President Goodluck Jonathan, President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have expressed sadness over the death of the former Nigeria Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko Yusuf. In his condolence message signed by special adviser on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, President Jonathan described MD Yusuf as a eminent Nigerian who served his country dutifully throughout his successful career in the Nigerian Police, and later on, as a political leader and elder statesman. The President believed that MD Yusuf, as he was fondly called by his friends and associates, will long be remembered for his outstanding political courage and exemplary determination during Nigeria’s transition to democracy after years of military rule. He recalls that as leader of the Grassroots Democratic Movement at that time, the late MD Yusuf embodied some of the best values of bravery and patriotism. Jonathan condoled with the government and people of Katsina State as well as with Alhaji Yusuf’s family and the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in which the deceased as a respected leader.
In his condolence, General Buhari described the death of MD Yusuf as a great loss to Nigeria’s democratic struggle, adding that Yusuf died at a point his valuable advice was still badly needed by Nigerian leaders. General Buhari recalled the role of MD Yusuf in Nigeria’s democratic struggle during the military politics of self-succession, which brought to the fore his courage to speak even if he was standing alone. According to Buhari, despite the constriction of the democratic space, the late M D Yusuf was the only politician who established his own political party to challenge a military self-succession agenda. General Buhari recalled that only an indomitable democrat like the late M D Yusuf could have taken that personal risk. He prayed to Allah to forgive Yusuf’s shortcomings and reward his good deeds with Aljannah (Paradise). Also former Vice President Atiku Abubakar extolled the extraordinary courage of the late MD Yusuf, adding that he was one of the most courageous Nigerian politicians he had ever encountered. According to Atiku, many politicians retreated to a safe distance when MD Yusuf established his own political party to challenge the military approved political parties to effectuate the self-succession agenda of 1998. The former Vice President, who was part of that democratic struggle, said the late Yusuf’s sacrifices for democracy would not be forgotten in a hurry. He noted that he was impressed by the late Yusuf’s courage of conviction, challenging a self-succession agenda when the democratic space was shut against contrary voices. According to the former Vice President, the history of Nigeria’s democratic struggle would be incomplete without a prominent mention of the contributions of the late Mohammed Yusuf. He prayed to Allah to forgive the soul of the deceased and reward his good deeds with paradise.
The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) has congratulate the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari over his electoral victory, even as it commended President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding victory in an election that has been described as successful. In a statement by its President, Malachy Agbo, GOCOP said that apart from field reports by its members and staff who covered the elections, the commendations locally and by the international community attest to the fact that the election was the freest and fairest ever to be conducted in the country. The statement said that the President-elect had taught Nigerians the lesson in perseverance, having sought the same position thrice in the past without success, even as it charged the General to be magnanimous in victory. “The time to jettison partisanship by the General is now, as electioneering is over and the serious business of governance is at hand. “There is no idea or persons that should be discarded in the process of moving the country forward.” GOCOP also commended President Jonathan for his show of sportsmanship with his decision to congratulate Buhari even before the official declaration of the result. “This, no doubt, doused the tension that had been building up before the announcement of the final result and pulled the bullets out of the already cocked guns of those prepared for war in the event that their candidate loses.” The association also praised Jonathan for overseeing two successive elections that had proven that the country is capable of holding its head high in the comity of nations when it comes to the conduct of free and fair elections. Malachy in the statement, also paid glowing tribute to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, and his aides as well as the staff for ensuring that the elections were free and fair. He said that the place of Jega in Nigeria’s history can never be forgotten. GOCOP equally praised the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation and the media team of the APC, headed by the former President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE), Malam Garba Shehu, for playing by the rules of the game through the avoidance of hate speeches and focusing on issues rather than frivolities throughout the campaign that heralded the elections. GOCOP said the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation showed immense professionalism in the handling of the presidential campaign of the APC. The association also commended Nigerians who participated fully in the voting process, in some cases under the rain. “Elections are about the people and Nigerians showed great zeal and commitment to the process by turning out en-mass to cast their votes, with some staying under the rain, as witnessed in most parts of Lagos State, to cast their votes. “For over 28 million Nigerians to have cast their votes out of the registered 68 million voters is a testimony to the zeal of Nigerians to participate in the process to elect their leaders. It is indeed victory for all.” The Guild urged Nigerians to show the same enthusiasm for the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections coming up on April 11.
Jonathan So much have been said by so many people in and outside Nigeria, on the surprised and “unAfrican” attitude displayed by President Goodluck Jonathan, by conceding electoral victory to opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari in the last Saturday’s election. The common thread that ran around all such comments is the fact that President Jonathan was able to participate in the shearing of the glory attached to the March 28 Presidential election by such concession, even before the electoral umpire concluded the collation and eventual announcement of the winner of the election. As a matter of fact, every other person, representing every other institution, either as an individual or in group, would now not congratulate the President-elect, General Buhari for the electoral victory without commending President Jonathan for such act of indefatigable courage and uncommon selflessness. Others that have been appearing on the platform of commendation for the peace, tranquillity and maturity that stands tall in Nigeria after the election are the INEC, the security agencies and Nigerians, especially the voters, in that order of significance. The magnitude of the positivism that trailed the phone-call by the President at exactly 5.15pm on Monday to the President-elect, in the context of “a stitch in time” prism can never be comprehensively understood in its proper context in many years to come. As a matter of fact, a proper analysis of the situation can be done looking at the whole scenario from the point when election period was knocking on the door. The storm that gathered a few months to the election which shook the nation so much that it was possible for the people with less faith to predict an Armageddon, was real: it was so thick that one could cut it with a sharp knife. Some ethnic militias, political hangers-on, political jobbers and other crumble-picking economic and financial parasites, and even the big-time Nigeria money-guzzlers were threatening fire and brimstone. Nigeria was virtually at the precipice. With the garrulous Femi Fani-Kayode issuing a veiled threat that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which Presidential Campaign Organisation he is spokesman of, would reject and go on rampage if INEC announced the winner of the election other than President Jonathan; with Dr. Doyin Okupe twitting that General Buhari was gone forever and with Elder Godsday Orubebe causing commotion at the INEC collation centre and openly insulting Professor Attahiru Jega as well as other acts of brigandage from various quarters, the stage was being set for the worse to befall the nation. And like a thief in the dark night, as the saying goes, President Jonathan emerged from nowhere to throw all such trouble makers and war-mongers off his back. His phone-call to General Buhari to congratulate him even when the result from one or two states had not yet been collated and announced, saved Nigeria from clearly unimaginable crisis: the crisis that would have signalled the disintegration of this house; Nigeria. Of course, it is on record that President Jonathan had missed the first opportunity that made itself available for him to write his name in gold as hero of this democracy. That was at the time he would have told the nation that he would not go for second-term, in honour of what became a controversial agreement. The people around and about him succeeded in rail-loading him onto the campaign trane, for the second-term, just for their selfish end. And when the second opportunity came for him to still write his name in gold as hero of this democracy, by damning the voices of people around and about him; by not even waiting for such voices to gain ground, he, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan grabbed it with two hands. And come what may, nobody, not even those who would not want to hear anything good about him would deny the fact that he has earned a beautiful place in the history and historical development of not just the political and democratic evolution of this country, but also of that within the context of Nigeria as an entity. We in Greenbarge Reporters envy him no end! [myad]
Wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience has congratulated Hajiya Aisha Buhari, wife of the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari on her husband’s victory at the last Saturday’s presidential election.
In a three-paragraph statement by her media aide, Ayo Adewuyi, Dame Patience called on Nigerian women to support Hajiya Aisha in order to succeed in her new assignment.
The statement read: “The First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan (Mama Peace) has congratulated the wife of the President elect, Hajiya Aisha Buhari on the election of her husband, General Muhammadu Buhari.
“The First Lady appeals to the Nigerian women to work with Hajia Aisha Buhari and give her the maximun support to make her succeed in her new assignment.
“The First Lady (Mama Peace) wishes her well in her new task.” [myad]
President Barack Obama of the United States of America has congratulated the president-elect of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress (APC), saying that the result of last Saturday’s election has “shown the world the strength” of the African country’s commitment to Democratic ideals.
In a statement from White House today, Obama said that he was impressed with how Nigerians “came together to decide the future of their country peacefully.”
The American President said that he wanted to commend both President Goodluck Jonathan who conceded defeat and General Muhammadu Buhari who won the election for “their public commitments to non-violence throughout the campaign.”
This is against the background of General Buhari’s promise “to heal wounds” after a hard-fought contest left people emotionally drained. [myad]
Former Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Elder Godsday Orubebe has acknowledged that he was a disgrace to Nigerian youths to whom he ought to have show good example in politic, even as he apologised for his behaviour at the collation centre in Abuja yesterday morning.
Speaking with reporters last night, Orubebe who was the PDP party agent and who held up proceedings of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the election collation centre and used abusive words on Jega, said he regretted his action and asked Nigerian to forgive his behaviour.
”Election is a passionate thing and I really regret what took place this morning. I was unnecessarily pushed by Jega to get to that level. I want to apologise particularly to young Nigerians that look up to take politics as a career to say that what happened was not intended to cause them any embarrassment.
“To Nigerians generally, I regret my actions as even an elder in the church, and a leader, the young men expected to see a lot from me and I believe that if there was any disappointment they got from me I apologize to Nigerians and to the youths of this country.”
On President Jonathan conceding defeat, Orubebe said:
“Two things are in place. The president is the president of everybody. As a statesman and as a president; he has done what he should do.” [myad]
The emergence of General Muhammadu Buhari as President-elect, former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George may be heading to exile to escape being caught up in Buhari’s expected anti-corruption war.
Bode George himself has repeatedly asked what would be doing in Nigeria with Buhari in power.
He said in Lagos today: “what will I be doing here? I can decide to go and live anywhere. Look at everyone surrounding him (Buhari). So, I am not joking about it, what will I be doing here? At 70, what will I be doing here? All we have been doing to restructure the country has been lost. We have been trying to ensure balance in the polity but all that has gone. What else will I be doing here?” [myad]
One of the numerous admirers of the Nigeria President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, joined in the celebration of Buhari’s electoral victory. The man, Abidoka, painted his skin in different colours and shouting “Sai Buhari, Baba Oyoyo” as he walked along the Secretariat road, Kuje in FCT, and drawing huge attention to himself. [myad]
An Igbo group going by the name, Igbo Conversational Group (ICG), led by Dr. Ikedi Ohakim has set an agenda for the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a statement signed by Ohakim himself as well as Nze Chidi Duru, Bishop Blaise Iwuogo and Barrister Chike F. Maduekwe, the ICG believed that the President–elect is a politician of a rare mould.
The Group said that they have no doubt that, going by his antecedents, the President-elect was under no pressure in agreeing to look into the plight of the Igbo but that they believed that he will live up to his promises and go ahead to offer the Igbo a much needed leverage that will enable them fully tap their enormous individual and collective potentials, “as canvassed by ICG in our previous statements. “In spite of the imperatives and nuances of electoral contest, the ICG expects the President-elect to be magnanimous in victory. He should take immediate and practical steps to allay all the fears hitherto held about his personality and every allegation of a fixated mind over some sections of the country. And because the entire country is his constituency, no part should be seen as an underdog. Above all, he must consult deeply and widely and be a good listener. “As against what was bandied during the campaigns, wisdom comes with age and as such Nigerians expect to reap from the Buhari presidency all the benefits that accrue to a people when a fellow who has been schooled in wisdom and maturity mounts the saddle. “In Buhari, Nigeria expect to have her own Lee Quan Yu (Singapore), Gen. Park Chung-Lee (South Korea) and Deng Xiaoping (1904 -1997) China. The President-elect is mounting the saddle when the country has just entered into a deep economic crisis. With our oil no longer an attraction to the rest of the world, it needs no exaggeration to state that the new leadership must be creative and assertive in fashioning out a new blueprint for national economic revival.”
The group then went on to list the demands of the Igbo nation thus: MATTERS OF URGENCY Without prejudice to the existing manifesto of his party, ICG believes that there already exists a concise agenda that the President-elect must as a matter of urgency pursue in order to return the country to the path of sanity, equity, justice and rule of law. As it concerns Ndi Igbo, this priority agenda should include but not limited to: (i) Boko Haram Insurgency: It is needless to dwell in any details on the Boko Haram insurgency since the President-elect had even before his election assured Nigerians that Boko Haram will be a thing of the past as soon as he is elected. ICG believes he has what it takes to live up to expectations in this regard so that Ndi Igbo can go back to their businesses in the affected areas having lost over $7b. (ii)Reviving the Economy: On the economy, the ICG believes that the issues are so fundamental to warrant mere pontifications. What ICG expects the incoming administration to do will be to pursue a line of action that will include inputs from knowledgeable Nigerians irrespective of partisan inclination. (iii) Addressing Injustice To The Igbo: The ICG in a widely advertised statement in several national dailies, especially ThisDay, the Daily Sun and The Nation of Thursday 19th March, 2015 highlighted several issues which we wanted the presidential candidates to address. For emphasis, however, we represent below an abridged version of the issues concerned. (1) ELECTRICITY Aba Integrated Power Project In 2005, the Federal Government under President Olusegun Obasanjo concessioned the Aba metropolis to the investors of a 141MW plant in Aba as a security for financing the project. The then President convinced many Igbo investors who rushed and set up various plants/factories on the understanding that this power plant will see the light of the day. The plant was completed by M/S Geometric Consortium with state-of-the-art equipment from General Electric (GE) with an investment of over N100b since 15 months ago. Unfortunately, M/S BPE went ahead to double concession the same zone. The plant cannot take off. The investors are crying, unemployed youths are crying, Igbo are crying. This conspiracy and injustice must be addressed by the in-coming administration as soon as possible. (2) ADDITIONAL TWO STATES This issue was dealt with elaborately in the earlier statement by ICG and needs no emphasis here. Happily, it is one of the issues the President-elect promised to look into during his campaigns. (3) ABANDONED PROPERTY Over 85% of property belonging to Ndi Igbo in Rivers State remain classified as abandoned property 45 years after the end of the civil war. The Igbo demands that the incoming administration should look into this matter as a top priority and bring to a closure this festering wound which remains an embarrassment to Nigeria. Under no circumstance should it be acceptable that the property of a Nigerian citizen is called abandoned property in any part of the federation. The ICG calls on the in-coming federal government to review this injustice as a matter of urgency. (4) SECOND NIGER BRIDGE The ICG has earlier noted that the decision of the federal government to prosecute the second Niger Bridge project on a private-public partnership (PPP) arrangement is against the interest of Ndi Igbo. We urge the in-coming government to review this immediately. The second Niger Bridge is the only project under the N400 billion national intervention project of 2005 that is being handled as a PPP arrangement. In the alternation, we demand that South-east share of the intervention project be channeled to the development of Osemoto seaport. (5) THE OSEMOTO SEA PORT We wish to seize this opportunity to restate our demand that the federal government should as a matter of urgency revitalize the proposed sea port in Osemoto, Imo state. Osemoto (Oguta LGA, Imo State)/Oseakwa (Ihiala LGA, Anambra State) is the deepest natural harbour in Nigeria and will offer real naval and marinetransportation platforms if developed. Most interesting, the ADB report shows that it lies only 18 nautical miles to Atlantic Ocean and will be a strategic hub for oil and gas industry and inland dry docking to promote trade and create employment. Above all, it will open the Igbo land to the sea. In addition, it will open up more than 3,000 square kilometers of the most fertile agricultural land that has one of the highest alluvial deposits which has been in existence for well over a million years. The Osemoto deep sea port and all the associated industry will create well over two million jobs for our teeming unemployed youths. (6) GENERAL ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE The ICG demands that in addition to the immediate rehabilitation of all federal roads in the Southeast with high economic value, we would like the Buhari administration to complete the Otuocha-Mmiata-Kogi Road. This road is less than 150km and will knock off about 3 hours from every journey from the South-east to Abuja. This road was awarded to Nigercat in 2009 under President Shehu Musa Yar’Adua administration but curiously the Federal Government has not shown any interest in completing this project of high economic value to Ndi Igbo. IGBO IN THE NEW DISPENSATION The outcome of the 2015 presidential election has introduced a new vista to Igbo politics. Without any exaggerations, Ndigbo stand to benefit immensely from the change that has just taken place, in the sense that the new era will re-define Igbo politics more positively. Presidential power may become less accessible to Ndi Igbo but the current state of affairs offers an opportunity for a new and purposeful leadership to emerge in Igbo land. This new leadership must be people who will have the guts and intellectual capacity to become a credible opposition to the new dispensation if need be. In the new dispensation, politics of money and contract will have no place and in this regard, ICG is of the firm belief that the Igbo will be the biggest beneficiaries. Consequently, the ICG calls on Igbo youth to see the opportunity offered by the current development in the country to be more proactive and begin to think of ways of ridding Igbo land of the near zero intellectual content in its politics. Igbo youths should seize the present opportunity to come to the fore front on the fight against injustice to the Igbo. PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN ICG commends President Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan GCFR for his comportment and deep sense of accomodation. Nigerians will forever remember him for steadfastly upholding democratic ethics and allowing space for every player. President Jonathan came to power when the nation was in a big quagmire and it is to his credit that the country had a smooth transition following the sudden demise of his predecessor, the late President Umaru, Yar’Adua. We salute him for his courage in conceding defeat while asking that he should remain available for the country to tap from his experience. INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC) The ICG is satisfied with the outcome of the presidential election and urge Nigerians to accept the result. ICG wishes to congratulate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for being able to overcome the initial challenges to give the country a credible election at the end. IGBO IN THE DIASPORA ICG commends Ndigbo residing outside Igbo land especially in the North part of Nigeria for seeing the wisdom in keying into the movement that gave rise to what we are witnessing today. By that singular act, they have created a conducive atmosphere for preserving the age long tie between them and their fellow compatriots in the North and the Southwest. Contrary to the picture painted during the campaigns, Ndigbo have shown that they have no issues with General Buhari or with their brothers up North. ICG expects that in the days ahead, the symbiotic relationship that exists between the Igbo residing outside Igbo land and their hosts will become even more mutually beneficial. ICG commends Igbo politicians and members of the intelligentsia who supported and worked towards the Buhari project. We commend patriotic Nigerians in other parts of the country, especially the South-west led by the indefatigable Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Governor Lagos State 1999 – 2007), who saw the wisdom in the alliance that gave rise to the present moment. GENERAL We congratulate General Muhammadu Buhari GCFR once more. We know that asa leader whose transparent lifestyle and synchronicity between words and deeds are so eloquent, the last campaign couldn’t sink his reputation. Igbo Conversational Group (ICG) believes that the new era can become the foundation of Nigeria’s march into a secured future of prosperity and political stability. While pledging to give the President-elect all necessary support, the ICG will employ every legitimate means to ensure that the Igbo are however no longer denied access to the common patrimony. We pledge to engage all the relevant authorities constructively with an abiding faith in the unity and overall economic prosperity of the country at large. THIS IS THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA. [myad]
President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari has been receiving congratulatory messages from world leaders among who are the leaders of The United Kingdom, France, Rwanda, Somalia and Niger Republic. In their separate messages, Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Francois Hollande, Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, Rwandan leader Paul Kagame and Prime Minister of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou congratulated General Muhammadu Buhari on his victory and Nigerians for conducting a credible election that would ensure a peaceful transfer of power from one elected administration to another. Among the leader who visited the President-elect in Abuja today to congratulate his were former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, former Vice President and chieftain of APC, Atiku Abubakar and his wife Hajiya Titi Abubakar and the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield and accompanied by US Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador James Entwistle, among others. They all pledged their support and commitment to ensuring the success of the Buhari administration and for better relations between their countries and Nigeria. In his response to the various leaders, General Buhari thanked the international community for working with Nigerians in providing the atmosphere that helped to bring about change through elections in the country. He promised to work with the international community to restore Nigeria’s full commitment and obligations to the international system.
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President Goodluck Jonathan, President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar have expressed sadness over the death of the former Nigeria Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko Yusuf.
