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Confusion in ACN over Ribadu, Buhari •Govs, Tinubu part ways •Pressure mounts on Ribadu to withdraw

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on January 27, 2011 at 11:20pm
A huge crack has developed in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), following moves by loyalists of former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, to get the party’s presidential candidate, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to withdraw from the presidential contest. Sources close to the party said that pressure had been mounted on the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to withdraw from the race and concede the seat to the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari, in line with the ongoing alliance talks between the CPC and the ACN. It was confirmed that the pressure being mounted on Ribadu to quit the presidential race was at the instance of former Governor Tinubu, who is hopeful of picking the vice-presidential slot of the CPC/ACN alliance. Investigations revealed that Ribadu was almost falling for the bait to withdraw from the race, especially after his meeting with General Buhari last week, but some governors of the ACN were said to have insisted on having his name on the ballot. It was gathered that the governors, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State; Dr Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and Mr Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, were said to have insisted that they wanted the party to field Ribadu, irrespective of whatever any sector of the polity would say. The governors were said to have insisted that the ACN should not fall into the same pit which consumed the Alliance for Democracy (AD) when it failed to field a presidential candidate in 2003. A source knowledgeable about the development said that one of the governors argued that the ACN should learn from the mistakes made by the AD, when it failed to field candidates for the presidential slot in 1999 and 2003. “In 1999, the AD went into alliance with the APP and in 2003, its name was not on the ballot at all and that led to the extinction of that party. Today, we are trying to build a new structure out of the ashes of the AD,” the source quoted one of the governors as telling the leaders of ACN. The position of the governors was also said to tally with that of the national chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, who was also said to have argued in favour of Ribadu. The decision on Ribadu’s candidature was said to have negatively affected the push for an alliance between the CPC and the ACN. It was gathered that while Tinubu had sanctioned the alliance with the aim of neutralising Ribadu and then clinching the vice-presidential slot, the governors, who influenced Ribadu’s entry into the presidential race, believed that his name could be used to popularise the party among a new set of Nigerian voters, the youth. It was learnt that Tinubu initially did not oppose the bid to recruit Ribadu into the presidential race as a result of his belief that the former EFCC boss could bolster his (Tinubu’s) credibility and withdraw some negative comments he made about the former governor when he was EFCC chairman. But it was further learnt that Tinubu knew Ribadu might end up being used if his own vice-presidential bid sailed through. It will be recalled that when Ribadu held sway as the boss of the EFCC, Senator Tinubu, who left office in 2007, was one of the governors alleged by the EFCC boss to have corruptly enriched themselves. He said then that Tinubu’s case had international dimensions as he made no bones about his readiness to prosecute all corrupt governors. A source explained that Senator Tinubu, being a very shrewd and calculating politician, did not forget the role of the former EFCC boss in the corruption issue and part of his plan was to gain some level of credibility by associating with the former EFCC boss. This claim was corroborated by Saharareporters, an online news blog which recently quoted Senator Tinubu as telling some of his close associates that with his association with Ribadu, he had gained a “clean bill of health regarding the allegations of corruption against him as governor of Lagos and his continued dominance of the financial and political scenes.” A source said that Tinubu’s ambition to be vice-president, is “partly the reason he wants to form an alliance with CPC of General Muhammed Buhari. Even after Mallam Ribadu was picked as the presidential candidate of the ACN, the party leadership, at the insistence of Senator Tinubu, was still holding alliance talks with the CPC.” Sources said that the alliance talks were ongoing at press time on Thursday but it was learnt that fundamental differences about party platform and choice of running mate had stalled the talks. While Tinubu’s camp is pressurising Buhari into joining the alliance and fly the ACN flag, Buhari’s loyalists are afraid that if he dumps the CPC, his supporters in the North could have serious problems tracking him. It was also gathered that Buhari’s men are already pointing to the way former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar was shoved aside by Tinubu in the AC as an example of what could befall Buhari if he joined the ACN. Another source said while Ribadu was aware of Tinubu’s plot, he was uncertain of broad support in the party until the governors decided to back him.. “Mallam Ribadu was aware of the plan to dump him. That is the reason he refused to sign the clause in the form that says the ticket can be withdrawn from him at anytime, which candidates for other positions were made to sign,” said the source, confirming also a meeting between General Buhari and Mallam Ribadu in Kaduna, where the former EFCC boss bluntly refused to step down for the former military head of state. “Ribadu is aware of the game plan of Senator Tinubu and is ready for a counter move of his own,” he said. But the spokesman for Ribadu campaign organi-sation, Alhaji Ibrahim Modibbo, in a telephone interview, said his team was going ahead with the campaigns. He said the campaign team was unaware of moves to stop Ribadu and gave the ticket to the CPC candidate. Spokesman for the ACN, Alhaji Lai Moha-mmed, did not respond to a series of questions on the state of affairs in the party, especially following the protracted negotiations between the CPC and the ACN.
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IBB "bribes" Journalists

Posted by Paul "EFCC" Hawk Adams on August 31, 2010 at 11:25pm

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..

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