Elections must hold in Yobe, Borno, Adamawa –Govs

 Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima

Adamawa, Borno and Yobe governors rose from an   expanded emergency security meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday, saying that elections must hold in the North-East   next month.

There have been fears in many quarters that the general elections may not hold in the zone   because of Boko Haram insurgency.

Jonathan had on May 14, 2013 declared a six-month emergency rule in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states and renewed it twice at the peak of the Boko Haram activities.

His attempt to further extend the emergency rule in November 2014 was rejected by the National Assembly.

At the end of the Tuesday meeting which was also attended by security chiefs and relevant ministers, the governors argued that if elections could be held recently in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other war-torn places,   the North-East should   not be an exception.

Yobe State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Geidam, told State House correspondents that the governors   told the President to deploy more troops in the North-East ahead of the general elections.

Geidam said the troops on ground in the affected states were not enough to handle the security situation.

The governor said, “We have come to brief the President on the security situation in our various states; we   came to greet him and we told him the challenges we have been facing.

“We are appealing to the Federal Government to deploy more troops in addition to what we have on the ground to arrest the situation in our various states.

“We need more troops; the troops that we have on the ground in our various states are not enough to contain the situation. So we have appealed to the Federal Government to deploy additional troops with full equipment to contain the situation.

“Elections will hold in the states. Election will hold; that is the position of the electoral commission and definitely in all those areas where insurgency exists, elections will hold.”

His Borno State counterpart, Alhaji Kashim Shettima,   said elections must hold in the affected states to send a strong signal to the Boko Haram insurgents.

He said by not holding elections in the states, the government would be seen to have given in to the antics of the militants.

The governor argued that elections could be conducted in Internally Displaced Persons’ camps.

He said, “Elections, as I told you was conducted in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and several other war-torn places that are even more devastated than the North-East.

“Elections can be held in the Internally Displaced Persons camps. It is human beings that conduct elections, not spirit or anything.

“My take on this is that, are we giving in to Boko Haram? Are we giving in to their antics by not holding elections?

“We have to tell them to their face that you can kill, as Malala Yusuff said, but you cannot kill our spirit.”

Shettima described the meeting with the President as a fruitful one, saying he was optimistic that enduring peace would be recorded in the troubled areas very soon.

He said although he would not give a time frame during which peace would be restored, he was confident in the ability of the nation’s military to rise up to the present challenges.

The governor said as an “eternal optimist,” he was hoping for the best against whatever odds staring the people in the face.

When asked about the number of local governments under the control of the insurgents in his state, Shettima said he did not want to boost their egos by quoting figures because they thrive in publicity.

He however said that there were some councils that are partially under the control of the insurgents and some others   under government’s control.

The governor assured Nigerians that with 1,000 years of recorded history, Borno would rise again in spite of all its challenges.

When further asked if he believed that   security agents were properly motivated, Shettima said he did not want to pass any negative comment.

He said, “They (security agents) are making efforts. I want to leave it at that. I don’t want to pass any negative comment. They are people with blood running in their veins facing the insurgents and so I have to be respectful of the institution.

“Insha Allah, we don’t have any option but to win this war, we shall; we must; we have no option. Elections will be held by the grace of God.”

On the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, Shettima asked journalists to direct their enquiry to the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mike Omeri, whom he said, was in a better position to answer questions on the matter.

He described the leader of   Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, as a lunatic   for saying that he had married off some of the Chibok girls.

The governor said, “Shekau is a   deranged element; he is not somebody anybody should give any molecule of respect. His actions are beneath the act of even an animal, believe me.

“But as I said, we are not resting on our oars; we will continue to support the military by providing them with quality information when it becomes available.

“We believe   that in the fullness of time and not in a distance far off, we are going to get back the girls. “

Aside from conducting elections, Shettima said the most important issue was how to safeguard the lives and properties of the people, recover the lost territories and rescue the Chibok girls.

He added, “You have daughters, you have sons. How will you feel if your daughter is forcefully taken away from you for the past 267 days?

“So I want to dwell more on how to safeguard the lives and properties of our people, how to get back the Chibok girls and how to recover our lost territories.

“Two days ago (Sunday), it clocked exactly five months since Goza fell to the insurgents, Bama is now firmly under their control, Muba, Abadam, Kukawa – all tale of woe of devastation and killings. These are the sad tales that are coming out of Borno State.” When confronted with the fact that he is the chief security officer of his state, Shettima replied, “I am the Chief Security Officer of the state in name. You and I know that I neither control the police, the Army nor even the Civil Defence Corps.

“We are titled chief security officers of our states. But our most important task is to offer whatever support, be it logistic, financial to the military to carry out on their operations.

“Honestly, I don’t want to dwell on the politics behind the counter-insurgency operations because we are one people with a common destiny.

“And this is the time for all of us, irrespective of differences in political affiliations, religious persuasions, tribal or sectional background to collapse into a single course and bring this madness to an end.”

A former Governor of Yobe State, Senator Bukar Ibrahim, who accompanied his governor to the meeting,   expressed doubt about the possibility of closing a border of 1,500 kilometres from Borno to Kebbi State as a way of curtailing the insurgency.

He however said government at all levels should continue to work hard to end the violence.

When asked whether he envisaged insurgency during his tenure as the state governor, Ibrahim said he did.

He however   stated that it was former President Olusegun Obasanjo who “crushed the Yobe Taliban over a period of just few weeks.”

He regretted that about 13 councils were currently being controlled by the insurgents in the state.

He said, “We went through this, they came to Damaturu and killed people, burnt   policemen, doctors, nurses and so many others but within a short time, Obasanjo was able to crush them.”

He however said the current challenges could not be blamed on leadership.

“This one is a more terrible one than the earlier one. The earlier one I think was a small one; it was a small insurgency. This one is very huge with some international connections.”

In attendance at the meeting were Vice-President Namadi Sambo; Governor Bala Ngilari of Adamawa State and the Secretary to the Government of Borno State, Abba Gida.

Others were the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.); the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah; the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Usman Jibrin; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu; the Director-General of the State Security Service, Ekpenyong Ita; the Inspector-General of Police, Sulaiman Abba; and the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN); the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Gusau; and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, also attended.

‘PDP afraid of defeat’

 National Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Lai Mohammed

The All Progressives Congress on Tuesday said the ruling Peoples Democratic Party had become a victim of self-inflicted paranoia as a result of its panic reaction to a yet to be conducted opinion poll.

The APC said it was now evident that the PDP had succeeded in committing an unforced error by its frenzied reaction which the opposition party said was understandable, because “the PDP is being pounded from all sides.”

This was contained in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in Abuja.

The APC was reacting to a statement credited to the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, in which the ruling party accused the APC of planning to organise an imaginary opinion poll.

Metuh alleged that the opposition was plotting to use the poll to promote its presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, over President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the APC, the PDP is behaving like a punch-drunk boxer, who started “flailing at everything and everyone but his opponent, having being disoriented by a staccato of body blows.”

It said, “Had it not been so, a party that is urging a focus on serious campaign issues would not have picked on the imaginary outcome of a public opinion poll.

“The PDP is not in a position to advise anyone on the conduct of opinion polls, when all it has engaged in over the years have been doctored and incestuous opinion polls.

“It is said that he who must come to equity must come with clean hands. It is apparent that this dictum is lost on the petrified PDP.

“This is a party that has been celebrating the outcome of the regular polls by the NOI Polls, when it is glaring that the brain behind this poll is a key minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. NOI stands for the initials of this minister, and discerning Nigerians are aware of this.”

Our party full of injustice –PDP chair, Mu’azu

 National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Adamu Mu’Azu

The National Chairman of the   Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, came hard on the political party on Tuesday, saying it was “full of injustice.”

He   said this was one of the reasons some PDP members defected to opposition political parties like the All Progressives Congress, the Labour Party and the All Progressive Grand Alliance.

Mu’azu   spoke at the inauguration of the Senator Amodu Ali-led PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation   in Abuja.

The event, which was held at the Legacy Building, Maitama, was attended by President Goodluck Jonathan, a few governors and members of the National Working Committee of the party.

Mu’azu, who received a standing ovation from the guests after his speech, turned to Jonathan and said, “Mr. President, I want you to discuss with your governors,   senators, members of the House of Representatives and other elected officials.

“We say that members of the PDP should not be used and dumped again. People leave the party because of lack of equity or injustice.

“Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop. That must stop. This time round, monkey must work and monkey must eat.

“A lot of people who left (our party) did so because of injustice in our party. The party is full of injustice.

“The membership of the APC,   LP, APGA and others are increasing because of this. All these members are from our party. We must find out what is wrong and correct it.”

As soon as he said this,   the gathering   stood up and clapped for him.

Before then, Mu’azu had called on the opposition to limit their campaigns to issues and not religion, tribe and   trivial matters.

Responding,   Jonathan told Mu’azu that he was aware that there were issues arising from the PDP primaries.

He said while the members of the party must come together to resolve them, he stressed that it must be clear to all that there must always be losers.

The President added that there were other political offices which, according to him, were   available during and after elections.

He appealed to PDP governors to unite   in ensuring that the party won the general elections .

On the February 14 presidential election,   Jonathan said his government had done a lot to improve the quality of lives of Nigerians, including the youth .

He said that at the appropriate time, his opponents would tell Nigerians what they did while   in government.

The President said, “They will tell Nigerians how many nursery schools they built while in government. When the time reaches, we will speak out.

“Those who want to form a parallel government should continue to think like that. We are waiting for them. Anyone who causes   trouble will be dealt with.”

He warned members of the party against joining issues with those he said might want to cause trouble   in the country.

He said, “Some other politicians and campaigners are threatening fire and brimstone. Do not join them.

“Some other parties are pulling down other people’s posters. That is primitive. Please, do not join them. Every Nigerian must be free to campaign anywhere.”

The President charged those who would be responsible for his campaign to be civil, decorous and law-abiding.

He said he had already promised Nigerians and the international community that the elections would be free, fair, credible and violence-free.

The President said, “Without doubt, the forthcoming elections will mark a critical point in our nation’s history. The eyes of the international community are focused on the transition that lies ahead of us; the fifth post-military rule general elections that will be conducted under a civilian dispensation in Nigeria.

“The world is asking: will Nigeria get it right? My categorical response to that is: Yes, we must. And surely, we will. It is your duty to ensure that through your campaigns, and activities, this primary objective is not lost.

“Our commitment to free, fair, credible, and violence-free elections remains unshaken. That should also be your own commitment as we go to the field to seek the people’s mandate once again.”

He asked members of the campaign committee to always remember that the PDP belonged to democrats.

The President added,   “You must always remember that we are a party of democrats, not a party of hooligans. We are a party of patriots, not a party of renegades.

“We are a party of statesmen and women. We are a party of builders and not destroyers. We are a party of committed servants of the people.

“You must let our people see once again, that we are in this to serve and to move Nigeria forward, not to move Nigeria backwards.”

In his acceptance speech, Ali said   he was sure that marketing the candidacy of President won’t be a problem.

Calling on Nigerians to vote for Jonathan, he wondered why an opposition came up with an “octogenarian in this period when the world is moving toward the younger ones.”

None of the opposition party presidential candidates, including Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the APC, is an octogenarian. Buhari is 72.

Making a mockery of the broom,   the symbol of the APC, Ali said, “Never has it happened that a sweeper would become a king in the same palace where he sweeps. Not even with or without certificate.”

In his speech, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party, Chief Tony Anenih, asked the members of the PCO to work hard in order to win the elections.

Anenih said, “The presidential candidates of other parties cannot boast about any achievements in our democratic journey since they have not got the experience.

“So, I expect that Nigerians will prefer continuity of this administration’s robust Transformation Agenda to the so-called change just to satisfy some personal and narrow interests.

“Now, as we all know, the presidential election is the first in the series of elections scheduled by INEC to hold on February 14 along with the National Assembly elections.

“What this means is that we must work assiduously to win the best prize, which is the presidential election. Once we do that, the victory will expectedly have a bandwagon effect on the February 28 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections.”

Others who spoke at the event were the Senate President, David Mark, and the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio.

Both described the President as a good product.

Rivers APC members shot as Buhari begins campaign

 • Some injured All Progressives Congress members on their way to the hospital in Port Harcourt, Rivers State... on Tuesday.

AT least, one person was feared killed   and many others seriously injured when armed youths shot at vehicles conveying supporters of the All Progressives Congress from Asari-Toru and Khana Local Government Areas of Rivers State to the inaugural presidential campaign of Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

The   attacks were said to have occurred at the same time (5.30am) as the party faithful made their way to the Adokiye Amasiemaka Stadium in Omagwa, Ikwerre Local Government Area.

It was learnt that nobody died in the attack by armed   youths said to be thugs working for the Peoples Democratic Party along the Bori-Saakpenwa Road in Bori,   Khana LGA.

An eyewitness, who spoke with The Rev4mation's World on the telephone , accused a former militant leader   of being behind the attacks on the APC supporters.

The ex-militant is   a member of the PDP from Gokana LGA.

A source said five of the victims who were shot in Bori were rushed to a hospital in Port Harcourt where some bullets were extracted from their bodies.

The APC Chairman in Ward Six,   Khana LGA , Mr. Doole Adoonam, said the APC supporters were in a convoy of three buses when they ran into an ambush by some gunmen.

He said, “Seven people from my ward are lying critically ill in the hospital. They sustained gunshot wounds   from the early morning attack along Bori-Saakpenwa Road.

“Those injured were APC faithful, who were on their way to attend the commencement of the   campaign by the APC presidential candidate,   in Port Harcourt.

“On approaching the Mile 30 axis of Bori Saakpenwa Road, some gunmen opened fire on two of our buses, injuring some of my party men and women. The attack was too spontaneous for the drivers to beat a retreat.”

Explaining that it was God that spared the lives of the APC supporters, Adoonam added, “Two of my party faithful- a young lady and a young man- are in very critically condition. As we speak, I pray nothing happens to them.

“But we are not deterred by the action of some hired marksmen. Ogoni know who they want and our vote must count this time. We are not new to arms struggle and they (gunmen) cannot intimidate us.”

At the rally,   Governor Rotimi Amaechi, accused the Peoples Democratic Party of being responsible for the attack on the APC supporters in Asari-Toru and Khana LGAs.

He condemned the shooting of   the APC supporters, saying members of the   PDP believed in guns while their APC counterparts believed in God and man.

“The fact that they shot you, brings to the fore, the argument we put forward that currently, the government in power cannot protect you and I. If the government could protect you and I, why were we shot at? Who bought guns for those people who shot at our members?

“When we came, we addressed insecurity. In the past, we could not have had our rally here. We are gradually going back to that. I hear today(Tuesday) that members of the APC from Asari-Toru   and Khana (Ogoni) LGAs were shot at on their way to this place.

“I thank God for this opportunity. I never knew I would be governor today, I am governor by the grace of God. I have stayed in office till 2015. By this time last year, the men who thought they were God, thought I would have been out of office.

“By this time last year, men had collected money to remove us from office, but the God we worship never allowed it to happen. Now, they are the people struggling. We told them there will be this time, when they will be looking for our votes.

“I want to thank all of you   for accepting to make me your governor. I may not have been the best governor you have ever seen. I am not a perfect man at all, because I am human.”

Amaechi, who explained that he never knew that he would be the governor of Rivers State, explained that those who wanted to remove him from office were currently struggling politically.

Also,   Buhari identified insecurity, poor economy and corruption as the three major problems facing the country and promised to tackle them should he win next month’s election.

Lamenting   that the level of corruption in the country was intolerable, he   said that the APC had gathered competent hands to manage the economy should he emerge the president of Nigeria.

The former Head of State therefore urged Nigerians to get their permanent voter cards, mobilise themselves and ensure that the end justified the means.

He said, “Let us make sure that our votes count. The problem we are facing today is the problem of security and economy. We have gathered competent hands to manage the economy and tackle insecurity.

“The level of corruption in Nigeria is intolerable and we will make sure we succeed in fighting corruption when we get there. I wish Nigerians the best of luck and we believe in one indivisible Nigeria.

“I appeal to you to mobilise yourselves to ensure that the end justifies the means. I also urge you to collect your PVC to enable you to vote in order to bring in the change we have been talking about.”

He congratulated   Amaechi for his ability to mobilise the people of the state and Nigerians for the task ahead.

Buhari said, “We congratulate the Governor of Rivers State profusely for being the Director-General of my presidential campaign organisation. I thank you very much for accepting the responsibility to work with our great the party.

“Amaechi has made enormous sacrifice. He earned it, he worked for it and I thank him for accepting it. He got it through a lot of hard work. The way Amaechi mobilises people shows that he is the right choice.”

Some of the dignitaries on the presidential campaign train were the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola;   his Ogun State counterpart,   Ibikunle Amosun; the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; a former FCT Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, and an ex- PDP National Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh.

Reacting to the incident in Asari-Toru Local Government Area, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ahmad Mohammad, said     investigation started immediately after   complaint of attack on a bus conveying some persons to Port Harcourt was received.

However, the State Assistant Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, disagreed with Amaechi that the party was behind the attack on the APC supporters .

Nwanosike described the allegation as baseless, adding that the governor should have allowed the police to carry out their investigation before making such an allegation.

I’ll send corrupt Nigerians to Kirikiri – Buhari

 Former Head of State, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari

The All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has assured Nigerians that all corrupt politicians will end up in jail once he is elected into power.

Buhari, who gave the assurance on Tuesday during the APC rally and the presentation of the party’s governorship flag to Umana Umana as its candidate in Akwa Ibom State in Uyo, said he would close all loopholes through which money was being siphoned out of the country.

“When we come into power, anyone who steals Nigerian money will end up in Kirikiri Maximum Prisons. We are going to make sure that Nigeria’s wealth belongs only to Nigerians,” he said.

He decried the overdependence of Nigeria on oil, saying that the country would not have faced the economic downturn if the country had invested in agriculture.

According to Buhari, Nigeria used to export tin and columbite but all of a sudden, it stopped producing and exporting these minerals with the belief that the country has oil.

On the power sector, Buhari stated that many industries had shut down operation because of epileptic power supply. He noted that Nigerian producers were not able to compete in the international market because of huge cost of generating alternative power.

Buhari, who was a former military Head of State, assured Nigerians that his government would create over three million jobs yearly to take care of the jobless youths.

The Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the Director General, Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation, said he was ashamed to read on the pages of newspapers a story credited to the Peoples Democratic Party that things had improved in Nigeria from 2011 onward.

He added that governors decided that the excess crude money be shared because of the missing cash that was involved.

Amaechi said, “I was ashamed to read on the pages of newspapers, where the PDP said things had improved from 2011 till now.

“Oil price used to be between $120 and $145 before now. Our savings used to be between $45 and $46bn. We had over $10bn to $20bn in excess crude. The reason why the governors asked that excess crude be shared was that after each meeting we had, if the money was $10bn, before we come back for another meeting, it would be $8bn. Who has taken the $2bn? We did not know.

“When we discovered that our money was being taken away with reckless abandon without accounting, it was then we asked, ‘Oga, please share this money. You are not a bank. And if it were a bank, it would add more to the money.”

Amaechi urged members of the party in the state to go to their units and educate the people. He asked the people to make sure that their votes count after voting, so that the PDP government would be voted out of power.

Nine govs shun Jonathan campaign launch

 President Goodluck Jonathan

Nine governors of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party shunned the inauguration of the Presidential Campaign Organisation of the party in Abuja.

The organisation, headed by a former National Chairman of the party, Senator Amadu Ali, is saddled with the responsibility of selling the candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, to Nigerians for the February 14 presidential election.

But only a handful of the governors were in attendance.

Among the governors at the event were Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), James Ngilari (Adamawa), Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe State).

However, governors Theodore Orji (Abia), Dr. Olusegun Mimiko(Ondo), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Martin Elechi (Enugu) were absent from the inauguration.

Also absent at the inauguration were governors Idris Wada (Kogi), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Jonah Jang (Plateau).

One of our correspondents saw many of the party bigwigs discussing the development, especially when some of the absentee governors were put in charge of the campaign in their zones.

Lamido is saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the presidential campaign in the North-West, Mimiko is in charge of the South-West while Orji is to head the South-East zone.

No reason was given for the absence of the governors.

However, the President later met behind closed doors with the PDP governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The meeting, which was also attended by ministers from states where the PDP was not in charge was meant to strategise ahead of the presidential campaign.

The parley was held immediately the President and the governors returned from the Legacy House, Abuja where his campaign organisation was inaugurated.

Some governors such as Chime and Elechi who were not at the PCO inauguration, also attended the meeting.

The Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, later told State House correspondents that the President had made the governors the coordinators of his campaign in their respective states.

Akpabio boasted that despite the noise from the opposition, the PDP would win at all levels.

While saying that the PDP would not rig the forthcoming elections, the governor claimed that it was the All Progressives Congress that could attempt to rig the election.

“There cannot be failure. The PDP will surely win this election at all levels. PDP does not rig. We can only be afraid that the APC, the way they are going, will be the ones that will attempt to rig us out,” he said.

Meanwhile, members of the president’s campaign organisation led by Ali, swung into action as they held their inaugural meeting at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.