Edo 2016: INEC Releases List Of Political Parties, Candidates

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday in Benin, released a list of 19 political parties that would participate in the Sept. 10 governorship election in Edo State.
The list signed by INEC’s Head of Legal Services, Mathew Ugwuocha, also contained the names of candidates being fielded by the parties.

The list contains 19 male governorship candidates, 15 male running mates and four female running mates.
Expectedly, the commission did not recognize the candidate that emerged as the flag bearer of the Ali Modu Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen.
The governorship candidates with female running mates are Thompson Osadolor, KOWA; Adviser Nowamagbe, UPP; Ishaka Ofemile, AA and Ukonga Frank, NNPP.
The running mates are Nancy Ewemade, AA; Florence Okundaye, KOWA; Okosun Davis, UPP and Emodogo Eweha, NNPP.
Other governorship candidates include Osagie Ize-Iyamu, PDP, with John Yakubu as running mate and Godwin Obaseki, APC, with Philip Shaibu, a member of the House of Representatives, as running mate.
(NAN)

20-year-old Gives Birth To Three Sets Of Twins Within 26 Months

A woman іѕ overwhelmed wіth thе work ѕhе hаѕ tо dо еасh day, аftеr ѕhе gave birth tо hеr thіrd set оf twins. 20-year-old Danesha Couch ѕаіd thаt ѕhе сhаngеѕ thrее dozen diapers а day, аѕ ѕhе cares fоr hеr children, whо аrе аll undеr thе age оf 26 months. Couch оf Kansas City, Kansas, ѕаіd thаt wіth hеr fіrѕt birth, ѕhе wаѕ surprised tо learn thаt ѕhе wаѕ hаvіng twin boys.

Shе gave birth tо Danarius аnd Desmond іn April 2014. Sadly, Desmond died аftеr birth frоm complications оf bеіng born premature. Danarius wаѕ аt thе hospital fоr аbоut thrее months bеfоrе hе саmе home. Sооn after, Couch аnd hеr fiance Jeff, learned thаt ѕhе wаѕ pregnant again. Thіѕ time wіth twin girls, Delilah аnd Davina. Thеу wеrе born іn Mау 2015. Whеn Couch bесаmе pregnant again, ѕhе wаѕ оnсе аgаіn shocked whеn thе doctor announced thаt ѕhе wаѕ hаvіng hеr thіrd set оf twins.
Couch ѕаіd thаt аll оf thе twins wеrе conceived naturally. Lаѕt month, іn June 2016, thе couple welcomed thеіr nеw babies, Dalanie аnd Darla. Thе 20-year-old mother ѕаіd thаt ѕhе wіll nоw tаkе а break аnd stop hаvіng kids fоr аt lеаѕt 10 years. Thе couple wіll focus оn gеttіng married аnd tаkіng care оf thе fіvе children thеу аlrеаdу have.

APC Levels New Accusations Against Fayose

Governor Ayodele Fayose has been accused by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State of allegedly spending the state’s money to settle his legal wrangle with EFCC. INFORMATION NIGERIA has put together 5 interesting things to note from the statement by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun.

1.He said that the APC gathered from a reliable source that a warrant for the payment of N22 million being the cost of chartered aircraft that flew Ozekhome twice from Lagos to Akure was issued and the money released almost immediately by the office of the Accountant General.
2.He noted that the N22 million is outside of the legal fee, which has been reportedly paid to Ozekhome by the state government, to pursue a personal matter for the governor whose private account was frozen.
3.The APC stated that Fayose is fond of using state funds for his personal affairs as it is the case with his latest matter with the EFCC, the same way he has been spending state’s money on adverts in several newspapers to abuse President Muhammadu Buhari.
4.Olatunbosun said that Fayose has taken corrupt practices in government to a ridiculous height by renting out his personal house in Abuja to the State Government to be used as Abuja Government House for eight years at N50 million per annum, even though Ekiti State Government has a befitting guest house and hotel called the NANET SUITES in the Federal capital.
5.Lastly, the party said that Fayose and his counsel should be reminded that it is a financial crime to use state funds for personal matters and we wish to invite the EFCC to quiz the state Accountant General and the Cabinet Office over this abuse of office and flagrant violation of financial regulations

New Super Eagles Coach Refusing To Sign Contract

Paul Le Guen, the Frenchman and former Indomitable Lions of Cameroon coach who was on Monday named as the new Super Eagles coach according to new reports  is refusing to sign the contract that would kick-start his job.

See Also; 7 Interesting Facts About The New Super Eagles Coach
Sources claim that Le Guen’s reason for refusing to sign now may be as a result of some terms, like qualifying Nigeria for the 2018 Russia FIFA World Cup but went on to say that the NFF is on top of the matter.
The Frenchman has coached Lyon, PSG and even the Cameroonian national team

Police Inspector Allegedly Defiled 15 Year Old Girl

The family of one Mary Udo in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has accused a police inspector attached to Mkpat Enin division of forcefully having a canal knowledge of their 15 year old daughter at gunpoint.
Mary alongside with her family members disclosed this during their visit to The Nation office in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital on Tuesday.

The minor, who narrated her ordeal in the hands of the police inspector, said she was returning from church, African Church, Ikot Abasi-Akpan, last Thursday when the police team that stood on the road accosted her.
She explained that the inspector, having seen her, pointed the gun at her, saying if she dared resist him touching her he would shoot her.
The SS1 pupil said the inspector then led her away from other members of the team to a dark portion of the road.

According to her, the policeman forcefully ran his fingers through her br**sts, lamenting ‘as small you are, you have these types of br**sts!’
She stated that the policeman ordered her to undress as he was still pointing gun at her.
Her words: “After he had forced me to remove my clothes, he ordered me to lie down and open my legs. And what I noticed was that he brought out his man-hood and inserted it into my v**ina. As he was romping over me, he forbade me crying as he threatened to shoot me if I should open my mouth.
“But when I could not bear the pains any longer as blood was running out of my private part, he quickly took me into the vehicle and drove to the station, where he detained me from Thursday till Saturday. It was my uncle, Dr. Ime Stephen that came from Abuja and bailed me out with N10,000.”
Asked of her mother, Udo told our correspondent that her mom left her dad since she was a toddler and does not know how she looks like.
She said her dad has been paralysed since the day he felt from the palm tree top. She added that she and her dad live on her uncle’s benevolence.
Stephen, her uncle, said the inspector in question is a prosecutor. He added that he could not believe his eyes when the girl pointed at him as one who defiled her from among the policemen who were on duty that time.
He said even his colleagues at the state Police Headquarters, Ikot Akpanabia, said he has been so reckless with women.
He said: “We need justice if a police inspector could point a gun at a girl of 15 year old girl before defiling her, it means he lacks the characters of police officers who are meant to protect lives and property of Nigerians.
“He is a fraud by also taking the girl into the police custody for three days and collected N10,000 as bail sum from the girl’s guardian.
“We call for his dismissal from the force so that he can be prosecuted accordingly.”
An artisan, Mr. Ndifreke Ibuotenang, 28, was also brutalised on Thursday by the same policemen.
Ibuotenang said he was returning from where he went to drink palm wine after work around 9pm, when the same police team accosted him and beat him to a pulp. Ibuotenang two eyes had been seriously affected.
He was also said to be released on bail upon payment of N10,000 as the bail sum by the villagers.
When contacted, the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner of Police, Murtala Mani, confirmed the incident.
Mani did not inform our reporter if the police have commenced investigation into the matter.
He said: “Yes I am fully aware.”
Source:TheNationOnline

Arase left with 24 police vehicles –Acting IG

The acting Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, says his predecessor, Solomon Arase, went away with 24 police vehicles while the seven Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, who retired alongside him, also carted away between seven and eight cars each.
Idris stated that he had written Arase to return the cars, which included two official bullet-proof BMW 7 series cars, adding that the retired police chief and his DIGs had yet to return the vehicles.
The IG, who said this during an interview with journalists on Sunday in Abuja, explained that a special investigation team was already looking at the records of police vehicle purchases in the last three years as well as how they were distributed.
Arase, however, denied the allegations of his successor, saying he didn’t go away with any police vehicle.

The former IG, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday, denied taking away 24 police cars, describing the allegations as a malicious propaganda.
Arase advised Idris to squarely face security issues confronting the country rather than engaging in “media propaganda.”
He said, “What am I going to do with 24 cars? Do I want to open a car shop? This is a malicious accusation. There are ways of verifying issues rather than engaging in media propaganda.”
But Idris, explaining the steps he had taken, said, “If you look through the windows of my former office and from the report from my (Force) transport officer, you would see cars but a week to the day I would resume, all these cars disappeared.
“So, what I am telling you is that I have signed a directive to my SIP (I have a special investigation panel, I set it up). It is going to investigate all the vehicle purchases, contributions to the police and the distribution of those vehicles in the last three years; we are going to look into that.
“When I took over, there was no vehicle, even the vehicle I would use. I discovered the last IG went away with 24 vehicles; the DIGs, some of them eight, some of them seven. The IG’s vehicles included two BMW 7 series, one armoured; and he left me with an old car.
“The last time I followed the President with it, he was asking me, ‘what are you doing with this old car’ because if you see the headlight, the thing has changed colour, which means they parked it and rains and everything had fallen on it, but the new ones that were bought, he (Arase) went with all of them; they are part of the 24.
“I wrote back to him and said, we have a policy that says when a policeman retires, if you are an IG, AIG, a CP, you are entitled to some vehicles; please, the extra, return it. Four vehicles are enough for an average human being, but what will you even do with four vehicles; but he took 24 vehicles, including two BMW cars.
“I wrote to him (Arase), I wrote to the DIGs.”
Idris disclosed that the Police Management Team would probe the last promotion in the Force following complaints by many police personnel that their juniors were promoted over them.
He explained that the probe was to address the discrepancies and complaints by aggrieved police personnel, who were allegedly short-changed during the exercise.
Idris stated that the probe panel would be set up to verify if the promotion was in line with the police service commission policy and regulations.
The IG explained that his focus was to run a democratic police organisation, which would be responsive and accountable.
He added that he had directed some audit firms to audit all police investments to make them more transparent and ensure that the rank and file, who were also shareholders, had more say in the police companies.
On strategies to curb the increasing wave of kidnapping and other crimes, Idris said he would strengthen, retrain and equip the Special Anti-Robbery Squad to be more responsive and responsible.
He said he recently removed some Area Commanders in Rivers and Kogi states when he learnt that they had been compromised.

Jonathan ordered Dasuki to give me N100m – Okupe

A former Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe, says the embattled former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), gave him N100m on the instruction of Jonathan.
Okupe, who served as Jonathan’s spokesman from 2012 to 2015, added that he received N10m monthly from Dasuki to pay salaries and run a weekly programme on NTA.
The former presidential aide said this in a Facebook post on Sunday while reacting to his arrest and interrogation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC had alleged that Okupe received N85m from Dasuki at different times.

In his reaction, Okupe said, “The initial N50m was approved by the President (Goodluck Jonathan) to be paid to me from his security vote. N10m was to furnish my rented living apartment and another N10m for my office. The balance N30m was approved as take-off grant.
“The N10m I received from the ONSA monthly was to run my office, pay salaries of members of staff, including overheads, pay expenses for our numerous press conferences, pay for publications in newspapers, magazines, local and foreign, television programmes, bulletins, and media consultants who assist and facilitate our work. I had about 23 (members of ) staff, 11 were graduates out of which five were Master’s degree holders.
“The second N50m was approved again by Mr. President when I reported to him that the monthly allowance had been cut from N10m to N5m and that I was no longer in a position to keep running a one-hour NTA network programme called INSIGHT which was aired 9am to 10am every Friday.
“We paid NTA about N1.2m monthly for airtime. Two presenters were paid N600,000 monthly. The lead presenter on INSIGHT earned N400,000 and the second presenter earned N200,000. Total N600,000.
“We paid for tapes and editing per programme. Besides, we also paid honorarium for guests either directly or in form of hotel bills for those outside Abuja, or transportation.
“This cost averagely N500,000 weekly or about N2m monthly. All in all, we spent about N4m monthly on the programme. Mr. President promised to help with the expenses. About a few months later when we had incurred some debts the NSA sent me this N50m which was to cover the cost of the programme for 12 months.”
Okupe further clarified that his monthly allowance was not his salary but meant for the running of his office. He said out of the N10m given to him by Dasuki monthly, 40 per cent went on salaries.
“Salary sheets with names and offices of employees were submitted to the EFCC. I was paid my salary of N853,000 per month through the office of the Secretary of the Government of the Federation,” he said.
Okupe, who was also quizzed for allegedly receiving some dubious contracts from a local council in Niger State to the tune of N76.5m, said his company, Romix Soilfix, was one of the over 20 construction companies who were duly awarded contracts for rural roads some five years ago by the Niger State Government.
He explained that due to lack of funds, contractors were paid irregularly making the job to drag.
“The job is still ongoing. The relationship of this to my service as senior special assistant to President is still not clear,” Okupe said.
The former presidential aide criticised the EFCC for allegedly releasing details about his health.
Okupe confirmed that he suffered a heart problem and he only explained this to investigators to prevent him from being detained.
He added, “I was born with sinus bradycadia, a non-disease based slowness of the heart. It precluded me from vigorous exercise from childhood but I have, by God’s grace, been able to live a normal and active life.
“With age, the slowness grew worse and life-threatening. I sought medical help and went through a procedure at the Arrhythmia Cardiac Research Centre in Atlanta, where this defect was corrected. It was just a year ago and I am still under satellite monitor from the USA. This is what I revealed to the EFCC and they made it a public issue.”
Okupe maintained that he was not a thief, adding that he had only two houses: one in Lagos and one in his hometown.

Ghost workers: FG sends suspects list to EFCC

The Ministry of Finance on Sunday said the list of those suspected to be involved in the manipulation of government payroll and allegedly injected ‘ghost’ workers had been sent to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for investigation and prosecution.
The development was confirmed by the Media Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Festus Akanbi, while responding to enquiries from one of our correspondents.
Akanbi stated, “The ministry has sent the list of those involved in the ‘ghost’ workers scam to the EFCC and they (EFCC’s operatives) are the ones investigating the matter.”
Findings revealed that while some of the perpetrators of the ‘ghost’ workers scam were being investigated, others had been charged to court by the anti-graft agency.

An official in the Ministry of Finance confided in The PUNCH that the prosecution of some of those that were charged to court was being slowed down owing to the fact that the court was in recess.
The Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit had, last week, said it found discrepancies on the payroll of the Federal Government’s Ministries, Agencies and Departments to the tune of N6.4bn.
The Head of the Continuous Audit Team, Mr. Mohammed Dikwa, had told journalists in Kano on the sidelines of the two-day National Revenue Retreat, organised by the Ministry of Finance, that the amount was the true state of their findings as of June 30, 2016.
President Muhammadu Buhari had set up the Continuous Audit Team to look into the finances of Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies to arrest the menace of ‘ghost’ workers, over payment of allowances, fraud and embezzlement in then MDAs.
Dikwa had said, “The Continuous Audit Team plans to conduct regular checks on the control and risk assessment of MDAs. We look at the records that are being kept to ensure transparency and accountability of the financial transactions carried over time.
“In terms of ‘ghost’ workers, we have found about 43,000 ghost workers so far and as of May 30, we had N4.2bn that is saved on a monthly basis.
“But as of June 30, we were able to make more recoveries of N2.2bn, which has led to an additional savings of N6.4bn monthly.”
Recently, the Adamawa State Government said the recent clean-up of its payroll, involving local government employees in the state, which uncovered 12,000 ‘ghost’ workers, saved the state government N500m.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Mahmood Yunusa, who made the disclosure in Yola, the state capital, stated that the state government derived the figure from the report submitted by the committee which carried out the verification.
He said, “According to the report submitted to the state government by the Staff Verification Committee, it said N500m has been saved. This is the amount which could have gone into lining the pockets of ‘ghost’ workers.”
He, however, admitted that the amount was fluid since there might have been some genuine workers whose names could have been omitted.
The state government had alleged that the state verification had uncovered 12,000 ‘ghost’ workers in the state, which had been denied by some union officials.
Also, a total of 3,916 ‘ghost’ workers were uncovered in Enugu State.
The discovery followed a staff audit conducted in the 17 local government areas in the state.
The audit verified the number of workers employed in all the councils, including teachers.
Presenting the report of a verification panel to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Edward Ubosi, who headed the committee, said the discovery of the ‘ghost’ workers saved the state N161.4m monthly

You are not corrupt when in Buhari’s good books – Fayose

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop shielding members of his government from probe.
The governor in a statement on Sunday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said it smacked of sheer hypocrisy and nepotism for anyone to accept that fraud could have been perpetrated on procurement and award of contracts in an establishment without the involvement of the director of procurement.
“It is now obvious to the entire world that anyone that is in President Buhari’s good books can never be adjudged as corrupt even if such a person is caught looting the entire money in Nigeria’s treasury,” Fayose said.
“There are many petitions relating to the defence from 2007 that are been discarded, the question is why? There are several petitions against APC leaders that are not being looked into, the question is why? Fighting corruption and targeting only opponents of the president is in itself corruption.

“Buhari’s’ Minister of Interior, Major General Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.) was Chief of Army Staff between 2008 and 2010 and the current Chief Of Army Staff, Major General Tukur Buratai served as Director of Procurements, Defence Headquarters, from 2012 till May 2015.
“It is a fact that the committee in its terms of reference said it queried all procurement from 2007 to 2015. Even the Press Release issued was titled; ‘Third Interim Report of the Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement from 2007 to 2015.’
“First paragraph of the committee report also indicated that it used 2007-2015 as reference, stating that the committee ‘analysed procurement contracts awarded by or for the Nigerian Army between 2007 and 2015.’
“Questions Nigerians must now begin to ask President Buhari and his government are; where is the report of Presidential Committee on Audit of Defence Equipment Procurement relating to 2007 to 2010? Who doctored the committee report and why?

Naira to fall further on higher dollar demand

The naira is expected to depreciate further this week as rising dollar demand continues to put the local currency under pressure at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s interbank forex window and parallel market.
The local currency eased by four per cent against the dollar on Friday to hit a record low after the CBN sold the greenback at a weaker rate to boost interbank market liquidity, forex traders said.
The naira hit a record low of 295.25 on thin trade at the interbank market, a month after the CBN lifted its currency peg, Reuters reported.
A total volume of $12m traded on the interbank on Friday at an average rate of N290, with traders attributing the sale to a CBN intervention.

The interbank market had remained broadly stable at 282/283.
At the parallel market, the naira closed at 365 against the dollar on Friday. The local currency had closed at 352 per dollar the previous Friday.
The naira experienced volatility last week, as supply gap at the interbank forex market weighed on the parallel market.
Forex dealers said inadequate liquidity in the interbank market was making the naira to depreciate very fast.
According to them, the naira will continue to depreciate at the parallel market as holidaymakers seek dollars to finance their summer vacations abroad.
Currency analysts and experts said there was a need for the Central Bank of Nigeria to address liquidity problem at the interbank market to stabilise the local currency.
“It all comes back to liquidity; that is what drives the market, the Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria, Renaissance Capital, a United Kingdom-based investment bank, Mr. Temi Popoola, had said.
The CBN had a few weeks ago removed its 16-month naira peg and adopted flexible exchange rate policy, after forex restrictions led to factory closures and business losses.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government’s plan to raise N120bn ($425m) in bond maturing 2021, 2026 and 2036 last Wednesday was stalled by system glitch at the CBN.
However, an official of the Debt Management Office said the auction was still ongoing.
The DMO had in a public notice said it would raise N40bn at par in 2021 bond, while also raising N40bn apiece in the 2026 and 2036 maturing bonds at the auction.
Meanwhile, the Kenyan shilling is expected to gradually weaken due to increased corporate dollar demand this week, heightening the prospects of the central bank intervening by pumping in dollars.
The Ugandan shilling is expected to be vulnerable over this week, undermined by a potential rebound in dollar demand from companies after they’re done meeting their mid-month tax obligations.

Sheriff is stubborn, he must prove he’s not a mercenary – Secondus

In this interview with JOHN ALECHENU, former Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, speaks on the crisis within the party, President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war among other national issues
You were at the helm of affairs of the Peoples Democratic Party before Senator Ali Modu Sheriff came on board. Why did the party pick him ahead of other longstanding members?

It was both the North-East (chapter of the PDP) and the leaders of the party that came together and resolved to pick Sheriff. I believe at that time, it was based on his experience as a governor and senator and that he could foster relationships between members of the party, governors, senators and other members of the National Assembly. And since we are not also in power at the centre, we saw him as someone who could easily coordinate and interact with the several segments of the party. Even though there was some opposition, eventually it was resolved.
With the benefit of hindsight, would you say the party made the right decision?

To me, politics is dynamic. At the time that decision was taken, it was in the best interest of everyone. With what has happened now and the dynamism of politics, unfortunately this is the situation we’ve found ourselves.

Do you agree with those who say this crisis has the potential of obliterating the PDP as a political platform?

I totally disagree. Yes, we have not had it so rough but we will overcome it. By the special grace of God, we are working towards putting these issues behind us. I believe that in a political party just like anywhere in the world there must be a time for challenges like this. And in the case of the PDP, we will overcome it.
From your experience, would you say the crisis within the party is without external influence?

I can’t rule out external influence because you can see what is happening especially in Edo State where they don’t want us to have a candidate for the governorship elections. Our opponents are afraid that we will bounce back. Like I said before, it is nothing new; we will overcome.
You have in recent times appealed to Sheriff and his supporters to embrace dialogue and tow the path of peace. What informed this decision?

My take is this, if people are saying that Sheriff is a mercenary, it is left for him to prove them wrong. It is not enough for him to deny it on the pages of newspapers. It is for him to come forward and join the rest of the party. Take for instance, all the governors, all the National Assembly members, former members of the National Working Committee, BoT (Board of Trustees), various caucuses and National Caucus of the party are on one side; they support the National Caretaker Committee. Why is Sheriff on the other side? He should come over and join us if he says he is not being used as a mercenary. Ninety nine per cent of the members of the party are on one side. The issue of division does not even arise. It is just a case of one man being stubborn and refusing to join the majority. You know, the media is also enjoying the whole show. We know the judiciary is the last hope of the common man and they have done the right thing already. The judgment in Port Harcourt is declaratory. There is no ambiguity. The judgment said the court upheld the decision of the convention held in Port Harcourt which appointed the Ahmed Makarfi-led Committee. The convention of any political party is the highest decision making body of the party. The convention can decide to dissolve the party; the convention can do and undo as far as party administration is concerned. It is higher than the NWC (National Working committee), NEC (National Executive Committee) and all of us.
When you were the Acting National Chairman, a former Presidential Adviser, Ahmed Gulak, went to court to force out the National Working Committee you led because you were reluctant to leave office after the expiration of your tenure. What happened?

We had earlier on thought that before Gulak went to court, the party would be run in such a way that we could manage ourselves until the national convention. But the insistence of some of our members that the acting chairman must come from the North-East where Adamu Mu’azu comes from in line with our constitution led to legal issues and the involvement of the courts. We didn’t want to break the law, we wanted to carry everybody along to the convention but there were some people like Gulak who were agitated and went to court. We said look, ‘there is no hard and fast rule’, and we gave way for the people of the North-East to produce the acting chairman. Prominent leaders of the zone, precisely the governors of Taraba and Gombe states who were the ones in charge and some other leaders from the zone, came together and made nominations. There were several people but finally, we resolved to settle for Sheriff and I believe that if the party had allowed my working committee as at that time to continue acting, it would have been a peaceful transition.
Why would it have been peaceful?

It would have been peaceful because there was nothing that we were looking for than to conduct a transparent national convention for all. But one has to obey the rules of the game and the constitution. That was what happened. We had actually wished that we had continued so that the whole process would have been very peaceful.
Your party has this history of upheavals each time a leadership change is imminent. I can’t remember any National Chairman from the late Chief Solomon Lar right down to present day; who was allowed to complete his term … (Cuts in)
No, I don’t agree with you. Let me correct that impression. I think Solomon Lar completed his term, Dr. Amadu Ali completed his tenure, Audu Ogbeh resigned on principle, (Vincent) Ogbulafor resigned voluntarily, Barnabas Gemade resigned voluntarily, there was no controversy. The transition was smooth.
What about Bamanga Tukur?

He too resigned voluntarily, there was no controversy. I disagree with you on your earlier assertion. The only one I will agree with you that is controversial is that of Sheriff which we are still trying to resolve at the moment.
You said your party’s constitution guides the process of choosing your leaders. If you recall, the North-East presented Babayo Shehu as National Chairman, but somehow, Bamanga Tukur emerged. How do you reconcile this?

Yes, the zones are allowed to pick their representatives for offices zoned to them. But it does not mean that the zone will produce the national chairman. It has to be a consensus between the zone and all other leaders from all the other zones because he is not going to be the chairman for only the zone, he is to be national chairman. If he were to be the chairman for the zone, nobody would contest it with them but when the person is to be the national chairman, the area the position is zoned to will have to have to market him to all the other zones for them to make an impute to ensure that he is an acceptable candidate. That was what happened in the case of Babayo and Bamanga Tukur. Babayo got the support of the zone but apparently in all the other zones, he couldn’t get the required support rather it was Tukur that got the support and since it was a national office and not a zonal office, Babayo’s choice couldn’t stand.
What is your response to allegations that the PDP began to decay when the party leadership handed over its functions to the executive each time the party won an election?

I think this is mere speculation. I believe that when you are in the political system just like you have in the United and the United Kingdom, office holders are leaders. Take for instance, the Republican Party in the US, the speaker of congress who happens to be the leader is a member. The same thing happens here even though it is not written down in the constitution per se, yet in practice. I have been in this party over the years; this has not taken away the constitutional powers of the officers of the party. When (former)President Olusegun Obasanjo was there, Amadu Ali was a very powerful chairman. The thing depends on who is at the helm of affairs. The president and the governors, no one has ever taken over the functions of the party executive or usurped their powers as is being alleged. I am not in agreement with this at all.
Many members of your party are being investigated by the EFCC for alleged corrupt practices. Would you say the rule of law is being adhered to or is it a witch-hunt?

There is absolute absence of the rule of law in the pursuit of this anti-corruption crusade. We in the PDP are in total support of the anti-corruption fight but we believe that due process and the rule of law are not being followed. We are not in a garrison command structure, a person can be invited or arrested if he resists but the rule of law must be followed. The EFCC cannot constitute itself to be the judge, jury and turn itself into a court and become a law onto itself. Virtually all we have seen in the past one year is that even before they go to court, the EFCC has already condemned the accused persons. This is wrong in the eyes of the law. Allow the courts to make the pronouncement; it is not for the EFCC to make the announcement. We believe that there is complete absence of the rule of law and that the government is carrying out its prosecution based on a one-sided agenda. We know there are ex-governors who are ministers now, why are they not probing them? Why are they not inviting them? It is absolutely wrong. It has to be holistic. If you say you want to clean up the mess go ahead and do it but it has to be everybody that was there. There are some former governors who were in the PDP before but are now in the APC as senators and ministers. They have become untouchable. Is that how to fight corruption? The partiality is obvious now, and Nigerians know; the world now knows that the agenda of this government is to kill the PDP.
The APC through its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, had challenged any of you who have evidence against any of its members to present same to the EFCC. Why have you not done so?

I can tell you that many states including Ekiti and Rivers have written several petitions against these persons and nothing has happened. I can tell you that nothing has happened. Who is fooling whom?
Critics of your party have said the PDP is so comfortable with corruption that it has no interest in the anti-corruption fight. How do you respond?

This is wrong, absolutely wrong. Let me ask this question, if the PDP had no interest in fighting corruption would we had set up the EFCC, ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices Commission) and all other institutions? All these institutions were set up by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo who headed a PDP-led government. We established these institutions with good intentions. The PDP as a party has not done anything to undermine the anti-graft war even in the face of glaring provocations. As many as this government wants to go after let it go ahead, all we are saying is that the rule of law must be followed. The truth will prevail; some may be found guilty, others will not be found so. But it (anti-corruption war) has to cover those who were in the PDP before and are now in the APC and also those who were APC governors; that is the issue.
Has your party dealt with the contentious issue of zoning because politicians are already talking about the 2019 elections?

Yes, that has been spelt out at our last convention in Port Harcourt. A motion was moved for the zoning of the Presidency to the North and it was accepted and another motion was moved that the party national chairmanship position should be zoned to the South and that was also accepted. We didn’t say any specific zone in the North or South we just said North and South that had been accepted. It is now our rule that we must follow with these two offices. I think the issue has been resolved.
Sheriff has insisted that a court judgment given in his favour by an Abuja Court says his tenure ends in 2018. How do you resolve this?

There is nothing like that. What Mu’azu came to do was to complete the unexpired tenure of Bamanga Tukur. I don’t know where Sheriff got the 2018 thing from because Tukur’s tenure is four-year tenure. He started it before Mu’azu tried to complete it but resigned before Sheriff came on board to complete the same tenure. Thus, there is no issue here; that tenure has since expired. The decision of the convention has been upheld by the court of law.
The governing APC had declared the 16 years your party spent in power as a waste. The party also blames the hardships being experienced by Nigerians today on your rule. Do you have a response?

We are very grateful to Nigerians for the votes they consistently gave us and kept us in power for 16 unbroken years and of course they can today see the dividends of democracy we were able to give Nigerians within those years. For instance, the current railway line between Abuja and Kaduna which the APC government is planning to commission is the product of the PDP. The APC has done nothing in the last one year to add to that. The PDP revolutionalised the mobile communications system; we enhanced the freedom of speech and the press. These were signed into law by the PDP administrations. Nigerians are now more than ever before more enlightened. They now know the difference between propaganda, sloganeering and facts, real facts and figures with records of achievements. To say the PDP did nothing in 16 years is uncharitable and an attempt to turn facts and figures on their heads. What the APC should concern itself with doing now is how to fulfil all the promises they made to Nigerians and come out with an economic blue print on how to deal with the economy.
Do you share the sentiments of those who allege that appointments so far made by this administration are lopsided?

Oh yes, the appointments are lopsided. The Presidency did not follow the dictates of the principle of federal character in most of his appointments. Yes, he has the prerogative to make these appointments but in doing so, a true leader must take into account the sensibilities of the component units of the nation we are all trying to build. He (Buhari) has to carry all the sections of the country along. In this case, it is one sided.
Can you confidently say your party will be ready for the big stage come 2019?

Nigerians should hold the APC accountable for all the promises they made and have so far failed to deliver. On our part we are ready to provide equitable leadership that all Nigerians will be proud of because in a country like Nigeria with over 170 million people, you need everybody to be on board. This is absent in the case of this APC government. In our process of administering this nation when we return, we won’t fight the National Assembly like they are doing now, we won’t fight any section of this country, we will build the nation not divide it. Nigerians have a choice to make come 2019; it is left for Nigerians to look before they leap when given the opportunity. We have learnt our lessons; our challenges will be resolved sooner than later.
The APC has not hidden its disappointment that one of your own, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, emerged as the Deputy Senate President. Is your party bothered?

What is democracy for? It is the government of the people by the people and for the people. The choice of the majority must be obeyed and respected. It is not a question of whether or not Ike Ekweremadu was elected, the issue is due process was followed; Senators exercised their rights to elect their leaders as stipulated by law in a free and fair contest. From our experience, there was a time the PDP made a choice of who should be the Speaker of the House of Representatives but some other person emerged and we quickly embraced him. Even at that, he moved to the APC but we did not remove him because we respected the separation of powers as democracy dictated. All those elected are Nigerians. What should bother this government as far as we are concerned is the fact that the economy is in shambles because they have no plan for it. Banks are throwing out workers every day, unemployment is at its highest level in recent memory but we have a government which does not consider these issues worthy of its attention. This has to change.