Politics
Abuja: The Next Battle Ground
The euphoria or jubilation at the swearing-in of the President, State Governors and elected members of the Houses of Assemblies is finally over with the President and Governors sitting down to face the stark reality of what governance is all about.
This is especially applicable to the newly elected Governors who initially might have thought that it is really easy to govern a people with the resources at their disposal.
Most of the governors will eventually meet what they would later claim as empty treasuries on their assumption of office but that, to a lot of Nigerians, is just rethorics. A mandate has been given and it behoves the elected official to think outside the box and seek for solutions to the teething problems they must face.
Already, one week has gone by, with the various governors beginning to see if the lofty speeches they made and the policy statements read on their inauguration can be implemented.
Some have kicked the ground running by making key appointments into various positions while others are still thinking on what to do.
At the federal level, it was quite disappointing that President Muhammadu Buhari had nothing new to offer Nigerians as he never uttered a word at his inauguration on the new direction his administration would take.
This, observers believe is sign posts admission of failure and lack of anything convincing on the credit side of the balance sheet of his administration.
At least what the president should have done was to come out publicly with his achievements or short comings, especially in the areas of security and infrastructural development. If his silence is seen as a mark of success to his administration, then Nigerians should be ready for a very rough four years ahead.
The main focus now is that all elected executives should take a holistic look at the problems of their various states, especially the Governors who are saddled with the complex rule of governance based on what they can generate as internal revenue.
In virtually every state, no incumbent had it easy prior to the elections which brought them to power as their major opponents gave them a good fight and it was after the final verdict by the electoral umpire that they got to know or realiz that they have won.
So the time for politicking had ended automatically with their assumption of office on the 29th of May 2019.
The reality today is that in Nigeria campaigns never seems to end as politicians are always jostling for power even when is it not yet the time for election thereby distracting most governors from really focusing on governance.
Although there is nothing wrong in keeping the governors and the president on their toes with criticisms, such objections to certain policies should not be done with malice.
It should be a constructive and one which cannot be faulted.
In some states, payment of salaries, gratuities and pensions are big problems which seem to be unending.
Sadly too, the president has not made any key appointment one week after taking his oath of office, and there is indespread hope that this will not be a replica of what happened in 2015 when it took him about six months to constitute his cabinet.
If he is really serious, by now he would have done so. By repeating the same thing he did four years ago it is an indication that he never did a good homework on positive governance.
In other climes, a president once elected and sworn-in within few hours or days makes key appointments which clearly signals his policy direction and to delay creates more anxiety in the business community.
This is 2019, let no chief executive make the old mistake of making appointments that are at variance with the principles of federal character or balance base of the geo-political nature of the state.
It is only under prescedent in the nation’s history that virtually all heads of the security, judiciary and even juicy positions in the presidency are from one geographical part of the country. Despite the hues and cries from other parts of the country he suddenly became deaf and dumb within his first term in office. He is not the only culprit as even some state governors were not left out of this same sin and if the president had been from a minority ethnic group with this catalogue of constitutional violations some ethnic jingoists would have been calling for his impeachment. Likewise, some of these state governors if they are also from the wrong side of the divide.
At the federal level the president still has more time, especially in constituting his cabinet as he is waiting for the 9th national assembly to be inaugurated, but this is not really an excuse as governance is a continous process.
Even the outgoing National Assembly especially the Senate, which has the responsibility of screening ministerial appointees, can still do the job. But if the President believes that he will wait for the 9th Assembly, which he hopes will rubber stamp any appointments or decision he makes, they may be making a wrong assumption.
In politics, anything can happen. It is only a vibrant national assembly that can cheek the excesses of the executive.
Again, this is 2019, the APC does not have absolute majority in the senate. From available records the PDP has 51 senators-elect, the APC 55, the YPP I and two to be determined by the court out of a total of 109 senate seats.
So the power game will be very interesting as to who becomes the Senate President and Vice President next week.
As usual, Abuja will be the next battle ground which will involve the presidency, state governors, party strategists, political jobbers and money bags.
The same goes for who becomes the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
As all the interest groups and power brokers descent on Abuja, the future of the next four years will be determined by one vote and just six votes to determine the number three, four, five or sixth in the nation’s hierarchy of power.
Let the battle begin!!!
Tonye Ikiroma-Owiye
Politics
Alia Denies Calling For Ganduje’s Resignation
Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has denied calling for the resignation of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje.
This was contained in a press statement issued on Wednesday in Makurdi by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Tersoo Kula.
The Tide source reports that the CPS was reacting to some media reports that the governor had called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
Kula said the governor at no time called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
He said the governor enjoyed a good relationship with the Ganduje-led leadership of the APC.
“It is imperative to clarify that at no point did Governor Alia assembled, attended and sent a representative or participated in any meeting to discuss the removal or call for resignation of Alhaji. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
“The Benue State governor remains firm in his support and allegiance to the leadership of the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Alhaji Ganduje.
“Furthermore, at no point, whether publicly or privately, has the governor advocated or expressed any desire for the resignation of the national party chairman”, he said.
He said the governor was focused on positively changing the fortunes of the state.
“He is alive to his responsibilities as the leader of APC in Benue State and is doing everything legitimate to reposition the party for future victories,” Kula said.
Politics
LP Re-Elects Abure As National Chairman
The embattled national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Julius Abure, has been re-elected for a second term by a unanimous affirmation of delegates despite the protests by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr. Ikechukwu Emetu declared him the winner during the party’s national convention that held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday.
Other serving officers of the party were also returned unopposed.
Recall that the NLC had called for Abure’s resignation as party chairman and the immediate constitution of a caretaker transition committee to organize an all-inclusive national convention for the party.
Meanwhile, a factional chairman of the Labour Party in Anambra State, Mr Peter Okoye has boasted that the Nnewi national convention will not stand.
Describing the convention as a sham, Okoye said: “This is not a convention. We are on top of the matter. It’s purely illegal.
“There was no ward congress, no local government congress, no state congress, and now who and who are the elected delegates that are electing the National Working Committee, NWC, members?
“The NLC was not there, TUC was not there, the owners of the party and members of the NEC and BOT members were not there too. So, who is holding the convention?”
Politics
Suswam Blames External Forces For Problems In PDP
Former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is being undermined by external forces which have rendered the party ineffective as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam stated this during a live television interview on Wednesday.
He lamented that the party had since after the 2023 general elections failed to live up to expectations of Nigerians as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam, who blamed the current PDP leadership for the ineffective state of the largest opposition party in the country, said unless there is an overhaul of its leadership, the party would “go nowhere” because the current leadership has lost focus.
He said, “I think there are subterranean forces inferring in the party and they are determining what is going on in the party. And the leadership is acquiescing to it.
“Subterranean suggests that people are trying to control the party from the outside. They are controlling the party from the outside and they are keeping the party in a comatose state.”
The Benue senator accused the party of refusing to call a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to help resolve some of the issues arising in the party.
He regretted the inability of the party to resolve the fallout of the 2022 presidential primary election which saw a group of five governors work against the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
He added that the inability of the Iliya Damagum-led leadership to discipline erring party members worsened the situation.
Senator Suswam said it was wrong for the party not to have sanctioned the G-5 governors and their allies who openly declared that they would remain in the party and work against its interest.
“They were not sanctioned which made others become emboldened to act anyway they wanted. PDP has been weakened since then,” he said.
He said no serious organisation does that, stressing that, “A serious organisation would apply sanctions” based on the laid down rules as contained in its constitution.
He further accused the acting national chairman of the party, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, of occupying the position which belongs to the North-Central zone, following the removal of the substantive chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, who hails from the zone.
Amb. Damagum, who was the Deputy National Chairman (North), hails from the North-East zone but was, as permitted by the party’s constitution, made acting chairman after Ayu’s removal by a court order.
The party’s law provides that the deputy chairman from the same region as the chairman takes over in the event of the latter’s removal from office.
Senator Suswam further lamented that “PDP is comatose now, and nothing can happen now,” adding that it was regrettable that politicians are now preferring to hold talks with smaller parties and not the PDP.
Noting that the PDP was at the precipice, Senator Suswam said, “Until we provide that leadership, PDP will not be a viable platform. We need to overhaul the leadership of the party. There is no pretence about it, everybody in PDP knows it. Without discipline and reconciliation, the party goes nowhere.”
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