PDP NOT Satisfied With Buhari And Osibanjo's Asset Declarations

 The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is calling on President Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to release copies of their assets declaration forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

The party is describing the asset declaration release earlier today as “a deceptive window-dressing to hoodwink unsuspecting Nigerians”, and claim that the declaration is only "a mere list of some belongings of President Buhari and Osinbajo, in place of the pledge made to Nigerians by the President as candidate of the All Progressives Congress.”

The party recalled that on March 18, 2015, at exactly 5 pm, the President, in his own words, had stated to Nigerians saying, “I pledge to publicly declare my assets and liability and also encourage my political appointees to publicly declare their assets and liability.”

PDP say it has observed that President Buhari and his deputy have failed to produce copies of their declarations, detailing the exact nature and value of respective assets.

Below is PDP National Public Secretary's statement...

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said

The release of a mere list of belongings falls short of credibility, transparency and anti-corruption standards as well as exposes the proclivity of the present administration for

deception.

We have noted the release of a flimsy list of belongings of President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo by the Presidency, who want such to pass as the public declaration of assets as pledged by the President. Nigerians are not deceived by this poor attempt at window-dressing designed by the Presidency to hoodwink the unsuspecting populace in a desperate bid to shore up its diminished image.

We ask, is the resort to a mere list, instead of true copies of the declaration, not a ploy to give the Presidency a window for denial in consonance with their widely observed inclination for flip-flopping, back tracking and brazen denials of their statements and

actions?

All we want is credibility, integrity and sincerity of purpose. We are not questioning how a President, who by December last year, declared that he had only N1 million in his

account, could suddenly now list N30 million in the same bank account by May 29, and after an expensive campaign; we are not yet demanding the public declaration of his assets in his wife’s name.

We are not even applauding the multiplication of his cows from 150 to 250 in a space of three months, arising from his dual and conflicting pronouncements on this issue.”

He said what the PDP and discerning Nigerians were demanding was for the President to always stand by his words and pledge.

Metuh concluded saying: "Mr. President, this is a mere list of your belongings and not a public declaration of assets in fulfillment of your covenant with Nigerians"

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Senate President Bukola Saraki Reaches Out to Bola Tinubu in Bid to Reconcile

 Sources say that despite his public show of defiance, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has started reaching out to some of the aggrieved leaders of the APC.

Saraki is one of the gladiators in the clash of egos and wills that followed the Senate leadership election on June 9 and subsequent appointment of principal officers.

The Senate President had earlier visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo to help him beg President Muhammadu Buhari. He also reportedly met with the Emir of Kano and Lamido Sanusi, on the same thing.

Last week, he sent Senate Leader Ali Ndume, Senator Kabiru Gaya, Senator Adamu Aliero, Senator Danjuma Goje, and Senator Abdullahi Adamu, on his behalf Saraki who all met with President Buhari and sought forgiveness on behalf of the Senate President for acting contrary to the dictates of the party.

A report in a national daily on Saturday also said the emissaries apologised to the President for the individual roles they played in the crisis. 

However, sources in the party said on Saturday that the emissaries also had a brief meeting with the party’s national leader and former Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu.

Many within the party see the crisis as a battle of wills with Buhari, Tinubu and some party leaders on one side of the ring and the Senate President and his backers on the other side. One of the prominent APC leaders that is believed to have backed Saraki is former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

But sources told our correspondent that Saraki, of recent, had made strenuous efforts to meet and appeal to Tinubu to sheathe his sword.

Saraki’s olive branch to Tinubu may mark a turning point in the crisis as the Senate President, before now, had insisted that he would not ‘beg’ the APC leader.

But the sources added that Saraki might have changed his position when all his efforts to get President Buhari to forgive him for his defiance to the party and move on.

It has been widely reported that Buhari has refused all entreaties to host the Senate President at the Presidential Villa since the controversial election in the senate. The President had also said the leadership of the senate should tow the party line.

Two APC officials yesterday shed light on Saraki’s last two attempts to reach out to the APC national leader. They said that one attempt occurred three weeks ago while the other took place on Thursday in Abuja.

“Three weeks ago he tried to get across to Tinubu through one of his aides. Of course, the aide couldn’t have arranged the meeting. Tinubu’s disposition to the matter is well known,” the source said.

The APC national leader, sources said, had told some of Saraki’s emissaries in the past that the senate leadership should toe the party line.

Another source said the last attempt took place during the week when the APC senators, who met with the President at the behest of Saraki, also tried to get across to Tinubu. A source close to Tinubu said while the former Lagos governor was aware of the move, his position on the matter had not changed.

The source stated that Saraki needed a long-term strategy to pacify the aggrieved party leaders, adding that the Senate President’s is perceived as haughty by some of these leaders.

“It is a surprise that he is reaching out to Tinubu. Saraki has no respect for Tinubu. He is contemptuous of him. During meetings he refers to him contemptuously as “Bola”. In fact there was a time that Tinubu wanted to explain a point to him and he shut him up,” the source said.

“Tinubu’s take is that the senate should toe the party line. It is not a personal problem at all. If it were a personal problem, the President won’t be reacting the same way.”

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Lai Mohammed said on Saturday that the APC believes in party supremacy.

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Investigate APC Former Governors - PDP Challenges EFCC

 The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday Thursday challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the corrupt leaders and members of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

The Acting National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, gave the challenge when he received a delegation of members PDP in the senate at Legacy House, the party’s campaign office in Abuja. Secondus, who called for President Muhamadu Buhari intervention, said that the anti-graft agency was only investigating PDP members in its anti-corruption war leaving those who served under APC.

“So far, statistics has shown that EFCC has only arrested members of our party, those who have served in previous government. “But there are APC governors and members, who have served various governments, they have been left alone. “We believe that a government that is serious with anti corruption crusade cannot be one sided or selective. It should be holistic,’’ Secondus said. He called on the EFCC to also investigate APC governors rather than targeting only PDP ex-governors and ex-ministers.

“We have seen on the pages of newspapers allegation from Lagos and Rivers states on the ex-governors. What is EFCC doing to those allegations? ” Secondus asked

 The acting chairman, assured that the NWC would work with the PDP senate leadership to make sure that they were successful. Secondus said that from the inauguration of the senate to the election of the senate leadership, the NWC was pleased with the process and those elected. Also answering question on the allegation that the NWC spent 12 billion within nine months, Secondus said that the figure was not correct.

He said

“What is correct is that from the sales of forms, we raised over N11 billion.’’

“According to our party’s guideline and constitution, this N11 billion was meant to be shared among the states, local governments and the zones. “The local government will have five per cent, the states; 10 per cent, and the zones; five per cent. That means 20 per cent is taken away from that. “You are also aware that people went on assignment about 15 per cent is also taken away, the rest I can tell you was used for our campaign and elections.

“No body, no member of the NWC has embezzled any money,’’ Secondus said. He added that the Staff Welfare Association who made the allegation had apologised through its letter to the NWC. “We raise our money and we used our money, that is the correct thing,’’ Secondus added.

Earlier, Godswill Akpabio, who led the delegates, said the aim of the visit was to appreciate the NWC for endorsing decision of PDP senate caucus that led to their emergence as senate leaders.

Akpabio, who is the Senate Minority Leader, said that the senate PDP caucus unanimously endorsed the action of the NWC so far since May 29. 

“We are very proud working with your committee, and today we pass a vote of confidence on the NWC under the leadership of Sencondus. “We are saying that we are behind you as ambassadors of the senate; we will do our best, positively to project the image of PDP,’’ Akpabio said.

He urged Buhari to carry everybody along in his administration irrespective of their party affiliations. 

He also condemned what he described as interference of the Department of the State Security Services (DSS) in the electoral matter by detaining INEC officials only in states being controlled by PDP. He listed Akwa-Ibom, Abia and Rivers as states most harassed by the DSS while INEC officials in APC controlled states were not invited for interrogation.

“No country in the world can claim they have a democracy when it does not have vibrant and viable opposition. “So any group aiming to kill opposition party does not believe in democracy,’’ Akpabio said.

On the PDP internal crisis, between the staff and NWC of PDP, Akpabio said that the senators were happy to note that the staff had written apology letter to the NWC. Other members of the delegates include Sen. Abiodun Olujimi, the Senate Deputy Minority Whip and Sen. Philip Aduda, among others.

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"APC Is a Party of Shameless and Desperate Liars" - PDP Blast

 The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as a party of shameless and desperate liars. The party berated the APC for sticking to its lies and empty denials despite overwhelming evidences that the new Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Alhaji Lawal Daura is an APC member.

PDP National Publicity Secretary Chief Olisa Metuh in a statement on Saturday said the spate of lies chunked out by the APC and its spokesperson, Alhaji Lai Mohammed in the desperation to suppress the truth is not only reprehensible but also symptomatic of lack of character.

“When the matter first came up, the APC spokesman hurriedly went on air on RayPower radio wherein he stated categorically to the nation that he never knew or met “the man”, and that “the man” has never had any contact or dealing whatsoever with the APC as a party before his appointment as DSS Director General.

“When we came up with the newspaper advertorial sponsored by the APC wherein it announced Alhaji Daura as a member of its campaign Intelligence Committee, a very important position vested on him by virtue of his membership of the party, as well as pictures of him with other members of the committee, Lai Mohammed started singing a new tone, insulted PDP leaders as hallucinating out of poverty and asked PDP to produce Daura’s membership card and evidence of registration.

“We ask, is APC demanding that the PDP invade Daura’s house to get his personal card? Or that we should go to Daura to get the APC ward register? How on earth does the APC spokesperson want us to go and ask a man in charge of arresting and detaining people who hold views contrary to those of his party and government to give us his party membership card? How on earth can the PDP request and get the APC membership register in Daura’s ward? Who do Lai Mohammed and the APC think they are fooling? Nigerians?” the PDP queried.

The PDP noted that in his lame effort to defend his party, the APC spokesman either intentionally lied or exhibited crass ignorance by trying to equate the DSS with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Police Service Commission (PCC), or the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where a Democrat, Mr. Leon Panetta was named by President Obama as head. “Perhaps Mr. Lai Mohammed needs to constantly update and crosscheck his facts. We wish to inform him and the APC that there is a great difference between the CIA and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after which the Nigerian DSS was fashioned.

“Whereas the US FBI and the Nigerian DSS are vested with the statutory tasks of providing domestic intelligence, security service and criminal investigations among others for the state and can be equated with the British M15 and Russian FSB, all of which have their headships insulated from politics, the CIA on the other hand is vested with collecting of intelligence overseas, the same role as Nigeria’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

“Furthermore, the NOA and PCC are agencies that have no powers to investigate, arrest or detain, neither can they be used to harass, hound or intimidate. Also, we wish to remind Lai Mohammed that Mr. Mike Omeri, in writing, declined the appointment into the PDP campaign committee because of his position as Director General of the NOA. We note therefore that in drawing his comparisons, Mr. Mohammed either exhibited high level ignorance or acted ostensibly to deceive Nigerians yet again. “Severally in the past, we have exposed Lai Mohammed in terms of lies but instead of retracing his steps, he keeps on moving from one ‘lai’ to the other.

Only in May this year, Lai Mohammed nearly derailed the transition programme when he issued a false statement alleging that the APC team was being frustrated, just for the head of the APC’s Transition Committee, Alhaji Ahmed Joda to announce that there was nothing of such. “Nigerians have not forgotten how Lai Mohammed had in June 2014 issued a statement wherein he alleged that a plane carrying Kano state Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso to attend an APC rally in Ekiti was denied landing permission in Akure, only for Kwankwaso’s Director of Press Affairs, Baba Dantiye to announce that his boss was at another event in Kano and had no plans to travel to Ekiti state. “The APC spokesman should know that being a spokesperson of a political party does not mean he should be dishing out lies. He should shed his unnecessary arrogance and understand that the APC did not win the Presidential election on account of his lies and deceit. In fact, this constant falsehood has become a huge embarrassment and source of worry for responsible and respectable persons in the APC.

 “Quite often, he boasts of arranging a course for the opposition. We ask, is he arranging a course in lies? For the umpteenth time, let us inform him and the APC that the PDP does not need their course on the spreading of hatred and strife with lies, propaganda and deceit. Our form of opposition is focused only on constructive criticisms while presenting credible alternatives to the policies and programmes of the present administration. “Our worry however is that the APC spokesperson has so negatively influenced some hundreds of young people who now engage in abuses as a model for effective communication and this is not healthy for the polity. We urge Nigerians to purge themselves of this poisonous mode of communication so that we can have credible and decorous political discourse in this country” the party said.

The PDP insisted that in appointing its member to head the DSS, a very sensitive security agency vested with numerous powers, the APC has annexed the Service as a tool to suppress the opposition and other Nigerians who hold views contrary to that of government, thus preparing the ground for dictatorship and a reign of terror on the people.

“No wonder we are now witnessing invasions of houses of PDP members as well as harassments, arrests and detentions of electoral officers and tribunal members in Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and other PDP state where the APC is desperate to upturn our electoral victory at all cost and by any means”, it stated. The party however restated that no amount of harassment and threats or conniving with people, whether disgruntled PDP members or staff, can intimidate, blackmail or distract the PDP from discharging its duty to Nigerians, of providing constructive and credible opposition to the policies and programmes of the present administration.

Signed: Chief Olisa Metuh

National Publicity Secretary

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Buhari's Meeting With APC House Of Reps Members Ends In Deadlock

 President Buhari had called for the meeting with the APC lawmakers, yesterday July 27, to seek for ways to resolve the leadership crisis rocking the lower chamber but the meeting ended in a deadlock with both factions, the Yakubu Dogara faction and Femi Gbajabiamila faction, refusing to bulge and sticking to their different positions.

 President Buhari however told the members to respect the party's decision. The house has been in a lingering crisis after the Dogara faction rejected APC's decision to make Femi Gbajabiamila the House Majority leader.

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Bayelsa Senator Blast Former President, Goodluck Jonathan in New Statement

 A chieftain of the APC in Bayelsa state, Senator John Brambaifa, has stated that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party will lose the December 5 governorship election in the state due to the unpopularity of the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday at the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja, the ex-senator claimed that Jonathan was unpopular even when he was picked as vice president in 2007.

Mr. Brambaifa said the ex-president’s poor performance while in office has added to his low rating even among his own people.

“I can tell you categorically that the former president from my assessment is not popular now and he was not that popular when he was even the president”, he said.

The APC chieftain also said Mr. Jonathan was not popular because he was imposed on the people of the South South region.

“If it were the people of Bayelsa or the people of the South-south that would have picked a vice president at the time, I don’t think the people would have picked Goodluck Jonathan because he was not popular and he didn’t have the capacity to be vice president at the time he was imposed”, he said.

Mr. Brambaifa further said Mr. Jonathan’s unpopularity was proven by his inability to win a second term in office.

“If we are saying that PDP is not popular in Bayelsa state, the unpopularity and the inability to perform maximally when Jonathan was the president is likely to contribute to the unpopularity of the PDP as at now”, he said. Jonathan murdered PDP

Assessing the administration of Governor Seriake Dickson in the state, Mr. Brambaifa said the governor did not complete and commission a single project since his election in 2012.

He, however, challenged Dickson to tell the people of the state what he has achieved since his assumption of office.

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Ohaneze Ndigbo Accuses Tinubu of Plotting to Remove Ekweremadu

 The youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Ohanaeze Youth Council, has said that the All Progressives Congress, APC, National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is behind the plot to remove Ike Ekweremadu as the deputy senate president.

In a statement issued in Umuahia, the OYC National President, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, asked Tinubu and other “anti- Igbo forces in APC” to retrace their steps or face the wrath of Igbo youths.

Isiguzoro said the plot to remove Ekweremadu was an affront on the Igbo nation which would not be tolerated.

He said,

“Being fully aware that the present plot is being orchestrated by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, we ask him to re-trace his steps forthwith or we shall declare him an enemy of Ndigbo.”

Isiguzoro, urged President Buhari to caution Tinubu and other anti-Ekweremadu forces.

He said,

“We are aware that Buhari is under intense pressure to endorse the ‘Ekweremadu must go plot.’ This is the time for the President to prove that he belongs to nobody, Tinubu inclusive, but that he belongs to everybody, Ndigbo inclusive.”

Another Igbo group, Izu-Umunna Cultural Association, also asked the APC to accept the election of Ekweremadu as the deputy senate president as the will of God.

In a statement signed by its President, Dr. Ugo Ihekuna, and Secretary-General, Chief Elvis Chukwu, the association attributed the crisis in the senate to the handiwork of politicians who wanted things to always go their own way.

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PDP Alleges Threat to Life of some of its Leaders Following National Assembly Elections

 The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged threat to life of some of its leaders following the National Assembly elections which they say didn't go the way of the APC.

 At a press conference in the party headquarters in Abuja today July 5th, the National Publicity secretary of PDP, Olisa Metuh said some of the party leaders are being threatened, particularly because of the emergence of its member, Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President. Mr Metuh said the present government and APC should be held responsible if anything happens to Senator Ekweremadu. Full text of his speech below...

Gentlemen of the press,

We have called you up this Sunday afternoon to address you and through you alert all Nigerians and indeed the international community of a grievous development that constitutes a major threat to our democracy and lives as individuals.

As we address you today, our democracy is facing a serious danger. We are at the verge of a quick slide into dictatorship and the personal freedom entrenched in the polity in the last 16 years by the PDP is about to be obliterated.

We wish to alert all Nigerians and the international community that there is indeed a clear and present danger of threat to the lives of key opposition leaders in Nigeria.

In the last few weeks, key PDP members have become an endangered group for playing their opposition role in providing constructive criticisms to the ruling party in their apparent lack of capacity to get organized and form a government; their interference in the activities of the National Assembly and the demand for the implementation of their campaign promises to Nigerians.

As we address you today, some key leaders of our party have been under threat since the emergence of the leadership of the National Assembly which did not go the way of the leadership of the APC, particularly, the election of PDP’s Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President.

The leadership of the PDP has been made aware of various threats to life and other forms of intimidation and blackmail against Senator Ekweremadu from the APC.

As you may know, the APC leaders have not hidden their bitterness and resentment towards Senator Ekweremadu whose offense is the privilege of being elected by his colleagues (APC and PDP senators alike) as Deputy Senate President in line with the Standing Rules of the Senate and the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Since President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement that Senator Ekweremadu’s election was ‘unacceptable’ to his party, the Deputy Senate President, who can only be removed by the Senate has come under threats and intense pressure from APC leaders to resign and allow a senator from the ruling party to take his position.

However, having failed to get him to resign, the APC has now engaged in heinous plots to force him out of office, a design, which totally negates the independence of the legislature and the spirit and letters of the constitution of Nigeria.

Apparently to ensure that the agenda is given an official stamp, the Inspector General of Police, acting on instructions has invited the Deputy Senate President with a view to arresting him over phantom charges as a build up to incarcerate him, create a vacuum in the Senate and pave way for the imposition of APC preferred senator to take over his position.

“We are aware that some APC senators opposed to the emerge of Senators Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively met last week and concocted a petition accusing the Deputy Senate President of altering the Senate Rules on the process of election of the Presiding Officers, upon which the police via a letter dated July 1, 2015 and signed by the Deputy Inspector General in charge of criminal investigation at the Force Headquarters has invited him to appeartomorrow, Monday, July 6, 2015where he will be detained and put under pressure.

Apart from the fact that the Nigerian Constitution clearly guarantees the two chambers of the National Assembly the powers to regulate their proceedings without external interferences, we note that the petition by this group of senators who enjoy the sympathy of some APC leaders lacks merit as Senator Ekweremadu or any other senator-elect prior to the inauguration of the Senate and the election of presiding officers, could not have been involved in the process of producing the 2015 Standing Rules of the Senate which was strictly done by the bureaucracy under the Clerk to the National Assembly.

Furthermore, Senator Ekweremadu was not in any way involved in the process other than being nominated for the position of the Deputy Senate President and could not have been privy to the secret ballot procedure adopted by the National Assembly bureaucracy, which has been widely adjudged as transparent and credible.

Also, apart from plans to use security apparatus against the Deputy Senate President, we have information that there are instructions to certain officials at the now National Electoral Commission to alter some electoral documents and records in order to create the impression that Senator Ekweremadu did not file proper documents for the general elections to eventually pave way for his removal.

In line with the above plot, the APC has been having secret meetings with some judges and lawyers to procure injunctions to prevent Senator Ekweremadu from playing his role as the Deputy Senate President.

We are also aware that part of the plot is a conspiracy to tarnish Senator Ekweremadu’s image and open him to public ridicule. Last Monday, some APC leaders met in Abuja to perfect a plot to blackmail the Deputy Senate President by planting outlandish publications against him in the media.

The PDP hereby states and in very clear terms too that the government and APC leaders should be held responsible should any harm come upon the Deputy Senate President or any of our party leaders for that matter. We state this because information available to us indicates that there are also plans to compromise security around the Deputy Senate President to make him vulnerable and open for sponsored violent attacks.

We do hope that the era of political assassination is not about to return to Nigeria and that our nation will not descent into a draconian regime where a strike force is created to hunt key opposition figures. In this wise, we call on our citizens to note that the PDP will not consider it a mere coincidence if our key leaders suddenly become victims of terror attacks or are suddenly killed by armed robbers. This is especially as we are aware that the APC has even gone to the ridiculous extent of trailing key PDP leaders and bugging their telephone lines.

This is in addition to hiring some disgruntled PDP members, to use the guise of an ethnic solidarity to create some disturbances, distractions and disruption of the smooth operations of our party. The APC is indeed in the process of elevating violence, ethnic and sectional interests once more in our democracy and we call on patriotic Nigerians across the country to resist this dangerous design.

We are aware that President Buhari, who had earlier restated his willingness to work with anybody elected by the legislature, has been put under intense pressure resulting in his statement on the emergence of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, which is now being misconstrued by some of his overzealous party members and security officials. We therefore urge the President to bear in mind that the onus therefore lies on him to moderate the political temperature of the country by calling his overbearing party members and security officials to order.

In Nigeria, the constitution empowers each chamber of the National Assembly to choose its leadership without external interferences. Senators in their wisdom and in exercise of that power, in line with the provisions of their Standing Rules chose Senators Saraki and Ekweremadu to lead them and the constitution is clear on the process for their removal from office.

The APC should not in any way take our civility, decency and commitment to national peace and stability for granted. They should rather be thankful to PDP senators, who in their maturity and discipline stuck to the decision of our party to support Senator Saraki and restrained themselves from using their majority status on the day of Senate inauguration to take over the positions of the Senate President and that of Deputy Senate President, while APC senators were busy attending their party meeting at the International Conference Center (ICC).

APC leaders must understand that no amount of threats, intimidation and blackmail will make the Deputy Senate President to abandon the mandate freely given to him by the Senate, or compel the PDP to abdicate its responsibility as an opposition party, a role we will continue to play with every sense of restrain, civility, maturity and patriotism.

On this note, we urge all our citizens, the civil society and indeed the international community to note the development in Nigeria; the onslaught against the opposition; the eroding of personal freedom, threats to lives, disruption of the legislative activities of the National Assembly, undermining of the independence of our electoral body and other dangerous signal that the nation may be on a slide to totalitarianism.

As a party that sustained and nurtured democracy in the last 16 years, the PDP cannot fold its hands and watch but will stand with all patriots in resisting this attempt to transform our country from a democratic state where the freedom of citizens to hold personal opinions and aspirations are guaranteed, to a nation where despotism, fear, clamp down on opposition and of course the media will be the order of the day.

Thank you

Chief Olisa Metuh

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APC Insists on Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu's Removal(Report)

 APC says Deputy Senate president Ike Ekweremadu of the PDP must be removed from office. Senator Ekweremadu who was also the deputy senate president in the last administration, was elected deputy senate president during the controversial senate leadership election on June 9th which produced Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President.

 A member of the ruling party who spoke on condition of anonymity with Punch, said Ekweremadu serving as deputy senate president will adversely affect President Buhari's administration.

He also added that President Buhari has refused to see Senator Saraki and Hon Dogara since their emergence as Senate President and Speaker.

 "As deputy senate leader, Ekweremadu is automatically the Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment. This is a sensitive position that, statutorily, should not be held by the minority. Ekweremadu and his PDP co-travellers will hamper the policies of the Buhari government. By the virtue of Senate rules, a member of the minority is not supposed to be the deputy senate leader; so, he is occupying the post illegally. We know the body language of some of these elements to anti-corruption. Nigerians know the stance of Buhari on corruption and insecurity. These elements occupying positions in the National Assembly must be removed. Otherwise, this administration is dead on arrival. The President has refused to see Saraki and Dogara since they emerged as senate president and speaker respectively. Both Saraki and Dogara have done everything possible to see the President but he has shunned them because he is not happy about their conduct. You can see that the President has seen the Lawan group; this shows where his support lies” he said

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One Month After Inauguration, we are still cleaning your mess - Presidency replies PDP's Assessment

 The Presidency has replied the PDP's assessment of President Buhari's administration one month after inauguration.

 Olisa Metuh, the Spokesperson of PDP had in a statement released yesterday called on Nigerians to pray for the Buhari led administration, saying that it has been all motion but no movement. 

In a swift reaction, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina in a statement released tonight said the new administration is cleaning the filth of the last one

“It is amusing to read what the National Publicity Secretary of the defeated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, considers a 30 days appraisal of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. He wants Nigerians to join hands in prayers for the government, so that things would begin to move.

What he does not know is that Nigerians had long formed such coalition. They are hands in hands, and that was what gave victory to President Buhari in the March 28, 2015 poll. They had teamed up to uproot an administration that had brought the country to her knees, and was about to tip her off the precipice. And Nigerians have resolved that never would they allow any government to divide them along regional, religious and ethnic fault lines again. The Buhari administration is naturally contemplative because there was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the way PDP ran the country, particularly in the immediate past dispensation.

 That is why the Augean Stable is being cleaned now, and it requires scrupulous and painstaking planning. Across all sectors, our national life was devalued, and it takes meticulousness and sure-footedness to repair all the breaches. This, the Buhari administration will deliver.

Metuh talks of people round the President conniving with bureaucrats to syphon money from the treasury. This must be deja vu, as it was the pastime of the immediate past administration, and the enormity of the sleaze will be evident when stolen money, to the tune of billions of dollars, is recovered, and returned to the national treasury soon. In the process of time, after all that is being planned by the current administration has matured, and bearing fruits, Nigerians will be able to determine who is serving them acceptably, and who has taken them for a ride. It is just a matter of time. Meanwhile, Metuh and his masters can only rue the missed opportunities to make salutary impact on the lives of Nigerians. They have a long road of regrets to travel,” the statement said.

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Dele Momodu Reveals his Disappointment at the new Government in Open Letter to Pres. Buhari(Read)

 Ovation publisher and staunch Buhari supporter, Dele Momodu, yesterday wrote a desperate open letter to the president where he expressed a little disappointment over the government of APC in the last four weeks. Read his memo 1st published on Thisday below...

 Your Excellency, I write to you today with a heavy heart. The reason should be obvious. I was one of those latter day converts to Buharism, a political philosophy that believes in the reincarnation of former leaders in the days of tribulation. You were never the first man to resurrect from retirement and near political oblivion. General Olusegun Obasanjo bounced back from prison to Aso Rock Villa. In nearby Benin Republic, former military dictator and strongman, Mathieu Kerekou who had served as maximum ruler for about 17 incredible years, came back to defeat incumbent President, Nicephore Soglo in a 1990 election.  He led his country for another ten years and almost got another five-year term but for the age barrier that disqualified him.

 It is normal for Africans to run towards the wise elders of the village when trouble comes knocking. That is one of the major reasons Nigerians in their millions voted with their feet and thumbs to elect you President.  Many of those who supported you did so for several other reasons and you must understand that they were mainly not members of your political party, APC. So, apart from your age, they backed you because they believed in your impeccable pedigree as an incorruptible and honourable man, a strict disciplinarian, a Scrooge who would not fritter away our meagre resources, a scourge of rogues and prodigal sons, a metamorphosed tyrant now a born-again democrat, and so on and so forth. Nigerians ardently placed their hopes in you and fervently prayed you won’t disappoint them.

 This is the principal reason I have decided to send you this desperate memo today before some despicable politicians tarnish your hard-earned reputation and truncate this beautiful chance again.

 Sir, let me say right away that the goodwill garnered during your campaigns and the jubilation that heralded your recent victory are fast fading and you need to, as a matter of urgency, convince the people of Nigeria that you’re now ready to hit the ground running. They are not going to listen to excuses since you had 30 years after quitting the high office to onerously prepare for the job again. For them it is immaterial that you met an empty treasury or that you are mostly surrounded by selfish, corruptive influences and impostors. As I mentioned in my earlier epistles to you, Nigerians have become totally impatient and what they expect of you is tantamount to performing the miracle of turning water into wine or raising Lazarus from the dead. You cannot afford to waste any second before displaying the sterner stuff you’re reputed to be made of.

 I had encouraged you not to be afraid of taking charge of the Party that brought you to power or tackling the politicians that claimed to have helped you in the process. I had imagined that you know the ways of our politicians by now and thought you knew how to handle them. I had told you matter-of-factly that you may have to step on some powerful toes in order to achieve anything tangible. The worst that may likely happen is for people to say and accuse you of dictatorial proclivity which won’t be new in your lexicon or to be threatened with impeachment and all-what-not. But trust me, no evil shall befall you for as long as you carry the people along in your crusade and do not pander to the whims and caprices of members of the privilegentsia.

 There is no doubt that the present imbroglio in your Party is as a result of your lukewarm attitude to Party issues thinking you could merely concentrate on nation-building while others deal with political intrigues. However, it is not always as simple as that. As you can now see, you don’t seem to be on the same page with your Party. While you were busy agonising over the myriad of problems besetting Nigeria, many of your presumed disciples were busy fighting over positions and control of power the way babies squabble over lollipops. They have studiously forgotten the change mantra and the huge expectations that made the electorate to troop out in droves and cast their votes for you and the Party.

 The moment you became the President-elect, you should have readied your manacles for all would-be trouble makers. You should have sent out a powerful message to those politicians who may wish to act above the law. But the moment you appeared ready to abdicate some of your leadership responsibilities to them, the obvious lacuna gave them the needed impetus to take charge and cut you adrift. Your political advisers, if any, should have prepared you for the offensive. There is no way you are going to fight and survive the battle ahead if the political class see you as a man they can easily bully. You cannot sit on the fence.  Whilst your decision not to interfere in the affairs of another arm of Government, the legislature, is commendable and indeed your constitutional duty, you must make it clear to your Party that the same non-interference must apply to them.

Our people may have voted for your Party but they also voted for the individuals that the Party entrusted its mandate to including you.  Just as there is a limit to how the Party can control you in the exercise of your executive functions and those you choose to assist you in the fulfilment of those functions, so also must you tell the Party chieftains that there is a limit as to how much the leadership structure and duties of the legislative arm can be controlled.  If you are ambiguous about this, then you are inviting your Party leadership to write a letter to you categorically stating not only those you must appoint as your Ministers and Special Advisers but also those that you must not work with under any guise. I am sure you would not tolerate that. In the same vein you must not tolerate Party interference in the legislature.  Change has come, please imbibe it!

 In essence it is incumbent on you to deal with the issues arising from tensions created by party supremacy, parliamentary democracy and above all constitutionality.  There is a delicate balance to be struck between these competing interests though constitutionality must eventually prevail.  However, even constitutionality is subordinated to national interest, because that is the most important interest of all.

Your Party has a lot to learn from the tragedy which was invited upon itself by advertence of the former ruling Party, PDP. As a mark of respect to your status and office, your Party should have adopted your instinct and temperament immediately you conceded that the elections of principal officers at the National Assembly were “somewhat constitutional.” Even if internally aggrieved, like mortals may invariably be, your Party hierarchy should not have washed their dirty linen in public knowing the full implications of the backlash that might splash and smear your collective image. APC should have done what PDP failed to do when Governor Rotimi Amaechi won the Chairmanship of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum by instantly recognising the leadership of the National Assembly while seeking ways to ameliorate the unfortunate saga. No reasonable parent would voluntarily kill a recalcitrant child. There is always another opportunity for penitence and atonement.

 I expected the crisis to escalate once the warring factions stuck arrogantly to their positions and neither was ready to bulge. Had APC accepted its fate with equanimity, I’m certain this peculiar mess would have been exterminated. Had Saraki and Dogara shown magnanimity in victory some of the truculent malice expressed by certain leaders may have also been mellowed.

Say what you will, the PDP had its fair dose of political migraine and rambunctiousness but it accepted certain realities and moved on. The ones they failed to accept led to their cataclysmic fall. The mutually destructive suspicion in APC should have been nipped in the bud for your sake.

The burden you currently carry is heavier than an elephant and I don’t think you need or deserve this kind of nuisance distraction. The leadership of the National Assembly should also calm down by reaching out to their angry Party chieftains. There is nothing to gain in fighting a perennial war. Once upon a time, they were all friends and members of the same family. It is never too late to embrace peace and reunite. Now that we know what the bone of contention is, no one should be victimised for belonging to whatever factions that exist.

I have read endless arguments for and against the pugilists in APC and my candid advice is that you need to appoint your cabinet and aides now. The sooner you assemble and send forth your foot-soldiers the better for our polity to begin the healing process. Right now our nation appears to be rudderless and floundering and this should not be the case.

What is left for you to do is to quickly bring all the gladiators together and see how you can apply some balm on frayed nerves. The Federal Government has humongous largesse to disburse so it should not be too difficult to appease the juggernauts. When that is sorted, you should draw your own plans and let your people know your roadmap. Your job would be much easier if you surround yourself with people who can look at you straight in the eye and say the truth no matter how bitter. Most of our leaders failed because they fell victims of sweet-talking scammers.

 It is very essential that your Party sees and embrace you as their father and not the other way round. Whether you like it or not, and whether others in your Party want to accept it or not, you are the de facto national leader of your Party. You are the President and Commander in Chief of our country. Yes, you ARE the capo di tutti capi. You therefore cannot be subservient to any other person.

You must immediately take upon this role and assume that mantle. Please feel free to lay down the law and if occasion demands, enforce our law.  That is what leaders do. Ambivalence or hesitancy will simply not do! You have the next four years minus one month and time is ticking away dutifully.

Equally important is the fact that you are more of a social crusader than a politician and your Party ought to note this fact and understand that it can’t be business as usual. Your Party leveraged on your uncommon reputation to gain POWER. Sir, you can’t afford to evaporate such stupendous equity just like that. You have demonstrated enough tolerance but the time has come to repudiate our propensity for rascality.

The task ahead is so gargantuan and it would require all hands to be on deck. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I reiterate that the first priority, apart from national security, should be how to reduce the atrocious costs of running government in Nigeria. Until you achieve that sir, the Muhammed Alis of Nigeria will never stop their boxing tournaments in parliaments and elsewhere. The fight is for cash and not for any selfless services.

Many won’t bother to contest if they think it is not lucrative. I don’t know how you plan to do this but it has to be done somehow and thankfully there are many methods that you can deploy. I’m glad you hope to retrieve some of the stolen billions. You need some serious cash, Sir. The challenges ahead would dissipate if you can raise the finances needed to tackle them.

I trust that God has deliberately raised you up at this time as a veritable example to mankind that being honest is not a crime and we have a lot to learn and cheer from your miraculous victory. May God help you to carry this cross successfully.

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'On our list we stand' - APC Tell Saraki & Dogara

 The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly condemned what transpired at both chambers of the National Assembly on Thursday, June 25th 2015.

 In a statement issued by its National Secretary, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni, the party stand by the list sent by the party to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

 The National Caucus, BOT and NEC of the party will meet within the next few days to discuss the evolving developments in the National Assembly. 

Alhaji Mai Mala Buni National Secretary All Progressives Congress (APC) Abuja, June 25th 2015

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APC Reacts to PDP's call for Fashola's Administration to be Probed(Report)

 The Lagos state chapter of APC has reacted to calls by members of the PDP in the state asking the incumbent governor, Akinwunmi Ambode to probe the administration of former governor, Babatunde Fashola.

  APC reacted in a statement released by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Joe Igbokwe today June 24th. The statement in part reads

“Lagos PDP has lost it and is in a journey of self derision and ridicule. APC is not surprised that Lagos PDP continues to demonstrate traits that show it as a jesting group that has no meaningful thing to contribute to the growth and progress of Lagos. 

We would have thought that Lagos PDP would, for once, be moved by moral imperatives to demand that President Muhammadu Buhari probe and punish the perpetrators of what is becoming the most horrifying economic crime done to Nigeria by the PDP mandarins especially in the past 16 years.

They are not, rather they are asking Governor Ambode to ‘probe’ the poster regime for productive and accountable governance in this republic. What a party? We want to let the lost and confused parodists in Lagos PDP know that Governor Ambode has hit the ground running just because he has a rich template of productive governance to continue with,” the party said.

Source

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APC Forwards Names of Candidates for Principal Positions In the National Assembly to Senate President, Speaker(Read)

 Chairman of the APC Chief John Odigie-Oyegun yesterday forwarded names of the party's chosen candidates to ocupy principal positions in the National Assembly to Senate president, Bukola Saraki and Speaker, Dogara. 

 The names which was contained in a letter signed by Chief Odigie-Oyegun reads; 

"Please find below for your necessary action names of principal officers approved by the party, after excessive consultations for the 8th Senate as follows: Senator Ahmed Lawan(Majority Leader)–North-East; Prof. Sola Adeyeye( Chief Whip)–South-West; Sen. George Akume (Deputy Majority Leader)—North-Central; and Sen. Abu Ibrahim(Deputy Chief Whip)—North-West."

A similar letter written to the Speaker of the House of Representatives reads

“Please find below for your necessary action names of principal officers approved by the party after extensive consultations for the eighth House of Representatives as follows: Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (House Leader) South-West; Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa(Deputy House Leader)—North-West; Hon. M. T. Monguno(Chief Whip)—North-East; and Hon. Pally Iriase(Deputy Chief Whip)—South-South. This comes with the assurances of my highest regards.”

The party believes that aggrieved National Assembly members such as Senator Lawan and Hon Femi Gbajabiamila who were sidelined by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives during the June 9th National Assembly elections should be compensated with principal offices in the National Assembly.

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Agree? Buhari’s Government has done in 3-weeks what PDP Failed to do in 6yrs - APC

 The APC says President Buhari has done in three weeks what the PDP government under Jonathan administration could not do in the 6 years they were in power.

 The party stated this in a statement signed and released by its National publicity secretary Lai Mohammed. Read below...

"Within three weeks of President Buhari’s inauguration, he had done what the PDP government could not do in six years: Invigorate the fight against Boko Haram by rallying a regional and global front against the terror group. Today, the US has pledged to give $5 million for the fight against Boko Haram, in addition to other material support. This is apart from the support that has been pledged by the G-7 for Nigeria’s efforts to quell the insurgency.

Thanks to President Buhari’s shuttle diplomacy, the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) that the PDP government could not bring together for all of six years is ready to deploy next month, while the President has ordered the release of $21 million to facilitate the establishment of the headquarters of the force in N’Djamena, Chad. Since assuming office about three weeks ago, President Buhari has visited Chad, Niger, Germany and South Africa, winning support and friends for Nigeria all over again and returning the country to the comity of respected nations.

Those who were put off by the PDP government’s resort to politicizing the fight against Boko Haram – even as the insurgents grew stronger – are now joining President Buhari to battle the terrorists. In no distant future, the results of his tireless efforts will begin to show.

On the domestic front, President Buhari has been handling pressing issues far away from the klieg light, and his efforts to assembly a first class team to implement his change mantra, which he is personally driving, are continuing apace.

We in the APC, and we are sure most unbiased Nigerians, are very proud of President Buhari and the vigour he has shown in governance, the kind of vigour we did not see in the immediate past administration that was presided over by a far younger man”.

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"Stop Making Mockery Of Governance"- PDP To APC

 Read the press statement below by PDP...

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has charged the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Presidency to stop making mockery of governance with premature celebration of imaginary achievements except if the intention is to set up President Muhammadu Buhari for national and international ridicule. 

The party said it was embarrassing that the APC and aides of President Buhari decided to invade the minds of Nigerians with propaganda and tissues of lies instead of assisting the President who was inaugurated three weeks ago to settle down, form a government and deliver his campaign promises to Nigerians.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh in a statement on Thursday said “the nation and democrats world over were thoroughly embarrassed by the frivolous list of so-called achievements which has further exposed APC’s lack of capacity and direction as well as the inability to draw a line between propaganda by an opposition party and disseminating of credible information as a party in government”.

“How can a serious government start shouting achievements and make bogus claims on the fight against terrorism when the effort is apparently losing steam as insurgents who had already been pushed to the verge of surrender in the Sambisa forest by the Goodluck Jonathan administration are now surging back into the country under the APC-led government?

“How can a serious government shout achievement based on pledges by foreign interests, a dangerous slide towards neo-colonialism, instead of settling down to galvanize bequeathed resources and potentials that have already placed our great country as one of the fastest emerging economic and political powers in the world?

“How can a serious government shout achievement and attempt to explain away the untidy fact that after three weeks, it has not been able to organize itself even to take basics steps of conventional appointments such as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief of Staff to the President and advisers in key sectors of the economy.

We ask, is the APC celebrating that fact that due to its naivety and delays, key sectors of our nation’s economy are dangerously drifting with a perilous crippling of foreign and domestic investments including activities in the money and capital market sectors?

“Our promise has been to engage in credible opposition and provide alternatives and options to the policies and programmes of the APC-led Federal Government in the general interest of the nation, but alas, in less than one month, even with the stability bequeathed by the Jonathan administration, we have only witnessed inexcusable confusion and administrative naivety in the handling of important issues as seen in their poor outing at the inauguration of the National Assembly, unnecessary delays in the setting up of structure for the executive arm and the worrisome inability to urgently provide a national economic direction, among others.

“This is a party and government that promised Nigerians that they will hit the ground running once elected into office but what we have seen so far is a government and party that hit the ground and remained on the same spot for sheer inexperience and unpreparedness for governance.

“We therefore urge the APC to stop embarrassing the nation with premature and unsubstantiated celebration of imaginary achievements especially if they ever want to be credible and responsible people, as sincerity and not propaganda remains the hallmark of trustworthy administration.

"The APC should not by any means attempt to use its flimsy list to divert attention from its numerous campaign promises for which the people are holding them accountable.

“We wish to inform the APC that the Nigerians will not take anything short of the commencement of the payment of monthly N5, 000 each to 25 million poor citizens beginning from the end of this month; ending of insurgency by the end of July as promised by President Buhari in his April 2, 2015 CNN interview; payment of monthly allowance to discharged but unemployed Youth Corps members, free meals to school children and bringing the naira to the same value with the dollar; among other bogus promises upon which they gained access to power.

“Finally, we advise the Presidential spokespersons to allow Nigerians to judge the President as events and time will prove exactly the taste of the old wine”, the PDP said.

Signed:

Chief Olisa Metuh

National Publicity Secretary

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