Politics
We Insist That Power Must Shift In 2023 -Robinson
As the activities leading up to the 2023 general elections in Nigeria go into full swing, socio-political cultural and regional organisations as well as pressure groups have also been very vocal in their advocacy for what they think is best for the country, lending their voices and addressing burning national issues.
One of such foremost organisations that has left no one in doubt concerning where it stands on such issues as what the part of the country that should produce the next President of Nigeria and corollary matters is the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).
Acting Political Editor, Opaka Dokubo caught up with the National Publicity Secretary of PANDEF, Hon Ken Robinson in Port Harcourt and had this chat with him. Excerpts.
PANDEF is demanding a Nigerian President of southern extraction, are you satisfied with the way things have gone so far?
Our major concern has been the attitude of some of our brothers from other parts of the country, particularly Northern Nigeria because of a supposed majority . In every country, you will find that the South is more populated than the Northern part. But here in Nigeria, the reverse is the case and because of that supposed majority, they throw up this attitude of thinking that they can always control power or always decide who becomes the President of Nigeria. And that is the attitude that is being displayed as we go towards the 2023 elections.
Having said that, if we love this country; if we want this country to be united, to be peaceful, to be progressive, to become the great country that it should be, or to be what we claim to be, the giant of Africa, then, we must do things in a way and manner that will promote equity, fairness and justice.
Without equity, fairness and justice, without ever sharing of power in a diverse country like Nigeria, what you’re calling for is further crisis, is anarchy, is disaffection. There is a strong feeling of alienation in certain sections of the country, particularly in Southern Nigeria and that is why we have insisted and will continue to insist that after eight years of a Northern Presidency, the next President of Nigeria should come from Southern Nigeria.
And for us in PANDEF, we have said that whether it goes to the South west, Southeast or South South, it’s a different matter all together and we will not mind if the next President comes from the South-West, South-East or South South, power must rotate, or power should rotate to Southern Nigeria in 2023.
What we see today is the display of political arrogance, political irrationality, political dishonesty to the greatest height. We hear particularly in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the people should consider winning election rather than zoning the presidency. Does that mean that there is any zone in Nigeria where there are no competent persons to win election in Nigeria?
Obasanjo won an election for the PDP; he is not from the North. Goodluck Jonathan won an election for the PDP, he is not from the North. Of course, Yar Adua won election for the PDP, he is from the North.
What it means is that anybody in Nigeria that is competent, that is capable can win election for any political party. The person must not come from the North in particular for him or her to win an election. So, the insinuation or the impression that if PDP zones its presidential ticket to Southern Nigeria, PDP cannot win an election is insulting to the people of Sothern Nigeria and completely unacceptable to us, and we have insisted that power must rotate.
Any political party in Nigeria that does not zone its presidency to Southern Nigeria, the people of Southern Nigeria will mobilise and work against that party. That’s our position.
I was actually going to ask you what will happen to the PDP in particular that seems not keen on zoning the Presidency to the South?
PANDEF is actually working with Afenifere from the South-West, Ohanaeze Ndigbo in the South-East and elements of the Middle Melt under the Middle Belt Forum. We want to believe that they are together with us in all that we have said because these pronounaments have been made under the anspices of the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders forum comprising these aforementioned orgainsations.
We have said that if any of the major political parties in the country does not zone its presidential ticket to the South, we are going to work against that party.
The position we have taken is that we will wait until the party primaries are concluded. After the party primaries are concluded, we will see the choices that are presented to us and if one of the two parties gives us a Southern Presidency, and the other does not, we will sit down and discuss and see how we can mobilise and ensure that Southern Nigeria punishes the party that is against us.
Beyond the issue of zoning, what are some of the other issues that should be on the front burner as we go into the 2023 elections?
One of the greatest challenges in Nigeria today is insecurity and the next President of Nigeria should be able to stabilise Nigeria. The next President of Nigeria should be able to defuse the disaffections and the feelings of dissent in the country. The next President should be able to promote unity. And of course, the economy of the country. The next President of the country should be able to see how we can boost Nigeria’s economy and make living in Nigeria less difficult. And we are saying that we have those kind of persons in abundance in the South South, in the south-East, and of course, in the south-West.
So, beyond the issue of zoning, we need a Nigeria that is stable if we are not stable; we can’t talk about any other thing.
Now, after the stability of Nigeria, for PANDEF and the Southern and the Middle Belt Leaders Forum, we are concerned about the inqualities, inequalities, structural defects in the country, and that’s about restructuring to bring about devolution of powers; let some issues that are over centralised at the centre be devolved to the states; and let there be stronger institutions so that some of the excesses that people fear may arise if more powers are given to states may as well be checked.
So, outside zoning, we’re talking about the stability of Nigeria, the restruturing of Nigeria; we’re talking about peace in Nigeria.
Going into 2023, are you confident that the elections are going to be remarkably different from previous exercises?
Nigerians clamored clamoured and insisted that the National Assembly should incorporate the electronic transmission of election results into the Electoral Act and reluctantly they did; reluctantly, the President signed it into law. So, INEC has a legal mandate to ensure that the transmission of results is done electronically.
Don’t forget that one of the major problems the Nigerian electoral process has faced is the transmission of results between the voting point and the collation point. We had seen situations where results that are announced at the polling units are completely different from final results that are announced.
So, if this electronic transmission of results is strictly adhered to in all parts of Nigeria (don’t forget that when the card reader issue came up, in some parts of Nigeria card readers would work, in some other parts of Nigeria, card readers would not work).
So, we will hope that INEC will have the administrative will and courage to stick to the electronic transmission of results across Nigeria without stories of network failures in some parts of the country and network access in other parts of the country.
If it is done across Nigeria, we think that the 2023 results will significantly, have a shift from previous ones.
The president made the assertion on Wednesday in Abuja during a news conference organised by the association ahead of the NBA Section on Legal Practice’s (NBA-SLP) annual conference.
According to Mr Osigwe, the problem in Rivers State was caused by the ego of the principal actors in refusing to sit down to find a solution that works for the people of Rivers.
“Blaming the Supreme Court or any other body will not solve the problem. If the actors had placed Rivers above their own personal interests and cared about the security and welfare of the people, we would not be where we are. It became an ego fight and an issue of who wins. So, ego is at the base of the problem in Rivers and not the Supreme Court.
“People get judgements from the court and still decide to go for an amicable solution, so it is not the judgement of the Supreme Court but the principal actors that are to be blamed,’’ Mr Osigwe said.
He added that while the NBA was not in a legal argument with the president, the association was of the view that some of the actions taken might not be supported by the constitution.
“We are of the opinion that Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution cannot be read in isolation from Section 11 of the same constitution. There have been killings in many states in Nigeria and much more breakdown of law and order than we have seen in Rivers but no state of emergency was declared in those states. We are of the view that the problem in Rivers can be solved by the principal actors swallowing their egos and putting the welfare and security of the people of Rivers above their personal interests.
“This declaration may not solve the problem in Rivers and it worries me that an administrator can be appointed and worse still, a retired military officer to administer the state. It is unconstitutional and should not be supported because we may be setting a dangerous precedence,’’ Mr Osigwe said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee, Paul Harris Ogbole, (SAN), said that the theme for the 2025 NBA-SLP Conference was “Uncommon challenges in a rapidly changing legal environment.’’
Mr Ogbole said the conference aimed to explore the contemporary challenges evolving in the legal environment.
He said they would also explore the impact of global interconnectedness on legal systems, the growing demand for specialised legal services and provide insights into navigating the legal frontiers.
The conference will also highlight great opportunities for legal practitioners including the development of legal technological solutions, the expansion of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and the increasing focus on access to justice and legal empowerment.
The conference will hold in Jos from April 24 to April 27.
The president also cited the destruction of pipelines by suspected militants as a contributing factor to the declaration.
However, Anabs Sara-Igbe, a chieftain of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, disagreed with the president’s action on the emergency rule.
He stated that all avenues for mediation should have been exhausted before resorting to an emergency rule.
“President Tinubu’s invocation of Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution at this time is inappropriate. The president claims to have declared a state of emergency to restore peace, but the real question is: why is the FCT minister Nyesom Wike, the key figure in the crisis, not suspended?”, he queried.
Chief Sara-Igbe said the president’s suspension of Rivers’ elected officials from office was unconstitutional.
“Unlike in Sokoto, Borno, and other northern states, there is no war or loss of lives in Rivers that warrants the declaration of emergency rule in a peaceful state,’’ Chief Sara-Igbe explained.
He, however, accused the president of not being sincere with the people of Rivers State and had taken sides in the crisis through his actions and comments.
Ann-Kio Briggs, a prominent environmental and human rights activist, also decried President Tinubu’s justification for the emergency declaration, particularly his claim that Gov Fubara failed to brief him or condemn the pipeline explosions.
She stated that Gov Fubara had, on multiple occasions, informed the president of developments in the state.
“On March 11, PANDEF met with the president to brief him and seek his intervention; the group had also made efforts to mediate peace between Fubara and Wike,” Ms Briggs said, adding, “So, for President Tinubu to give the impression that no efforts were made to resolve the crises is misleading.”
Ms Briggs said the president’s reference to pipeline attacks as a basis for the state emergency was not convincing since pipelines had been vandalised for decades in Niger Delta without such drastic measures being taken.
She acknowledged that while the president had the power to declare a state of emergency, he did not have the constitutional authority to suspend an elected governor.
“This decision is hasty, rash, and premeditated, posing a grave threat to the people of the state; it is a targeted plot against Governor Fubara. It is unacceptable,” Ms Briggs added.
She also referenced Chief Wike’s past remarks on TV, where he allegedly claimed to have the capacity to sabotage pipelines, and questioned why the minister was not suspended.
“Why wasn’t the minister suspended, considering he is a major player in the crises and the one the 27 lawmakers take instructions from?” Ms Briggs noted.
Tonye Cole, the APC governorship candidate in the 2023 Rivers election, blamed all political actors involved.
“Today is a dark day in Rivers politics; the president had no choice but to step in to address the situation. I believe the president made some attempts to resolve the issues, but he did not push hard enough to bring the matter to a peaceful conclusion,” Mr Cole said.
The Tide source reports that two female members shouted at each other over the political crisis in the South-South State.
The two female lawmakers, Marie Ebikake (PDP, Bayelsa) and Blessing Amadi (PDP, Rivers), engaged in a shouting match on the constitutionality of the President’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.
This happened before the commencement of the plenary.
It took the intervention of other lawmakers in the chamber to prevent the issue from snowballing into an uncontrollable situation.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Rivers State following the prolonged political crisis in the state.
The president also suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly for six months.
President Tinubu also nominated a former Chief Of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd), to administer the state.
Reacting, the spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, said President Tinubu informed the national assembly through a letter before the emergency proclamation.
Hon. Rotimi added that President Tinubu’s letter informing the House of his decision and seeking approval on the state of emergency in Rivers in line with section 305 of the Constitution had been transmitted to the green chamber and would be read during plenary on Wednesday for further legislative action.
He said President Tinubu met with the leadership of both chambers, and the National Security Adviser and Service Chiefs before the broadcast.
