EXCLUSIVE: Ikimi, Orbih, Igbinedion planning to hijack PDP candidacy for anointed candidate

• We cannot compare Oshiomhole with PDP 8yrs in Edo – Senator Roland Owie


• Never Again Shall we deal with Imposition – Prince Edobor

By Ehi Ekhator.

All is not well in the camp of Edo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the choice of candidate in the next coming governorship election.

Just as there is a problem over an alleged imposition of candidate in the state All Progressives Congress, NAIJA CENTER NEWS gathered that the PDP aspirants are equally fighting the some cabals planning to impose their anointed candidate.

dan orbih

According to investigation, Edo State Party Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih invited some leaders to Abuja for a meeting at Chief Tony Anenih’s residence. Those in attendance were reported to be loyal associates of one of the aspirants, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Discussion concerning the upcoming governorship election and state congress were top on the agenda in the meeting.

The leaders who were in support of other Aspirants other than those for Pastor Iyamu were not invited. For example, Senator Rowland Owie and Chief Ben Edo, two very top members of the Edo South curcus as number two and three respectively were not invited, a move that did not augur well with the other aspirants and their supporters.

NAIJA CENTER NEWS gathered that those projecting their candidate are Chief Tony Anenih, Chief Tom Ikimi, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, Dan Orbih and host of others.

Our correspondent gathered that upon their return a week later, Chief Tom Ikimi as Chairman of a special committee and one of those solidly behind the secret anointed aspirant, sent a text message to all aspirants and a meeting was held at his GRA residence in Benin.

The list of those invited for this Special Committee meeting includes:

Edo North:-

(1) Alhaji Kassim Ozeto

(2) Chief Mike Oghiadomhe

(3) Col. Tunde Akogun

(4) Hon. Henry Tenebe

(5) Hon Pascal Ogbome

(6) Chief Dan Orbih (State Chairman)

Edo Central.

(1) Arch. Mike Onolumeme

(2) Sen. Odion Ugbesia

(4) Sen. Cliff Odia.

(5) Hon. Joe Edionwele

(6) Hon. Sergies

(7) Dr. Prince Tony Omoghae

(8) Hon Giwa Agbonmelere.

(9) Chief Tom Ikimi (Committee Chairman)

Edo South

(1) Chief Gabriel Igbinedion (Esama.)

(2) Dr. Oni Edigin

(3) Owerri Dickson Imasogie

(4) Barr. Ahimien

(5) Hon EJ Abonayima

(6)Hon. Omosede Igbinedion

(7) Hon. Omoregie Ihama

(8) Sen. Matt Ughrohide

Aspirants present in the meeting were:

(1) Chief Solomon Iyobosa Edebiri (ISE)

(2) Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu (POI)

(3) Hon Mathew Iduyokemwen (MAI)

Aspirants who shunned the said meeting or took excuses not to attend were:

(1) Senator Uzamere

(2) Osaro Onaiwu

Tony Anenih

NAIJA CENTER NEWS gathered that the meeting almost ended in chaos when the aspirants were told that the committee was saddled with the primary responsibility of scaling down the number of aspirants to an initial two and finally one as time goes on.

The meeting tensed all the aspirants except one aspirant who said a level playing field be provided.

The leaders of the meeting, according to NAIJA CENTER NEWS finding advised the aspirants to discuss within themselves with a possibility of arriving at some stepping down for another which they all rejected.

Uncomfortable at the turn of the event, the Committee Chairman stated that the party will dictate what happens and not the aspirants, again a statement that resulted in complaints.

However, the Edo South curcuss Chairman Chief Gabriel Igbinedion who was absent came just as his Daughter, Hon Omosede Igbinedion was stepping out to catch her scheduled flight back to Abuja alongside other elected PDP National Assembly members who were all invited to the botched meeting.

He (Chief Igbinedion) pleaded for calmed nerves and asked to be given time to consult and submit two names to the committee for consideration. Two of the aspirants except one again rejected the suggestion.

The Aspirants again protested that anyone who continue to show interest be allowed to see his ambition to a logical conclusion; the Primaries. The meeting thus closed without any concrete resolution. The committee Chairman and Party Chairman gave him (Chief Igbinedion) two weeks to come out with these names.

Tom Ikimi

NAIJA CENTER NEWS investigation revealed that the plot continued in Chief Igbinedion’s residence where he invited five persons per Local Government including the Party L.G. A Chairmen over the burning issue. Again nothing concrete came out as those against the plot to impose a candidate successfully thwarted the move.

Majority of the Party Leaders who may have learned from the Presidential election are said to be in favour of a true and transparent primaries nothing that the party failed at the National level as a result of the same imposition; a scenario they are no longer willing to see repeat itself in Edo State, therefore raise posers:

What is the role of National PDP in State chapters if the state chapter does anything that is unconstitutional?

What will be the role of the people if a few persons are allowed to determine their destiny?

After the imposition by these persons (assuming they even succeed), will the general election also be by consensus?

Lucky Igbinedion

Is the party not at risk of incurring the people’s wrath considering the fact that the Igbinedion dynasty is frantically trying to foist one of their own through the back door?

Senator Roland Owie who spoke with NAIJA CENTER NEWS on the issue confirmed the plans.

The Senator stressed that they would not succeed in hatching it, insisting that though they may plan but they can’t as it will go against the tenet of the party.

On the secret meeting that took place in Abuja, the Senator said he challenged Tom Ikimi’s right to be in the meeting knowing fully well that he is supporting a specific candidate.

Some of us have told them it is illegal and they cannot try it. They were trying to do that nonsense and we told them it is not possible.

I told Tom Ikimi that he doesn’t have moral right to be there because he has a candidate he is supporting, how will you then chair such a committee. The PDP constitution is very clear, only NEC, PDP at national level that can constitute the committee at the appropriate time.

They were just wasting their time with what they were doing, it is unnecessary and they do not have the authority to do that.

Ikimi has his own aspirant which everybody has right to have but certainly my own arguments have been that the governorship election is not on party level but who is fielded.

I have said it that any aspirant that has close link with PDP eight years in Edo State cannot be the governor because that regime did not do too well. Everybody is free to choose candidates, but Edo people will choose their candidate. If they choose a candidate that is not salable or not, we wish them luck.

Oshiomhole may not have done to the extent that is expected to be but you cannot compare the governor’s achievement on ground to that of Lucky Igbinedion because if a man is not objective and as a Catholic Knight i am bound to say the truth in public and private.

There are some achievement Oshiomhole has made which PDP in Edo State did not do. All we should do is to tell the people that we would do better than what Oshiomhole had done by bringing a credible candidate, but if they bring a candidate within the system that failed (Lucky Igbinedion administration), we will distance ourselves throughout the campaign.

So they won’t try it, and if they dare, it will be aborted.

Revealing Oshiomhole’s plan, Senator Owie said the governor’s plan is to roll out a big board of Pastor Ize-Iyamu with Lucky Igbinedion to warn Edo people if he emerged as the party flag bearer.

Quoting the governor, the Senator said: “If Pastor Ize-Iyamu emerge as PDP candidate, he would roll out big board from Ofusu to Okpila with picture of Lucky Igbinedion and the Pastor with an inscription “don’t draw Edo State back again”,  and during campaign we will be defending ourselves.

Speaking on the issue, another chieftain of the PDP, Prince Edobor Eghosa said “We must not forget where we are coming from as a political party. First we are guided by the provision of our constitution. The founding father of this party have in mind when they postulated the motto of this party that there must be justice, unity and progress and the law two is not attainable without the first one.

“The slogan of PDP is that power must be to the people. We say no to imposition, and the selection of candidate must be through free, credible and democratic process. That is how in the end, there will be unity and progress because justice has been served.

“Making reference to what happened at the federal level, Prince Eghosa said i think our people have learned from their mistakes. The problem of the general election in 2015 has become an opener to the people.

“We drifted from the primary constitution of the party and that was why we lost the election. Not again shall we now deal with imposition and cabals who are bent on destroying this party.

EXCLUSIVE: Ikimi, Orbih, Igbinedion planning to hijack PDP candidacy for anointed candidate

Why we have not arrested Jonathan - EFCC

ABUJA—The  Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC explained, yesterday, why it has not arrested former President Goodluck Jonathan following startling revelations on how the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col Sambo Dasuki  (retd) allegedly disbursed over $2.1 billion meant for arms purchase to various individuals.

President Jonathan

Alarmed by the revelations, the National leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has, however, asked Dr Jonathan to speak out.

This came as the anti-graft commission disclosed that one of the beneficiaries, the former Military Administrator of Kaduna State, Mr. Jafaru Isah had returned N100m out of the N170m he collected and was given administrative bail to source for the balance of N70m.

Another beneficiary, the  former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and leader of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Chief Olu Falae however insisted that  he would not refund the N100 million he collected from Chief Tony Anenih, which was said to have come from Dasuki.

Facts have also emerged how former Chairman of Board of Trustees, BoT of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih and Chief Olu Falae entered into a working relationship prior to the 2015 presidential election.

Explaining why the former president has not been arrested while speaking with online news publishers yesterday, in Lagos, the EFCC boss, Mr Ibrahim Magu said that no document has been traced to Jonathan giving any approval for the disbursement of the money for any purpose other than arms purchase.

He said that all those questioned so far in connection with the money were people who disbursed or collected it for reasons other than the purchase of arms and ammunition.

“All approvals by former president Jonathan did not mention that it was for political purposes.

All the memos approved by him were for the purchase of arms,” he said.

Speaking about Olisa Metuh, the EFCC boss revealed that the national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party said he would rather go on hunger strike than refund the N400 million he allegedly collected from Dasuki.

Magu also said that Patrick Akpobolokemi, a former boss of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, was recently re-arrested after new evidences of alleged embezzlement of N34.5 billion and another N600 million were linked to him.

The EFCC chairman stressed that the war against graft was not selective and assured Nigerians that his agency was not teleguided in the ongoing anti-corruption fight.

According to PDP, since former President Jonathan was still alive, he should come out and explain to Nigerians whether he authorized his former National Security Adviser to distribute money meant to fight Boko Haram into his campaign.

Addressing Journalists yesterday in Abuja, PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary Abdullahi Jalo said, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is alive, he should clarify whether he asked the National Security Adviser to distribute money meant to fight Boko Haram into his campaign.

According to Jalo, “Jonathan is alive, he should clarify whether he asked the National Security Adviser to distribute money meant to fight Boko Haram into his campaign. What is important for one to know is that former President Goodluck Jonathan is alive. Has he ever said go and take the money for arms meant for Boko Haram to campaign for me? Is there anytime that Jonathan asked for anything from either Dasuki to go and distribute this money meant for fighting Boko Haram for his campaign?

“As you all know, no single kobo will be spent by the federal government or former President Goodluck Jonathan without the Act of the National Assembly. Some people however decided to divert this money to something else.

“Darkness has now come to light, we have now discovered that it is not only PDP members who collected the money but those in APGA collected, Falae collected, Tanko Yakasai collected. They all  collected the money under the guise that they are campaigning for Goodluck Jonathan.

“It is known to us that money meant for campaign are given to the national chairmen of various political parties. We had a dinner in the banquet hall where some billions were collected meant for campaign for Jonathan. That money was meant for campaign. Dangote, Otedola and others donated. So why would somebody tell us that you are taking money meant to fight Boko Haram, which is from an Act of the National Assembly. Any money appropriated is coming from consolidated account of the federal government and its usage must be meant for that”.

The PDP which also disowned the embattled National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh who has remained detained by the officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,  EFCC, said that as a party, it will not fight for his bail and others who have been alleged to be involved in the arms deal scam because they did that on personal levels and not on the platform of the party.

According to Jalo, “the issue of bail does not have anything to do with PDP. Let them tell us how much they have brought to PDP, to the national chairman and the money used for campaign, we want to know from them.

“PDP has nothing to do with individuals that used their companies to get money. PDP has no company, it is a political platform. There  is PDP account and they did not even inform the PDP that they had received this money, they just went and slept with their families eating eggs and rice.”

Jalo who noted that public should not misconstrue the unfolding issues with that of the PDP, said that individuals that were presently involved, accessed public funds through their various private companies and not the PDP even though they were members of the party. He added that the Arms fund were an appropriation of the National Assembly to which the former President and Sambo Dasuki were aware of and were aware of  the limit of using the funds other than what it was meant for.

The PDP deputy National Publicity Secretary said, “There are a lot of outcries against our members that have been taken to court because they received money from what we called Dasukigate or arms deal.

“The former acting National Chairman, Dr. Bello Haliru, who was taken to court is now on bail, he has a company Pam Proper and Property limited, he was given N600 million under a registered company of Corporate Affairs Commission, you can find out what the contract was meant for. Has he done what he was asked to do with the N600 million?

“Olisa Metuh’s company is Destral investment limited, he was given a job of N400 million. What has that got to do with PDP, you can bear me witness, when Olisa was accusing Lai Mohammed that he collected a contract from one of the states in the West, even Lai Mohammed took him to court, so now the hunter is now the hunted. Lai’s case has not been proved, Olisa is under investigation.

“Let us put the record straight. We want anyone of these people that have been accused whether in PDP, APGA or APC to come out and tell us that the money they collected, was given to PDP or their party. When he was given this money was he given the money to go and campaign for Jonathan, if yes let him show us the paper, let him present an evidence, but whoever was given this money should know that this money was not meant for that, it was meant for arms purchase.

“Thank God the party has kept quiet deliberately, maybe, because some have benefited. If we cannot clean the party now, the future is going to be bleak.

“If the Legal Adviser of PDP, rushes to go and bail out Olisa Metuh now he is doing the wrong thing, because he has to separate the party and Olisa as an individual.

 

 

2015 presidential poll: How Anenih, Falae sealed PDP/SDP working cooperation

Fresh facts are beginning to emerge on how former Chairman of Board of Trustees, BoT of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Tony Anenih and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and leader of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Chief Olu Falae entered into a working relationship prior to the 2015 presidential election.

A letter which was accessed by Vanguard yesterday buttressed the political marriage entered into by PDP with Chief Anenih on one hand and the National Chairman of the SDP, Chief Olu Falae on the other hand against the backdrop that the SDP had no presidential candidate for the 2015 Presidential election as there was the need for PDP’s candidate, former President Goodluck Jonathan to be supported.

The letter by Chief Tony Anenih, the then Chairman of PDP BoT was dated January 26, 2015 and it confirmed the claim by Chief Olu Falae that there was inter-party cooperation between the PDP and the SDP to support Jonathan’s presidential ambition.

The PDP through Chief Anenih had agreed to the six issues raised by the SDP before it could support the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan in last year’s presidential election.

Falae, who admitted that he received on behalf of the SDP the sum of N100 million from the PDP through Anenih, following the agreement to work together, told an online newspaper-Premium Times-that the money was distributed to all the state branches of the SDP.

Chief Falae had also stated elsewhere that his party, which did not have a candidate for the presidential election, decided to work for the actualization of Jonathan’s re-election after the PDP agreed to the six issues it placed on the negotiation table.

Anenih’s letter had clearly responded to the six issues, thus paving the way for the PDP-SDP working cooperation.

The letter, entitled: “Inter-Party Co-operation” and signed by Anenih in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP reads: “I write to sincerely thank you for your letter dated January 23,2015, on the above subject matter.

“After due consultations with relevant stakeholders of our party, I am pleased to convey to you our decisions on the issues and to further inform you that the President and the leadership of our party have expressed delight and strong optimism to fully cooperate and work with the SDP in the circumstance.

“On the implementation of the report of the 2014 National Conference” that “Please be assured that the report of the National Conference will be implemented to the letter.  We believe that having regards to the fact that the National Conference was a baby of the President, he is in a better position to implement it.  And this is what he is doing.”

On “zero tolerance to corruption”, Anenih had responded thus : “There is no doubt that our party, the PDP and your party, the SDP, are on the same page on this issue.  Apart from the fact that this administration has done more arrests, investigations, prosecutions and convictions of corrupt cases, the President has continuously laid emphasis on the need to develop an appropriate technology to comprehensively combat corruption and its vices.

“The approach, for example, has produced immense results in eliminating corruption that was associated with the distribution of fertilizers in Nigeria in the past.”

On “intensification of efforts to defeat insurgency”, he said: “it is the primary duty of Government to protect the lives and property of its citizens and secure the territorial integrity of the nation.  This Government has consistently made efforts to deal with the challenges of Boko Haram who have established their operational base somewhere between some States in the North-East of the country and the boundary with some of our neighbouring African countries.

“Terrorism has become a global phenomenon and fighting it requires the co-operation of not just the entire citizens but the support of the international community.  The President is working on this.  In his recent visit to Borno and in a rally in Maiduguri few days ago, he assured the people that every inch of Nigerian soil currently under the control of insurgents will be recovered in no distant time.”

Why we have not arrested Jonathan - EFCC

Arms deal :I won’t return N100 million, says Chief Falae

National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, Chief Olu Falae, yesterday, said he would not refund the N100 million he collected from Chief Tony Anenih, which has been alleged to have come from the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki.

Olu Falae

Chief Falae, explained that the amount was given to him for onward delivery to his party, to assist sell ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s  second term bid, saying it was not paid through the office of the former NSA.

To this end, he has asked the government to hold Anenih, former Board of Trustees of the PDP, the source of the money rather than either himself or his party.

Speaking at a press conference, in Abuja, through the party’s National  Publicity Secretary, Dr. Abdul Ahmed Isaiq, Falae insisted that his party would not return any money to the government coffers, since the money it got was neither from Col. Dasuki nor Office of the National Security Adviser.

He explained that the money was as a result of electoral alliance his party entered with the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party, to deliver the then President Goodluck Jonathan in his re-election quest.

He said those who were returning money to the government were those who got money directly from the Office of the former NSA, saying he cannot be part, since he did not get the money from Dasuki or the office he was occupying.

“In terms of refund of money, I want to say here that those people who are refunding money are those who got their money directly from the arms deal fund.

“Our fund did not come from the arms deal, our fund came from an electoral alliance with the PDP and we knew that the PDP had a fund raising committee that gathered billions of naira and PDP had been in government for 16 years.

“ So, with that, we knew that the PDP had the capacity to fund the alliance that was formed with them by the SDP, he explained.

“You don’t postulate what you don’t have on the ground, you can’t build on a non foundation.

“We, as a political party knew that the PDP was a capable hand in the electoral alliance which we entered with them. And we equally  knew that the PDP had a fund raising, where it generated over N20 billion down.

“So, whether the money came from Col. Sambo Dasuki or his office, is what we don’t know and it is left for them to ask Chief Tony Anenih to explain, “he added.

He emphasized:” “We knew that the PDP had been ruling Nigeria for 16 years. So, this was the basis of our electoral alliance with them.

“We can’t refund any money to anybody because the money we got as a party came because of the alliance we had with the PDP and we have the agreement note from this alliance.

“If it is possible that the money Chief Anenih gave us was from the arms deal,  it is left for them to ask Chief Anenih to clarify. As far as we knew, we did not have any dealing with Dasuki.

“ Our office did not ever have anything to do with the office or person of the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki. “

Dr Abdul explained that prior to the 2015 presidential election, the SDP was approached by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP through  its BOT chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, for electoral alliance  for the re-election bid of  the former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.

He said Chief  Olu Falae,  being the national chairman of SDP, summoned the National Executive Committee, NEC of SDP to a well-attended meeting to consider  the PDP’s proposal  of electoral alliance for the re-election bid of the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, since SDP did not field a presidential candidate of its own, saying the money that the SDP was given, which he noted, was being alleged to have come from the arms deal fund, was as a result of the alliance.

He, however, said, his party was in full support of the ongoing fight against corruption, saying anyone found wanting should be prosecuted according to the laws of the land.

“If you look at the cardinal principles of the Social Democratic Party, one of the basic  ones is that of zero tolerance to corruption. So, anywhere there is fight against corruption, SDP is in support, once it is done according to the ambit of the law.

“ In terms of the misappropriation of arms deal fund, as a party, I  want to say that anybody who violates the law should face the consequences, “he added.

Arms deal :I won’t return N100 million, says Chief Falae

Edo governorship tears power ‘ring’ apart

After the conduct of the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states before the end of this year, all eyes will now be on Edo State whose gubernatorial poll is projected to hold in 2016.

Tony Anenih

As usual, the Edo governorship election is expected to be a tough battle among political bigwigs.

undits say the contest will not necessarily be determined by the acceptance or followership which the major political parties: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) enjoys, but it is rather a battle among three ruling power ‘blocs or godfathers’.

The three most powerful ruling blocs include that of Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, the Esama of Benin kingdom, Chief Tony Anenih and that of former governor of the old Benin state, Dr Sam Ogbemudia.  The current governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was a candidate of the Igbinedion ‘power bloc’. The Igbinedion power bloc is said to be poised to retaining power at the expiration of Oshiomhole’s tenure next year, a move the governor is said to be kicking against.

When he assumed office in 2008, Governor Oshiomhole promised to change the face of politics. So, he championed ‘one man one vote’ mantra and the move to end the rein of godfatherism.

However, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that the governor, who wanted to end ‘godfatherism’, had also become a ‘godfather’, as he was said to have started making moves that would ease efforts to decide his successor just like a typical Nigerian governor.

This scenario, it was learnt, had strained his relationship with ‘the godfathers’. Governor Oshiomhole spent almost the duration of his tenure to fight the former chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Anenih with a vow to retire him from politics. He had also fought Dr Ogbemudia, advising him to quit politics at 83. His current battle is now the Igbinedion ruling bloc.

In the last two weeks, Governor Oshiomhole and former governor Lucky Igbinedion have been at each other’s neck. They have been engaging each other in a media war. The crisis is already creating tension in the state ahead of the 2016 governorship election. Both sides accused each other of mismanaging the state resources.

Meanwhile, Edo State has continued to witness the alignment and realignment of forces from the politicians who strategise to take over the Government House.

The victory of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last presidential election has also changed the political game. The APC also won National Assembly election in the state. Initially, all eyes were on the (PDP) as the likely party to win the governorship election in the state as the former Minister of Works Arch. Mike Onolememe and a former Secretary to the state Government Pastor Ize  Iyamu were among those being touted as the PDP candidates.

But the APC has bounced back since the victory of President Buhari of the APC at the polls. While the PDP recedes to its shell, the alignment and realignment of forces among politicians have continued unabatedly.

oshiomhole

Within the first 30 days after the presidential election, three major PDP heavyweights dumped the party and declared their intention to join the APC. They include a former PDP governorship candidate in the 2012 governorship race retired Major General Charles Airhiavbere, a former governor of the state Professor Oserheimen Osunbor and a former governorship aspirant of the party, Barrister  Kenneth Imasuagbon. They left the PDP for the APC with thousands of their teeming supporters.

The first person to dump the PDP was retired Major General Airhiavbere. He was not just the governorship candidate of the PDP in the last governorship but also the National Coordinator of the Goodluck Support Group and Goodluck Youth Initiative. General Arhiavbere, who joined the APC in Benin City, on Easter Sunday said, “Since the election of 2012, there has been heightened  tension in Edo state which has made development slow. I believe my coming to meet with the Comrade Governor and the APC which is now at the centre, speedy development will take place in Edo state. There will be peace. There will be stability and things can now happen faster”.

Asked why he decided to jump ship just a few days after the PDP lost power at the federal level, Arhiavbere said; “I would not be one of the political leaders that would move Edo state backwards, especially when the APC is now at the federal level.

“Every well-meaning politician must come to the centre for rapid development. We can only do that if we give political stability to his Excellency, the Comrade Governor of Edo state”, he continued “the party at the centre is All Progressives Congress and the party in Edo state is also APC, why then should we be in opposition? I believe that I have the ground and the supporters to influence positively the election of April 11, 2015 for the State House of Assembly.”

In his remarks, Governor Oshiomhole said “it is great receiving retired Major-General Charles Arhiavbere, who was my main opponent in the 2012 governorship election in Edo state. Over the period, he has seen through the political environment.

“Even as he was in the PDP, we have maintained a good relationship. That he has come to join us is in line with our tradition to try to consolidate democracy, open up the party to every genuine person who wants to join the party because politics is a game of numbers but this one is a quality number which makes it much more important for us.

“It shows that our political contestation was nothing personal which is why we have no difficulties in embracing one another and welcoming him into the APC family.”

Airhiavbere, who said the PDP lacked respect for its members despite being blessed with God given talents who could bring value to the organization, added that the party got intoxicated and stepped on many toes ruthlessly because power was centralized for a long time.

The next person who left the PDP was Barrister Ken Imasuagbon, who officially formalized his return to the APC in his ward in Ewohimi, Esan South East Local Government Area of Edo state.

Imasuagbon, who is popularly known as the Rice Man, due to his annual rice sharing ritual to the poor in the state, was received formally into the APC by the leader of the party in the area and brother to the late first lady of Edo state, Mr Victor Eboigbe and the chairman of the APC in the council, Bar. Chris Aghughu.

In his own case, a former Governor of Edo State, Prof Osunbor said he decided to dump the PDP for the APC because the PDP did  not have the interest of the people at heart.

Speaking at a rally where he formally decamped to the APC, Osunbor said, “Sometimes in February 2012, I reflected on my journey in politics and realized that the people in my party at that time (PDP) did not have the interest of the people of Edo State in mind. That was the reason why I cast my vote in favor of the re-election of the Comrade Governor. I told all my supporters across Edo State to give their votes to him.”

It is no longer secret that Barrister Imasuagbon, the proprietor of Pace Setter Academy and a former Governor  Osunbor have indicated interest to participate in the 2016 governorship poll.

For the PDP ticket, only Pastor Ize Iyamu, who was a former Secretary to the State Government under Lucky Igbinedion administration, has shown interest. He appears to be the anointed candidate of the Igbinedion power bloc.

As the number of aspirants for the governorship ticket continues to increase, a former governor of old Bendel state Dr Ogbemudia has said only candidates who have the qualities to provide good governance to the people will be supported.

Dr Ogbemudia said this when he launched an organization known as Edo Mass Movement. He said the organization would crisscross the state to help bring out a better candidate for the governorship position.

 

Edo governorship tears power ‘ring’ apart

Anenih @ 82 and the longing for more odysseys

By Sufuyan Ojeifo

“Mr Lely, I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts and everything as you see me, otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it. – “ Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, to his Portrait Painter, Sir Peter Lely.

Tony Anenih

Once again, I take the liberty offered by the opportune occasion of the 82nd  birthday of Chief Anthony Akhakon Anenih, a  former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a former Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), which comes up on Tuesday, August 4, to paint his portrait in the hope that I will be able to remark the “warts and all” as I see him, but not necessarily for a recompense.

It is apposite to remark that the Iyasele (Prime Minister) of Esanland has not come to the terminus of his odysseys yet, even with his graceful exit from the Chair of the Conscience Department of the PDP in the aftermath of the party’s loss to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in this year’s presidential election.    He is still making himself available for resolution of critical issues in the party, albeit behind the scene.

Consider his reported advisory role in the negotiation of the PDP into the Senate leadership with Ike Ekweremadu emerging as Deputy Senate President.    That explicates his longing for more actions in his political odyssey that has spanned well over three decades.    Anenih’s longing fits in well into the architecture on which he has built a life and time of robust politics and politicking.    Thus, his belonging in the political circles is quite understandable.

Regardless of his panache and accomplishments in politics, one must not fail to trace his trajectory in life, especially his starting point, which was hitherto not highlighted until his 80th  birthday in 2013 when, through publications in the print media, Nigerians were apprised of his grass-to-grace narrative, the nitty-gritty of which touched the sensibilities of readers and provided a new perspective of his individuality.

It was chronicled that after his successful sojourn at Government School, Uromi, he could not proceed to Saint Thomas’ Teacher Training College, Ibusa, subsequent to passing the qualifying examination due to the inability of his parents to afford the six pounds required for scholarship; and, he had to, among other things, take to rubber tapping to raise fund for his education.

Introspection

That narrative had shattered the mindset in some quarters that Anenih came from an aristocratic background.   Truth is, he had endured the vicissitudes of life: he headed for Benin-City to stay with and serve, for one year, Lance Corporal Omeben, the father of retired Deputy Inspector General of Police, Christopher Omeben, who was then in Edo College.   It was the late older Omeben who advised and encouraged Anenih to enlist in the Nigeria Police Force in 1951 (from where he voluntarily retired in 1976 as Commissioner of Police to venture into private business, which he later combined with politics.).

The occasion of Anenih’s birthday always affords him obligatory introspection on the journey of life and the vagaries of socio-economic and political tempers that he had to deal with. The consequences of this annual introspection must have informed his devotion to the service of God and humanity, which adverts attention to the silent chapter of his life: his philanthropy that is hardly celebrated.

Among countless individuals and institutions, both academic and religious that have benefitted from his eleemosynary are: Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma; the University of Benin; Igbinedion University, Okada; and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.   In 2012, he endowed a multi-million naira Geriatric Centre at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, the first in Africa, to support the care of the aged and senior citizens.

I will like to recap part of what I wrote last year concerning Anenih:  “Without doubt, it is all about Anenih’s humanity: here is a leader with a heart to help; a principal who is always touched by the feelings of the infirmity of his associates and followers; and, tries as much as it is possible to provide them succor.

Yet, this inimitable benefactor does not make noise about his good deeds whether in the political or private lives of the beneficiaries…. It is curious that in a society where politicians clamour for recognition, and advantageously position themselves in the media to gain mileages, Anenih would rather restrain himself and choose, instead, to dance to the quiet rhythm of his soul.   This is a disposition that has helped to define his persona as a taciturn and decorous politician, whose maturity, experience and fidelity cannot be faulted.

Anenih is a purposeful and quintessential politician, a politician who has earned his place in the nation’s politics as a Leader of his people and his numerous followers within and outside his political sphere of influence.

But his tenacity of purpose and legerdemain had actually crystallized in the defunct Second Republic when, as Chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the old Bendel State, he plotted and led the political/electoral onslaught that saw his party’s candidate, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, defeat the then sitting governor, the late Professor Ambrose Alli of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

The strategist had replicated similar feat in the ill-fated Third Republic as Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and in the current Fourth Republic when, during Obasanjo’s re-election gambit in 2002/2003, he had taken charge of the machinery that fashioned out strategies that ensured the defeat of opposition to Obasanjo within and outside the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In 2007 and 2011 general elections, he played a frontline strategic role in the electoral success of the PDP.

Anenih’s ability to consistently, at every turn, resolve knotty political puzzles would later earn him the sobriquet- “Mr. Fix It”, which the opposition elements had tried to twist negatively to demonise him. The deprecating aura that the ‘Mr Fix It’ tag exudes in the nation’s political arena does not aptly convey the essential content of the Anenih persona. Yet, the other camps have always played it up in their deliberate schema to demonize him within and outside the cosmos of political affairs where he hit the limelight.  It is, indeed, paradoxical that politics, which brought him fame, has also earned him scorn in the camps of the opposition elements.

But then, he has chosen to bear the cross philosophically: politics is in his blood and he plays it with the passion and devotion of a religious aficionado. He accepts the compliments that come with it as well as the bashings. He relishes the victories, the accomplishments and the bravura performances of his party and candidates during electoral contests. He has also learned to live with the pains of defeat whenever he suffers any….”

Not hysterical

He is presently living with the defeat of the PDP by the APC in the 2015 presidential election. He is not hysterical about the development. He had congratulated General Muhammadu Buhari, the winner of the election, on his victory. His April 6, 2015 press statement on the Buhari victory was clear: “I congratulate the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari,  GCFR, on his victory.   Nigerians are expecting great things from him; it is my hope that he will take this great country to greater heights in the journey towards our manifest destiny.”

To be sure, the Iyasele of Esanland is taking a well-deserved rest having survived the dangerous intrigues, tempest and ballyhoo that characterised the dark alleys of our cloak and dagger politics. This is not a declaration that he has opted out of politics. Politics is in his blood. He is quietly pondering ways to assist the PDP regain its lost prize. He would calmly admonish his associates and loyalists to remain steadfast and not to despair as there would be dispensations and eras. This is his inspirational disposition to politics, which is far flung from the myth of invincibility that has been created around him by his traducers who have tried to create the erroneous impression in the minds of those who do not know him (Anenih) that he behaves as a god in human flesh as far as politics and electoral contestations are concerned.

Permit me to surmise in much bolder but apt reliefs the correct portrait of Anenih: a grand and archetypal politician who is consistently and persistently loyal to his leadership and followership; an ardent mobiliser of human resources; a political strategist with the can-do spirit, who believes in positive thinking as well as the force of great and reasonable expectations.   All these represent the sum of his inspirational life as he longs for more political odysseys (of course, with restrained intensity due to age factor) at 82.

Mr Ojeifo sent in this piece from Abuja via  ojwonderngr@yahoo.com

 

Anenih @ 82 and the longing for more odysseys

PDP BoT Meets Monday on Anenih"s Replacement

The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will Monday meet in Abuja to discuss the modalities for the replacement of Chief Tony Anenih who resigned as chairman of the board.

This is coming as the former National Administrative Secretary of the party, Alhaji Habu Fari from Taraba State declared interest to replace Adamu Muazu as the next National Chairman of PDP.

According to a statement by Senator Walid Jibrin, the Secretary of PDP’s BoT, the meeting is expected to hold at the Presidential Villa by 8pm.

It is not certain if President Goodluck Jonathan will officially step in as the next PDP BoT Chairman, as Anenih said in his resignation letter that he was resigning to enable Jonathan step in as the chairman of the BoT.

Fari, in declaring his interest to become the next National Chairman of PDP said in a statement: “I hereby inform you of my intention to contest the chairmanship of the PDP that is vacant. I am one of the founding fathers of the party. I was the one that took the party to Taraba State. I was the party’s 1st National Administrative Secretary. I was the chief of staff to Bamanga  the then national chairman.”

Meanwhile, a group known as PDP Grassroots Supporters, has called on the party leadership to embrace dialogue rather than engage in blame game after it lost the March 28, Presidential election.

Mr. Desmond Adejo, who led the protesting group to the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja yesterday made the call.

He called on those calling for the resignation of members of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) to desist from such, saying it was capable of disintegrating the party.

He added that such persons should allow the NWC members to complete their constitutional tenure, stressing that they should not be coerced into resigning.

According to him, the party’s constitution should be adhered to while its decision should at all times be supreme.

The protesters were seen carrying different placards with inscriptions reading: “NWC should not be made a scapegoat” and “APC leave PDP to rebuild” among others.

PDP BoT Meets Monday on Anenih"s Replacement

For Anenih, a vibrant political era ends in dignifying style

On Wednesday, May 20, this year, two significant events happened in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which suffered a crushing defeat in the hands of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the recently-held general elections, namely: the resignation, in quick succession, of the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu and Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih.

Whereas, Mu’azu’s resignation did not come as a surprise, given the lingering agitations and mounting pressure on him to do so on account of the party’s dismal electoral performance; it was the decision by Anenih to step down as BoT chairman that caught a vast majority of PDP members unawares.  In a one-page letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, dated May 20, 2015, Anenih cited the current state of affairs in the party as a reason.

Anenih said further that his decision to step down would enable President Jonathan to effectively assume the chairmanship of the BoT.  According to him, “Your Excellency will recall that in a conversation I had with you a few weeks ago, I had offered to step down from the office of the Chairman of our party’s Board of Trustees and proposed to hand over to you as its new Chairman in a ceremony that would have taken place on the 23rd of May, 2015.  I had also repeated this position in our subsequent meetings.”

He continued in the letter, “As a follow up to the above proposal and in view of the current state of affairs in our party, I have decided to formally put my offer in writing to enable you effectively assume the Chairmanship of Board of Trustees or approve a process that will enable any other member of the BoT, who is considered competent, to assume the position.

Kindly accept, therefore, this letter of notice of my decision to step down from the position of Chairman of the BoT of our party with effect from today, the 20th of May, 2015.  I am happy to inform you that, I remain a loyal foundation member of our great party and will continue to pray for the prosperity of Nigeria, our party, and for you and your family….”

It is not always that this kind of magnanimity manifests in the dark alleys of cloak and dagger politics in Nigeria. Besides Anenih’s magnanimous action is the strategic wisdom on his part to seize the initiative to step down as chair of the BoT, a position he once occupied between 2004 and 2007.  He must have learnt one or to lessons from the 2007 incident when former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had then just completed his eight-year presidency, unceremoniously snatched the position of BoT chair from him.  Obasanjo had deliberately caused the constitution of the party to be amended to make the BoT chair the exclusive preserve of former presidents.

Indeed, Obasanjo’s coup-like move against Anenih then was not unconnected with his (Anenih’s) subtle opposition to his (Obasanjo’s) third term agenda. To Obasanjo, it was pay-back time for Anenih. Obasanjo was not ready to follow due process in assuming the coveted position.  He was not ready to be nice.  However, Anenih had taken Obasanjo’s gangsteric act philosophically in his strides.  His taciturn nature played out in much bolder reliefs.  The man, popularly called Leader, who had functioned in Obasanjo’s cabinet as Minister of Works (1999-2002) and overseen his re-election in 2003 as Deputy National Coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Organisation was, after the rough treatment, appointed Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

He has, under the Jonathan administration, had the second chance of being chosen as BoT chair following Obasanjo’s resignation.  The administration had also appointed him for the second time as Chairman of the Board of NPA.   These appointments were in recognition of his leadership qualities and roles.  He has always been a successful strategist in the plotting of election victory for the PDP since 1999, until the 2015 general elections when things went awry due to a combination of factors, including the great betrayal of Jonathan by his party men and women as well as the party’s National Working Committee.

Even in the current state of the party, worsened by the worst kind of defections (pre and post election), Anenih, as constant as the Northern star, has resolved to remain a loyal foundation member of the party.  Many frontline foundation members of the PDP are today in the APC.

The Uromi-born politician always exudes the courage of his political conviction.  For him, it is not about politics of convenience, but of collective purpose, indeed, of good governance.  This would appear to be his driving force; which perhaps explains his decision to invest his time, energy and resources in his political belief including his party and politics.

Over the years, especially during the Second Republic and the ill-fated Third Republic, Anenih has played the role of a dependable leader and robust stabilising factor.  Deploying his wealth of experience, he has been able to lead his parties to victory at different times and dispensations. Consider: he led the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the Second Republic to electoral victory in the old Bendel state when he was the party’s State Chairman; he did the same to the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) of which he was national chairman, at a point in time, to victory both in Edo state and in the country; and he repeated the same in PDP in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 in the presidential elections.

It is common knowledge the strategic role that Anenih played in all of these elections.  He was largely instrumental to the ground works that resulted in the party’s string of victories.  He did not only build the party; he also built men and women as foot soldiers.

In the 2015 general elections, he was the National Campaign Adviser in the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation; his role was said to be offering advice on how to run the campaign and manage the funds. With the defeat of the PDP in the presidential election and the need for President Jonathan to still provide a rallying point for the party, if he wishes, the position of BoT chair is the most rational platform to occupy.

And Anenih has readily given it up for his President to continue to be relevant in the party.  For Anenih, a luminous epoch in politics and politicking would appear to have ended in a solemn, yet grand and dignifying style.  At well over 80, time is now to operate quietly and influentially from the background of politics and political engagements. And perhaps, more of his attention, henceforth, may be devoted to his family and business.  Time will tell how fully Anenih will henceforth invest his time, energy and resources.

 

Johnson Momodu, a public affairs analyst, contributed this piece from Benin City.  

 

For Anenih, a vibrant political era ends in dignifying style

Fayose, Bode George, others reacts over resignation of NWC members

The Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose has said the resignation of the Bot Chairman, Tony Anineh is a welcome development, adding that it will help in the repositioning of the party.

Bode George, another PDP chieftain commended the PDP Chairman, Mu’azu for leaving honorably, which he said would enable the party investigate what really happened during the last election.

According to Fayose, “The resignation is a welcome development. We see it as paving way for total repositioning of the

party for its new role post-May 29.

“The normal thing is for leadership of a political party to resign after losing a major election. The PDP which held power at the centre for 16 years can’t be different. The chairman ought not to have waited for people to question his continuing in office before throwing in the towel. PDP is bigger than every one of us. The party can now move forward.”

Bode George

Chief Bode George, erstwhile Deputy National Chairman of the party in his reaction commended Mu‘azu for his action saying that it would enable the party to investigate what happened during the election.

He, however, described Anenih’s resignation as a shock to him even as he called on party stakeholders to rally together to push the party forward.

It’ll help move PDP forward—Akitoye

A former acting national secretary of the party, Chief Remi Akitoye said Mu’azu’s resignation would help reposition and move the party forward. Akitoye said:

“It is a good development, it will help move and reposition the party”.

He did his best —Senator Uzamere

Commending the PDP chairman, the Senator representing Edo South Senatorial District, Senator Ehigie Edobor Uzamere said:

“I see that he has done the right thing by resigning voluntarily. He cited health reasons and we accept it. He has done his best.”

He has done an honourable thing – Babatope

On his part, a member of the Board of Trustees, (BOT) of the PDP, Chief Ebenezer Babatope said: “Mu’azu has done an honourable thing by resigning and I believe strongly that the party will move forward and play its role as the opposition party to the APC”.

The wishes of people prevailed – Opara

Also, a former deputy speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Austin Opara said:

“It is a good development for the party and it is an honourable thing that Mu’azu has resigned. The wishes of the people have prevailed and now the party will be able to reposition itself ahead of future elections. I believe his resignation is good for our democracy”.

His resignation makes PDP a regional party—Tsav

A retired Police Commissioner, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, said:

“I think he has acted very wisely because those urging him to resign felt he is the problem of PDP. Unfortunately those who championed the calls for his resignation were the ones that are supposed to leave the PDP. I am talking about people like Fani-Kayode and Ayo Fayose, whose conducts were embarrassing during the campaign.

“His resignation has turned the PDP into a regional and tribal party because the North no longer has any top member in the PDP leadership. Now that he has resigned, lets see what becomes of the party.”

NWC should also resign—Filani

Chief Ishola Filani, in his reaction, said the NWC members should resign along with Mu’azu.

Filani, a chairman of the South West zonal caretaker committee said:

“That was patriotic of him and I hope that other members of the NWC will follow suit because he (Mu’azu) should not be the only person to make sacrifice. The failure was collective, other members should resign, including the state executives.”

 

Fayose, Bode George, others reacts over resignation of NWC members

Why i resigned - Tony Anenih

ABUJA—THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was in ferment last night after its National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu‘azu and chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih resigned their positions.

Mu‘azu resigned in a letter addressed to his erstwhile deputy, Prince Uche Secondus, while Anenih’s letter was fetched from his residence last night after the National Working Committee, NWC, issued a deadline due today for him to review his position.

Tony Anenih

Anenih in his resignation, however, said that he was resigning in favour of President Goodluck Jonathan to take over as Chairman of the BoT, a suggestion that a senior member of the NWC, last night, dismissed as untenable.

National Secretary of the party, Professor Wale Oladipo in accepting the letter of resignation, however, said that the Secretary of the BoT, Senator Walid Jibrin would hold fort pending the election of a new BoT chairman.

The NWC had in a stern communiqué earlier in the afternoon confirmed Mu‘azu’s resignation, and affirmed that it would today make a firm pronouncement on Anenih’s fate.

In a related development, the party also, yesterday, directed its Osun State chapter to confirm the status of presidential campaign spokesman, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode as a member of the party with the intent of applying disciplinary measures on him.

The wrath of the PDP NWC was also turned on the deputy national organising secretary, Chief Okey Nnadozie, who was accused of withholding N2.5 million set aside as transportation allowances to state chairmen of the party for the national convention.

Also yesterday, the party constituted a seven-man disciplinary committee which is expected to decisively address issues of insubordination to the party hierarchy.

Mu’azu’s resignation was effected in a letter he addressed to the Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, the next in the party hierarchy who is to also take over from him as acting national chairman pending the appointment of a substantive chairman from Mu‘azu’s Northeast geopolitical zone.

Anenih’s letter

Anenih in a one-page letter he signed and sent to President Goodluck Jonathan, dated May 20, 2015, wrote: “Your Excellency will recall that in a conversation I had with you a few weeks ago, I had offered to step down from the office of the Chairman of our party’s Board of Trustees and proposed to hand over to you as its new Chairman in a ceremony that would have taken place on the 23rd of May, 2015. I had also repeated this position in our subsequent meetings.

“As a follow-up to the above proposal and in view of the current state of affairs in our party, I have decided to formally put my offer in writing to enable you effectively assume the Chairmanship of Board of Trustees or approve a process that will enable any other member of the BoT who is considered competent, to assume the position.

“Kindly accept, therefore, this letter as notice of my decision to step down from the position of Chairman of the BoT of our party with effect from today, the 20th of May, 2015.

“I am happy to inform you that, I remain a loyal foundation member of our great party and will continue to pray for the prosperity of Nigeria, our party, and for you and your family.

“Your Excellency, kindly accept the expression of my highest regards.”

Earlier yesterday, the PDP National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo at a press conference at the end of its 399th NWC, disclosed that the party received Muazu’s letter of resignation, and said that it was accepted and wished him well in his future endeavours. He added that the NWC would today disclose whether or not Anenih remains Chairman of the BoT.

Seven-man committee

The secretary also announced that the NWC has set up a seven- member Disciplinary Committee with Chief Michael Addul as chairman, while former Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Mike Ogiadomhe; former Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin; Dr. Akilu Indabawa; Dr. Hassan Kafayas; and Nonye Nwangwu, with Tony Caesar Okeke to serve as secretary. He added that the committee would be inaugurated on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at the National Secretariat.

Oladipo said: “The National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at its 399th meeting today, Wednesday, May 20, 2015 received and accepted the voluntary resignation of the National Chairman of our great party, Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu.

“Consequently, in line with the provisions of sections 45 (2) of the PDP constitution, the Deputy National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus acts in place of the National Chairman pending a replacement from the North-East zone.

“On the correct position of the status of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, the NWC will make its position public tomorrow, Thursday, May 21, 2015 (today).

“Furthermore, the NWC expressed complete confidence of the party in the National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh and commended him for his outstanding performance, exemplary commitment and sacrifices, particularly in the way and manner with which he conducts the affairs of the Publicity Directorate in projecting the positive image of the party and its government.”

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh first gave a hint of the developments about to unfold when he told newsmen of the Mu‘azu resignation.

“I can confirm that we have received the resignation letter of the party’s national chairman. The national chairman, who had health challenges, stayed on for the party’s primaries, the campaigns and the elections after which he traveled abroad for medical treatment.

“Upon his treatment and after consultations with his family and on personal interest, he has decided to resign as national chairman. In line with the constitution of the party, the deputy national chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, has taken charge as the acting national chairman of the party with immediate effect pending replacement from the North-East.”

PDP crisis

The PDP crisis surfaced after the party lost its grounds in the presidential, National Assembly and governorship elections held in March and April. The loss was followed by calls for the resignation of the NWC with some caucuses, including the South-West Caucus and the governors, demanding the resignation of national officers. The NWC had reacted with the allegation that the Presidential Campaign Organisation upon the powers granted it by President Goodluck Jonathan mismanaged the election campaigns.

President Jonathan’s campaign spokesman, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode had on Tuesday demanded the sack of majority of the members of the NWC, alleging that they betrayed the President.

“We must throw out the bad eggs in the NWC and prepare for a long-drawn war of attrition with the new incoming government. In order to survive over the next four years as a party, we must make the necessary changes at the top, otherwise we will be utterly decimated.”

In response, the NWC in a letter to the party chairman in Osun State, yesterday, sought clarification on the status of Chief Fani-Kayode in the party.

The letter dated May 20, 2015 and authored by the National Secretary, Professor Wale Oladipo read thus:

“You are expected to investigate the membership status of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. If he is a registered and financial member, proper disciplinary actions should be meted against him through the Ward for engaging in acts contrary to Section (b) of the Party Constitution. If not a member, you are to reprimand him as a usurper.”

 

Why i resigned - Tony Anenih

Buhari’s presidency’ll take Nigeria to greater heights, says Anenih

ABUJA—CHAIRMAN, Board of Trustees, BoT of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief   Tony Anenih, said yesterday that with the election of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, (retd) during the March 28 Presidential election, thee was hope that the administration of the President- elect would take Nigeria to greater heights.

Anenih in a two- page statement, titled, “Marching on with Hope” in Abuja, urged those who might still be aggrieved by the outcome of the March 28 Presidential Election   to emulate the selflessness and magnanimity of President Goodluck Jonathan who conceded victory.

Anenih, who congratulated Buhari on his victory, hailed President Jonathan’s statesmanship in conceding defeat.

He also noted that with the action,   the President   made an indelible mark on the sandsw of time, adding that President Jonathan accepted the outcome of the polls   to ensure that Nigeria   enjoyed peace, and march to greatness and prosperity.

He said:   “A keenly contested Presidential Election, which many predicted would spell doom for Nigeria, has ended, gloriously, with everyone a winner.

“I congratulate the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, on his victory.   Nigerians are expecting great things from him; it is my hope that he will take this great country to greater heights in the journey towards our manifest destiny.

“I salute the statesmanship of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, in conceding defeat, even before the official declaration of results was done. By this noble act, President Jonathan has made an indelible mark on the sands of time. History will be very kind to him.

“President Jonathan has worked, selflessly, to deepen democracy in Nigeria. His consistent advocacy of the rights of the people to freely choose their leaders had earlier yielded free, fair and credible elections in some States of the Federation. Now, a peaceful transition is expected to follow after the general elections.

“The 2015 Presidential Election, in which the incumbent President lost to the opposition, has become a source of pride to Nigeria.   It has portrayed to the world that democracy in Nigeria compares to the best anywhere.

 

Buhari’s presidency’ll take Nigeria to greater heights, says Anenih

PDP would not miss Obasanjo - Tony Anenih

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The Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Anenih, on Monday said former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s exit from the party was not a loss to PDP elders.

Tony Anenih

He said they would not miss the former President.

Anenih spoke with State House correspondents shortly after attending a meeting of party chiefs with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

While the meeting was ongoing, news went round that Obasanjo publicly tore his PDP membership card in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, an indication that he had finally dumped the party.

Anenih who took over from Obasanjo as the BOT chairman was initially reluctant to react to the development which obviously rattled the party chiefs.

Feigning ignorance of the development, he initially asked reporters the source of the information on Obasanjo’s action.

The following conversation later ensued:

Reporters: As the chairman of PDP’s BOT, how will you react to former President Obasanjo’s action which indicated that he had formally left your party.

Anenih: He (Obasanjo) has the right to leave any party and he has the right to join any party. He is a Nigerian.

Reporters: Will you miss him?

Anenih: Why should we miss him?

Reporters: Is Obasanjo’s exit not a big loss to PDP?

Anenih: To us leaders, it is not a loss.

He did not answer further questions as he made his way to his waiting car.

The party’s National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, however, was evasive when reporters attempted to get his reaction.

Muazu initially pretended not to hear reporters when they approached him.

National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), however, told him that reporters were talking to him.

The party boss therefore turned to reporters, bowed, and walked briskly into the new Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa where Jonathan presided over another round of meeting with party chiefs.

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PDP would not miss Obasanjo - Tony Anenih

Right of First Refusal: Manifestation of Anenih’s declaration

By Lekan Ilesanmi

When last year Chief Anthony Anenih came to town with his declaration that the best thing to do in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, regarding its choice of a presidential candidate for the 2015 presidential election would be to grant incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan the Right of First Refusal, many frowned at the thought.

Tony Anenih

However, after just about a year since he made the statement, the party, rightly in its wisdom, has finally granted Jonathan the Right of First Refusal. But what does this all mean?

Common sense dictates that you do not change a winning team or a replace a winner.

The story of Jonathan’s final emergence as the sole candidate for the PDP needs telling here.

The caucus of the party met and decided without much fuss that its best option was to re-present the man who has transformed Nigeria beyond what people thought was possible when he mounted the saddle. Indeed, from the transport sector, to power, healthcare delivery, foreign relations, macro and micro economic development, Jonathan has almost always proved his critics wrong.

Therefore, at the caucus level, it was an easy deal relating with the postulations of the man that is known as the Leader. And because he is the Board of Trustee, BoT, Chairman, discussing the issue at that level did not also present any serious challenge.

Therefore, when at the National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the party, the unanimity of opinion was that President Jonathan should be granted the Right of First Refusal, it was more like a prophecy by the leader coming to pass.

But the party went a useful step further. The party also granted its state governors who were entitled to a second term of office the same Right.

Putting these in context, it would be appreciated that what an elder sees while sitting, a young person would not see even when standing on a tree top.

This would not be the first time that Anenih’s persona would dominate.

During the battle to secure the PDP presidential ticket in 1999, Anenih it was who played the role of a workman at the convention ground in Jos, Plateau State.

At the height of the Obasanjo/Atiku face off between 2002 and 2003 preceding the presidential primary, it was Anenih who played the role of a stabilizing figure in the pursuit of Obasanjo’s ticket for a second term.

Even last in 2010/2011 when the debate raged as to the appropriateness of Jonathan’s candidacy for the presidential election of the latter year, it was Anenih who brought out documentation as to who did what, when, where and how.

While some people argued that the ticket should be reserved for the North based on a zoning arrangement in the PDP, Anenih let it be known that since 1999 when the party once allegedly reserved the spot for the South, some people from the North paid for the presidential form and went ahead to contest against Obasanjo both in 1999 and 2003.

And in 2007, when power was expected to revert to the North, some people from the South contested against Umar Musa Yar’Adua too.

Now that Jonathan has picked his expression of interest form and the form for the presidential ticket, Nigerians await what next would come from the oracle of Uromi.

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Right of First Refusal: Manifestation of Anenih’s declaration

Jonathan"s Election: Anenih takes on Buhari in his comfort zone

By Jide Ajani

Chief Tony Akhakon Anenih, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Board of Trustees, BoT, Chairman, has launched an offensive into the stronghold of Major General Muhammadu Buhari, All Progressive Party, APC, presidential aspirant, reconciling leaders of the PDP there, explaining to them the dangers of going into next year’s election as a divided house.  He has recorded considerable progress; and he pushes on.

Tony Anenih

Buhari

It was very successful, the meeting in Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna State, last week, between the team led by Chief Tony Anenih, PDP BoT Chairman, and some leaders of the party in the state.

Seated in the hall filled to capacity with chieftains of the party were, among others, Ramalan Yero, Governor of Kaduna State, and Senator Ahmed Makarfi, who had held that post before.

They had come to listen to their BoT Chairman speak truth to leadership in the state.  Why this meeting was very critical cannot be overstated because of the strategic importance of Kaduna in the affairs of northern Nigeria. That is the state of Vice President Namadi Sambo.

Therefore, when Anenih delivered his sermon of peace and unity anchored on party discipline, apportioning blames where they were due and giving commendation where they were deserving, the meeting had a good end.

Instructive was the commitment extracted from Makarfi, that he must deliver the state to the party.

For a politician who believes in the sanctity of the state and its machinery, perhaps many have come to confuse the role and personality of Anenih. But to those in the leadership of the party, he epitomises experience and loyalty. Since 1998 when the party was formed, Anenih remains, perhaps, one of the very few – very, very few –leaders who have never contemplated decampment as a directive policy of politicking.

Anenih, who has the traditional title of Iyasele (Prime Minister) of Esanland, had set himself some targets when he took over as BoT Chairman.

Concerned about the widening chasm in the party, especially between members and leaders on the one hand, and the damaging consequences of the ceaseless bickering among members of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party, on the other, Anenih had set for himself targets.

In private meetings at the very highest levels, Anenih, information available to Sunday Vanguard suggests, made it clear that he would be focusing on the following:

Unity & fairness

Oneness

Progress

Rancour-free party

Assisting the NEC in bringing everybody together

Assisting the NEC in resolving the challenges and crises confronting the party in the state chapters

Working with members of the BoT to live and act the spirit of the conscience of the party

Re-positioning the party for the challenges of 2015

Ensuring adherence to strict party discipline

Keeping faith with the legacies of the founding fathers of the party

Sunday Vanguard gathered that at the time of his emergence, the agenda was not codified; but it has since become Anenih’s agenda for development and repositioning of the party.

“The reason is simply because when you look at the happenings within the party, a wise leader like chief would be interested in and committed to what you have in the 10-point agenda’’, a top party chieftain anonymously told Sunday Vanguard.

“In fact, it even becomes more pressing now with the rampaging opposition threatening to dislodge the PDP from power.

“The BoT Chairman believes that if every member and leader of the party at the different levels key into these points and make them cardinal objectives to be achieved, the party would be better positioned to silence critics”.

All attempts by Sunday Vanguard last week in Abuja to get Anenih to talk ran into a stone wall.

But feelers from the camp loyal to the BoT Chairman indicated that the old and tested political warhorse is determined, in the face of burgeoning opposition against Jonathan by the APC, to give the president’s 2015 re-election bid his all.

The strategic importance of making peace moves in Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa and Sokoto States flows from the fact that these are states of the North West where the APC hopes to capture considerable votes.

The merger between the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, was built on a possible coalition of votes between the former’s South West geo-political zone, and the latter’s North West area.

Therefore, sensing the danger in allowing relations among PDP stalwarts to go to the dogs North West is no more than sleeping while the roof is on fire.

To a large extent, the peace moves were considered successful

Politics, thy name is Anenih

From his days in the National Party of Nigeria, NPN, in the defunct Bendel State, Anenih’s politics has been variously described as one of pacification.  However, beneath that pacifist paradigm of his resides a very strong vice-grip mentality of loyalty to the general cause of party position.

An example can be drawn from the very turbulent days of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, when the party was forced to agree to go for another presidential election. The pillar of the then SDP, the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, had agreed to another election as a way out of the emerging crisis of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. Indeed, the leadership of the party at that time had seen the hands of General Sani Abacha, eager to wrest power and, therefore, had hoped that an early resolution would checkmate Abacha’s adventure.

But the gale of antagonism to that decision, coupled with the short-sightedness of a section of the political class, first gave way to an Interim National Government, ING, which was made to look all the more interim by Abacha’s dismissal of Ernest Shonekan, the then head of ING. But Yar’Adua and Anenih’s position for another early election, which was pooh-poohed, led to Abacha’s five-year disaster as Head of State. True an annulment was anathema to Nigeria’s growing democracy.  But another election would have seen MKO Abiola win by an even bigger margin had it held.

During the February 1999 National Convention of the PDP in Jos, from where former President Olusegun Obasanjo emerged, the victory recorded by Obasanjo over Alex Ekwueme, his closest rival, was made possible by a combination of factors from which you cannot divorce Anenih.

In fact, as early as 6:45am on voting day, apart from this writer, the only person who sat in the VIP section of the Jos Township Stadium that Sunday morning was Anenih. Clad in his now familiar blue jeans jacket and trousers, he kept making sorties between the VIP section of the stadium and the delegates’ stands, each time to nip suspected emerging crisis in the bud when voting was about to commence.

In 2002, at the height of the burst-up between the National Assembly and the rambunctious Obasanjo, it was to Anenih the latter turned.

Working tirelessly with a handful of other committed leaders of the PDP, Anenih became the arrow-head of that rescue mission, negotiating, conciliating and making compromises with a view to saving a situation which had pitched the North against the South. That Obasanjo could survive the onslaught, and later serve out his first term and even secure a second term, was due, in part, to Anenih’s role. Worse for Obasanjo, on the eve of the PDP National Convention in January 2003, when a majority of the state governors in the party almost threw him to the dogs, preferring, instead, the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar, it was the same Anenih who again threw himself into the battle to save Obasanjo.

However, between the selfsame Obasanjo and Anenih, the centre could not hold when the issue of Third Term began to gain fervency. The latter objected to the move and this angered Obasanjo. And whereas the former president recruited some political upstarts to drive his Third Term project, the effort ended as a fool’s errand. Had Obasanjo adhered to good sense and wisdom, he might have spared himself and his presidency the odium of the embarrassment that trailed his failure to secure the Third Term, which still haunts him till today.

Presidential watchers insist that when the issue of zoning became very contentious in the run up to the 2011 presidential contest, it was Anenih who brought out data, showing how zoning had almost always been breached since 1999 whenever the party wanted a presidential convention, citing the instances of the late Abubakar Rimi in 1999 and 2003 (when the slot was supposedly reserved for the South); and 2007 (when some southerners contested against Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, a time when the slot was supposedly reserved for the North).

For the BoT Chairman, he accepts the praises where due and takes the bashings which are sometimes caustic with quintessential equanimity when they come – as they often do, especially in his home state of Edo, where a political party other than his own is in control. Some may never agree with his politics, but for a man steeped in his ways, some phrases commonly used by Anenih in the face of party indiscipline are, ‘Things are not supposed to be done this way’, ‘You cannot behave like this’. Anenih has his multitude; and he still leads. It was in 1992 that the late Shehu Yar’Adua christened Anenih, “The Leader”. The title has since stuck.

That he is moving round to cool otherwise heated climes in the North West is not by accident, especially at a time when the PDP needs leadership with character to confront the challenges of 2015.  Anenih was 81 in August.

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Jonathan"s Election: Anenih takes on Buhari in his comfort zone

Ikimi"s action to go back to PDP, an insult to Binis - Idahosa

• …Says Oshiomhole’s problem in Edo State spearheaded by Ikimi


• Ikimi, father of imposition

By Ehi Ekhator, Naija Center News

Charles Idahosa has vowed that the Binis would use their numerical strength to teach the conspirators a political lesson in the forthcoming elections, also attributed some of the political challenges in the APC to the overbearing attitude of Tom Ikimi, who has in recent time, disassociated himself from his former Party, The All Progressives Congress (APC), and planning to cling to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

APC National Chairman, Odigie Oyegun

Idahosa expressed disappointment over Ikim’s decision to go back to the PDP due to his inability to get what he wanted in APC. He said that Oyegun was more experienced than Ikimi, and promised that him, and his brother, Tony Anenih will never get support  from the Bini People.

“What Ikimi has done now? By saying that he has gone back to PDP where his Esan brother, Anenih, is, just because Chief John Odigie Oyegun, a Bini man, was made national chairman of APC is an insult to the Binis and they will pay for it come February 2015 because when both of them were national chairmen of NRC and SDP, the Binis supported them because we see them as our brothers, but for Ikimi to say because Oyegun – who is even more experienced than him – is national chairman, he decided to quit the party to join his brother, they will never get any support from the Binis.

“How can you tell people that you are defecting because you were not made national chairman, that Oyegun was imposed? Meanwhile, Ikimi is the godfather of imposition. All the problems that Oshiomhole has encountered in Edo State were spearheaded by Tom Ikimi. Ikimi created a lot of problems for Oshiomhole. The last congress we had in Edo State, the problem we were having in Esan was tied around him because he believed that everything done in that area must be tied to him.

“If he is not involved, he will accuse Oshiomhole of undermining him. He insisted that Modino Emovon must not be the state women leader. We resisted him but at the end of the day, Oshiomhole agreed with him. We now appealed to Modino Emovon to go and beg Tom Ikimi, and that woman is the daughter of one of the most respectable chiefs in Benin, the Arala of Benin.”

Do you know she was standing by the gate of Ikimi’s house to see him and Ikimi drove past her like she was a nobody?

He accused Ikimi of driving Imasuagbon out of the PDP, adding that he was happy that he experienced how it feels to impose a candidate.

He said “I am so happy because Ikimi now knows how it feels to impose people. He drove Imasuagbon out of APC, now he is going to meet Imasuagbon there. The governor is so protective of him. But he does not know the implication of what he did. If Ikimi had won, Oyegun would not have left. Oyegun rose through the system to become a federal permanent secretary and the first elected executive governor of Edo State”, he said.

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Ikimi"s action to go back to PDP, an insult to Binis - Idahosa