2019: PDP leaders meet Kwankwaso, target Saraki

There are strong indications that the Peoples Democratic Party has begun fresh moves to reconcile with its former top members that defected to the All Progressives Congress before the 2015 general elections.

The PUNCH gathered on Sunday that among those being wooed by the PDP was a former Kano State Governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankanso, and the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

It was learnt that the fresh moves, which began a week ago, formed part of the strategies the leadership of the former ruling party had mapped out to strengthen the PDP ahead of the 2019 elections.

The peace shuttle, it was learnt on Sunday, was also part of the action plan of the party ahead of its National Convention in May.

Kwankwaso, some former governors from the North and some Senators met behind closed-doors shortly before the wedding (fatiha) of the daughter of a former Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abdullahi Kure, in the Lapai area of the state on Sunday.

Although the agenda of the meeting was not disclosed to newsmen, who had laid siege to the venue of the wedding, it was gathered that it was not unconnected with the current search for a northern candidate to fly the flag of the PDP in the 2019 presidential poll.

Some PDP supporters at the venue strengthened insinuations that the former Kano State governor was being pressurised to come back to the PDP.

The supporters, on sighting the dignitaries coming out of the closed-door meeting, chorused, “Sai Kwankwaso, Sai Kwankwasia, Sai Kadawo PDP, insha Allah” meaning “Kwankwaso, you must come back to PDP.”

Kwankwaso

Those who attended the meeting included the Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibril; Kure; immediate past governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu; a former governor of Kano State, Mr. Ibrahim Shekarau; Senator Philip Tanimu Ajuda, Senator Smart Adeyemi and Senator Isah Mohammed.

However, none of the PDP chiefs agreed to speak to newsmen after emerging from the meeting as they headed straight for the Mosque for the commencement of the wedding ceremony, administered by the Chief Imam of Lapai Central Mosque, Sheik Bashir Lapai.

The PDP BoT chairman confirmed that the party had zoned its Presidency to the North in 2019, saying the former ruling party was in search of a credible candidate for the race.

Jibril added, “We (PDP) have zoned the Presidency to the North but the Vice-President and other positions have not been zoned yet because we are still consulting.”

He stated that the party was on a reconciliation drive to ensure that all aggrieved members, including those that had left the PDP, returned to the party so that the PDP could win the 2019 presidential election.

But Kwankanso on Sunday denied holding any political meeting with some PDP leaders in Lapai, Niger State, on Sunday.

Kwankwaso, a Senator, spoke with one of our correspondents through one of his aides, who returned the ex-governor’s call, but failed to disclose his identity.

The aide said, “It is not true that Senator Kwankwaso held a meeting with PDP leaders after he had attended the wedding ceremony.

“Senator Kwankwaso and Alhaji Aliyu (Kure) were friends and they both served as governors in their respective states between 1999 and 2003 and they had remained close since then.

“There is no way that Senator Kwankwaso would be holding secret meeting with members of the opposition party when he remained committed to his party, the All Progressives Congress. He is a loyal party man, who would not engage in any anti-party activities.”

Saraki and Kwankwaso are currently having running battles with the APC.

The Senate President is undergoing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal for an alleged false and anticipatory declaration of assets.

He has said on many occasions that his trial was political and that it might be because the party’s national leadership didn’t want him as the President of the Senate.

Saraki, who is now a chieftain of the APC, was governor of Kwara State for eight years as a member of the PDP.

Kwankwaso is engaged in a power tussle with his successor, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje in the Kano State APC.

It was believed that Kwankwaso was being cut to size in the party because he could be nursing a presidential ambition in 2019.

A chieftain of the party, who confided in The PUNCH on Sunday, said the PDP had realised the mistake it made by allowing Kwankanso and other former members, including the President of the Senate, to leave its fold.

He said the PDP had been meeting its former members, including Kwankanso and Saraki, so that they could come back to the party.

“We made a mistake by dismissing the influence of these politicians. You will recall that Kwankaso came second at the APC presidential primary. Saraki is also very influential. If we had won Kano and Kwara states in the last presidential election, the APC would not have produced the President,” the PDP chieftain reasoned.

Another PDP stalwart told one of our correspondents that since Kwankwaso had lost control of the party structure in Kano State and was facing stiff opposition from the incumbent governor, Abubakar Ganduje, the PDP was the likely option for him to turn to.

The source noted that Kwankwaso was originally a PDP man but only defected to the APC in 2014 when it was obvious that the PDP would not allow anyone to contest against Jonathan.

He said the party was aware of Kwankwaso’s presidential ambition and would woo him back to the party and guarantee him a level playing field.

The top party man, a former national officer of the PDP added, “Kwankwaso won two governorship elections on the platform of the PDP and also served as a minister; so, he is a PDP man through and through.

“He is being maltreated by Ganduje and the party has refused to help resolve the crisis. This governor was Kwankwaso’s handpicked man as his successor.

“We virtually have no presence in Kano State; so, if we can get a serving Senator with a huge following like Kwankwaso, it would be a game changer ahead of 2019.”

Another PDP leader told one of our correspondents that it was seeking to exploit the crisis in the APC rank in the Senate to bring some APC lawmakers to the PDP.

One of our correspondents gathered that the about-to-be-inaugurated Reconciliation Committee of the PDP would visit Saraki and a former Vice President and impress on them the need to return to the PDP.

The committee is headed by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson.

Determined to retrieve power from the Buhari-led APC government in 2019, the PDP has already zoned its presidential ticket to the northern part of the country.

A source, who is a member of the NWC of the PDP, said, “We are no longer in power and the number of governors we have has reduced drastically.

“We therefore need someone who is rich and has the contacts across the country to help us wrestle power from the APC come 2019.

“We all know that only the likes of the ex-vice-president and former governors can do this for us. We want them back in our party.”

Authoritative sources told our correspondent that the committee would also visit Kwankwaso.

Jibril said he would want all PDP former members and new ones to return to its fold.

He told one of our correspondents that the doors of the party would remain open.

He added, “Any person, who wants to return to the party, including those you have mentioned, are free to return.

“We need them just the way we need many others who are not our members before.”

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, said he was not aware of the meeting with Kwankwaso in Lapai on Sunday.

Attempts to get a response from the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on the meeting in Lapai and the moves by the PDP to woo some APC members,  proved abortive.

Calls to his mobile were not returned. A response to a text message sent to him was still being awaited as of the time of filing this report.

The Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, to the Senate President, Alhaji Yusuf Olaniyonu, believed newsmen were creating stories to the effect that his principal was on the radar of the PDP towards 2019.

“Why will the PDP ask the Senate President to join a party he left two years ago? For what benefit or purpose? There is no truth to that fiction,” Oloniyonu said.

2019: PDP leaders meet Kwankwaso, target Saraki

2019: PDP woos Saraki, Kwankwaso

Olusola Fabiyi

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has opened discussion with notable political leaders from the northern part of the country on the need for them to return to the former ruling party.

Kwankwaso

The discussion was aimed at convincing them that they could be the party’s presidential candidate come 2019.

The party recently announced that it had zoned its presidential ticket to the northern part of the country.

The party believes that it lost the last general election because it fielded former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Jonathan, who hails from Bayelsa State, was defeated by President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress.

Buhari, a former Head of State, is from Katsina State.

Investigations by our correspondent showed that some members of the National Working Committee of the party had been having meetings with notable politicians who defected from the PDP to the APC.

Among those being wooed are the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; a former Governor of Kano State, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso and many others.

Apart from Saraki and Kwankwaso, it was also gathered that the PDP was looking at the direction of a former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido; Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogora as its possible presidential candidate in 2019.

Saraki and Dogara were elected into their current positions with the help of members of the PDP in the Senate and the House.

Both men, who were former members of the PDP, have also decided to pay members of their former party back with headship of committees considered to be juicy and strategic at the Senate and in the House respectively.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, confirmed the secret meetings the leadership of the party had been having with its former members.

Metuh, who also confirmed that he was partaking in such meetings, said it would be premature to mention those who were contacted to return to their former party.

But he said the party was only considering those he said have electoral values and had yet to constantly condemn the party and everything it stood for in the past.

Metuh said, “Yes, I can confirm that we have opened discussions with our former members who left us due to misunderstandings and were aggrieved. We are already having meetings with them and I can assure you that the discussions are going to yield positive results.

“But for the fact that some of these gentlemen are holding sensitive positions in the APC and in government, we won’t be able to mention their names.

“They are not happy with the Federal Government and some of its policies and they have decided to team up with us come 2019.”

He said the PDP was sure that if it could bring back majority of its members who left the party for the APC, it would win the Presidential election in 2019.

While shopping for its presidential candidate from the north, our correspondent gathered that the party might have settled for the Deputy Senate President, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu as its vice presidential candidate.

Ekweremadu is the party’s highest ranking political office holder.

This, it was gathered, was the major reason why he was being considered for the position.

Also, his zone, the South-East and the South-South, are the major base of the PDP.

2019: PDP woos Saraki, Kwankwaso

Fulani Herdsmen: Kwankwaso take on Yoruba leaders

Ibadan—FORMER Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso has taken exception to a call by some leaders from the South West for the exit of Fulani herdsmen from the zone saying the call was not in tandem with the spirit of unity that binds the nation together.

Kwankwaso

The ex-governor said this in Ibadan at the official handing over of two newly-completed buildings to Government College, Ibadan, as part of activities marking the reunion of the Old Boys Association and jubilee celebration of the 1965 set of the school which held at the weekend.

To him, the call was not well thought out  and will be counter-productive.

Some Yoruba leaders, a fortnight ago, had warned that if the hostility by the herdsmen was not checked, it would not be out of place to ask them to look elsewhere for the grazing of their cattle.

Kwakwanso,  who said lack of education, was the main reason why the herdsmen chose the option of cattle rearing, said: “We just have to have a lot of understanding of the situation.

Sacking the Fulani

‘’Some of the issues being raised by the people, especially politicians, will not help anybody. If you sack the Fulani from here or you fight them, maybe it is because you are here. If you are a Yoruba man based in Kano, I don’t think you can contemplate sacking the Fulani.

“I am from Kano, but right now I am in Ibadan. Where you are is your home. Today, Ibadan is my home. God forbids, if something bad happens here, it will affect me. If it happens in my village, so far I am not there, they won’t see me,” he said.

He further stated that the problem of Fulani herdsmen was not peculiar to the South West and even Nigeria.

“The issue of conflict between farmers and Fulanis is not peculiar to the South West, or Nigeria but all over the regions. Education is very important here. If all Fulanis are given the opportunity to go to school, I don’t think they will waste their lives on their cattle going into the bush fighting themselves and even animals in so many places. I think the key thing is education.

“If these Fulanis can be educated, things won’t be the same again. I am one of them, I am a Fulani and I hope you know that my parents settled over the years. My parents sent me to school and my children are going to school, I don’t think if I get some cattle, I will go into forest to rear them. That is education for you.

‘’The key thing here is that whether in the South or the North or Africa in general, we are all over, it is only that we call them Fulanis in this part of the world but in other places they call them different names, but we are all over the continent. These Fulanis should be educated and be settled, by that they will develop the modern way of keeping livestock.

Animals roaming the streets

“If you go to Britain, America and other developed countries, you don’t see animals roaming the streets. They have developed modern ways of doing this. But if you go to Niger, Cameroun, Nigeria, you will see Fulanis roaming about, endangering their lives. It is not good for anybody, the economy, not even security. That is for the future,” he stated.

According to him; “It is important for government to provide reasonable facilities like grazing areas and other facilities so that we’ll be able to manage the situation.

“In the North, we used to have lots of grazing areas, cattle parks, where they used to go  without going into farms, but probably because of the population now and other issues, all these places are being taken over by farmers.

‘’Therefore, it becomes very difficult for anybody to go to those places without entering farms.

‘’This problem is not, however, peculiar to the South West, but let me say that we just have to have a lot of understanding of the situation.”

Fulani Herdsmen: Kwankwaso take on Yoruba leaders

Kano Governor threatens to expose Kwankwaso stewardship in office

By Abdulsalam Muhammad

The cold war between Kano State  governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and his predecessor, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has  degenerated to full blown hostility  following  the threat by the former to exposed the latter’s stewardship in office.

Kwankwaso

Ganduje, who went for broke when he hosted the leadership of Kano  students  abroad under the aegis of General Association of Northern Nigeria Students, based in Egypt, alleged the distortion   of the state scholarship programme.

The long-time Kwankwaso’s political soul mate declared: “For one year, Kwankwaso did not pay a single kobo as tuition fee for our students studying abroad.

“Right now, Kano State government owes those students N3 billion, and painfully, our revenue is dwindling and we would be cautious in handling the situation”.

The new Kano strongman revealed that the delay in the payment of the tuitions fee was caused by the Kwankwaso administration, even  as he stressed: “For whatever reasons, the Kwankwaso  administration distorted the scholarship programme”.

The enraged governor told the leadership of the students: “I’ve decided to let the cat out of the bag so that, as educated people, you would understand where your problems lies”.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that last Wednesday weekly state executive meeting, presided over by Ganduja, had  condemned the failure of the Kwankwaso  administration to fulfill financial obligation to the programme despite  the allegation that huge amounts of money in foreign currency were allocated to it by the former regime.

 

Kano Governor threatens to expose Kwankwaso stewardship in office

Kwankwaso confines self at home over fear of EFCC arrest

The lawyer of Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Governor of Kano State, Mr. Okechukwu Eze, has told the Kano High Court sitting in Gezawa that the threat of arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of his client, has confined him to his residence in Abuja.

Kwankwaso

In his address yesterday at the court on the ex-parte motion filed to restrain the EFCC from arresting Kwankwaso, the lawyer explained that the move by the commission, if executed, would deny his client of his fundamental human rights.

“My client has been in his house over the threat of arrest by the EFCC and has been denied the liberty to perform his legislative duties as mandated by voters of Kano Central District,” Eze informed the court.

Kwankwaso’s attorney further told the court that EFCC’s action emanated from a petition by an unregistered association that has no written address, even as he pointed out that he was in court to halt the likely violation’ of his client’s rights.

“We have expressive fear that Kwankwaso’s right to liberty, freedom of movement as guaranteed under the constitution is likely to be violated by EFCC,” he said.

Eze who admitted that “EFCC has the power to investigate financial crimes,” however, declared that “it should be based and founded on reasonable suspicion.”

He argued that Kwankwaso had not violated the pension laws to warrant his invitation by the EFCC and told the court that his client deserved praise for bringing surplus to the pension fund.

Subsequently, Kwankwaso’s lawyer prayed the court to restrain the EFCC from arresting him.

He asked the court to grant an order to maintain status quo ante, pending the determination of the suit.

He also pleaded with the court to grant his prayers on the grounds that the “injunction would be used as a shield and not as a sword.”

The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Yahaya reserved rulings till today (Thursday).

Kwankwaso confines self at home over fear of EFCC arrest

I Could Have Been Senate President – Kwankwaso

Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso is the immedi­ate past governor of Kano State. An out­spoken politician, he does not skirt around issues. He is one of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors that defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013.

Kwankwaso

In this interview, he accused the leader­ship of his party of displaying naivety in handling the National Assembly leader­ship matter. He also shared his thoughts on a number of other touchy national is­sues.

What would you say went wrong in the attempt by APC to have its candidates elected as Senate President and Deputy Senate President?

I thank the good people of Kano State for giving me another opportunity to represent them, this time as a senator representing Kano Central, the most populous senatorial district in the country. At least, going by the 2015 elections, I think I am the only one who got about 760, 000 votes as a senator. Today I would have been the Senate Presi­dent, but many other factors came to play.

Let me use this opportunity to congratu­late our party for its victory, especially in Kano, where we have everything 100 per cent – from 484 councillors to 44 local gov­ernment chairmen, 40 state assembly mem­bers, 24 members of the House of Repre­sentatives, three senators, which I am one of them to governor, deputy governor. Of course, we gave the president the highest number of votes in this country.

I thank the good people of Kano for do­ing that and I thank Nigerians for having confidence in our party, the APC. I have to say that from the day Buhari was an­nounced the winner of this election, things have started going in positive directions, ranging from exchange rate to shares. Even on the security aspect in this country, things are much better today than they were before the elections.

Now, on the issue of what went wrong as a party, I think there are so many things that have to do with time and this sort of thing, this election or selection partly has relationship with time. I know very well that you are aware that we had so many weeks or months after the elections. That was the time really when action would have been taken to ensure that we had a success­ful election at the National Assembly. This is not the time to say, “I told you or I told them,” but many of us tried to draw the at­tention of our leaders to do the right thing at the right time.

Sometimes, you may decide to do the right thing at the wrong time and that will certainly backfire. Also doing the wrong thing at the right time does not help.

I think the party missed crucial oppor­tunities to resolve the issues, probably be­cause many people who are involved were faced with these challenges for the first time in their political history. As far as I am con­cerned, this is the sixth time that I have been involved directly or indirectly in things like this. In 1992, I was at the centre of it, I was elected deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. I knew the intrigues. I knew what happened. And, of course, from 1999 to 2011, I was indirectly involved as a governor, as a minister, of course, as a leader of the party. So, all those things are not new to me and many other elders in this country. I think time was crucial, which the party missed some crucial steps and, there­fore, things went wrong.

Where were you on the day of the elec­tion for the National Assembly presiding officers and would you say the Presi­dent actually called APC lawmakers to a meeting at ICC on the morning of the inauguration?

Honestly speaking, it was in the morning of that day that I saw a text message that we should go to the ICC. Unfortunately for me, I had so many people from Kano that came to see me. You know, our colleagues in this game of politics are always being handled like glass or egg, so I was trying to receive them when I got a call that senators and members were waiting at the ICC. As I was moving out of Hilton hotel, somebody called again and said that they were at the National Assembly and they were just about to start elections.

I diverted the driver, instead of going to the ICC to where the elections were tak­ing place. There was a huge traffic on the road of Abuja, so I said instead of going to ICC, it was more important to go to Nation­al Assembly. And, in any case, I was sure that members who were at the ICC would not want to stay there while elections were talking place. So, I drove straight to the Na­tional Assembly and moved straight to the chamber. It was when I arrived the chamber that I realised I was in a wrong place.

It was when I entered that I saw Bukola being sworn in as the Senate President. So, I was not in the ICC. Of course, I was at National Assembly but I arrived after the election. I was there calling them to come. Unfortunately, they did not come to the Na­tional Assembly and I had to follow them to ICC and then to other places. That was what happened that day.

Now, nobody told me, but I saw a text message that we were going to be addressed by the president but not from the president himself but some officials of the party.

But did you suspect anything had gone wrong at the time you went to ICC and came back? Do you think there might have been mischief in the whole thing?

By who?

By either the party or some other individual(s)?

I told you the party missed some vital steps and they gave an ample opportunity to the Bukola group and they used it effective­ly. They used all the advantages that had to go with the mistakes of our leaders. Well, I am aware that the G5 or G7 group and their supporters were really interested in seeing one of us or one of them really being rel­evant. I am aware of that group within the APC. I am also aware that there are many people or there are some people who are in the party who also believe that my brother, Senator Bola Tinubu, has taken so many things and they thought that it was time for them to put a break so that he did not have to go also with that elections because they had the perception that Senator Tinubu was supporting another candidate.

Of course, there are other groups of sena­tors that I know that believe that Bukola has given them so many things; he supported them especially in the party. Maybe he took advantage of some supporters of the party who had to channel a lot of support through him. And many senators believe that they are supported by him and, there­fore, they are all out to support him.

There are many other factors really that were responsible for all these things – the new PDP issue, the Tinubu issue, closeness with some people who are sympathetic to the party and, of course, the issue of de­lay that I mentioned earlier on. Many of us from G7, some governors, some other high ranking or senior officials of the party, in my opinion, have got a lot of capacity to exert both positive and negative influ­ence. And I think all these things were not taken into consideration by many leaders. There are many other senators also and members of the House that very much believe that the consultation between them and the party was not good enough. The party would have done more in terms of relationship, closeness and even knowing precisely the direction of the party.

Some of these things are correctable, like making consultation with the members of the National Assembly and so on and so forth. I think many things went wrong. I am sure you know that I am in the group of the Ahmed Lawan and co. But before then, definitely I was one of the supporters of (George) Akume. Under normal circum­stances, he should get the seat; he should be the natural holder of that seat for obvi­ous reasons. First, he is probably the eldest among all of them. I know him long before PDP, as an adviser to my elder brother, and governor for two terms and then, he was the minority leader. I have not heard anybody who would pass vote of no confidence ion him . Now that the party is the majority, under normal circumstances, he would have been the Senate President. Of course, his state did very well for the party and all these put together will qualify him to be the Sen­ate President.

There are many other sensitivities that one must take into consideration in making these decisions and that was why even be­fore consultation, I put one and two together and supported him right from the beginning . But when decision was made by some other people that the two of them should merge. He called me at 4am one day. I was in Kano and he said: “this is what is happen­ing in Abuja. What is your opinion?” He did that because he knows that he would not want to do anything that will go against our collective interest. I said:” “I am here in Kano, trying to complete my project and programmes. I cannot help you this morn­ing. What you need to do is to consult those around you before you take decisions, but whatever happens, I want to assure you that we are all together.”

The merging became easier because the party, going by what we all know, was sup­porting that ticket and we supported them to the last minute. It is sad that they did not get it because under normal circumstance, all members of the party should go on the party line and that is how it should be. But here we are, we had a situation where a party is on one side and some other members of the party are on the other side.

From what you just said, does that im­ply that the party is presently divided?

Well, I think the party, unfortunately, is divided. But it is not too late to correct many things. The party should take certain steps to ensure that such things do not hap­pen again. I am one of those who certainly advised my brother, Bukola that he should not go too far with that ambition. At this level, people should be more careful and conscious of what they do and what they do not do.

The situation is even worse in the case of Tambuwal. The Tambuwal case was a case of going out of zoning but all other positions went to the member of the party but this time, because of the ambition of the members of the party, they went and con­nived with people who are not only oppo­nents of the party, but also enemies of the party, to fight the party after the people of this country had discarded these people and their party.

Now, because of their ambition, these people who were made irrelevant got a lifeline. I do not think that is the best way to go. Members of the party should have certain limitations; you should know when to start and when to stop. I think this is go­ing too far in romancing members of the PDP. As far as we are concerned, PDP was dead. Ambition made certain people to do what they should not do in democracy and party politics and now, we are just about to create unnecessary life for them in PDP to the extent that some of them started making all sorts of statements. Recently I read and I do not know if it is true or not, Ike Ekwer­emadu talking rubbish, nonsense. It is like now they have reasons to speak again. I think that has to do with the mistakes of our own members. I believe that at the end of the day, the party and members must get a way of coming together and behave well and I think that is the only way that we can make progress.

What is the way forward?

Well, I do not know. The party must be doing its own bit, but if I were the nation­al chairman, I would either write to these members individually, a letter or call them and tell them. There has to be discipline in the party. It does not matter if you are 10, 20 or 1000, whatever your number may be in the party; once there is no discipline, there will be problem. I am one of the senior senators by any standard today in this coun­try, but because of the consideration of the fact that Buhari is from the North West and I am from Kano, I didn’t aspire to be Senate President. We have to be considerate.

It is not like you will just come by all means and take it, whether it favours your own name or it favours the party or not. All these things must be respected by the party and members and I believe that it is something that will bring the members back together and have good understanding. What complicated the whole matter is that more than 50 per cent of Bukola supporters are in PDP. If you take the condition of the position of Senate President, I do not know the percentage one would give and, there­fore, it becomes more difficult really and the implication of all these now is that very soon, the leadership of the senate will start “Tambuwalising” the party and, of course, the government as we have seen in 2011.

Do you support calls from some circles that the chairman of the party should resign, having handled this issue poorly?

No, I do not think that I should be in a hurry to say that he should resign. All I know is that many things have gone wrong, to the extent that the party has to put its acts together, to make sure that things that are going down are stopped. From there, we will build a party again.

Supposing Bukola and the other people want to hang on to the fact that President Buhari intervened and said it should be resolved for the party to be able to deliver. What is your say on that?

I think the position of Buhari is clear. He wanted the party to handle it. He did not want to put his fingers in it. What I know is that I am not sure if he is happy that mem­bers of our party could not be loyal to it, could not go by the dictates of the party. I am not sure if Buhari is a happy man even though he did not put his fingers, but he was expecting that members of the party should remain loyal to the party.

What do you make of suggestion that Ekweremadu has taken the slot of South East in the sharing of offices?

That is not it. Ekweremadu’s emergence has nothing to do with the South East. The APC should carry the South East along by way of appointment.

As a parliamentarian, you do not have the power to even ask Ekweremadu to step down.

I am not saying he should step down or he should stay. I am saying what they have taken did not belong to them, all those who supported him and his party to get it have made a big mistake for themselves and for the party and indeed for the country and they should be ashamed of themselves.

What are the challenges the house will have, having the senate president from the APC and the deputy from PDP?

The president will face a lot of irritations in the sense that these people must be very angry with themselves and very angry with Nigerians and, therefore, will do everything possible to put all sorts of hurdles on the way of Mr. President. That is obvious. It is easy for me to read their minds. I was one of them. I was part of their party, but we had to leave the party because of some of these attitudes. In some of the books that I read, especially in Islamic books, there are things that we believe, like if you build school, hospital, throughout your life, you will get reward even after you die. This sort of mis­takes are bad, so bad that if it continues to occur, it will change a system and they had their own agenda to tackle the APC and now, they are angry with themselves, angry with Nigeria because they believe Nigeria belongs to them, but Nigerians rejected them. I have said it over and over again, long before elections, that one of our chair­men was talking about 60 years but it was 16. I keep saying it but they wrote 16 and under normal circumstance, that’s where they stopped and it’s really unfortunate.

Is it true there is a reconciliation pro­cess already initiated between the Lawan group and the other?

I think it is good to have reconciliation, but I am not aware of it. I am just watching the development.

I Could Have Been Senate President – Kwankwaso

Senate Presidency: Akume in shuttle diplomacy, meets OBJ, Tinubu, Atiku, Kwankwaso

As the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, continues to brainstorm on the zoning of offices in the executive and legislative arms of government, top contender for the senate presidency, Senator George Akume, at the weekend intensified his consultations.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Senator George Akume

The Senate Minority Leader, who has adopted a quiet, discreet and unobtrusive approach in his quest for the exalted position since he was listed as a potential holder, hit the road on what a close confidant described as a ‘strategic cross-country diplomatic shuttle.’

Akume, who was in the South-West last week, met prominent national figures and respected political bulwarks. Notable among them were Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu and former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

The former Benue State governor who is returning to the Senate for the third time, met the leaders in their respective domains in Abeokuta, Lagos and Okuku, respectively.

Akume served as Benue State Governor, concurrently when Obasanjo was President and both men maintained a good relationship until the end of their tenures in 2007, despite Obasanjo’s brushes with Akume’s kinsmen like Dr Iyorchia Ayu, who was Minister in the Obasanjo government and Senator Barnabas Gemade, who succeeded the late Chief Solomon Lar as PDP National Chairman.

And while Akume served in Benue,, Tinubu was Governor of Lagos, both of them belonging to the ‘Governors’ Class of 1999 to 2007.’

Oyinlola succeeded Chief Bisi Akande, former Interim Chairman of the APC as Osun State governor on the platform of the PDP in 2003, but all three men have since found common grounds in the progressives’ camp.

While there was no official communication after each of the meetings, the interactions may not be unconnected with the topical issue of the Senate Presidency.

Akume has also had several engagements with former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, who may likely emerge as Chairman of the APC Board of Trustees. Akume was governor when the highest Tiv honorary traditional title, ‘Zege Mule U’Tiv’ was conferred on Atiku.

Akume’s backstage consultations have also taken him to see Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who has also been elected Senator to represent Kano State, Prof Ango Abdullahi, Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, former Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Coomasie and former Kogi State Governor, Abubakar Audu.

Sources in Akume’s camp will not readily draw a link between his recent travels and the issue of the Senate Presidency. As one of his aides volunteered, however, ”Senator Akume is a very highly regarded statesman in his own right. Consultations with like-minded leaders on issues bothering on our socio-politics should be a routine affair.”

Pressed further, the source said: ‘If the APC is truly about change, that change should reflect in the way we do things, so we send a very strong message to all Nigerians that they can be assured of a sense of belonging irrespective of where they come from. We have produced a President-Elect from a majority ethnicity, we have produced a Vice-President-Elect from another majority ethnic group, APC must be sensitive to the sensitivities of the minorities, across both divides of the Niger.’

 

Senate Presidency: Akume in shuttle diplomacy, meets OBJ, Tinubu, Atiku, Kwankwaso

Pedestrian bridge collapses, kills 7 in Kano

No fewer than seven people were killed in Kano on Sunday when a pedestrian bridge at Dorayi quarters, Kano, collapsed, the state Police Command said.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Magaji Majiya, confirmed the incident in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

Mr. Majiya said the incident happened around 4:45 p.m. when the bridge, which was still under construction, caved in and collapsed on a car, which was passing underneath it.

“The workers at the site had warned motorists not to pass because they were working on the bridge but the driver of the taxi allegedly ignored the warning.

“So, the moment he moved; before he passed, the bridge caved in and collapsed on the vehicle, which led to the death of seven persons,’’ the police spokesperson said.

According to him, the vehicle has since been evacuated from the scene while the corpses have been deposited at a hospital morgue.

Mr. Majiya said the police had also commenced investigation into the cause of the incident.

Pedestrian bridge collapses, kills 7 in Kano

Buhari’s real enemies are Atiku, Kwankwaso - Gov Lamido

Dutse — Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, has faulted the recent claim by the media committee of Buhari’s campaign directorate that President Goodluck Jonathan has directed him to campaign against Buhari, saying that the claim was mischievous and misleading.

He also warned General Muhammadu Buhari to consider former Vice president Atiku Abubakar and Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso as his real enemies.

Governor Lamido, yesterday, during the rally of Malam Aminu Ringim, the state Peoples Democratic Party, PDP governorship candidate, at Garki Local Government Area of the state, said he was too big to be used to campaign against Buhari because when it comes to political game, “I am not afraid of anybody.”

He stressed that if he wanted to say anything about General Buahri, he would say it without fear, adding he had expressed his mind in the past.

“There is no amount of hatred, harassment and intimidation by any political party that will stop the PDP from winning this month general elections in Nigeria.”

He expressed optimism that President Jonathan will win the coming Saturday presidential election, considering the popularity and acceptability of the PDP by Nigerians.

He noted that across the country, the PDP has done well and deserves victory at the polls going by the figures and a careful analysis made of the situation of things in the country.

On the former Vice President, Abubakar and Kano State governor, Kwankwaso, he insisted that they were real enemies of Buhari.

“I have never been an enemy of General Buhari. We don’t share the same political ideology and so I cannot pretend to admire his political beliefs, but Abubakar and Kwankwaso are his greatest antagonists because he scuttled their presidential ambitions when he won their party primaries.”

 

Buhari’s real enemies are Atiku, Kwankwaso - Gov Lamido

We rejected Jonathan’s dollars, says Arewa community

Hundreds of Arewa leaders who received Kano State Governor, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, in Lagos on Sunday, said they rejected hundreds of thousands of dollars which was offered to them by President Goodluck Jonathan when the President visited the state two weeks ago.

The leaders, who were drawn from the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas of the state, distanced themselves from the endorsement given to Jonathan by a group.

Speaking during a meeting at the Ikoyi home of a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Tinubu, the Chairman, Arewa Community in Lagos, Alhaji Sani Kabiru, said those that endorsed Jonathan were impostors.

He said on the day of the endorsement, some people bought turbans at Agege and went to visit Jonathan at the State House, Marina, posing as emirs only to deceive the President.

He said, “When President Jonathan came to Lagos with dollars, some of us here quickly went back and gathered ourselves and started calling our own not to go to visit Jonathan. I also commend some leaders here for leading an offensive and convinced people not to go there.

“Most of the Arewa leaders and ‘serikis’ did not even go there to collect the dollars. At that event, card-carrying members of the Peoples Democratic Party bought turbans at the Central Market around Moshalashi Bus Stop, Agege. The person that sold the turbans told me that they dressed up as emirs and they were on their way to Jonathan’s place.

“So, most of them were fake. They went to collect dollars but cannot tell anyone because they are in hiding. But we did not stop at that; those that we knew that went, we called them to order and asked them why they went but they said they only collected dollars but they would not vote Jonathan.”

Kabiru said virtually all Arewa members had collected their Permanent Voter Cards. He promised to ensure one million votes for the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); and the state’s governorship candidate, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.

While fielding questions from journalists, Kwankwaso berated Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, for what he termed, “inciting comments.”

He said Fayose’s comments against the North were a reflection of Jonathan’s temperament. He, however, urged the people to express their choice at the polls on March 28.

He said, “When I did my National Youth Service Corps in Ogun State, I imbibed the belief that this part of the country has people that are positively cultured ranging from Obafemi Awolowo, Ernest Shonekan, MKO Abiola, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Olusegun Obasanjo and others.”

We rejected Jonathan’s dollars, says Arewa community

PDP no longer the monster it used to be - Kwankwaso

By Abdulsalam Muhammad

KANO — Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State has accused his Jigawa State counterpart, Mallam Sule Lamido, of betraying the group of five Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s governors who left the party following their disagreement with party leaders.

Kwankwaso

In an interview with newsmen, weekend, in Kano, Kwankwaso also faulted insinuations that the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari (ret) was not healthy enough to stand the rigours of governing Nigeria.

According to him, “the exit of G5 Governors from PDP has demystified the ruling party, adding, however,that PDP was no longer the monster it used to be.

He said: “Everyone knows that Governor Lamido was part of us, he was the leader of the group. He took us to a certain height before choosing otherwise and we were all surprised by his final decision.

“But, if there is anybody who would criticise our exit, it shouldn’t be Lamido and the Niger State governor. After all, our our judgment would decide the outcome of the general election.

“However, we know that PDP is no longer the monster it used to be, and I tell you they are ready to do anything to have someone like me who was considered as an irritant back in their fold.”

 

Buhari fit as fiddle —Kwankwaso

On the health status of General Buhari, Kwankwaso said he could vow that the former military ruler was as fit as a fiddle.

He argued that the “controversy was being mischievously unleashed on the polity by the ruling PDP to score cheap political points.”

Although Kwankwaso admitted that he was not a medical doctor, he said his judgment was based on his practical experience with the retired General over the past couple of months.

Said he: “You know that I’m not a medical doctor but a civil engineer, therefore I would speak as a layman. I don’t think these guys got it right on General Buhari because between December 10 to date he engaged in rigorous campaigns and rallies, crossing over two states per day and I’m convinced a sick man could not have successfully done that.

“My judgment was on what I have seen practically, his performance and strength is awesome and he appears ready to do the job of number one citizen.”

On Obasanjo’s exit from PDP

Kwankwaso also described the exit of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo from PDP as a huge blow to the party, adding that the party leadership mismanaged its fortune.

He argued that “Obasanjo is a father figure to so many gladiators of this republic and for him to have publicly disowned the party underscores the in justices we had for long cried about.”

On the forthcoming general elections, Kwankwaso appealed to the stakeholders to play by the rule of the game, noting that violence would do no one any good.

PDP no longer the monster it used to be - Kwankwaso

PDP moves to bring back Atiku, Kwankwaso

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The Peoples Democratic Party has expressed the confidence that their former  members who are now in the opposition party, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will be brought back to the party before the general election holding in February.

Former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar

The National Secretary of the PDP, Prof. Wale Oladipo, who said this in Ile Ife on Friday, at a press conference, said that the party had begun moves to bring back its former members back.

He said that the PDP was working hard in all the states to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan emerge victorious in the presidential election, where he would face stiff opposition from Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the All Progressives Congress.

He said, “The PDP has started efforts  to bring back some of our  former chieftains who are now in opposition party, All Progressives Congress, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.  The Kano State  Governor, Dr. Rabiu Kwakwanso, and others will also be brought back very soon.

“The reconciliation  committee of the PDP recently set up by the National Working Committee  of the party will meet with all former members of the party in the APC and other political parties before the next general elections.

“The move is not limited to these politicians alone, the PDP will bring back all former leaders of the party who have defected due to one misunderstanding or another. They will be welcomed back to their base.”

Oladipo, who urged Nigerians to support President Goodluck Jonathan to continue in office beyond 2015, said that the president had achieved a lot despite the security challenge confronting the nation.

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PDP moves to bring back Atiku, Kwankwaso

PDP makes Amaechi, Kwankwanso, others succeed – Mu’azu

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, has said all the former governors of the party who defected to the All Progressives Congress are executing programmes of their old party.

Rotimi Amaechi

He said this was responsible for the success recorded in their respective states.

Mu’azu said this in a statement he issued in Abuja on Thursday.

The governors are Rotimi Amaechi(Rivers), Rabiu Kwankwanso(Kano), Aliyu Wamakko(Sokoto), Abdulfatah Ahmedi(Kwara) and others.

He said the successes recorded in their states was because they were once members of the ruling party.

He said, “For the better part of the eight or four years they governed Rivers, Sokoto, Kano, Adamawa and Kwara, they executed PDP manifesto before they defected to join the All Progressive Congress where they have continued to execute PDP blue print for success.

“Nigerians should ask Governor Amechi if he has executed any other manifesto other than those of the PDP even after he left the party.

“Ask Governor Kwankwaso whether his infrastructural successes were not planned by PDP government that he headed in Kano state? Has Sokoto’s Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko done any work that was not originated by the PDP government through which he came to power?”

The chairman of the ruling party however said that the APC propaganda, instead of working to win the 2015 elections, was busy with propaganda.

He said his party was of the opinion that there was no need to spin and manufacture propaganda to win elections because, according to him, the PDP had done a lot to deserve re-election of  President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 elections.

According to him, “Our nearest rivals are not only spinning out of control but have succeeded in elevating  propaganda into an art form to try and win at all cost.

“All the PDP has to do is state the facts of our achievements on the ground over and over as they stand because Nigerian voters are not dumb or silly.

“They know that propaganda don’t win you votes, they only complicate matters because sooner rather than later, their propaganda and lies will fall flat on their faces.

“The Nigerian electorate know that leopards don’t change their skin overnight. The change Nigerians need is a change in their standard of living, transformation of the basic infrastructure to better roads, better bridges, and better education standard, better management of the economy as well as better health infrastructure which make us a better country and not change to a political party just to achieve their personal desires”

He alleged that the APC politicians who consistently point an accusing finger at the PDP  for failing to make a difference in the governance of Nigeria over the past 15 years must know that they share more of the blame for the so called ‘incompetence and cluelessness’.

He said, “This is because as they point one finger at the PDP, four of their fingers are pointing back at their APC.

“How can the gang of five governors who left the PDP in 2013 extricate themselves from those accusations when they were all part of the decision making organs of the party?

“Let the  APC continue their folly as Nigerians are no fools. We all know their empty game plan, the result which will dawn on them after Nigerians cast their votes on February 14, 2015.

“They will then turn around to say that PDP has massively rigged the election. They will fail in their bid to scuttle PDP’s bid for a historic fourth presidential election victory.”

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PDP makes Amaechi, Kwankwanso, others succeed – Mu’azu

Kwankwaso to support Buhari’s 2015 presidential ambition

Kano – Gov. Rabi’u Kwankwaso of Kano has expressed his readiness to support, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, to actualise his presidential ambition in 2015.

Kwankwaso

Kwankwaso made this known when he spoke with newsmen in Kano on Friday.

He said the election of Buhari as the presidential candidate of the APC was his success as he would continue to support him to ensure his victory in 2015.

“Just few days to the primary election, Buhari was asked if not him who else, he (Buhari) said it is kwankwaso. So, to me, it is as good as I won the election.

“Primary election is a family affair and we all pledged to support the winner before the primary and after the primary election,’’ he said.

He said he would now concentrate fully to ensure that all the ongoing projects in the state were completed before May 2015 as well as ensuring the party victory at all levels.

“Let me at this point congratulate our leader Gen. Muhammadu Buhari for such a wonderful performance at the primary,’’ he said.

Kwankwaso expressed optimism that if Buhari became the next president of the country, he would tackle the current security challenges bedeviling the country.

On his political plans, he said he was still consulting his friends and political associates as to what he would do.

“You know in politics, one has to consult widely in order to know what one will do next.

“As soon as I finish the consultations, I will make it public,’’ he said. (NAN)

 

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Kwankwaso to support Buhari’s 2015 presidential ambition

APC Presidential Candidate To Emerge Tomorrow

The national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) begins in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, today (Wednesday).

Atiku and Buhari

The presidential candidate of the party will emerge tomorrow (Thursday).

More than 8,000 accredited delegates are expected to elect the party’s presidential flag bearer who is to face President Goodluck Jonathan, the sole candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, in the 2015 general elections.

Five aspirants are ex-Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso; Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, and the Publisher of Leadership Newspaper, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah. They are all vying for the party’s sole ticket.

Already, supporters of Buhari and Atiku, the two leading aspirants, have appealed to the APC delegates to vote wisely.

Buhari’s supporters, under the aegis of Buhari Friends Organisation Network, at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, said today’s (Wednesday’s) APC’s primaries offered a unique opportunity for party delegates to vote for change.

The spokesman for the group, St. Athanasius Okon, said Nigerians have not had it so bad since the return of democracy in 1999.

Kwankwaso

According to him, the nation’s economy is in a shambles while the ruling party carries on as if nothing is amiss.

He explained that “the race to Aso Rock begins from the party’s presidential primaries because the choice of the right candidate will pave the way for APC’s success in the forthcoming polls.”

http://www.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Chairman-of-Leadership-Newspapers-and-an-Exco-member-of-Newspapers-Proprietors-Association-of-Nigeria-Mr.-Sam-Nda-Isaiah.jpgOkon added, “We want to use this medium to call on the All Progressives Congress’ delegates across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory that would be in Lagos on December 10, 2014, for the presidential primaries, to consider a lot of factors before they cast their vote, as there can be no better time than now for us to use the opportunity God has given us to redeem this country from the shackles of the political class, especially those in the ruling party, the PDP.”

Speaking in a similar vein, Atiku’s supporters urged the party’s delegates to consider his track record of public service and his democratic credentials as they cast their votes.

The spokesman for the group, Alhaji Abdullahi Sugar, while speaking in Abuja, on Tuesday, said Atiku had proven over the years to be a detribalised Nigerian who is determined to change the nation for the better.

He noted that the former Vice President had proven himself as a visionary leader who when given the opportunity would transform Nigeria.

Sugar said, “The Turaki is the leader we need at this time, we urge the APC delegates to give him the chance to lead the party to victory come 2015.”

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APC Presidential Candidate To Emerge Tomorrow

Step down for Kwankwaso - Kano lawmaker begs Atiku, Buhari

The senator representing Kano South Senatorial District, Kabiru Gaya, on Thursday, appealed to a former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, to step down for Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso in the struggle for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress.

Atiku and Buhari

Gaya, who was also a former governor of Kano State, stated this in an interview with journalists in Abuja.

He said since Buhari and Atiku were elder statesmen, they should allow a younger Kwankwaso to be the candidate of the APC.

Gaya said, “I am not trying to introduce politics into the situation but we have to tell ourselves the truth. Governor Kwankwaso was a minister of defence, and now a serving governor. He was a legislator, once being a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives.

“He was also Special Adviser to the President on Dafur. He was a member of the Niger Delta Development Commission, hence he has the credentials. He is a young man too. He can work for 18 hours a day.

“I believe that all our elders and leaders in the APC would support him. If you look at the situation in other countries, their citizens are going for young people to become their president.

“Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama for instance were young men who became president, having youthful hair but grew grey hair in power because of mainly the external problems that their country was facing.

“We won’t mind if Kwankwaso is elected president, he will grow grey hairs in the course of tackling Nigeria’s internal problems. Look at how he had ensured peace in Kano. He will do the same for the country, being a former minister of defence.

“As governor, his budget is 75 percent capital project while 25 percent is for recurrent expenditure. If he can come to the federal level and replicate that, Nigeria will be very happy. Kano is the most beautiful state in Nigeria today, both during the day and at night.”

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Step down for Kwankwaso - Kano lawmaker begs Atiku, Buhari

Kwankwaso declares intention to run for presidency

• Tambuwal defects to APC

The governor of north Nigeria’s most populous state on Tuesday announced his bid to run for president on the main opposition ticket, as the speaker of the country’s lower house of parliament defected to the same party.

Rabiu Kwankwaso

Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwaso’s declaration, made at a rally in the capital Abuja, sets up a three-way battle for the presidential nomination within the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Nigeria’s former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari and the country’s ex-vice-president Atiku Abubakar have already said they want to contest for the February 14, 2015 poll.

Kwankwaso, who defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of President Goodluck Jonathan last year, is a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and defence minister.

He also served as Nigeria’s envoy to the restive Darfur region of Sudan and war-torn Somalia under president Olusegun Obasanjo.

At the rally, he put tackling insecurity, endemic corruption, boosting economic growth and improving equality at the heart of his campaign.

“I’m offering myself and soliciting the support of Nigerians to join Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on this difficult journey to reclaim our country from the clutches of incompetency and destruction and tie it to the pedestal of peace and progress,” he said.

“I have no doubt in my mind that this journey is difficult and arduous. I’m under no illusion about the enormity of the challenge.

“But to save our country we must walk the journey, no matter how difficult, and we must defeat all the challenges, however monstrous they are.”

Kwankwaso and a number of other influential state governors switched sides in protest at Jonathan’s apparent ambition for re-election after he allegedly pledged to serve only one term.

Jonathan’s office has said he will formally declare for re-election on November 11.

His 200-member presidential declaration committee meets in Abuja on Wednesday.

Kwankwaso, 58, faces an uphill battle to win the APC primary due in early December, with both Buhari and Abubakar enjoying huge political followings in the Muslim-majority north.

The defection of governors to the APC was seen as strengthening the opposition’s hand, giving the opposition a chance of winning power for the first time since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999.

A number of lawmakers followed suit, the latest of them House of Representatives speaker Aminu Tambuwal, who will contest for the governorship of northwestern Sokoto state.

Tambuwal told lawmakers that his decision to defect was “in continuation of the great sacrifice and also the need to ensure development of constitutional democracy”.

 

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Kwankwaso declares intention to run for presidency

Kwankwaso attacks Jonathan over seized money by SA

Governor Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso of Kano State has accused President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government of not being sincere over its defence of the seized $9.3m and another $5.7m by the South African government.

President Jonathan and President Zuma

He said the seized money by the South African government under the guise of procuring arms and ammunition to fight insurgency, contravened established rules and guidelines.

The governor said it was a clear violation of the due process in the procurement.

Kwakwanso spoke in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday after the public presentation of two laws-Ekiti Magistrate Court Law 2014 and Administration of Criminal Justice2014-by his counterpart from Lagos, Raji Fashola (SAN).

Fashola, who described laws and constitutionality as the bedrock of any nation, said the application of the Cremation and Public Health Laws gave the state a breakthrough in its fight against the Ebola Virus Disease that broke out in the country recently.

Kwakwanso, who had earlier inaugurated the Ire Burnt Brick Industry revamped by Governor Kayode Fayemi, said Nigerians must rise up to protect judiciary for the sustenance of the country’s democracy.

The governor said, “As a former Minister of Defence, I am very conversant with the way and manner, and the due process that is required to procure any arms, ammunition or equipment, there are rules and guidelines. Arms and ammunition are not rice and beans that you can just go to the market and purchase.

“Many of us were concerned when the information filtered in. In fact, we didn’t believe it initially, but along the line, based on the defence of what happened, we realized that it was a bitter truth that such a thing happened: that money of that magnitude in an aircraft flown to another nation, I think so many things have gone wrong. I think it is high time for the Federal Government to sit up to its responsibilities to ensure that things are being done correctly.

“Yes, we need arms and ammunition; yes, we need security in this country, but even under that circumstance, there are rules and guidelines that must be respected.

“While we are trying to tackle insurgency, we must follow the due process. Even in the operation there are rules of engagement; they are very important to protect the lives and properties of innocent people.”

Kwakwanso wondered why it took the Federal Government three weeks to accept that over 200 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram in Chibok.

He said so many things were wrong under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“That is why we are confident that by 2015 the APC will take over because all that we have seen in insecurity, unemployment, education…There are so many schools closed down in the North. Our children cannot go to school because some are being stolen,” he lamented.

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Kwankwaso attacks Jonathan over seized money by SA

Why I want to be President in 2015, by Kwankwaso

Kano State Governor, Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso says he wants to become Nigeria’s President in 2015 to enable him use his requisite experience to address the fundamental socio-economic challenges facing Nigeria

Rabiu Kwankwaso

Kwankwaso, who spoke with journalists last night in Kano, pointed out that he had been studying the problems facing the country over the years and had come to the conclusion that he possesses the requisite experience and expertise to tackle the issues and give Nigerians and Nigeria a new lease of life.

He explained that given his rich background as a long-standing public servant, an engineer and a one-time Defence Minister, he truly understands what the country needs in order to become great among the comity of nations.

The governor said the country needed someone like him, who had seen the nation from various angles to be able to solve its problems and advance the interest of Nigerians at all levels.

The governor said that although he was still consulting with other stakeholders across the length and breadth of Nigeria on his next political move, he would make a formal declaration for the presidential contest at the appropriate time.

Kwankwaso said that more than anything else, the worsening security threat to Nigeria and the seeming inability of the administration to address it were unacceptable as it had driven away over four million Nigerians into Chad, Niger Republic and Cameroun as refugees.

“The situation is so bad that apart from those displaced by the insurgents, many other Nigerians have been hospitalised while others have gone into hiding just to save their lives, while the system continues to give assurance of victory,” the governor lamented.

“So many Nigerians have also been displaced in Chibok, Gwoza and Bama as well as other places in the country. This is not a good thing for Nigeria and we need to rise up and find a lasting solution to the problem, which is not beyond us.

“A situation whereby Nigeria’s leadership is encouraging division is not good for the unity of Nigeria. We should stop abusing the very people we are supposed to protect and give them a sense of hope and dignity,” Kwankwaso noted.

The governor said that in a bid to give his state a new lease of life, his administration had undertaken major infrastructural projects including three major flyover bridges, major roads and water projects across the state in addition to establishing 23 big dams for water and energy supply.

He pointed out that in a bid to rid Kano of malevolent elements and reduce criminality, his administration, working in league with security agents had constantly been raiding black spots in the metropolis, including the Sabongari Market, which he described as the biggest drug market in Kano.

According to Kwankwaso, illicit drugs worth N4 billion had been seized from the market and destroyed by security agents in the last three years in a bid to flush out the couriers from the state.

The governor said that the All Progressives Congress, where he crossed over to last December from the ruling PDP, was working hard to ensure that it wins the next election convincingly and use the opportunity to move the country forward.

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Why I want to be President in 2015, by Kwankwaso

Kano attack: Shekarau visits victims, shuns Kwankwaso

The Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, on Thursday led a Federal Government delegation to commiserate with the victims of the insurgent attack at the Federal College of Education, Kano.

Shekarau and Kwankwaso

Though he failed to pay a courtesy visit to the incumbent state Governor, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso, he, however, met the Emir of Kano, Malam Sanusi Lamido at the Murtala Muhammed Specialists Hospital, Kano. The monarch had also visited the hospital to sympathize with the victims

Shekarau, while speaking at the FCE, Kano, directed heads of tertiary institutions across the country to ensure maximum security in their schools to check possible attacks by hoodlums.

During Wednesday’s attack, over 15 students were killed while 34 were injured.

“The issue of security is not the affairs of only the Federal, state or local governments or communities but the responsibility of everybody,” he said.

Other dignitaries in the Federal Government team included former governors of Jigawa and Kebbi states, Senator Ibrahim Saminu Turaki and Senator Adamu Aleiro respectively, the senator representing Kano central, Bashir Lado , the chief executive, National Commission for Colleges of Education, Prof. Muhammed Junaid, and the representative of the Inspector General of Police, DIG Wakama.

Shekarau expressed the hope that security agencies would continue to give useful advice to schools on how to ensure maximum security in schools.

He said, “We hope heads of various schools across the country will come up with some stringent measures for maximum security in their respective schools and it is unfortunate that the trend we are witnessing is that institutions of learning are being targeted.

“But I believe this incident will not deter our people from pursuing their studies.”

He also condoled with the members of staff, students and management of the college before the team went to visit the victims in the hospital.

Earlier, the Provost of the FCE , Dr. Rabi Jibrila, had narrated the ordeals of the college community in the hands of the insurgents to the delegation.

Meanwhile, the Kano State Government and the Emir of Kano, HRH Sunusi Muhammad II, have urged the college community not to be discouraged by the attack.

Rather they said they should summon courage to return back to school so that the terrorists would not achieve their aims of discouraging them from acquiring education.

Also, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar lll-led Jama’atu Nasril Islam on Thursday commiserated with families of victims of the blast, describing the incident as “senseless killing of innocent students.”

The JNI in a statement by its Secretary General, Dr. Khalid Aliyu, on behalf of the Sultan said, “This barbaric and callous attack is condemnable in its entirety and it will always demand for questions on what exactly the perpetrators want.”

The statement added, “The blast is very worrisome and calls for practical investigation which must bring the perpetrators to face the wrath of the law and find ways and means of stopping future occurrence of such devilish act.”

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Kano attack: Shekarau visits victims, shuns Kwankwaso