Ondo PDP’ll oppose Mimiko’s takeover– Chairman

In this interview with OLUWOLE JOSIAH, the Chairman of the Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ebenezer Alabi, speaks about the planned defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko and other matters

How did you receive the news of Governor Mimiko’s plans to defect from the Labour Party to your party?

Well, everybody has the constitutional right to join any political party of his or her choice and so if Dr. Mimiko has made up his mind to come to the PDP, we have no objection. But the proper procedure has to be followed in line with the provisions of our constitution. What we are going to oppose is when the normal procedure is not followed. We have toiled very hard to improve our party and today the PDP is the toast of the people of Ondo State and so if the governor is coming, he is welcome as a member of the party and will join hands with us in ensuring the future of our party. But a situation where the structure of the party or the apparatus of the party will be handed over to him will not be acceptable to party members. We are going to be very vehemently opposed if moves are made in that direction.

We learnt that there is already a working agreement with the Mimiko group over his movement, has there been any meeting between you and his people?

Nothing of such has happened. To the best of our knowledge, his coming is still a rumour to us because we have yet to hold any meeting and there is nowhere, even enquiries at the national secretariat of the party show that there is no agreement whatsoever. So, this is coming to us is very strange because normally if anything is going to happen it is going to be in consultation with the state chapter. That 60/40 percentage (of the new party structure) we read about is arbitrary, it is a rumour and it is not founded at all.

Is it not possible that they (Mimiko’s group) get a better share of the composition of the state executive committee since they are in government and the PDP will be benefiting from that advantage?

That will be totally unacceptable to us because as of today, the opinion of the people in Ondo State is that the PDP is forming the next government. The LP is deeply depleted. We have received a chunk of LP members in the last six months. The state chairman of the party is now a PDP member, the senator now representing the southern senatorial district (Boluwaji Kunlere) is already in the PDP. Some members of the House of Assembly have already been talking to us over the sudden change of events to move to the PDP. So the PDP is well fortified today so that with or without Mimiko, we can win elections overwhelmingly in Ondo State. So coming on board now to dictate the percentage that will be to the disadvantage of those people who have been there, who have been working day and night for the success of the party is totally unacceptable to us.

Senator Kunlere’s defection is seen as a prelude to the impending movement of LP members to the PDP.

It wasn’t at all. It was, in fact, because of the antics of the governor towards him, according to what he said. All those in the LP who believe in him have been put aside and so he was leaving the party out of frustration and it has nothing to do with the intention of the governor to come over to our party.

You said 12 members of the House of Assembly who are of the LP were discussing with you earlier, now that the rumours of Mimiko’s movement is becoming stronger, are they likely to make that move soon?

The scenario now is what they are thinking about. They would either make the move sooner than Mimiko or remain in the LP. So, as of today, the information at my disposal is that not everybody is happy about Mimiko’s move and some people are saying that they would rather remain than to follow him down, while others are saying, let’s follow him down and see what happens there. That has been the situation of things. We are watching the whole scenario with keen interest.

There are fears that some current members of the PDP might leave the party if Mimiko comes in as he would likely take over the machinery of the party

Well, the thing is that we cannot rule that out because some people have been calling me, sending a lot of text messages to the effect that they have worked so hard and tirelessly in the past years to rebuild the party and to make it formidable such that they could win election any day, any time, and if they are now pushed aside by the coming of any person no matter the status of that person, they could threaten to leave our party. I cannot lie to you on that one. Like I said, we have yet to discuss with our national leaders on the modalities of his coming. That is why his coming must be handled with care so that it will not affect the fortune of our party in Ondo State. The fear now is that a lot of people came out of the LP to join us. Dr. Olaiya Oni (former LP Chairman), Kunlere, Benson Enikuomehin (Ex-Ondo representative at Niger Delta Development Commission) and the rest of them, who came out of the LP out of frustration and anger because of the way the governor was running the party are already with us. Their fear now is if the person they are running away from is coming on board, you know the anxiety it will create in our party. These are the problems we have in our hands which will be carefully handled, if not it may boomerang.

Mimiko’s romance with the PDP leadership at the centre seems to overshadow the influence of your party at the state level.

Since the coming of our incumbent National Chairman, Dr. Adamu Mu’azu, we have been able to regain the confidence of the national leadership to our side. That manifested in the support we got during the inconclusive Ilaje/Ese-Odo federal constituency election in April. With this we have the confidence of our leaders and that one has truly increased our fortunes in Ondo State. That is why you will see that in the last election, we were running neck to neck with the LP. And when the supplementary election was declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, the LP was afraid of going to that election because they knew that we were going to win that seat. Today, we have a vacancy in Odigbo local government. The LP is afraid of going to that election that is why they are using the instrumentality of government to prevail on the Ondo State House of Assembly to refrain from communicating the vacancy to INEC, because INEC cannot conduct any election without a communication from that Assembly to show that the seat is vacant. It is over six months now that we lost the Speaker (Samuel Adesina) from Odigbo Constituency 1 and up till now they have not written to inform INEC; it is because they are afraid of going to that election which they will lose. This is the situation on the ground today and I can assure you that with the support we are receiving from our national party, the PDP will win any election that is held today.

Have you held meetings with your party members on how to handle the situation?

That is what we are doing now. We have called a meeting of the party’s state executive to inform them of the development. We will hold a meeting of elders caucus to brief them on the situation and to let them know that these are only happening on the pages of newspapers. We are also asking a meeting of all the ward chairmen to inform them that there is no agreement on any sharing formula of any kind. The briefings are calming the tension because I have received a lot of text messages from members who are warning us to be careful.

Looking at what has been happening in the state in the last six months, you will know that the LP is losing its members continuously and that will continue. Some people are saying they want to come into PDP ahead of him. So, the LP we had in the past is not what we have today. The game plan has changed the equation has changed and the whole news about the LP has changed completely. That is the reality on the ground.

Women in maritime industry face many challenges –Chiazo-Anishere

he President of Women International Shipping and Trading Association of Nigeria, Mrs. Jean Chiazo-Anishere, in this interview with COMFORT OSEGHALE speaks about the challenges faced by women in shipping

How much contributions has WISTA Nigeria made to the maritime industry?

A lot; some of our women are holding managerial positions in this industry, particularly in the parastatals under the Ministry of Transport like the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, the Nigeria Shippers Council and the Nigerian Ports Authority. Women are directors and executive directors in the areas, playing vital roles in the industry.

In the private sector, there are lots of women participating in the industry as maritime lawyers, arbitrators, ship-owners and female stevedores. We have maritime lawyers who are holding ministerial positions like the Minster of State for the Federal Capital Territory; she is a maritime lawyer. The Secretary General of the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding who incidentally is the first female Director General of NIMASA, the first DG of NIMASA and first secretary General of Abuja MOU; she is also a maritime lawyer and a member of WISTA Nigeria.

In what sector of the maritime industry does WISTA have more of its members?

The Shipping industry; most of our members are concentrated in the administrative aspect of shipping in the public sector; like the shipping department, in the legal department of the NPA. In the private sector, we have more women as maritime lawyers.

Is there a reason why women are mostly concentrated in the administrative aspect of shipping?

I guess that it is because women are just beginning to come out. We have a few women who are marine engineers but their number cannot be compared to the number of maritime lawyers and administrators. It is understandable because before now, that aspect was left for the men. We always had the men taking those positions as marine engineers. Women are now becoming aware that they too can become marine engineers; it is not restricted to men. With the ongoing sensitisation programmes and training being offered by NIMASA, in terms of seafaring, we now have female aspiring seafarers. By the time they are done with their training, we will be proud to say we have female seafarers. Just like we have female master mariners and sea captains in other parts of the world although we don’t have in Nigeria; none that I am aware of. But I know on the international scene, we have female ship captains; I have met one in Ghana. She is retired now, a master mariner, now a lecturer at the Regional Maritime University in Accra.

Are there any gender-related challenges in the industry?

Yes of course; just like in every other sector. There are areas of the industry like marine engineering where we have few representation because of their technicality. For female ship captains and master mariners, the challenge might be because as women, after a while, we have to get married. Then there is the family aspect of the home; you have to take care of your home. You can imagine a situation where the female ship captain is pregnant and unable to steer the vessel. So these are some challenges that inhibit the proportion of women in getting to such enviable positions as master mariners.

Presently in the public sector, I know that some of the CEOs are having a few challenges with employing young women. There have been issues that not too long after employment, they get married. Once they get married, they want to leave the country for their honeymoon. That means leaving the job for a time. After the honeymoon, it might turn out that they are pregnant which would lead to a period of maternity.

Honeymoon takes two, so it shouldn’t come to play in matters of gender sensitivity. It is just that men have their ways of getting back to work even while they are on their honeymoon while women tend to relax a lot more.

We seem to take a longer period than the men when we get married and go on honeymoon to get back to work. Those are the challenges affecting women from being employed in the industry as opposed to being promoted. Luckily for us, it is not so grave a challenge because the men are accommodating. We are kind of lucky in Nigeria; the men appreciate the fact that it is a woman that gave birth to them. Also women put in more effort once they get back from the maternity leave so as to recoup lost time. We tend to do a lot more than the men when they are focused.

What is the biggest challenge for those in the private sector?

Getting funds to set up their business is a problem; our banks don’t offer single digit interest. So the next option is to get a foreign partner and here another challenge comes up, our credibility and the security of the investments. Any foreign partner investing here wants to be sure that he would get a return on his investment. In the area of security though, NIMASA is doing quite a lot.

A lot of reforms have been going on in the industry. Do you think they are producing the desired results?

Yes it has. Nigeria as a nation has improved in terms of its becoming a maritime nation. We have ratified the relevant conventions so we have got good policies in that regard. Our infrastructure has improved, the seaports are better. There is a lot more to do though; we need to revamp our rail tracks. I look forward to that. I believe strongly that it is not only relocating the tank farms from Apapa that would reduce congestion.

It is by reintroducing the rail tracks at our seaports. Our colonial masters, who put them there, knew why it had to be there. Since we are a signatory to the Rotterdam Rules, which make provision for different modes of transport from the sea, then it is necessary that immediately the ships come to berth at the seaports, the rail can pick the cargo off to the Inland Container Depots where they don’t have seaports thereby decongesting the roads. That would reduce the number of trucks we have on the road. Nigeria is trying; we have appreciated the fact that we have to try to build back our shipyards.

Nigeria has always had shipyards; to every seaport, there was a shipyard in the colonial era. Whatever caused the situation to change I don’t know. Nigerdock has been given to a private entity but they don’t have the capacity to accommodate the skill to repair some ships.

That has led Nigerian shipowners to take their vessels to neighbouring countries like Ghana for repair. This is another means of capital flight. Now that the Navy has been empowered by the government to commercialise their shipyard, Nigerian shipowners can now take their vessels to the naval dockyard to repair and even build. Give them specifications and they would build for you. We need to encourage more Nigerians in that regard.

With the help of our Cabotage Act which can be likened to the US Jones Act, Nigerians are now beginning to invest in ship acquisition. The Cabotage Act has also made our commercial banks to set up maritime desks. Our banks have been trained in this regard, on ship financing. They have been financing shipowners. The only challenge with the banks is that they are yet to appreciate that the interest should be single digit. We will get there though; it is a good start. Within the next 10 years, our banks will also join the world’s big banks when it comes to ship financing. That is what the Cabotage Financing Fund is trying to achieve which interestingly brought in the banks to support the Federal Government.

Nigerian shipowners have yet to benefit from the Cabotage Law. Do you think it needs to be reviewed?

There is nothing wrong with the law; we have guidelines to it. We keep reviewing the law. Nigerians talk about the waiver policy, the ministerial waiver which ought not to be there. The waiver would allow the Minister of Transport to disregard Nigerians taking part in the Cabotage which is the reason why Cabotage was enacted in the first place. All that have been the fear of certain Nigerians but they have all been modified in the guidelines. The reason for the waiver is to allow international bodies that have the skill to come in through joint venture to work together with us to ensure that we achieve the best standard. We should understudy them.

It is in our own best interests to allow foreign partnership. It is not that we don’t want the shipping business to be solely Nigerian but we can’t afford a situation like the US. The US can do that because they have the wherewithal. We are at the teething stage; we cannot walk before we crawl. We are at the stage of using the trolley which is the international support that the waiver has introduced by virtue of a joint venture. Shipping is international; if it is not of international standard, no one will come to you. You want to move crude from one point to another which has always been the issue with our shipowners, but no one wants to put crude on a vessel that is below standard. After we have understudied our foreign partners, then we can go back to the Cabotage Act and make it strictly for Nigerians. We shouldn’t be so much in haste.

Osun poll: Group, REC disagree on alleged fraud

A Group, Osun Mandate Initiative, on Thursday, accused the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, of aiding the manipulation of voter registers and ensuring victory for Governor Rauf Aregbeesola in the August 9 poll.

The group made the accusation in a statement by its Chairman and Secretary, Mr. Adunola Bimbo and Mr. Femi Odofin, respectively.

But Akeju, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone, dismissed the accusation, saying the media had been erroneously awash with fabrications against his person.

Cautioning the media against being used unscrupulously, Akeju said the Independent National Electoral Commission remained committed to protecting electoral integrity.

The group described the election as “a fraud and daylight robbery.”

It stated further, “Akeju is the brain behind the electoral fraud being perpetrated by the APC before and during the exercise in the state.”

“It should further be mentioned that Akeju with the assistance of his cohorts who are INEC officials recruited ad hoc staff to aid the All Progressives Congress to rig and win the election at all cost.”

It will be recalled that Akeju did not participate in the conduct of the election.

Obiano lauds Gulder’s repackaging

As Nigeria Breweries continues to celebrate the new bottle of its premium beer, Gulder, Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has commended the company for the role it is playing in the entertainment industry.

Obiano commended NB for the innovation the repackaged bottle represents, when its management recently visited at the Government House, Awka.

Gulder was re-presented to the public on September 6, amid a hail of performances and other spectacles.

While it is best associated with the TV reality show, Gulder Ultimate Search, several other musical projects had, in the ast, been built around it.

According to a statement from NB, Obiano noted that the brand’s new look made it distinctive from all other beers. This new Gulder bottle makes the beer stand out from other beer bottles. I have seen the new bottle and what you have done with the new packaging is really creative. It’s really good.

He said, “I must say I am not surprised that Gulder beer is doing well in Nigeria. The brand is a case study at the Lagos Business School. Let me also use this opportunity to commend the Brand Managers working to ensure Gulder’s success. They are doing a great job of promoting such a great drink.”

He added that a large population of Eastern Nigeria patronises Gulder as well as other Nigerian Breweries Plc. brands.

“We have the population that enjoys beer here. If there is a segment in Nigeria, so concentrated that enjoy drinking beer, you find that in Anambra State,” he said, while urging the company to set up a brewery plant.

The Corporate Affairs Adviser of Nigerian Breweries Plc., Mr. Kufre Ekanem, also noted that the innovative bottle was the brand’s gift to Nigerians. He added that Gulder was a beer like no other.

The statement added that the Marketing Manager, Gulder, Legend and Life, Emmanuel Agu, also pointed out some of the distinctive changes in the Gulder bottle to the executive governor.

Agu said, “Your Excellency, let me explain some of the unique features of the brand to you. It has a very shiny crown cork like no other beer in Nigeria. The new-look Gulder also has a very unique staniol. This staniol is very distinctive from others in the Nigerian beer market. Your Excellency, if you look closely at the bottle, you will see that it has a bold shoulder embossment and a distinctive metalised label; then you will know that this is a beer like no other. It also has an innovative double-sided embossment.   There is no beer in Nigeria that has this unique feature.”

The NB management also visited the traditional ruler of Enugu Aguleri, Eze Augustine Chukwuemeka Eri, who, according to the statement, blessed the new bottle in the traditional way.

250 apply for AFRIFF 2014

Organisers of the Africa International Film Festival are hopeful that more participants will attend the event holding in Calabar, Cross River State between November 9 and 11.

They are predicating their hope on the number of people that have so far applied to attend from different parts of the world.

According to AFRIF Chief Executive Officer, 250 people applied within the first week of registration.

The applications are especially coming from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, Senegal, Mali, Malawi, Uganda and several other African countries – Udeh adds.

She says since its first edition in 2010, AFRIFF provided free training and talent development opportunities for young people and aspiring filmmakers.

An aspect of this year’s edition, believed to have hurried traffic to the festival’s website are the training and workshop on scriptwriting, cinematography, acting and directing for aspiring filmmakers in Africa.

Ude adds that from the workshop, AFRIFF is planning to take 10 students to a prestigious university in the United States of America for further training in various aspects of filmmaking.

She explains that through this initiative and several others, the festival plans to change the economic horizon of the African film industry.

She notes, “We believe we can use this model for a social revolution that will change the economic horizon of the African film industry, by providing technical knowledge and skill to enhance the abundant talents in our film community.”

The registration for the workshops, which opened at the new AFRIFF on September 15, will close on October 17, while general registration will end on October 31.

I’m alive, says Shekau in new video

The leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has described as “propaganda,” the claim by the Defence Headquarters that he was killed early September in Kodunga, Borno State.

Shekau, in a new video obtained byAgence-France-Presse on Thursday, boasted that “nothing could kill him” until the day Allah stopped his breathing.

He also claimed in the 36-minute video that Boko Haram fighters shot down the Nigerian Air Force fighter jet   which was reported missing three weeks ago by the Defence Headquarters.

Last week, the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, told a news conference in Abuja that troops killed Shekau and that his corpse   was identified by the people of Kodunga.

Olukolade illustrated his claim with pictures of the bullet-ridden corpse with Shekau’s semblance and a video of the battle in which he was killed.

He had also said that Shekau whose real name he gave as Mohammed Bashir   had   other names like Abacha Abdullahi Geidam and Damasack.

A day before the DHQ claim, a   newspaper, quoting a military source, reported that Shekau was killed by Cameroonian soldiers during aerial bombardment of his hideout in Nigeria.

The Cameroonian newspaper also printed pictures of a bullet-ridden corpse of a man it said was the Boko Haram leader.

A former United States   Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell,   however questioned the credibility of the Nigerian military’s claim.

Campbell said, “Who knows whether Shekau is alive or dead? The question may not matter much. As Boko Haram’s resurrection after the killing of its genuinely charismatic leader, Mohammed Yusuf, shows, the movement is remarkably resilient, and not dependent on a single leader.

“If Shekau is alive, as I suspect he is, evidence is scant as to what his actual role in the movement’s leadership is. Boko Haram is more than Abubakar Shekau, alive or dead.”

In the new video,   Shekau is seen standing in front of three camouflaged vans and flanked by four heavily armed and masked fighters.

He wore   combat fatigues and black rubber boots and firing an anti-aircraft gun into the air, Shekau spoke for about 16 minutes in Arabic and   Hausa languages widely spoken in most parts of northern Nigeria.

But there was no indication of where or when the video was shot.

Denouncing his killing by the military, the heavily bearded Boko Haram leader, who appeared to be the same as those in previous clips, said “I hereby put to lie the claim that I was killed.”

“Here I am alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath,” Shekau said amidst thunderous shout of Allahu Akbar “Allah is great” from his well-armed lieutenants.

He consequently taunted the military, saying it had nothing to prove its claim.

He said, “I challenge you(military), I challenge you. You even said I was killed. If you kill me, does that mean you kill (the) religion? You are not honest. You have no proof, you have nothing to say.”

The Boko Haram leader boasted that the wish of President Goodluck Jonathan; President Barack Obama of the United States; Prime Minister Francois Hollande of France; Queen Elizabeth and the United Nations Secretary General, Ban-ki Moon, for his death would not materialise.

He said, “The wish of Obama (United States President) will not kill me, the wish of Francois Hollande (of France) will not kill me, the wish of Benjamin Nattanyahu (of Israel) will not kill me, the wish of Ban-ki Moon(of the United Nations) will not kill me, the wish of Queen Elizabeth will not kill me, the wish of the infidels of the world will not kill me, much less of President (Goodluck Jonathan) , much less of Kashim (Shettima of Borno State ) , much less of Bra-Bra (Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Geidam).

“Nothing will kill me until my days are over. Do whatever you want to do. If you think what I’m doing is not the truth, even if you don’t fight me I will crumble.

“Nothing will kill me until my days are over… I’m still alive. Some people asked   if Shekau has two souls. No, I have one soul, by Allah. It is propaganda that is prevalent. I have one soul.”

Shekau described himself as   an Islamic student whose seminary was burnt in 2009.

He was apparently referring to the destruction of the group’s mosque in Maiduguri,   Borno State   that year.

Shekau also claimed that Boko Haram fighters shot down the NAF fighter jet which was on routine operational mission but did not return on September 12, 2014.

A man the sect leader claimed was one of the two pilots aboard the plane was shown in the latest video stating that the jet was brought down by “fighters of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah.”

The ruin of an aircraft with the insignia of the NAF was also shown.

The pilot, who said he did not know the whereabouts of his colleague,   was thereafter decapitated with an axe by an executioner who dressed in (military) fatigues.

In the video, Shekau said he had gone far in ensuring that Sharia was strictly observed in Boko Haram’s “Islamic Caliphate” and showed footages in which a man “convicted of adultery” was stoned to death.

The right hand of another man accused of “stealing” was chopped off while an unmarried young man and a young lady “convicted of fornication” were given 100 lashes each.

But the DHQ however said it was studying the claims made in the new video.

It said, “From immediate observation and what some online news outlets claimed to have seen, the video did not indicate when it was shot neither did it show any proof of life or currency such as screen time or date.

“The video also did not make any reference to anything that has happened since the impostor’s reported death.

“It is also noteworthy that the air plane said to be mentioned in the video had been missing before he was killed. It should not surprise anybody if the terrorists decided to manipulate pictures, clone another Shekau or upload a pre-recorded video all in a bid to prove invincible.

It further stated in a short statement on its official blog that as far as the military was concerned, the individual who   appeared in the latest   video   was killed in the Konduga battle in September.

The DHQ argued that the resemblance of the corpse and that of the “eccentric character was incontrovertible.”

It said, “While waiting to see the new video before any further statement, our message to them (insurgents) is that justice will be served to whoever bears that name(Shekau) or designation(leader of Boko Haram).”

There had been two previous claims by Nigeria’s security forces that Shekau was dead. The first was in 2009 during unrest in Maiduguri and again in 2013.

Boko Haram had issued denials in video messages.

A united Arab Emirates-based Nigerian journalist, Ahmad Salkida, has   said that it was “witless” for the   military authorities “to ascribe cosmetic science to Boko Haram that cannot even develop arms and ammunition instead depend mainly on looting the Nigerian Army armouries.

“Most of you are educated and as a country, we can’t manufacture even toothpicks but some ‘Almajiris’ have suddenly become scientists before our watch.”

Tweeting on Thursday, Salkida, who is believed to have links with the insurgents, said, “If Boko Haram can perfect the art of cloning either through medical research or by way of photography then the entire world must be concerned. That means, they can perfectly mimic some leaders and have undue access? They can as well develop nuclear bombs and drones.”

Atiku’s enemies deceived him into fighting Obasanjo – Osuntokun

In this interview with ENIOLA AKINKUOTU, a former Political Adviser to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Akintola Osuntokun, speaks about his time in the Presidency as well as the 2015 general elections.

How is your relationship with ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo?

My relationship with him is good, it is cordial.

Not long ago, Obasanjo wrote an open letter about some things he was not impressed with in the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. Now, you’re openly supporting Jonathan for a second term. Who do you think is right between the two?

That is a difficult question and as far as I see, it is a bit sensational. Look, I am over 50 years old and I should be able to make my own decisions independently. That does not mean that the relationship that I have with the ex-President is any less cordial on account of that. I disagree with my own dad and uncles, so, it has nothing to do with my relationship. In any case, remember I was his adviser. On who is right between the two you know the buck stops on the President’s table. He is the President of Nigeria today and in that position, he is exposed to criticism, condemnation and things like that and President Obasanjo knows that he held the position before and how he was the butt of criticism. A lot of criticisms were unfair. You see, one of the things I find striking in today’s politics is the inconsistency of people. A lot of people who condemned President Obasanjo as the worst thing that ever happened to Nigeria are now calling him a great statesman. When he was President, there were some newspapers that to pick them up to read, I find it difficult and my hand would be shaking. They criticised him to the point of his physical attributes but today if you open those same newspapers, you see them calling him a great statesman. So, that is Nigeria for you. As for the letter the former President wrote to the incumbent President, it is left for President Jonathan to take what he wants from the letter but there are inadequacies. I can’t say the letter is devoid of shortcomings. The letter was written in anger and when you write in an angry mood, there are some things which you would not ordinarily say that you would say. I want to say it was in good intention even though it was condemnatory in tone but it is left for the President to take what he should.

But do you think Jonathan has done well in fighting insecurity and corruption?

Well, you know ordinarily, the problems of Nigeria are overwhelming. I have told a number of people that the possibility of any President of Nigeria being popular is not realistic in the nearest future. You see, every aspect of society in terms of infrastructure is in an emergency situation. Power alone can absorb the entire annual budget of Nigeria and people may not still see what you have done and now you will have to address so many of these problems at the same time. My honest opinion about the government of President Jonathan is that well, he is confronted with an obstacle. We have never had a challenge like Boko Haram before, so, we have to take into consideration the limitations and constraints within which he is performing. And also the circumstances of his coming to office. If at all he had any presidential ambition, he probably would have been thinking in terms of eight years. Secondly, I am privileged to know that he was not thinking in terms of becoming the Vice President or running mate as of the time he was called upon to do so. And of course, he is a recessive person. He is not an aggressive person, he is temperate. Ordinarily that is a virtue but in the context of a very rowdy country like Nigeria, it is going to count against him. There are things we will need to do in Nigeria that you must put your foot down and just say look, this has got to be it. I will give you an instance, one of the credits that was given to President Obasanjo’s administration was the war against corruption under the leadership of Nuhu Ribadu of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. If you ask any Nigerian lawyer today about the performance of Ribadu, they are not likely to be enthusiastic as you and I because he (Ribadu) contravened the law and did a lot of things to achieve the success he achieved. So, if we have a president who doesn’t have that kind of will and assertive mentality that regardless of the niceties of the law, he needs to get this done? So, the temperament of President Jonathan is not a very aggressive one. As I said in a recent interview, he is not a war-time President. To all intents and purpose, Nigeria today is at war. And Nigeria ordinarily is a difficult and complex country to govern and we now have a low-intensity civil war that you call the Boko Haram insurgency. Having said all that, in substance, I don’t think he compares badly with his predecessors.

Well, he has a lot of vulnerabilities in terms of style. He tends to be slow in taking decisions, he tends to condole impunity and honestly speaking, there are some functionaries of his government that I feel that either he is slow to call them to account or he has not done anything about. There are one or two of top functionaries of his government that if I was to genuinely advise, I would say they should not be there for another second but that is that.

You were the director of Publicity for Obasanjo/Atiku Campaign Organisation in 2002/2003. Now Atiku has declared his intention to contest for the presidency on the fact that he is more experienced in handling the security challenge of the country. What is your opinion about this?

I never worked closely with the former Vice President except maybe one or two months during the campaign. That campaign was also marred by a crisis of confidence between him and the former President. But you have to look at my response to this question against the background that I am a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. So, you don’t expect me to be extolling the strong points of a potential presidential candidate of an opposition party but my honest opinion of him is the instability and inconsistency he has demonstrated since maybe 2002. First and foremost, if you are no longer able to work with your principal because we only have one President in the country and he picked you as his running mate; so, for me, you should resign. It was very peculiar having a Vice President who was totally at war with his principal, who is the President, I thought that if you felt that bad and even if your principal was at fault, I think it would have counted for him positively if he had resigned. I mean here we had a peculiar situation of him joining another party and going on to be the presidential candidate of that party. He was a Vice President on a joint ticket with President Obasanjo, you were elected to implement a manifesto on a particular platform and that was the basis on which the Nigerian electorate elected you into office. The moment you now go to another party, that means you can no longer be the presidential candidate of another party and still be seen to serve the purpose or the vision which you sold to the public. So, personally I had a problem with that. And then you know from there, he left the Action Congress of Nigeria and then returned to the PDP to again contest the presidential primaries. Controversially, he emerged as the northern consensus candidate but lost the primaries. After losing the primaries, he left the PDP again and went to the All Progressives Congress and is now seeking the presidential ticket. So, in terms of handling security, I can say he did very well when the Sharia crisis started in the North. He was in a difficult situation because he was from the North and was a Muslim and was the highest northern political office holder at that time and he maintained a very temperate stand. He took a stand that was not very popular with that constituency even though it was the correct position to take and if an issue has become so explosive, any responsible leader should find a way of calming the situation which he did. Again, there a was a Council of State meeting at the height of the Sharia crisis and after the meeting, he held a press conference where he said members had agreed that those agitating for Sharia should retain the political status quo and his contender now, Muhammadu Buhari, who was a member of the council, went on BBC to accuse him of lying and said no such agreement was made and you saw how the consequences of what Buhari said added fuel to the crisis. And two of them are now seeking to become president and I think that should be the parameter with which to measure the two of them. Atiku is a temperate person, he is cosmopolitan and gets along with people very easily. In other circumstances, I think he would have made a good Nigerian President. He is a good mixer, he is not welded to any fanaticism.

As an insider then, what can you say characterised the feud between Atiku and Obasanjo?

Well, it was the ambition of Atiku that caused their problem. I think he had this aspiration and was being encouraged by a lot of people to first hold Obasanjo to ransom to serve for just one term like Nelson Mandela and this introduced division into the presidency. Obasanjo gave him a lot of latitude in terms of patronage and appointment and the unfortunate thing was that people thought it was given to them as a personal favour from the Vice President and so they were loyal to him which was very unfortunate. Obasanjo told me before the campaign that the unstated reason he travelled a lot during his first term, apart from trying to rehabilitate Nigeria in the comity of nations, was also to give his Vice President ample room to grapple with domestic governance and that he was going to reverse the role during their second term. He would stay at home and encourage his Vice President to be active at the international level and familiarise himself. That was his own programme of succession for Atiku so that by the time he is done with his two terms in office, Atiku would be fully prepared to assume that office. Now, this was Obasanjo’s vision for Atiku. But there was also another dimension to the crisis of confidence between the two of them. There were highly placed people who could be considered as political rivals of Atiku who worked to ensure that Atiku did not succeed Obasanjo, especially people from the North. So, there were people who deliberately sowed a seed of discord between the two of them. I have had the occasion to tell Atiku this. He never knew that there were people goading him to fight Obasanjo and the agenda of those people was to ensure that Obasanjo made it impossible for him to progress in his presidential aspiration.

There was a rumour that in 2002, Obasanjo felt he could not win the primary without Atiku’s support and then knelt down before him to beg for his support

(Laughing) So, you want me to confirm or deny that? You see, it will forever remain a rumour because I cannot confirm it. If anything of such happened, it is only the two of them that would know. Any other thing is speculation. But I think it is irrelevant. But when you say Atiku was very powerful, he was because Obasanjo made him powerful. Obasanjo gave him power of patronage and appointment and by Atiku’s own submission, Obasanjo made him the most powerful Vice President in the world or something like that.

Did you advise Obasanjo against running for a third term?

As his political adviser, there was never a time he told me about going for a third term. I was the one who went to him to tell him that the reason people are saying he wants to have a third term was because he was not grooming a successor. That was the only time we discussed a third term. There was never a time he told me or those that worked closely with him that he wanted a third time. However, it is also a fact that he did not discourage those that were campaigning for it.

Why I joined APC —Kenny St. Best

Lagos-based gospel musician, Kenny Saint Best, says she joined the All Progressives Congress because of the philosophy of the party, which preaches change.

KSB, who is also the Vice President of Kennis Music, said the APC was the only party that gave newcomers the chance of running for political office without discrimination.

The artiste, who recently declared her intention to contest the Lagos State House of Assembly elections, said this at an event to unveil her transformation plan for the people of Ikeja Constituency 1, which she hopes to represent should she win the election in 2015.

She said, “People have been asking why I joined the APC. The APC receives newcomers and is accommodative. It represents change and it is a combination of about four parties. They give you a chance without asking how long you have been a member of the party.

“The APC signifies change and that is what I stand for and what I am empowered to do.”

When asked if she had what it takes to be involved in governance, KSB, who used to be known as Kenny Saint Brown, said she is qualified for the job having inspired scores of youths.

Explaining that politics runs in her blood, KSB said her mother was the Ijebu woman leader of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group party during the First Republic.

She said, “Every night I pass through Opebi Road and see young girls (sex workers) I feel sad and it is worrisome that they keep increasing every year. This constituency is the seat of power for the entire state. I am going to the Assembly and it will be transformation galore.

“During my time with Kennis Music in the past 16 years, I touched the lives of many youths who have become big today. Some I never knew but I saw something in them. Today, 2 Face, Paul Play Dairo, Remedies, Essence are all success stories because we believed in them. Imagine what we can do through governance?”

KSB, who boasts of two Masters Degrees, said she had worked closely with Senator Remi Tinubu, the wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola; and the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, and had garnered experience.

Nobody can stop Fayose’s inauguration –Mark

he President of the Senate, David Mark, on Thursday said notwithstanding the recent developments in Ekiti State, Mr. Ayo Fayose would be inaugurated as the state governor on October 16.

Mark stated this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, at an event where Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State formally defected to the Peoples Democratic Party from the Labour Party.

Fayose had been in the eye of the storm lately for allegedly leading thugs to beat up a judge in the state.

The state Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, has tabled before the National Judicial Council a petition accusing the state’s Governor-elect and the police of complicity in the attack on judges and court workers in the state last week.

Justice Daramola, in his petition to both the NJC and the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, accused Fayose of leading a large number of thugs, who disrupted court proceedings, beat up judges and court workers and also tore court records.

There is also a pending suit by a group, the E-Eleven, seeking to stop Fayose’s inauguration on the grounds that he was impeached in 2006 and that he swore to an affidavit denying that he was impeached.

But Mark said in spite of all the antics going on in the state, Fayose would be sworn in.

Why Buhari shouldn’t contest presidential election – APC Rep

One of the 37 Peoples Democratic Party defectors and Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Dr. Abdulmumin Jibrin, speaks on the forthcoming primaries of the party, among other issues. JOHN AMEH reports.

Is the APC not worried by the various pro-Goodluck Jonathan groups holding rallies in support of the President’s second term ambition?

Well, I don’t think we need to encourage any illegal act. What the APC always stands for is the rule of law and the party is saying that we should play by the rules. I think the PDP should listen to the voice of wisdom and stop doing all sort of things that are illegal; things that violate the electoral law. All the places the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria held rallies, immediately the event is over, APC sweeps away the entire venue. APC is rooted in the grass roots. When a few PDP supporters are hired and shown on the television, etc, the APC is not bothered. We are also planning, we are doing our homework and we are confident that we have the majority of Nigerians on our side.

What are the chances of the APC in 2015?

The APC has huge chances. The party was initially weak but when the five PDP governors and, of course, the 37 House of Representatives members moved to the party in one fell swoop, it made the APC to be on shoulder-to-shoulder level with the PDP. And historically, when an opposition and the ruling parties go should-to-shoulder prior to an election, the opposition will clearly win the impending election. The APC has more support base; youths and elders are with the APC. Nigerians are not happy with the PDP; they want change, they don’t like the PDP. What people keep saying is that a few people have left the APC but the reality of the matter is that even though we keep encouraging the APC to close ranks and resolve every crisis there are more crises in the PDP. For your information, the peace-like situation you are seeing in the PDP is graveyard peace.

A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has just declared his intention to vie for the presidency on the platform of the APC. How do you rate his chances?

He is a member of the APC and has the right to contest. This will tell you that my concern about Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) is genuine. I am not talking about Atiku but Buhari. I would not have raised an eyebrow on Buhari’s ambition but for his promise in 2011. I am concerned about his image, his integrity. This issue is being discussed in many circles and in virtually every household across the country. Unfortunately, nobody has come out to say it in the public. Buhari’s name is synonymous with integrity.

But Buhari is generally seen as a better candidate to win the election for the APC.

I like Buhari and I respect him so much. If you go to Kano today, you will see all my billboards and posters with Buhari’s picture. We grew up from primary to secondary school knowing that Buhari is a symbol of integrity. Everyone knows that Buhari has some kind of messianic image. But, the truth of the matter is that we want this integrity of Buhari to be protected. In 2011, Gen. Buhari came out and announced to the country that he will not contest any future presidential election again. So, why is everybody keeping quiet? Nobody is raising this issue. It is shocking and disheartening for some us who are still young. Some people are complaining behind the scenes. Everybody is worried, disturbed because we wanted his image to be protected. If he had said in 2011 that he is not going to contest in any future presidential election, the issue of supporters of Buhari trying to bring him back to participate in the primaries should not arise. Otherwise, you won’t be able to differentiate between Buhari and President Goodluck Jonathan. When the five governors were leaving the PDP, one of their reasons was that Jonathan said he will not contest in 2015, but that he was changing from that now. Buhari said in 2011 that he will not contest again, but now some groups and individuals are promoting his candidacy and are trying to get him to get contest.

My message to our father, Gen. Buhari, whom we all love is that, everyday he wakes up in the morning, he should play that tape of 2011.

To be honest, he has a lot of younger brothers that he can equally support. We have Sam Nda-Isaiah, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola; Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi; Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole; Speaker of House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; and Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as potential candidates. We have a lot of younger people he can support. They are competent Nigerians that can take up that responsibility.

What do you say to the concerns raised by some that the oncoming presidential primaries may cause an implosion within the APC?

It baffles me why some people keep repeating the fact that the APC lost some individuals to other political parties. Of course, they were distinguished individuals in their own right but the reality of the matter is that if we want to honestly look at the whole thing, their departure has not affected the APC. Consider the APC as a country fighting a war and two, three, five of its soldiers were taken and shot but it captured five countries, would you say it has the lost war? I don’t think anybody will say that. The APC captured Kano, Sokoto, Rivers, Kwara and Adamawa states even though there is a bit of crisis in Adamawa now. These are states and not individuals. So, why are we investing so much energy talking about individuals that have left the party? The APC has not lost any ground.

Why did you join 36 of your colleagues to defect to the APC from the PDP in December 2012.

We took a decision that we felt was, and is still, in the interest of the country. We were selfless and I think the journey has been good. We feel more at home in the APC. The problems and challenges we left in the PDP are still there even though the new national chairman has tried to close some gaps.

I think the only challenge that we were confronted with and which we are trying to manage is that of proper integration. When we wanted to leave the PDP, the leaders of the opposition party then followed us from house to house, room to room, to court us to join their fold. Occasionally, you see things that might be unpleasant. But to be honest, I want to state very clearly that we shouldn’t be taken for granted. For instance, if you look at the population of our APC delegation from Kano, I don’t think it will pay anybody to take us for granted. Let me tell you, the PDP is very smart; it hasn’t stopped trying to go after the governors and members that left the party and get them back to its fold. That tells you how smart the leaders of the party are. On a daily basis, they are still making overtures to the five governors and members of the House of Representatives that defected to the APC.

It will be very dangerous for anybody in the APC to take us for granted. We hope that they will continue to manage things the way they are and continue to show mutual respect to everybody.

But many House of Representatives members have been defecting to the PDP from the APC.

What I am saying is that for those of us, who were formerly of the PDP, we have peace in the APC. You asked how I feel and I told you that I have peace of mind. I also know that a lot of my colleagues whom we joined the party together are enjoying peace of mind. For someone who left the party for the PDP, I think you should go and ask him the reason for doing that. I am not sure he will tell you that he did that because he was not at peace with himself. I don’t want to be a judge over anyone so, it is better you go and ask such person.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko has officially declared his return to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP

Breaking News!
Governor Olusegun Mimiko has officially declared his return to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja, today.
Details shortly...

‘Buhari, el-Rufai should discuss with B’Haram’

The General Overseer, Kingdom of the Love Church of Christ in Lagos State, Prophet Felix Oluyemi has urged northern leaders to initiate dialogue with Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, in order to end insurgency in the North, which has led to the death of thousands of Nigerians.

Oluyemi, who addressed journalists on the state of the nation, in preparation to mark his ministry’s 20th anniversary, said the war against terrorism would end with the intervention of northern leaders.

He said, “The Emirs of Sokoto and Kano, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd), Gen. Abdusallam Abubakar (retd) Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) and Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, among others must come together and seek ways of reaching out to their sons in the sect.

“As elders and leaders of the North, they are the ones that can appeal to their sons to end this insurgency. As leaders, they are the ones that can get information on how best to talk to Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau. Getting across to Shekau and appealing to him does not make them members of the sect. When there was Oodua Peoples Congress crisis in the South-West, Yoruba elders including the Ooni of Ife, intervened and called their sons to order.”

The cleric added that for dialogue with Boko Haram to be fruitful, it has to be initiated by northern leaders.