Don’t remove defecting govs, APC warns PDP

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has strongly warned the PDP not to
to go ahead with its diabolical plan to declare vacant the seats of
the five PDP Governors who recently defected to the APC, saying apart
from being illegal and smacking of double standard, such a move has
the potential to plunge the polity into chaos.

In a statement, Thursday, in Abuja by its Interim National
Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said that even as
the PDP has continued to lick the mortal wound inflicted on it by the
loss of five preeminent Governors in one fell swoop, any attempt by
the party (PDP) to act in desperation and declare the Governors’ seats
vacant will be met with an unprecedented show of people power that
will end, once and for all, the impunity of the PDP and the
Presidency.

”We have irrefutable evidence that the PDP is desperately shopping
for a pliant Judge who will be heavily induced to declare vacant the
seats of the five Governors who recently defected to the APC. We also
have the name of the lawyers who have been retained by the PDP for
this hatchet job.

”We are in possession of the various nefarious legal options being
explored by the villainous duo of the PDP and the
Presidency but we hereby serve a strong notice to the duo that any
attempt by anyone through any means other than what is provided for in
section 188 of the 1999 Constitution as amended will not only have
grave consequences but will leave the polity severely bruised.

”We know the PDP and the Presidency are anarchic and nihilistic, and
will not mind to pursue any narrow and selfish objective, even if
doing such can plunge the nation into crisis. But their cup is
gradually getting full. Having got away with their trademark impunity
in Delta and Anambra States, these lawless, reckless and feckless duo
of maleficence now believe they can continue to act without regards to
the laws of the land and with no scintilla of decency.

G-5 govs

”We wish to state unequivocally that should the PDP go ahead with
this plan, there will be widespread repercussions as the APC has
resolved that henceforth, every act of impunity of the PDP and the
Presidency will be met with stiff resistance in the form of a
vociferous telegraphing of people power, the likes of which have not
been witnessed in these parts,” it said.

APC reminded the PDP and the Presidency that a party that boasts of 16
Governors….still counting…and has control of
the National Assembly has what it takes to use people power to stop
acts of impunity, disregard for the laws of the land
and barbaric brigandage – and that is exactly what the APC will do in
the event of any unlawful declaration of the five
Governors’ seats vacant.

The party also warned against any attempt by the PDP and the
Presidency to turn back the hands of the clock as far as the
cleaning up of the judiciary is concerned, by inducing a servile and
disreputable Judge to do the duo’s bidding.

”We recognize the efforts of the present CJN to sanitize the
Judiciary since she assumed the mantle of leadership but she
should not allow any black leg to reverse the gains that have been
recorded on the altar of unmitigated avarice. This is
because if that happens, Nigerians will hold the Judiciary vicariously
liable for the catastrophic consequences that may follow,” it said.

Accusing the PDP of engaging in double standard, APC said ”For all of
14 years, elected members of the State Houses of Assembly as well as
the National Assembly have been defecting mostly to the PDP and no
court has ever declared their seats vacant.

”Late Senator Wahab Dosunmu and Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, then of the
Alliance for Democracy (AD), blazed the trail when they decamped to
the PDP within a year of their election. Since then scores of elected
lawmakers at state and federal levels have defected to the PDP without
any eyebrows being raised or anyone declaring their seats vacant.

”When Governors Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State and Theodore Orji of Abia
state, both elected on the platform of the PPA, and
Governor Isah Yuguda of Bauchi state, who was elected on the platform
of the ANPP, defected to the PDP, nobody declared their seats vacant.

”As a matter of fact, the PDP under late President Umar Yar’Adua
organized an elaborate reception to welcome Gov. Yuguda to the PDP.
Why then should the case of the five PDP Governors (still counting)
who have joined the APC be different? Why is the PDP suddenly afraid
of taking the same medicine it has been administering to others? Does
it mean that all the bravado that has been displayed by the PDP, which
says it is not bothered by the defection of the five Governors, is
just a facade to hide its deep pain at the monumental loss?” the
party queried.

It also asked the PDP and the Presidency, if they can allow a rare
moment of introspection, to go and read – and be guided by – the
ruling of the Supreme Court after the PDP attempted to make then Vice
President Atiku Abubakar to lose his seat and to also strip him of his
privileges following his defection to the ACN.

Okorocha and the Owerri spirit

THERE is the Owerri spirit in the socio-political life of ImoState. It moves sparingly, in fact, only when provoked, but as a virile and potent force when it moves it teaches the target hard lessons. It is a force that has cut short the career of many a vibrant politician in the State.

When it moved against the former governor of the State about two and a half years ago, he became part of the rich history of the State.

In an instance in the very recent past, the Owerri spirit aggregated society renegades and in one swell swoop exposed them and consigned them to their expected ignominious end. The remnants of that evil group and new recruits can bet that soon, very soon, they will awaken the spirit and smell its wrath.

The Owerri spirit is the spirit of justice, fair play and integrity. It is conscientious and defends human dignity with passion. It exults in the gentility and civil culture and tradition of the Owerri man which many, a la of the Machiavelli institute, deride as business poison.

It has enormous capacity to mobilise all classes of people to fight its cause. Yes, the Owerri spirit can be enduring and long suffering but it can also move spontaneously and in such a case with great venom.

As Owelle Rochas Okorocha works hard to complete his first tenure as governor of the State and seek re-election willy-nilly as some of us foresaw in 2011 when he joined the governorship race as against the wishful thinking of some people in the State who naively accepted the dummy that he would use the position to prepare himself to take a shot at the presidency in 2015, it is interesting to note that the Owerri spirit will not move at least given its mood today.

Though a year and six months is, in fact, too long a period for the radar of a smooth sailing ship to derail, the axiom of ceteris paribus as espoused by our economist friends can suffice for now.

If the Owerri spirit does not move, it will be difficult to unseat Okorocha and that is the dilemma of the Owerri man, that is, Owerri Senatorial Zone, and some other politicians in the State today. The psycho, economic and socio-political essence of rotation of key political offices at all tiers of government has long been espoused and accepted in the country. The consciousness is there among the citizenry and serious political parties, the vehicle of delivery of the public trust mandate place it in view at all times.

It is therefore trite to say that it is the turn of Owerri zone to produce the governor of Imo state. But Okorocha was installed by the Owerri spirit and it will take the same Owerri spirit to unseat him before he completes the legally sanctioned eight years. However,  the Owerri spirit will not move because Okorocha has not provoked it. I will consider only two aspects of the Okorocha administration, albeit briefly.

First, the value Okorocha places on human capital. Imo is a human resource power base of the nation, perhaps rivaled only by one or two states in the country. In fact, human capital, both professional and semi-skilled, is a major aspect of the State’s contribution to national development and Gross Domestic Product. Take the teacher population.

Whereas successive administrations in the State had made it look as if the teachers of our children were a burden to the State, Okorocha has not just returned teaching to a noble profession, he has restored sanity in the school system. Have you seen an Imo teacher of late in their navy blue suits – men and women? Today, teachers in Imo receive their salaries before the end of the month and before other categories of public sector workers.   Whoever believed that education could be free and yet qualitative in any state in the South East?

Second, Imo as a whole is today one huge construction site, and this has given a sense of belonging to people from all parts of the State.

Does it mean that Okorocha has not favoured some people? Why not if not? In May 2011 I advised Okorocha in a piece like this to be wary in dealing with clannish groups.  He appears to have done well in handling many of them. Being mindful of the sensibilities of people is important. Okorocha goes to dance with school children at assembly grounds and attends town hall   meetings.

A few months ago men of his convoy clashed with those of Senator Chris Anyanwu on the road. Governor with senator, but not with an ordinary man in Imo or a priest; well the people can understand. Permit me to use a Bible coinage to say that the rest of the acts of Okorocha and all he has done so far are they not written in the book of the annals of the Governors of the State.

When the Owerri spirit in 2011 moved against Chief Ikedi Ohakim, the immediate past governor, arrogance and pride were at the heart of it, so also were injustice and ineptitude. Try as he could, he was a goner. When his government denied Okorocha the Dan Anyiam Stadium for campaign, the Owerri spirit provided an alternative in the TownshipSchool field opposite the stadium and also gave him human shield for protection.

It did not matter that Orlu zone where Okorocha hails from should not by any means have contested for the governor of the State at the time, the owerri spirit preferred him to Ohakim. The election showed that the soul of a project matters more than the façade of an Olympic size environment. By the way Township School has in the past two years been rebuilt and is now a model primary school in all respect.

In 1996, just like what we are experiencing today, some men bestrode the streets of Owerri as genuine business men with legitimate means of income. They made investments in buildings and businesses and drove latest models of automobiles, but alas they were ritual killers.

Their activities became a source of worry to people of the State but they could not be fingered. But one day, an 11-year-old fatherless boy, Ikechukwu Anthony Okonkwo, got missing and was traced to a hotel in the town where he was beheaded for ritual. Like a spark of fire in the Australian dry forest, Owerri erupted.

In less than 48 hours, as if there was a compilation of their names kept somewhere for easy reference, the ritual killers were isolated and attacked and all their choice properties burnt to ashes in the famous Otokoto saga. The charred remains of some of the properties still dot major streets in the town till today. That is why I am persuaded that all those who delight in the evil of kidnapping, ritual murder, robbery and the like in the State today shall soon receive their expected end. That is the potency of the Owerri spirit.

Does it therefore mean that Okorocha will easily win the elections in 2015? By no means! It will be a fight. In Imo, it can never be over until the votes are cast, counted and the result declared.   There are three prominent political parties in the State today – People’s Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and All People’s Congress (APC).

The erstwhile leaders of APGA including those who were on the verge of forming the government handed over the party to Okorocha on a platter. He took over the party and when he left a few months ago he left with the party’s soul to APC. APGA can only begin a rebuilding process. Perhaps the party that should give Okorocha political tug of war is the PDP. But as long as the party remains under the control of Ohakim and his group it will not make any reasonable impact, having been rejected by Imo people in 2011.

Chief Achike Udenwa’s exit from the party is a major blow for as a former governor, humane, and who also appointed commissioners, personal assistance, and patronized contractors he would have been the right person to wrestle the party from Ohakim and his men. In all, it depends on who each of the parties field.

There will indeed be more political landmines as we enter 2014. Okorocha has been accused of starting many road projects without completing them. Some contractors have taken him up on the way he treats them. The politicians have to tread carefully as they work and play party politics. For instance, when one campaigns against President Goodluck Jonathan in Imo and does not present a credible alternative candidate, that could be hara-kiri.

Another area requiring circumspection and sagacity is political alignment. For instance when on an election day Nasir El Rufai leaves his home state or even Abuja where he held sway a few years ago and comes to lodge in the state capital and insists on going around town, perhaps as voter, INEC official, security personnel, staff on essential service or better still as an accredited observer and the news spreads around town, the candidate he is supporting will hear from the voters. Is anyone surprised at the turn of events in AnambraState? Please, please that place is too hot now.

Mr COLLINS OBIBI, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Lagos.

Nigeria’s poor ranking on global corruption index a reality check – SERAP

A civil society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has described Nigeria’s sliding in the Transparency International’s global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) as “a reality check, confirming that the country’s fight against corruption has lost track, and showing why it is now critical for the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to fight corruption more by its action than words.”

In its 2013 corruption index, Transparency International ranked Nigeria as the 144th most corrupt among the 177 countries studied in the world. In 2012, Nigeria was ranked as the 124th most corrupt nation among the less than 170 countries studied. The survey gave Nigeria as an example of countries where oil resources were only available to a very small elite.

In a public statement signed by SERAP Executive Director Adetokunbo Mumuni the group said that, “The government may see the global corruption index as a pain in the neck but the index provides some indicators as to the reality in the country and it cannot simply be wished away. Rather than criticize the global corruption index, this government must recognize that the problem of corruption will simply not go away without concrete action and leadership at the highest level of government. President Goodluck Jonathan will do well to begin to demonstrate that he is on the side of millions of victimized Nigerians and not corrupt officials.”

According to the group, “The President can immediately begin to show the government’s good faith in the fight against corruption by taking very simple steps such as publicly declaring his assets and instructing those who work with him to do the same. This will be the best Christmas gift that President Jonathan can ever give to millions of Nigerians daily calling for strong leadership, transparency, accountability and the rule of law.”
“This is now a critical time for the government to genuinely commit itself to the fight against corruption if it is ever going to stop this embarrassing record in global ranking. Nigerians have suffered enough under the crunching effects of high level official corruption and deserve good governance and development,” the group also said.

“Any initiatives against corruption which avoid public scrutiny of the President’s own asset declaration, and effective prosecution of corruption cases when they involve those connected with this government will continue to undermine the country’s ability to implement its international anticorruption obligations and commitments, including under the UN Convention against Corruption,” the organization said.

The organization also said that, “Ultimately, the responsibility for sorting out Nigeria rests with President Jonathan. The buck stops with him. Nigerians will judge him not by the number of promises he has made but by the number of roads repaired, decent hospitals established, and how much difference he is able to make to ensure the enjoyment of other basic necessities of life for millions of impoverished Nigerians.”

“Genuine fight against corruption can’t happen unless President Jonathan wants it, and leads by example,” the organization also said.
“Meeting the basic needs of the citizens will require the government to prioritise and demonstrate its expressed commitment to fight corruption by urgently ensuring the effective prosecution of those suspected of massive corruption in the fuel subsidy system and fully recover stolen public wealth and resources. All outstanding corruption reports, including the House Committee report on the subsidy racket must be fully implemented and perpetrators effectively punished,” the organization also stated.

Transparency International’s annual list is the most widely used indicator of corruption in political parties, police, justice systems and civil services, a scourge which undermines development and the fight against poverty.

The report states that “Corruption hurts the poor most.  That’s what you see when you look at the countries at the bottom. Within those countries, it’s also poor people who get hurt the most. These countries will never get out of the poverty trap if they don’t tackle corruption.”