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Tag: PDP

  • Babachir, Oke: Buhari should be impeached for disobeying the Constitution – PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has demanded the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari over his handling of the corruption cases involving the former Secretary to the Government, Babachir Lawal, and former National Intelligence Agency, boss, Ayodele Oke.

    The party, while calling for the prosecution of the duo, said Messrs. Lawal and Oke were being treated under “a different set of laws.”

    It further stated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and not the Presidency should have investigated the allegations of corruption levelled against the two dismissed officials.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Lawal and Oke, who have been on suspension for months, were relieved of their duties on Monday by President Buhari after intensified public outcry.

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the appointment of Boss Mustapha as the new SGF. He (Buhari) however yet to announce a new DG for the NIA.

    The PDP in a statement signed by the party’s spokesperson, Dayo Adeyeye, said it was not pleased with the action.

    The opposition party said the act is ‘‘an insult to the collective intelligence of the people who waited patiently for the President’s reaction to the humongous act of corruption by two of his principal aides.’’

    Its statement read in part:

    “First and foremost, we had disagreed with the President last year when he decided to set up the panel headed by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo to investigate the matter because we thought that was the wrong course of action to take.

    “Ordinarily, cases of corruption or alleged cases of misappropriation of funds are supposed to be referred to institutions that are saddled with the responsibility to investigate and prosecute such matters which is the ICPC and the EFCC if there is any prima facie case against them.

    “But it appears not all animals are equal under the Buhari APC administration. Some people are treated with kid gloves while others particularly those in opposition are subjected to all manner of harrowing experiences.”

    It said the president’s actions were ‘impeachable.’

    “This is an impeachable offence. So, the President cannot just sack Ayo Oke and Babachir Lawal and expect us to be clapping for him.

    “We believe that we are operating under a democracy and a constitution that governs our affairs. To have subjected these people to different sets of rule and treatment is totally unacceptable.

    “Nigerians are the same under the law and Babachir Lawal and Ayo Oke should not be tried by the Presidency while others are hounded by the EFCC and ICPC.

    “These actions of Mr. President are therefore a breach of his oath of office which he swore to defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to be fair and just to all Nigerians without any discrimination whatsoever.”

    “The action of the President is a gross violation of his constitutional oath and therefore constitutes a veritable ground for impeachment .Using and applying different laws to different people in the country is a direct assault on the constitution and the rule of law.

    “Consequently, we call on the National Assembly to begin processes to impeach the President for breach of the Constitution and fragrance disobedient to the laws of Nigeria.

    “We totally reject these actions and the law should follow its full course on the issues of these officers. In other words, their case should be referred to the EFCC for proper investigation and trial, more so when the President has not told us what the report of the findings was.

    “Nigerians are entitled to know the findings of the panel headed by the Vice President. The report should be made public since it is the people’s money that is involved.

    “The President has by his actions taken Nigeria to the level of a banana republic. We are not in a banana republic, this is the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Three successive governments of the PDP did not act in the manner President Buhari is acting.”

    “There is no doubt that the sudden sack of the SGF and the DG of NIA is just a consequence of the backlash on the Abdulrasheed Maina saga. Up till now there’s no answer to the pertinent questions we have asked on the Maina saga.”

    “The government cares less about the feelings and opinions of Nigerians. This kind of arrogance is unprecedented in the history of this county. We again call for the arrest and investigation of the two Ministers involved in the return of Maina into the Civil Service, that is, the Minister of Interior, Bello Dambazau and Abubakar Mallami, the Attorney General of the Federation & Minister of Justice.”

     

  • Why I am running for PDP chairman – Ladoja

    …Says he is waiting for his time as Olubadan

    A former governor of Oyo State, High Chief Rashidi Ladoja, has said his decision to join the chairmanship race of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was to return the former ruling party to its winning ways.

    The former governor also disclosed that he would not contest the 2019 governorship election in the state.

    Ladoja, who recently rejoined the party, disclosed this while speaking on an Ibadan-based radio station, Fresh FM, on Saturday. He explained that he had personal reasons for not joining the next governorship race.

    According to him, he was inching closer to the the throne of the Olubadan, a position he desires to occupy if God permits. He is currently the Osi Olubadan of Ibadan land. Ladoja said he has other reasons to leave the stage for others because he has done enough in Oyo politics.

    The former governor said he took the decision in 2015 but that his former party, Accord, forced him to join the race because of his goodwill and popularity.

    Ladoja, who was emphatic about his decision, said he has had enough of the governorship race, pointing out that it was part of the reasons he joined the national chairmanship race of the PDP. He said that he would not have joined the chairmanship race if he still intended to contest for the governorship in 2019.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Ladoja was governor of the state from 2003 to 2007 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He joined the Accord Party in 2010 and contested under his new party in 2011 and 2015. He lost to the incumbent governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, in the two elections. But he insisted that he won the last election, stressing that he lost at the tribunal only on technical grounds.

    Ladoja explained that his main agenda for seeking to be PDP’s national chairman is to right the wrongs of the past by creating a level-playing ground for all aspirants for all positions in elections across Nigeria. “I was a victim of that. I am contesting to ensure that no other party member falls victim of that. I will instill confidence in everybody by ensuring there is a level-playing ground for every party member in all parts of Nigeria,” he said

    Ladoja said the All Progressives Congress (APC) would not have won the last presidential election if the PDP embraced internal democracy. He explained that the PDP governors who joined the APC did so because of lack of internal democracy. He also denied claims by his former deputy, Adebayo Alao-Akala, that he (Ladoja) won the governorship election only at the time they worked together. Ladoja said he won because of his large following.

     

  • NEWS HOUR: ‘Buhari’s anti-corruption fight is like Satan calling Judas a sinner,’ says PDP governors I TNGtv

  • PDP chairmanship: We need a gentleman with ideas – Adeniran

    A former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, says his gentle mien will not diminish his chances of becoming the next national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

    Adeniran said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that being a gentleman, he remained the best candidate in the race for the national chairmanship seat of the party.

    The party’s national elective convention, which will produce the national chairman and other executive officers, is scheduled for Dec. 9 in Abuja.

    Apart from Adeniran, former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George; former Minister of Sport, Prof Taoheed Adedoja, and former PDP governorship candidate in Lagos, Mr Jimi Agbaje, are also in the chairmanship race.

    Former governors of Ogun and Oyo states, Chief Gbenga Daniel and Chief Rasheed Ladoja respectively; media mogul, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, and one-time acting chairman, Chief Uche Secondus, are also eying the party’s chairmanship.

    Adeniran said the perception that he is a gentleman is a good one, as the PDP needs such a person with ideas and vision to drive its progress.

    “Yes, I am a gentleman. The belief in some quarters that the party does not need a gentleman as leader is an insult not only to the party but every member.

    “Leadership is not by thuggery, is not by violence, but by ideas, passion, vision and commitment.

    “We don’t need a violent person in PDP as chairman. We need a man with ideas to drive the party‘s vision. I am that man. I am that gentleman,’’ he said.

    The former minister said with God on his side and the support he was enjoying the party, he was sure to clinch the post.

    He insisted that he had all it required to lead and reposition the party, being a founding member with the requisite experience.

    “PDP needs a leader with the right vision, passion for good leadership qualities and a leader with right experience.

    “I am passionate about repositioning the party and I am brimming with ideas and vision to return the party to winning ways,’’ he said.

    Adeniran said his academic and political background as a political science professor and the former minister had enriched his suitability for the seat.

    He acknowledged that other aspirants had great attributes, but said his kind of vision to salvage the PDP at a critical moment was unmatched.

    The National Caretaker chairman of the party, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi had said at the end of the party’s National Executive Council meeting on Tuesday that the chairmanship seat was zoned to the entire South, and not micro-zoned to the South-West.

    He said the party’s non-elective convention zoned the presidency to the North and the chairmanship to the South.

     

    (NAN)

  • Race for PDP National Chairmanship open to all zones in South – Makarfi

    Race for PDP National Chairmanship open to all zones in South – Makarfi

    Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ahmed Makarfi, has said the office of the national chairman of the party is not restricted to any particular zone in the Southern part of Nigeria.

    Makarfi said this on yesterday in Abuja at a meeting with aspirants who are looking to fill the position.

    The party had zoned the office of the national chairman to the southern part of the country, while the presidential slot was ceded to the northern part at a convention in 2015.

    The meeting was attended by former Governor of Oyo State, Chief Rashidi Ladoja, Chief Bode George, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, Prince Uche Secondus, Chief Raymond Dokpesi and Chief Gbenga Daniel.

    Makarfi said his committee cannot alter the the zoning arrangements that had been agreed.

    Makarfi said, ”We have no power beyond the convention and I want to remind all of us, the only thing the convention did was to zone two positions and as chairman or caretaker committee, you cannot go beyond that.

    “The office of the national chairman is zoned to the South while that of the president is for the North. No micro zoning.”

  • ‘Buhari’s anti-corruption fight is like Satan calling Judas a sinner,’ says PDP governors

    ‘Buhari’s anti-corruption fight is like Satan calling Judas a sinner,’ says PDP governors

    Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday condemned the spate of scandals rocking the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government.

    They likened the fight against corruption by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to Satan calling Judas Iscariot a sinner.

    The Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum who is also the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, spoke on behalf of his colleagues at the party’s 76th National Executive Committee meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday.

    The PDP governors accused the Federal Government of being corrupt and urged members of the party to continue with their criticism of the ruling party, saying “if we don’t expose them, nobody will do so.”

    Fayose added, ”The ruling party (the APC) is now in many scandals, we have to raise our voices up to expose them. Armed robbers calling people thieves, who are the armed robbers now?

    “Buhari’s anti-corruption fight is like Satan calling Judas Iscariot a sinner.”

    He appealed to members of the party to ensure that the December 9 national elective convention succeeds.

    “The last national convention was applauded; I want to believe that this one will be the same. In this convention, there will be no winner and no loser, but in all, the party must win. The fact that you did not win should not make you decide to destroy the party,” he added.

    Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the party, Ahmed Makarfi, said all the states where caretaker committees were needed had been inaugurated.

    “It is only in Ogun State that the party has a senator with antics that we are having issues . Our party also disciplined some members especially those from Anambra State,” he added.

    The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party, Walid Jibrin, also begged the members of the party to remain loyal.

    He said this was the only way through which the party could reclaim the government it lost in 2015.

    Jibrin said, “It is only by accident that the ruling party has come to be and therefore by the grace of almighty Allah, we shall reclaim our status and rebuild Nigeria again.

    “If there is going to be election today, there is no state that the PDP will not win.

    “Now that we have won the case against Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, we must sincerely start to rebuild the PDP. We must shun all forms of impunity and godfatherism.

    “In the PDP, we must treat ourselves as equal always by respecting the dignity of individuals, dynamism of leadership, the supremacy and decision of the party. Leaders must be fair umpires.

    “We should never do anything to harm our loyal party men and women who labour to keep the PDP together.

    “The success of our party convention will depend on our unity and love for this party as the outcome is going to determine our success or the death of our party as every Nigerian is waiting for the PDP to come back and rule Nigeria again.

    “Therefore, we should not begin to adopt people without seriously adhering to the rule and regulations of the party.”

    The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, said he was happy with the quality of persons aspiring to lead the party.

    He told the gathering that the PDP Senate Caucus met with the national chairmanship aspirants on Monday night.

  • PDP chairmanship: I can’t influence process of election – Makarfi

    PDP chairmanship: I can’t influence process of election – Makarfi

    The chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, caretaker committee, Ahmed Makarfi, has said he doesn’t have the sole power to decide who becomes the party’s chairman.

    Makarfi explained that only the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, and convention can make such decision.

    Makarfi was responding to claims that he was trying to influence the outcome of the contest for the chairmanship position which will take place at the party’s convention slated for December.

    Mr. Makarfi, who said this while addressing journalists at the party’s secretariat in Abuja ahead of a peace parley between the National Caretaker Committee, and aspirants for the top slot, said only the best candidate would emerge from the contest.

    “It is still up to NEC to decide, in addition to whatever the convention decides.

    “So far, the decision on who can contest as chairman has been made. If today or tomorrow any other decision of the party is made, we’ll implement that decision,” Mr. Makarfi said.

    “I want to make one thing categorically clear about unfair insinuations. Some people think that I, as the chairman of the caretaker committee should assume the power that I don’t have.

    “We have no power beyond the convention and I want to remind all of us, the only thing the party did was to zone positions and as chairman or caretaker committee, you cannot go beyond that”, he added.

    Also addressing the aspirants, he said the party leadership was putting measures in place to ensure a peaceful convention and harmony between the regions.

    “We have been calling on the north and south to put themselves together.

    ‘‘Whether north or south, we must subject ourselves to what the NEC decides in respect to the matters before us in the leadup to the elective convention.

    “We said that we should meet with you (aspirants) and discuss with you and hear from you to know your contribution to making proper preparation for the convention.’’

    Also, Bode George, a former military governor of Ondo state who spoke with journalists, said with the preparations put in place by the party, only the best candidate can emerge winner at the end.

    “We had a very useful meeting with the NCC. We agreed that we will remain civil, educate our followers because it is a family contest and not a matter of life and death.

    “We have agreed and you can see us now holding our hands. There is no quarrel, let the best man win. That is the spirit of the party, that is the spirit we are sending to the public because we want to win the minds and hearts of the public that we are better managers.

    “If we can manage our party and our states, we will be able to manage this country,’’ Mr. George said.

    When asked if the candidates were considering agreeing on a consensus candidate as suggested recently by the Ekiti state governor, Ayodele Fayose, Mr. George said they all agreed ‘‘to work as a team.’’

    “Whatever it is, whether consensus or not, we are moving together as a team. The party is bigger than any individual. Nobody will be aggrieved,” he said.

    Aspirants for the position present at the meeting include DAAR Communication boss, Raymond Dokpesi; former Ogun state governor, Gbenga Daniel; former education minister, Tunde Adeniran; former Lagos state governorship aspirant, Jimi Agbaje; former Oyo state governor, Rasheed Ladoja, and erstwhile acting chairman, PDP, Uche Secondus.

  • 2019: PDP drubbing of Fayose over ambition, By Ehichioya Ezomon

    By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Any political party, especially in the opposition, will be thrilled to have a candidate of the calibre and clout of Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, willing and faithful to wrest power from the ruling government. That’s exactly what Mr. Fayose has promised to achieve for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 elections.

    At his formal declaration for the position of president on September 28 in Abuja, the governor presented himself as the only candidate that could unseat President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He boasted: “My party leaders, standing before you is Peter (The Rock) Ayodele Fayose, the man already destined by God to take Nigeria out of the present political and economic stagnations. We (PDP) must be mindful of the fact that our party needs a candidate like me, with a penchant for defeating incumbents.

    “Twice, I defeated incumbents to become the Governor of Ekiti State and I am confident that with your support as my party leaders and supporters, I will defeat the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari, in a free and fair election.”

    But metaphorically, it’s been a ‘Night of the Long Knives’ in the PDP since the governor formally declared his ambition. The party top shots are not amused, as they view his action as breaching a code of conduct or “gentleman’s agreement” couched in the zoning arrangement of rotating the presidency between the North and South of the country. And they are primed to prevent him from assuming awesome powers and disrupt the well-choreographed plan of the party for 2019.

    Surely, Governor Fayose acknowledged the PDP zoning and yet, chose to query the absence of aspirants from the region, even as he recalled that other aspirants contested in 1999 and 2003, and also in 2007 when the party allocated the slot to the South and North, respectively.

    He said: “If PDP gives me ticket, I will use it and win. They say they have zoned presidency to the North, what if nobody comes out from the North? Whoever wants to contest for the seat of president, what are they afraid of? Let them come out. We don’t want to package anyone for president again. God forbid.”

    Chances are that due to his self-appointed over-sight of President Buhari and his administration, Governor Fayose has been very busy to realise the depth of loathing, and rejection his audacious aspiration has caused in the PDP platform he intends to use.

    Truly lately, rather than blame himself for the political drubbing he’s facing from members of his party, he switched to holding the President responsible for allegedly instigating the EFCC to seize his aides “because they (Buhari and the APC) know I will defeat them in 2019.” No wonder he quickly sensed the biblical “The Voice of Jacob, The Hand of Esau” (the ‘Voice’ representing Buhari and the ‘Hand’ implying EFCC) in the anti-graft arrest and detention of his commissioners.

    In a press interview, he cautioned his traducers: “My ambition to contest the presidential election in 2019 is God’s project and no human effort can thwart it. Democracy allows for people to aspire to occupy public offices and I have not breached any law doing that. Those who think they can get to (sic) me by harassing my aides and supporters would soon hit a dead end.”

    Still, to PDP leaders, Governor Fayose is his worst enemy: for deliberately flouting the party arrangement to produce the president from the North in 2019. Hence, he needed reminding about that position at the Port Harcourt convention. The first reminder came from the governor’s home turf of Ekiti – from the PDP spokesperson, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, who wants to replace Fayose in 2018.

    To Adeyeye, Fayose is not eligible for the position he’s aspiring to. “The highest organ of the party, which is the national convention, zoned the presidential ticket of the PDP to the North. That has not changed,” he said. And when the governor continued rationalising his action, the Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, delivered the knock-out punch.

    At a meeting in Abuja with Northern leaders and elders of the PDP on the zoning for the 2019 elections and the convention in December, Makarfi picked his words carefully: “Anything that has to do with the party, it is from the leadership of the party that you will hear and that is why I have reaffirmed that the zoning position of the party has not changed. It was the decision of the Port Harcourt May 21, 2017 convention. The decision is supreme.

    “I wish to emphasize that the Supreme Court, in affirming the authenticity of our caretaker committee, has also reaffirmed the supremacy of decisions of the (Port Harcourt) convention.”

    Senator Makarfi previously told journalists in Kaduna that, “He (Fayose) is on his own. What he is doing is not in compliance with the position of the party. The party’s position has not changed. The convention has zoned the presidency to the North and the chairmanship of the party to the South.”

    The fear in the PDP is that Governor Fayose’s success or failure in capturing the candidacy has the potential to sow discord in the party – a marked departure from their embrace of his “triumphal entry” into the Abuja mini-convention of August 12, when they thought his hint about running for the presidency “was a fluke.”

    But the governor’s formal declaration has changed the calculus. His initial clever-by-half letter that his ambition was “without prejudice to the party’s position” but “in the interest of the party and Nigeria, as I know how to defeat incumbents,” has not mollified the PDP leaders in their resolve to stop him “before the damage is done.”

    So, the long knives have been drawn from all sides, threatening to sink a once-promising ambition of an enfant terrible to replace the very President that’s his butt and plaything, before he sinks the PDP itself in the bargain!

     

    * Mr. Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Ex-Oyo Gov, Rashidi Ladoja joins PDP chairmanship race

    A former Governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, has joined the race for the national chairmanship of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Ladoja returned to the party a few weeks ago.

    He left the party to join Accord about eight years ago.

    The constitution of the party stipulates that a member of the party will need to remain a member for two consecutive years before he could contest any elective election.

    Ladoja will, therefore, need a waiver from the party’ National Executive Committee before he could be cleared for the contest.

    The former governor was among other chairmanship aspirants who met with the members of the National Caretaker Committee of the party on Tuesday (today).

    Chairman of the caretaker committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, presided over the meeting.

    Those who were also at the meeting were Chief Bode George, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, Mr. Jimi Agbaje and Prince Uche Secondus.

    Others were Chief Raymond Dokpesi and Chief Gbenga Daniel.

  • Dasukigate: Jonathan to stand as Metuh’s witness

    Dasukigate: Jonathan to stand as Metuh’s witness

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has been ordered by a Federal High Court in Abuja to appear before it to testify as a witness in defence of former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Olisa Metuh.

    Jonathan was issued a subpoena to appear before the court on Wednesday, October 25, 2017, by Justice Okon Abang.

    The former president is to appear as a defence witness in the suit filed by the Federal Government against the former spokesperson of the PDP.

    Metuh is facing trial for allegedly receiving N400 million out of the $2.1 billion dollars arms fund from the former National Security Adviser to the former president, retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki.