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Showing posts with label Political gist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Political gist. Show all posts

Sunday, 7 May 2017


President Buhari has been given two weeks ultimatum by a civil rights movement, identified as “Concerned Nigerians “the group has asked the president to  conduct a media chat to address the nation on the state of his health and other national issues.
Should the President fail to speak out, the organisation threatened to shut down the country and commence a series of nationwide peaceful processions and call for his resignation from office.
The position of CN, was contained in a six-paragraph statement released on Saturday and entitled: “We will shut down Nigeria if Buhari does not conduct a media chat in two weeks”, signed by its Convener, Deji Adeyanju and Secretary, Dr. John Danfulani.
The CN said that for several weeks, the health of the President had been the source of speculation, as he had neither appeared in public nor attend several official functions, including Federal Executive Cabinet meetings.
The statement reads: “The handling of the situation relating to President Buhari’s health has led to a lot of political uncertainty in the country. This economic uncertainty has, in turn, led to a lot of economic uncertainty as major economic stakeholders and players are unable to make short, middle and long-term economic decisions.
“Furthermore, the uncertainty about President Buhari’s health is stoking ethnic and religious tensions. Only recently a user of the social networking site – Facebook – threatened to kill 200 innocent Nigerians if President Buhari dies. This threat may not be unconnected with rumours making rounds in the northern parts of the country that President Buhari was poisoned.
“To this end, we call on President Buhari to, as a matter of urgency, publicly address the nation on the state of his health and other national issues. Such an address will go a long way in assuaging the socio-economic and political tensions.
“If President Buhari fails or refuses to address the nation within 14 days of this statement, we will commence a series of nationwide peaceful processions calling on President Buhari to resign from office. The processions will also call on the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly to set up a committee to assess his health in line with Section 144 of the Constitution if he fails or refuses to do so.
“While we recognise that illnesses can afflict anyone, particularly someone of President Buhari’s age, an occupant of the Office of the President has to be more forthcoming with information regarding his health. It is an obligation that the President bears to conduct himself in a manner that does not affect the peace, order and good governance of the country.”

Saturday, 6 May 2017



Notwithstanding the initial failure of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s Peace Initiative to substitute the ongoing legal battle between the Peoples Democratic Party’s factions with an out of court political solution, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports that concerned elders of the party have not given up on the out of court resolution
NOTWITHSTANDING the initial failure of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s Peace Initiative to substitute the ongoing legal battle between the Peoples Democratic Party’s factions with an out of court political solution, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports that concerned elders of the party have not given up on the out of court resolution
Since Senator Modu Sheriff’s open disagreement with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s peace initiative and his sudden walkout on him in a crucial meeting, insisting on the resolution of the Peoples Democratic Party’s leadership crisis through court decision, top party leaders have been divided over the development even as some party elders continue to persuade Senator Ahmed Makarfi and Sheriff to save the party by accepting a political resolution.
The argument, according to a former aide of one of the former Presidents on the ticket of PDP, is hinged on the discovery that none of the two contending factions of the party would be ready to continue with the party if it loses in the court. “I learnt the concerned elders have found out that whichever faction loses in the ongoing court battle will eventually leave the party. They found out that each of the factions has made Plan B, a development that is not good for the party. That is why the elders, who love this party, are urging the parties to come together and work in the interest of the party, instead of relying on a court verdict that will pronounce one of the contending factions, winner and the other, loser,” the source said.
The Nation investigation shows that the week leading to the May 4 court sitting on the Sheriff and Makarfi’s leadership tussle, the matter was taken to virtually all the leaders of the party across the geo-political zones, some of who reached out to Sheriff and Makarfi but according to our source, “nothing came out of it.”
He confided that every concerned elder of the party was therefore worried before May 4 court sitting, but with the long adjournment, I can confirm to you that concerned elements in the party are back in the field to seek amicable settlement of the crisis. One thing is certain; most of the elders are doing everything to convince the warring forces that it will do nobody any good to divide the family through a judicial pronouncement. A situation where we have a no winner, no loser resolution will help mend the broken relationship.”
It would be recalled that the Supreme Court, on Thursday, adjourned the hearing on the objection filed by the court-backed National Chairman, Sheriff, against the appeal filed before the court by the Ahmed Makarfi’s faction of the party.
The current legal battle is a follow-up on the ruling of a Port-Harcourt High Court, on February 27 affirming Sheriff as the party’s National Chairman. Reacting to the ruling, Makarfi’s faction had on March 16 filed an appeal before the apex court contending the ruling.
So, on March 21, Sheriff filed an objection to the appeal, praying the apex court to strike out Makarfi’s appeal.
One of Sheriff’s prayers to the apex court is a request to disqualify Makarfi’s faction from appealing the judgment of the Appeal Court. This request was heard and argued, but the court asked the counsels to submit written arguments before the next date of hearing. The case was adjourned till May 25, 2017 for further hearing.
Divided house
Since the PDP leadership contention shifted to the court, there have been both high wired intrigues to frustrate each of the factions and sharp disagreement amongst party members as to the end result of a resolution based on court pronouncement. For example, keen observers noted during the May court sitting that the original panel headed by Justice Ibrahim Tanko is no longer in charge of the case. Already, tongues are wagging, though mere change of a panel does not necessarily determine the outcome of a case at the Supreme Court.
On whether or not an out of court resolution would be ideal, one of the top PDP leaders that have openly expressed belief that the matter would only be resolved through court ruling is the National Vice-Chairman (South-South) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Emmanuel Ogidi. According to him, “To tell you the truth, there will be no political solution to the problem, because there are so many grey areas.
“If we didn’t take this to the Supreme Court, too many things would have come back to haunt the party, so it was wise we went to the court.
“The political solution is just a family thing. Sometimes people think it can be easy, but in this case, there is no way.
“That is why each time they keep saying let’s go for political solution, some of us know that it is going to be difficult and short-lived and therefore, look forward to the court verdict,” Ogidi said.
Ogidi, who expressed reservation for the Appeal Court’s verdict added: “It is the Supreme Court judgment that we are waiting for. I believe it will do the right thing.
“One man cannot call a convention and cancel it; no one is given such kind of power. Even the President does not have such power.”
For those who believe that the political solution sought by former President Goodluck Jonathan was the best option, Sheriff’s sudden walkout at the meeting came as a rude shock. But Jonathan and some other elders of the party, desperate to restore the dignity of the once powerful ruling party, resolved not to give up but to seek more acceptable means of achieving the purpose. One of the ways was the inauguration of a 40-man Peace Initiative Committee, with the task of seeking what Jonathan described as a political solution to the leadership crisis.
This plan could not fly as the Sheriff-led National Working Committee, which, like the Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee, was supposed to nominate six of the 40-man committee members refused to be part of the arrangement.  Other proposed members of the peace committee were to include two former governors, two former ministers, two women and two youths, who were to be appointed in consultation with Sheriff and Makarfi committees.
Sheriff’s deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojoughoh, who explained the position of the NWC said “That committee was not discussed with us. The meeting starts when the chairman of the party arrives and ends when he leaves.  Anything apart from that is null and void. People submit list to us.  We are not to submit list to anybody.  Our consultation continues. We are consulting with all the organs of the party.”
Given that posture, there has been confusion as to how the elders would proceed in the peace initiative. While some argued that the Sheriff leadership holds the ace to PDP’s crisis and as such must be appeased before any tangible progress could be achieved, others said former President Jonathan and the elders working with him should ignore Sheriff and go ahead to inaugurate the proposed committee.
“This has been the issue all through these weeks. The former president has been advised to go ahead and not allow any selfish element stop his noble intensions. But I am told by one of the elders involved in the matter that he is awaiting the conclusion of fresh negotiations with some select PDP elders before he would make public his next move,” said a source close to the former president.
Even before Jonathan’s next moves are made public, we gathered that influential party leaders are now sharply divided, a development our source said is giving the elders great concern. “In one of the meetings held this week in Abuja, it became obvious to all that none of the factions seems ready to give in now,” he said, adding, “everybody is on his own, it seems as both supporters of Sheriff and Makarfi have refused to yield anything.”
The division is no longer hidden as both factions easily reel out the governors and leaders in their camp. For example, Sheriff’s camp recently claimed it has more of the party’s governors in its camp than its rival faction led by Makarfi.
Reports quoting Ojougbo, said out of PDP’s 11 state governors, the faction has undoubted support of five while the Makarfi faction can only boast of three governors’ full support.
PDP governors include that of Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Rivers, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Taraba and Gombe States.
He listed those with the Makarfi group as Ayo Fayose (Ekiti), Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta).
Ojougboh reportedly said, “The Ebonyi governor, the Enugu governor, the Taraba governor, the Cross River governor, the Bayelsa governor are one hundred per cent with us,” adding that “It is only Fayose, Wike and Okowa that are with Makarfi.
Elders’ counsel
Worried by the development PDP elders have been calling on the factions to eschew selfishness and help save the party

Saturday, 8 April 2017



Cardinal Okogie slammed President Buhari and Bukola Saraki, the head of the Senate over the face-off between the two arms of government.

Okogie said it is now very difficult to live in Nigeria as a result of the serious insecurity that has taken over the  country.

Anthony Cardinal Okogie, the Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, has condemned the current face-off between the executive and the legislative arms of federal government.

Okogie is obviously not happy with the situation of the country

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Okogie said the executive and legislative arms should come together and work for the development of the nation.

NAIJ PORTAL reports that the Senate, led by Bukola Saraki, had been in a political war with the executive arm of government.

According to the cardinal, the leaders must assume the responsibility of governance by securing the land from those he called armed robbers, kidnappers and herdsmen.

“Our politicians are busy fighting one another, exchanging blows in the hallowed chambers of legislation, resorting to character assassination.

“Our law enforcement institutions have been turned into their arsenal in this battle of the sanctimonious; the executive accuses the legislature of corruption and vice versa.

“Both parties in the conflict pretend to be fighting for us, they are fighting to guard the “trophy” they won at the last election while preparing to retain the same trophy in the next election.

“They are so busy fighting that they have no time to work for our security. Their sterile conflict is, in fact, prejudicial to our security.

“Their negligence of duty, their tantrums, their failure to be transparent and accountable with very few exceptions, point to the fact that they are part of the equation of insecurity in our country,’’ Okogie said in a statement.

Okogie called on political leaders to provide infrastructure and adequate security for the citizens.

“Our leaders are well protected, but we the citizens are not. Political leaders who cannot provide security are a total failure.

“Almost six decades after independence, almost 70 years after the establishment of Nigeria’s premier University of Ibadan, we still have to rely on medical tourism.

“But how many poor Nigerians can afford to spend one day in a hospital overseas. How many can afford to be away from their work for three months.

“But Nigerians have the capacity to run good hospitals. All we just need is a leadership that enables, not one that disables.



“They receive the perks of office in a land where workers have gone unpaid for months, government does not serve Nigerians and the public servant does not serve the public," he said.

Calling on Nigerians to be responsible in the business of protecting and safeguarding their own lives and property, Okogie asked: “Does the life of the Nigerians have any value. If it does, can it be truly said that Nigerians appreciate the value of life. The questions are meant for all of us.

“We all have to take responsibility for the protection of lives and property of the citizens in this country. We live in clear and present danger.

“We are not safe when we are at home, neither are we safe away from home.

“Life runs the risk of being cut short by armed robbers, kidnappers, dangerous drivers driving on dangerous roads, driving cars that are dangerous for transportation.

“When we thought we were gaining the upper hand in the battle with Boko Haram, violent herdsmen stare at our helpless faces.”

The top Catholic priest reminded the country's leaders that one day they would give account of their stewardship to God, who made them leaders.

“One thing is clear: almost all our political leaders are either Christian or Muslim. The two religions teach that we shall one day account for our earthly stewardship.

“Every leader will stand before the 'Just Judge' (God) and account for the way he or she got into positions of authority and used the authority.

“Propaganda in the print and electronic media will be of no assistance, lies told to get elected and falsehood peddled to remain in office will be of no value,” he said.

Wednesday, 29 March 2017

- An antigraft forum is set to hold in France

- Nigeria's vice president has departed for the event which holds in Paris
Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria's vice president, has departed for Paris in France.

Osinbajo is off to attend the anti-corruption and integrity forum of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development holding Thursday and Friday, March 29th and 30th.

BREAKING: VP Osinbajo jets off to Paris for antigraft forum
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, disclosed this in a statement.

According to him, Osinbajo will speak at the forum which brings global leaders, government ministers, business leaders and civil society representatives together to discuss the cost of corruption, the use of political donations to buy influence, developments in corporate liability for graft and the role of export controls in countering bribery.

Daily Trust reports that the vice president's spokesman said the organisers of the forum was concerned that "corruption  and abuse of public office are a blight on democracies and a drain on public finances and with trust in government flagging."

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