The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Tag: Atiku

  • Fmr Minister Nwajiuba asks court to disqualify Tinubu, Atiku

    Fmr Minister Nwajiuba asks court to disqualify Tinubu, Atiku

    The immediate past Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, and a group, Incorporated Trustees of Rights for All International, have filed an originating summons before a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking an order declaring Nwajiuba as the authentic Presidential candidate of the APC.

    The plaintiffs are also praying for the cancellation of the votes garnered by the Presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu; and the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.

    The first to sixth defendants in the case with suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/942/22 are: the APC, the PDP, Tinubu, Atiku, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Independent National Electoral Commission.

    Nwajiuba, who purchased the APC presidential form for N100m, but polled only one vote at the June 8 primary, accused Tinubu of bribing delegates with dollars.

    The plaintiffs also attached as evidence a video recording showing the immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, lamenting that delegates to the APC primary sold their votes.

    “Those who voted at the APC primaries, who are they? They are ordinary Nigerians. The small money they got solved their immediate problem, now they are saying they made a mistake; you are now hearing different things,” Amaechi said at the 60th birthday celebration of Apostle Eugene Ogu, General Overseer of Abundant Life Evangel Mission, last week.

    Based on the evidence, Nwajiuba and RAI presented 25 issues for determination by the court.

    Specifically, the ex-minister asked the court to determine whether the composition of the delegates contravened Article 11(A) 12(1) and 13(1) of the constitution of the APC.

    The ex-minister also asked the court to determine if the composition of the delegates at the PDP primary contravened Section 33(1) and (5) (c) of the constitution of the party.

    The plaintiffs prayed the court to determine whether having regards to the clear unambiguous and express provisions and tenor of Sections 6(6) (A) (B) and (C) read alongside Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution, the court has the inherent judicial powers to nullify, cancel and declare as illegal the Presidential primaries of the APC and the PDP.

    Nwajiuba asked the court to determine if all the votes cast in favour of Tinubu and Atiku at the special national convention of the APC and PDP are illegal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever on the grounds of corruption and selling of delegate votes and voter inducement.

    Lastly, the ex-minister prayed the court to decide if having regards to the express provisions of paragraphs 1 and 8 of the 5th schedule of the 1999 Constitution, the corrupt conducts of the “third defendant (Tinubu) and the 4th defendant (Atiku) in buying votes and corruptly inducing delegates with dollars and naira in various sums to secure their votes at the special national convention… disqualifies them from further seeking, contesting and holding the office of the President.”26 reliefs

    Consequently, the ex-minister is seeking 26 reliefs including an order that the composition of delegates at the APC and the PDP was not properly constituted.

    Specifically, Nwajiuba asked the court to rule that Atiku and Tinubu along with their agents bribed delegates with dollars and the votes they got should be declared illegal.

    The plaintiffs are seeking a “declaration that the conduct of the 3rd (Tinubu) and 4th (Atiku) defendants who by way of corrupt inducements of delegates with US dollars which being a foreign currency and non-legal tender in Nigeria under the CBN Act… used the dollars for the inducement of votes in favour of the 3rd (Tinubu) and 4th (Atiku) defendants has rendered the votes they scored at the special convention of the 1st defendant (APC) and the 2nd defendant (PDP) illegal, void and invalid and of no effect whatsoever and thus inhibiting (Tinubu and Atiku) from benefiting from the proceeds of their gross illegalities.”

    The plaintiffs also asked the court to declare that Tinubu could not be recognised as the Presidential candidate of the APC because the money he used in purchasing the APC form could not be traced to any business.

    He asked the court to make a declaration that Tinubu lacked the minimum qualification to run for office of the President which is a secondary school certificate, a document which he had failed to submit but tendered his university certificate instead.

    Finally, they are seeking an order, “returning the 2nd plaintiff (Nwajiuba) as the duly elected/nominated Presidential candidate of the 1st defendant (APC) being that by the operation of Section 90(3), the 2nd plaintiff, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, is the only contestant out of the 10 contestants whose source of N100m is verified and complied with in the Electoral Act as contained in the print out of the names of the bank statement.”

    In a supporting affidavit deposed to by one Abadom Chidinma, on behalf of the ex-minister and the RAI, it was stated that the evidence presented to the court was genuine including Amaechi’s claim and that of Chief Dele Momodu of the PDP that votes were sold at the primaries.

    The deponent also argued that both the APC and the PDP have the obligation to observe the federal character principle in the selection of Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates and that INEC ought not to accept any nomination that contravenes the country’s constitution.

    Head of Legal, Tinubu Campaign, Babatunde Ogala, said, “We are not aware of it. I am just hearing that for the first time. When Nwajiuba refers to us, we will respond.”

    The Director of Media and Communications, Tinubu Campaign Organisation, Bayo Onanuga simply stated, “I can’t say much in that. We wish him good luck.”

    Tinubu’s camp

    But the Director General of Asiwaju Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation, Adebayo Shittu, challenged the plaintiffs to prove their allegation of vote-buying.

    He noted, “Can Nwajiuba prove this allegation? As I once told you, these are frustrated people. Was he even at the unveiling of Kashim Shettima, his party’s vice presidential candidate? No, he just like a few others, didn’t turn up. Did he even write the APC leadership about this?

    “Anyway, let him go to court and prove his case beyond reasonable doubt. The truth is that we can’t stop anybody going to court if he has a genuine case and can tender the evidence. I mean, what he is alleging in this case is criminality and he has to prove it. That is my position.”

    When contacted for comment, the APC Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka asked one of our correspondents to call back the following day.

    He simply said, “It is not a good time I can’t talk, let’s talk tomorrow(Friday), please.’’

    The PDP spokesman, Debo Ologunagba declined comment, saying he does not comment on court cases.

    But a lecturer with the University of Jos, Luka Toholde said “Nwajiuba has no moral right to head to the court because he is part of that kind of system. I think he decided to go to the court because the election process did not favour him.

    “Following his antecedents and utterances right from ASUU strike, he has not showed any sign of someone who has Nigeria at heart.”

    A political analyst, Dr Busari Dauda, however, argued that the ex-minister had the right to seek justice if he feels justice has not been served with the way the primaries were conducted.He stated, “The presidential primary is an internal affair of the political parties, yes. There have been allegations of vote-buying here and there but nobody has come out to say I bought or sold delegates votes, it’s his responsibility to prove beyond reasonable doubt that votes were bought. If he is able to do that and it is recognised in the constitution that they can be disqualified then the court can go ahead to disqualify them.

    “However, the primaries have been conducted, the process is ongoing and INEC has released names of the candidates. I think it is an exercise in futility at this point, he is just seeking for relevance.’’

    (Punch)

  • Atiku replies Tinubu, challenges APC candidate to grant ‘hour long’ interview

    Atiku replies Tinubu, challenges APC candidate to grant ‘hour long’ interview

    Atiku replies Tinubu, challenges APC candidate to grant ‘hour long’ interview

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, to subject himself to a ‘long’ interview as he (Atiku) recently did.

    Atiku was responding to the statement by the Tinubu Campaign Organisation earlier on Saturday attacking him on some issues he discussed in the interview with Arise TV.

    In the interview on Friday, the former vice president attacked the APC and Mr Tinubu for settling for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for the 2023 election.

    He was referring to the choice of former Borno State governor and serving senator, Kashim Shettima, as the running mate to Mr Tinubu.

    Both Messrs Tinubu and Shettima are Muslims.

    The Tinubu campaign accused Atiku of illegally enriching himself when he was in government.

    The statement by the Director of Media and Communications of the organisation, Bayo Onanuga, also accused the PDP candidate of hypocrisy, spreading falsehood and of having a poor grasp of history and current affairs.

    But a statement by Atiku’s media aide, Paul Ibe, on Saturday night, challenged Mr Tinubu to subject himself to an hour long interview as did Atiku if he was “mentally present” and articulate enough to do so.

    It said Mr Tinubu and his “yes men” were not in a position to criticise Atiku when they had not sat on the ‘hot seat’.

    “We would like to challenge Bola Tinubu to subject himself to an hour long interview, like the Waziri did, and if he is able to be as articulate and mentally present as our candidate, then he can talk.

    “Until then, we will only want to remind him and his yes men that they are not in a position to point fingers when they have not sat on the hot seat,” the statement said.

    It also responded to other issues the Tinubu campaign raised, including his (Atiku) time in Nigeria Customs Service and academic qualifications.

    (Premium Times)

  • ANALYSIS: An opposition within the opposition? How PDP might derail its ambition

    ANALYSIS: An opposition within the opposition? How PDP might derail its ambition

    ANALYSIS: An opposition within the opposition? How PDP might derail its ambition

    The fallout from the presidential primaries of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which culminated in the victory of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s flagbearer in the 2023 elections has led to a series of events akin to a blockbuster Nollywood movie.

    Despite the reported majority support of the PDP screening committee over the choice of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, as the party’s Vice-Presidential candidate, Atiku, in his wisdom, decided to jettison this mandate by going for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.

    This led to the hitherto-combustible Wike turning into something of a recluse — which has caused unease amongst crucial stakeholders within the party who are worried over the present allegiance of the Rivers Governor.

    Further worry was etched into the foreheads of party heads when Wike issued a statement after the outcome of the party’s primaries; this was before Atiku’s eventual choice of Okowa as his running mate.

    Nyesom Wike, on Monday, May 30, accused some southerners of working against the zone getting the presidential ticket of the party, while addressing supporters in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    Wike made references to betrayal, conspiracy, and people who cannot keep to agreements, but he didn’t mention any name in particular.

    “As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to worry about. I contested election based on principle and agreement with all the southern governors and the leaders of the south that the presidency should go to the south this period,” he said.

    “We have done our own part and we never betrayed anybody, because it is not in our blood to betray. But it’s a shame to those people. Some of the governors from the south are the people they used to sabotage our interest. However, we have shown them that we are not like them. We have the capacity to do whatever is good for us.

    “I don’t want to talk about some other people who cannot even win election in their own places. I’ve told them that this election, whoever emerges, I will support, and I am not going to go back,” the Rivers State Governor said.

    ‘Undemocratic’ Atiku

    Samuel Ortom, the Governor of Benue State, further added to the malcontent by berating Atiku for ignoring democratic precepts with his choice of Okowa as a running mate.

    During an interview with AriseTV on Thursday, June 30, Ortom disclosed that the majority within the party ranks advocated and voted for Wike to be the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

    “Some of us believe Wike has the capacity to lead this country. Unfortunately, the PDP did not give him the opportunity and we further advocated that he should be the running mate. But Okowa was chosen and I expect him to reach out to Wike.

    “14 out of 17 committee members chose Wike which is not fair. But if we are in a democratic era and Atiku decided to give it to Okowa, more explanation is needed in order for us to work as a party. He ought to be consulted before the running mate announcement was made,” the Governor railed against Atiku’s decision.

    Nonetheless, in order to curtail a snowballing of events, Walid Jibrin, chairman of the board of trustees (BoT) of the PDP stated that the party would do whatever it takes to ensure Nyesom Wike doesn’t defect.

    Jibrin said this on Monday, June 28, while addressing journalists in Kaduna.

    Speaking on efforts to ensure that the party remains united ahead of the 2023 elections, Jibrin said a reconciliation committee will be constituted to visit the Rivers governor.

    This decision by Atiku might be akin to a fait accompli, with Ortom being insistent that Atiku botched the entire process by disregarding Wike.

    In the same AriseTV interview, the Benue Governor said that Atiku ought to have reached out to Governor Wike before announcing his running mate for the 2023 election.

    Governor Ortom said the choice only became a problem because Atiku asked stakeholders to deliberate and decide who his VP would be and then went on to choose another against the will of the stalwarts in whose hands he had earlier entrusted the task.

    He went on to say that the development would not have caused any bad-blood, seeing that ultimately the choice was Atiku’s; nevertheless, the PDP Presidential candidate ought to have reached out to those who are aggrieved over the selection, a move which he is yet to make.

    “All that was needed even before the pronouncement, after we did our recommendation, Wike would have been reached out to, he is a human being.

    “This is a man who has built the party today in PDP he has fought all night and all day to see that this party remains together. So, he would have been reached out to, to say that this is the decision we are taking and this is the reason we are taking this decision, and I think he would have understood,” Ortom explained.

    Atiku, in a move to appeal disgruntled stakeholders, said the party was doing its utmost to put its house in order ahead of the 2023 general elections.

    In a post on his official social media handles, on Thursday, June 31, he said he alongside the party leadership was working to address the feelings of all party members.

    “The Peoples Democratic Party will remain united. Focus on our actions. We are taking action to address the feelings of all party members. The unity in our community is my priority. Our resolve to unify Nigeria starts in our party and moves to the community, then on to society”.

    Even with the reconciliatory moves being put in place, rumors have emerged that opposition figures have reached out to Wike by capitalizing on his seeming grieve to persuade him to dump the PDP. This has caused more unease within the major opposition political party which is battling to keep its house in order ahead of the next general elections.

    Whether the reconciliatory moves embarked upon by the party would be enough to unify its ranks remains to be seen, but the major opposition party has a huge job on its hands quelling the opposition from within. And it has to do this in good time before the elections if it hopes to achieve its dream of displacing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from power.

    (Ripples)

  • PDP sets up panel to ‘beg’ Wike

    PDP sets up panel to ‘beg’ Wike

    The loyalists of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, have listed conditions for the resolution of the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party.

    Supporters of the governor, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Sunday, said it was not late for the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to revisit the issue of his running mate by dropping the Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, whom he picked last month.

    As the crisis over Atiku’s running mate worsened, the Chairman of the PDP’s Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, said the party had set up a nine-member committee to beg Wike.

    Sequel to his victory at the PDP convention, where he beat Wike and other contenders to the presidential ticket, Atiku had nominated Okowa as his running mate, despite the recommendation of Wike by a 17-man committee set up by the party.

    Certain chieftains of the party, including the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, ex-Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang and others, had criticised the choice of Okowa as the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

    There were reports on Friday that Wike snubbed a former Minister of Police Affairs and ally of Atiku, Adamu Waziri, who attempted to initiate a peace talk with him in Turkey.

    The party, also on Sunday, raised another panel headed by Atiku, to pacify the aggrieved Governor and prevail on him not to leave the party.

    Some members of the House of Representatives loyal to Wike contended that the PDP was bound to fail with its choice of Okowa as the running mate.

    The PDP lawmakers, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Sunday, also took a swipe at the National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, criticising his role in the crisis that has followed the presidential primary of the opposition party.

    When asked if the party should substitute Okowa with Wike, a member of the House from Kogi State, Teejay Yusuf, said it was possible if the presidential candidate could see the value the Rivers governor would add to the PDP ticket.

    He said, “That will be the choice of the candidate. It would be his prerogative to do that. It is not for me to suggest that to him. If he sees that Wike will add more value to the ticket and say ‘with the way it is, I can manage the ripple effect of taking Okowa out,’ why not, if not?”

    “Okowa is a PDP governor but nobody can deny the fact that Wike has the will and the capacity to make this party stand on its feet.”

    The lawmaker, however, dismissed the possibility of Wike, who he described as “a party man,” dumping the PDP for another party or working with another party or presidential candidate through the backdoor.

    But he cautioned that the governor’s loyalty should not be abused.

    The lawmaker also condemned Ayu for allegedly taking sides in the crisis, when he should have been neutral as the leader of the party.

    Yusuf cited the example of how Ayu met with the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, and called him a hero.

    Tambuwal had stepped down for Atiku at the PDP primary, making it possible for the latter to defeat Wike who came second amid protests against the retention of power in the North when it was expected to rotate to the South.

    Speaking on the calls on Atiku to reconcile with Wike, he said, “That is a fact and that was what was emphasised by the leaders who spoke of recent, notably Governor Ortom and former governor Jang. I lend my voice to that, that one stoops to conquer. It is the normal thing to be done.”

    Meanwhile, Atiku has said that despite the internal conflict within his party, he does not see “a divided house”.

    He admonished the party not to lose focus on rescuing Nigeria.

    Atiku stated this in a newsletter in Abuja on Sunday.

    He stated, “One of the characteristic attributes of democracy that I admire a lot is that it is a system with an intrinsic asset of crisis management. It becomes even more interesting that, perhaps, the most noteworthy outcome of a democratic process is the greater possibility of conflict generation.

    “So, a remarkable lesson that I have learned in politics is that in some instances, conflicts are healthy realities. I know, for instance, that when conflicts arise out of genuine concerns about having an inclusive political process, it signposts the viability of that process and, more importantly, the eagerness of stakeholders to be active participants in the success of such process.

    In a move to resolve the crisis, the PDP has announced a nine-member reconciliation committee that would visit the Rivers State helmsman.

    Disclosing this on Sunday, the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, also cautioned party members against unguarded utterances that could further plug the party into a deeper crisis.

    The committee, headed by Atiku, comprises Okowa, Ayu and his National Working Committee, Jibril; BoT members; PDP governors; former governors; ex-PDP minister and some party elders from zones and states.

  • 2023 Presidency: Group urges Atiku to drop his ambition, support Peter Obi

    2023 Presidency: Group urges Atiku to drop his ambition, support Peter Obi

    The Peter Obi Support Network has asked former Vice President Abubakar Atiku to drop his ambition to contest the 2023 presidential election and support another candidate and former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi.

    Both Atiku and Obi are contesting the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential ticket.

    In a message to Atiku dated April 19, 2022 and made available to our correspondent, the group said it was in the interest of equity, justice and fairness.

    The message was signed by the group’s Media and Communications Committee members, namely: Prince Emeka Kalu, Alhaji Kabir Garba, Adigun Makanjuola, Mr Marcel Ngogbehei and Comrade Sani Saeed Altukry.

    The group said stepping down and supporting Obi would not only save the PDP and Nigeria, but also ensure that the Atiku/Obi ticket of 2019, which Nigerians missed, was returned to power in 2023 and ensure that their lofty manifesto was implemented for the benefit of all.

    According to the group, the country as of today was in an extreme crisis, and it was at times like this that history and posterity recorded its greatest heroes and heroines.

    It said the reasonable implication is that after eight years of the rule of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the presidency should rotate to the South in 2023.

    It called on Nigerians not to repeat the mistakes of 2015, adding that nobody should wish Nigerians another eight years of bad governance.

    The group noted that if the PDP conceded its ticket to the South-East, it would be sending a message that would drown the APC.

    The statement read in part, “We write on behalf of millions of our members across Nigeria to call on you, our Party Leader, H.E Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (GCON), to seize the moment and show again the leadership you ably demonstrated in 2019 when you rose above primordial considerations to choose Mr. Peter Obi as the PDP Vice-Presidential Candidate; an action that got the entire country ‘Atikulated & Obligated.’

    “The Atiku/Obi 2019 ticket has gone down in history as Nigeria’s most inspiring presidential ticket of all time, which in our view was an unfairly denied victory.

    “Regardless of the foregoing, our relationship with you will last forever; and for the record, all of us in POSN were Atikulated & Obligated in 2019. Hence, for us, you are part and indeed the head of our family.

    “As you are aware, Nigeria had President Olusegun Obasanjo (Southwest, 1999–2007) and President Goodluck Jonathan (South-south, 2010–2015), leaving the South-East outstanding.

    “The All Progressives Congress has zoned its 2023 presidential ticket to the South; therefore, the PDP has no reason not to follow suit as a matter of law. To do otherwise will mean working against equity and fairness and inviting avoidable litigation and possible truncation of the PDP’s participation in the 2023 presidential election, which will give the APC a ‘walk-over-victory.’

    “Stepping down and supporting Peter Obi will not only save the PDP and Nigeria, but also ensure that the Atiku/Obi ticket of 2019, which Nigerians so dearly missed, is returned to power in 2023 and ensure that their lofty manifesto is implemented for the benefit of all.”

    (Sun)

  • 2023: I will hand over power to the youths

    A presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has promised to hand over power to youths if elected president of the country.

    He said this during a meeting with leaders of over 200 support groups and the leadership of TeeCom across the country in Abuja, according to a press statement signed by National Publicity Secretary, Atiku Support Organisation, Dr Victor Moses.

    The statement was titled, ‘Atiku to work more with the youth and transit power to young generation says Atiku Support Organisation’.

    Atiku expressed delight that more young people were now participating in politics, adding that he would mentor the young generation and hand over his political structure to them.

    The former Vice-President was quoted as saying, “I will mentor you and hand over power to you.

    “I would like to work more with young people because young people are more agile, creative, and conversant with contemporary opportunities and challenges.

    “Our administration is going to be a transition of power from the senior generation to a younger generation.”

    Atiku Support Organisation, however, urged youths to support Atiku, saying he they would have more opportunities under him.

    The statement said, “His Excellency, Alh. Atiku Abubakar’s unreserved, passionate and unrepentant desire and commitment to work with the youth and hand over power to young Nigerians is a sure pathway to youth inclusiveness and the right direction towards building a modern Nigeria.

    “His public and open commitment, the first of its kind in Nigeria’s political history to transit power to younger generation places him head and shoulders above all other aspirants seeking to govern Nigeria in 2023.

    “A look at his antecedents clearly proves that his promises are not mere political rhetoric as he is known for raising young people into leadership positions. Many of his mentees are today serving as governors, senators, reps, ministers and in many other capacities.

    “For decades, the youth, who are paying the ultimate price of the APC-General Muhammadu Buhari-led maladministration of Nigeria have been abandoned in the scheme of things in Nigeria. The truth is that no nation can develop without inclusiveness and productive youth. His Excellency, Alh. Atiku Abubakar promised to change the dynamic by working with more young people to enhance opportunities and productivity.

    “We, therefore, call on all young Nigerians, delegates and non-delegates to rally around His Excellency, Alh. Atiku Abubakar to clinch victory as the PDP Presidential flag bearer in the forthcoming primary and return elected as the President of the federal republic of Nigeria in the 2023 presidential elections.”

    (Punch)

  • Afegbua supports clamour for Southern candidate, says Atiku is too old to contest

    Afegbua supports clamour for Southern candidate, says Atiku is too old to contest

     

    Former Commissioner of Information in Edo State and a member of opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Kassim Afegbua, has said former Vice President Atiku was not qualified to contest the 2023 presidential election on account of old age.

    He said PDP could not keep giving its ticket to Atiku, saying it would be immoral to do so, and urged the former Vice President to jettison his ambition and throw his weight behind the clamour for a Southern candidate.

    Afegbua, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said it was time to give a younger person from the South an opportunity to lead the country on the platform of PDP.

    The statement read: “Having concluded the convention of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, with a new leadership that looks promising, the party will have to rise above board to produce a presidential candidate from the Southern part of the country to complete the narrative.

    “With the abysmal performance of President Muhammadu Buhari on account of age, incompetence and lack of capacity and political will to take deliberate and sustained action to bail out the country from all manner of challenges, it will be immoral for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to continue to express interest in seeking election in the 2023 presidential election having attained the retirement age.

    “He cannot assume the role of a perpetual candidate or professional aspirant year in, year out, as though the party was established for him alone. It defeats all sense of logic for such an old man to attempt another round of political contest at a time the general feeling and mood in the country supports a younger Nigerian from the Southern part of the country.

    “For me, furthermore, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should drop his quest for presidency and support a southern Nigerian candidate in the spirit of fairness, equity and justice, that will assuage the feelings of stakeholders from the Southern part of Nigeria. It will be against the run of play and natural justice for any aspirant of Northern extraction to show interest in the 2023 presidential election within the Peoples’ Democratic Party.

     

    “It will offend national sentiments, emotions and logic for anyone from the North to show such interest given our diversities and hetereogenous political configurations.

    “Given PDP’s doctrine of political power balancing and fairness, it will be against its own unwritten rule to cede the ticket to any Northern aspirant least of all Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    “After the 2019 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar abandoned all of us in Nigeria and sought refuge in far away Dubai, thus exposing us to the intimidation, harassment and threats from the desperate APC’s power oligarchs.

    “It was a case of a General abandoning his troops in the battle field. Rather than draw strength from his presence, his absence exposed us to all manner of challenges.

    “He was in Dubai and left us to our fate. When it mattered most for us to reach out to our candidate for motivation and necessary encouragement, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar vanished into thin air. Knowing full well that political activities were to take off, he suddenly resurfaced and becomes a frontliner in his quest to fly the party’s flag once again.

    “That, to me, amounts to gross political selfishness and greed, which must not be allowed to flourish in our contemporary engagements. Even those who are promoters-in-chief of Alhaji Atiku’s aspiration, know in their heart of hearts that it is a project that is dead on arrival.’’

    “The Southern geopolitical zones of Nigeria have eminently qualified Nigerians and parade great minds, who are competent and ready to take a shot at the number one job.

    ‘’Those who are advancing very nebulous theory of seeing the northern population as a stimulant to win the sympathy of the North against the South are either ignorant of the real demographics or at best, just playing the ostrich. No one in the North should take away what belongs to the South.

    “That will be hurting the conscience and feelings of the average southerner. If the argument is to suffice for example, for an Atiku presidency, he will be concluding his first term of four years at age 81. And were he to become a candidate in 2023 again, and per adventure he loses the election, are we, as PDP, going to reserve the position for him or any other Northerner in 2027?

    “These are very curious scenarios, which cannot be overlooked. For 2023, an Atiku candidacy will be like promoting an expired product in the face of very compelling reason to look towards the South in our quest to wrestle power from the fractured APC.

    “Earlier last year, I was conscripted into the Technical Committee for Atiku presidency. Having attended three meetings of the group, I found my spirit and conscience permanently in conflict with the ethos of justice, fairness and equity, which the south deserves.

     

    (Vanguard)

  • 2019 Election: Documents show Atiku allegedly paid $16.5 million to secure U.S. visa, destroy Buhari’s campaign

    2019 Election: Documents show Atiku allegedly paid $16.5 million to secure U.S. visa, destroy Buhari’s campaign

    Nigerian opposition leader Atiku Abubakar paid $16.5 million (N8.7 billion in today’s parallel conversions) to an American firm to help him destroy his opponent’s campaign message and procure a visa to Washington in the run-up to the 2019 presidential vote, according to disclosure filings seen by Peoples Gazette, bolstering a long-held presumption that Nigerian electioneering was becoming more expensive to run even before illicit payments to electoral officers and voters are factored in.

    Mr Abubakar, 74, used the money to enlist the services of K.M. Family Investment, LLC, a Texas-based public affairs consultancy run by Sada Cumber, a Pakistani-American diplomat and former U.S. Special Envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) under President George W. Bush. The deal was facilitated by Legacy Logistics, an Abuja-based integrated services venture linked to Mr Abubakar’s associates Samuel Cornelius and Joseph Nzepuome.

    Amongst other campaign ideas, Mr Cumber and his team accepted the $16.5 million deal to help the former Nigerian vice president lobby American politicians and bureaucrats for a visitor’s visa, coordinate advanced communications of his campaign and help build a structure tasked with the “destruction” of opposition messaging, according to the contract seen by The Gazette as part of compliance with the provisions of U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act.

    The deal was signed on October 26, 2018, three weeks after Mr Abubakar clinched the presidential nomination of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 2019 elections.

    But the filings said Mr Cumber had contacted top Washington lobbyists Holland & Knight no earlier than September 20, 2018, seeking their services in helping Mr Abubakar procure a visa to the U.S.

    Holland & Knight charged Mr Cumber $75,000 for the contract and promptly dispatched its personnel to liaise with Republican members of the U.S. Congress, as well as representatives of White House National Security Council and the State Department.

    The deal with Holland & Knight was first reported by Reuters in February 2019, weeks after Mr Abubakar returned from the two-day trip to Washington.

    Sada Cumber

    Mr Cumber, an influential Republican and ally of former President Donald Trump, started preparing his team for a trip to Abuja to meet Mr Abubakar’s campaign shortly after the deal was signed and the visa was all but guaranteed, The Gazette learnt.

    It was unclear how much Mr Cumber charged Mr Atiku for the visa alone as part of the $16.5 million campaign strategy deal. A spokesman for his firm did not immediately return a request seeking comments from The Gazette on Tuesday night.

    The contract said the agreed sum was exclusive of Mr Abubakar’s flight and accommodation to the U.S. and security and logistics for Mr Cumber’s team on their trip to Nigeria — indicating that the Nigerian politician paid out of his pocket when his entourage stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington during the trip.

    In the contract agreement, Mr Cumber asked Mr Abubakar’s campaign to pay $16.5 million into an escrow account. The money would be depleted in three tranches at every milestone of the three phases of the project.

    “The Escrow Agent shall disburse the Escrow Fund as follows:

    “a) Five Million, Five-Hundred Thousand and NO/100 Dollars ($5,500,000.00) shall be disbursed by Escrow Agent from Escrow Fund to Firm immediately upon confirmation that the travel VISA for Mr. Atiku Abubakar has been issued by the United States government;

    “b) Eight Million, Five-Hundred Thousand and NO/100 Dollars ($8,500,000.00) shall be disbursed by Escrow Agent from Escrow Fund to Firm immediately upon shipment of the book by Firm and release of the Op-Eds by Firm.

    “c) Remaining Two Million, Five-Hundred Thousand and NO/10G Dollars ($2,500,000.00) shall be disbursed by Escrow Agent from Escrow Fund to Firm thirty (30) days before the currently announced Election Day in Nigeria of February 16, 2019. This date shall not change even if Election Day is postponed.

    “Funds may also be disbursed in accordance with the joint written instructions signed by both Firm and Client. On disbursement of all of the Escrow Fund, this Escrow Agreement shall terminate,” the contract said.

    The contract was scheduled to last between October 2018 and January 2019, when the last $2.5 million was slated to be released from the escrow account. It also included a clause that said any postponements of the election will not affect the disbursement of the $16.5 million as scheduled in the agreement. The election was indeed shifted from February 16, 2019, to February 23, 2019.

    The deal underscored how expensive Nigerian presidential elections have become over the past decade, and how politicians continue to contract foreign strategists to help direct their campaigns. In 2015, Mr Buhari’s APC awarded a similar contract to AKPD Message & Media, a strategic communications outfit headed by David Axelrod, who directed President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008 and 2012.

    The amount appeared to have been drawn from Mr Abubakar’s formidable campaign war chest and did not include other electoral expenses locally, including ad buys across traditional and digital media.

    Nigerian politicians are also known to pay heavily to secure their parties’ tickets at the primaries, advance illicit payments to electoral officers and induce voters at the ballot box.

    Mr Abubakar has carried a burden of corruption perception since he was accused of laundering about $40 million by the U.S. Senate in a 2010 probe. The probe uncovered how Mr Abubakar used his wives to launder the funds, including about $1.7 million in cash bribes from German technology giant Siemens. Siemens pleaded guilty to the charges in 2008 and paid about $1.6 billion in fines.

    The main opposition chieftain was also named as an accomplice in a multinational bribery scandal of a broadband contract that sent his Democratic ally Jefferson to prison in 2005. Mr Abubakar denied all allegations of corruption and has not been formally convicted of graft, but the U.S. nonetheless found him unworthy of its visa and blocked him from getting one for years.

    Mr Abubakar said in interviews that he applied for a U.S. visa repeatedly but was denied on administrative grounds, which consular officers did not elaborate.

    But as his opponents were preparing to use his inability to enter the U.S. owing to unclear corruption claims, Mr Abubakar pinned his hopes on Mr Cumber’s steep ties across Washington, which paid off when he arrived in Washington on January 17, 2019, for the first time in over a decade, thereby crossing a major political hurdle that has haunted him for years.

    Mr Cumber agreed to, as part of the deal, help Mr Abubakar write a book outlining his vision for Nigeria, hold talks with key players at the World Economic Forum in Davos, conduct opposition research and SWOT analysis of his ambition.

    A campaign insider told The Gazette that Mr Cumber and his team helped put together the structure of his campaign, as well as the strategy document he launched in the run-up to the election. Still, it remained unclear whether the agreement was implemented in its entirety, especially as Mr Abubakar did not appear to have launched any book before the election.

    A spokesman for the former vice president did not return requests seeking comments about the contract.

    Mr Buhari was declared the winner of the election amidst condemnation from election observers and protests from Mr Abubakar. The opposition leader argued the election was rigged after ruling party agents broke into the electoral commission’s database and changed votes, but lost at the tribunal and the Supreme Court.

    (Peoples Gazette)

    Download the document: Atiku-Campaign

     

     

  • Nigeria’s failed state is the Presidency’s fault – Atiku

    Nigeria’s failed state is the Presidency’s fault – Atiku

    Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has called on Nigerians to help President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to save the country and themselves.

    Atiku, in a series of tweets on Sunday, March 28, 2021, said this in his reaction to the recent Bloomberg’s report which says Nigeria is set to become the country with the highest rate of unemployment in the world.

     

    The former VP said Nigeria emerged as the nation with the highest rate of unemployment because the Federal Government abandoned people-centered leadership, free trade and deregulatory policies that were put in place during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo.

     

    Nigeria’s economy has tanked on President Buhari’s watch (Presidency)

    Nigeria’s economy has tanked on President Buhari’s watch (Presidency)

    Atiku also attributed the rising spate of insecurity in the country to unemployment.

     

    He said, “What this government must realise is that the unprecedented insecurity Nigeria is facing is the result of youth unemployment,” he said.

     

    “Idleness is the worst feature of unemployment because it channels the energy of our youth away from production, and towards destruction, and that is why Nigeria is now the third most terrorised nation on Earth.

     

    Proffering solutions to the country’s unemployment challenge, Atiku advised the government to focus on getting 13.5 million out-of-school children into school and engage youths in work programmes.

     

    On capital inflow and foreign direct investment, Atiku suggested three possible solutions.

     

    He said, “First, Nigeria must move towards a single exchange rate to be determined by market forces. Secondly, the federal and state governments must reduce taxes, to make Nigeria more business friendly. And finally, financial and monetary institutions, like the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, must be free from the type of political influence that resulted in the prohibition of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”

     

    Atiku, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019, presidential election also advised Nigerians to help the government of president Muhammadu Buhari, saying his administration “obviously lacks the capacity to address our current challenges.”

     

    He said, “In a situation where we are simultaneously the world headquarters for extreme poverty, the world capital for out of school children, and the nation with the highest unemployment rate on Earth, there is a very real and present danger that we might slip into the failed states index — God forbid!”

     

     

    Atiku said it is important for Nigerians to help the government not bec ause of the government but because of themselves.

     

     

     

     

    Source: www.pulse.ng