posted
Why would APGA agree to participate in the deceptive dialogue been organized by Obasanjo and PDP. Will they never learn? Can anything good come from an Obasanjo national dialogue? the 419 election of 2003 should been enough for APGA to know that Obasanjo's motive is not for a progressive Nigeria.
APGA endorses National Conference with reservations
By Chuks Ehirim, Senior Correspondent, Abuja
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has taken a decision to participate in the forthcoming National Political Reforms Conference even when it pointed out grave errors in the mode the government has adopted in picking the conference delegates.
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Speaking at a World Press conference at the party’s National Secretariat, Abuja, Thursday after the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting, APGA National Chairman, Chekwas Okorie, said his party “has its own reservations in the intentions of the President to corner the national dialogue”.
One of the reservations, Okorie said, is in the “allocation” of the slots of delegates to the conference to President Olusegun Obasanjo and the state Governors. “For the Governors who are overwhelmingly members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to nominate six slots each while the president himself will nominate one from each state of the Federation as well as pegging the number at 400, simply means that before the dialogue commences, PDP is already controlling a simple majority of that number”, Okorie argued.
He said though political parties have been assured that they would be approached to make their own nominations, they have not been told the number of such nominees from each of the parties. “You can imagine how little it will be considering what is left after the PDP has appropriated so much to itself”, he said.
He posited however, that “APGA is of the view that a national dialogue is desirable, the modalities have not come out yet but the posturing of government is suspect. All these not withstanding, for the fact that the government made a policy summersault by accepting the conference which it had hitherto been opposed to, the party will participate in it. We will regard it as half bread that is better than non. And for that reason, APGA will participate and make its contributions in that National dialogue”, he said.
According to him, APGA would do everything possible to work in concert with all the political parties, to ensure that the noble project does not turn out another charade.
Okorie also used the medium of the press conference which was attended by all the members of the party’s new NWC, to expose what he called the “new trick” of president Obasanjo and the PDP, to rob his party of its victory in Anambra State saying the new plot is in the Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola Committee probing the crisis in Anambra State.
Okorie said he has information that the committee would be used to slam emergency rule in the state adding: “We have it on good authority that that committee will submit a report that the tragedy that occurred in Anambra was a child’s play compared to the one that is going to happen in due course and if nothing was done, more lives and property would be damaged”.
He also hinted that with the recommendations the committee would make, Obasanjo will go to the Senate where he would “quickly get the approval he has always been looking for to get through the back door, to impose a state of emergency in Anambra State and deny APGA its victory”.
He said the government has concluded plans to appoint a sole administrator in the state who would be there until it would be too late for APGA to expect anything to come out of it adding that this was what informed the party’s court case against the committee headed by Oyinlola.
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quote: Now my fellow forumites will say i come again! - Nwa-Afor
My brother, this is a common sense issue. In the past your position made Ikemba appear like a villain which elicited the barrage of admonitions you received. No one really wants to gag you as long as we're in agreement that APGA is a separate and individual entity from our elder brother, Ikemba whom the mentally deprived tend to misunderstand. Of course if you observe something that does not feel right as in this case, you should point it out without diverting attention. Copy?
___________________ BIAFRA: The land of my ancestors now, yesterday and always. So it will be! Posts: 2482 | From: Ala Igbo | Registered: Apr 2004
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I copy. lol, and as a copy and paste expert here is another one... What u think?
LAW & HUMAN RIGHTS :- The governor ngige hypothesis (The saga continues) Part 1
By Awa Kalu, SAN Friday, January 14, 2005
Since the sponsored crisis in Anambra State erupted, this column has joined discerning voices in condemning the attempt from identifiable quarters to destroy our hard-earned efforts at democratization and democracy. Despite spirited efforts from several quarters to douse the internecine struggle for power that has bedevilled governance in Anambra State since 1999, we have continued to groan in despair as the major agent provocateur of the dispute - Chief Chris Ubah - waxes stronger with each passing day.
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The current article has been provoked by allegations and of course, denial of, vote rigging in Anambra gubernatorial polls held on April 19, 2003. Each time I have had the chance to reflect on the disputation between Governor Ngige and Chris Ubah (the godfather) I cast my mind back to the popular lyrics of one of the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s tunes waxed in a similar circumstance, "You be thief", "I no be thief". "You be robber", "I no be robber". "You be armed robber", "I no be armed robber". "Argument" "Argument"… the late and incomparable Afro beat king sang. Now listen to Chief Chris Ubah (See VANGUARD, Thursday, December 23, 2004, pages 1 and 13):
"As the truth of Anambra issue is being gradually revealed and denials and lies are being traded, I believe that as one of the main activists in the whole issue, the moment of truth and remorse has come. First of all, let me express my heartfelt regret for my error and the activities involved with others in Anambra to put Ngige in power as the governor of the state. In showing remorse, I sincerely ask for understanding and forgiveness of all our people in Anambra State and those Nigerian leaders and citizens who have been unduly affected and insulted by the Anambra issue.
My mistake for which I ask for understanding stemmed from my belief that election is like a battle and since all is fair in war, I believe that the end justifies the means in an election. We did everything possible to put Ngige in power. In the presence of the President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, I asked Dr. Chris Ngige whether he actually won the election; he confirmed he did not win the election. The President drove us out as from that point, he did not want to listen to our story again.
At another occasion soon after that, I had the opportunity, when Chief Audu Ogbeh invited Dr. Chris Ngige and myself to his house to tell the same story. Again, Dr. Chris Ngige confirmed before Chief Audu Ogbeh that he did not win the election, when I asked him the same question. Because he was more attentive than the President, I told him that even the certificate of return of the governorship election was in my custody and at the appropriate time I will make the copies available to the press. Chief Audu Ogbeh advised that we should all keep quiet on the issue of governorship election in Anambra State. I obeyed.
As time goes on, the truth will be more and more exposed and I can only hope that justice will prevail. Once again, I deeply regret my error and some of my actions in winning the election which in the end have caused some people inconvenience."
On the denial side, Mr. Fred Chukwuelobe, Governor Ngige’s media man avers that: "The attention of His Excellency, Dr. Chris Ngige (OON) Governor, Anambra State, has been drawn to a statement issued by Chief Chris Ubah, the self-styled godfather of Anambra State politics, in which he alleged that the governor admitted before President Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Audu Ogbeh, National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that he (Governor Ngige) did not win the April 19, 2003 gubernatorial elections in Anambra State.
The government hereby reacts as follows:
Governor Ngige has never admitted before anybody to have lost the elections; the claim by Chief Chris Ubah that he did so before the President Obasanjo and Chief Ogbeh is untrue. This is not the first time Chief Ubah is making this wild allegation; he did so in the US last September and later recanted it. The matter of the election is before the election tribunal and it is sub-judice to continue to comment on it; the tribunal and the courts are there to adjudicate the issues pertaining to the elections. We have confidence in the courts and believe they will do justice. Chris Ubah and Mr. Peter Obi of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) have a new alliance to unseat Governor Ngige and part of the plan is to employ media blackmail in order to stampede the courts and the election tribunal. The government believes in justice and is, therefore, waiting for the verdict of the tribunal". (See also Daily Sun, December 23, 2004, page 4).
It can be recalled that Chief Audu Ogbeh (erstwhile PDP Chairman) wrote Mr. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on December 6, 2004 and made specific reference to the implications of the unresolved crisis in Anambra State. Of course, Mr. President replied in great detail and revealed to the general public his gallant and epochal efforts to resolve what he called the "moral dilemma" involved in the Anambra saga. What seems indisputable is that Mr. President in his reply to Chief Ogbeh, appears to lean seriously on the side of the veracity of Chief Chris Ubah’s claims. This is the heart of the matter and the claims and counter-claims have multiple implications for the law and Constitution. Consider for example that the Election Petitions pending at the Anambra State Governorship and Legislative Houses Election Petitions Tribunal challenging the results of the governorship elections in Anambra State are still pending. In addition, consider that Chief Chris Ubah was not a candidate at that election and was allegedly not an Agent of any of the contestants. Besides, Chris Ubah was not an Electoral officer either.
How then did he gain the locus standi to confess to such a monumental electoral fraud which Mr. President finds so appealing? Guided by the fact that electoral fraud in any form or shape is unlawful and thus an arrestable offence, how did the PDP forget that confessions, at least in Criminal law and Evidence, are admissible against the maker only? The PDP should be guided in its attempt to resolve the Anambra crisis by a reminder that despite its pre-eminence as the Party in power, it is neither a substitute nor an alternative to the Tribunal.
Meanwhile, it is sufficient at this stage to say that the case against Governor Ngige is only a hypothesis, guided by the fact that a hypothesis is a proposed explanation based on limited evidence, and a starting point for further investigation. Accordingly, whether or not Governor Ngige came to office by unfair or foul means is clearly hypothetical and is not at the moment a given fact no matter how eminent his accusers may be.
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posted
No body talks about the needs of the poor and downtroden. Big big grammar = big big corruption.
Today is OBj vs Ogbeh; tomorrow is NEEDS vs FEEDS; Igbo vs Yoroba; Umeh vs Okorie; IBB vs the rest of us; Nija abroad vs nija at home. The real problem is the rich vs the poor. People like Victor Dike sums it up in this article:
The NEEDS And The Needy
What Nigeria needs more than anything is good governance, and not more bulky policy-papers? For any economic growth strategies to work properly the nation must to do the first thing first.
The Punch of January 17 2005 shouted, “Nigeria and other African oil exporting countries will continue to earn bumper revenue from excess crude oil exports till 2006, according to the World Bank….” This writer gets irritated at such reports because Nigeria has nothing meaningful on the ground to show for her oil wealth since 44 years. Let us look back a bit before looking ahead!
Any person who has been following the events in the society since 1999 would agree that the poor and the needy are getting a raw deal from this administration. Presently, the popular discontents in the society are over unemployment and inflation, crime and corruption (the recent Tafa Balogun/EFCC/Fountain Trust Bank story has added another dimension to it) and power outages, late or non-payment of wages/salaries, politics of intimidation and the struggle for power. All these have combined to create more poverty and misery and confusion in the society.
Many families are struggling, as the breadwinners who could be working would not bring home enough money to meet their needs. Some of them have died of hunger and frustration and some others are now dying from AIDS. Therefore, one of the serious challenges facing Nigeria today is how it could establish genuine social programs for the poor and the needy. The needy are those that lack ‘the things that a person must have in order to have a satisfactory life.’ They are the poor without enough food, clothes, shelter, and medical care, etc. Being in need is being impoverished, ‘having little or no wealth and few or no possessions.’ Many people who fall into this category are suffering in the land without assistance of any type from the government.
Thus Nigeria’s problems have remained unresolved because the leaders have failed to do the right thing; they have failed to genuinely restructure the institutions that would tackle the problems. And there are no serious plans yet on the ground to improve the sordid conditions, other than the voluminous and jaw-breaking jargon-laden impracticable National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) program (and SEEDS-the state counterpart) being marketed by the federal government. Nigeria’s policymakers are good at writing fanciful policy documents, but the poor and the needy cannot live on polished documents full of high-sounding acronyms alone! The NEEDS may not make live any better for the needy; but they need solutions to their predicaments. To judge from the lives that they lead Nigerian leaders are like archers, who have a mark to aim at, but will not hit the right target. To move beyond paying lip service to national problems it is necessary for them to rethink their sordid ways and transform into a better character to open new possibilities for national development.
It appears the NEEDS program focuses on four areas: 1) The reform of government and its institutions; 2) The growing of the private sector; 3) The implementation of a social charter with the people? and 4) Value re-orientation. The ‘economic growth blueprint’ is apparently designed to enable Nigeria become a key player in the global economy. Despite the bold objective of empowerment of the people, there are no genuine provisions in the program to cushion the downtrodden. The questions are how would the poor farmers in the villages (those NEEDS hope to empower) get access to bank loans? How could they transport their goods to the market without roads? The system is not working; there are no functional institutions to help the private sector. Those who are supposed to fructify them are using their official positions to undermine and destroy them! Could the society’s skewed value system allow for value re-orientation? If the administration that is now beating the false drum of national re-orientation cannot re-orient its party members, how would it engineer a national character re-orientation? But, how would one expect to have a better Nigeria when the leaders are not doing the right thing? One cannot ask enough questions here!
What Nigeria needs more than anything is good governance, and not more bulky policy-papers? For any economic growth strategies to work properly the nation must to do the first thing first. It must control the disruptive politics and corruption, strengthen the institutions, and change the mentality of the leaders (and followers) and set up genuine social services to assist the poor and the needy in the society.
Good societies are known to have effective social programs on the ground to assist the needy. In the US, for instance, there are varied programs for the poor and needy, such as the ‘Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The Dept. of Health and Human Services (DHHS) determines a household financial eligibility for this program. And the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a housing program (Section 8-a program established in 1974) that provides rental assistance to low-income, elderly or disabled individuals primarily in the form of housing vouchers. The person receiving such assistance can use the voucher wherever he or she wants as long as the landlord is willing to participate in the program and the housing unit meets the standards set by HUD. And the Congress sets the money for the vouchers. In addition, the needy can get assistance from the Salvation Army (and many other similar programs). These programs, which are closely monitored and periodically revised, are part of the poverty alleviation program in the United States. Without assistance from these organizations (and programs) the poor would suffer more.
Therefore, to really empower the poor and the needy Nigeria should create similar organizations and the NEEDS should have the right medicine! But for such programs to be successful there must be effective institutions in place to regulate them, otherwise the funds would be diverted into private bank accounts. Effective institutions are known to enable other economic growth factors societies to perform well. Thus without good institutions and good governance, which Nigeria needs like air, economic growth and prosperity will continue to elude Nigeria and the poor and needy would continue to suffer.
The absence of functional institutions is the main reason for the chaos in the society today. In organized and good societies the people would go to their leaders for solution to their problems, but because the leaders do not seem to care about the welfare of the people some of them appear to resort to seeking the advice of the gods (shrines) for solutions to their problems. For certain the gods do not have solutions to Nigeria’s poverty problem! What the nation needs are good governance and comprehensive action plans to tackle the ‘silent tsunamis’ - extreme poverty, hunger and diseases- that might destroy the people, and not the NEEDS that lacks the tools to empower the poor and the needy.
Victor E. Dike, CEO of the Center for Social Justice and Human Development (CSJHD), in Sacramento, California, is the author of Nigeria and the Politics of Unreason: A Study of the Obasanjo Regime [Adonis and Abbey Publishers, London, Nov 20, 2003].
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posted
Another true Nigerian, that speaks the truth and whom we should all read his piece is Seyi Oduyela. Seyi seem to understand that our politicians are greedy, selfish and will do anything to secure power. they will pitch brothers against each other, pitch ethnic group against each other. Use religious and spiritual terms to defend their corrupt life style(i.e Tafa Balogun, OBJ, IBB etc etc). Seyi understands that information is the key to set a people free. Seyi provides us with relevant information in his Owners of Nigeria series. Make time to read it.
This is not about East, West, North. It is about the tactics employed by selfish, egocentric politicians who has ruined what is today called Nija. They can be found in all ethnic groups.
Look at what we have today in Nija. All infrastructures are crumpling. No one invest in tomorrow any more. Most are singing the ethnic tune only to enrich themselves and their cronies.
It our duty to enlighten and inform our people. We can do this by using our life lifestyle, using words and by saying enough is enough to these legion of thieves. If not, they will continue to divide and rob us all blind!
Ka Chineke Mezie Okwu!
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