Presidential (9)
President Goodluck Jonathan has accepted to engage his main opponent for the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, in a political debate.
Though he said this must be done at the instance of the party, he said he expected that the party’s flag bearer and other candidates will debate on issues based on manifestos rather than challenging each other as if to a wrestling competition.
Mr. Jonathan’s 2011 political ambition took a step forward when he was yesterday unanimously endorsed by South-South delegates to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention during a meeting between the president and the south-south delegates in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.
The delegates from the six states of the region openly endorsed the Jonathan/Sambo ticket as the best ticket. While thanking delegates for their support, Mr. Jonathan said he was ready to take up the challenge of his main opponent whenever the party deems it fit for them to meet.
“I am waiting for the party to invite me for presidential debate,” he said..
The president also assured the people of the region that he will do his best not to let them down, noting that whatever he does while in office will rub off positively or negatively on the people from the south-south region.
He further noted that he will ensure that he does nothing that will jeorpardise the chances of others from the region in the nearest future.
“If I mess up, the people will reject us (zone) completely, and this is why I have to do everything possible to ensure that we do well as a government,” he said.
Working for progress
He reassured the people that come March next year, the country will enjoy relative power stability, as all the efforts put in by the administration should have yielded tons of fruits.
The president said after considering the other aspirants from the party, he is convinced that he and his vice president present the best that will lead the nation out of the woods.
“That is why our administration is assuring Nigerians that if given another four years, we would try and make the country better,” he said.
Mr. Jonathan, who had earlier met with the chairman of Rivers State traditional ruler, King TJT Princewill JP Amachree, Amanyanbo of Kalabari Kingdom, also reiterated his plan to send to the National Assembly a bill that will recognise the traditional institutions in the country.
This he said he will do early next year. He asked the traditional rulers to contribute towards the bill when the National Assembly commences public debate on the it.
The president, who also reacted on the Jos killings, said the situation is a national embarrassment, adding that terrorism has become a global plague which the government is working hard to tackle and make a thing of the past.
A Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has called for a debate, on the economy, among all the presidential aspirants on the economy.Photo Atiku ? this man looks like a Hitman sha
Abubakar, a former vice-President, made the call after submitting his nomination form at the PDP national secretariat on Tuesday in Abuja.
The Adamawa State- born politician said the economy should be the main issue in the 2011 election campaigns.
“The issue of economic recovery for Nigeria cannot be a matter of wishful thinking nor of rhetoric. It is a subject for rigorous analyses and provision of well-thought, viable, practicable and sustainable strategy,” he said.
Abubakar said that all aspirants must be able to tell Nigerians how they intended to confront the challenges of the economy and reposition it for the benefit of all at the shortest possible time.
He said, “Of all the aspirants that have declared interest in the presidential election, I consider myself the most qualified to address the daunting economic challenges facing the country.
“I am the only one who has successfully managed a business and you need extensive knowledge of the private sector to combine its potential with the authority of the public sector to address this challenge.”
The former vice-president said his approach to resolving the economic crisis in the country was contained in a 47-page Policy Document he presented on August 15, 2010 while announcing his intention to contest the 2011 presidential poll.
He said, “We are faced with a job crisis of monumental proportions. Unless we evolve strategies to dealing with the teeming population of young people churned out almost on a daily basis, we may risk the destruction of the next generation.
“If we fail to channel the energies of this huge population, they could be a potent force for instability and social unrest.”
Abubakar, however, stunned journalists when he said that he was not aware that the President had declared his intention to vie for the PDP ticket.
“I didn’t see it (declaration). Honestly, I didn’t watch it,” he said.
Twenty seven out of the 28 PDP governors were among thousands of people that attended Jonathan’s presidential declaration at the Eagle Square on Saturday in Abuja. The event was shown live by some public and private television stations nationwide.
On the reported move by some politicians to produce a consensus presidential candidate among the Northern aspirants, Abubakar said, “There is a process for the emergence of a consensus candidate in the North. It shows that North is even more united if “they” agree to bring out a consensus candidate.”
He also said he was not aware of the support that Jonathan was getting from the northern states.
Reacting to the challenge, the Presidential Adviser to Jonathan on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji, said the President was ready for such a debate.
“We are ready for it (debate) anytime. The President has talked about all the aspects of the economy when he declared. If they want more, we are ready for them,” he said.
Another aspirant, who is also the Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, also expressed readiness for the debate.
“We are ready for the debate. That is what we have been calling for. Without such an issue-based debate, we will not be able to get the best candidate. Saraki is ready for it,” one of the governor’s aides, Mr. Billy Adedamola, said.
Five months ago, a friend of mine, who edits a national daily, sent me a text message agreeing substantially with my column, ‘The Punch and the rest of us’, except the generalised conclusion that “all (journalists) have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the profession”. There are still some journalists, he submits, who toe the narrow path of integrity. Of course I knew where he was coming from, but I also knew the context in which I had made that statement.
I revisit that statement in light of the stories spewing out of the political beat, specifically on the race for the 2011 presidential elections and how it affects the integrity of news.
As part of the effort to sell his candidature for the presidency, former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) invited as many as 40 journalists to his Minna home on August 14 for an interview. I have heard questions asked about why he should invite journalists to his home instead of a public place if he didn’t have an ulterior motive, and why he should offer monetary gifts to the journalists in the name of paying for their transportation.
One news medium, which has championed this opposition in the open, is the online agency, Sahara Reporters. According to SR each of the journalists received N10 million for heeding Babangida’s call on his presidential ambition. That is N400 million just for one night’s interview from an aspirant yet to win his party’s nomination if it were true. But it was not. When some of the journalists complained about the fictional sum, SR changed the story on August 19, saying it was just “a paltry N250, 000 each”. Rather than admit its initial error SR simply said, “our accountants have told us that going by the number of 40 journalists in attendance, we are still around the same ballpark of N10 million”. So much for credible reporting!
Three days later, SR followed up with ‘IBB and his Rogue Journalists’, accusing the journalists of roguery and professional misconduct; roguery, because they collected money from two sources—their employers who presumably authorised and funded the trip and their news source, IBB; misconduct because it is unethical for them to demand/receive gratification from news sources for their services.
And on August 23 in ‘IBB Nocturnal Press Parley: Punch fires Editorial board Chairman’, SR stayed on top of the story by reporting that Adebolu Arowolo, editorial board chairman of the Punch, had lost his job for going on that trip without his management’s approval..
A four-time presidential aspirant, Sarah Jubril, has again declared her intention to run for presidency in 2011, on the platform of the ruling People’s Democratic Party.
She unfolded her plans at a news conference on Thursday, in Abuja, joining three other presidential hopefuls that have already declared interest to contest for the PDP ticket in the next dispensation.
Mrs Jubril joined the likes of former head of state, Ibrahim Babangida; former vice president, Abubarkar Atiku; and the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, who is slated to officially announce his ambition after the Ramadan fast.
Mrs Jubril said she made up her mind to join the race based on the premise for quality economic development and improved citizenry. According to her, most of the crises facing the country resulted from absence of good character in most people occupying public offices in the country and she pledged to address the quality of citizens through an improved system in the family, the communities, professions, economy, politics, governance, infrastructure, and diplomacy.
She also pledged to provide “rescuer-leadership”, to refocus and raise the country from “delayed development to steady wealth and rapid development.”
“Hence, I remain with an unquenchable spirit that I can and with all of us, can re-teach and re-nurture Nigeria back to sanity, orderliness, serenity, peace, and systematic discipline in all sectors..
“The president that Nigeria needs very urgently is the one who can roll up his or her sleeves to teach good character or ethics in the pursuit of excellence in every area of our quest, goals, and vision,” she said.
However, Mrs Jubril stated that the battle of liberation from stagnation, frustrations and mediocrity to celebration of excellence, must be won if Nigeria and Africa must achieve rapid development.
Commenting on zoning, she said the controversial arrangement in PDP was for “political convenience,” adding that there were over 450 ethnic groups in the country which the zoning formula intended to give sense of belonging.
For better for worse
She berated the performance of state governors, saying that majority of them had not in any way addressed the yearnings and aspirations of the electorate and that their interference with the allocations of the local governments was a failure of governance at the grassroots.
According to her, this has made it difficult for the councils to care for their people.
She, however, promised not to pull out of PDP, if she failed at the primaries, saying she would remain steadfast in the party, irrespective of the outcome of the presidential primaries.
This, however, marks the fifth time Mrs. Jubril is joining the race for the highest public service office in Nigeria.
She was an aspirant in the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1993, which was presumably won by the late Moshood Abiola. She was also an aspirant in 1998 on the platform of PDP, losing to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In 2003, Mrs. Jibril took her ambition to the Progressive Action Congress (PAC) and later returned to PDP, to jostle for the party’s ticket in 2007. She scored four votes at the convention which was won by late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
Founder of the Household of God Church and chairman of the Fresh Democratic Party, Chris Okotie, yesterday declared his plan to contest the 2010 presidential election, his third attempt to govern Nigeria. Mr Okotie, former pop artist turned evangelist, made this known at the secretariat of the Fresh Party (FDP) in Lagos.
"I will run again in 2011," stated Mr Okotie. "It was a divine call to duty to salvage our beloved country from the inept, corrupt and purposeless leadership of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP)." Addressing journalists, the 52-year-old preacher claimed he is motivated by a patriotic zeal and love for Nigeria, to be at the vanguard of the needed change to transform the country. According to him, "the emergence of a credible, visionary and progressive government can usher in a new Nigeria of our dreams" claiming that his "fresh agenda" can "create a new nation which will take its rightful place in the comity of nations." Reacting to a question about the truthfulness of his proclamation in 2003 that "God has ascertained that I will win the election", Mr Okotie responded by making a comparison between himself and the biblical Moses, saying "When God wanted to use Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt, he did not tell him when he was going to succeed but he assured him that he was going to succeed." He also added that only those who do not understand the difference between the exothermic and the endothermic level will doubt what God can do with him.
Flanked by two children (a boy and a girl) during the address, Mr Okotie explained that the kids represent "a new generation and a new nation where everything will work for the good of all." "We cannot afford to disappoint them" he said.
Disappointing PDP
The presidential aspirant was full of condemnation for the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) stating that since the government came to power, no solution has being proffered to the "multifarious problems" that confront the nation, but rather the socioeconomic and political situation in every sector of the country has collapsed, going from bad to worse.
"The PDP cannot continue to run on this record," he said, claiming that the party's reliance on rigging of elections explains why "they refuse to consider the Uwais report on electoral reform" . He joined calls for the immediate adoption of the Uwais report and also decried the zoning system, which he called a PDP aberration.
With his alleged failure of the PDP to Nigerians, Mr Okotie claims he is ready to restore the nation to a path of growth, stability and security. He, however, declined to outline the blueprint for achieving his vision.
If the Action Congress and its new coalition partners stick to their plans, the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, will fly the flag of the new Action Congress of Nigeria in the 2011 presidential election..
NEXT learnt yesterday that AC top brass as well as some chieftains of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Democratic Peoples Party, All Nigeria Peoples Party, and Congress for Progressive Change have in the past weeks engaged in a series of meetings and negotiations expected to culminate in the drafting of Mr. Ribadu into the presidential race. The National Conscience Party, led by Lagos lawyer Femi Falana, is expected to join the coalition.
Our sources said at several meetings held in Abuja and Lagos by the group, it was agreed that Mr. Ribadu was the strongest and the most credible candidate that could be fielded by the opposition to dethrone the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.
No decision has been taken on who Mr. Ribadu’s running mate would be..
Leaders of the coalition, it was learnt, met with Mr. Ribadu during his visit to Nigeria from his Washington base in June. Another delegation from the group also reportedly met the former EFCC chairman in Washington to pressure him to shun offers of appointment from President Goodluck Jonathan and return home to participate in the political process.
The former police officer is expected back in Nigeria later this month, during which arrangements for his formal declaration for the presidential race would be finalised.
Mr. Ribadu’s candidature might alter Nigeria’s political equation. The country is dominated by the PDP, which has been in power since 1999 when the nation returned to constitutional democracy.
The ruling party is still bickering over whether it should retain a zoning formula, which allows the presidency to be rotated between the North and the South.
Before zeroing in on Mr. Ribadu, others considered by the group for the presidential ticket were a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir el-Rufai; a former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke; and the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the 2007 election, Pat Utomi.
“But after extensive discussions, we decided that Ribadu is our best bet,” a member of the coalition said. “If he agrees to run, that will be great for our country. He is a credible and energetic young man who will do well. All we want to do is to enthrone credible and efficient leadership for our country.”
When contacted yesterday, Mr. Ribadu was evasive on whether he would contest the 2011 election or not.
“Whether I will run or not is a decision for another day,” he said. “But I will quickly add that what Nigeria needs is good leadership that the people believe in, that will bring the people together, provide stability, security, justice and peace.
“We need a leadership that will not allow wastage of our resources. I agree with the Greek proverb that says a society grows great when all men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. People should be willing to selflessly serve their country without wanting anything in return,” he said.
On whether he has been contacted by the Action Congress coalition, Mr. Ribadu laughed and said, “I don’t want to single out any one group. I have been in constant touch with a lot of Nigerians of all shades and opinions who mean well for our country.”
Selling the candidature
The National publicity secretary of the AC, Lai Mohammed, could not be reached yesterday, but he had told journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday that the new Action Congress of Nigeria would unveil its presidential candidate, who will not be older than 50, at the end of this month.
Mr. Ribadu will be 50 in November.
Mr. Mohammed and some party chiefs have reportedly been travelling round the South West region to sell Mr. Ribadu’s candidature and planned coalition to party members in the zone.
A visit to the five other geopolitical zones, NEXT learnt, will follow in the weeks ahead.
Before arriving at the candidature of the anti-corruption activist, our source said the group also considered former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari. But he was reportedly ruled out after some participants in the negotiations argued that Nigerians might be reluctant to vote for former military dictators believed to have brought Nigerians to its knees.
“There are those who also argued that Mr. Buhari is yet to, and may not embrace democratic tenets, being a former military ruler,” said a source who did not want to be named. “But the greatest factor against Buhari is that he is not sellable to Christians and to people in the South who still consider him a religious zealot.”
He said the team was already reaching out to the former head of state to drop his presidential ambition and support the candidature of Mr. Ribadu.
“Buhari is a good man. He has done his best for our country. But what we are saying is that it is time for him and his likes to allow fresh blood to take charge of our country. He should give others a chance.”
Grammer Politics Again ! If you fail Just Try Again !
Lagos-based pastor, and chairman of the Fresh Democratic Party, Chris Okotie, has indicated that he will run for president in next year's general elections.
Mr Okotie, who has contested the seat twice, said the least the federal government can do to immortalize the sacrifices of the late Moshood Abiola is to enthrone true democracy in the country. He also claimed that the PDP-led federal government is a product of rigging, and could therefore not celebrate the heroes of democracy, who fought for free and fair elections.
The pastor, in a statement signed by his media aide, Ladi Ayodeji, decried the neglect of those who died protesting the cancellation of the June 12, 1993 elections, saying all efforts to ignore their achievement in giving birth to the 4th republic have not succeeded.
The spirit of June 12
"Instead, the spirit of June 12 continues to haunt us", he said. "The democracy martyrs of June 12, led by its flag bearer, MKO Abiola, who won what is still adjusted the best election ever organized in this country, would have died in vain if we fail to put in place viable mechanisms for free and fair elections in the country. One of these is electoral reform, and also transparency and good governance. We can't have true democracy if the peoples votes do not count; where selection instead of election is what produces the leaders."
As regards his political future, Mr. Okotie announced plans to address a world press conference on June 29, 2010 at his party's headquarters, where he will declare his intention to seek his party's nomination for the 2011 presidential election.
Mr. Okotie also called on Nigerians to support the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the World Cup holding in South Africa, promising to reform the sports sector if elected president in 2011. "May I, once again, plead with fellow Nigerians to come all out to support the players," he said. "They need our total, unwavering support, not criticism, at this crucial moment."
