Ekiti crisis: Arrest, prosecute Fayose now – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Ekiti State Governor-elect, Mr. Ayodele Fayose for  allegedly leading  thugs to beat up a Judge and then instigating his supporters to attack and burn down the opposition’s secretariat in the state.

In a statement in Lagos, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,  said since Mr. Fayose does not yet enjoy any immunity from arrest and prosecution, he should immediately be arrested over  ”the dastardly and barbaric attack, which represents an attack on justice and on the rule of law, and the violence that has gripped the state.”

The party  said every time a judge is  attacked anywhere in the world, the attackers have been jailed to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to take the laws into their hands, adding: ‘’The case of the thuggish Fayose should not be different.’’

APC said it is particularly  necessary to act fast to prevent anarchists and crude individuals from taking the laws into their hands and tampering with the administration of justice, especially because the attack on Justice John Adeyeye came a few days after pro-Fayose and pro-PDP thugs invaded a courtroom in the state and beat up litigants, among others.

It said the clear message being sent out by the PDP is that it is ready to resort to self help to capture and govern any state, especially in the South-West where the PDP’s desperation has forced it to put forward reprobates as governorship candidates.

‘’Even though Mr. Fayose has not assumed office, he has succeeded in taking Ekiti State back to Egypt within a few months of his ‘election’. Not only are judges being attacked, the kind of killings and chaos that characterised his first time in charge of the state have already started. He is struggling hard to ensure that Ekiti is no longer in the league of states where disputes are settled in courts, instead of on the streets, and judges preside in the administration of justice.

‘’The disgusting attacks on the administration of justice in Ekiti has shown the truism in the aphorism ‘show me your friends and I will tell you who you are’. Nigerians now know the company the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan keep and what the party  and the President truly are.

“The Fayose that is leading thugs to attack a Judge in Ekiti is the same man that President Goodluck Jonathan, as the leader of the PDP, heartily campaigned for. He is the same man who has called himself the overall leader of the PDP in the South-West. He is the same man who has gone on television to justify the court attack. Indeed, a leopard really cannot change its spots.”

The APC said while Ekiti State Police Commissioner Taiwo Lakanu did well by rushing to the venue to help restore order after the Judge had been beaten up on Thursday, the overall role of the police in the two attacks was shameful.

It said: “According to published reports which have yet to be refuted, police personnel stood by while litigants, lawyers and other citizens were being mauled by rabid PDP thugs in the first attack, and again seemed powerless as Justice Adeyeye was being manhandled and his suit torn until the Police Commissioner arrived at the scene. If this is not an act of collusion, then it is a case of unacceptable gross incompetence for which those security agents must be brought to book.

‘’If the police are no longer willing and able to carry out their constitutional duties of protecting the lives and property of the citizenry, then anarchy looms.’’

It said Nigerians must brace up for a hellish time in the hands of the PDP from now on till next year’s general elections, considering that the party’s thugs are also alleged to have killed several people in Lagos recently after a PDP rally attended by President Jonathan.

‘’During his recent trip to New York, President Jonathan assured the international community that next year’s elections will be conducted in accordance with global best practices. Well, it is now clear that the President’s assurances are not worth the paper on which they were written, going by the actions of his party members. Global best practices do not include beating up Judges, lawyers and litigants!

‘’How can elections be free, fair and transparent in a lawless society? How can elections be credible when policemen are taking sides with the ruling party? How can elections be violence-free when candidates being put forward by the ruling party are ready to engage in jungle justice? We can only call on the international community to maintain a keen interest in events in Nigeria in the days and weeks ahead, if only to show the ruling PDP for what it truly is: an enclave of anarchists and dead-enders!’’

Ogun deputy governor dumps APC?

INDICATIONS emerged on Friday that the Ogun State deputy governor, Prince Segun Adesegun and some members of the National Assembly have dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for a political group, the Action Group of Nigeria (AGN).

Saturday Tribune reliably gathered that Adesegun was at the senatorial meetings of the new party held in Ogun East and Ogun Central on Wednesday and Thursday.

Adesegun, who is a loyalist of a former governor of the state, Chief Olusegun Osoba, had been absent from the governor’s ongoing visits to council areas in the state except the visit to Imeko-Afon Local Government Area.

A source told Saturday Tribune in confidence that while Governor Ibikunle Amosun was on the tour of Ikenne and Ijebu North council areas, his deputy and factional members of the APC loyal to Osoba, under the aegis of “Matagbamole Group” were in a meeting at a location in the state.

The APC in the state had been divided over a leadership tussle between Amosun and Osoba which resulted in each side conducting parallel primaries during the last primaries of the party across the country.

At the Ogun East senatorial meeting, held in Ijebu-Ode, the deputy governor reportedly urged members of the group to hold fast to their beliefs.

Although the National Assembly members from the senatorial district were not physically present at the meeting, they reportedly sent words to the gathering.

This development is coming two weeks after one of Amosun’s aide, Mrs Abimbola Lanre-Balogun, defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Saturday Tribune learnt that the new party would be holding meetings at the local government level from today till next weekend while the formal inauguration of the party has been scheduled for after the Eid el-Kabir festival.

Speaking on the development, Senator Sefiu Adegbenga Kaka, said members of the pressure group, “Matagbamole Group,” were members of the political association, urging its members to await further directives from the leaders before the end of the month.

Culled from: Tribune Newspaper

TERRORISM: 400 Nigerian security operatives arrive Russia for special forces training

A team of 400 Nigerian security personnel have left the Federal Capital, Abuja for Russia where they are being trained as Special Forces to beef up the country’s fight against terrorism

The team made up of members of the Armed Forces, Police and Department of State Services left Abuja Sunday evening

It was gathered that the security personnel left the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in a chattered aircraft at about 5pm and were accompanied by Nigeria Security officers as well as Russian instructors who had been in the country to be part of the initial selection process of the men and officers that would take part in the training, according to report from Vanguard

Following the dithering of western Nations especially Britain and the United States of America to train Nigerian security personnel to confront the Boko Haram terrorist group, government decided to turn to Russia to meet some of its immediate security needs pending the resolution of the diplomatic difference amongst them.

It was learnt that the latest group of Nigerian security personnel are joining three batches of their colleagues who had earlier left for Russia for the training earlier this year.

The last group would be in Russia for four months before they return to Nigeria early next year to form a nucleus of Special Forces brigade that is to be set up by Nigerian armed forces and other security forces.

Culled from: today.ng

Lagos institutes coroner’s inquest into collapsed Synagouge building

The Lagos state government has appointed a coroner to make inquest into the circumstances that led to the collapse of a six storey hostel building at Synagouge Church of all Nations, Ikotun, Lagos.

The Coroner in this case is Magistrate O. A. Komolafe, who also sat as Coroner in the Dana Air crash case.

The state government instituted the Coroner’s inquest under the Lagos State Coroner’s System Law No. 7 of 2007.

It was instituted for the purpose of establishing the cause and manner of the recent incident of a collapsed building within the premises of the Synagogue Church of All Nations at Ikotun Egbe, Lagos and the several deaths that followed.

A total of 115 persons, majorly South Africans, allegedly died in the September 12, 2014 collapsed building.

A statement issued yesterday by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, said the inquest will hold at the premises of the High Court of Lagos State, Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja.

The statement said the inquest was instigated by Ipaye under section 15 of the Coroner Law which provides that a Coroner shall hold an inquest whenever he is informed that the death of a deceased person lying within his Coroner District was as a result of a violent, unnatural or suspicious occurrence.

Ipaye emphasised that the Coroner has extensive powers to investigate the cause and circumstances of death and bring his findings and recommendations to the attention of appropriate authorities.

“In doing this, he has all the powers of a magistrate to summon and compel the attendance of witnesses, including medical examiners, and require them to give evidence, produce documents or present other relevant materials.

“The law requires the verdict of a Coroner as certified in writing to be forwarded to the State Attorney General and such verdict may form the basis of criminal prosecutions depending on the evidence collected.”

The statement added that the Coroner is expected to announce his sitting and visitation schedules and other details soon.

Meanwhile the state government has called on family members of victims of the collapsed building to submit samples that can aid forensic identification and DNA analysis of recovered bodies.

State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, made the call yesterday, saying that the government had commenced the identification of recovered bodies from the collapsed building site.

He explained that the government considered it necessary to start forensic identification and DNA analysis of the recovered bodies in view of the need to identify each of them.

Idris appealed to family members, especially parents, children and siblings of nationals who believe their relations could have been in the collapsed building, to visit the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja from Friday September 26, 2014 to submit samples that can aid the forensic identification and DNA analysis of recovered bodies.

The Commissioner noted, however, that those eligible to give samples for the forensic identification and DNA analysis in order of preference include parents, children and siblings of the deceased.

Jonathan greets Oyedepo at 60

President Goodluck Jonathan has hailed the Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo for his accomplishments as a devoted servant of God and immense contributions to the education of Nigerian children.

In a letter congratulating Bishop Oyedepo  on his 60th birthday anniversary on  Saturday, September 27, 2014, President Jonathan declared that Bishop Oyedepo’s life was “truly worthy of celebration”.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the letter reads: “I write on behalf of my family, the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to rejoice with you as you mark your milestone 60th birthday anniversary.”

“Yours is, indeed, a life truly worthy of celebration. You have attained lofty heights not just as an accomplished selfless servant of God, but also in the committed service of community, country, and our common humanity.”

“You have not only committed to giving your all in pursuit of the massively impactful propagation of the Word, you have also embraced the cause of providing quality education for our children.”

“As Almighty God continues to bless you with robust health and many more years of happiness, uncommon accomplishment, and fulfilling service, it is my prayer that you will continue to partner with us in our quest to reposition Nigeria for peace, progress and prosperity,” Jonathan stated

Clark Urges PDP to Ignore Petitions against Jonathan’s Endorsement

Ijaw leader and former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin Clark, yesterday urged the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to ignore the petitions written against the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s sole presidential candidate for the February 14, 2015, presidential election.

A former PDP presidential aspirant from Adamawa State, Umar Ardo, had sent a petition to the PDP leadership urging it to reverse the endorsement of Jonathan because of what he described as “its obvious illegality.”

Ardo had also contended that Jonathan was not fit to seek re-election because he had been sworn in as president twice in the past, adding that: “If the president contests and wins another four-year term in 2015, he would have self-succeeded himself as president for a cumulative period of nine years and 23 days”

But Clark, in an open letter addressed to the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji  Adamu Mu’azu, titled: ‘Umar Ardo’s false representation of law and facts bears no relevance to President Jonathan’s re-election in 2015,’ called on all organs of the party to ignore the petition.
He said: “The PDP national chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, the NWC, PDP Governors’ Forum, stakeholders and the public should discountenance Ardo’s letter because it is ill-motivated and sponsored by PDP detractors who mean harm and would stop at nothing to heat up the polity unnecessarily and in fact even derail our growing democracy.

“For a man who claims to be a PDP stakeholder to deliberately throw spanner in the works showcases him more like an evil wind that blows no one any good.  Ardo is sounding the trumpet of detractors, who are bent on aborting the baby, just before the hour of delivery.

“At this point, what is required of every PDP stakeholder is a comeraderie bonding of fellowship that will see our great party to victory in the 2015 general election.

“All stakeholders must therefore close ranks and work assiduously to move the party to its zenith and era glory,” Clark added.

THISDAY

MUTE VOICE OF THE BAYELSA YOUTHS – By Yebufura Abanze Tonbara

“Some House of Assembly members spend 8yrs in office with no constituency project and sponsored bill to their name to better the life of their constituents, Local Government chairmen now solely rely on the state government to develop their locales when it’s their constitutional mandate to do so notwithstanding the fact that they receive hundreds of millions every month as allocation from the FG.”

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As youths of this great state we share chunk of the blame of problems bewildering us as a people.

I know life can be hard as a student with limited finance and logistics most especially when the month is about to end and OWI (hunger, lack and want) sets in at a very high pedestal, you have no choice but to do anything to survive and that leads us to the crux of this write-up.

Politicians and their minions from different political affiliations approach students before and during elections to solicit for help through any means possible. For example they load students in buses to different destinations just to make them partake it electoral crimes to skew the elections to their advantage, some even pay these students to venture into violence related activities just to gain ground at the end they (students) are been remunerated with peanuts.

Nevertheless, students take these monies with the understanding that it’s their money and can help solve a lot of problems for them not minding the grave consequences awaiting them in the future.

Some House of Assembly members spend 8yrs in office with no constituency project and sponsored bill to their name to better the life of their constituents, Local Government chairmen now solely rely on the state government to develop their locales when it’s their constitutional mandate to do so notwithstanding the fact that they receive hundreds of millions every month as allocation from the FG.

Little wonder, why youths can’t fearlessly confront, stand up or petition political office holders for poor performance in office. This is because they’ve soiled their hands and eaten away their welfare and development.

At present politicians now see rendering service and providing basic amenities to their people as a privilege rather than their constitutional duty to do so.

A politician builds shabby roads, clinics, schools, etc and politicizes it, but people can hardly comprehend that the politician is not doing them any favour by using their money for them but just because he has impoverish them to the extent that they can’t differentiate between a right and privilege.

At this juncture I make bold to declare that as a student I’ve at no time collected a dime from any politician to skew the electoral process or involved myself in electoral violence despite the fact that I’ve been constantly approached by my fellow students to partake in such anti-developmental act.

I rather drink garri or starve than collect N2,000 to N3,000 and then lose my voice and freedom of expression to challenge a politician who  feeds fat from our common wealth.

Bayelsa youths wake up, for how long are we going to continue like this?

#sufferation

Yebufura Abanze Tonbara is a Niger Delta based Public Affairs Commentator who tweets via @tonbara99

THE IMPERATIVE OF BUILDING LOCAL INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY – By Fortune God’sSon Alfred

“One of the most important components of Military Preparedness is self-sufficiency in the supply of your Military’s weaponry. Thus, until Nigeria develops its own Military Industrial Complex/ Capacity, we will continue to surreptitiously fly live Hard currencies in Jets and subject ourselves to humiliation and embarrassments from countries like South Africa that once looked up to us with admiration and awe. But then, you can’t blame the South Africans for protecting their National Interest.”

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So I hear and read somewhere that the US is stopping Nigeria from acquiring (wrong diction) BUYING certain choice military hardware such as the Chinook, which is said to be a versatile and reliable American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter produced by Boeing.

Boohoo! Am I supposed to be mad at the US for stopping Nigeria from getting its product from Israel? Never that! We should suck it in and sulk elsewhere, because FGA does not give a flying hoot about the whining of the Federal Government and other Nigerians about this. “Why? We thought you are a supporter of the Federal Government.” Someone would ask.

Well, yeah, I am a patriotic citizen who hates Terrorists of all forms and want the FG to crush them using all means possibly, legally or otherwise. Yet, I don’t see any reason why over 50 years of Political Independence, we still depend on other states for almost (if not ALL) our Weapons.

If we were producing our weapons at home, would we have to go through the humiliation of a fellow sovereign state playing House Prefect over us? Can the US do same to Brazil, Pakistan, Iran or India?

One of the most important components of Military Preparedness is self-sufficiency in the supply of your Military’s weaponry. Thus, until Nigeria develops its own Military Industrial Complex/ Capacity, we will continue to surreptitiously fly live Hard currencies in Jets and subject ourselves to humiliation and embarrassments from countries like South Africa that once looked up to us with admiration and awe. But then, you can’t blame the South Africans for protecting their National Interest.

Is anyone blocking North Korea from owning any missile of its choice? No! They make what they want even at the risk of a crippled economy.

In Balance of Power Politics, your ability to independently own instruments of deterrence is vital. So if Nigeria wants to be taken seriously in the comity of States, we must start producing some of the things we need for our defense. It is conventional wisdom that a wise medicine man will not sell you a charm that has the potential of destroying him. The US is such a Medicine man.

Nigeria is blessed with vast HUMAN and Material resources. So we will not lack the right manpower to achieve this dream -Self-Reliance in Weaponry – if only it is part of the Nigerian Dream in the first instance.

Already, we have local people producing local arms. If we truly want to be self-sufficient in this area, we can do it.  However, our history has shown that most times, those in positions of Authority prefer to import everything (due to the personal gains they would get therefrom) and kill local industry, rather than spur local production, job creation and stop Capital flight. If not, why would Nigerian Governments be importing Korean and Japanese Cars for their Phantom Transport Schemes, when there is Inoson Motor in Nigeria?

They fear that given that Inoson is Nigerian, they cannot steal from Custom Duties and many other hidden charges that inflate the prices of those vehicles. They also fear that if they buy from within Nigeria, somehow, someday, someone who knows someone may know someone that knows someone that knows how much the cars actually cost.

Thus, My State Government from the Days of Governor Jonathan to the present have continued to buy imported cars for Taxis that soon vanish from the few tarred roads of Yenagoa.

It would interest my readers to know that the last set of Cabs that were bought in my state were Kia and Hyundai Salon cars. Yet, the heads of the State owned College of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Health Technologies, School of Nursing etc do not have any Official cars. Well, let’s move on, the state of the educational sector in Bayelsa State and Nigeria in general will be addressed in a different piece at a different time.

One thing “Kpo-Fire” – Illegal bunkering and illegal Refineries in the Niger Delta – has inadvertently exposed is the ingenuity and industry of the Nigerian mind, when driven by Profit motive.

For years, we were told that Refining Petroleum Product is Rocket Science. So from the days of General Abacha we started shipping out our raw Crude to refine in other countries and return with only 3 to 4 of the derivatives, namely: Premium Motor Spirit, Diesel, Kerosene and perhaps Jet Fuel. It was this same process that lead to the subsidy regime that has become a mammoth of Corruption in its own right.

Yet in a short while of ‘criminal ingenuity’ so many Illegal Refineries that do not need constant Turn Around Maintenance (TAM, please not David-West) sprung up in the creeks of the Niger Delta.

What has been the Government’s response to this? “Fire on the hole!!” Burn Baby burn!!!

In a sane society, the good aspects of the “Kpo-fire” industry would have been harnessed for National Development. If the so called criminals could construct refineries (call them crude if you may) that the NNPC, with all its Engineers with big titles had not done in all its years of existence without Foreign support, then shouldn’t simple common sense tell us to keep, study and improve on them?

If the events that followed the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Nigeria has any lesson to teach us, it should be the lessons that : 1. We are on our own when disaster strikes; and 2. When Nigerians get serious and get our acts together, we get the job done.

If we had persisted in our entitlement and victim mentality, folded our hands, expecting the world to come to our aid during this EVD crisis, we would have perished and Nigeria would have been a huge market for the Pharmaceutical firms producing Ebola drugs. In fact, by now, after milking Nigeria, they would have come back to give us a little crumb and act like they are being charitable towards us. Nobody owes us anything. We must arise and start finding local solutions to our local problems.

This is the same attitude we have to extend to our Awka Made Gun Manufacturers. We cannot continue to fight on borrowed or hired guns and expect to become a global power.

The best time to start the change towards self-reliance and the emancipation from embarrassments and international harassment is now. Let’s do it.

Fortune God’sSon Alfred is a Public Policy Analyst who tweets via @ElMagnificento1

He can be reached via godsson1752@gmail.com

Catholic Church Denies Repot Indicting Oritsejafor

The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) yesterday distanced itself and the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama from reports that the Catholic Church had indicted President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor over the $9.3 million linked to the aborted arms deal.

In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, the church stated that there was no time, Archbishop Kaigama made any allusion suggesting that Oritsejafor was culpable.
The statement signed by the Director of Communication, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Rev. Fr Chris Anyanwu observed that “our attention has been drawn to the reports in some online  editions of some newspapers such as the Daily Post, Daily Trust,  New Telegraph and the Guardian  with misleading headlines, posted  on Thursday 25th September 2014,  and suggesting that Most Rev. Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) accused Pastor Ayo Ortistejafor of denting the image of the Christian Association  of Nigeria over the case of the  jet that was found with $9.3milion  allegedly owned by the CAN President.

“The said report is not only false and malicious but a calculated attempt to further sow the seed of disharmony between Catholics and the leadership of CAN. While we disassociate ourselves from the newspaper reports, it is important to put the records in the right perspective.
“Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama granted an interview with the Hausa BBC Service in Kaduna in which he condemned money laundering”.

While quoting Kaigama,  Anyanwu maintained that what the CBCN president said was that “the relevant authorities  in Nigeria ought to investigate  the issue of the $9.3million arms deals saga dispassionately and ensure that those found guilty of money laundering be punished according to the provision of the existing law of our land against money laundering. “He never, in the said interview, cast any aspersion on the person of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
“Reporters who monitored the said interview in Hausa BBC Service totally misrepresented the Archbishop by misquoting him. Knowing the person of Archbishop Kaigama as a man who is committed to ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, there is no way he can make such an inflammatory statement against the leadership of CAN which is capable of causing dissections among the CAN family”.

According to Anyanwu, “it looks like some people have problems with the person of Pastor Oritsejafor and wanted, as the saying goes ‘to borrow the mouth of Archbishop Kaigama to chop their onions’. It appears that some people are hell-bent on setting the Catholic Church against the rest of CAN. Some want to use unfortunate situations to promote their fortunes. Yes the Catholic Bishops did in the past make their observations about how CAN could be run better not with the intention to discredit the body so that things could be corrected fraternally, but there were screaming headlines which tended to put the Catholic Church in negative light. This is happening again.”
He stressed that “all that Archbishop Kaigama said about the $9.3m saga was that the matter should be investigated in depth to avoid insinuations, psychological projections and unhealthy rumours and gossips. A transcription of his interview will reveal that the words attributed to him were a figment of somebody’s imagination.

“He said nothing about Pastor Ayo hobnobbing with Mr President or dragging CAN to the mud; neither did he mention the pastor’s name or Mr. President. Pastor Oritsejafor has in the mean time very clearly and convincingly explained his own side of the story in a phone conversation with Archbishop Kaigama and Pastor Oritsejafor is to be presumed innocent unless found otherwise.
“We are indeed embarrassed at the monumental scale of misrepresentations in the said reports. What we expect from Journalists is genuine reports based on truth and facts, which ought to promote public trust and confidence.
“A hall mark of responsible journalism is that reporters ought to cross-check their facts before publishing them whereas reports based on falsehood, rumours and preconceived ideas such as this, are not only malicious but a calculated attempt to strain the good relationship between the Catholic Church and the leadership of CAN.

“There is a poison of deliberate misinformation in the air, deadlier than the Ebola virus disease. This may be a symptom of how forthcoming political events may be handled in the media. Some persons want to at all cost, see the North and the South, Christians and Muslims fight.
Anyanwu concluded that “no matter how hard our detractors may try, they will not succeed. As leaders of the Catholic Church, we shall continue to be objective in our assessment of the situation in the country and endeavour to edify by our comments and actions and not to destroy. This is because we believe that we are one people and one nation. God bless our beloved country Nigeria.”

Buhari to Declare for Presidency October 8

Barely four days after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar publicly declared his intention to contest for the 2015  presidency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), another leading figure in the party and former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari (retired), has also fixed October 8 for his declaration.

However, Abdulmumini Jibrin (APC Kano) in the House of Representatives yesterday warned that taking cue from a statement credited to Buhari in 2011, that he would not contest any elective position again.

Jibrin said Buhari should respect his words and allow other contenders to gun for the presidency in 2015.”

THISDAY gathered from a reliable source that the former Head of State and his supporters have drawn up an elaborate programme for the launch of his presidential bid which would begin with the public presentation at the Eagle Square, Abuja on October 8.

The plan for Buhari’s formal declaration for presidency came on the heels of the approval of the time table for party primaries and fee for nomination forms by APC’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

The NEC  meeting which preceded a late night meeting of leaders led by former Lagos state governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had amongst other decisions, agreed to peg fees for nomination
forms for the presidential and governorship tickets at N25 million and N10 million respectively.

Also yesterday, the party expressed deep concern over the eruption of violence in Ekiti State which resulted in an attack on a Judge and demanded for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Governor-elect Ayodele Fayose.

While speaking to Journalists shortly after the NEC meeting, the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun said the party was excited over the level of interest generated by those wishing to compete for APC presidential ticket.

“As far as the party is concerned, the more, the merrier because they help in the process of membership mobilisation, particularly when they are from different parts of the country. And we have not put any geographical barriers as to who becomes our presidential candidate. We hope to seize the political space when the candidates come out and this will happen almost weakly from now,” he said.

On whether the APC may consider adopting a zoning arrangement, Oyegun said the party was seeking for the best candidate and as such has decided to  throw the contest  open to all contenders from any parts of country.

He said it was left for Nigerians to decide where their votes will go during the next year’s general election.

“No, we are not zoning; we want the best to come from every part of the country. The person who puts food on your table is your brother while the person who is depriving you of food, you will not just say because he is your brother that you will keep voting for him,” he said.

The chairman also said the party was set for the Adamawa by-election, except for the legal tussle going on brought up by the sacked deputy governor who is laying claim to the right to occupy the governorship.

Jibrin opined that instead of the former Head of State heeding the persuasion of his supporters to seek the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he should cede the turf to a host of worthy successors like the incumbent governors of Rivers, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; Edo, Adams Oshiomhole; Lagos, Babatunde Fashola; Imo, Rochas Okorocha and Kano, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

“I believe that we have to be honest with ourselves on the issue of Buhari’s’s aspiration to be president. Perhaps, that has been the challenge of the North. I have an inner conviction about what I am saying.

“My message to him is that he should play that tape of 2011 where he said he won’t contest again…so, the issue of his supporters bringing him back does not arise,” Jibrin said.

THISDAY