Politics
Between APC And PDP
Activities leading to the
2015 general election are gradually gathering momentum. One of these is the coming together on November 26,2013 of the All Progressive Congress (APC),the New People’s Democratic Party (NPDP) and five of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) seven aggrieved governors known as the G7 governors.
When the political drama started last three months, precisely on August 31 2013, many thought that the governors were jokers, but little did they believe that it may turn the political wheel of the nation to another direction.
The journey started after the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) election which Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State won with 19 votes against 16 by Jonah Jang of Plateau State.
It later progressed when five governors elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) staged a walk out at the Eagle Square, Abuja, venue of the partys special national convention.
The walk out obviously was due to a culmination of factors after series of attempt were made at appeasing the two parties.
These governors, Babangida Aliyu (Niger),Sule Lamido (Jigawa),Abdufatah Ahmend ( Kwara),Aliyu Wamako (Kano)were not happy with the leadership of the National Chairman of the party,Alhaji Bamagar Tukur.
These five governors moved to Shehu Yar’Adua centre to join Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi and Murtala Nyako(Adamawa) who were not at the convention.
After the walk out, the governors started to consult some prominent members and the founding fathers of the party with the view to settling the problems .They met the former President, Chief Olusengun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangid, Alex Ekwueme and many others.
But as the group made each move, those behind the picture and walking behind the actors thwarted all efforts and caused more problems which widened and escalated the problem in the party.
While these were going on,the APC,a new political party which emerged as a result of the fusion of four political parties took the advantage to woo the aggrieved governors and the end result of that romance of some months ago became a marriage.
The APC leaders led by Lagos State Governor Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former head of state and presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Gen.Muhammed Buhari toured some states with a view to wooing the Governors to come over to the party.
When the group arrived Rivers State early last month, their arrival generated another problem between the Rivers State Command of the Nigeria Police Force and Governor Amaechi.
The Police had to stop a large crowd of PDP party faithfuls at the entrance of the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa from going into the airport to welcome the visitors. That later resulted to the Governor trekking about five kilometer to the presidential lounge of the airport. However, before this encounter, the Police in Rivers State had carried out series of confrontation against the state government to the extent of blocking the entrance of Government House and preventing the governor from entering into his official residence.
The five governors may have different reasons for joining the APC,but among them was to save and strengthen democracy.
In his own view , Governor Amaechi said the Federal Government’s lack of commitment to the commencement of Train Seven of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) is a major constraint to the socio-economic development of Rivers State.
Chibuike Amaechi who stated this Thursday in his broadcast to the people of Rivers State, said the step which was taken by the Petroleum Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke would deny Rivers people tens of thousands of jobs and also discourage investments in the state.
The governor said the minister insisted that investors should go and invest in the Brass NLNG project rather than in the NLNG Train Seven project in Rivers State.
The governor while justifying his decision to leave the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for All Progressive Peoples Congress (APC), also accused the Federal Government of sidelining Rivers State in boards and other federal appointments at the federal level. “Rivers State is treated with levity. Out of the several councils of universities, no Rivers person was found worthy of becoming a University Council Chairman”, he fumed.
He also mentioned total absence of federal presence in Rivers State as another major ploy against the state, adding that the good governance tour in the state exposed the total lack of federal presence in the state which he described as the cash cow of the federation.
Abandonment of work on the East-West Road, deliberate delay of work on the Port Harcourt International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country, when work on other airports have been completed, and commissioned, and the poor state of Bonny-Bomu road leading to the only functional LNG project, he said shows the lack of interest of the Federal Government on its projects in the state.
The governor remarked that “no personal interest or ambition can be higher than the welfare of the people that gave him their mandate without condition”, he said. He accused the Federal Government of ceding oil wells belonging to Rivers State to Bayelsa, Abia and Akwa Ibom States.
“Even after we got a judgement that the oil wells were wrongly ceded to Akwa Ibom State and should be returned to us, only dry wells that were no longer producing oil were returned”, he said.
“In the specific case of the Soku Oil Wells, despite a decision reached that the monies should remain in an escrow account till all matters concerning it are resolved, the Federal Government continues to pay neighbouring Bayelsa State the revenue meant for Rivers in a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul”, the governor maintained.
Governor Amaechi who also noted that internal party democracy had been sacrificed on the altar of personal greed and injustice declared that it would be impossible to achieve set goals and aspirations of the state under the PDP as presently constituted.
The Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly Hon. Leyii Kwanee supported the Governor for his action and decision and said the Ogonis have not benefited from the PDP-led government as he accused the party of marginalising the Ogonis by not implementing the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
“As an Ogoni man, I’m so pained that Mr. President and the PDP-led government, for the past two years have not been able to implement the UNEP report. It is a sufficient anger,” Kwanee stated.
Hon. Kwanee who is also the member representing Khana Constituency 2 in the Assembly, condemned Ogoni sons in Abuja who had not used their friendship with the President to influence him to implement the report.
One thing that is clear and certain now is that the coming together of the APC, the new PDP and five governors have threatened the PDP’s existence. That move is destined to change the face of politics permanently and for good.
It would also end the issue of impunity and rivalry and ensure competition for the good of the people thereby empowering the electorate to choose who leads them in their respective states, Senate, House of Representatives and State Assembly rather than imposing leads by political godfathers.
Although, the situation may create two party system, it will as well strengthen and deepen democracy in the country.
The situation may change for the PDP that once enjoyed the monopoly both in the Senate and House of Representative.
Hon. Sokonte Davies,representing Bonny/Degema Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, confirmed that the PDP is now in minority in the lower chamber and if the two other governors join with their supporters in the Senate and House of Representatives,the PDP may no longer be the largest party in Africa.
APC leaders listening with rapt attention to Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (right), during their visit to Rivers State, recently.
The Tide source reports that Prof. Akinoso was elected alongside 38 other executive members of the party at the congress held on Saturday.
Other executive members are Dr Abiola Olaonipekun, who emerged as Secretary, Alhaja Latifah Latifu, Women Leader and Mr A. Adeleke, elected as Youth Leader.
It was learnt that the congress, which took place at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Oke Ado in Ibadan, was attended by representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Police, other security agencies and prominent members of the party.
The election was supervised by electoral committee members, among whom were Prince Diran Odeyemi, who served as Chairman, Hon. Awoniyi Tolulope, Mr Babatunde Gbadamosi, Queen Stepheine Oyechere, Alhaji Yusuf Abidakun, Mr Olumide Aguda and Dr Phillips Adeniyi, who served as Secretary.
Prof. Akinoso, in his inaugural address, urged members of the party to set aside intra-party differences.
He advised them to concentrate their resources on the promotion of the party, saying, “The primary responsibilities of party executive members are to coordinate party activities, ensure harmony among members, and ensure party victory during general elections.
“Our immediate assignments are to key into INEC released 2027 general election time-tables. As directed by the National Caretaker Committee of PDP, our party e-membership registration starts next week. We must be fully involved and do a membership drive.
“A political party is only relevant and benefits its members if it wins the election. This is our goal. We should set aside intra-party differences; concentrate our resources towards the promotion of the party. We will make necessary consultations and dialogue to actualise this”.
President Tinubu disclosed this during an interfaith breaking of fast with senior journalists and media executives at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Saturday.
He also disclosed that his administration had opened up on the principles of true federalism to the extent that local governments now get direct allocation from the Federal Government.
“There’s no morning that I ever leave my house without going through the newspapers. It’s an addiction. I read all of you.
“It might not be in full detail, but headline, the one that would hit me and the ones that won’t.
“At the beginning of this administration, I was just a little bit stubborn, looking at opportunities to correct things and make life more easier for the downtrodden.
“We’ve opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money, but how they use it is in your hands. So, don’t bombard me alone,” President Tinubu said.
The ruling party said the ADC had turned criticism of the APC-led administration into its operating manifesto instead of presenting concrete solutions to Nigeria’s economic challenges.
In a statement issued on Saturday by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Mr Felix Morka, the party dismissed the ADC’s interpretation of a report presented at a policy dialogue organised by Agora Policy which suggested that the country’s poverty rate had risen from 49 per cent to 63 per cent.
Mr Morka said the opposition party’s reaction to the report as a “damning verdict” on the government’s economic policies reflected either ignorance of economic realities or deliberate political mischief.
“The African Democratic Congress’ attempt to spin a recent report presented at the Agora Policy dialogue indicating a rise of poverty rate of 63 per cent from 49 per cent as a damning verdict on this administration’s economic policies speaks either to its shocking ignorance of economic policy or its wilful blindness to the justification for, and transformative impacts of, ongoing economic reforms,” he said.
The APC spokesman noted that the report itself recognised the necessity of reforms aimed at correcting long-standing structural distortions in the economy.
According to him, the ADC had failed to present any credible alternative policy direction for Nigerians.
“Clearly, the ADC does not recognise itself as a political party. The ADC has not articulated a single alternative policy position or prescription of benefit to Nigerians. Condemning the APC and its policies has become its operating manifesto,” Mr Morka said.
He explained that major economic decisions taken by President Bola Tinubu, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of multiple foreign exchange windows, were necessary steps to rescue the country’s economy from collapse.
Mr Morka said the subsidy regime had for years placed a heavy burden on public finances, consuming trillions of naira annually while encouraging corruption, fuel smuggling and inefficiencies in the system.
He added that the reforms had helped redirect national resources to key sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, education and social development.
The APC spokesman acknowledged that economic reforms often come with short-term hardship but stressed that the measures were essential to build a stronger and more resilient economy.
“Economic reform is never cost-free anywhere in the world. The transient hardship experienced by Nigerians was an inevitable cost of reforms meant to build and guarantee a better future for all Nigerians,” he said.
Mr Morka maintained that the country’s economic outlook was already improving, citing recent growth figures and stronger external reserves.
“Our economy has rebounded and is expanding steadily. The country’s Gross Domestic Product grew by 4.4 per cent last year and is projected to expand by 5.5 per cent this fiscal year, with foreign reserves now exceeding $50 billion,” he stated.
He also pointed to government initiatives designed to cushion the effects of economic adjustments on citizens, including cash transfer programmes, student loan schemes and the rollout of compressed natural gas (CNG) initiatives to reduce transportation costs.
Mr Morka reaffirmed that the APC-led administration would remain focused on rebuilding the economy and expanding social investments to support vulnerable Nigerians.