G-5, APC Merger Fallout: PDP Reps Demand Automatic Ticket By: Adesuwa Tsan, Chibuzo Ukaibe, Anayo Onukwugha, MUH’D ZANGINA KURA on November 29, 2013 - 4:29am Members of the “new PDP” in the House of Representatives have begun a systematic retreat from the party following the defection of five of the G-7 governors to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). Governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Rabiu Kwankwanso of Kano, Ahmed Abdulfatah of Kwara had on Tuesday dumped the PDP and announced their merger with the APC. But in a surprise move, members of the House of Representatives from these states, who overwhelmingly pledged allegiance to their governors when they moved to form the nPDP as a faction of the party, have now made a move seen to be for the protection of their interests. The lawmakers of the nPDP and mainstream PDP yesterday met as a caucus in a closed-door meeting presided over by the deputy speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, and leader of the House, Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola, where they decided that it was time to take steps to protect their stakes and in the overall interest of the country rather than follow the commands of their governors. After discussions, they resolved that the way forward for them would be to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan next week to discuss on how exactly they could work out the crisis in the party without anybody being hounded. “We discussed as one party. There was nothing like new PDP and old PDP. The main thing we discussed was how to dissociate ourselves from the crisis within the party and the defection by some governors to the APC,” a lawmaker who craved anonymity stated. When asked what has changed since the last time when they supported their governors’ decision by signing up for the nPDP, he said: “We know what we want for ourselves. Some of us are not really into the crisis but we had to show loyalty to our governors.” Another major issue that was raised at the meeting was the need to change the point man between the presidency and members of the House. They said he was not reliable in his dealings on their behalf. It was thereafter that they resolved that the House, led by the speaker Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, meet President Jonathan to have a dialogue with him on their demands. “Part of our demands is to know specifically what is in it for us, if we decide to give full support to our great party,” the lawmaker added. When asked if that demand includes automatic ticket for re-election in 2015, he laughed heartily and declined further comments. According to him, the speaker is very involved in the new move and is expected to be the one to lead the delegation next week. He explained that Tambuwal was absent from the meeting yesterday due to a prior engagement and not because he was dissociating himself from the arrangement. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives yesterday said no member of the House had defected to any party and that the leadership of the House was intact and not under any threat of change. Spokesman of the House Hon. Victor Afam Ogene (APGA) while briefing newsmen yesterday also pointed out that Section 68 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, provides that members can only defect to another political party in merger without consequence but that what is happening in the PDP is different as it has to do with individuals. “In politics, things like this happen, but as a House we remain one. Section 68 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, says people cannot cross-carpet in a group except in a merger situation. But defection has to do with individual members, so if they’re defecting, the proper thing must be done by activating that section of the constitution. “As at now, we’re not aware of any member defecting to another party. Remember, going by our rule, until a party has 181 members, you can’t talk of having the majority.” Our lawmakers won’t lose their seats - nPDP The “new PDP” yesterday declared that none of its members in the National Assembly would lose his seat for cross- carpeting to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Bamanga Tukur-led PDP had warned that all federal lawmakers under the platform of the PDP would lose their seats if they decamped to the opposition party. A statement by the national publicity secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said: “We have read reports that members of the National Assembly that follow us to APC will lose their seats. This cannot happen as it will be at variance with the relevant sections of our Constitution and Electoral laws that guarantee members of the National Assembly safety once their parent party is in crisis as PDP is at the moment. “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no danger of their losing their seats as made clear by sections 68(1)(g) and 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) in relation to the status of members of a legislative house (state and national) who defect from the political parties from which they were elected to join another political party.” The statement further reiterated that their merger with the APC has been finalised. Eze, while clarifying the state of the merger, said: “I wish to reiterate that the MoU between us and APC has been duly signed by both the nPDP national chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, and the national chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande. “As we stated in our press statement of yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP leadership should come to terms with the fact that PDP is now an opposition political party and Jonathan should start writing his handover notes as APC is fully set to take over the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in 2015 so as to give Nigerians the dividends of democracy they have been yearning for.” FG discouraging investments in Rivers - Amaechi Rivers State governor and chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has accused the President Jonathan-led federal government of deliberately discouraging investors from coming to the state. Amaechi, who made the accusation in a broadcast to the people of the state, said the federal government has refused to refund the N103 billion which the state government used to fix most of the federal roads in the state. He said: “The federal government is actively discouraging investments in Rivers State. The minister of petroleum has refused to allow the commencement of Train 7 of the NLNG that would have provided tens of thousands of jobs, insisting that investors should go and invest in the Brass NLNG project rather than in the Train 7 project. “An instance is the total absence of federal presence in Rivers State. The ‘national good governance tour’ provided a good opportunity for the federal government to showcase its presence in Rivers State. The tour, if nothing else, was evident that there was not much to show for in a state that is the cash cow of the federation. The East- West road remains abandoned, work has been deliberately slow on the Port Harcourt International Airport, the third busiest airport in the country, while all airports started along with it have long been completed and commissioned. “The Bonny-Bomu road that leads to the only functional liquefied natural gas project remains uncompleted. In the midst of all these, our administration went ahead to fix federal roads to the tune of N103 billion. Several representations and letters after, not one kobo has been repaid.” The governor stated that the recent squabbles within the PDP, which forced him and some other state governors to pitch tent with the opposition APC gave him reason to reconsider the collective interest of the people of the state and the Niger Delta region in general. “Our demand that the federal government return oil wells belonging to Rivers State to us has gone unheeded and been treated with levity under this administration. Rather, our oil wells have been ceded to Bayelsa, Abia and Akwa Ibom states. Even after we got a judgment that the oil wells were wrongly ceded to Akwa Ibom State and should be returned to us, only dry wells that were no longer producing oil were returned. In the specific case of the Soku oil wells, despite a decision reached that the monies should remain in an escrow account till all matters concerning it are resolved, the federal government continues to pay neighbouring Bayelsa State the revenues meant for Rivers State in a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. “It is indeed noteworthy that we have made several representations formally and informally on this matter. Our chiefs and elders have attended several meetings and protested this injustice to no avail. As your governor entrusted to keep guard over your common wealth, we could not keep quiet and allow this grave injustice. For this reason, we have been vilified, threatened, and blackmailed but we insist on discharging our responsibility to you, no matter the odds,” Amaechi said. G5 governors were fifth columnists - PDP The leadership of the ruling PDP yesterday described the five governors from its fold who joined the APC as spies who were working for the opposition. The PDP which faulted the merger however said it is not losing sleep with this cross-carpeting because “disloyalty is a habit and it’s only a matter of time before men who are disloyal to their mother would become disloyal to their step-mother”. The statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Chief Oliseh Metuh, further said the fact that the president agreed to dialogue with this group is because of the “magnanimity and large heart of a leader who has demonstrated time and again that he is the epitome of humility and a father to all members of the PDP and indeed all Nigerians” and who is willing to go the extra mile in engendering reconciliation. “ It does not mean that this was a group recognised by law. Furthermore, the repudiation of the action of these fringe elements by some who had associated with them betrays the fact that this was a rushed action motivated by blind ambition and vain glory. “And lest anyone thinks that the Peoples Democratic Party is diminished because of the departure of people who were in reality fifth columnists, we would like to draw attention to the fact that a tree that has been pruned of its under-performing branches grows better and blossoms with new life. This is the case in biology as well as in politics.” Picking holes in the merger, PDP said: “What happened was not a merger. You can only talk of a merger where there were two distinct parties. In this case there is only one party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. The so-called nPDP was never a party.” Buhari, Tinubu fighting to save Nigeria - Lamido Barely 48 hours after five of the G7 governors defected to the APC, Jigawa State governor Sule Lamido has called on all Nigerians to wake up and unite in respect of their regional and political party affiliation to resist and protest against the ongoing impunity in the PDP. Governor Lamido described the PDP national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, as a polio virus to the country’s democracy and called for his expulsion from the system before he created permanent disability to the country’s political system. Lamido said this when he received a former military leader, General Abdusalami Abubakar, who paid him a courtesy call as part of his official visit to Jigawa State. PDP: Oyinlola faults Disciplinary Committee’s expulsion Embattled national secretary of the PDP Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola has chided the PDP Disciplinary Committee which recommended his expulsion from the party, saying it will not stand. According to a statement signed by his principal secretary, Femi Adelegan, yesterday in Abuja, Oyinlola said that the Disciplinary Committee led by Umaru Dikko does not exist by virtue of the fact that its composition was not ratified by the National Executive Committee of the PDP which is statutorily empowered to approve the composition of the body. Besides Oyinlola, the PDP Disciplinary Committee had recommended the expulsion of the national chairman of the “new PDP”, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, and the deputy national chairman, Sam Sam Jaja.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 04:07:29 +0000
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