PDP Congratulates Jonathan on Appeal Court Victory

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has congratulated President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday’s ruling of the Court of Appeal, which upheld his eligibility to contest the 2015 Presidential election. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh said in a statement on Tuesday that the court ruling represents a positive step towards President Jonathan’s impending overwhelming victory at the polls come March 28, 2015. The party described the verdict as “victory for democracy and the rule of law especially in protecting the inalienable rights of eligible citizens to freely participate in the electoral process without any form of hindrance” adding that the development has helped to enrich the judiciary and further deepened the nation’s democratic evolution. The PDP also applauded President Jonathan for always remaining focused and upholding democratic principles, which enable Nigerians to operate in an environment that allows for full expression of fundamental rights. Commending the judiciary for its stabilizing role in the polity, the PDP urged its members and supporters across the country to close ranks and stand on the platform of this judicial victory to intensify efforts for eventual electoral victory for the president and other candidates of the party in the general elections.

Reasons Why Jonathan, PDP are angry with Jega

There have been speculations flying around that president Jonathan and the PDP are not pleased with INEC boss, Prof. Attahiru Jega, now, new revelations have surfaced in Abuja on Monday indicating why GEJ and the national leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party were angry with him, According to Punch, a week-long investigation in Abuja showed that the President and his party are not happy with Jega over his insistence that the commission would use the Permanent Voter Cards for the election. The PVCs were used for the conduct of the governorship elections in both Ekiti and Osun states, which were won by the PDP and the All Progressives Congress respectively. Apart from this, the President and the party were also angry that the commission was going ahead with its decision to use card readers. This technology was however not used in both Ekiti and Osun states elections. The commission has said that the card reader can only read PVC issued by it and that any person that shows up at the polling unit without a PVC or with a card not issued by INEC will not be able to vote. It was learnt that the Presidency and the ruling party were not totally against the use of the PVCs, but they were not happy with the use of card readers. A worker in the Presidency on Sunday queried the insistence of INEC to go ahead with the two items. He said, "Now, what we are saying is that yes, the PVCs were used in both Ekiti and Osun governorship elections but the way and manner the PVCs are being distributed now is suspicious. "Look at the figure of those who have collected from the northern part of the country and look at the figure from the southern part, where President Jonathan hails from. "If the election is going to be by ethnic sentiment alone, you will know that our President has been defeated already. So, that’s the reason. "Look at Ogun and Lagos states, which we all know are politically sophisticated. Why are the electorates not picking their PVCs? We are worried." In terms of PVCs collection, figures released by the commission indicated that Ogun State is lagging behind among all the states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory. In the state, only 808,590 out of the 1,829,534 registered voters had collected their PVCs. This figure represents a mere 44.20 per cent. But the commission said that 1,387,401 PVCs had been delivered to the state. Lagos State with 5,822,207 registered voters had recorded 63.44 per cent of the PVCs collection. This shows that 3,693,355 of the cards had been picked by their owners. But the commission said that 5,558,062 cards had been delivered for voters in the state. This means that there are 1,864,707 PVCs yet to be picked by their owners in the state. When asked whether the refusal of the owners of the PVCs to pick them up could be attributed to Jega, the source said that the commission should embark on more enlightenment. On the issue of card readers, a member of the National Working Committee of the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that there was no way the machine would be effective in the area of accreditation of voters. When this issue was raised before the commission, an explanatory note presented to our correspondent showed that accreditation of a voter using the card reader is expected to last for about 20 seconds.

APC not happy with economic progress – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described as sadistic and unfortunate, the All Progressives Congress’ relentless attack on President Goodluck Jonathan’s strategic policies put in place to plug leakages in the nation’s economy. The PDP said the recent bitter criticism against widely applauded initiatives by the Jonathan administration aimed at guaranteeing the economic progress of the nation even in the face of the fall in crude oil price at the international market, not only confirms APC’s general aversion to the well-being of the nation but also the fact that its leaders have lost every sense of positive reasoning due to their desperation for power. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh in a statement,Tuesday, said that it is appalling that the APC has become so anti-people that it would attempt to smear populist programmes of government in a bid to score cheap political point. “We ask, why is APC uncomfortable with policies that promote transparency and accountability in the nation’s revenue system? Why are they bitter with the independent revenue e-collection scheme under the Treasury Single Account, which ensures greater monitoring and control of spending in MDAs? “Why is APC bellyaching over the inauguration of the Automated Aviation Revenue Project and the directive that revenue collected by MDAs should be paid directly to the Consolidated Revenue Fund at the Central Bank for better monitoring and control? “Is it because of their selfish agenda to pillage the nation’s resources to enlarge the economic frontiers of their leaders; the real reason for their apparent desperation for power?’ the PDP queried. The ruling party said the APC is frustrated and increasingly confused by the successes recorded by the Jonathan’s administration in security and economy despite the daunting challenges and has resorted to chasing shadows, especially having realized that javascript:void(0);Nigerians are no longer swayed by its propaganda in the social media and popularity contest abroad. “Our advice to the APC is that they should stop deluding themselves with their countless lies and deceitful promises to Nigerians. They should be bold enough to accept that they have no positive agenda and lack the capacity to ensure the unity, stability and prosperity of the nation”, the statement said. Insisting on its avowed commitment to transparency, accountability and prudent management of resources, the PDP assured that no amount of propaganda by the opposition will deter and distract it from pursuing its people oriented programmes in line with its manifesto and visions of the founding fathers.

Fani Kayode Run to the PDP out of fear for the EFFC - Tinubu

Former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, says Femi Fani-Kayode, left the All Progressives Congress for the PDP because the party refused to influence the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to drop the charges against him. In statement released through his media aide, Sunday Dare, the APC chieftain, alleged that since Fani-Kayode returned to the PDP and became the spokesman for President Jonathan's Campaign Organisation, 38 of the 40 charges against him for alleged money laundering have been dropped. Bola Tinubu helped build the great platform for change; he wholeheartedly supports the APC ticket because he believes it is the last best hope to rescue Nigeria from the disaster Fani-Kayode and his ilk will want to continue. "I pray Nigerians will not allow them to misgovern us a day past May 29. If Fani-Kayode pretends not to know of Tinubu’s efforts to build and support the APC, it comes as no surprise. Fani-Kayode tried before to be part of the party but left when he found out there was no room for his games. Because the APC could not help to free him from the EFCC and the aviation fraud, he ran away to the party that blocked the EFCC on his behalf. "That Fani-Kayode is the best a ruling party can present as a spokesman speaks volumes about the PDP. They are bereft of talent and character. They are filled with lies and chicanery. Fani-Kayode is simply the worst and most outspoken of a bad lot. However, we welcome his interventions. They are of such low quality and base character. His utterances frighten people but not in the way Fani-Kayode intended. "Instead of scaring people away from the APC, his work scares people that someone so unfit is so close to the seat of power, someone so unhinged is given free rein to spit bile and call that public discourse. One must wonder who is unbalanced, the misfit or he who hires him. Keep at it Fani-Kayode. Continue! "Fani-Kayode is not as smart as he thinks. If you read between the lines of his hysteria, you see another extreme sentiment: that of surging desperation. His statement indicates that even he now realises that his paymaster has lost to Buhari/Osinbajo. "The game is over. The whistle has blown. What the fantasy man seeks to do is change the game. He seeks to run against Tinubu in hopes the outcome will be better. Fani-Kayode now grasps at straws in the night wind."

How Jonathan, IBB, Are Plotting Interim Govt Instead Of Presidential Polls

More details are emerging on the plot to install an undemocratic Interim National Government (ING) and pre-empt Nigeria’s presidential election scheduled for later this month. Informed sources disclosed over the weekend that a key element in the plot is the need to forestall a Buhari presidency, for which reason the schemers of the plot have tried to woo the former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, now a chieftain of the opposing All Progressives Congress (APC) with the offer of being the Vice President in the interim structure. Even though there are now major obstacles to the plan, it is yet unclear if the schemers have completely set the idea aside. If Tinubu accepts, then he will be expected to rally the South-West, while IBB would rally the North, and Jonathan the South-East and South-South to accept the idea of an interim administration. They will use the excuse that the present times are not good to hold elections in the country, especially because of what David Mark had already called a state of war with Boko Haram. But it was Tinubu’s rejection of any form of compromise that now appears to be the greatest obstacle to the ING plot. Sources say this explains the recent outburst of Femi Fani-Kayode, the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign spokesperson alleging that the former Lagos State Governor intends to take over presidential power after the generally-awaited victory of the Buhari-Osinbajo campaign at the polls. Fani-Kayode wildly alleged that Tinubu has entered into an oath to compel Osinbajo to relinquish the office of VP to him after the election, an allegation and scenario that watchers of the Nigerian polity simply dismiss as both untenable and unrealistic. Investigations spanning over one week by Empowered Newswire on the interim government plot revealed that the two major schemers in the plot are the President himself, Dr. Jonathan, and former Military president Ibrahim Babangida. IBB, as he is popularly known, has told close aides that he would have to leave Nigeria the day Buhari is declared winner of the presidential election, a prospect he is working hard to avoid by all means. Jonathan is also said to be under intense pressure to negotiate a soft landing for from power since handing over to Buhari would likely expose the intense corruption that he and the Petroleum Minister Diezani Maduekwe, among others, have perpetrated. In fact the oil minister is said to be one of the hardest protagonists of a soft landing for the Jonathan presidency, mortally afraid of what a Buhari-Osinbajo ascendancy could mean for her. Knowledgeable Empowered Newswire sources confirm that IBB held two meetings with Tinubu to discuss the issue of the Interim National Government. The first was held in Lagos before the Council of State meeting the week before the February 14 elections were postponed. The second took place in Abuja home of IBB’s son on the night of the said Council of State meeting. The sources said that for the first meeting, IBB told Tinubu he had a wedding in Lagos and would like to use that opportunity to greet the former Lagos State Governor. Arriving with his son, he told Tinubu about the need to proceed with an interim government and forget about the election. Tinubu, who was shocked at the proposition, reportedly told IBB to forget the idea. But on the night after the Council of State meeting in Abuja which considered the subject of the readiness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the election, IBB again invited Tinubu to his son’s house in Abuja. At that meeting, former Head of State General Abdusalami was also present, and to the utter shock and annoyance of the former Lagos State Governor, President Jonathan showed up in a two-car convoy in the thick of the night. It was at that meeting that IBB and Jonathan promised Tinubu the slot of the Vice President in the Interim government. The sources say Tinubu promptly repeated his rejection of the idea, insisting that the elections are the best and only viable option to choose Nigeria’s next president and vice president. The interim government plan includes the cancellation of the elections and the imposition of a well-known Northerner as the head of the administration, with Tinubu as VP. The interim government will be put in place for two years, following which new elections would be conducted, with the definite exclusion of Buhari. Another source revealed to Empowered Newswire that some of the names that have been mentioned as possible heads of the interim government include David Mark, the president of the Senate; General Aliyu Gusau, the current Defence Minister who has always wished to be president “even if for a day”; and Abdusalami Abubakar, also a former head of state. All three are known allies of IBB. But the name of former president Olusegun Obasanjo was also thrown into the picture when a formal statement from the presidency signed by Dr. Ruben Abati said Obasanjo himself wanted to be head of the Interim govt. Observers say that formal statement by the president’s spokesperson is the best confirmation that indeed interim governmentG plot is real. Said one source, “If the presidency is saying they know that Obasanjo wanted to be the head of the Interim government, that means the presidency is not only aware of such plans, but is also involved in such a plot.” There had been previous attempts including monetary and other juicy offers to get Tinubu to prevent the emergence of Buhari in the primaries, and after that, to have Tinubu dump Buhari and enter into a deal with Jonathan to frustrate the potential emergence of Buhari as winner of the presidential polls. Sources believe that the recent wild allegation from the Jonathan camp that Tinubu was planning to force Osinbajo to relinquish the office of VP after being sworn-in is merely an outcome of the frustration generated first by Tinubu’s insistence that the elections must go on; his rejection of the offer from Jonathan to be VP of an Interim government for two years; and finally his insistence never to dump Buhari. It is believed that Prof Osinbajo, Buhari’s running mate, has actually never been asked to sign any undertaking or oath of any kind and that he accepted the party and Buhari’s offer to be VP unconditionally. Both he and the APC also over the weekend formally denied any such arrangements. In the absence of a key figure in the South-West to support and sell the idea of an Interim government, sources said options left on the table is to ensure the elections are “decently rigged” in favor of Jonathan or a crisis precipitated that will lead to Jonathan handing over power to David Mark as the Senate President, as was the case in the First Republic when power devolved to Senator Nwafor Orizu in the absence of the then President Nnamdi Azikiwe. In that scenario, in 1966, the elected civilian leaders had to voluntarily hand over power to the military. Speculations, backed by a comment by the Supervising Minister of Information Edem Duke, are rife that the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, may be asked to proceed on terminal leave sometime this month in line with civil service rules. This option, sources say, would boost the plan to “decently rig the election” in the incumbent president’s favor. But several legal opinions have been articulated that not only will such a move by the federal government to remove Jega be unconstitutional, it would also rubbish the credibility of the entire electoral process and will result in a definite tailspin into national and international crisis. - See more at: http://247nigerianewsupdate.co/how-jonathan-ibb-are-plotting-interim-govt-instead-of-presidential-polls/#sthash.EW44UYZ9.dpuf