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Tag: PVC

  • APC bars members without PVC from attending meetings

    APC bars members without PVC from attending meetings

    The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) says party members without Permanent Voter Cards(PVCs)will no longer be allowed to attend ward and local government  meetings.

    The Lagos APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, said this in his address to party members in Lagos.

    The chairman’s address was delivered by party’s representatives at the party’s Local Government Areas(LGA)meetings  in  the 20 local governments and Local Council Development Areas(LCDAs) on Thursday.

    Ojelabi  also called for unity in the party ,saying that would guarantee victory for the party in the forthcoming council election.

    “Get prepared for PVC registration. There is no place for any member of our party without PVC. Henceforth, once you do not have PVC, don’t attend our party meetings.

    “Leaders should come together and be united. Each LGA is expected to set up a reconciliation committee where necessary, and inform the party, if the need arises,” the chairman said .

    Ojelabi thanked members for their  commitment and support toward the progress of our party.

    “As we approach the forthcoming Local Government elections, kindly take note of the party’s continuous registration for new members, which will commence soon.

    “The party has not issued any guidelines for the upcoming Local Government elections yet,” Ojelabi  added.

    Ojelabi said the party  was committed to free and fair   primary elections.

    He said there would be no refunds for purchased forms by any aspirants in the election.

    The chairman also said that purchasing the party’s form would not guarantee any political appointment.

    Ojelabi urged members to continue to keep faith with the party to deliver democratic dividends.

    Speaking on the importance  of LG  meetings ,APC spokesman in the state , Mr Seye Oladejo, said  the meetings were important for the strengthening of  the party’s strictures at the grassroots.

    Oladejo said the meetings  would be followed by the meetings in the 377 wards in the state.

    “The meetings provide an opportunity to disseminate information from the state leadership of the party to the grassroots, as regards upcoming council elections, among others,” he said.

    NAN

  • INEC warns people without PVCs to steer clear of Ondo election

    INEC warns people without PVCs to steer clear of Ondo election

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned persons without Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to steer clear of polling centres during the Nov. 16 Governorship Election in Ondo State.

    Prof. Kunle Ajayi, INEC National Commissioner Supervising Ondo, Ogun and Osun States, gave the warning at the presentation of soft copies of the Register of Voters for the election to the political parties on Tuesday in Akure.

    Ajayi, who pledge the Commission’s preparedness and determination to conduct a free, fair, credible, and inclusive election in the state, said that 2,053,006 eligible voters were registered.

    ” it is important to reiterate to you that the Commission shall commence distribution of the newly printed Permanent Voters Cards and the uncollected PVCs from the previous CVR exercise starting from Thursday.

    “I strongly encourage all political party representatives to mobilise their supporters to come out and collect their PVCs.

    “Also, the Civil Society Organisations and the media here present are to use their various strong outlets and platforms to encourage the general public, registrants, and eligible voters to come out en mass to collect their PVCs.

    “Because Without the PVC, nobody would be allowed to vote,” he said.

    Ajayi said that the collection of PVCs won’t  be by proxy as it was against the law.

    According to him, anyone found in possession of more than one PVC would be made to face the full extent of the law.

    He, therefore, called on Persons With Disability (PWD), PWD-focused CSOs, and groups to encourage any PWD to come out and collect their PVCs.

    Ajayi said that the Commission has made adequate provision for assistive devices which will ensure a seamless voting experience for all PWDs in the forthcoming election.

    Also, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ondo State, said that the publication and presentation of the voter register was crucial and a statutory step in safeguarding the credibility and transparency of the electoral process.

    Babalola said that the presentation was a powerful reminder that the future of Ondo State was in hands of its people.

    “I call on all stakeholders to remain vigilant and committed, safeguarding the integrity of the process

    “I therefore use this medium to encourage voters in Ondo State to come out to cast their votes freely with the assurance that their choices are respected and their votes will count,” Babalola said.

    Mr Ade Adetimehin, Chairman of  All Progressive Congress (APC) in Ondo State, applauded the INEC for its timely presentation of the voters register.

    According to him, it would enable the political parties to go back to the field and mobilise and educate their supporters to come out en mass to vote on the election day.

    “It’s now our duty as political parties to go back to the all 3936 polling units to mobilise and canvass for their (electorate) votes,” he said

  • INEC extends PVC collection in Edo

    INEC extends PVC collection in Edo

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to Sept. 15 in Edo, preparatory to the state’s governorship election on Sept. 21.

    INEC National Commissioner Sam Olumekun announced this in Benin, noting that the extension would begin from Sept. 13.

    Olumekun said that stakeholders unanimously appealed to the commission to consider an extension of period for the collection of PVCs to enable more voters to collect their cards.

    “The commission held an interactive meeting with stakeholders in Benin ahead of the governorship election.

    “The meeting was well attended by chairmen of political parties, candidates, traditional and religious leaders, security agencies, civil society organisations and the media.

    “The chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, addressed the stakeholders and responded to their electoral and security concerns.

    In view of that, a three-day extension has been granted from Friday, Sept. 13 to Sunday, Sept. 15.

    “The cards will be available for collection in our 18 local government offices across the state from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily”, he said.

    He urged all registered voters who had yet to collect their PVCs to seize the opportunity of the extension to do so.

    He said that there would be no collection by proxy, in line with the commission’s policy.

  • Election: INEC appeals judgement on use of TVCs

    Election: INEC appeals judgement on use of TVCs

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Saturday, appealed the judgment granting the request of two plaintiffs to use their Temporary Voter Cards, TVC.

    The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, in a statement on Thursday, had expressed the intention of the commission to approach the appellate court.

    “The Independent National Electoral Commission has been served a copy of the judgment delivered today by the Federal High Court, Abuja Division which ordered it to allow two Plaintiffs to vote with their TVCs,” the statement read.

    Justice Obiora Egwuatu had given the order allowing the use of the TVCs while delivering Judgement in a suit filed by two concerned Nigerians seeking the use of TVCs in the general elections in the absence of PVCs.

    Justice Egwuatu said the order was made on the grounds that the plaintiffs were duly registered and captured in INEC’s database.

    Election: INEC appeals judgement on use of TVC

    The court, however, added that it was unable to grant prayer three which was to allow every eligible voter with a TVC to vote because the suit was not filed in a representative capacity.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, ordered INEC to allow the use of Temporary Voter Cards in the forthcoming governorship and state houses of assembly elections which has been slated for March 18.

    Two aggrieved Nigerians had filed a suit seeking the use of the Temporary Voter Card in the general elections in the absence of the Permanent Voter Cards.

    The plaintiffs, Kofoworola Olusegun and Wilson Allwell, in the suit filed on February 8 and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/180/2023, challenged the position of INEC and asked the court to determine “whether a person whose name appears in the electronic format in INEC’s central database and manual, printed paper based record or hard copy format of the register of voters and has been assigned a Voter’s Identification Number can be said to be entitled to be accredited to vote with his/her TVC in the general election to be conducted by the defendant.”

    The plaintiffs further requested the court to determine whether such a person can, as a consequence of INEC’s liabilities… omission be disenfranchised of the right and entitlement to vote in the 2023 general election.

    Consequently, they prayed for the following reliefs should the questions be answered in their favour.

    They asked for “a declaration that the plaintiff, having fulfilled all necessary legal requirements to register and having consequently been captured in its central database and manual, printed paper-based record or hard copy format of INEC’s maintained register of voters, the plaintiffs are entitled to vote using their TVC in the 2023 General Elections”.

    Ruling, the court held that there was no portion of the law, both the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act that states that it is only PVCs that could be used, but that the law under Section 47 provided for a voter’s card.

    Justice Egwuatu stated that the order was made on the grounds that the plaintiffs were duly registered and captured in INEC’s database.

    He ruled that, “an order is made compelling the defendant to allow the plaintiffs to vote using their Temporary Voter Cards issued by the defendant, the plaintiffs having been duly captured in the National Register of Voters database”.

    The judge further held that the plaintiffs are entitled to vote using their TVC in the forthcoming 2023 general election “having fulfilled all necessary legal requirements to register and having consequently been captured in INEC’s central database and manual, printed paper-based record or hard copy format”.

    Election: INEC appeals judgement on use of TVC

    However, prayer 3 which was a request to allow every eligible voter with a TVC to vote was not granted.

    “Any other order, the court may deem fit for all other Nigerians who are like the plaintiffs and have not gotten their permanent voter’s card, as the court may deem fit”

    The judge held that the suit was not filed in a representative capacity.

    The court maintained that, “This suit having not been brought in a representative capacity, I find myself unable to grant any relief pursuant to prayer three of the plaintiffs application.”

    Speaking, counsel for the plaintiffs, Victor Opatola said that the judgement was a win for all Nigerians who suffered to get registered to vote, were duly registered but due to no fault of theirs could not get their PVCs before the election.

    He said, “since my clients had fulfilled all necessary requirements by law but were not issued their PVCs until the time for collection of PVCs was over, they should not be allowed to suffer”.

    The lawyer also said that it was the law of equity that what applied to the goose should also apply to the gander.

    “So what the court is saying is that these two people who have fulfilled all necessary requirements can vote with their TVCs, then by law of equity, it should also apply to all Nigerians who have fulfilled all necessary requirements and were issued TVCs by INEC.”

    Furthermore, he asserted that the content of the TVC was the same as the content of the PVC and the only difference was the plastic used for the PVC.

  • OPINION: INEC should account for 6.2m uncollected PVCs – By Dave Baro-Thomas

    OPINION: INEC should account for 6.2m uncollected PVCs – By Dave Baro-Thomas

    The enthusiasm that greeted the 2023 voters’ registration exercise affirms the quick rise in political consciousness and determination to oxygenate the nation’s nascent democracy. And recent development in the country seems to change the political architecture with an incredible rise of young people showing more concern about who should lead them.

    Since 1999, voters registration has leapfrogged such that from 57 million registered voters, the figure rose to an unprecedented 84 million in 2019, out of which about 29 million people showed up at the polling booths, and Buhari won the contest with over 15 million votes against 11 million votes by Atiku, who came second leaving a clear victory margin of 4 million votes. As the typical politician will say, every vote counts but a 4 million vote margin is humongous. A few hours from now, about 87.2 million Nigerians who collected their PVCs for the 2023 elections will march out and decide the faith and direction the nation will go.

    Incidentally, however INEC had reeled out this figure and stated that about 6.2 million people did not collect their PVCs for this election season, and they gave reasons which ranged from the very plausible to the sheer absurd

    True to character, Nigerians waited until the last minute and came out like a mob to collect their PVCs, but this was within the window period given by INEC, and while such embarrassing national culture is unacceptable, the drama from INEC and its officials has left a sour taste in the mouth.

    We are still trying to condone the CBN mess of a brilliant naira redesign policy jaundiced by shabby implementation. And here we are confronted with INEC managing an election with over 6.2 million disenfranchised people – a figure that is more than the decider of the outcome of previous elections.
    While we should, undoubtedly, commend INEC for their claim of readiness for the elections, one will not be shocked to see the shame of poor logistics, incompetence, systemic failures, incoherent and untidy delivery of the entire processes that have taken them four years to prepare and forestall.

    So, one continues to wonder if the public sector is bewitched or if public servants suddenly slipped into the disturbing mode of non-performance when it matters most.

    The question under close scrutiny is: how come over 6.2 million registered voters ended up disenfranchised.
    How could we condone such irresponsibility by INEC, considering all the drama that trailed the collection and management of PVC distribution across the country? Move away from the shenanigans of the political class who are hell-bent on compromising the processes through the flagrant act of vote buying, ballot box snatching, result writing, inducement of electoral officers, intimidation, violence, and what have you. Yet another big concern that’s added is the series of outcome of elections in Nigeria since 1959, is the shameful misadventures of this electoral umpire.

    It is sad enough that Nigerians exhibited their bad character of waiting to the dieing minute and thus overwhelming INEC, but how can one explain that millions of PVCs were not at their presupposed, designated centres?

    How in the world could some INEC officials turn the whole process into a Wuse Market activity, and to date, no one was arrested or prosecuted? How can one even explain the recent happenings where thousands of PVCs -sensitive material, are found at strange places outside INEC’s control? INEC should explain to Nigerians, outside the ballot papers and technologies to run the elections, what else is very critical to voting than the use of PVCs. But the electoral umpire prides itself that it is ready to deliver the 2023 election taking place today. It prides itself of having distributed about 80% of the PVCs and then scored itself very high, and undoubtedly that is a pass mark, but the question is, what happened to the remaining 20%? If out of the 80% you claimed to have distributed, and we heard that some were with foreigners caught by immigration the other day, while some were seen in sock away pits, and roadside gutters. Even INEC alleged obtaining information about the burial of some PVCs in some places, then what are we talking about.? There are cases where the PVCs of non-indigenes and people of other religious faith, depending on the locations, were deliberately not available. Then less than 48 hours before the elections, thousands of abandoned PVCs surfaced in Enugu and were carried by some good Samaritans to a radio station for onward transmission to the authorities.

    So, INEC what is the pride about.? Who is responsible for managing the process of PVC distribution at the INEC headquarters and in the local governments? In whose custody are these PVCs kept? Who takes inventories of what was collected and signed off for what comes to the security vaults of INEC? How can thousands of PVCs go missing and remain outside INEC control, and nobody is alarmed? Nobody is asking questions.

    When a similar thing happened sometime in July 2022, live on Channels TV, Mr. Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, assured Nigerians that these allegations will not be taken lightly. He said the Commission had commenced immediate investigation, and anyone found culpable in this diabolical scheme intended to disenfranchise Nigerians will be sanctioned under the law. He didn’t stop there but went on, “Every eligible Nigerian who registered as a voter is entitled to their PVC. The constitutional right to vote in any election must never be suppressed or abridged in any way” and “As far as the record of the Commission is concerned, PVCs have been printed for all valid registrants in Nigeria … and delivered to all the States of the Federation for collection by voters. We will not allow retrogressive elements to sabotage our efforts,”

    But what we have today, sadly, is all cheap talk. Can we stress any less that bad governance starts way back from the electoral processes leading to the emergence of the wrong political leadership? If the electoral processes are flawed, can the outcome be any better? Therefore, it is pertinent to call Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and his team to question after the elections, and the supervisory Ministry of INEC be courageous enough to ask INEC to present the over 6.2 million uncollected PVCs for scrutiny. INEC should recover every single uncollected PVC for forensic audit else the sanctity of the election is suspect already because Nigerians are asking: are all these anomalies deliberately orchestrated to jeopardize the chances of some candidates.

    INEC should submit itself to an independent audit on the management and distribution of the PVCs in this political dispensation. Until we ask this supposed bastion institution some pertinent questions and hold it accountable, this democracy will remain infantile and a mere charade. However, there should be some constitutional reconfiguration of INEC.

    Why should the President appoint the INEC boss at the federal level and governors at the state levels? In Nigeria, we know the implications of such even if we deceive ourselves with unrealistic fantasies to the moon and back, it will take a President without a stake in the process for INEC to be truly independent. The import of the election is upon us, so INEC should retrieve the over 6.2 million uncollected PVCs and deposit them with the Central Bank of Nigeria, or the next political dispensation should demand the investigation of the leadership of the Mahmud Yakubu-led INEC and commence the process of a total overhaul and restructuring.

    Again, no democracy is ever better than the processes leading to its enthronement. This fact must be taken to heart.

  • Elections: 87.2m PVCs collected, says INEC

    Elections: 87.2m PVCs collected, says INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says a total of 87,209,007 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have been collected across the 36 States of the federation and the FCT.

    The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, revealed this in “The summary of registered voters and PVCs collected for 2023 general elections”, released to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.

    The number of collected PVCs, according to INEC, represents 93.3 per cent of 93,469,008 total registered voters.

    It also revealed that the total number of uncollected PVCs was 6,259,229, representing 6.7 per cent.

    The documents revealed that Lagos has the highest number of collected PVC with 6,214,970, follow by Kano with 5,594,193, Kaduna with 4,164,473 and Katsina with 3,459,945.

    Yakubu told the newsmen that the full details of the collected and uncollected PVCs per PU would be made available on the Commission’s portal.

    He assured that INEC is adequately prepared for the election, including delivery of logistics.

    “This election is a huge logistical deployment. We have painstakingly procured, organised and delivered all the materials to the states for deployment.

    “We commenced the delivery of non-sensitive materials over two months ago and they have been batched down to Registration Area/Ward and Pulling Unit levels.

    “Sensitive materials have been delivered to the states and are now being delivered to our Local Government Area offices.

    “As such, these materials are only between one and two levels away from the Polling Units.”

    He said that INEC achieved that by learning from its recent difficult experience with logistics.

    “We have completed arrangements with the transport unions for the final leg of the movement of personnel and materials to the Polling Units.

    “They have assured us of their readiness to provide all the vehicular needs of the Commission for the election.”

    He expressed satisfaction with security assurance from security agencies for the conduct of the elections.

    “In the build-up to the general election, several of our facilities were attacked by unknown assailants in various parts of the country.

    “I am pleased that we have fully recovered from those attacks, and we have been further assured that our facilities, staff, voters, observers, and citizens will be safe during the election,” Yakubu said.

    He also disclosed that INEC has printed 1,642,385 identification cards for political party agents, and have handed them over to parties for onward distribution.

    Yakubu also gave an update on its consultation with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the fuel situation and the fuel needed for transportation and its generators during the election.

    “We are pleased that the NNPC Limited assured us that it will ensure availability of the products for the polls.

    “Likewise, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured us that it will provide us with the small amount of cash we require from our budget for cash payment to some critical service providers for the election.

    “I must reiterate that the bulk of payment for works, goods and services are still paid for by electronic transfer.”

    Fielding questions from newsmen, Yakubu denied the insinuation that its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) could be preloaded.

    “There is nothing like preloaded BVAS. In fact the BVAS are configured to start working at 8.30am and to work within a range of time.”

    On the murdered Labour Party (LP) Senatorial Candidate for Enugu East, Enugu State, Oyibo Chukwu, Yakubu said the commission is yet to receive official communication from the party.

    “The law provides for countermanding the election for two weeks but as we speak INEC has not received any official notice to the death of the candidate.”

    He said that while INEC had adequate security measure in place to secure its portal, it would continue to fortify the website or portal against possible attack.

    Yakubu appealed to citizens to continue to be sensitive on what they post on election, especially the results.

    He advised those that may wish to peddle fake results or announce results before its declaration by the commission to respect the law which provides that only INEC has the power to announce election results.

  • We are yet to verify allegations of dumped PVCs in Nnewi forest – Police

    We are yet to verify allegations of dumped PVCs in Nnewi forest – Police

    The Anambra State Police Command said that it is yet to verify the authenticity or otherwise of the video clip on social media which alleged that some Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) were dumped in a forest in Nnewi community.

    This is contained in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the command DSP, Tochukwu Ikanga, and made available to newsmen in Awka on Wednesday.

    He said the command has not received any such complaint from the concerned authority and would do proper study of the video clip to ascertain its authenticity.

    He said the purported claim that a hunter found some PVCs in a forest at Nnewi would be professionally handled.

    He said that the state Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng Echeng, has ordered investigations into the video to unravel the circumstances surrounding the rumour and possibly arrest the suspects behind the Act.

    Therefore, he said, the command is constrained to make further comments on the matter pending full investigation.

    He assured that any development concerning the matter would be made public.

    The command appealed to residents to remain law abiding and report any suspicious character to the nearest police Station.

  • Nollywood actress, Angela Okorie reacts to video of thousands of PVCs found in dustbin

    Nollywood actress, Angela Okorie reacts to video of thousands of PVCs found in dustbin

    Nollywood actress, Angela Okorie, has lamented over a video shared online of how the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) of some citizens was trashed in a bin.

    The 2023 elections are just around the corner but sadly, a lot of people are yet to receive their PVCs. A video has popped up online revealing why a lot of people are yet to receive their PVCs.

    In the video, it could be seen that thousands of PVCs of people were dumped in the refuse by an unknown person. According to the man in the video, there were reports that some persons planned to discard the PVCs of people from the South Eastern part of Nigeria.
    Nollywood actress, Angela Okorie reacts to video of thousands of PVCs found in a bin

    Sharing the video on her page, Angela captioned it:

    “You see this our country Nigeria ?? Eee I don tire ??
    How can this be happening to us, who is doing this
    How can some1 be this wicked ??? just few days to
    Election some people can’t get hold of their Pvc
    This is pure wickedness ??????
    Nigerians Open your eyes O
    For those of you having yours with you don’t forget
    We are in this together, we have suffered too much as a country, we have come too far to fail now!!!!!
    Let’s make Nigeria Great again please am begging ?
    Do this for me and you ,for the future of our children
    Don’t sell your Vote , Do not collect bribe ooo
    Nothing is working in this country and is so so sad
    If we Vote same people causing us pain
    We are doomed ????”.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that in 2015, Angela won the best City People Entertainment Awards for Best Supporting Actress. She is also noted to have acted in more than 100 films between 2009 and 2014.

  • Just before the elections – By Dakuku Peterside

    Just before the elections – By Dakuku Peterside

    It is now a cliché that this election is a make-or-mar election for Nigeria. It is our way of saying this is a consequential election. The importance of this election has dawned on everyone, and unlike every other election before it, it is the first election post military era that the result is difficult to predict. There is a multiplicity of struggles between some simple and binary issues and some multifaceted issues. Some Nigerians are pitching this election as a contest between established orthodoxy since the current democratic dispensation in 1999 and the clamour for a new political order . Some are neither interested in any old nor new political order but want a political order that will solve the challenge of insecurity, poverty, unemployment and underemployment, and improve economic and social well-being .
    This group seems more result-oriented and endlessly analyses the presidential candidates to determine who is more likely to tackle the hydra- headed problems facing Nigeria, irrespective of whether he is of the orthodoxy or the new political order group.

    Unfortunately, because our electorate is still largely illiterate, some are transactional and mercantile about this election. For this group, this election is about buying and selling votes and maximising the total commercial value possible in the voting value chain in Nigeria. Against the background of Naira redesign policy or according to Progressive Governors, “Naira confiscation policy”,the contest of supremacy on this issue has shifted to the public space and Supreme Court . More fundamental is the fact that it is on the background of excruciating economic challenge that Nigerians will be making a choice in less than five days.

    About 74.72 million Nigerians who had collected their Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC), or 80% of 93.4 million registered voters, will on Saturday, 25th February head to the polling booths in what promises to be a pivotal moment for Nigeria. Elections will be held for National Assembly seats and the presidency, but all eyes are on the presidential ballot for good reasons. Whoever emerges victorious would have severe implications for the country’s future and Africa. Many people must have made up their minds about whom to vote for. They must have made this important decision based on numerous factors, some logical and noble, others primordial and sentimental and may be superstitious ignorance. This notwithstanding, performing the civic task of voting is essential to keep our democracy going. Nigerians are quite optimistic that this will be a comparatively free and fair election because of what INEC has put in place . We hope, too, that the best presidential candidate wins the election. However, what should be the priorities of the average voter as we go to the polls to elect the president?

    Nigeria has not had the best leadership, which impacts the country’s fragile state and citizens’ economic life. The Nigerian problem, at best, can be reduced to a leadership problem. The quality of leadership a country gets directly correlates with the quality of leaders it has. Leaders who selflessly serve the interest of their people, leading the country to a clearly defined vision that is tangible, measurable and specific. Nigeria needs a leader that will lay the foundation for harnessing the vast potential of Nigeria and push it to be among the top 10 economies in the world within the next few decades. A leader that stops our sliding into the abyss and reverses the trend to growth and prosperity that will improve the lives of every Nigerian. A leader of the people, voted by the people and is for the people. We need this leader, and we need it now!

    The first priority of the average voter is to identify who among the contending presidential candidates truly represent such a leader. Using their knowledge of each presidential candidate’s antecedents and prior experiences in leadership, voters can judge whom this presidential candidate is and vote for him based on their conscience.

    The second priority of the average voter is to identify and vote for a presidential candidate capable of addressing the most critical challenges confronting Nigeria as a nation. A significant challenge for voters is identifying a leader powered by vision and purpose . Nigeria seems directionless, and every effort made by existing and subsequent governments yielded less-than-expected results at best and negative impacts at worst. We need a leader that will define what kind of future our country will have. A leader that will provide clear direction for the country and galvanise everyone to share and work for that future. The question is who, not which party, can best guarantee the future we deserve.

    Therefore, before casting your vote, you must be sure that the candidate can envision a future for the country, that his vision of the future aligns with yours, and that he can start the country on the road to that great future. The questions every voter must consider are: what kind of future do I want for Nigeria? Does this align with that of the presidential candidate I want to vote for? Does the candidate have the qualities, character, knowledge, skills and experience to fulfil this dream? Your answer to these questions will guide you towards the right choice.

    The third crucial challenge for the presidential candidate is having the capacity to address the problem of disunity and lingering agitations of marginalisation and distrust among the various groups making up Nigeria. The candidate to vote for must be able to promote and strengthen our unity and nationhood. Presently, this election poses the most severe test of the unity of Nigeria. For the first time in this post-1999 democratic experiment, we have three major contenders for the presidency position, representing the three major ethnic groups and two major religious groups in Nigeria.

    Only a free, fair and credible election on Saturday will lay the foundation to douse the emotional sentimentalism that may ensue after the polls. The critical question is, who among the candidates can promote and strengthen our seemingly fragile unity? Who among them is a true Nigerian that will carry everyone along and challenge the pervading feelings of superiority or marginalisation by groups or sections of the country? The answer to this question is vital for voters to choose and vote for the next president.

    The fourth challenge is for the candidate to have the clarity of vision and proven capacity to address intractable insecurity, massive unemployment, fantastical corruption, and devastating multidimensional poverty. These challenges have been the bane of Nigeria since independence, and it seems to be getting worse by the day. A content analysis of the electoral promises of Nigerian leaders from independence until now reveals that these problems have been there all this while. Political leaders in different shades, regimes, and dispensations have promised to eradicate these ills but failed woefully. We need a leader that will surmount these seemingly insurmountable problems.

    Only then shall we make progress. We need a leader who understands the link between economic security and social security – one cannot exist without the other. Therefore, we need a leader who will improve our economy through good infrastructure, sound economic policies, a business-friendly environment, high productivity, and a stable, moral, and ethical social and judicial system that drives national progress. A voter must ask: who among the candidates can tackle, most radically and definitively, the four issues of insecurity, unemployment, corruption, and
    poverty?

    This election is the most technology based in Nigeria’s history. The need to deviate from the electoral malpractices of the past has led Nigeria to adopt the most modern electoral technology used in an election in democracies in the world. This is the first time in a presidential election in Nigeria that the BVAS and online transmission of result technology is adopted, and this has increased people’s hope for a transparent election with the future looking bright for credible elections. This hope has led many voters to believe their votes will count and therefore have power.

    This will likely lead to a high turnout for voting on Saturday. The body language and rhetoric of the president show that he is eager to leave a legacy of electoral transparency before he leaves office. This, too, is fuelling a quest for ownership of PVC and using it to vote in elections. It is noteworthy, too, that the president is championing moves to truncate any chances of buying the presidency and monetising the electoral process through vote buying or financial inducement to the INEC officials. This election, hopefully, will live up to its bidding of being the most accessible and fair election in Nigerian general election history.

    The international community expects a credible, free, and fair election. As one of the biggest democracies in the world, the outcome of Nigerian elections reverberates worldwide. A successful election in Nigeria will strengthen democracy in subsaharan Africa and serve as counterforce to the growing appetite for coups and unconstitutional means of changing government in the region. A crisis in Nigeria would have far reaching migration and refugee implications for the entire continent of Africa. We need credible and peaceful elections more than ever at these perilous times when global politics and alignments are shaky, especially given NATO – Russia, brouhaha .

    As voters perform their civic responsibility on Saturday, it is an opportunity to choose between different options, not only candidates but also what they represent versus what we want. It should not be about religion, region, ethnicity, and party but about the future of our country. The next president must have the capacity and character to change Nigeria for good. Your vote counts! Vote by vote, and election by election, we will rebuild Nigeria into the country of our
    dreams.

  • PVC, petrol and redesigned Naira as weapons for election 2023 – By Magnus Onyibe

    PVC, petrol and redesigned Naira as weapons for election 2023 – By Magnus Onyibe

    Forget the loud noises about who is more corrupt amongst the three leading contenders for the office of the president of Nigeria from 29 May -Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of All Progressives Congress,APC, Wazirin Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party,PDP and Mr Peter Obi of Labor Party,LP.

    Who is guilty or not of graft which was at one point in time occupying the left and center of the activities leading to one of the most consequential elections in the life of our beloved country,has now paled into nothing.

    In other words ,corruption as the lightning rod for election 2023 has been replaced by the scarcity of petrol, difficulty in obtaining Permanent Voters Card,PVC and hoarding of the redesigned naira which are the existential challenges that have been piling on each other and which have been keeping most Nigerians on queues to obtain for hours, days and even weeks on end.

    Without a tinge of doubt,the three (3) highlighted factors would be the deciding issues or elements for the 25 February and 11 March general elections.

    That is simply because they are the issues on top of the minds of practically all Nigerians,no matter their socioeconomic status.

    The aforementioned maladies afflicting the entirety of Nigerians started manifesting after October last year when the Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN announced its naira redesign initiative to replace some old denominations of the naira from 15 December and the Department of State Security Services,DSS attempted to arrest the governor,Mr Godwin Emefiele for alleged involvement in sponsoring terrorism, following the introduction of the redesigned notes in the middle of December.

    A high court judge in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Justice John Tshoho denied the DSS the arrest warrant that it sought and the governor of the apex financial regulatory authority went under ground where he was hibernating until the dust settled and he returned to work in January.

    Rather than be fazed and perhaps because the CBN governor had the full backing of President Mohammadu Buhari,swapping of the redesigned naira with the old remained a hot button issue.

    Before the siege on Emefiele was eased off, the chairman of lndependent Electoral Commission, INEC Professor Mahmoud Jega was also in hot water for alleged impropriety relating to the declaration of his assets when he was taking up the role. He was to be arrested but the same FCT high court judge gave him reprieve by ruling in his favor.

    So,once again tension rose and fell with regards to the conduct of the much anticipated 2023 general elections which comes up in a couple of weeks as Nigerians were gripped with anxiety on whether it would hold or not as many eligible voters scrambled get registered and receive Permanent Voters Cards, PVC.

    Remarkably, the managing director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,Mr Meele Kyari who is Incharge of importation and distribution of petroleum products in Nigeria which has been in short supply for the better part of the last two years is also one of the three (3) stress points causing the populace a lot of anguish as they struggle in queues to get the commodity,but he has not been in the eyes of the storm in the manner that Mr Emefiele and Professor Yakubu have been under siege.
    At least not from the Secret Police,but only from the motoring public that have been highly distressed and emasculated by the shortage of Premium Motor Spirit,PMS.

    And the very stressful and energy sapping queues in petrol stations were persisting up to the moment l was writing this piece. So,there is every likelihood that Nigerians would vent their anger on their oppressors with their votes on 25 February and 11 March election days.

    It is rather curious that elder statesman,Tanko Yakassi has been credited by the media to have called for the sack of the CBN governor for failing to ensure equitable supply and distribution of the redesigned naira by President Buhari.

    But he did not make a similar demand for the sack of NNPC’s group managing director,even when petrol scarcity had become perennial.

    The situation with petrol shortage is quite unlike the redesigned naira scarcity issue which is a challenge that has existed for barely one month.

    And the shortage is owing to the hoarding of the sum of money that the CBN had released into the system by banks and individuals who believe that there is not enough redesigned currency available which is a misinformation that fake news purveyors had peddled by claiming that only about N300 billion had been printed,whereas about N2 trillion had been mopped as at 31 January.

    That lie is what is further exacerbating the redesigned naira scarcity situation.

    Because those that already have some of the redesigned are not putting them back into the system to recirculate.

    Instead they are holding on to the cash tightly more so because withdrawals of cash from across bank counters have been reduced to as little as N20,000,which is far below what most people need.

    And to debunk the notion that not enough cash has been pushed into the economy,the CBN should do well to share with Nigerians the volume of the redesigned currencies that it has printed and the quantity that has been distributed to each of the banks.

    That would compel the Deposit Money Banks,DMBs to release the funds to the long suffering masses.
    Then each of the banks should in turn give Nigerians a break down of how they are redistributing the funds region by region,state by state and city by city through power point presentations.

    Once Nigerians believe that supply would match demand,the compulsive hoarding habit would abate.I can not understand why the CBN and banks are being timid instead of bullish and aggressive about it.

    These are critical times that call for patriotism,not profit making.

    If the CBN makes it clear that enough cash has been pushed into the system , as it is claiming,yet it seems not available as it should,then members of the public would realize that the redesigned cash is being hoarded by some politicians for sinister motives as being alleged in some quarters.

    The CBN needs to be tough in the manner that the apex financial institution encouraged banks to publish in the mass media the names of chronic bank debtors and the naming and shamming compelled some of the debtors to pay up.

    In like manner,if members of the public are aware of the amount that has been pumped into the banking system and believe it is sufficient,they would not engage in hoarding the currency in the manner that folks panic-buy petrol or any other commodity for that matter,when they suspect that the supply is inadequate.

    It may also reveal that the cash is in the hands of some unscrupulous politicians and shift the blame and anger from CBN and banks where the venom of the people is currently directed hence the masses are venting their spleen on infrastructure of banks.

    Now,returning to the comment by the elder statesman Yakassai demanding the sack of Emefiele as CBN governor, l would argue that it smacks of parochialism even as it tends towards being in the realms of prebendal politics driven by narrow ethnic sentiments.

    In any case,the presidency had responded rather sarcastically to the octogenarian’s un altruistic demand by stating that the elder statesman needs help.And I consider such snide remark distasteful.
    No matter how out-of-order they may be,we must not disrespect our elders by chiding them or being cheeky with them publicly, especially past leaders.

    ln my view,we can not ridicule our statesmen,but only correct their errors,while according them respect.

    It is saddening that it is the scenario of literally jumping into each other’s throat by political actors and purveyors of identity politics described above,is the new low that the politicization of the redesign of naira has dragged our country.

    In a piece titled: “Comparative Analysis Of Buhari and Tinubu Chatham House Presentations”first published in my column on 15 December last year and widely shared on other traditional and online media platforms,l compared President Buhari’s visit to Chatham house- a British foreign policy think tank-during the run up to the elections in 2014 to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s visit in December last year to the same Chatham House in preparation for the February 2023 general elections.

    One of the the significant differences that l had identified was that Buhari attended Chatham house after the elections were postponed by six (6) weeks and which gave him a bounce because it was assumed that the postponement was a desperate attempt by then PDP leadership to forestall Buhari’s imminent victory,while Tinubu was at Chatham house without the ugly event of postponement of 2023 elections,hence he failed to gain any momentum after the trip:

    “Given that the circumstances surrounding Tinubu’s Chatham House presentation compared to Buhari’s are different in the sense that the 2023 election date has not been shifted: instead, president Buhari has been emphatic that it is sacrosanct, just as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has also been exuding similar confidence by harping on the fact that elections must hold despite the attacks on INEC personnel and facilities; the outcomes of both Buhari and Tinubu Chatham House attendance had to also be distinct from each other”

    The assertion above was my opinion about three (3) months ago.

    But with the current strident calls for the postponement of 2023 general elections that are presently rending the air, it would appear as if l was hasty in my conclusion.

    That is if those calling for the postponement of the elections should have their way.

    However, l doubt if president Buhari would buckle by reversing himself on 2023 elections because conducting an untainted, credible and fair election for a new set of rulers presents the last opportunity for him to leave a significant and positive legacy.

    In my personal assessment, president Buhari appears resolute on doing the right thing.

    But as things currently stand,election 2023 is not only looking like some events that happened in 2015 may be re-enacted,the ghosts of 1993 also appear to be looming large in the horizon.

    And there are a plethora of reasons for the above assertions.

    A cursory look at recent history of politics and elections in our country would reveal the parallels between 1993,2015 and the unfolding political events in present election season.

    At least in terms of the current legal wrangling between the state and federal governments as well as the involvement of the judiciary in ways that could make or mar the 2023 general elections.

    We are all well aware of how after military president Ibrahim Babangida,lBB annulled 12 June 1993 elections adjudged to have been won by late MKO Abiola.

    Owing to the schisms that it precipitated,an interim government was instituted with Chief Ernest Shonekan, former chief executive officer of UAC – a British behemoth as the head.

    However,it only lasted for about ninety (90) days before then military secretary, General Sani Abacha , a veteran of several military coup detats, overthrew Chief Shonekan.

    The first to fly the kite for interim government in this dispensation is Chief Afe Babalola,the legal luminary and foremost educationist.

    He is the one who first mooted the idea of an interim government as far back as roughly one year ago.

    The legal Titan did so with the intention that it would facilitate the production of a people driven constitution that would be truly owned by Nigerians such that the first stanza of the constitution “We The People” would be correct both in letter and spirit.

    But the unworkability of the idea based on the reality that it would entail suspending the current constitution and dissolving a legitimately elected government which can only be achieved via a military coup detat rendered the idea inchoate, unattractive and implausible.

    Typical of how some odd occurrences could grow from quaint to mainstream,the hitherto lonely voice of Chief Afe Babalola that seemed like the mewing of a kitten from a distance has developed into the roar of a lion nearby.

    That is what might have prompted APC presidential flag bearer,Asiwaju Tinubu to raise the alarm to the effect that there are elements in the corridors of power that have sown the seed and having germinated are watering the Interim Government concept plant with the hope that it would become a tree and produce fruits soon.

    Right now legal fire work’s reminiscent of the sort filed and procured by the infamous Association of Better Nigeria ,ABN in 1993 to stall the elections that produced MKO Abiola have filled the political space.

    I had stated in a piece titled: “Why Were Heads Of CBN And INEC Under Siege By Security Agencies”published in my column in daily independent newspaper of 24 January 2023 and subsequently disseminated via other traditional and social media platforms that the dark clouds of 1993 is menacingly handing over our country. Below is how l had put it:

    “It also necessary to recall that after June 12,1993 elections,late Chief Arthur Nzeribe and a certain Abimbola Davies riding on a civil society platform known as Association for Better Nigeria,ABN,went to court with the intention of scuttling the process of transition from military to multi party democracy.

    “Based on the nefarious activities of ABN,civil rights and democracy advocate, Beko Randlsome-Kuti (of blessed memory) went to court to obtain an injunction against ABN that was allegedly engaged in subversive activities inimical to democracy.

    And ABN was then restrained by a court judgement issued by Justice Dolapo Akinsanya.
But,late Nzeribe and his group,two days before the election,approached a high court in Abuja headed by Justice Bassey Ikpeme, which granted them an order lifting the restraining restraint.
“The rest they say is history because the June June 1993 election that is believed to have been won by Moshood K.O Abiola of blessed memory degenerated into a debacle that has had a reverberating and highly consequential effect on our country some thirty (30) years ago.
Do we have a copy cat scenario of the events that happened to 1993 general elections in our hands ?”

    Events in these last few days to 25 February are increasingly appearing like dejavu encore to me as they bear too much resemblance to events leading up to 12 June 1993 national tragedy in a drip,drip, drip fashion.

    Meanwhile, some Governors from the APC stable had on 3rd day of February visited president Buhari in Aso Rock Villa to solicit for the lifting of the deadline of 10 February that the old naira notes would seize to be legal tender and the president had responded by telling them to give him seven(7) days to revert.

    Becoming impatient and taking advantage of the law that allows states having issues with the federal government to bypass the high court and appeal court routes and go straight to the Supreme Court,three(3) of APC governors-Kaduna,Kogi and Zamfara sued the federal government of Nigeria, FGN and CBN to the supreme court with the prayer that the apex court should bar the apex bank and government from enforcing the 10 February ban on the use of N1000, N500 and N200 notes as legal tender.

    And the apex court has given the order that both the plaintiffs and defendants should maintain status quo antebellum and come back for hearing on the 15th of February which is five(5) days past the deadline.

    What this means is that the plaintiffs may have succeeded in gaining five (5) more days in addition to the ten (10) days that president Buhari and Emefiele had granted after the expiration of the last deadline on 31 January.

    While the CJN has stated that the FGN would comply with the order, but CBN did not reverse its order that the old naira seizes to be legal tender from 10th of February. Technically, the CBN was not joined in the suit against the FGN for which the Supreme Court granted exparte order and the president who is constitutionally empowered to give the CBN governor orders,might not have done so,hence the situation is in a flux.

    As such,Nigerians are in a quandary on whether the old naira should be shunned or accepted after 10 February.

    Meanwhile, some state governors of the APC stock have threatened to arrest traders or individuals who fail to accept the old notes and a couple of them have even gone ahead to shut down supermarkets/department stores that fail to comply with their order.

    More chaos and anarchy seem imminent if the supremacy of the FGN over items in the exclusive list such as monetary matters under the purview of the CBN is not regained.

    What is very intriguing to me is that it is a case of APC against APC which is unprecedented and it reinforces the notion that the ruling party was just a contraption of ethnic and regional groups with opposing ideological leanings cobbled together to win the 2015 election without having a common ideology or philosophy. And till date the multiple legacy political groups have not blended into one and they are ferociously charging into election 2023 like wounded bulls ready to gore all the oxen that may stand on the way.

    With president Buhari on his way out on 29 May of which he has even set up a transition committee,the fault lines within the ruling party are falling into greater relief as the centrifugal forces that formed the 2013/14 /15 are pulling against each other.

    That validates my oft repeated suspicion that the ruling APC has not undergone,as it should,the entity creation stages of Forming,Storming,Norming and Performing as enunciated by Bruce Tuckman,the social scientist.

    Evidently,after the Forming stage which happened in 2013/14/15,the APC might have stopped at the Storming stage which is the next level after Forming.

    The Storming process manifested in the form of major upsets during the party’s primary elections in June last year wherein some northern governors did not accept the current senate president,Dr Ahmad Lawan as the northern consensus candidate as proposed by the party chairman, senator Abdulahi Adamu and national organizing secretary, Suleiman Arugungu acting on behalf of president Buhari who had earlier implored the governors to grant him the honor and privilege of choosing his successor.
    So,the Norming and Performing stages which are the 3rd and 4th levels are yet to be attained by the APC.

    As a sign that the party has not risen beyond puberty into maturity by blending into one party speaking with one voice,the governors did not oblige president Buhari his request which is why Asiwaju Tinubu is now the party’s flag bearer.

    And one wonders why the same governors that snubbed mr president by failing to oblige him a fervent request expect that he would accede to their request to halt the naira redesign initiative which they believe is inimical to their cause.

    Perhaps,that is why a bare knuckle fight between some APC states and FGN is currently afoot with all the gloves off.

    Against the backdrop of the forgoing,readers can discern why the irrepressible governor Nasir El Rufai of kaduna state pointed fingers at those who lost out in the party primaries as the masterminds of the naira demonetization exercise which he alleges as being ill timed and therefore a scheme aimed at making it impossible for the ruling party at the centre to win its re-election bid.

    It depends on how magnanimous president Buhari elects to be,the current turn of events appear to be payback time now that the tide is against those who ostensibly dishonored him by not letting him have his way in his choice of a successor.

    As a retired army general, the military dictum of no retreat, no surrender may galvanize President Buhari’s resolve to see his mission of naira redesign policy through without conceding defeat after losing out six (6) months ago to the governors during the party’s convention when the presidential standard bearer of the party was elected.

    As the popular aphorism goes: there is no smoke without fire.

    So, when PDP’s presidential campaign council mocks the APC presidential candidate that he is not enjoying the support of the incumbent president and the candidate Tinubu intermittently throws jabs at the presidency alleging that he is being sabotaged and which his handlers often try to walk back,readers now have an idea of the forces at play.

    With the parties struggling for the heart and soul of our beloved and beleaguered country,three striking agendas or outcomes are being pursued by the three leading parties and their candidates.

    These are:

    (1)Those canvassing for interim government with the hope that it would afford their camp enough time to consolidate on their current accomplishments in order to catch up with the big parties – APC and PDP that already have structures across the country and rich pedigree built over the past 23 years of the return of our country to multi party democracy since 1999.

    Chief Afe Babalola,the chief proponent of interim government is known to have expressed open support for Mr Peter Obi and LP. The biggest masquerade suspected to be pushing the interim government agenda in the shadows has also openly endorsed LP party’s candidate for president via an open letter to Nigerians, particularly the youth.

    And the LP presidential candidate himself has spoken in favor of the Naira redesign policy which he acknowledged as a good policy that is producing short term pains, but with potential long term gains.

    (2) With respect to those seeking the suspension of the naira redesign initiative until the 25 February and 11 March election are held and concluded,they are not making any bones about it.

    They are members of the faction of the ruling party that recently visited President Buhari in Aso Rock Villa seeking the extension of the redesigned naira swap with the old notes,at best till the end of 2023 and at worse,after the scheduled 15 February and 11 March federal and state governments elections.

    These are particularly those who voted for Asiwaju Tinubu as opposed to senate president Ahmad Lawan during the party primaries and who feel that the naira redesign policy that has restricted access to cash has wrecked their plans.

    However, from the president’s side,the redesigned naira shortage is a temporary discomfort to the masses which president Buhari is willing to stoically take responsibility for as a man of honor. And he has encouraged the masses to bear with him knowing that the temporary pain would transform into long term gain when the elections have been lost and won and politicians have no more need to hoard the redesigned notes.

    It is an ostensibly selfless attitude that president Buhari has adopted,but which his opponents within the party detest because they feel it is selfish,hence they have approached the courts to stop him.

    (3) The third prong of the triumvirate expectation is the main opposition PDP and its candidate Wazirin Atiku Abubakar that want the naira redesign policy of which president Buhari and CBN governor had already granted distressed Nigerians reprieve for ten (10) days to truly end on the 10th of this month which is contrary to the desire of a faction of the ruling APC that has been given legal backing by Supreme Court order compelling maintenance of status quo antebellum up to 15 February.

    The PDP supports the notion that discontinuing with the demonization of some denominations of the naira would enable politicians that have stashed up billions of naira as war chest have their way in either using the stashed up old currencies or hoarded redesigned notes in buying up votes and thus subvert the will of Nigerians,if both old naira and redesigned currencies are allowed to be used concurrently which is part of the rebellious governors prayer in the case that they filed in the Supreme Court.
    Even as the PDP empathizes with the suffering masses who are inconvenienced by the redesigned naira scarcity,the party’s presidential candidate Wazirin Atiku Abubakar has been pleading with Nigerians to endure the temporary hardships that they are currently grappling with due to the dearth of naira notes arising from its limited circulation.

    And he has assured the long suffering masses that their sacrifice would be a precursor to a better life ahead when the PDP becomes victorious at the polls on the 25th day of this month and 11th of next month.

    It is significant to note that thirteen (13) of the eighteen (18) registered political parties for the 2023 ballot have put the nation and electoral authorities on notice that they would boycott the elections if the naira redesign policy that renders the old currency as not being legal tender from 10 February is nullified or reversed.

    That is huge and l wonder if the threat is carried out would not diminish the authenticity of the elections.
    With the Supreme Court giving an interim order in favor of those against President Buhari’s naira redesign policy continuation,FGN and CBN or their agents must not proceed with the policy as the apex court has asked the parties to maintain status quo antebellum and come back for hearing on the 15th of this month.

    What this means is that the plaintiffs may have succeeded in gaining five (5) more days in addition to the ten (10) days that president Buhari and Emefiele had granted after the expiration of the last deadline on 31 January.

    With the Supreme Court ruling and FGN/CBN complying, would the thirteen (13) of the parties on the ballot carry out their threat of boycott?

    Given the implications of the Supreme Court order,powerful legal minds have jumped into the fray by offering their interpretations of the judgement from multiple perspectives which appear to be more than meets the eyes.

    Some aver that Federal Republic of Nigeria to which the relief sought by the rebellious governors applys,is not the same as Federal Government of Nigeria,FGN to which the CBN is an agency and which the judgement does not apply since it is distinct from the federal republic of Nigeria.

    And others argue that not complying with the law would amount to contempt of the court which would be interpreted as the federal government denigrating and undermining the judiciary which would be an invitation to anarchy.

    The Attorney General of Federation, Abubakar Malami who has briefed lawyers to defend FGN by filing preliminary objections,has added that he is studying the Supreme Court judgement of which another hearing is scheduled for 15 February-five (5) days after the 10 February deadline.

    One striking thing that the drama with APC has revealed in the past couple of weeks is that it is not only PDP that has a divided house in this election season as it had appeared to be via the activities of the rebellious five(5) governors famously known as G-5 (who l like to refer to as Famous Furious Five) that have been causing prickly heat for the main opposition party by not decamping,but remaining in the party like a tsetse fly perched on a scrotum that can not be smashed due to the risk of crushing the scrotum in the process.

    Recent conflicts within the ruling APC have revealed that activities inside the ruling party indeed epitomize “Fuji House of Commotion’ a popular situation comedy that used to be on national television featuring a family that on a daily basis thrives on calamity with catastrophic consequences.

    So,APC is also in disarray as the presidential candidate’s campaign council and some governors from its platform have been acting as an opposition party by disparaging the misery contents of the incumbent government’s policies and programs such as outrageous petrol pump price and its scarcity,skyrocketed naira / dollar exchange rate and some naira denominations redesign and demonetization resulting in starving the economy of cash amongst others causing Nigerians unprecedented hardships.

    One great opportunity for the PDP which it must not fail to harness is the fact that thirteen (13) registered political parties have spoken with one voice against changing the 10 February date for the use of the old currency notes which is in tandem with PDP’s Point of View, PoV.

    That means both the 13 parties and PDP have a common ground for negotiations towards entering into some form of partnership with the PDP to produce the next president of Nigeria in the person of Wazirin Atiku Abubakar in exchange for roles in the federal government if or when the election is won.

    Such an arrangement is not unprecedented.

    Even Mr Benjamin Netanyahu,a reincarnated prime minister of Israel had to enter into unholy but strategic alliances with fringe parties,some of which have diametrically opposing philosophy or ideology,just to clinch victory.

    By the same token,Mr Luiz Lula Da Silva also a former president of Brazil also recently returned to power by beating incumbent Jair Bosinaro after it formed strategic partnerships with strange bed fellows.

    The aforementioned critical maneuverings are not so much different from the path that APC took to victory in 2015 by stringing opposition parties together to form one party formidable enough to dethrone then ruling PDP.

    So,Wazirin Atiku Abubakar and PDP should set up a task force to accomplish that mission without further delay.

    The tendency for the fringe parties to prefer to join PDP based on the fact that it is more on solid ground than APC that is on sinking sand and LP whose head is still in the clouds is a positive factor and motivation for PDP to act fast.

    And l have had cause in the past to liken the ruling APC and incumbent central government to the hilarious comedy show ‘Fuji House Of Commotion’.

    And that assessment is just being further validated by the current chaotic atmosphere within the APC stirred up by its rebellious governors that did not only label elements within the presidency as saboteur,but have also sued the APC led federal government to court underscoring the theater of the absurd status which our beloved country has degenerated into.

    As l had predicted in previous media engagements,arising from the incongruities playing out and the financial scandals swirling around our country,there has been a gale of downgrading of the financial rating of our country and banks by Fitch and Moodys global rating agencies.

    And better or worse ratings would follow depending on the integrity and outcome of the elections when they are concluded on 25 February and 11 march all of which are within the first quarter of the new year.

    In light of the state of organized chaos into which our country has descended, especially in the last one year,the next president of Nigeria that is likely to be Wazirin Atiku Abubakar of PDP who is poised to garner the required 25% in 24 states of the federation after the first ballot,(despite LP’s forays in the south east and south south as well as NNPP’s influence in Kano and Jigawa states) should be ready to manage the socioeconomic and political crisis that have assumed gargantuan proportions which he would be inheriting.

    One question that an Abuja based socialite Mr Terry Wiya recently posed to me in curiosity is: why are APC governors crying loudest since the naira redesign policy equally affects Peter Obi of LP, Musa Kwakwanso of NNPP , Atiku Abubakar of PDP and indeed all the 18 registered political parties?
    Is it because the introduction of the redesigned naira has disrupted, disorganized and upended what they had planned to do with the cash that they had stashed up with the plan to deploy same in vote buying,but now the cash must go into the banking system as it would seize to be legal tender after the deadline thus making it impossible to carry out their nefarious intentions as being speculated in the media?

    I have no answer to the question because l am also in quandary and bewilderment.

    Now, the earlier cited visit by APC governors to president Buhari in Aso Rock Villa on the 3rd day of February and their subsequent suing of the president and FGN to the Supreme Court over the discontinuation of the use of old naira notes and it’s replacement with the redesigned naira notes might have earned those rooting for the old notes not to seize being legal tender additional five (5) days to change their old naira war chest into the redesigned notes based on supreme court’s directive that all the parties should hold their peace and let all things remain the same till 15 February when the case would be heard.

    But the integrity of 2023 election may be in jeopardy if indeed huge amounts of cash get into the hands of the politicians who may be planning to engage in vote buying as being alleged.

    And as l was wrapping up this piece,someone sent me the amazing and striking social media post below which l have reproduced here in its original format:

    “Twitter ban,- No APC governor visited PMB.
    High inflation,- No APC governor visited PMB.
    Kidnapping,- No APC governor visited PMB.
    Killings,-No APC governor visited PMB
    Fuel scarcity,-No APC Governor visited PMB.
    8Months ASUU strick No Gov.visited PMB.

    APC Governors can only appear to meet PMB when their interests are threatened.”
    Dear readers,what else can l say than “ beware of the ides of March” while advising you to draw your own conclusions.

     

    ONYIBE, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst ,author, development strategist, alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from lagos.
    To continue with this conversation, pls visit www.magnum.ng