The former National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki has been charged to court by the Department of State Security Services (DSS), over offenses related to illegal possession of fire arms.
A statement by the DSS today issued by Tony Opuiyo said that after searching Dasuki’s houses on July 16, 2015, its men discovered large cache of arms and ammunition and has subsequently charged him to court.
“The search operation led to the recovery of large cache of arms and ammunition among other things and for which further investigation was conducted.
“Consequently, on Monday 24th August, 2015, he was charged to court based on evidence so far obtained, but which relates to possession of fire arms without license,” Opuiyo stated.
He said that the crime is punishable under section 27(i) (a)(i) of the Firearms Act Cap F28 LFN 2004, adding: “this is in line with democratic practice and our avowed commitment to the rule of law.”
Opuiyo emphasized that nobody is above the law no matter how highly placed in the society. [myad]
The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon has formally invited Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari to a meeting of world leaders in New York on September 28 during which a fresh plan of action against extremism will be formulated. Other leaders that are expected to participate in the meeting that is also expected to deliberate on a new United Nations draft resolution on combating extremism worldwide are the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, President Francois Hollande of France among others. Ban Ki Moon also seized the opportunity of his visit to Nigeria to invite President Buhari to a meeting of a select group of 25 World leaders in New York on September 27 to deliberate on a global climate change agreement. In offering the invitations today in Abuja, the UN Secretary-General said that such recognition was in appreciation of the political will demonstrated by President Buhari in combating terrorism in Nigeria and dealing with environmental issues. Ban Ki Moon commended moves by the Buhari Administration to clean up Ogoniland in Niger Delta region of Nigeria even as he promised the full support of the United Nations for the exercise. “We will find ways to complement your leadership on environmental reform. We are happy with your plans for the restoration of Ogoniland and we will see how we can help.” The UN Secretary-General assured President Buhari that the world body will welcome President Buhari’s “input and experience” in finalizing plans to introduce a new resolution against extremism at the General Assembly. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the National Security Adviser (NSA) to convene an investigative committee on the procurement of hardware and munitions in the Armed Forces from 2007 till now. The investigative committee was mandated to identify irregularities and make recommendations for streamlining the procurement process in the Armed Forces. A statement today by the special adviser to President Buhari on media and publicity, Femi Adesina said that already, the NSA has constituted the Investigative Committee as follows: Air Vice Marshal J.O.N. Ode (rtd.) as President, with Riyal Admiral J.A. Aikhomu, (rtd.), Riyal Adm E. Ogbor (rtd.), Brigadier Geneneral L. Adekagun (rtd.), Brigadier General M. Aminun-Kano (rtd.), Brigadier General N. Rimtip (rtd.), Commodore T.D. Ikoli, Air Commodore U. Mohammed (rtd.), Air Commodore I. Shafi’I, Col A.A. Ariyibi, Group Captain C.A. Oriaku (rtd.) And Mr. I. Magu (EFCC) as members while Brigadier General Y.I. Shalangwa would serve as secretary. The statement said that the establishment of the investigative committee is in keeping with President Buhari’s determination to stamp out corruption and irregularities in Nigeria’s public service. “It comes against the background of the myriad of challenges that the Nigerian Armed Forces have faced in the course of ongoing counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast, including the apparent deficit in military platforms with its attendant negative effects of troops’ morale.” The committee will specifically investigate allegations of non-adherence to correct equipment procurement procedures and the exclusion of relevant logistics branches from arms procurement under past administrations, which, very often resulted in the acquisition of sub-standard and unserviceable equipment. [myad]
It is fortuitous that the Peoples Democratic Party has given the indication that a new national chairman will emerge by September, 2015 when the party holds a special convention for that purpose. It is a sure sign that the PDP is ready to reinvent itself after a woeful loss in the recent general elections. The party has similarly indicated it’s determination to snatch power from the ruling All Progressives Congress, which came to power May 29, 2015.
Ordinarily, the announcement of the impending new national chairman for the PDP should elicit wide applause from the polity and expectations from party faithful across the country of a possible titanic challenge to the APC in the 2019 general elections. The founding fathers of the PDP should also be elated by the good news coming from the party’s national headquarters in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.
Earlier, the party had constituted a fact finding committee headed by Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on why the PDP lost in the last elections. Former President Goodluck Jonathan, who is on record as the first incumbent to have lost and conceded defeat in the country constituted the panel. This was after an unbroken 16 years rule by the PDP.
Why did President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, APC, defeat Jonathan and the PDP? How can the party return to power in 2019. How should the PDP function as an opposition party. What are the lessons to be learnt, if any from the loss, and what remedies could be prescribed to mitigate the impact of the defeat? These are some of the questions the Ekweremadu committee was meant to find answers to.
From the announcement of next month’s national convention it would seem as though the work of the Deputy President of the Senate has been concluded and the recommendations of the panel accepted. It is not clear however if the committee has been disbanded or would continue on the path of midwifing the party once again to victory.
But it is sad that the PDP leadership by the announcement of a national convention next month is yet to come to terms with the enormity of the problem at hand and how to get out of the hubris to face the reality of the task at hand. Either that or the party is still consumed by an inebriated reverie.
Definitely, a convention to elect a new chairman seems right and equitable given the existing zoning structure of the PDP. I cannot however see why it is propitious to do so at this moment. Because the leadership should have realised that the panacea needed to take the party forward and beyond its present state of near comatose is the rebuilding of structures from the scratch. That is from the grassroots to the national level. Anything short of this would yield a worse result from that of the 2015 polls.
From the signs put out by the current leadership headed by acting chairman, Uche Secondus, members of the NWC are determined to hold on to their portfolios and hope that the election of a new chairman would provide the badly needed catalyst that would return PDP to its former winning ways. An action akin to pouring fresh wine into an old, disused and dirty bottle.
Secondus and his co-travellers in the NWC ought to have realised by now that it was not the former national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu that made the PDP to lose the last elections. Therefore the resignation and subsequent replacement of Mu’azu would not affect the party in any way, positive or negative. Only a radical clearing of the augean stable is capable of injecting fresh tonic for the PDP to return to its once boisterous path.
Nigerians are convinced that members of the NWC are filthily corrupt, selfish and greedy. The recent allegations of mind boggling misappropriation of funds running into billions of naira against key members of the NWC reinforces the belief that the national secretariat of the PDP is a bleeding sepulchre. Notwithstanding that there may be some untainted by this corruption perception.
Interestingly, the acting Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Alhaji Haliru Bello Muhammed, in a shameless bid to wash his hands off the party’s woes disclosed that the PDP lost the last elections because it adopted President Jonathan as its sole candidate in flagrant disobedience to the established rule of zoning and equity. Yet it was the same BOT boss who moved the motion for the adoption of the former President a year ago, in defiance of the voices of reason, good conscience and the wish of the founding fathers that the ticket should be zoned to the North for an equitable contest.
Well meaning Nigerians and PDP faithful should therefore impress it on Muhammed and entire apparatchik of the party that it is time to give way to new faces, new voices and new messages that resonate with the wish of the ordinary man, who in any case constitute the bulk of the electorate. Anything short of this is a sure panacea for failure.
The PDP is in urgent need of a credible and charismatic leadership. The current players in the BOT and NWC most of whom are tied to the umbilical cord of the last administration must now out for a new set of players. Surely the party is not only a nest of thieves as the rival APC would want us to believe. There must be men with elevated ethos and patriotic zeal within its fold.
Only recently, the filthy condition of the national secretariat of the PDP has become an issue for intense debate in the social media. This is following after the planned reduction in the workforce by half and slashing of salaries of the workers by 50 percent. All these taking place barely three months after the party vacated power at the centre.
Of course, these are signs of structural disequilibrium which when not addressed would lead to the ultimate destruction of the party. Has anyone done a proper audit of the staff at the secretariat known also as Wadata Plaza? What known or objective criteria was used in the recruitment? Why is the party still being run as an old or broken down colonial office. Does the PDP have an authentic and verifiable data base of party faithful from inception till date.
What most Nigerians do not know however is that Wadata Plaza is a rented block of offices donated by the late Waziri Ibrahim for the party to take off in 1998. No effort has been made to erect a befitting and permanent structure since then. No wonder it has remained disorganised and subject to several interminable manipulations. Indeed one can never be sure what to expect from the PDP National secretariat each time a complaint, petition or matter is taking there.
It is against this backdrop that I would suggest that large chunk of money realised in the sale of governorship forms in the forthcoming elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states should be devoted to the building of a modern, fully furnished, computerised and permanent edifice. Moving away from its present location is one great way to let the people know that PDP is embarking on a path of redeeming its badly battered image.
Similarly, the party must embark on a fresh membership drive backed by a fully automated data centre, the type set up by the APC in the days leading to the last elections. Members who subscribe must also pay registration fees and annual dues which in turn would become veritable source for raising funds to run the party. Once the process is transparent and accountable, it would engender confidence difficult to break.
Of course, it may be appropriate to inform the leadership that only few Nigerians share in the optimism that the PDP would return to power in 2019. This is because the change mantra which ushered the APC to office has not diminished. If at all, most people are hopeful that the ruling party and President Buhari would keep to the promise of probe and sending corrupt persons to jail, at the least. Once that is done, it may be difficult convincing the people not to vote APC in the next general elections.
Instead, the emphasis should be on how to reverse the majority in the national assembly in favour of the PDP as well as win more states. This can easily be achieved if internal democracy is entrenched and only popularly electable candidates are allowed to fly the party’s flag at all levels. Again, party faithful who lose in a well contested and transparent primary are not likely to defect, thereby guaranteeing cohesion and a united front in a general election.
By and large nobody is advocating that the PDP should invite or import people from the moon and other places in outer space to take over the leadership of the party. Neither is it expected that the negative perception of sleaze could be wiped out overnight. But a determined effort to revamp the structure and elect credible leadership at all levels would definitely elicit positive vibes from the citizenry.
Anything to the contrary is a clueless march to hades, a mindless circumspection that ends in abyss. Definitely, it’s a sure panacea to keep the PDP perpetually on the brink. No one wants that.
It is a great pleasure to be among you today, as lawyers from all parts of Nigeria come together with some of their international colleagues for this year’s Annual General Conference. I am informed that these Annual Conferences are the forum for periodic review of the state of the legal profession, our justice system and the general society. I therefore appreciate this opportunity to share some of my thoughts with you.
Since I got this invitation, I have been thinking a lot more about lawyers and their role in the great task of development which this administration, and I believe all Nigerians, have set for ourselves. This is more so as my colleague on this journey, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, is a senior member of the Legal Profession. The more I consider it, the more I am convinced that law, law-makers, lawyers, law courts and the law enforcement agencies all have pivotal responsibilities to discharge, if the change we seek is ever to materialize.
As you all know by now, this administration has taken on the challenge of improving security, fighting corruption and revamping the economy, among many others. Security obviously depends on law and order. It also depends on the entire justice system working efficiently to ensure compliance with laws and appropriate safeguards for human rights.
In a functional justice system, violent dissent and stubborn insurgency would be countered effectively. When the law enforcement agencies and military personnel work with due regard for the rules and shun corruption; nepotism; and disrespect for human rights, we are also bound to get good results. Illegal groups can be promptly put down and we can have a quick restoration of peace.
Similarly, the fight against corruption is in reality a struggle for the restoration of law and order. Corruption and impunity become widespread when disrespect for law is allowed to thrive in society. Disrespect for law also thrives when people get away with all sorts of shady deals and the court system is somehow unable to check them. Ability to manipulate and frustrate the legal system is the crowning glory of the corrupt and, as may be expected, this has left many legal practitioners and law courts tainted in an ugly way.
In a gathering such as this, I do not need to elaborate on the way that corruption and impunity have damaged our economy. But I would like to say more on what, I believe, should be your role as legal practitioners, in helping us back to the path of rectitude. First, we need to make our courts functional and effective again. This means that we must have lawyers who take the ethics of the profession very seriously; lawyers who will not frustrate the course of justice, even though they defend their clients with all legitimate means and resources. Nigeria needs ethical lawyers who always keep the end of justice in mind and will never sacrifice the integrity of the legal system to cover the misdeeds of their clients, no matter how lucrative the brief may be.
I know that lawyers are always at the vanguard of human rights. What I urge now is that we all see corruption in its true colours; as a gross violation of human rights. For the masses of our people, the millions still wallowing in want and diseases, corruption is a major reason why they cannot go to school; why they cannot be gainfully employed; and why there are few doctors, nurses and drugs in their hospitals and health centers. It is the reason why pensioners are not paid and potable water is scarce.
In effect, corruption diverts public resources meant for millions of people into the private pockets of a greedy few, thereby causing a lot of suffering, deprivation and death. In my view, there can be no greater violation of human rights.
Viewed in this way, I think we can all fully appreciate the gravity of this oppressive and destructive evil. This should rouse us to fight it with the same zeal and doggedness as we deploy in the defense of fundamental rights.
When we subvert the system we join in the oppression of the masses and the destruction of systems which are meant to aid development and wellbeing of our society. Those who engage in such practices are, in effect, acting in a corrupt way.
If we turn directly to matters of economic advancement, it becomes even more important that our legal system is made to function smoothly speedily and effectively. Nigeria is now in a situation where it obviously has to diversify its economy, to step up its industrial production capacity and offer profitable services to the rest of the world. We also have a huge infrastructure deficit for which we require foreign capital and expertise to supplement whatever resources we can marshal at home.
In essence, increased engagement with the outside world is called for as we seek public private partnerships in our quest for enhanced capital and expertise. This is the way of the new world for all countries in the 21st Century.
There is no doubt that all these depend on enforceable agreements and a reliable legal system. Contracts are only good to the extent that they are enforceable without undue delay. If by the default of lawyers or the law courts, it is found that cases take ages to conclude or that the judicial system is somehow corruptible, we obviously cannot attract the kind of partnerships which we need or which our large vibrant economy would ordinarily have attracted.
My Lords, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the world today has been correctly described as a global village. Capital and expertise are readily mobile. Comparisons will inevitably be drawn between our country and others when the choice of where to do business is being made. Our current position in this respect is not good enough. Our process for obtaining licenses and permits are too slow. It takes too long a time to enforce contracts in our law courts and our regulatory and administrative processes are not noticeably predictable or efficient.
In all these lawyers have a key role to play, whether in the reform of our laws and regulation or in the integrity of our judicial systems.
It is my fervent hope that this conference and other fora of lawyers and non-lawyers will closely and quickly work out ways of making our legal system much improved in terms of integrity, the human touch, efficiency and rigorous dedication to the cause of justice.
On our own part we shall not hesitate at all in giving effect to the required changes, whether on the statute books, in the judiciary or in legal education once we see the change well justified.
I have no doubt that when this is achieved, our society will be greatly improved, not just in terms of justice administration but also in the creation and advancement of economic opportunities which will pull many of our people out of poverty and guarantee us all the protection of our rights. So help us God.
Before I close, let me acknowledge with sincere gratitude the prominent role that this association played during the last general elections in the country. I am aware that the NBA organized a number of workshops and seminars and sponsored adverts and programs to enlighten the public about the electoral process, including the idea of a violence-free election. I am aware that there was even a Lawyers-For-Change Movement! It was due to your efforts and those of other patriotic Nigerians that Nigeria was able to give effect to their heartfelt desire. The nation is no doubt indebted to you.
I thank you very much for this opportunity and wish you fruitful deliberations in the course of the conference.
Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria delivered this speech as special guest of honour at the opening ceremony of the 55th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on Auust 23rd, 2015. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to play host to the visiting United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon tomorrow in the noon at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to a media advisory signed by Mr. Oche Egwa on behalf of the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Buhari and Ban Ki-Moon will address a joint press conference at the end of their closed-door session. The meeting is scheduled to hold at noon.
Ban Ki-Moon, according to the statement, will later return to the Presidential Villa for a dinner to be hosted in his honour by the President.
The dinner is billed for the new Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa by 7pm. [myad]
A pan Igbo sociocultural organization, Igbo Renaissance Movement has accused fellow Igbo people of being hunted by its blind politics of hate, bitterness, isolation and greed over the years.
The National Coordinator of the group, Chris Chukwubuzor Azuka, in a statement issued in Kano today warned Igbos to desist from “building tower of isolation and antagonism, as being the antagonist to our neighbour would not do us no good.
“The Igbo race is being hunted by its blind politics of hate, bitterness, isolation, greed over the years. But this is the time for the Ndigbo to engage in honest self-examination and soul searching,” he added.
Chukwubuzor Azuka advised leaders of the region to approach President Muhammadu Buhari with humility or lose any form of goodwill from the nation’s leader even as he described the attack on Buhari as ‘misplaced aggression.’
The statement jointly signed with Deacon Kingsley Godwin said: “this is the time to approach President Buhari with humility to rebuild trust, friendship and to pledge our loyalty to his government.”
It added that the challenge facing Igbo nation was that of leadership and therefore, called on its stakeholders to put their house in order for common good of the zone.
The Igbo group endorsed President Buhari’s war on corrupt leaders, urging him to continue with his efforts to recover stolen funds from those guilty of fraud. [myad]
Nasarawa United Football team, today, shocked the reigning Nigeria Premier League champions, the Kano Pillars, with a 2-1 defeat on their home ground.
Pillars, which presented the best record in the second half of the league with 10 points gained plus the return of striker Gambo Mohammed, who has just recovered from gunshot wounds sustained in March, suggested that Pillars would have it good against the visiting Nasarawa team.
But Nasarawa United literally rewrote the history books with their classy performance. It was Ex-Pillars forward, Munir Ubale, who opened the scoring in the 12th minute for the visitors.
Four minutes later, Yaro Bature who has just been invited to the Super Eagles doubled the Lafia team’s lead.
Though Kano Pillars skipper, Rabiu Ali, pulled a goal back in the 46th minute to make it 2-1, it was not enough to save the day for the reigning league champions.
Even with the introduction of Gambo Mohammed in the 67th minute for Eneji Otekpa, there was no escape route for the Kano team who watched helplessly as their invincibility finally ended on a sad note.
In other centres, there was a goals rush in Akure as Sunshine Stars whipped El-Kanemi Warriors 5-0.
The quartet of Lobi Stars, Abia Warriors, Kwara United and Warri Wolves all secured slim 1-0 home wins over the opponents. While the spoils were shared in Enugu and Uyo where Rangers played 1-1 with Dolphins and Akwa United played 2-2 with Giwa FC.
President Muhammadu Buhari has detailed the qualities of lawyers which Nigeria needs now to fight corruption that has done a lot of damage to the country, asking them not to sacrifice the integrity of the country’s legal system in a bid to cover the misdeeds of leaders who are soon to be prosecuted for corruption, no matter how lucrative the brief may be. “Nigeria needs ethical lawyers who always keep the end of justice in mind and will never sacrifice the integrity of the legal system to cover the misdeeds of their clients, no matter how lucrative the brief may be.” President Buhari who spoke today at the opening of the 55th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), called on the lawyers to support his administration’s war against corruption and help the country return to the path of rectitude by making Nigerian courts functional and effective again.
President Buhari said that he needed not elaborate on the way that corruption and impunity have damaged our economy but that he would harp on what should be the roles of the legal practitioners in helping his government return the country to the path of rectitude. “First, we need to make our courts functional and effective again. This means that we must have lawyers who take the ethics of the profession very seriously; lawyers who will not frustrate the course of justice, even though they defend their clients with all legitimate means and resources.” President Buhari said that lawyers are often in the vanguard of the defense of human rights, and advised them to view corruption too as a gross violation of human rights.” The President advised the lawyers to work for a more efficient and effective legal system which, he said, will help to attract more investments to the country and accelerate the pace of national economic development. “I am convinced that law, law-makers, lawyers, law courts and the law enforcement agencies all have pivotal responsibilities to discharge, if the change we seek is ever to materialize. “As you all know by now, this administration has taken on the challenge of improving security, fighting corruption and revamping the economy, among many others. “The fight against corruption is in reality, a struggle for the restoration of law and order. Corruption and impunity become widespread when disrespect for law is allowed to thrive in society. “Disrespect for law also thrives when people get away with all sorts of shady deals and the court system is somehow unable to check them. “Ability to manipulate and frustrate the legal system is the crowning glory of the corrupt and, as may be expected, this has left many legal practitioners and law courts tainted in an ugly way. “For the masses of our people, the millions still wallowing in want and diseases, corruption is a major reason why they cannot go to school; why they cannot be gainfully employed; and why there are few doctors, nurses and drugs in their hospitals and health centers. It is the reason why pensioners are not paid and potable water is scarce. “In effect, corruption diverts public resources meant for millions of people into the private pockets of a greedy few, thereby causing a lot of suffering, deprivation and death. In my view, there can be no greater violation of human rights. “Viewed in this way, I think we can all fully appreciate the gravity of this oppressive and destructive evil. This should rouse us to fight it with the same zeal and doggedness as we deploy in the defense of fundamental rights.” Buhari called for increased engagement by Nigeria, with the outside world which he said would help in the quest for enhanced capital and expertise, adding that all these would depend on enforceable agreements and a reliable legal system. “Contracts are only good to the extent that they are enforceable without undue delay. If by the default of lawyers or the law courts, it is found that cases take ages to conclude or that the judicial system is somehow corruptible, we obviously cannot attract the kind of partnerships which we need or which our large vibrant economy would ordinarily have attracted. “The world today has been correctly described as a global village. Capital and expertise are readily mobile. Comparisons will inevitably be drawn between our country and others when the choice of where to do business is being made. Our current position in this respect is not good enough. Our process for obtaining licenses and permits are too slow. It takes too long a time to enforce contracts in our law courts and our regulatory and administrative processes are not noticeably predictable or efficient. “In all these lawyers have a key role to play, whether in the reform of our laws and regulation or in the integrity of our judicial systems. It is my fervent hope that this conference and other fora of lawyers and non-lawyers will closely and quickly work out ways of making our legal system much improved in terms of integrity, the human touch, efficiency and rigorous dedication to the cause of justice.”
President Buhari assured the lawyers that his administration will give its full support to the implementation of the required legal reforms if it is convinced that they are in the best interest of the nation. [myad]
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is making arrangement to mark the two-year anniversary of the coming together of major opposition political parties in September. APC was registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) July 31st 2013 and by June 13, the party elected its substantive national leadership.
The party’s National Organising Secretary and the chairman of the anniversary committee Senator Osita Izunaso told news men today in Abuja that APC has every reason to celebrate its existence as a political party because of it numerous achievements recorded in the last two years.
According to him, it is unprecedented that within two years of APC registration as a party, it has 22 governors, controlling the two chambers of the National Assembly and also have President Muhammadu Buhari as the number one citizen of Nigeria.
He made it clear that it will not only be a mere celebration, but the party will use the opportunity to embark on soul-searching exercise on how best to deliver on the promises made to the Nigerians. “We also want to use the avenue for internal soul search to let ourselves know that the task ahead is more than the one behind.” [myad]
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Rescuing PDP From The Brink,By Felix Ofou
It is fortuitous that the Peoples Democratic Party has given the indication that a new national chairman will emerge by September, 2015 when the party holds a special convention for that purpose. It is a sure sign that the PDP is ready to reinvent itself after a woeful loss in the recent general elections. The party has similarly indicated it’s determination to snatch power from the ruling All Progressives Congress, which came to power May 29, 2015.
Ordinarily, the announcement of the impending new national chairman for the PDP should elicit wide applause from the polity and expectations from party faithful across the country of a possible titanic challenge to the APC in the 2019 general elections. The founding fathers of the PDP should also be elated by the good news coming from the party’s national headquarters in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.
Earlier, the party had constituted a fact finding committee headed by Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on why the PDP lost in the last elections. Former President Goodluck Jonathan, who is on record as the first incumbent to have lost and conceded defeat in the country constituted the panel. This was after an unbroken 16 years rule by the PDP.
Why did President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, APC, defeat Jonathan and the PDP? How can the party return to power in 2019. How should the PDP function as an opposition party. What are the lessons to be learnt, if any from the loss, and what remedies could be prescribed to mitigate the impact of the defeat? These are some of the questions the Ekweremadu committee was meant to find answers to.
From the announcement of next month’s national convention it would seem as though the work of the Deputy President of the Senate has been concluded and the recommendations of the panel accepted. It is not clear however if the committee has been disbanded or would continue on the path of midwifing the party once again to victory.
But it is sad that the PDP leadership by the announcement of a national convention next month is yet to come to terms with the enormity of the problem at hand and how to get out of the hubris to face the reality of the task at hand. Either that or the party is still consumed by an inebriated reverie.
Definitely, a convention to elect a new chairman seems right and equitable given the existing zoning structure of the PDP. I cannot however see why it is propitious to do so at this moment. Because the leadership should have realised that the panacea needed to take the party forward and beyond its present state of near comatose is the rebuilding of structures from the scratch. That is from the grassroots to the national level. Anything short of this would yield a worse result from that of the 2015 polls.
From the signs put out by the current leadership headed by acting chairman, Uche Secondus, members of the NWC are determined to hold on to their portfolios and hope that the election of a new chairman would provide the badly needed catalyst that would return PDP to its former winning ways. An action akin to pouring fresh wine into an old, disused and dirty bottle.
Secondus and his co-travellers in the NWC ought to have realised by now that it was not the former national chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu that made the PDP to lose the last elections. Therefore the resignation and subsequent replacement of Mu’azu would not affect the party in any way, positive or negative. Only a radical clearing of the augean stable is capable of injecting fresh tonic for the PDP to return to its once boisterous path.
Nigerians are convinced that members of the NWC are filthily corrupt, selfish and greedy. The recent allegations of mind boggling misappropriation of funds running into billions of naira against key members of the NWC reinforces the belief that the national secretariat of the PDP is a bleeding sepulchre. Notwithstanding that there may be some untainted by this corruption perception.
Interestingly, the acting Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Alhaji Haliru Bello Muhammed, in a shameless bid to wash his hands off the party’s woes disclosed that the PDP lost the last elections because it adopted President Jonathan as its sole candidate in flagrant disobedience to the established rule of zoning and equity. Yet it was the same BOT boss who moved the motion for the adoption of the former President a year ago, in defiance of the voices of reason, good conscience and the wish of the founding fathers that the ticket should be zoned to the North for an equitable contest.
Well meaning Nigerians and PDP faithful should therefore impress it on Muhammed and entire apparatchik of the party that it is time to give way to new faces, new voices and new messages that resonate with the wish of the ordinary man, who in any case constitute the bulk of the electorate. Anything short of this is a sure panacea for failure.
The PDP is in urgent need of a credible and charismatic leadership. The current players in the BOT and NWC most of whom are tied to the umbilical cord of the last administration must now out for a new set of players. Surely the party is not only a nest of thieves as the rival APC would want us to believe. There must be men with elevated ethos and patriotic zeal within its fold.
Only recently, the filthy condition of the national secretariat of the PDP has become an issue for intense debate in the social media. This is following after the planned reduction in the workforce by half and slashing of salaries of the workers by 50 percent. All these taking place barely three months after the party vacated power at the centre.
Of course, these are signs of structural disequilibrium which when not addressed would lead to the ultimate destruction of the party. Has anyone done a proper audit of the staff at the secretariat known also as Wadata Plaza? What known or objective criteria was used in the recruitment? Why is the party still being run as an old or broken down colonial office. Does the PDP have an authentic and verifiable data base of party faithful from inception till date.
What most Nigerians do not know however is that Wadata Plaza is a rented block of offices donated by the late Waziri Ibrahim for the party to take off in 1998. No effort has been made to erect a befitting and permanent structure since then. No wonder it has remained disorganised and subject to several interminable manipulations. Indeed one can never be sure what to expect from the PDP National secretariat each time a complaint, petition or matter is taking there.
It is against this backdrop that I would suggest that large chunk of money realised in the sale of governorship forms in the forthcoming elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states should be devoted to the building of a modern, fully furnished, computerised and permanent edifice. Moving away from its present location is one great way to let the people know that PDP is embarking on a path of redeeming its badly battered image.
Similarly, the party must embark on a fresh membership drive backed by a fully automated data centre, the type set up by the APC in the days leading to the last elections. Members who subscribe must also pay registration fees and annual dues which in turn would become veritable source for raising funds to run the party. Once the process is transparent and accountable, it would engender confidence difficult to break.
Of course, it may be appropriate to inform the leadership that only few Nigerians share in the optimism that the PDP would return to power in 2019. This is because the change mantra which ushered the APC to office has not diminished. If at all, most people are hopeful that the ruling party and President Buhari would keep to the promise of probe and sending corrupt persons to jail, at the least. Once that is done, it may be difficult convincing the people not to vote APC in the next general elections.
Instead, the emphasis should be on how to reverse the majority in the national assembly in favour of the PDP as well as win more states. This can easily be achieved if internal democracy is entrenched and only popularly electable candidates are allowed to fly the party’s flag at all levels. Again, party faithful who lose in a well contested and transparent primary are not likely to defect, thereby guaranteeing cohesion and a united front in a general election.
By and large nobody is advocating that the PDP should invite or import people from the moon and other places in outer space to take over the leadership of the party. Neither is it expected that the negative perception of sleaze could be wiped out overnight. But a determined effort to revamp the structure and elect credible leadership at all levels would definitely elicit positive vibes from the citizenry.
Anything to the contrary is a clueless march to hades, a mindless circumspection that ends in abyss. Definitely, it’s a sure panacea to keep the PDP perpetually on the brink. No one wants that.
. Ofou, a former Editor, wrote from Lagos. [myad]