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Order of elections: Bribe claims rock National Assembly

Lawmakers may have dumped their agreement with party chiefs to pull the brakes on their plan to override the President’s veto of the Electoral Amendment Bill reversing the order of elections, The Nation learnt yesterday.

Unless the National Caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) slated for today at the Aso Villa and the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting billed for tomorrow can convince Senator Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara to get their colleagues to back off; the Senate and the House of Representatives are likely to proceed with the plan, a source said.

Supporters of the bill have alleged that “some powerful individuals sympathetic to the President” at the weekend perfected a plan to bribe National Assembly members.

The allegation is that pro- executive senators might receive   $50,000 each. House of Representatives members sympathetic to the President will each receive $30,000 to “kill the amendment”, which was initiated by the lawmakers.

This could however not be independently confirmed. Pro- Buhari senators described the allegation as “hogwash”, saying if there was any such move, those pushing that the National Assembly should override the veto were plotting to induce “ those in their camp financially.”

“They are diverting attention from their plan, “a pro- Buhari senator said at the weekend.

Lawmakers in support of the bill said the plot to bribe National Assembly members was perfected at “some high profile meetings “in Abuja at the weekend. The meeting was also said to have resolved that “anti-executive lawmakers who have cases with anti-corruption agencies should be threatened with prosecution in days to come”.

Those said to have attended were some pro-Buhari governors from the Northwest , the Northcentral and the Northeast. A “minister from Southsouth” was also said to be present.

They said they learnt that “some key members of the executive who have been spearheading strategies for President Buhari’s re-election in 2019 were unequivocal that the National Assembly must be stopped from going ahead with plans to veto the President on the electoral bill as amended by us, particularly the order of the 2019 national elections. “

In withholding assent to the bill, the President argued that the amendment by the lawmakers infringed on the constitutional powers of INEC.

The President also said that the passage of the bill could lead to a situation where the National Assembly would be seen as legislating for the states on local government management.

The Legal Department of the National Assembly, however, faulted the points raised by President Buhari to withhold assent to the bill.

It advised the lawmakers to go ahead with overriding the veto if they so wished.

The President’s action has further polarised both chambers of the assembly, with those in his support claiming that 54 out of the 109 senators have indicated their intention to vote against overriding the veto.

An anti – Buhari senator rejected the claim that 54 senators might vote against overriding the veto. “But for the death of Senator Ali Wakili (Bauchi South) the Senate would have voted on the veto last Thursday. And all this would have been laid to rest, “ he said.

A source at the weekend insisted that the plan to override President Buhari’s veto was “still very much on”.

The National Assembly has continued with mobilising for signatures in support of a possible override of the President’s veto.

The source claimed that 67 senators had signed “a pro-Senate register to override the President’s veto.

The number, said to have been in a register kept by a Northeast senator, the source claimed, swelled to 67 from last week’s 63.

According to the source, “the number of senators might rise far beyond 80 if the more than 20 others said to be sitting on the fence sign up this week”.

It was also learnt that pro-Buhari senators are unrelenting in their push to stall the plot to override the President.

The source said: “The Pro-Saraki group has encouraged some of its members to infiltrate the rank of the Pro-Buhari group to give them a false sense of hope that they are greater in number. That makes the pro-Buhari group have a false sense of improvement but the senators know where they really belong.

”A meeting of the pro- Senate group held in Lagos after the wedding party of the daughter of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, at the weekend. The meeting afforded the Pro-Senate Senators the opportunity to review the register and it was affirmed that 67 senators have so far signed,” the source said.

He noted that about 20 senators believed to be sitting on the fence who had been neutral in the meetings of the Pro-Senate and Pro-Buhari so far are set to sign the register.

It was learnt that three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) joined the Senators at the Lagos meeting.

The Lagos meeting, it was gathered, adopted the interpretation of the law that the two-thirds majority required to override the President’s veto are “those present in each chamber and not two-thirds majority of all members of the Senate or the House”.

The source noted that baring last-minute changes, “the plan to over ride veto may start this week because the Senate leadership is sure of sufficient number to act and get the desired results”.

Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Abu Ibrahim insisted that the Electoral Act amendment 2018 is Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) agenda aimed at frustrating the APC during the 2019 election.

The Katsina South lawmaker, who spoke in Abuja, insisted that those plotting to override the President’s assent on the Bill will fail.

To him, it is practically impossible for those plotting to override the assent of the President to secure two-third majority on the floor of the upper chamber.

Ibrahim described the adoption of the conference report which placed presidential election last in reordered sequence of elections as an afterthought that will be defeated on the floor of the Senate.

He said: “I am sure there is no way we can override the President on the floor of the Senate. They cannot get the two-third required to override Mr. President. I am against the Bill. You cannot just come now and say you want to change the election sequence. I will not for vote for it. I will stand up to oppose it even if it is only me alone. I will oppose it. I am from Katsina State. Whatever happens, I will oppose it.”

“Even if the National Assembly has the power to reorder election sequence, it remained an afterthought coming when it did.

“The PDP has no president, APC has. From the totality of the Bill, this Bill is working for the PDP, not APC. The Bill is PDP agenda.”

On the legal advice which dismissed the premise upon which President Buhari withheld assent to the Bill, Ibrahim noted that whatever the legal advice might be, it will still come to the floor of the Senate for consideration.

Ibrahim asked Nigerians not to worry about the Bill since “it will die a natural death”.

Nigerians, he said, should rather worry about the inability of the National Assembly to pass the 2018 budget months after it was presented.

He also said that Nigerians should be worried about the inability of the Senate to confirm many nominees forwarded to it for consideration and approval.

On the insinuation that the leadership of the National Assembly is divided on the Bill, Ibrahim said that might not be far from the truth since the leadership has not spoken openly about the Bill.

He said: “As an experienced senator, I can see there is a problem somewhere, which we have to address. Part of it is what the President did the other day by meeting the leadership of the two chambers to find a meeting point.”

Ibrahim insisted that Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara must, at all times, be mindful of what their members wanted “because we are the people who put them in office”.

The lawmaker who described the National Assembly as the melting pot of different realities noted “everything we do, there will be differences because individual, ethnic, religious and political affiliations”.

The differences, he said, remained the live wire of the National Assembly, which should not surprise anybody.

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2027 Elections: Controversy Rocks Coalition as Bode George Slams Atiku, Obi — “You Can’t Serve Two Masters”

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Formet Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President David Mark and other promoters of the coalition under African Democratic Congress (ADC) yesterday came under further attacks for what a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, called seeking to serve two masters.

George, a former Deputy National Chairman of PDP, accused Atiku and other party members of moving into ADC without resigning from the party.

He said it was bad enough that Atiku and Mark in particular had to abandon the PDP to its fate after precipitating the crisis that has turned the party into a shadow of its former self.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu described the anti-Tinubu coalition as a political distraction which is bound to fail.

Chief George, speaking on Channels Television, said: “You can’t serve two masters, as stated in the Holy Book. You either serve A or you serve B. But to say you are in A and B is a fallacy.”

 

He alleged that Mark and Atiku were some of the architects of the crisis rocking the PDP.

 

Continuing, he said: “It is nothing but existential imbecility. Or sometimes what is called existential docility. What is it that they are all going there?

“This is your father’s house. The house made you, brought you into the limelight. You gain every laurel and recognition from this same house. And because there is a little crisis, is leaving the cultural thing to do? No, you sit in there.

 

“If you have a house that is leaking, do you run out? No, you are the landlord.

 

“Do they have a concept? What is the strategy they have? That is a classless strategy.

“When we had the last convention, General Buhari had just finished eight years. Then Atiku Abubakar wanted to compete (but) we said no; a northerner had just finished eight years. We had (Peter) Obi in the South. This was the beginning of the crisis.

 

“David Mark was the chairman of that convention and Iyorchia Ayu was the chairman of the party. Of course, you cannot do things like that and get away with it. I warned against it at that point.”

 

Leave LP now, join Obi in ADC, Abure tells Gov Otti

Abure in a statement yesterday asked Otti to stop deceiving the public that he has not joined the other faction’s Caretaker Committee in the coalition party.

The leadership of the LP, according to him, is in a hurry to recalibrate the party ahead of 2027.

Abure said the LP would not fall for Otti’s deception again.

“How can he be in the Labour Party when recently he conducted the local government election in Abia State with Zenith Labour Party as his party?” he wondered.

He added: “He should not think that every Nigerian is bereft of knowledge. He formed and is funding the illegal caretaker committee that has formally joined the ADC.

 

“The icing on the cake was the Wednesday unveiling of the coalition where every member of the caretaker committee formally joined the ADC.

 

“We are shocked that Otti is paradoxically trying to mislead members of the Labour Party to say that he is still a member of the Labour Party. In any event, we had earlier suspended him indefinitely from the party because of his anti-party activities.

“Labour Party is on the move again. We have the best brand in Nigeria, and we are eager to engage young Nigerians who have the interest of the nation at heart.

 

“We are therefore willing to let go of everyone, no matter how high, whose interest in Nigeria is self-driven, opportunistic politicians who are not principled.

 

“Labour Party is not and cannot be in any coalition because coalitions of political parties are ideologically bereft. It is a marriage of political strange fellows whose only agenda is power-grabbing.

“It is selfish in nature, and no true democrat will agree to such an amalgam. Labour Party is therefore in a hurry to sanitise itself of people without character.”

 

Sanwo-Olu: Anti-Tinubu coalition will fail

 

Governor Sanwo-Olu told a group of journalists and politicians in Lagos Nigerians would support President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the gains of his bold reforms are fully realised.

He described the ADC as nothing but a mere distraction which President Tinubu should ignore.

“Nigerians will never go back to Egypt,” Sanwo-Olu said.

 

“The target is to distract the Commander-in-Chief and derail the social and economic gains that we can see and feel. But President Tinubu knows the game and will never fall for their bait.”

 

In Sanwo-Olu’s view, President Tinubu’s track record, achievements and reform agenda are strong enough to stand above any narrative being crafted to derail his administration or his prospects for re-election.

He cited the stability in the foreign exchange market, students loan scheme, massive infrastructural projects, more revenue for states  after the removal of fuel subsidy, tax reforms, increased oil production and the national minimum wage, among others.

 

“President Tinubu is not only a builder of men but a visionary leader whose impact is evident across the nation,” Sanwo-Olu said.

 

Asked if the President and his All Progressives Congress (APC) were bothered about ADC and its promoters, Sanwo-Olu said: “No one should be concerned or distracted by what ADC or any other group is attempting to orchestrate. The truth is clear, the people can see the difference, and history is on his side.

“They have nothing but bitterness to offer; they are bound together by their illogical resentment against President Tinubu, not by any edifying ideology. They will run out of steam.

Asked what advice he had for the President, the governor said:”Simple. The President should stay the course. Millions of well-meaning Nigerians across party lines and compatriots who understand what it takes to govern the most populous black nation on earth and revive a troubled economy are behind him and trust his leadership.”

“We know how far we’ve come under President Tinubu’s leadership. The focus should remain on delivering results, deepening reforms and building a stronger Nigeria. Any attempt to shake that foundation will be futile.”

Coalition proof Tinubu’s policies ended business as usual, says Lloyd

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Chidi Lloyd, said that the ongoing coalition against President Bola Tinubu is a proof that the President’s policies are working, effective and no longer business as usual.

 

Lloyd, former Emohua Local Government Chairman in Rivers State, said the coalition would only compel many Nigerians to believe in the administration of Tinubu because his policies had displaced established politicians.

 

He said the fact that most individuals, who had held various offices in the country without making significant positive impact, were forced out of their comfort zone for a coalition, was an indication that the country was getting it right.

Describing the coalition as dead on arrival, Lloyd said all members of the group were not foreigners but known old politicians who have been in the corridors of power since 1999.

 

He said Nigerians were wiser now and would not allow same people that foisted a system that never worked on them to return to power.

 

He took a swipe at some individual members of the coalition, saying they lacked moral rectitude to preach to Nigerians about a better country.

Lloyd said: “The coalition is dead on arrival. We didn’t see any foreigner. If the coalition were formed by citizens of America or Britain, we would have been worried. The coalition still has the same faces, the same old faces since 1999.

 

“I agree that what we have is a gathering of displaced politicians. We have a former vice-president; we have someone that was a Senate President for eight years. He was in a position to change Nigeria. His daughter won an election under an opposition party. It means his own political party is not popular in his federal constituency. “

 

 ADA Registration: Northern groups tackle El-Rufai, Amaechi over comments on INEC

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) and the Northern Awareness Network (NAN), yesterday faulted former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, for accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of frustrating the registration of the All Democratic Alliance (ADA).

The AYCF in a statement by its President-General, Yerima Shettima, said Nigeria’s electoral process is governed by clear rules and procedures meant to uphold transparency, fairness and accountability, insisting that Amaechi’s claims of deliberate obstruction by INEC were not only baseless but also reflected a poor understanding of the registration framework.

 

“INEC’s requirements, such as submission of office addresses and proper identification of party officers, are standard protocols that all parties must meet to be duly registered,” Shettima noted.

 

“It is critical that all political entities, including the ADA, comply with these guidelines to preserve the integrity of our democracy.”

The AYCF leader described as “disheartening” the resort by Amaechi and El-Rufai to what he termed sensational claims, instead of focusing on addressing the substantive compliance issues facing their new party.

 

“The ADA’s struggles to meet INEC’s clear requirements should not be twisted into tales of bias or conspiracy by the commission,” Shettima stressed.

 

“What we see here is a need for diligent preparation on the part of political actors.”

On his part, Chairman of NAN, Salihu Suleiman, warned that expecting INEC to compromise its standards for ADA would be unrealistic and a dangerous subversion of democratic principles.

 

Suleiman said El-Rufai’s skepticism over INEC’s willingness to register the ADA typified a growing habit among some political leaders to question electoral institutions instead of engaging them constructively. He cautioned that such rhetoric could undermine trust in the electoral process and disenfranchise voters.

 

Both groups urged Amaechi, El-Rufai and other political actors to exercise restraint in their public statements, build trust in democratic institutions and approach their political ambitions within the framework of established laws. They reiterated their commitment to supporting a fair, transparent and credible electoral process in Nigeria

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Breaking : APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, Resigns

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Ganduje, a former Governor of Kano State, cited health reasons for his resignation, stating that he needs to “focus on his well-being.”

Mr. Ganduje’s time as APC chairman has been fraught with controversy and internal challenges.

While his resignation letter attributes his decision to health-related concerns, sources close to the situation suggest that mounting political tensions within the party may have influenced his move to step aside.

There have also been allegations of financial misconduct tied to his leadership, with some party members reportedly protesting against what they described as “excessive financial demands” from his office

 

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BREAKING: At last, Fubara meets with Amaewhule, Rivers lawmakers, as they shared jokes and laughter

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Suspended Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubarahas met with the suspended Speaker of the House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule and other aggrieved state lawmakers.

Multiple sources confirmed on Thursday evening the meeting held and ended with Fubara holding the hands of Amaewhule as they shared jokes and laughter.

It was gathered that the meeting, which was held in Abuja, was the first reconciliatory move between the governor and the state lawmakers.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said Fubara’s engagement with the lawmakers was fruitful but added that an enlarged peace meeting would hold to discuss peace terms.

“The suspended Governor is determined to make peace. He has started the real engagement,” the source said.Fubara was suspended from office on March 19 following a state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu and ratified by the National Assembly to stop the escalating political crisis in the state.

 

The President appointed former Naval Chief, Vice-Admiral lbok Ete-Ibas for the first six months as an administrator for Rivers to allow the warring politicians to reconcile their differences.

 

Though Fubara had met with his estranged benefactor, Nyesom Wike and President Tinubu on the Rivers situation, the Thursday meeting he held with the lawmakers was said to be the most important step towards genuine reconciliation.

Wike had said on different occasions that to actualise genuine reconciliation Fubara must meet with the various stakeholders he offended especially members of the House of Assembly, whom he withheld their salaries and allowances for over two years.

 

It was learnt the Thursday elicited applauses from various stakeholders in the state including the simplified family of Fubara with many of them describing it as a step in the right direction.

 

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