The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) says the All Progressives Congress (APC) has met all the requirements to consummate its merger, hence INEC has no defensible reason not to approve the merger.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said in spite of recent media reports concerning the antics of some negative forces within INEC over APC's registration, the emerging party's leadership has no doubt that in the end, the electoral body will do what is right in accordance with the law.
It therefore dismissed as a mere speculation the report that INEC was planning to write a letter to the proponents of APC to find another name because of a court case instituted by a political association over the APC acronym.
''We are convinced that INEC has no discernible reason to write such a letter to us. In the first instance, there exists no court injunction anywhere restraining the commission from registering APC. There could be many court cases, but until there is a court order, no one can preempt what a court will do and act on that basis.
''Again, we have met all the stipulated requirements. INEC has also inspected our proposed headquarters in Abuja and sighted all our interim officers. The merger process may be novel, but we have played according to the rules and we expect nothing less from INEC,'' ACN said.
The party expressed satisfaction with the statement credited to Mr. Kayode Idowu, spokesman for the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, that there is no court injunction compelling the Commission to stop the merger.
''We believe we are on the same page with INEC as far as this trail-brazing merger is concerned, and that has been confirmed by the INEC spokesman, and we therefore call on the Commission to do the proper thing right now - which is the registration of APC.
''There is no doubt that INEC is under tremendous pressure, from both the card-carrying PDP members of the Commission and their collaborators who are mortally afraid of the merger, and who will want the electoral body to commence, right now, the process of rigging the 2015 election in their favour.
''But we urge INEC not to compromise its neutrality and integrity by acting contrary to the law. We remind the Commission thatNigerians are keenly watching how it will handle this merger issue, and whatever it does will determine whether or not Nigerians can count on it to organize a free, fair and credible elections in 2015.
''Given the already over-heated polity ahead of the 2015 elections, we believe INEC will not do anything that will aggravate the situation,'' it said.
Meanwhile, the ACN has appealed to all the supporters of the emerging APC across the country to remain calm over the registration issue.
''We know that many of our teeming supporters are upset by the report of the shenanigans in INEC over this issue. But it is important for them to remain law-abiding as we await the decision of INEC. We are confident, going by the words of INEC itself, that the court case instituted by those laying claim to the APC acronym has no bearing on what is going on,'' the party
assured.
Showing posts with label ACN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ACN. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Thursday, 25 July 2013
ACN feedback
By Donu Kogbara
LAST week, I angrily accused the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, of treachery, inconsistency, religious insensitivity and political parochialism.
This tirade was largely motivated by the fact that various Rivers people, including my cousin Kenneth Kobani (the ACN’s former National Treasurer), have told me that they joined the ACN in good faith before the 2011 election but eventually resigned because they felt disrespected.
[caption id="attachment_380079" align="alignnone" width="412"]
From left: Aremo Osoba, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) Chief Akande, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Malla Nuhu Ribadu, Senator Lawal Shuaibu and others ACN, members at the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Convention held at Onikan Stadium, Lagos Island. on 18/04/2013. Photo: Bunmi Azeez[/caption]
Most of the Vanguard readers who reacted to my comments shared my view that the ACN can be amorally pragmatic and has not invested much energy in winning support outside Yorubaland. Much to my surprise, a couple of senior ACN members contacted me to say that they felt that I had been truthful.
Only two people, including Kayode Fayemi, the Governor of Ekiti State, objected to my criticisms. And Fayemi is so articulate and well-intentioned that I’ve concluded, on reflection, that I should be more balanced and say that the ACN is, despite its shortcomings, a credible organisation that contains quite a few impressive individuals who intelligently challenge the status quo and quite rightly highlight the multiple failures of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
This desire to be fair also compels me to praise the ACN Governors who visited Rivers State last week - for sensibly advising their embattled colleague, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, to reach out to President Jonathan in a bid to actively seek a lasting solution to the crisis that has engulfed our state in recent months.
Even PDP stalwarts such as Dr Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to Mr President, have commended Fayemi, Fashola, et al, for being laudably statesmanlike on that occasion.
Having said all this, I cannot resist the temptation of making a naughty little observation concerning Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the famously overbearing and nepotistic ACN leader, who recently inspired grumbles from bona fide traders when he appointed his daughter, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, to replace his late mother as Head of the Lagos Market Women’s Association.
I laughed heartily when I heard this story because I strongly suspect that the only marketing experiences with which Mrs Tinubu-Ojo is truly familiar revolve around fancy foreign retail outlets like Harrods (an exclusive London department store that is frequented by folks who are way too rich to worry about boring stuff like the price of a tomato or yam!).
What A Guy!
THE Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammed Pate, has just resigned from the Cabinet to take up a Professorship in the United States. He will work for Duke University’s Global Health Institute and also serve as a Senior Adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is based in Washington DC.
I salute this fine gentleman for being so different from the average Nigerian. While others are scrambling to drop perfectly adequate foreign jobs, so they can come home to enjoy the ridiculously numerous perks that are lavished on Nigerian government officials, Pate is going in the opposite direction.
In America, he will not be treated like a demi-god. Nor will he have access to billions of dollars worth of ill-gotten gains or be allowed to get away with performing lousily. He will have to cope with a finite salary and will be addressed like a normal human being and will be expected to achieve good results.
I wish this paragon of integrity maximum success in his new job.
Stop child molesters!
AHMAD Sani Yerima, a serving Senator, sharia law advocate and former Governor of Zamfara State, has gone all out to prevent his National Assembly colleagues from setting a minimum age for marriage (from a female perspective).
According to Yerima, it is “un-Islamic” for the Nigerian Government to tell Muslim males and females what they can and cannot do on the marital front..
I’ve read many passionate condemnations of Yerima’s perverted views in the past few days; and the best article I’ve seen so far was written by the former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, in this newspaper (check it out via Google).
In the meantime, I just want to firmly assure anyone who is willing to listen that any grown man who wants to have sex with innocent little girls has a sick, twisted mind and urgently needs psychiatric treatment and a jail term.
Yerima married his driver’s early adolescent daughter and is determined to force the rest of us to regard this abomination as “normal “ and “acceptable”.
Even in diehard Islamic societies, there are men who are not remotely interested in sleeping with minors and parents who share my view that it is our sacred duty as adults to protect youngsters from salivating paedophiles.
God will punish this unrepentant destroyer of innocence…and the fellow legislators who do not have the guts to tell him to go to Hell...! A Vanguard reader made the following comment:
“Please give the female Nigerian child a pen not a penis. Concentrate on her books, not her boobs. Pay her school fees, not bride price. She needs education, not ejaculation….”
I couldn’t agree more!
LAST week, I angrily accused the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, of treachery, inconsistency, religious insensitivity and political parochialism.
This tirade was largely motivated by the fact that various Rivers people, including my cousin Kenneth Kobani (the ACN’s former National Treasurer), have told me that they joined the ACN in good faith before the 2011 election but eventually resigned because they felt disrespected.
[caption id="attachment_380079" align="alignnone" width="412"]
From left: Aremo Osoba, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) Chief Akande, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Malla Nuhu Ribadu, Senator Lawal Shuaibu and others ACN, members at the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Convention held at Onikan Stadium, Lagos Island. on 18/04/2013. Photo: Bunmi Azeez[/caption]Most of the Vanguard readers who reacted to my comments shared my view that the ACN can be amorally pragmatic and has not invested much energy in winning support outside Yorubaland. Much to my surprise, a couple of senior ACN members contacted me to say that they felt that I had been truthful.
Only two people, including Kayode Fayemi, the Governor of Ekiti State, objected to my criticisms. And Fayemi is so articulate and well-intentioned that I’ve concluded, on reflection, that I should be more balanced and say that the ACN is, despite its shortcomings, a credible organisation that contains quite a few impressive individuals who intelligently challenge the status quo and quite rightly highlight the multiple failures of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
This desire to be fair also compels me to praise the ACN Governors who visited Rivers State last week - for sensibly advising their embattled colleague, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, to reach out to President Jonathan in a bid to actively seek a lasting solution to the crisis that has engulfed our state in recent months.
Even PDP stalwarts such as Dr Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to Mr President, have commended Fayemi, Fashola, et al, for being laudably statesmanlike on that occasion.
Having said all this, I cannot resist the temptation of making a naughty little observation concerning Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the famously overbearing and nepotistic ACN leader, who recently inspired grumbles from bona fide traders when he appointed his daughter, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, to replace his late mother as Head of the Lagos Market Women’s Association.
I laughed heartily when I heard this story because I strongly suspect that the only marketing experiences with which Mrs Tinubu-Ojo is truly familiar revolve around fancy foreign retail outlets like Harrods (an exclusive London department store that is frequented by folks who are way too rich to worry about boring stuff like the price of a tomato or yam!).
What A Guy!
THE Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammed Pate, has just resigned from the Cabinet to take up a Professorship in the United States. He will work for Duke University’s Global Health Institute and also serve as a Senior Adviser to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is based in Washington DC.
I salute this fine gentleman for being so different from the average Nigerian. While others are scrambling to drop perfectly adequate foreign jobs, so they can come home to enjoy the ridiculously numerous perks that are lavished on Nigerian government officials, Pate is going in the opposite direction.
In America, he will not be treated like a demi-god. Nor will he have access to billions of dollars worth of ill-gotten gains or be allowed to get away with performing lousily. He will have to cope with a finite salary and will be addressed like a normal human being and will be expected to achieve good results.
I wish this paragon of integrity maximum success in his new job.
Stop child molesters!
AHMAD Sani Yerima, a serving Senator, sharia law advocate and former Governor of Zamfara State, has gone all out to prevent his National Assembly colleagues from setting a minimum age for marriage (from a female perspective).
According to Yerima, it is “un-Islamic” for the Nigerian Government to tell Muslim males and females what they can and cannot do on the marital front..
I’ve read many passionate condemnations of Yerima’s perverted views in the past few days; and the best article I’ve seen so far was written by the former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, in this newspaper (check it out via Google).
In the meantime, I just want to firmly assure anyone who is willing to listen that any grown man who wants to have sex with innocent little girls has a sick, twisted mind and urgently needs psychiatric treatment and a jail term.
Yerima married his driver’s early adolescent daughter and is determined to force the rest of us to regard this abomination as “normal “ and “acceptable”.
Even in diehard Islamic societies, there are men who are not remotely interested in sleeping with minors and parents who share my view that it is our sacred duty as adults to protect youngsters from salivating paedophiles.
God will punish this unrepentant destroyer of innocence…and the fellow legislators who do not have the guts to tell him to go to Hell...! A Vanguard reader made the following comment:
“Please give the female Nigerian child a pen not a penis. Concentrate on her books, not her boobs. Pay her school fees, not bride price. She needs education, not ejaculation….”
I couldn’t agree more!
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Amaechi's expulsion: PDP overheating polity, instigating anarchy - ACN
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has accused the PDP of being unrelenting in its determination to overheat the polity and set the country on fire, if that will satisfy one man's personal ambition to hold on to power.
In a statement issued in Lagos ,Sunday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it was left with no choice than to reach that conclusion after a faction of Rivers PDP reportedly loyal to President Goodluck Jonathan expelled the state Governor, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, at a time all people of goodwill were calling for a resolution of the lingering crisis.
It warned that the overzealous ruling party's sole interest is power, without caring about the responsibility that goes with it, hence it must be checked through all constitutional means before it plunges the country into unmitigated chaos.
ACN said while whatever transpired within the PDP is not its business, its (ACN's) concerns stem from the dangerous impact that the Rivers crisis can have on the polity, especially its implication for the country's fledgling democracy, to which most of the rabble-rousers in the ongoing crisis contributed nothing.
''Because of the danger their actions pose for our polity, we are concerned that these trouble-makers are hell bent on annihilating Gov. Amaechi. Those who have accused us of crying more than the bereaved do not get it. We are indeed the bereaved once anything happens that can torpedo our democracy and destroy our country. This is why we will also be unrelenting in calling on all Nigerians to call the puppets and puppeteers in Rivers to order.
''Needless to say, in the words of the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka: The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny,'' the party said.
[caption id="attachment_402954" align="alignnone" width="412"]
Hon Evan Bapakaye at Loggerheads with a Mobile Police Officer at the Rivers State House of Assembly during the Crisis that Rocked the House. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke[/caption]
It said the reason that Gov. Amaechi has been targeted by his all-powerful enemies, who have used national institutions - including the police - against him, are his strenuous defence of the Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF), which he chairs; His battle for his state and its people over their oil well dispute with Bayelsa, which is in furtherance of his efforts to live up to his oath of office and constitutional responsibility, and his audacity in rejecting dictations from an unelected self-important personality on how he governs his state.
''It is no longer news that Gov. Amaechi, as the Chair of the NGF, exercised his mandate with dignity by fighting for true federalism, especially as it relates to the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). In the process, he ruffled some feathers. But those who are irked by his efforts should have known better than to stake the credibility of their high office on stopping, at all costs, Amaechi's re-election.
''They also forget that state Governors are elected just like the President, that they are not subordinate to anyone and that nowhere in the constitution is it said that Governors must report to the President or agree with everything he proposes
''As for the allegation that the Rivers Governor failed to heed the instructions from high (though unelected) quarters that he MUST halt the demolition in Okrika, we leave Nigerians to judge whether somebody occupying a post that is unknown to the constitution can override one who is a creation of the constitution....regarding that person's constitutional mandate. We leave it for Nigerians to determine whether a state Governor, who is the Chief Security Officer of his state, should have no say over the security of the state, just because an overbearing 'political' Police Commissioner has assumed extra-powers at the behest of his puppeteers!'' ACN said.
The party again appealed to all people of goodwill not to keep silent while naked power is unleashed in Rivers state, warning that if the crisis spirals out of control, the entire country will be the victim.
''For us, this is not about politics. It is about the rule of law and the survival of our nation,'' it said.
In a statement issued in Lagos ,Sunday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it was left with no choice than to reach that conclusion after a faction of Rivers PDP reportedly loyal to President Goodluck Jonathan expelled the state Governor, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, at a time all people of goodwill were calling for a resolution of the lingering crisis.
It warned that the overzealous ruling party's sole interest is power, without caring about the responsibility that goes with it, hence it must be checked through all constitutional means before it plunges the country into unmitigated chaos.
ACN said while whatever transpired within the PDP is not its business, its (ACN's) concerns stem from the dangerous impact that the Rivers crisis can have on the polity, especially its implication for the country's fledgling democracy, to which most of the rabble-rousers in the ongoing crisis contributed nothing.
''Because of the danger their actions pose for our polity, we are concerned that these trouble-makers are hell bent on annihilating Gov. Amaechi. Those who have accused us of crying more than the bereaved do not get it. We are indeed the bereaved once anything happens that can torpedo our democracy and destroy our country. This is why we will also be unrelenting in calling on all Nigerians to call the puppets and puppeteers in Rivers to order.
''Needless to say, in the words of the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka: The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny,'' the party said.
[caption id="attachment_402954" align="alignnone" width="412"]
Hon Evan Bapakaye at Loggerheads with a Mobile Police Officer at the Rivers State House of Assembly during the Crisis that Rocked the House. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke[/caption]It said the reason that Gov. Amaechi has been targeted by his all-powerful enemies, who have used national institutions - including the police - against him, are his strenuous defence of the Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF), which he chairs; His battle for his state and its people over their oil well dispute with Bayelsa, which is in furtherance of his efforts to live up to his oath of office and constitutional responsibility, and his audacity in rejecting dictations from an unelected self-important personality on how he governs his state.
''It is no longer news that Gov. Amaechi, as the Chair of the NGF, exercised his mandate with dignity by fighting for true federalism, especially as it relates to the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). In the process, he ruffled some feathers. But those who are irked by his efforts should have known better than to stake the credibility of their high office on stopping, at all costs, Amaechi's re-election.
''They also forget that state Governors are elected just like the President, that they are not subordinate to anyone and that nowhere in the constitution is it said that Governors must report to the President or agree with everything he proposes
''As for the allegation that the Rivers Governor failed to heed the instructions from high (though unelected) quarters that he MUST halt the demolition in Okrika, we leave Nigerians to judge whether somebody occupying a post that is unknown to the constitution can override one who is a creation of the constitution....regarding that person's constitutional mandate. We leave it for Nigerians to determine whether a state Governor, who is the Chief Security Officer of his state, should have no say over the security of the state, just because an overbearing 'political' Police Commissioner has assumed extra-powers at the behest of his puppeteers!'' ACN said.
The party again appealed to all people of goodwill not to keep silent while naked power is unleashed in Rivers state, warning that if the crisis spirals out of control, the entire country will be the victim.
''For us, this is not about politics. It is about the rule of law and the survival of our nation,'' it said.
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Your probe into Rivers crisis is one-sided, ACN tells Police
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged the police to be more circumspect and avoid being partisan in their ongoing investigation into the crisis in Rivers State, if the outcome of the investigation is to be acceptable to Nigerians.
In a statement, Thursday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the fact that only the security aides of Gov. Chibuike Amaechi have been invited to Abuja for questioning by the police hierarchy, and also the fact that only the majority leader of the State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd, has been declared wanted, have provided an insight into the thinking of the police on the issue.
[caption id="attachment_403503" align="alignnone" width="412"]
Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State[/caption]
It wondered why Rivers Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu, who provided cover for the five renegade lawmakers to attack the House while failing to provide security for the House to sit, and the leader of the renegade lawmakers Evans Bipi, who allegedly started the crisis in the House by punching Lloyd and the Speaker of the House on the face, were not invited along with the others.
''As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. Definitely there are two sides to every issue, including the crisis that rocked the House of Assembly last week. It therefore amounts to a warped investigation to focus only on one side, as the police appear to be doing. This kind of investigation can only lead to jungle justice, and further erode the credibility of the police, who have now descended into the arena instead of staying above the fray.
''This is why we warned, in our earlier statement, that the police should go beyond addressing the symptoms in its efforts to unravel the role played by the security agency in the festering crisis. We hate to say that the action of the police hierarchy has vindicated us,'' ACN said.
In a statement, Thursday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the fact that only the security aides of Gov. Chibuike Amaechi have been invited to Abuja for questioning by the police hierarchy, and also the fact that only the majority leader of the State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd, has been declared wanted, have provided an insight into the thinking of the police on the issue.
[caption id="attachment_403503" align="alignnone" width="412"]
Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State[/caption]It wondered why Rivers Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu, who provided cover for the five renegade lawmakers to attack the House while failing to provide security for the House to sit, and the leader of the renegade lawmakers Evans Bipi, who allegedly started the crisis in the House by punching Lloyd and the Speaker of the House on the face, were not invited along with the others.
''As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. Definitely there are two sides to every issue, including the crisis that rocked the House of Assembly last week. It therefore amounts to a warped investigation to focus only on one side, as the police appear to be doing. This kind of investigation can only lead to jungle justice, and further erode the credibility of the police, who have now descended into the arena instead of staying above the fray.
''This is why we warned, in our earlier statement, that the police should go beyond addressing the symptoms in its efforts to unravel the role played by the security agency in the festering crisis. We hate to say that the action of the police hierarchy has vindicated us,'' ACN said.
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
ACN messes up!
By Donu Koghara
The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has always tried to position itself as a highly credible opposition party that is capable of appealing to voters in every geopolitical zone and can take on the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
I once had enormous respect for the ACN but have gradually concluded that it lacks the integrity to challenge the rotten-to-the-core PDP.
Why have I lost faith in ACN?
Because it has consistently betrayed its supporters in Rivers State.
This betrayal started when ACN stalwarts like Bola Tinubu went out of their way to to form cosy relationships with the (PDP) Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, thereby totally ignoring the feelings of Rivers natives such as Dr Abiye Sekibo (an ex-Minister of Transport), who had joined ACN because they were at loggerheads with Amaechi or simply wanted an alternative to the PDP.
The ACN then spectacularly failed to provide its Rivers candidates with adequate financial or moral support during the run-up to the 2011 elections. And so many of these candidates felt so stranded and humiliated that they fled from the ACN, swearing that they would never again trust “Yorubas”.
And, by the way, having anointed the former EFCC Chief Executive, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, as its presidential hopeful, the ACN leadership then left Ribadu in the lurch and threw its weight behind his main rival, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.
[caption id="attachment_203479" align="alignnone" width="412"]
File photo: CPC National leader, Gen. Mohammed Buhari discussing with National Leader of ACN, Bola Tinubu at a meeting in Abuja[/caption]
Now, the ACN mandarins are tired of Dr Jonathan, so they’re trying to merge with other opposition parties to form a brave new entity called APC. But they’ve – weirdly, if you ask me - only nominated Muslims for key APC positions:-
1) Party Leader - North, Gen Muhammadu Buhari (Muslim).
2] Party Leader - South, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Muslim).
3] National Chairman: Abdulkareem Bisi Akande (Muslim)
4] Deputy National Chairman: Aminu Bello Masari (Muslim)
5] National Secretary: Tijjani Musa Tumsah (Muslim)
6] Deputy National Secretary: Nasir El-Rufai (Muslim)
7] National Publicity Secretary.: Lai Muhammed (Muslim)
8] National Treasurer: Sadiya Umar Faruq (Muslim)
9] National Financial Secretary: Alhaji Shaibu Musa (Muslim)
10] National Youth Leader: Abubakar Lado (Muslim)
11] National Legal Adviser: Muiz Banire (Muslim)
12] National Deputy Auditor: Bala Jibrin (Muslim)
13] National Women Leader: Sharon Ikeazor (allegedly a Muslim convert)
14] Ex-Officio Member: Muniru Muse (Muslim)
15] Ex-Officio Member: Alhaji Yemi Sanusi (Muslim)
My cousin, Kenneth Kobani – the ACN’s National Treasurer for quite a while - regarded this religious insensitivity as “the last straw” and recently resigned. Dr Sekibo, my former boss, has also just told the ACN to count him out.
I am close to lots of people who happen to belong to different groups and factions. And you can call me a cowardly fence-sitter, if you so wish, but I like to see myself as a journalist who should be as objective as possible; and I don’t regard any of my friends or relatives as total sinners or saints.
To cut a long story short, my genuine fondness for Amaechi does not prevent me from also loving Kenneth, Sekibo and other Amaechi opponents.
Nor does my disappointment about the ACN’s unprincipled tendencies and pathetic failure to inspire confidence in its main Rivers State supporters prevent me from being a no-shaking member of the Kayode Fayemi (brilliant and compassionate ACN Governor of Ekiti) fan club…or from liking and respecting Lai Mohammed, the ACN’s charming and immensely articulate media guru.
Bottom line?
The ACN/APC alliance contains several quality people. But ACN personnel do not appear to know how to maximize their party’s impact outside its core South-West heartland; and, in the interests of democracy (ruling parties generally perform better when they have strong critics), one can only pray that the ACN crowd will eliminate this weakness before the election campaign kicks in.
Condolences to a dear friend
Abiye Membere, a Group Executive Director (Exploration & Production) of NNPC, recently lost his beloved father…who will be buried this weekend in Abonemma, the Kalabari Kingdom village from which the Membere clan hails.
I got to know Membere long before he became a major VIP; and I think it is fair to say that his behavior has not changed at all since he was elevated to high office and ceased to be a regular professional. He continues to be humble and down-to-earth. He also happens to be one of the nicest and most intelligent people I have ever met in any of the many countries that I have visited.
I know that Vanguard readers will share my view that his Dad, Pa Henderson Membere, deserves endless kudos for producing such an impressive son…and join me in praying that Pa’s sweet soul rests in eternal and perfect peace.
The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has always tried to position itself as a highly credible opposition party that is capable of appealing to voters in every geopolitical zone and can take on the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
I once had enormous respect for the ACN but have gradually concluded that it lacks the integrity to challenge the rotten-to-the-core PDP.
Why have I lost faith in ACN?
Because it has consistently betrayed its supporters in Rivers State.
This betrayal started when ACN stalwarts like Bola Tinubu went out of their way to to form cosy relationships with the (PDP) Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, thereby totally ignoring the feelings of Rivers natives such as Dr Abiye Sekibo (an ex-Minister of Transport), who had joined ACN because they were at loggerheads with Amaechi or simply wanted an alternative to the PDP.
The ACN then spectacularly failed to provide its Rivers candidates with adequate financial or moral support during the run-up to the 2011 elections. And so many of these candidates felt so stranded and humiliated that they fled from the ACN, swearing that they would never again trust “Yorubas”.
And, by the way, having anointed the former EFCC Chief Executive, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, as its presidential hopeful, the ACN leadership then left Ribadu in the lurch and threw its weight behind his main rival, Dr Goodluck Jonathan.
[caption id="attachment_203479" align="alignnone" width="412"]
File photo: CPC National leader, Gen. Mohammed Buhari discussing with National Leader of ACN, Bola Tinubu at a meeting in Abuja[/caption]Now, the ACN mandarins are tired of Dr Jonathan, so they’re trying to merge with other opposition parties to form a brave new entity called APC. But they’ve – weirdly, if you ask me - only nominated Muslims for key APC positions:-
1) Party Leader - North, Gen Muhammadu Buhari (Muslim).
2] Party Leader - South, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Muslim).
3] National Chairman: Abdulkareem Bisi Akande (Muslim)
4] Deputy National Chairman: Aminu Bello Masari (Muslim)
5] National Secretary: Tijjani Musa Tumsah (Muslim)
6] Deputy National Secretary: Nasir El-Rufai (Muslim)
7] National Publicity Secretary.: Lai Muhammed (Muslim)
8] National Treasurer: Sadiya Umar Faruq (Muslim)
9] National Financial Secretary: Alhaji Shaibu Musa (Muslim)
10] National Youth Leader: Abubakar Lado (Muslim)
11] National Legal Adviser: Muiz Banire (Muslim)
12] National Deputy Auditor: Bala Jibrin (Muslim)
13] National Women Leader: Sharon Ikeazor (allegedly a Muslim convert)
14] Ex-Officio Member: Muniru Muse (Muslim)
15] Ex-Officio Member: Alhaji Yemi Sanusi (Muslim)
My cousin, Kenneth Kobani – the ACN’s National Treasurer for quite a while - regarded this religious insensitivity as “the last straw” and recently resigned. Dr Sekibo, my former boss, has also just told the ACN to count him out.
I am close to lots of people who happen to belong to different groups and factions. And you can call me a cowardly fence-sitter, if you so wish, but I like to see myself as a journalist who should be as objective as possible; and I don’t regard any of my friends or relatives as total sinners or saints.
To cut a long story short, my genuine fondness for Amaechi does not prevent me from also loving Kenneth, Sekibo and other Amaechi opponents.
Nor does my disappointment about the ACN’s unprincipled tendencies and pathetic failure to inspire confidence in its main Rivers State supporters prevent me from being a no-shaking member of the Kayode Fayemi (brilliant and compassionate ACN Governor of Ekiti) fan club…or from liking and respecting Lai Mohammed, the ACN’s charming and immensely articulate media guru.
Bottom line?
The ACN/APC alliance contains several quality people. But ACN personnel do not appear to know how to maximize their party’s impact outside its core South-West heartland; and, in the interests of democracy (ruling parties generally perform better when they have strong critics), one can only pray that the ACN crowd will eliminate this weakness before the election campaign kicks in.
Condolences to a dear friend
Abiye Membere, a Group Executive Director (Exploration & Production) of NNPC, recently lost his beloved father…who will be buried this weekend in Abonemma, the Kalabari Kingdom village from which the Membere clan hails.
I got to know Membere long before he became a major VIP; and I think it is fair to say that his behavior has not changed at all since he was elevated to high office and ceased to be a regular professional. He continues to be humble and down-to-earth. He also happens to be one of the nicest and most intelligent people I have ever met in any of the many countries that I have visited.
I know that Vanguard readers will share my view that his Dad, Pa Henderson Membere, deserves endless kudos for producing such an impressive son…and join me in praying that Pa’s sweet soul rests in eternal and perfect peace.
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