The Claims Of APC Group On Osinbajo’s Presidential Ambition

By Fred Nwaozor

Ahead of the 2023 elections in Nigeria, a group of the All Progressives Congress (APC) members, under the aegis of Progressive Consolidation Group (PCG), has called on the leadership of the ruling party to adopt the incumbent Vice President of the country, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as its consensus candidate for the Presidential election. According to them, Prof. Osinbajo was the most qualified person to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari after expiration of his tenure come 2023.

The PCG, who held a rally in Ikeja, the capital city of Lagos State a few days ago, to receive the Vice President, urged the number two citizen to put himself forward for the presidential position, saying having Prof. Osinbajo as its sole candidate, would douse tension not only in the ruling party, but across the country. Speaking at the rally, the PCG National Secretary, Dr. Eli Eberechukwu Dibia who spoke to journalists at the grand reception, said they had started mobilizing in all the 774 Local Government Areas across the Nigeria for the emergence of Prof. Osinbajo as APC sole Presidential candidate in the forthcoming 2023 elections.

He said, “His candidacy will douse the already accumulated tension across the six geopolitical zones, Osinbajo is a man of grace, humility, truth and the fear of God.” Dr. Dibia further opined, “As a detribalized Nigerian, APC as a party should adopt Osinbajo as consensus candidate of the party and expect a seamless victory.” He therefore described Prof. Osinbajo ‘as a dependable, transparent, competent and passionate Nigerian, who cares about the ordinary man and the youths’, saying the Vice-President ‘holds the best credentials to succeed President Buhari having worked with him as his deputy’. The Group, whose members were dressed in T-shirts and Face-caps bearing the Vice President’s picture, staged what it described as ‘A Walk For Osinbajo’.

Speaking further, the PCG Leader said, “Today, over one million Nigerians have gathered here to celebrate a man of character, a man that we are very convinced that if he mounts the seat, Nigerians will have fresh air. He is cerebral, well tutored pastor and a man of God.” On his part, the National Coordinator of the PCG, Hon. Hyacinth Turnel informed that the ‘Walk for Osinbajo’ was organised by professionals who believed in the ability of the Vice-President to deliver. He said, “We the like-minds, gather here to at least show solidarity to our dear principal, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, to run for the seat of the President. That is why we are here.” While asked what makes him think the Vice-President had the capacity to run, he replied that Prof. Osinbajo had spearheaded some reforms in the government that were unknown to many Nigerians. He therefore enthused that the emergence of Prof. Osinbajo as President Buhari’s successor would guarantee continuity, adding it was better to have someone that had learned how the process works than somebody that would come and start learning from the scratch. “At least, he knows the challenges that we have in this country. So, we believe he will do his best to ensure that the challenges are tackled headlong.

When further asked what new thing the Vice-President would bring to the table, he said with Osinbajo at helm of affairs of the country, he would assemble the professionals that would work in the interest of the country. One might ask, does Prof. Osinbajo really possess what it takes to lead Nigeria to the needed Promised Land? While such a question is tendered by a concerned Nigerian, someone on the other side might boldly answer that the middle-aged professor has the required requisite taking into cognizance his social, educational and professional backgrounds and antecedents.

However, like I earlier stated in my previous critique, at the moment, Nigeria as a country does not just need an eligible individual to succeed President Buhari come 2023, but one who truly feels the pains of the country’s populace. Come to think of it, considering the fact that the PCG stated that Prof. Osinbajo was coming to continue from where President Buhari would stop in 2023, just as he (Osinbajo) rightly mentioned in his declaration speech a few days back, is indeed enough reason to worry. The question is, where actually does he intend to continue from? Is it from the current state of the country’s education sector, or the present condition of the health sector? Does he intend to continue fighting corruption the same way it is being fought so far by the current administration?

Is Prof. Osinbajo planning to continue tackling insecurity exactly the same way and manner it’s being done at the moment? Does he intend to address the country’s economic status just as it’s being addressed by the current government? Only his person can tender the right answers to these genuine enquiries. Too many questions indeed await his candidacy, especially when noted that he’s presently the Lieutenant to the man who has apparently turned the country’s economy upside down. Think about it!

Godfatherism And Finacing In Politics

by Fred Nwaozor

As Nigerians as a people are ostensibly determined to nurture their nascent democratic terrain, it’s expected of them to keenly and extensively look inwards toward discovering the encumbrances surrounding the said process with a candid view to holistically addressing them. It isn’t anymore news that every electioneering era across the global community, particularly on the African continent, invariably begets a set of peculiar stories that ordinarily aren’t meant to be harboured in the nature’s womb let alone seeing the light of the day.

If your thought is as good as mine, then you would agree with me that as regards financing, the Nigeria’s political system is presently characterized by nauseous happenings, thereby causing the innocent polity and its teeming watchers ceaseless nightmares. This unabated and seeming acceptable activity is cut across all elective posts, hence isn’t peculiar to when one is vying for a particular position. For example, someone who’s aspiring for the post of the executive chairman of a certain local government council may end up spending millions of naira in the process and might not even secure the anticipated position afterwards. One may ask, what exactly are these aspirants really financing? Officially, they are expected to finance the purchase of their nomination and expression of interest forms. The forms as being sold by various political parties to their respective members are reportedly exorbitant that the prospective office holders or aspirants, in most cases, have to borrow to foot the bills.

Aside purchase of forms and other allied matters, the campaign process that usually succeeds the primary elections – thus preceding the main elections – is another avenue where the aspirants resort to indulging in money politics. If you are well informed, then you wouldn’t hesitate to concur with the survey that indicates that in the contemporary Nigerian society, for instance, the citizenry have been compelled to boldly and proudly sell their birthright for a mere pot of porridge yam. This show of shame cannot be unconnected with ignorance and/or poverty. It’s noteworthy that whatever uncalled practice being showcased by the electorate is arguably attributable to the liberty granted to the teeming politicians to ‘mess around’ while canvassing for a given political office. It can’t be argued that every practising politician in Nigeria that’s seeking for any position of authority has the ‘right’ to spend any sum of money in the process.

It’s worth noting that, in this case, not just the electorate are at the receiving side. The so-called political gladiators are equally lavished with bags of money by the aspirants in order to buy their consent. This very act often precedes the primary election of a given party. These are the cogent reasons an aspirant who’s not financially buoyant would be left with no choice than to accept the lending hand of a godfather, a step that in the long run might bastardize his/her political career. Sometimes, it’s even the aspirants that go about seeking for who would sponsor their ambitions. Since politics has regrettably been considered as an investment or business venture, rather than an avenue to render selfless service, what else would you expect from an average politician who eventually clinched victory at the polls? Such a person, if assumed duty, wouldn’t fail to please the desires of the political mafia. In view of the above, most of the funds budgeted for various infrastructural/developmental projects in the concerned locality might be siphoned into the private purse of a godfather, thereby relegating governance to the background. This singular act has overtime crippled our god-sent nascent democracy. In a situation where the demands of the bigwig aren’t met, the society may be plunged into shambles.

Apart from the financial implications of godfatherism, a certain godfather might at anytime decide to unseat his beneficiary. This kind of case was recently sighted in Lagos State in the melodrama that ensued between the immediate past governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and the erstwhile governor of the State, Chief Bola Tinubu. Likewise issues have been, and are still, occurring ubiquitously not just in Nigeria but on the entire African continent. What’s the way out of this quagmire? First, we must completely silence the ongoing high rate of nomination form introduced by the various parties. This can be made possible by specifying in the Electoral Act the maximum price any party should charge for each of the forms to be purchased by their members aspiring for different offices. More so, any aspirant ought to be mandated by law to declare his/her assets. Hence, after the elections, the electoral umpire would be required to crosscheck the affected assets towards ascertaining how much the aspirant actually ‘invested’ in the campaign activity. The aspirants must be mandated not to exceed a certain threshold in regard to expenditure in accordance with the position he’s biding for.

If he’s found culpable after the thorough investigations, he ought to be charged to court for onward prosecution. If found guilty, such a politician should not just pay fine but be jailed. This would strongly help to eradicate godfatherism from the system. The electorate must, on their part, be reasonable. It’s unequivocally only insane person that could freely mortgage his or her future merely for peanut’s sake. They must comprehend fully that their respective futures lie in their palms, hence are imbued with the power to decide how it would appear. It’s therefore needless to assert that it all centres on amending our existing individual and collective policies. Think about it!

BREXIT: Kate Hoey Warns EU and Ireland Conniving to Take Britain's Money

In what could be described as shocking, the Brexiteer, Mrs. Kate Hoey has claimed that both the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Ireland are “conniving” to keep the United Kingdom (UK) “as close as possible” with the Brussels bloc in an effort to “keep taking Britain’s money”.

The Irish border backstop has proven to be one of the most controversial elements in Brexit talks.

The backstop is meant to ensure no matter what happens with the rest of the negotiations, there would not be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

But the Labour MP, Mrs. Hoey has warned that under Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal, it is “very dangerous” because Northern Ireland would be without a voice despite having to follow EU single market rules.

POLITICS: INEC Opens Window For Guber, House of Assembly Campaign

The Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has on Saturday, 1st December 2018 lifted ban on campaign for the Gubernatorial and States' House of Assemblies elections ahead of February 2019, the scheduled date of the impending exercise.

It would be recalled that that of Presidency and National Assembly was opened two weeks back.

The INEC has warned the candidates involved to stick to the rules as they reiterated their willingness to do the needful as long as the campaign window remains open.

POLITICS: Buhari Launches Re-election Campaign As INEC Lifts Ban

President Muhammadu Buhari on 18th November 2018 graciously launched his reelection bid campaign, following the Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC's) lifting of ban on campaigns for Presidential and National Assembly (NASS) polls.

The Nigeria's number one citizen whose running mate remains the country's Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo appealed to politicians to go about their 2019 election campaigns peacefully.

The event which took place at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja on Sunday. witnessed the launching of the re-election “campaign manual/next level document”.

“I am not unmindful of the fact that the National Assembly and the presidential campaign starts today, I will implore candidates to go about the campaigns peacefully and decently,” the president said.

 

“We have no other country than Nigeria , let us not set it ablaze because of politics,” he added.

It's noteworthy  that based on the official time table of the electoral commission, INEC, campaigns for the presidential and national assembly elections started on Sunday, November 18, 2018 across Nigeria ahead of the scheduled February 16, 2019 elections.

Stay tuned to Rostrum for more on 'Buhari Launches Re-election Campaign ..."

POLITICS: INEC Opens Window for Political Campaigns on Presidential, NASS Polls

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria has lifted ban on campaign for 2019 presidential and National Assembly elections slated for February 16, 2019, hence directed all contesting political parties to begin their campaigns from Sunday, 18th November 2018.

This is in line with the Electoral Act stipulation that mandates all political campaigns to commence 90 days before the slated date for the election.

A statement by Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, INEC director of Voter Education and Publicity, on Saturday in Abuja said that political parties who fielded candidates for both elections would commence campaigns across the country.

Mr. Osaze-Uzzi said that the commencement of campaigns was in line with the Timetable and Schedule of Activities issued by the INEC.

He added that it was also in accordance with Section 99 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) which provides that “the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day”.

“Political Parties are expected to conduct their activities in an organized and peaceful manner, devoid of rancor, hate and/or inflammatory speeches.”

He further reminded political parties and their candidates that campaigns for governorship and state houses of assembly would commence on December 1, 2018.

JUST IN: Angela Merkel to Step Down in 2021

The Germany's Chancellor, Mrs. Angela Merkel has said she would step down as the country's leader in 2021, following recent election setbacks.

Mrs. Merkel who assumed duty in 2005 as the German Chancellor disclosed to a news conference in Berlin, "I will not be seeking any political post after my term ends."

She also said she would not seek re-election as leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in December 2018. It's noteworthy that she has held the post since 2000.

Rostrum gathered that the CDU was severely weakened in the Sunday's poll in the state of Hesse, the latest in a series of setbacks.

 

Both the CDU and its national coalition partners, the Social Democrats were 10 percentage points down on the previous poll in the said area.

The election comes just weeks after Mrs. Merkel's Bavarian sister party, the CSU, suffered huge losses in a state parliament vote.

Parties like the left-leaning Greens and the far-right, anti-immigration AfD have grown in national support following the 2017 general elections, as backing for the major centre parties has waned.

The 64-year-old Mrs. Merkel may however be retiring to Hamburg where she hails from, after her tenure's expiration.  

POLITICS: Brazil Elects Bolsonaro as President

 

The far-right Brazilian congressman, Mr. Jair Bolsonaro emerged the Brazil's new president after a keenly contested polls held on Sunday, 28th October 2018.  

Overwhelmed supporters of the Brazil's president-elect, Mr. Bolsonaro took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after the far-right congressman was declared the winner of the country's presidential election by a wide margin. 

Bolsonaro's victory caps ones of the most polarizing and violent political campaigns in Brazil's history, amid a prolonged recession, rising crime rates and widespread corruption scandals.

In a victory speech Sunday, Bolsonaro said he was a "defender of freedom" who would run a government that protected citizens who "follow their duties and respect the laws."

"The laws are for everyone, this is how it will be during our constitutional and democratic government," he stated.

Bolsonaro was declared the winner by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal after 94% of the votes were counted, easily defeating his leftist, ex-Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando Haddad.

Supporters of the far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro celebrated in front of his house in Rio de Janeiro on October 28.

The electoral tribunal released early results showing Bolsonaro leading with 55.54% of votes to Haddad's 44.46%, a difference larger than the amount of votes left to be counted.

But while Bolsonaro's supporters were rejoicing on Sunday, opponents voiced concerns that his victory could threaten human rights and ecological preservation in the world's fourth largest democracy.

Speaking earlier in the day, Haddad said Brazil's democracy was "at stake" in Sunday's vote. "I believe today is a great day for the country which has arrived at a crossroads," he said.

Troubled over Bolsonaro's promises to open up tracks of the Amazon rainforest to development, environmental groups warned his election would be a "profound setback."

"His reckless plans to industrialize the Amazon in concert with Brazilian and international agribusiness and mining sectors will bring untold destruction to the planet's largest rainforest and the communities who call it home, and spell disaster for the global climate," Amazon Watch program director Christian Poirier opined to newsmen.

Jair Bolsonaro waves after voting in the presidential runoff election in Rio de Janeiro on October 28.

Politically motivated violence

Bolsonaro won the first round of the elections in October amid a field of 13 candidates, but he fell short of the 50% needed to win outright and avoid a runoff against Haddad, from the Workers' Party.

"This has been an unprecedented election," said Marco Antonio Teixeira, a political science professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. "The rhetoric used by both candidates throughout the campaign has been extremely aggressive." 

Brazilian presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro recovering after stabbing

That hostility has carried over into the streets. Dozens of politically motivated acts of violence have been registered by voters, journalist and politicians.

Bolsonaro, 63, was stabbed in the stomach last month during a rally in the city of Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais state. When he went to cast his ballot on Sunday, the congressman wore body armor and arrived by the back entrance.

The stabbing took him off the campaign trail for weeks as he recovered. But it strengthened his position among Brazilians looking for a change.

Bolsonaro's increased visibility prompted a social media backlash known as #elenao, or #nothim, which gained support throughout the country and internationally.

During his Brazil tour, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters exhibited the slogan on stage in neon lights and chanted "ele nao" with the crowd.

Protesters have also taken the chant to the streets during a recent "Women Against Bolsonaro march" in Sao Paulo.

"Bolsonaro has opened a Pandora box," protest organizer Luka Franca said. "He's given a voice to an ultra right population who want to voice their prejudice and annihilate anyone who is different."

Ugly rhetoric

Bolsonaro, who has been compared to US President Donald Trump and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, has stirred controversy by making misogynistic, racist and homophobic remarks.

He once told a congresswoman that she did not deserve to be raped because she was "very ugly," Brazil's TV Globo reported.

He also said publicly he'd prefer to see his son "die in an accident" than a member of his family be homosexual.

"This negative discourse he's spreading is killing people," Felipe Lago, a 29-year-old fashion producer told CNN. "If he wins, who knows what will happen to us?"

A banner promoting Workers' Party presidential candidate Fernando Haddad during a rally in Brasilia.

Lago created an Instagram account called "elenaovaoinosmatar," or "he won't kill us" in English, shortly after being verbally assaulted and threatened by a group of Bolsonaro supporters for being gay.

"Although I was scared, I decided to post what happened to me on Facebook," Lago said. "I got a lot of responses from friends and others saying the same thing happened to them."

His Instagram account has more than 100,000 followers and includes videos of others who say they experienced similar assaults.

In their final days on the campaign trail, both Bolsonaro and Haddad asked their supporters not to engage in violence.

Keeping out the Workers' Party

For some Brazilians, like teacher Alexandre Vastella, voting for Bolsonaro was more about keeping the Workers' Party (PT) out of office.

"I want Bolsonaro to be President, not because he's the ideal person, but because we can't risk letting the PT back in power," Vastella told newsmen. "Sure, all of the major parties are corrupt but the PT created an infrastructure of corruption."

The Workers' Party governed Brazil for more than 13 years under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, from 2003 to 2011, and his successor Dilma Rousseff, from 2011 to 2016.

Lula, as he is popularly known, left office with a 83% approval rating, after his policies helped lift millions of Brazilians out of poverty.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Fast Facts

Many politicians, including Lula, were caught in a wide-ranging, 4-year anti-graft probe known as "Operation Car Wash." He was arrested in April 2018  and given a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering.

Despite the arrest, Lula was running for a third term and leading in the polls until he was barred from running by the country's top electoral court in September. His running mate, Haddad, replaced him on the ballot and became his party's default candidate. 

Voting is compulsory in Brazil, but some undecided voters, like Sao Paulo resident Mauricio Soares, had chosen to vote null or blank.

"The decision of voting null came after a lot of thought and I am firm in my decision," Soares told CNN. "I am not neutral. I am positioning myself against both candidates." 

Teixeira, the professor, said the winner must bridge the divide caused by the campaign.

"If the next president only governs for his supporters, the divisiveness we're living will remain. If he chooses to govern for the whole country, there is a greater chance these conflicts will be minimized or disappear," Teixeira said.

POLITICS: Higgins Reemerges as Irish President for Second Term

Mr. Michael D. Higgins has been re-elected as Irish president for a second term after receiving 56% of the country's election votes. His reemergence was confirmed on Sunday, 28th October 2018.

The revered businessman, Mr. Peter Casey came second with 23.1%, while none of the other four candidates polled more than 10%.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said she was "disappointed", but felt it was wrong for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to "sit on the sidelines" in the election.

"I am not sorry that we had an election - I think it was wrong for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to sit on the sidelines," Ms McDonald told the BBC's Sunday Politics programme.
"We decided to challenge in the election - the other parties didn't."


She added: "I think my leadership would have rightly been called into question if I fell in line with Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar.

"Of course I'm disappointed. I would have liked a better showing for Liadh [Ni Riada]but that was not to be.

 

"You learn from every contest. You learn from every encounter that you have with the electorate and we'll certainly learn from this."
 
Mr. Higgins, the first incumbent in 50 years to face a challenge in his bid for a second term, controversially won with 822,566 votes. "We can achieve so much together." The victor announced immediately after the results were released..

Londonderry businessman, Mr. Casey took significantly more votes than the final opinion polls of the campaign had predicted. His final tally was 342,727.

Sinn Féin MEP Liadh Ni Riada got 93,987 votes - 6.4% of the total votes polled.

Irish Presidential Election result

Valid votes cast: 1,473,900

• Michael D Higgins 822,566
• Peter Casey 342,727
• Seán Gallagher 94,514
• Liadh Ní Riada 93,987
• Joan Freeman 87,908
• Gavin Duffy 32,198

The result was confirmed at a declaration at Dublin Castle in the evening of Saturday, 27th October 2018.

Speaking after his win, Mr. Higgins said he accepted his mandate with "humility, determination and excitement".

"People are interested in ideas that are sincere and constructive," he said.
"For words matter, words can hurt, words can heal, words can empower, words can divide.
"And the words and ideas I have used in this campaign reflect a vision for Ireland based on four strands.

"Equal and together, strong sustainable communities, sharing history - shaping the future and Ireland's voice matters."

Taking to the podium after Mr Higgins, second-placed Mr Casey said the last time he had stood in an election to the Irish Senate he got just 14 votes.

"Somebody worked it out there - it's about 23,000 per cent improvement," he joked.
Sinn Féin MEP Liadh Ni Riada said she hoped it was the last Irish presidential election in which people in Northern Ireland could not vote. 
 

Low turnout

Turnout was reportedly low in many areas of the country.

More than 3.2 million people were eligible to cast their ballots in the election and referendum.
Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar congratulated Mr Higgins on his predicted win on Saturday morning.

The president is Ireland's "first citizen", but has limited power - the role is mainly symbolic and he or she cannot get involved in daily politics.

Voters received two ballot papers at polling stations on Friday.

They were given a white ballot paper for the presidential election and a green ballot paper for the referendum on blasphemy.

Many were unaware there was such an offence until a member of the public referred controversial remarks made by the actor and writer Stephen Fry on an RTÉ programme to gardai (Irish police).
The investigation was dropped last year, reportedly because officers could not find anyone who was offended.

POLITICS: Ekiti Installs New Governor, Fayemi As Fayose Takes A Bow

Dr. Kayode Fayemi, former Minister of Solid Minerals Development, had been successfully installed on Tuesday 16th October 2018 as the Executive Governor of Ekiti State in South West, Nigeria.

He was sworn in at exactly 12:24pm, shortly after his deputy, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi had taken his own oath of office.

However, his precedessor, Chief Ayodele Fayose was absent at the ceremony having previously said he would hand over the instruments of office to the State's Head of Service (HoS), Dr. Gbenga Faseluka, and the Government House and the Governor’s Office complexes to Police Commissioner Bello Ahmed on Sunday, 14th October 2018, as he would be in Abuja, the Nigeria's capital territory, answering the summons of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Dr. Fayemi graciously returned to a seat he vacated four years back, having previously served Governor of the state between 2010 and 2014.

He was declared winner of the July 2018 Ekiti State governorship election by the Returning Officer, Professor Idowu Olayinka on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Prof. Olayinka who happens to be the Vice Chancellor of the revered University of Ibadan announced he polled 197,459 votes to beat Professor Olusola Eleka, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 178,121 votes. Hence, Dr. Fayemi won by a margin 19, 338 votes.

PDP won only in Emure, Efon and Ikere, while APC cleared the remaining 13 local governments.

Rostrum reliably gathered that mammoth crowd coupled with countless elites graced the epocal occasion.

POLITICS: APC Suspends Imo Guber Primary Indefinitely

 APC Suspends Imo Guber Primary Indefinitely
_____________________________________

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended indefinitely the party’s governorship primary in Imo State. This is not unconnected with the irregularities the outing was reportedly characterized with.

The statement was signed by the party’s acting National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, in Abuja, on Tuesday, 2nd October 2018.

The party also disclosed that it had not cleared the former Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, to contest the Party’s Jigawa South Senatorial District primary.

It said Mr. Abba’s name was erroneously included in the list of NWC-cleared aspirants