Dokubo-Asari insists: Jonathan will win presidential poll

0

My case against PVC for elections’

By Levinus Nwabughiogul

He has remained optimistic about the second term of President Goodluck Jonathan even before this time. Now, with the time ticking closer to the presidential election, he appears firmer in his conviction. There is nothing anybody says that will make him to believe otherwise. Not even the

Dokubo-Asari

“fireworks” from the opposition. He picks hole in the distribution of the permanent voter cards, PVCs, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, saying   millions of Nigerians cannot be “deliberately” disenfranchised. To this end, he advocates for a return to the temporary voter cards, TVCs. The leader of Niger -Delta People’s Volunteer Force, NDPVF, Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, says, in this interview, that Jonathan is facing unusual opposition to his second term bid because some people feel they have the divine right to rule Nigeria. Excerpts:

How do you react to the postponement of the elections?

I am not in support of the postponement if all the preparations had been done. In fact, I have sapped myself. I worked to the point that I nearly passed out. I was addressing Muslims in Lagos on the 31st of January and I collapsed because I had not been having enough sleep and time for myself. I had thought that the elections would come for me to go the Saudi Arabia and thank Allah for the victory he has granted us.

But a situation where over 20 million are deliberately going to be disenfranchised by INEC, that’s not fair. It is very hypocritical of the United States; I think the president has been giving a lot of people unnecessary opportunities to meddle in the internal affairs of Nigeria. Nigeria is a sovereign state. It is not a satellite of the United States of America. Will anybody in the US say that 100 people should be disenfranchised not to talk of 20 million people? Is it Goodluck Jonathan or the PDP that stopped INEC since 2011 to make preparations for 100 percent distribution of the PVCs? How come 36 percent of the PVCs has been collected in Lagos and over 75 percent PVCs has been collected in Borno State where,  according to their quotes, about 20 LGAs are in the hands of insurgents? This lends credence to the suspicion  that the APC is working with the insurgents. I listened to Senator Mamora on television and he said that local government elections were conducted in Borno and Yobe States. What was the magic? What agreement did they have? God is revealing these people. Who are collecting the PVCs in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Gombe States? How come Borno  and Yobe have collected more PVCs than Lagos, Rivers, Imo States? Who is deliberately hoarding the PVCs? Is it Goodluck Jonathan? Have they compromised INEC? I was a member of ACN, so I know how  they operate during elections. I know that before elections, when PDP is dealing with the top cadre of the security agencies, APC relates with the DPOs, DCOs, the rank and file.

Is that not a wild allegation?

It is not a wild allegation. I can give evidence. As somebody who was very active in ACN at the highest echelon, i dealt with the national leadership of the party directly and I know how they operate during elections. We keep quiet because we have friends there. But friends are no longer behaving like friends. So, we too should behave the way we behave.

But that was ACN.

ACN? It is ACN that has transmuted into APC because ACN is APC. All the others are just affiliates. They are associates. The driving force of the party is ACN. They are using the so-called idle followership of Buhari in the North. The machine, the intelligentsia, the think tank, everything is ACN. That is the way they rig election. In the judiciary, in INEC, they have people they work directly with. So, the elections should not be held with the PVC. No. The temporary voter cards, since INEC is unable to distribute all the PVCs, we should use the temporary one. PVC is not in our law. PVC testing machine is not known to our law. The electoral law does not recognise it. There is no e-voting. So, we should go back to the temporary voter card. INEC is deliberately disenfranchising some Nigerians. The constitutional right of a person is sacred to vote and be voted for. My wife contested House of

Representatives election in 2011, a candidate, but up till now, she cannot find her PVC. And it is the responsibility of INEC to provide the PVC. It is none of my business if somebody wants to come and pay me money and he says he went to the bank and armed robbers stole the money from him. So, if hoodlums stole PVCs, what’s my business? Bring my PVC. It is my right to vote and be voted for. You cannot deny me that right.

You advocate for 100 percent collection of the PVC but do you think it is possible for everyone to collect his PVC? Besides, no law has said so.

That is an assumption. You cannot deliberately circumvent the law. You can’t trample upon the law.

Even when there is no law to compel the people to collect the PVC?

But all the people who registered have their temporary voter cards. So, if we are not ready with the PVC, we can take their PVC to them. Their address is there. The bio-data are there. So, we can take it to them.

Is it not surprising to you that the security agencies united to say they couldn’t provide security for the elections which primarily necessitated the postponement?

That does not concern me. I don’t speak for the military.

But most people see it as conspiracy against democracy.

What is conspiracy when INEC has not been able to provide PVCs? When it has made sure that in Rivers State, only 56 percent of the population have their PVCs? What of the remaining Rivers people that they want to disenfranchise? My wife has not collected her PVC.

Should that have made the military to recommend the postponement of  the elections?

I am not concerned about the military. It is not my business what Nigerian military does. You know where I am coming from. So whatever the Nigerian military says, it is their business.

You are an ardent supporter of President Jonathan. Can you share what you have done so far to ensure his victory at the polls?

I have campaigned. There is nothing I can tell you more than that. I have reached out. We have networked and we are still doing it. We are not sleeping. We are not losing a second.

Most people are still quick to say that amid other challenges, the economy is down under the president’s watch. Many believe such may work against his re-election. How do you react?

There was a global recession that swept across the West: Britain, US, Japan and so on. Today it is the turn of the oil and gas producing countries. Is it only Nigeria? Ghana economy is in tatters even though oil contributes very little to Ghana. Ghana’s currency is falling everyday. Dubai is in trouble. They have devalued their currency by 37 percent as at the last count. Russia is in trouble. Angola is almost going bankrupt. So, it is a global economic trend. It is not only Nigeria. But does the opposition have the recipe to manage the economy? On a television interview posted online, one of the campaign managers  of General Buhari was seen with loads of dollars in his breast pockets. But he struggled to cover it. How can leaders be spending dollars and not Naira, thereby depleting the foreign exchange capacity of the country? And we know that most of them don’t spend Naira. They spend dollars, pounds and euros. That is what is causing the crisis in the economy. It is more demands for foreign currency than we earn from our resources and so the economy will be going down. It is all Nigerians that must work. Whatever policy on the ground, money laundering policy, etcetera, if the people are not ready to abide by the rules, hard and stringent economy rules, then we will have a problem.

If you were to highlight the achievements of Mr. President, what will they be?

We have been recounting them over and over. We are doing well even at war. We are pretending we are not at war. Today, a military man called me. He was supposed to be in Gombe to fight and dislodge Boko Haram. The captain who led them was killed. Some people were captured. They had to retreat. We are in constant touch with the people. Do you know what he told me? He said the president should remove all the northern Muslims soldiers from the battle front. That until he does that, this war cannot be won. That how did they know they were coming? Because there were no telephone networks there in the area where they were fighting. People had leaked their movement to Boko Haram. They went into an ambush. How did they know? No vehicle passed them. So, people are there who have a means of communication before they move. That the president should bring jet fighters to bomb and make sure it is northern Christians and southerners that fly these aircraft.

But that may be seen as genocide

What is genocide? People are fighting. They are killing you. So, you should fold your hands, you should be tied to a stake. You can’t box. These people are betraying. It is happening everywhere. These northerners are fifth columnists. And Mamora said they held elections and there was no banger sound. I posted it on my Facebook and people ignored it. How did they achieve that? Let them tell Nigerians. Now coming back to what Jonathan has done, Nigeria is becoming another food basket in Africa. Nigeria is coming back in all areas of agriculture: commercial agriculture and subsistent agriculture. A lot of people are going into agriculture. It is becoming more attractive. They are going into fish farming, livestock farming and so on. Commercial farming is contributing so much to the GDP of Nigeria. Go to the transportation sector and you will find out that the railway is working. The roads are being rehabilitated. New roads are being constructed. Now look at the airports.   Today, a government is constructing four modern airports, not the remodeling: Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abuja and Kano, all brand new being constructed by the Chinese. It has never happened before. 12 universities were opened in one year. Has it happened before? There is the implementation of the Local Content Act, the Cabotage Act which is now bringing Nigerians into the oil and gas and marine business. People are making money, those who are ready to work. Even his opponents are benefitting from YouWin. The only thing that makes them to oppose Goodluck is that one group of people say they are divinely ordained by God to rule others.

Some people see Mr. President as an ethnic president, saying he favors his tribe more than any other. Do you share that belief?

How is he an ethnic president? A man that has his security adviser from the North. When Yar’Adua was there, who was the Chief of Army Staff? Who was the Chief of Defence Staff? Who were the people around Yar’Adua? When Obasanjo was there, who were those people around him? Who was the DG of DSS? Now in Jonathan’s government, the Defense Minister is from North. The national security adviser, North, IG of police, North, Controller-General of Customs, North. These are all Gambari. When they were in government, let them show us if that was how they ran the government. So, how is he an ethnic president? His Principal Secretary is a Gambari man. Chief of Staff is a Yoruba man. The Minister of Finance is Igbo. The Minister of Works is Ishan. The Minister of Police Affairs, Yoruba So, how is he an ethnic president?

Do you see him winning the elections in six weeks time?

I have always told you that we had already won. We will win. They will complain and we are ready for them. This election is between me and the Gambari North.

You were reported to have been arrested by the DSS recently over some inflammatory comments? How did that go?

No, no, no, I don’t know what they mean by “arrest”. It is a routine thing. I have always been invited by the DSS. I was invited by the DSS. I went to their office in Port Harcourt and they said ‘you did this and that’. And I said yes. They said I should go, that they will invite me again. So, it is a routine thing. In fact, it is less now. Under the late General Sani Abacha, it was a weekly thing. Under former President Obasanjo, the same. Now, it is less but I am used to it. Invitation? I have been detained 73 times in Nigeria. So, I am not perturbed.

 

Viewed 1 times
Dokubo-Asari insists: Jonathan will win presidential poll

Poll postponement: President Jonathan releases a statement

0

ABUJA — President Goodluck Jonathan has assured Nigerians that the May 29 handover date remains sacrosanct as it is the terminal date of his first term in office.In a statement yesterday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, quoted the president as saying that the adjustment by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should be accepted by Nigerians as necessary decision to ensure that Nigerians are not disenfranchised.

Jonathan in Rivers State

While calling for support from the international community and civil society organisations, President Jonathan noted: “This is not a time to trade blames or make statements that may overheat the polity, but a time to show understanding and support the electoral commission to conduct the elections successfully.”

The statement read: “Following the adjustment of the dates for the 2015 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from February 14 and 28 to March 28 and April 11, yesterday (Saturday), President Goodluck Jonathan has reassured the nation of his commitment to the sanctity of May 29, 2015 as the terminal date of his first term in office.

“He strongly reaffirms that May 29 is, has been, and will remain sacrosanct.

“The President appeals to all stakeholders to accept the adjustment of the election dates by INEC in good faith, as the electoral body has a responsibility to conduct credible elections in which every Nigerian of voting age is afforded the opportunity to exercise their civic right without any form of hindrance.

“President Jonathan believes that this is not a time to trade blames or make statements that may overheat the polity, but a time to show understanding and support the electoral commission to conduct the elections successfully.

“It is the President’s understanding that INEC’s decision ought not to generate acrimony since it acted within its powers under the law and in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.

“He calls on the international community, civil society and the electorate to continue to support the administration’s commitment to a free, fair, credible, and non-violent electoral process.”

 

Viewed 1 times
Poll postponement: President Jonathan releases a statement

Poll shift divides federal lawmakers

0

Members of the House of Representatives were sharply divided on Sunday over the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission to shift the general elections by six weeks, beginning from March 28.

David Mark

Anger was the word in the camp of the caucus of the All Progressives Congress as they did not only oppose the shift of the elections but also accused INEC of being a puppet in the hands of the Presidency.

The APC caucus also claimed that insecurity as a major excuse given by INEC was a cover-up for the alleged “hidden interests” of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.

But, the PDP caucus embraced the postponement and commended INEC for having the courage to “do the right thing by not denying millions of Nigerians their right to vote.”

Findings also showed that the PDP caucus was plotting to stop the commission from using its Card Reader for Permanent Voter Cards during the elections.

INEC disappoints

Expressing annoyance over the shift of the polls, House Minority Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, said INEC disappointed Nigerians.

Gbajabiamila said, “A deeper analysis and closer scrutiny reveals a lot more. It reveals perhaps the proverbial hand of Esau and voice of Jacob. A complete about-turn barely 24 hours after INEC said clearly in a presentation to the National Council of State that it was ready says a lot.

“The independence of INEC has been put to question because the sum total of what we heard from INEC now is that its powers to determine election dates have been usurped and the military now determines when we can have elections in this country.

Aminu Tambuwal

“That is a dangerous precedent. Many questions are raised: Should the military be the ones to provide election security? What exactly then is the role of police in a civil society?

“The role being ascribed to the military for election purposes is ultra vires and unconstitutional. That role belongs to the police and we all know the police are not overstretched in the North-East.”

While rejecting the reasons tendered by INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, for postponing the election, the APC leader argued that his understanding of the development was the case of a “government in power running away from elections.”

A right step

However, the PDP House Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, argued that INEC did the right thing by “stopping on time from plunging the country into a major political crisis.”

Ogor said that had INEC gone ahead to conduct the poll “with many Nigerians yet to collect their PVCs,” the outcome would have continued to haunt the commission and its leadership.

He said, “The main issue here is the PVC. INEC would have denied millions of Nigerians their constitutional right to vote had they proceeded with the elections.

“You cannot tell me that because majority of voters have PVC, then others have become inconsequential. So, why did they register to vote? The majority will have their way, but the minority must still have their say.

“That is the only way we can begin to talk about justice and fairness, else it is a wrong step that will continue to haunt the nation.”

Doubts over March 28

House Minority Whip, Mr. Sampson Osagie, kicked against the postponement and expressed doubts on whether there would be any elections on March 28.

“The decision to shift elections is too sad. The elections may never hold after all because the security agencies will never guarantee the security of men and materials.

“This is obviously a PDP-induced decision. I weep for my country Nigeria,” Osagie stated in an electronic mail to our correspondent on Sunday.

Jonathan not involved

Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Mr. Jerry Manwe, said it was unlikely that President Goodluck Jonathan influenced the decision of INEC.

Manwe, who incidentally, is a member of the Social Democratic Party, noted that INEC became helpless soon after security reports did not support the conduct of the poll.

The lawmaker, who is from Taraba State, said Nigerians kicking against the postponement needed to visit the North-East to really appreciate what the people of the zone faced daily.

He said, “Insecurity is the key issue; I am sure if people are to die because they have to vote, that is more serious than the elections.

“The National Security Adviser and the service chiefs are in a position to know the security situation of the North-East. The North-East is in trouble and you have to be there to appreciate what is happening.

“Jonathan is not the issue; he didn’t influence INEC because up till yesterday (Saturday), he was busy campaigning, which means that he expected that the elections would still be held on February 14th as earlier fixed.”

House spokesman, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, accused the Presidency of allegedly “manipulating INEC” to play a prepared script.

Postponing evil day

Mohammed, who warned against the consequences of using the “military for political reasons”, added that the PDP-led Federal Government was merely “postponing the evil day.”

He said, “It appears some persons have other interests other than the overall interest of Nigeria.

“What they have done is to politicise the military to use insecurity as their reason for shifting the polls.

“However, they are merely shifting the evil day; very soon, the chickens will come home to roost and we will see who laughs last.”

Meanwhile, there were indications on Sunday that PDP lawmakers were against the introduction of card readers by INEC.

Ogor confirmed to The PUNCH that several motions on the elections would be brought to the floor by members as from February 17.

He said, “INEC has not tested the card reader in any previous election to know whether it is reliable or not.

“Why use the presidential and National Assembly polls as the guinea pig for the card reader? Do they want to mess up the elections?

“We are coming to discuss it on the floor and there are a whole lot of issues surrounding this postponement to be resolved.”

Viewed 1 times
Poll shift divides federal lawmakers

National Conference, a waste of public funds - Punch Poll

The National Conference currently going on in Abuja may well be nothing but a jamboree.

The result of a recent online poll conducted by PUNCH ONLINE points in this direction.

National conference

The poll opened on March 25 with the question ‘Do you believe the National Conference is a waste of public funds?’ as declared by a former military head of State, Maj.-Gen. Mohammadu Buhari.

At the end of the poll on April 16, a total of 1, 087 respondents responded to the question, picking either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

The online poll shows that 776 respondents, representing 71 per cent, believe that the national conference is a waste of public funds, indeed, a waste of time.

Conversely, 311 respondents, which represent 29 per cent, believe the conference is not at all a waste of public funds.

Indeed, those who chose ‘No’ must have been swayed by the argument that it was high time various groups in the country gathered as a think tank to resolve the myriad problems facing it.

President Goodluck Jonathan aligned with position in his speech at the inauguration of the conference.

He said, “This conference is open for us to table our thoughts and positions on issues, and make recommendations that will advance our togetherness.

“The issues range from form of government, structures of government, devolution of powers, revenue sharing, resource control, state and local government creation, boundary adjustment, state police and fiscal federalism, to local government elections, indigeneship, gender equality and children’s rights, amongst others.”

But it’s obvious that the 776 respondents, who say the conference is a waste of public funds, are not swayed by the president’s speech.

It is worthy of note however that the ongoing conference will not be the first national summit to be held in Nigeria, with eminent persons as delegates.

In 2005, the Olusegun Obasanjo-led Federal Government constituted the National Political Reforms Conference with former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Muhammad Uwais, as the chairman.

Sadly, the government, which spent huge tax payers’ money to convoke the summit, dumped the conference report on the shelves to gather dust.

A Northern-based human rights activist, Mallam Shehu Sani, who was part of the NPRC, stunned Nigerians recently when in Kaduna, he distributed copies of the conference reports to suya and akara sellers, noting that it was “to show Nigerians that this has always been the case with these conferences.”

National Conference, a waste of public funds - Punch Poll