Politics
Okupe Shrugs Off APC’s Threat
The Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, last Tuesday described the merger of opposition political parties on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a weak association that would crumble and disappear by 2014, one year before the next general election.
Okupe stated this when he visited THISDAY corporate offices in Lagos Thursday, as he put his father’s name on the line.
“If they don’t crumble and disappear by 2014, don’t call me Okupe,” he bragged.
The self-described “attack lion” of President Goodluck Jonathan dismissed the view that the merger would rout the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the next election, calling the forces behind it unserious people that are incapable of causing a major upset in national politics.
“Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Maj-Gen. Mohammadu Buhari are not serious-minded people; they are going round like people dancing in a market place,” he said, defiantly. “I expect that when you post an aggregate of people of that calibre who want to run government, by now they must have a policy statement on power, agriculture and employment and not just talking about PDP leaving.
“Is it by mouth that they will run the nation? These are not serious-minded people. Can someone get your vote by using word of mouth that PDP should leave without a policy?”
Okupe was hinging his political prediction on the projection that the president’s joker, which is stable electricity, is attained by 2014, the opposition would be punctured and rendered ineffective.
Specifically dismissing Tinubu, he held that the ACN chieftain has ridden roughshod over the South-west, but that Nigeria is bigger than that.
“This is their first time out in national politics; alright, and let me give you some bad news: the relevance that ACN has in Nigerian politics is that they are a Yoruba party. That is what makes them relevant in politics and by dropping that toga, the party is dead.
“They have just formed an abyss; a formless abyss that the Yoruba cannot key into. The Yoruba have always been members of a regional organisation – Action Group (AG), Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), etc. And in any case, what are the electoral credentials of ACN? How many states have they won that they are boasting?”
In a frontal assault that suggested that the PDP is wary of the possibilities open to the opposition, Okupe described the APC as a party that is consistently unable to produce a presidential candidate from within its rank and file, saying that for the 2015 election, they are planning to recruit the Speaker of the House, Tambuwal.
“What kind of political party is that and you are taking them seriously. It is a politically defective and weak organisation, and by coming to the national stage, the wind is going to blow them open. If they don’t crumble and disappear by 2014, don’t call me Okupe,” he said.
With reference to the power reform programme, he said that the problem with the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) was the amount of money that was designated for it, stating that the money was not the type entrepreneurs in the country could aggregate.
“When Jonathan came, five major problems bedevilled the power sector,” he said. “One, there was low generation capacity. Two, was that the NIPPs, which required so much money, were abandoned. Three, even if they were working, they were located in places that were impossible for gas availability. Four, there was very poor transmission capacity and five, the indecisiveness involved in the privatisation exercise.
The former two-term governor went down memory lane to recall how they founded the APC but were used and dumped.
In his words, “…those calling on us to join APC, we have agreed to join the APC but on clear agreement that protects and respects the interest of my party, NNPP and my political movement, Kwankwasiyya. No state where you go that you don’t have NNPP and Kwankwasiyya. We have gubernatorial candidates, senatorial candidates and others.
“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us.
“We were among the founding fathers of the APC and endured significant persecution from various security agencies while challenging the previous administration.
“Yet when the party assumed power, we received no recognition or appreciation for our sacrifices, simply because we didn’t originate from their original faction.
“We are not in a hurry to leave the NNPP; we are enjoying and have peace of mind. But if some want a political alliance that would not disappoint us like in the past, we are open to an alliance. Even if it is the PDP that realised their mistakes, let’s enter an agreement that will be made public,” Sen. Kwankwaso stated.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed long-standing claims that he once sought to extend his tenure in office, insisting he never pursued a third term.
Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Chief Obasanjo said there is no Nigerian, living or dead, who can truthfully claim he solicited support for a third term agenda.
“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” the former president declared.
Chief Obasanjo argued that he had proven his ability to secure difficult national goals, citing Nigeria’s debt relief during his administration as a much greater challenge than any third term ambition.
“I keep telling them that if I could get debt relief, which was more difficult than getting a third term, then if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he said.
He further cautioned against leaders who overstay in power, stressing that the belief in one’s indispensability is a “sin against God.”
On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan said any leader who failed to perform would be voted out of office if proper elections were conducted.
Describing electoral manipulation as one of the biggest threats to democracy in Africa, he said unless stakeholders come together to rethink and reform democracy, it may collapse in Africa.
He added that leaders must commit to the kind of democracy that guarantees a great future for the children where their voices matter.
He said: “Democracy in Africa continent is going through a period of strain and risk collapse unless stakeholders came together to rethink and reform it. Electoral manipulation remains one of the biggest threats in Africa.
“We in Africa must begin to look at our democracy and rethink it in a way that works well for us and our people. One of the problems is our electoral system. People manipulate the process to remain in power by all means.
“If we had proper elections, a leader who fails to perform would be voted out. But in our case, people use the system to perpetuate themselves even when the people don’t want them.
“Our people want to enjoy their freedoms. They want their votes to count during elections. They want equitable representation and inclusivity. They want good education. Our people want security. They want access to good healthcare. They want jobs. They want dignity. When leaders fail to meet these basic needs, the people become disillusioned.”
The dialogue was also attended by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto diocese of Catholic Church among others who all stressed that democracy in Africa must go beyond elections to include accountability, service, and discipline.
The Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu elapsed on Wednesday midnight.
President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule on September 17, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties on September 18.
The plenary was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The conference hall has served as the lawmakers’ temporary chamber since their official chamber at the assembly complex on Moscow Road was torched and later pulled down by the state government.
The outgone sole administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, could not complete the reconstruction of the assembly complex as promised.
Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the prolonged political standoff between Fubara and members of the House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
He subsequently suspended the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and lawmakers for six months and installed a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to manage the state’s affairs.
The decision sparked widespread controversy, with critics accusing the president of breaching the Constitution.
However, others hailed the move as a necessary and pragmatic step.
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