A new opposition party emerged yesterday. It is called All Progressives Congress (APC), midwifed by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP). It is a consummation of the merger talks among the main opposition parties.

At a Press conference yesterday in Abuja, Chief Tom Ikimi, Alhaji Garba Mohammed Gadi and former Kano State governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, all chairmen of the merger committees set up by the three parties, announced the formation of APC. Senator Annie Okonkwo represented the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). In attendance at the briefing were governors, federal lawmakers and chieftains of the parties involved.

But the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, dismissed the merger, saying it is a sign of weakness by the opposition parties. Chief Ikimi told reporters that the merger was informed by the resolve to form a political party committed to the principles of internal democracy, focused on serious issues of concern to our people, determined to bring corruption and insecurity to an end, determined to grow our economy and create jobs in their millions through education, housing, agriculture, industrial growth and stop the increasing mood of despair and hopelessness among our people.’’

Ikimi noted that the new party would serve as a catalyst for the restoration of peace and prosperity in the country.” The resolution of these issues, the restoration of hope, the enthronement of true democratic values for peace, democracy and justice are those concerns which propel us. We believe that by these measures only shall we restore our dignity and position of pre-eminence in the Comity of Nations.

This is our pledge.’’ While they were, however, silent on the logo of the new party and when it would be unveiled, Ikimi told journalists that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would be formally informed in due course about the formation of the new political party.“We shall immediately communicate this decision to the appropriate authority, so that the process of registration could commence.’’

Reacting to the alliance, Tukur said it was indifferent to the new party, as he noted that the PDP remained the most formidable party in the country. “Beautiful! The more, the merrier. Let me tell you, there is no ward in the whole Nigeria where you do not have one member of PDP. PDP is the only party in the country that fields candidate in every polling booth in the country. “There is no polling booth in Nigeria where you will not find one member of PDP. We are the only party. That shows the acceptance. It is the only party in government now that is in the majority. It does not mean that we want to be a party and there is no opposition, in fact opposition is a charge to action.

If they have the strength, why do they come together? They (opposition parties) are no threat at all, it is better, it inspires PDP to action.’’ In what could be termed a crack in the alliance, APGA dissociated itself from the talks. Opposition to the merger came from the Anambra State chapter of APGA, saying, the party has stated categorically that it has not merged with any political party or group of parties. A statement issued yesterday by the Commissioner for Information, Chief Joemartins Uzodike, described the purported merger as a figment of the imagination of some people and therefore, null and void.

He said that APGA had neither gone into nor did it intend to go into any merger talks with any political party, let alone the ones mentioned in the merger. He stated that neither the National Executive Council (NEC) nor a National Convention of the party had been summoned to discuss or ratify any proposal for a merger. According to him, “APGA is a national party and is guided by both the Constitution and electoral laws of Nigeria.

“Furthermore, our governor, Mr. Peter Obi, has never mentioned any issue regarding APGA merging with any political party in the executive council meeting of the state either for discussion or for information as was His Excellency’s practice on issues of such importance and magnitude. “I have equally consulted with the state chairman of our party, Chief Mike Akunwata Kwentor and he is in total agreement with this assertion that APGA has not merged with any political party or parties.” Uzodike said that APGA was part and parcel of the Jonathan administration where the party enjoys ambassadorial and other executive appointments/privileges and should therefore, not be seen as working against the administration.

According to him, those who were clamouring for merger were only after their ego and self-aggrandizement. The APGA family, he said, could not be in a merger with parties whose manifestos, ideologies, beliefs, culture, ethics and conducts were not in tandem with that of APGA. The commissioner said it was regrettable that some of those championing APGA merger were people who could not boast of winning their wards in a political contest while some of them were those who masquerade their drivers as party chairmen in their states and their wives as women leaders.

He called on members of the public to disregard the so-called merger and go about their normal businesses. Meanwhile, attempts by Daily Sun to get the reaction of APGA Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh, yesterday were not successful as one of his aides refused to pick his calls. Daily Sun wanted Umeh to clarify the statement credited to Anambra State faction of APGA that Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, who represented the party at the merger talks was on his own even as it was learnt that the governor received Umeh’s nod to attend the meeting.

Via Sun

The governors at their meeting

At the end of the closed-door meeting, held at the Marina residence of the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, read a communiqué to journalists saying the governors reviewed the situation in the country, and then agreed that dethroning the PDP was critical to rescuing Nigeria from anarchy and underdevelopment.

“As progressive and patriotic leaders of our people across party, religious and geo political zones, we are extremely concerned about the state of the nation and we have put our heads together in the interest of our people to deliberate on what can be done to rescue our country”, the communiqué said.

“As Governors, we fully endorse the merger initiatives already commenced by our various political parties and we will put our full weight behind these efforts,” added Mr. Shettima, who is of the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party.

The governors argued that Nigeria is greater than everyone and that everybody has a duty to make the merger work in the interest of the people and the future of generations yet unborn.

Also speaking, the host, Mr. Fashola of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, said the meeting was about making Nigeria a better place. He dismissed suggestions by the PDP and some Nigerians that the might not work.

He said, “I am convinced here that the full weight of ten of us governors and many more who unfortunately could not make it today is a much more stronger force and the underlying reason is clearly how to make this place a better place.”

In his speech the Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, also of the ACN, said a lot of the other governors who were not present at the meeting would come on board once they are convinced of the sincerity of the participants in Tuesday’s meeting.

Justifying his attendance at the meeting, Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, said the planned merger had become necessary to save the country from being turned into a one-party state.

“I personally fully endorse this movement and merger,” Mr. Okorocha, of the opposition All Progressives Grand Alliance, said. “We are on a rescue mission here and the essence is about making Nigeria a better nation.”

The Zamfara State Governor, Abdulazziz Yari, described the meeting as a pathway to fixing Nigeria and putting it on the path of development.

“We believe that the PDP has not done enough,” Mr. Yari, also an ANPP governor, said. “We have the idea, the knowledge and the progressive intention to move the country forward. So, if you say that we are going to move PDP out of power, yes we are ready to do that, God willing,” he said.

Those at the meeting were Mr. Shettima, Mr. Okorocha, Mr Fashola , Nassarawa, Governor Tanko Almakura (Nassarawa), Mr. Amosun, Governor Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Governor Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Mr. Yari and the Yobe state governor, who was represented by Senator Jejere Alkali.

Premium Times

The party said its attention was drawn to comments credited to the Presidential aide, who they alleged cast aspersions on Buhari for speaking on the “failure” of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration to provide security.

This was contained in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin, in Abuja, on Thursday.

The satement said, “In the said response, Dr. Doyin Okupe, the Presidential aide on Public Affairs, was reported to have described Buhari’s statement, which aptly mentioned the constitutional provision that the ‘purpose of government is the welfare and security of the people’, as irresponsible, reckless and opportunistic.

“It is never surprising that Okupe’s communication is often laden with asininity and acerbic profanity. What is befuddling is the quality of leadership of the nation’s presidency that bears with such immeasurable indecency.”

Via Punch

ABUJA — The new party coming from the merger of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, will pursue the restructuring of the country, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the CPC national leader said yesterday.

Speaking at the inauguration of the CPC merger committee in Abuja, Buhari said that a flag and logo for the new party which is expected to emerge in June this year have already been prepared.

The merger committee headed by former Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Garba Gadi, is expected to formalize ongoing talks with the ACN and other opposition parties on issues ranging from manifesto, party flag and logo.

Buhari said: “It is not impossible that the new party is presented to the people by middle of this year after signing the declaration. It should not take more than six weeks for the parties to pursue the matter within their own constitutional context to ensure that the issue is legitimated through the proper procedures and processes of its own organs”.

He said the party and the ACN were already pursuing the merger at an advanced stage as both parties are near perfection on every detail of the agreements between the two parties.

Buhari said there was a strong understanding and determination between the ACN and CPC to create a new party with a brand new logo and flag already designed, including all other paraphernalia of a political party already in place.

Buhari who was optimistic on prospects of the new party said: “The new party will root for proper federation as the basis of the union and for the governance of the country; and should therefore support the restructuring of the country. The 36-state structure of the country is simply not working; and it must therefore be rationalised.

“The party should root for democracy, rule of law and the entrenchment of a democratic culture in the country; and the foundation of the new party should be anchored on the recognition and acceptance that our cultural and religious differences are a blessing and a source of strength, and should not be a cause for disunity”.

“The new party should as a matter of topmost priority begin to tackle and plan for the creation of a new security architecture for the country and possibly for the entire sub-region, a development that may involve the creation of local security networks and the restoration of traditional intelligence gathering techniques to shore up a police force that has obviously failed,” Buhari said.

According to Buhari the new party will bring about new work ethic in the public service and accountability by every public office holder.

He assured Nigerians that the merger between the CPC and ACN is going to be a full fledged one, and not an alliance, because Nigerians expect a merger.

However, he charged the Gadi led 18-man committee on CPC merger talks to be focused and see their assignment as a national task as it is an opportunity to build and run a better Nigeria.

“Your task is national, the issue before you now and as you go into your negotiations is fundamentally one that you will negotiate at the best deal for Nigeria. It is essentially a matter of give-and-take: there is nothing sacrosanct about any of the issues you will be called to thrash out, but of course, there is a bottom-line the outlines of which have been giver in the committee’s terms of reference.

“We are not going into a battle; we are going into a friendly game with our brothers who desire for this nation what we desire for. You must always remember to negotiate with respect, understanding and decorum as befits people who are ready and genuinely desirous of merging into one tomorrow,” Buhari added.

-Vanguard

National Publicity Secretary, Action Congress of Nigeria, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
| credits:
The three major opposition political parties planning to merge in 2013 are having problems agreeing on a name, symbol and other identities for the proposed mega opposition party.

Findings by The PUNCH show that the three parties–the Action Congress of Nigeria, the All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Congress for Progressive Change–set up separate committees to ensure that the merger plan materialised.

The committees were mandated to prepare the position of their parties for an enlarged meeting of all the three committees.

The committees, whose members are working in secrecy, are also to suggest a name, logo, symbol and slogan for the proposed party.

However, our correspondent learnt that one of the parties is insisting that any new party resulting from the merger must bear its name and have its symbol.

A source privy to the goings on in one of the committees spoke to our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday. However, he refused to disclose the name of the party that wanted the mega party to assume its identity.

The source said, “We may have problems choosing a name and a symbol, because one of the parties is insisting on dictating the name and the symbol.

“This is, however, expected, but I believe that as time goes on, we will get over this. It is one of the teething problems we expected.”

Our correspondent, however, learnt that unlike in 2011 when merger moves failed, the three parties were ready to reach a compromise.

But when contacted, spokesmen for the political parties, however, allayed fears over the problem.

They said in different interviews with our correspondent in Abuja that the merger would work.

But National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, debunked the rumour of problems in the merger talks. He alleged that the PDP was behind the rumour.

He said, “If PDP wants to know what is happening in our merger talks, they should come out openly to say so.

“The real matter is that the PDP is worried about this merger and wants to erect artificial obstacle against it. It will not work.”

Mohammed said the ACN and its leaders would not renege on their promises concerning the merger plan, adding that talks aimed at achieving this were ongoing.

He said, “The merger talks are going on well and I can tell you that we are committed to this. The three parties are committed to this, and the Peoples Democratic Party is aware that we are coming up stronger, which may not be good for it.”

Also, the National Chairman of the ANPP, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said that the merger talks between opposition political parties were at a critical stage now, and would definitely solve Nigeria’s political problems when concluded.

Onu, who added that the PDP was not comfortable with the talks, said the leadership of the opposition political parties were united in their resolve to merge.

He said, “The merger talks are ongoing right now. By the grace of God, the merger will be successful. We want to give Nigeria effective competition in the political arena.

“We believe that competition, which is good in the social and economic arena, is also good in the political arena.

‘‘We are convinced that when we have this in the country, we will be better off. Many of the problems that have confronted this nation over the years shall be solved. We are hopeful that once we come together and form a government, everything will be solved for the good of everybody.”

National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, told our correspondent that the three political parties had realised that it would be difficult to unseat the PDP if they failed to team up.

Fashakin said, “We will work hard to merge and that will be achieved. Before now, the three political parties had tried individually to dislodge the PDP from power, which did not materialise.

“The reality that they would not be able to do it alone dawned on them during the last general elections with the sophistry with which the PDP rigged the polls.

“Now, we have agreed that we do not even need collaboration or alliance. What we need now is merger or nothing else. I can confirm to you that a merger is a foregone conclusion among us.”

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, however, said that the PDP was not threatened by such a merger since it remained the only truly national political party that was deeply committed to the continued existence of Nigeria and its transformation.

-punch

Buhari, Tinubu and Onu
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THREE  major opposition political parties   -  Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party  – may drop their identities by April 2013, when talks  on  their proposed merger are expected to be completed.

The merger of the parties  is  one of the strategies being canvassed by some  politicians to defeat the ruling Peoples Democratic Party which has dominated power since the advent of the present democracy in 1999.

Analysts are of the opinion that any genuine and honest cooperation among opposition parties for the 2015 general elections could make the election tough for the PDP.

The  Chairman of the ANPP National Rebuilding and Interparty Contact Committee, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, told journalists in Abuja on Sunday, that the merger talks between the three ACN, CPC  and ANPP had reached the last stage.

Shekarau, a   former Governor of Kano State, added that the chieftains of the three  parties had decided to forget their individual ambitions to make the fusion a success.

He  said  that  the leaders had realised that an alliance between the three parties would not work and that it was better for them to merge.

The ANPP  chieftain  said, “Certainly, we are going to submit our party certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission after our merger. That is what a merger means. The Electoral Law is so clear on the procedure for a merger.

“If we decide to merge, the next thing is that we go back to our parties, call National Executive Committee meeting, and discuss with the members, in the presence of INEC officials. Then, you can call congress and that is all.”

He said that both the ANPP and the ACN were not new to mergers.

Shekarau said, “We have passed through this before when we were All Peoples Party and then Action Congress too, before it became ACN.

“The difference now is to pass a resolution and all this will be simultaneously done (by the three parties) and we will inform INEC about it. When that is done, INEC has no choice than to register your new identity.”

In the alternative, he said the parties might decide to adopt the name of one of the existing political parties while the remaining two would dissolve into the adopted one.

The other two options, according to him, are to “take a symbol, a flag and any other identity  from the parties so that every party will have a sense of belonging  or all of us will just forget our identity.”

Asked if the parties had learnt any lesson from their failed ambition to merge in 2011, Shekarau said ‘Yes’. But added that one of the reasons was that they started the process late.

He said, “We started late then. In fact, the negotiation  started  when all the political parties already had their presidential candidates and had finished their congresses.

“That was what made it difficult. Who among the candidates   would  you  have expected to step down?

“Arguments came for example, that I had won the presidential primary of the ANPP. Out of the 3,000 delegates, I had 2,500 votes or thereabout. Now, sitting down in a room with about 10 people and I say I’m stepping down for you, it is no longer my personal mandate.

“What do you do with the people who stood in the rain and sun, slept in the bus, on the roadside and overnight. And again, our party had already submitted names of persons to INEC and when you merge, it would be beyond national election.

“What do you do with other elections like governorship elections, where each political party had their candidates?

“The CPC, ACN, and ANPP all had their candidates for other elective positions. These candidates had spent money, canvassed for votes and all that. That was why we said let all the parties go for elections.”

The former presidential candidate said all the political parties had agreed that the electoral ambitions of party members must not feature during their discussion.

“We are all coming to the table on equal terms. Whoever has any ambition is with his political party and not ours now. We are all talking on the same level. None of these parties has any candidates for any elective office for now. We can only talk about former candidates,” Shekarau said.

The National Publicity Secretaries of the CPC and ACN, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin and Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Sunday confirmed what Shekarau said.

Both Fashakin and Mohammed said their parties were committed to the merger and that the modalities were being worked out.

They said their plan was to form a stronger political party that would be capable of sacking the PDP.

Fashakin said, “Yes, we are ready to lose our identity for the sake of the bigger party that is capable of sacking the PDP.

“My National Chairman, Prince Tony Momoh, has said it several time that he is ready to lose his position as well. I’m also ready for that, if that will enable us form a party that will be big enough to confront and remove the PDP from the central government.”

Mohammed said, “ACN is committed to getting a single platform of all opposition political parties that will drive the PDP out of power.”

On whether the ACN was also ready to lose its identity, he said “All I can tell you is that the modalities are being worked out. And we are committed to it.”

-Punch

Reacting to the quick acceptance of defeat by Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, the PDP in a statement congratulating the victorious Barack Obama, had advised opposition parties in Nigeria to learn to accept defeat, accusing them of being bad losers.

The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN and the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC in separate reactions, tongue-lashed the PDP for being the major obstacle to democracy in the country. The ACN said the joke was on the PDP and charged the party to ask why its candidate in the recent Ondo State gubernatorial election, Olusola Oke was in the courts if really there was a level playing ground in the country.

President Obama’s victory was, nevertheless, hailed across the country with President Goodluck Jonathan, the Senate and the House of Representatives sending their respective congratulations to the victorious US Democratic Party candidate, Obama who was returned for a second term.

Opposition parties are bad losers — PDP

Urging Nigerians  especially, the opposition and those who lose elections to emulate the action of the Republican candidate in his swift acceptance of defeat, the PDP said it was a good element of patriotism which opposition parties should learn to make Nigeria a greater nation.

“The swift manner of congratulations and the graceful conduct of the defeated candidate is a shining example of patriotism and submission to the overall will of the people,” the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh said in a statement in Abuja, yesterday.

This act, according to the PDP, is one of the elements that have made America’s democracy the envy of all nations.

“The greatest threat to the stability of our democracy is the reckless bickering that happens after elections in Nigeria,” Metuh added.

“A lot of time and energy is decimated on frivolous legal suits and the pursuit of bitterness which indeed affects valuable time for the delivery of electoral promises.”

According to Metuh, the PDP was particularly delighted at the conciliatory posture of President Obama and his emphasis on the values that unite America rather than the divisions that manifested during the campaign, adding, “President Obama’s constant reference to patriotism and a sense of duty to America by Americans in his acceptance speech is another lesson we must imbibe in our quest to build our democracy. Also noteworthy is the charge by the re-elected President for Americans to always uphold the philosophy of “not expecting what can be done for us but what can be done by us to move our nation forward.

‘With this election, America has once more blazed the trail in overcoming its internal stratification for the overall benefit of their country”.

The joke is on PDP —ACN

The ACN and CPC in two separate reactions were unsparing in their denunciation of the PDP, accusing the dominant party of hamstringing the democratic process through devious schemes.

The ACN speaking through its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed told Vanguard yesterday:

“They are very daft with due respect. You see, it is a process and the only reason the loser was able to concede defeat was because there was a free and fair election.

“The joke is on them. Why is their own candidate for instance, in Ondo State challenging the outcome of the election? So, they should heal themselves first. They should ask, ‘why is their candidate, Oke, saying that the election is not free and fair that he is not going to congratulate Mimiko? Why? So the joke is on them.

“There is no lesson to learn except that if elections are free and fair, the losers will be willing to congratulate the winner. Romney immediately conceded defeat because he could not say there was ballot stuffing here or that a commissioner was arrested with AK-47,” the ACN spokesman said.

PDP should be ashamed — CPC

In his own reaction to the charge from the PDP, the CPC’s national publicity secretary, Engr. Rotimi Fashakin said:

“The ruling PDP leaders should be ashamed of themselves. The electoral process in the US – that is devoid of the do-or-die philosophy of the forebears of the PDP- is another pointer to the worthlessness of PDP rule in the country.

“Ordinarily, electoral contest, having been conducted with scrupulous adherence to governing rules, should be devoid of acrimony and bitterness as was seen in the recent US presidential elections. But the salient variable that is missing is the corruptive superimposition of the ruling PDP that removes the fairness, free-ness and credibility from our elections. Owing to the President’s indulgent use of executive powers in militarizing the polity for the purpose of election rigging, the inexorable consequence is rejection of results. Indeed, if elections are fair, we shall imbibe the culture of congratulating winners immediately. The question is, can the PDP really learn from this,” he asked.

Jonathan congratulates Obama

Meanwhile, President Jonathan, yesterday, congratulated Obama on his re-election, promising to sustain the cordial relations between the two countries.

In a statement issued on his behalf by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Reuben Abati, he said:

”On behalf of himself, the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan heartily congratulates President Barrack Obama on his success in winning re-election in yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) presidential elections in the United States.

“President Jonathan welcomes President Obama’s victory in an intensely fought presidential race as an endorsement by the good people of United States of his leadership, progressive world view and the very good work he has done in the past four years towards ending global economic depression and fostering global peace and security.

“Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union enjoyed very cordial and productive relations with the Obama Administration in his first term.

“President Jonathan looks forward to continuing to build on Nigeria’s and Africa’s developmental collaboration with the United States in the next four years.

“The President looks forward in particular to the further strengthening of US-Nigeria bilateral relations and the US-Nigeria Bi-National Commission which was established in President Obama’s first term as the primary platform for the promotion of greater trade and economic cooperation between both countries as well as bilateral collaboration in other areas.

“President Jonathan also hopes that the millions of people across the world, especially those in developing nations who watched the beauty and strength of democracy unfold in the United States presidential elections yesterday will come to a greater and better appreciation of democracy as the key to building peaceful, stable and progressive societies.

“The President wishes President Obama continued good health and God’s blessings and guidance as he prepares for his inauguration in January for a second term in office as the President of the United States of America.”

Senate, Reps hail Obama, Americans

Meanwhile, the Senate, yesterday, said that the election of the United States of America would serve as an inspiration to Nigerian politicians.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Publicity, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, noted that the will and wishes of the people prevailed, just as he stressed that there was no imposition of candidates during the primary election.

The Senate also congratulated the people of America and President Obama over his victory and expressed confidence in President Obama‘s ability to lead America out of the current economic challenges bedeviling the entire world.

Also yesterday, the House of Representatives congratulated Obama on his re-election.

This was sequel to a motion moved by Rep. Friday Itulah (PDP, Edo State) who in his motion said that the election had lessons for Nigeria to learn from.

Seconding the motion, Rep. Abike Dabri-Erewa said thatthe outcome of the election should be a source of inspiration for the Nigerian electorate and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Contributing to the debate on the motion, Rep. Samson Osagie appealed to INEC to learn from the experience of the US presidential election.

The motion was also supported by Rep. Nnenna Ukeje, Andrew Uchendu and Bimbo Daramola among others.

-Vanguard

In a swift reaction though, the state government defended the governor’s constant absence in the state, saying it was in the state’s interest for the governor not to sit down in Bauchi but travel out to mobilise investment for the state.

During a press conference at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Bauchi on Thursday, the caretaker chairman of the party in the state, Alhaji Aliyu Saidu, alleged that the governor was using state funds for his constant trips out of the state.

The party accused Governor Yuguda of conducting government business in Abuja, saying this was not in the interest of the state.

“He (Governor Yuguda) has been conducting government business in Abuja, including Executive Council meetings and the swearing into office of top government functionaries.

“It is the norm for Mallam Isa Yuguda to absent himself from Bauchi for 50 days or longer, yet, he will tell us he has been travelling to China, UK, Dubai, USA, for our common good,” Saidu added.

While declaring that the Yuguda administration had not performed after almost six years in the saddle, the party alleged that most of the road contracts, the international airport, among other developmental projects, worth billions of naira, were paid upfront to contractors handling them, but they were not executed promptly.

While reacting to the allegations levelled by the party against the governor, the Bauchi State Commissioner for Information, Engineer Mohammed Damina, told journalists in his office that Governor Yuguda had been busy pursuing interests that were for the progress of the state.

He said that the constant travelling of the governor had been yielding fruitful results for the state as investors had been coming in different areas to invest in the state, citing the Kidney Centre to be built in the state, the 30 mega watts solar power project being undertaken by German investors, which he said was the first of its kind in West Africa, among others.

via Tribune

The National Secretary of the party, Alhaji Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, told newsmen in Kaduna at the end of an emergency meeting of APGA’s National Working Committee from the Northern States and FCT on Thursday that as progressives, they would accept the invitation to be part of a coalition of parties that would take Nigeria to greater heights.

The meeting, which was attended by members of APGA and state chairmen from the 19 Northern States and Abuja, discussed the state of affairs of the party and reviewed current national issues as they affect members and the country.

Alhaji Shinkafi said: “The officers hailed the dogged and resilient defence of the party in all the various litigations instituted against the party by the former chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, and expressed happiness that the present leadership won in all the litigations, including at the Supreme Court, paving the way for Chief Okorie’s final exit from the party.  

“They commended the national leadership of the party for successfully challenging the attempted cloning of the party by the former chairman when he tried to register United Grand Alliance (UPGA).

“They also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for rejecting the registration of UPGA as it would have created confusion among the electorate.”    

“They expressed shock that a purported South-East Stakeholders Meeting of our party called outside the provisions of the constitution of APGA purportedly issued directives to the national executive committee of the party. The manner of that action tried to portray APGA as a South- East party rather than the national party that it is. We condemn that action and advise that decisions for the party should be made by the organs of the party recognised by the party’s constitution.”

-Vanguard