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Tag: atiku

  • Atiku will take us to Aso Rock in 2019 – Makarfi

    The chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmed Makarfi has urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to help the ruling party with a winning strategy to return to Aso Rock in 2019.

    Makarfi who made the remarks while receiving Atiku during at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.yesterday alleged that there were people bent on destroying the party.

    He said he was grateful that the party had been winning in courts against those who “are hell-bent on destabilising this party and holding this party down.”

    Makarfi, who was flanked by other members of the caretaker committee, said, “(We went through) guerrilla warfare, artillery attacks, bombardment, but we weathered the storm. And the story will be a positive one at the end of the day.

    “Your Excellency, you have opened the floodgates and we expect many more high profile returnees and new entrants into the PDP.

    “So, PDP must be prepared for this, and be ready to reconcile and reiterate in such a way and manner that everybody will be treated and given a level playing field to pursue their personal aspiration. That is what the PDP must stand for if it has to survive.”

    He denied that the party had a secret deal with Atiku before he agreed to return to the party.

    While saying that he returned in good time, Makarfi called on Atiku to continue to contribute to “this reinvention, remodelling of our party so that come 2019, we can reclaim what we can claim is ours.”

    He asked Atiku to help the party develop a winning strategy that would enable it to win the presidential election in 2019.

    Makarfi reasoned that Atiku’s defection to the PDP before the national convention slated for Saturday in Abuja was an indication that he was ready to contribute to the success of the party.

    He added, “We will continue to consult you. You will also help us reinvent the vehicle that will take us to Aso Rock in 2019.

    “We are not just targeting Aso Rock, we are targeting the federal legislature, the states, both the executive and the legislature. We are targeting the local governments.

    “We want to sweep elections all across the country. As a united party, we have the capacity and we have the ability to do so.”

    Atiku expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the party for granting him the opportunity to visit the party despite the tight schedule of its leaders.

    He said, “What I have come to do today is to come and show my face. Many people have read in the media that I have returned home; this is home.

    “Mr. Chairman, I want to congratulate you for a wonderful work which you have been doing to redeem the image of this party, to return it, rebrand it and return it to its original form.

    “I want to assure you of my support and cooperation at all times; to make sure that these objectives are achieved by you and subsequently by your successors.

    “We should remember that those of us, who founded this party, founded it on the principles of democracy, good governance, unity of this country and the prosperity of its people.

    “Over the years, like any or every human organisation, it has faced its challenges but I want to pay tribute to those who have stayed steadfast through thick and thin to see us through to this point.

    “Now that we have learnt our lessons, I hope that we will be guided by the lessons we have learnt.”

    Atiku added, “And that is to make sure that we build an all-inclusive party, where every part of this country will have a sense of belonging and sense of participation.

    “To achieve all these, there must be sacrifices, understanding and compromises in the process of achieving that. And that is what I speak to members to imbibe.

    “But as you know, one thing that I will never compromise is the internal democratic process in a given political party. And I hope we all must have learnt our lesson.

    “I therefore want to pledge to you, Mr. Chairman and members of the National Working Committee that my returning home is to help continue with the work you have started, reforming, re-branding this very party which is the only party in this country.

    “Let me pay tribute to the past leadership of this great party wherever they may be and to call upon them to please return home as I have done.

    “It is only by their returning home that we will build a stronger, more united party that can, again, return to government and continue to deliver the dividends of democracy.”

    Atiku told the cheery crowd that the PDP government remained the best in the history of the country since 1999.

    The ex-VP argued that it would be difficult for any government to achieve 50 per cent of what the PDP achieved.

    “I can bet you, the records we have achieved so far in governance, no government has yet even done 50 per cent of what we have achieved in government, not to talk of equalling our performance in government,” he added.

    Apart from other members of the caretaker committee, some members of the party, especially those who attended the convention planning committee meetings, were also around to receive Atiku.

    They included a former Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu; a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Duben Onyia; a former Minister of Police Affairs, Maina Waziri, and Senator Ben Murray-Bruce.

  • Atiku Abubakar urges defected PDP leaders to return

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday urged all leaders who had left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to return to make the party stronger.

    Abubakar made the appeal during his first appearance at the party’s National Secretariat, Abuja, with a crowd of supporters, three days after declaring his return to the party.

    Abubakar, who arrived at the secretariat at about noon, went to the office of the party’s National Caretaker Committee Chairman, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, before he was received at the National Executive Committee (NEC) hall.

    He addressed party leaders and members and restated that he had returned “home”.

    like the PDP, and that no government had done 50 per cent of what PDP achieved in government.

    “Let me pay tribute to past leadership of this great party; wherever they may be and to call on them to please return home as I have done.

    “It is only by their returning home that we will build a stronger, more united party that can again return to government and continue to deliver the dividends of democracy,” he said

    The former vice president disclosed that his return was to help continue with the reform and re-branding of the party which the national caretaker committee had started.

    “We should remember that those of us, who founded this party, founded it on the principles of democracy, good governance, unity of this country and prosperity of its people.

    “Over the years, like any or every human organisation, it has faced its challenges but I want to pay tribute to those who have stayed steadfast through thick and thin to see us through to this point.

    “Now that we have learnt our lessons, I hope that we will be guided by the lessons we have learnt.

    “And, that is to make sure that we build an all-inclusive party, where every part of this country will have a sense of belonging and sense of participation.

    “To achieve all these, there must be sacrifices, understanding and compromises in the process, and that is what I speak to members to imbibe.”

    He said that one thing he would never compromise was the internal democracy process in a political party.

    Welcoming Abubakar back to the PDP, Makarfi said he had returned in good time, adding that PDP would continue to consult with him.

    He urged him to continue to contribute in reinventing and remodeling of the party so that it could reclaim Aso Rock in 2019.

    “We are not just targeting Aso Rock, we are targeting the federal legislature, the states, both executive and legislature. We are targeting the local governments.

    “We want to sweep elections all across the party. As a united party we have the capacity and we have the ability to do so.”

    Makarfi added that the return of Abubakar had “opened the flood gates and we expect many more high profile returnees and new entrants into the PDP.

    “So, PDP must be prepared for this, and be ready to reconcile and reiterate in such a way and manner that everybody will be treated and given a level-playing field to purse his or her personal aspiration.

    “That is what PDP must stand for if it has to survive.”

  • Oyegun insists Atiku’s defection to PDP will not affect APC

    Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, National Chairman, the All Progressives Congress has assured members of the party that the exit of former Vice- President Atiku Abubakar from it will not affect it in anyway.

    He gave the assurance on Tuesday in Abuja when the Association of Former Chairmen, Councillors and Ward Leaders paid him a visit in Abuja.

    The APC national chairman further assured that Atiku’s exit from the party would not lead to massive defection from APC as being insinuated in some quarters in the country.

    “Let nobody fear that the defection of the former Vice President is going to lead to any deluge.

    “Don’t ever be afraid that there is going to be any massive defection.

    “As a matter of fact, the contrary is the case, APC is growing in strength on a daily basis,“ he said.

    Odigie-Oyegun called on members of the association not to be deceived by; “ the screaming and opposition rhetoric“, adding that everybody that mattered in the country, politically, was a member of APC.

    He maintained that there was no other party that was truly settled outside APC, adding that even the Peoples` Democratic Party (PDP) was not stable because it was still fighting to get a chairman.

  • 2019: I hope Atiku’s defection to PDP won’t affect APC’s chances in 2019 – Buba Marwa

    …says no better candidate than Buhari

    The All Progressives Congress’ (APC) chieftain, Gen. Buba Marwa, on Tuesday, said so far, there was no better presidential candidate for the 2019 presidential election in the APC than President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Marwa, who is also a former military governor of Lagos State, made this disclosure in Yola after a meeting of stakeholders comprising 20 organisations in Adamawa.

    The meeting was organised by the Buba Marwa organisation, where the candidature of Buhari was endorsed for a re-election in 2019.

    Marwa said Buhari administration within the past two years, had recorded some achievements in the area of security, anti-corruption, improved electricity supply and diversification of the economy through agriculture and solid minerals.

    “We are happy with the measures the government is taking in the diversification of the economy, which are already paying off, especially in the agricultural and mining sectors; the improvement has manifested in the recent exit from recession”.

    On the exit of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from the APC, Marwa said although, the move was a big loss to the party, it would not affect the chances of APC in Adamawa and even at the national level.

    “No political party would like to lose someone like the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; we assure that his departure will, however, not affect the fortunes of the party at any level.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the former Vice President defected to the opposition, PDP, on Sunday after resigning his membership of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, last week.

  • [Video] I’ve learnt from my mistakes, I’m now back home in PDP – Atiku

    [Video] I’ve learnt from my mistakes, I’m now back home in PDP – Atiku

    Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday visited the headquarters of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) in Abuja where he met with the chairman of the National Caretaker Committee, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi and a host of other party officials.

    Atiku while giving his speech said there has been speculations in the media that he will return ‘home’ to the PDP and he has finally made the return.

    ‘There have been speculations in the media that I am returning home (the PDP) and I am so happy to be home now. When we founded this party, we founded it based on the tenets of democracy, integrity and good governance. We might have got it wrong, but we’ll sure right all the wrongs this time,’ Atiku said amidst cheers from the crowd.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the former Vice President defected to the opposition, PDP, on Sunday after resigning his membership of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, last week.

  • JUST IN: Atiku arrives PDP headquarters, meets with Makarfi others

    JUST IN: Atiku arrives PDP headquarters, meets with Makarfi others

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has arrived the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja to formally meet with the party’s leadership.

    The former Vice President in company of supporters and praise singers was received by the party’s spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye

    Atiku is currently meeting members of the National Caretaker Committe of the party led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

    Meanwhile, supporters of Atiku are busy dancing and singing his praises within and outside the party headquarters, also known as Wadata Plaza.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Atiku on Sunday announced his defection to the PDP following his resignation from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, last week.

    Details later…

  • Convention: PDP panel bans presidential ticket campaign as Atiku visits party’s headquarters today

    Indications emerge that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar will visit the national headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party, Abuja, on Tuesday (today).

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Atiku had earlier on Sunday announced his return to the PDP after decamping from the APC last week.

    However, the Convention Planning Committee of the party, set up to organise the elective national convention coming up on Saturday in Abuja, has banned the display of campaign posters of any presidential aspirants at the Eagle Square venue of the convention.

    The committee, headed by the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, also barred the supporters of the presidential contenders from the venue on Saturday.

    The former Vice President was said to have written a letter to Makarfi, requesting the visit.

    The Publicity Secretary of the caretaker committee, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, confirmed the planned visit by Atiku.

    In his words: “It is true. We are expecting him on Tuesday, which is tomorrow (today). It is also an indication that his coming is real and that he means business. We are actually expecting him by noon tomorrow,” he added.

    It was also gathered that his visit would enable him to know his status if he would be able to attend the party’s national convention slated for Saturday in Abuja.

    As a former Vice-President, the constitution of the party allows him to attend the convention.

    However, since he has defected to the APC with other notable politicians, Atiku may require a waiver from the national leadership of the party before he could attend the convention as a delegate.

    A member of the National Working Committee of the party told spoke on condition of anonymity said: “We are glad he has returned to the party which gave him the opportunity to vie for positions both as a governor and as a vice-president.

    “We also know he contributed in no small way to our defeat during the 2015 presidential election.

    “All that are, however, not necessary now. What we want are people who can help us win elections and Atiku is one of them. We are happy about that.”

    Meanwhile, the PDP has said there is no concession for the former APC presidential aspirant or any other persons coming in to the party.

    Makarfi stated this during the inauguration of the party Convention Planning Committee.

    He explained that Atiku, however, did not seek any concession or special terms before returning to the party, adding that the former Vice-President returned voluntarily to the party.

    Makarfi added, “The Waziri Adamawa did not seek any special concession, any special terms; he joined on his own terms and decision.

    “The party did not extend any special concession to him. I don’t think it will extend any special concession to anybody other than what is due to him and what will be due to anybody of his status that will be coming into the party. It is only right that you accord such people such recognition and status they deserve.”

    Explaining further on the position of the party on Atiku’s return, the caretaker committee chairman stated, “I read in some papers as if the party made a deal to concede something to him; this is far from the truth.

    “He never asked for anything and we never offered anything. Whatever aspiration he or anybody coming to PDP may have, they will be free to pursue them.

    “PDP men and women are free to pursue whatever aspirations they have. The party will provide a level playing field for everybody to exercise their right to give their mandate to whoever they want to give it to.”

    Also speaking, the chairman of the Convention Planning Committe and the Executive Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, gave an assurance that the “electoral process will be free, fair and credible.”

    He said the Eagle Square, where the event would hold, had been secured.

    Okowa stated, “The venue of the convention is the Eagle Square. It has been secured and we have had a lot of discussions concerning the need for accreditation, securing the venue and also the electoral process.

    “We are very confident that a lot is being put in place and between now and Friday, we would have been able to achieve every other thing that we need to do to deliver a credible convention.

    “We need to make this announcement to all our party members and well-wishers that the convention is going to be for delegates and we are expecting a little less than 3,000. Delegates have been properly accredited by the accreditation committee.

    “Our party members that are going to come are welcome to Abuja but they will not be allowed to come to the Eagle Square and this is because we want to be sure that we are in a position to deliver a credible elective convention.

    “Movement will have to be restricted to some important personalities who ordinarily will love to be around.”

    Okowa said his committee was trying to put up these measures in order to avoid overcrowding at the venue.

    The governor also warned against display of banners of those aspiring to contest the presidential ticket of the party.

    He added, “I want to urge aspirants to the various positions to please keep their campaigners away from the convention venue and we believe all campaigns would have stopped by Friday.

    “I will not expect any aspirant, especially presidential aspirants, to bring their campaign posters, campaigners, men or women, to the venue because it will not be allowed. And we want to appeal to all of them campaigning to desist from doing that.

    “For those who want to campaign for future elections, possibly the presidential aspirants, this convention is not the place to display campaign posters or to display their intentions.

    “I believe there will be an appropriate convention for that. I want to urge them to cooperate with us as a committee.”

     

  • News Hour: ‘What did you do when you were in power,’ I GO DYE queries Atiku I TNGtv

  • At Old Bob’s sunset, enters the crocodile – Tony Iyare

    His dramatic exit from power after 37 years in Zimbabwe, at the behest of the military may be less edifying, history will surely smile on 93-year old President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, not only for empowering his people via the land reform programme but for herding a country with an enviable legacy of one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, writes TONY IYARE
    Anyone familiar with the seminal discourse of Mahmood Mamdani, one of Africa’s most brilliant intellectuals, titled “Lessons of Zimbabwe”, published in the London Review of Books in 2008, may not be taken aback by the loud celebration in the West on the exit of President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, 93.
    “It is hard to think of a figure more reviled in the West than Robert
    Mugabe”, says Mamdani in the 6,732 word paper, arguing that both “Liberal and conservative commentators alike portray him as a brutal dictator, and blame him for Zimbabwe’s descent into hyperinflation and poverty”. Since the demise of Thomas Sankara, the lot has fallen on Mugabe to defend and speak for Africa as its lone voice and conscience.
    Mamdani also posits that, “The seizure of white-owned farms by his black supporters has been depicted as a form of thuggery, and as a cause
    of the country’s declining production, as if these lands were doomed by
    black ownership. Sanctions have been imposed, and opposition groups
    funded with the explicit aim of unseating him”.
    Mamdani however contends that this view of Zimbabwe’s crisis which can
    be found everywhere, from the Economist and the Financial Times to
    the Guardian and the New Statesman, “gives us little sense of how Mugabe has managed to survive”.
    Penultimate week, the Western elite and its media dined, wined and clinked glasses over the resignation of Mugabe and predictably it was enmeshed in the same narration.
    It mattered little whether his ouster was choreographed by the military wielding tanks and the barrel of the gun although it says it was not a coup. When it pleases the West, they are ensconced in the sophistry and deification of democratic values but when it runs against their interest, all is fair.
    Since the emergence of the new Zimbabwean President, Emerson Mnangagwa popularly called the Crocodile and the inclusion of two generals on his cabinet, one is really not sure whether the government will not be goaded at the behest of the military.
    It will be idealistic not to expect that power given with the barrel of the gun will not be taken in the same process. We may therefore not have heard the last from military diktat. Mnangagwa may just be savouring his victory dance on the back of the tiger.
    The fact really was that Mugabe was torn between two crocodiles in the ensuing power play which pitched his former Vice President, Mnangagwa and the military wing on one side and his 52-year old wife, Grace and a faction of the youth wing on the other.
    The tragedy is that the Western media do not see issues in Africa outside the purview of Eurocentric historiography, designed to disempower the continent and lay its huge resources to perpetual plunder. In its view, nothing good can come out of a dark continent.
    In Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper’s perception, it is a continent without history but that of European conquest. “Perhaps in the future, there will be some African History to teach. But, at present there is none: there is only the history of the Europeans in Africa. The rest is darkness…”, says Trevor-Roper, a Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford University. Many are yet to rise beyond this Tarzanic view of Africa. It’s a greater tragedy that a large chunk of the African media have also been sucked into a western narrative to demonize Mugabe.
    The mission of the Western media in Africa flows from the same trajectory. That’s why their reporting of the Liberian election always ended with the fallacy that the country was founded in 1822 by the freed slaves from America. No one has bothered to reflect on the warped logic of how the Americo Liberians who constitute a mere five per cent of the Liberian society could have discovered the indigenous Liberians who have inhabited the territory for centuries.
    Their mindset of African leaders is that of teetledee and teetledum. Any one who demonstrates genuine commitment towards his people and breaks outside that mold is a “dictator” and “tyrant” who must be cut down. It’s not surprising that Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, Congo’s Patrice Lumumba, Guinea’s Sekou Toure and Bukhina Faso’s Thomas Sankara who were perceived in that mold were hacked. Toure who survived their antics struggled through an almost famished economy.
    Mugabe, one of the most educated political leaders in the world was their darling when the music was good. He even got knighted until he crossed the Rubicon. The West which turned the other way while thousands were slaughtered in Matambele started singing a new song as the predominant white ownership of choice farm lands were reversed.
    No doubt, mistakes were made by Mugabe in prevaricating on a succession agenda which should have seen the transfer of power more than 10 years ago. This led to his disconnection from the younger Zimbabweans many of whom can hardly appreciate the toil of years of guerrilla struggle, spearheaded by Mugabe and his other comrades which ushered in the independence of the country.
    Mugabe also became a pawn in the chess game of his psychedelic wife nicknamed Gucci Grace, who got huge state funds to underwrite her lavish lifestyle at a time the country was in the throes of acute poverty. There was also poor handling of the unrest in Matambele which led to the death of several thousands.
    Imperialist conspiracy saw the tumbling of a once buoyant economy in torrents. The economy became comatose making it difficult for many to eke a living. Inflation was in triple digits, its currency, the Zimbabwean dollar had lost 99 per cent of its value while more than a quarter of its citizens had fled the country as it plummeted to the 20th biggest economy in Sub Saharan Africa from its prime 10th position when Mugabe assumed power in 1980.
    But all these were contrived as the economy had been hoddled by the West which had become angry with the land reform programme. As Mugabe refused to buckle under and swallow the humble pie, their anger to finish Old Bob off to his sunset grew.
    For his effrontery to implement the land reform which saw the Black population taking back 70 per cent of the arable lands previously hijacked by the White population under the rule of Ian Smith, Mugabe became demonised and a concerted effort to wrack the Zimbabwean economy and social life was contrived. Agricultural production nosedived thereafter. This made the country’s currency almost worthless.
    Britain and the US which initially had agreed to fund the transfer of ownership to the black population under the Lancaster House Agreement had reneged leaving no window but the forceful take over spearheaded by the veterans.
    The ZANU-PF had also tactically delayed aggressive land reform in the 90s in order not to hamper the negotiation of the African National Congress (ANC) with the then White led government in South Africa. Mugabe’s political survival became inextricably linked to the wellbeing of his numerous supporters in the countryside who had now become landowners.
    Unfortunately the ANC led by Nelson Mandela was enfeebled in either pressing for a land reform in South Africa or Black control of the economy which still leaves them as drawers of water and hewers of stone. What then was all the huge sacrifices of the armed struggle for if it was not to genuinely address the land question?
    Mugabe’s legacy in education will endure for a long time. As a result of heavy investment in education since independence in 1980, Zimbabwe has the highest adult literacy rate in Africa which is put at 92 per cent. Access to education by women also remains one of the highest on the continent.
    With five bachelors and two masters, Mugabe radiates in intellection, rendering his speech writers virtually jobless. Like renowned British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill who won a Nobel Prize for Literature and reputed for writing and re-writing his speeches, Mugabe also pens his own speeches with peculiar anecdotes.
    His successor, Mnangagwa has an arduous task of re-inventing agricultural production and turning around the economy. In a desperate attempt to survive and turn around the economy, he may steer the country into the firm grip of the West and its agents of international finance, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
    The West may also attempt to shore up its economy the same way it did during the five year period of power sharing with the western backed Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvhangirai. But this will come as Greek gift. I’m cocksure that Mnangagwa will be wise enough to steer clear of wanting to reverse the land reform. Anything otherwise will imperil his rule.

  • Say no to Atiku- Nigerian gay man declares

    A Nigerian brand strategist and homosexual, Kenny Badmus fondly called Kenny Brandmuse has shared his opinion on Nigeria’s former Vice-President’s ambition, Atiku Abubakar to contest in the 2019 presidential election.

     

    The opinionated brand strategist wrote on his Facebook wall, saying Nigeria does not need another saviour.

     

    According to him:”Please say NO to Atiku. We don’t need another savior. The biggest problem facing Naija is not unemployment, it’s lack of working systems. A working system, for example, is a state where you don’t need to shout ‘up NEPA!’ We need a visionary team (not a party) who will prioritize the creation of working systems.

     

    “ As far as I know, there’s only one political party in Nigeria and all those arguments for and against APC or PDP don’t do anything for us. These are the same people. We need to look beyond presidential candidates and spotlight our lawmakers whose only credentials are their dance videos on social media. SMH. Next election should be about that search for leaders who want to build from ground up. Show me the team of systems builders. Nothing grandeur. Just the basics.

     

    “A working system, for instance, is what keeps the rail transit system in the USA running since 1835. The UK came up with Electricity Act in 1926 to promote a national transmission system. These systems have gone through several iterations, but they still work. There have been tons of leaderships with differing political beliefs/parties in these countries since then. These leaders come and go, but the systems still work for the people.

     

    “You may want to know, a case in point, that despite our growing population of celebrated scholars abroad, as of 2014, Nigeria possesses the largest population of out-of-school youth in the world.[Abdullahi, Danjuma; Abdullah, John (June 2014).] Don’t forget we created a 6-3-3-4 educational system back in the 80’s. Does it work? I doubt we ever revisited the idea to make it better.We don’t need another savior at Aso Rock. Ask Baba Buhari. All we need is a proven visionary team who are systems builders. When we hear them speak to us, we shall know”.

     

    #AnambraDecides: INEC to deploy 23,000 ad hoc staff for governorship election