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Monday, 11 June 2018

THE MOVE OF A DESPERATE PRESIDENT

THE MOVE OF A DESPERATE PRESIDENT 

                               By

                Umar Ardo, Ph.D



The desperation of President Buhari to retain power at all costs has again manifested itself in his illegal act of both changing the National Democracy Day and the investiture of National Honours of GCFR posthumously to late MKO Abiola and GCON to Amb. Babagana Kingibe. Having realized that he has lost public support across the country as a result of his dismal performance in office, and poor handling of issues affecting his Political Party, the NASS, the Judiciary and key stakeholders of the country, particularly the Senate President, the Speaker, Presidents Obasanjo and Babangida, the president ill-advisedly came up with the so-called idea of making June 12 as Nigeria's 🇳🇬 Democracy Day and giving National Honours to Abiola and Kingibe.


There're two issues wrong with this move - i.e.  legal and moral. Legally, the president has no powers to confer National Honours on anyone without the deliberation and advice of the National Council of States. The Third Schedule of the Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) at Section 6(a)iii confers on the NCS the powers to advise the president on the award of national honours. The fact is that the NCS didn't meet to deliberate and advise on this so-called investiture. 


Secondly, the National Public Holidays Act has listed 29 May as a National Holiday being the country's Democracy Day. This means that the president can only change the Democracy Day if the Act is duly amended. And to the best of my knowledge this Act has not been amended. Therefore the president's pronouncement is unlawful and of no moment. The only thing is that his action has but further affirmed the president as a no-respecter of due process of law and constitutionalism. 


On the moral side, the president cannot honour Babagana Kingibe on the basis of June 12 because Kingibe had abandoned Chief Abiola and the June 12 mandate when he joined his kinsman, General Abacha, and took a ministerial appointment in that regime. It's morally repugnant to now honour him for such an unsalutary act. 


Besides, June 12 had never featured in Buhari's politics. He worked with Abacha who incarcerated Abiola and denied the actualization of the mandate and he never raised the issue of June 12. In his electioneering campaigns in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015, June 12 was never in Buhari's political lexicon. For 3yrs as president he never uttered the phrase June 12. Even last week when he addressed the nation on May 29, June 12 was not mentioned. So how come all of a sudden, like a bolt out of the blue, June 12 became the new political darling of the president? There're three answers to it that I can harzard:-

1. President Buhari has realized that he has lost the support of the Nigerian people, particularly in the Southwest, and so he was tricked into making this palliative in the vein hope of reganering support to his fledging presidency;

2. That he is now at opened war with IBB who annulled the June 12 election and OBJ who is the main beneficiary of the resolution of the June 12 imbroglio, he is made to believe that with this move he would regain his support in the Southwest at the same time rubbish the two former presidents; and 

3. Unknown to him, he's playing the political script of Babagana Kingibe and his kinsman, the COS to the president. To all intents and purposes, the two are scheming a succession move to Buhari himself where, in the event of Buhari's leaving office, Kingibe would've been well positioned to succeed him as president. Clearly, in the Northeast, no politician has Kingibe's profile. He was a Permanent Secretary, Ambassador, National Chairman of the SDP, Abiola's Running mate, Minister of Internal and External Affairs and Secretary to the Federal Government. Already, through their scheming, Kingibe has taken over the DNI, SSS and the villa. All they need is to resuscitate the spirit of June 12 to which Kingibe would be the major beneficiary. With the GCON conferred on him, the benefits have started dropping. This is a highly sophisticated political scheming that President Buhari wouldn't perceive. 


Nevertheless, the president is so engrossed with the trapping of power and its retention that he could fall for anything. And how big has he fallen! What a great pity for Nigeria 🇳🇬!! What a great pity!!!

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GOVERNOR WIKE TO AMAECHI: RIVERS PEOPLE VOTED FOR ME BECAUSE OF MY OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE.. Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that Rivers people overwhelmingly voted for him during the 2019 Governorship Election because of his outstanding performance and projects delivery. In a response to false allegations made by the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi during his appearance on Channels Television Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Governor Wike said that the Former Rivers State Governor failed in his quest to truncate his second term because Rivers people are happy with his work. He said he wouldn't have responded to the falsehood being peddled by the Minister of Transportation, but he owes the public the duty to set the record straight. He said: "It is unfortunate. I extended the Olive Branch and I meant every word of it. It was on that basis that the State Attorney General filed a nolle prosequi to withdraw the charge against Flag Amachree. "If I did not do well in my first term, PDP wouldn't have given me the party's flag to fly. In 2015, the same man vowed that over his dead body would I emerge victorious. "I have done well for my people . It is for the people of Rivers State to decide. It is not the in the place of Amaechi to decide. "We have over 6million people and over 3million registered voters. Therefore, Amaechi cannot say I cannot go for a second term. He has only one vote. "In the past, he said an Ikwerre man cannot succeed another Ikwerre man. Today, he is saying his grouse is that I cannot go for a second term. At every step, he has one story or the other". Governor Wike said contrary to the story that Amaechi peddled whilst he was on Channels Television, kidnapping raged during his tenure. He said it was so bad that the State Chairman of Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission under Amaechi was kidnapped. The Governor noted that despite the National High-Rate of insecurity, Rivers State is relatively peaceful, with very high ratings. "Our internally Generated Revenue has improved due to the peace and security of the state". Governor Wike said that the political misfortune that befell the APC during the last general elections in Rivers State was principally due to the impunity of Amaechi . He said: "It is because of this impunity that his party was not on the ballot. Because of this impunity he has denied so many people their political future ". He said that the plots by Amaechi to manipulate the Tribunal will fail like other previous plots. The Governor noted that Amaechi's boast that he appointed the members of the tribunal and they would work for him remains one of his empty boasts. Governor Wike said that Amaechi's plot to use the police to illegally certify fake results as he did for Rivers East Senatorial District during the rerun elections tribunal would fail. "The game he played in Rivers East of using the police to certify fake results will not work. During the rerun Police certified fake results. That game will not work again. We have gone beyond that . We are waiting for the police to certify fake results for Amaechi ". He stated that there was no way that the defeated AAC Governorship Candidate, Engr Awara would have been coasting to victory when he neither campaigned or printed posters. He said: "Awara ran for the PDP councillorship in 2018 and lost. For this election, he did not Campaign and never printed posters. "Look at that kind of impunity. He brought a man that the people of Rivers State never knew three days to the election. "The AAC had no House of Assembly Candidates, they had no House of Representatives Candidates and No Senate Candidates for the elections. There is no way that such a party would have been coasting to victory ". He added that the AAC Governorship Candidate couldn't have been coasting to victory and still approach the Federal High Court for the cancellation of the Governorship Election Results. On the allegation that the INEC Chairman , Professor Mahmood Yakubu influenced the suspension of the Collation process because he worked under him at the Federal Ministry of Education, the Rivers State Governor said that the position of Amaechi was baseless. He said that at the Ministry of Education, he superintended basic Education, while the INEC Chairman served as TETFUND Executive Secretary under the Minister of Education. He said that the INEC Chairman was appointed by the APC Federal Government and since his appointment, there has been no links Governor Wike said despite the evil machinations of the Minister of Transportation, he was unable to deliver 25 percent of votes for President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and 2019 "In 2015, as a sitting Governor, he failed to deliver 25percent of votes for President Buhari. He claimed that Jonathan helped us. In 2019, with all the security agencies, he still couldn't deliver 25percent for President Buhari. "He sang war songs, but couldn't deliver 25 percent of votes for the President ", he said. On the incident at Obio/Akpor LGA Secretariat, Governor Wike said that the GOC of the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Jamil Sarhem sent soldiers to invade the Collation Centre and cart away results . "I went there to stop the Army from carting away results from my Local Government Area ", he said. Governor Wike said that the illegal activities of the Nigerian Army all through the Governorship Election were well documented by the media and the International community. He said that the videos of the Army invading the Rivers State Governorship Election Collation Centre has since gone viral. He said that even the Rivers State Commander of F-SARs has since written him a congratulatory letter on his well deserved victory. He said that his Administration continues to fund all security agencies in the state, including providing needed logistics. He said that the Israelis that Amaechi introduced were only used to siphon State resources . He wondered why Amaechi finds Pleasure in de-marketing Rivers State, when the State made him Speaker, Governor and Minister of the Federal Republic. Governor Wike said after four years as a Minister, Amaechi cannot boast of attracting a single project to Rivers State. He noted that as Minister of State for Education, he attracted several projects to the state. He denied attempting to bribe the GOC, saying that he has never met him at any point. He said by Amaechi's logic, it means that the Minister bribed the GOC 6 Division to subvert the Electoral Process. Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor, Electronic Media. 7th May, 2019.

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