracy Day) in Dutse, Jigawa, at the opening ceremony of a three-day Jigawa State Economic Summit, said that the Jigawa State governor had exhibited good governance abilities, and had the capacity and competence to rule Nigeria come 2015.
His words: “You know you can help somebody to get a job but you cannot help him to do it. If somebody cannot do the job, we have Sule Lamido who is competent to do the job.
“Some people are saying one person can’t make changes; this is rubbish. If you have a competent person who knows where he is going to, he can make changes along with his team that would impact the lives of people as we have seen it in Jigawa State.”
Although the moves by the five PDP governors may be considered smart in a possible bid to oust the president in 2015, the chances are not totally bright for them, considering the huddles ahed of them.
Observers are of the view that if the governors decide to back a candidate against President Jonathan during PDP’s presidential primaries, it may be difficult for their candidate to scale through. The stumbling block is the fact that the party’s structure is presently in the hand of the president and many of his loyalists.
It is considered that if the option of running with Jonathan within PDP fails, forming a new political party may not work out well for them.
For instance, a consideration of going into the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is the coalition of the major opposition parties in the country, may be unfruitful because of the pristine structure and interests.
An entrance into the APC may work well for them, some believe, only if the sole aim is to stop Jonathan in 2015 and not for anyone of them to take over from him.
This is because the present calculation in APC is that former Head of State and three time presidential candidate, General Mohammadu Buhari, may fly the party’s ticket.
Considering, therefore, the political clout of Buhari in the North and the fact that APC is built around him and the National Leader of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, it may be difficult for any “outsider” to stop him from flying APC’s presidential flag in 2015.
Without any iota of doubt, irrespective of the decision taken by the G-5 governors and political gladiators within the PDP, APC will still be a major determinant in 2015 elections and one of the issues that may likely favour APC against PDP in the ongoing political scenario is APC’s plan to zone the presidency to the North.
With the ongoing campaign for Northern presidency in 2015, the Northerners may have no option but to support APC for the zone to produce the next occupier of Aso Rock Villa.
Looking at the fact that the 2015 presidential contest seem to be a straight fight between the North and the South-South, analysts are of the view that the battle for Aso Rock may make many of the political gladiators to sheath their swords in order not to jeopardise their chances in 2015. With the ongoing reconciliation in PDP, all the warring factions may be brought together before 2015.
But if the reconciliation fails, PDP may find it difficult to extend its reign in Aso Rock beyond May 29, 2015.
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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. A DisNaija.Com network.
Source: National Mirror Newspaper
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•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
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
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
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
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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