Nigeria Air Force Makes Full Deployment Of Aircraft To North-east

Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall, Sadique Abubakar, who announced the deployment on Monday, said the current security challenges in Nigeria heavily relied on air power and that discussions were ongoing with the Presidency to ensure the Air Force was battle ready.

He urged Senior Officers of the force to ensure that integrity, excellence and service delivery were prioritised, to eliminate mediocrity and corruption in the Air Force.

Professional And Disciplined Force

Addressing a meeting of Senior Officers and Commanders of the Air Force on Monday, weeks after he took over as the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Abubakar revealed his vision and mission for the Nigeria Air Force, with issues on policy directives topping talks.

Air Marshal Abubakar said the current spate of terrorism in the north-east had led to the ‘self-audit’ of the preparedness of the Air Force to defend the nation.

He said he had set up key drivers to help achieve his vision to reposition the Air Force into a highly professional and disciplined force, with effective and timely implementation of air power in response to national security needs.

“The most important task at hand is to assess the assets on ground and make efficient use of them for the current challenges while the authorities make arrangements for additional air power,” the Air Force Chief said.

He stressed that the primary responsibility of the Nigerian Air Force was to defend the nation and protect vital economic interests by air.

Air Marshal Abubakar also said Nigeria’s economic interests were presently being hampered by the insurgents in the north-east, therefore requiring strategic response from the air force as soon as possible.

Nigeria’s first test-tube baby gets European varsity admission

Seventeen years after she was born through In Vitro Fertilisation‎, Nigeria’s first test tube baby, Miss Hannatu Kupchi, has made history by securing admission into a Hungarian university to study medicine.

The medical doctor that supervised the first IVF experiment in Nigeria, Dr. Ibrahim Wada, said Hannatu’s birth on February 11, 1998, at Nisa Premier Hospital in Abuja, signalled a significant revolution in the practice of medicine in Nigeria.

Speaking on Sunday in Abuja during a brief reception and presentation of an award to Hannatu Kupchi, Wada said it would be very difficult to make a an elaborate statement on such occasions.

He said, “When I was out of this country, I knew there were people who wanted babies. I made the decision to come back to Nigeria to help people. It happened on February 11, 1998, when this historic event occurred in this hospital.

“The baby of that historic day is going to become a doctor. Because the parents stood firm, we were able to help others. You gave us government recognition and that was important. It was the first time that a federal minister came to receive a baby in Nigeria.

“I want to assure you (Hannatu), when you graduate, there is an automatic employment when you finish your medicine in Europe.”

Hannatu promised to break barriers and become a doctor in order to help families and parents, who are unable to give birth through the traditional means.

She said by her birth, misconceptions about IVF were broken and that many more children had been brought into this world as well.

“I barely made it beyond the cut off mark. God helped me. I am going to try my best and make everyone proud. I am studying Medicine because I want to be a doctor. I want to study it because I want God to use me to help families who suffered what my parents went through,” she said.

In his remarks, Hannatu’s father, Mr. Hosea Kupchi, said the couple waited for 13 years without a child.

He added, “We had 13 years of marriage without a child and we went through the orthodox method without any success. But along the line, my sister-in-law told me that there was one Dr. Wada that had been helping couples. That is how we came.

“Then challenges came again on how to let the world know that we have achieved this feat locally here in Nigeria. There are a lot of couples out there that are not ready to speak out. One, there is the issue of stigmatisation, but I said to myself that nobody light the candle and put it under the bed.”

64 million Nigerians suffer from mental illness – Nebo

Former Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo

A former power minister, Professor Chinedu Nebo, on Monday said the federal and state governments have not provided medical attention to about 64 million Nigerians who suffer from mental illness. 

Nebo spoke during the Second Public Lecture organised by the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, in collaboration with the West African College of Nursing.

Speaking on the theme ‘Psychiatric and mental health in Nigeria: challenges and prospects,’ Nebo noted that, according to medical scholars, out of a population of 160 million or thereabouts, “64 million Nigerians suffer from one form or the other of afflictions of mental illness,” which deserved attention. 

Nebo, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, pointed out that, whereas government had done much in the area of primary health care, nothing had been done to address mental health challenges. 

He also noted that Nigerians were not adequately informed about mental health issues. 

“Nigerians still grapple with many social challenges, including poverty, high level of unemployment and other social pressures.

“The prevalence of these situations have been escalated by the fact that there is high level of poor knowledge and understanding of the malaise of mental health disorder and the positive treatments required by the growing population of mentally ill patients,” he said. 

He identified causes of mental illness to include genetic composition, neurological and psychological experiences and environmental stresses.

He faulted what he described as “the belief that many Nigerians seem to hold that mental disorder is a result of supernatural forces and, therefore, only responds to cure through traditional practices and supernatural incantations.”

Nebo urged Nigerians to give up such beliefs and “face the realities of modern conditions, which in fact, produce the stresses that lead to different levels of mental conditions.”

The former power minister called for adequate funding for research and training of mental health manpower. 

Nebo equally canvassed the provision of community based mental health care services, total integration of mental health care into the primary health care system and periodic review of legislation governing the care of the mentally ill.

The Chief Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, Dr. Jojo Onwukwe, said the institution has a staff strength of about 1000 workers, including eight consultant specialist psychiatrists, more than 400 psychiatric nurses and 27 resident doctors.

Only Nigerians know why they rejected us – PDP

National Publicity Secretary, Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Olisa Metuh

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has said only Nigerians are in the position to say why the party was rejected at the poll during the last general elections.

It said the rejection of the party was still a surprise despite the achievements it claimed the party recorded in the last 16 years, during which it was in control of the Federal Government.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, stated this at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday.

He was speaking on the 17th anniversary of the formation of the former ruling party.

Metuh said his party did well by not only promoting the spirit of democracy in the 16 years, but by also fighting corruption and promoting the image of the nation.

But when asked whether with such achievements, he was astonished that majority of Nigerians still rejected the party during the last general elections, he said only Nigerians could provide answer to the question.

He said, “Only the electorate can say why we were rejected. We must have made our mistakes and some of the issues that affected the election had to do with the people.

“We believe that we did our best for the Nigerian people and we got the largest number of people from the diaspora to start business here.

“In those 16 years, we did our best. We created a system where merits were recognised.

“We created a lot of super rich Nigerians like Dangote, Oando and other companies. Nigerian companies now compete with foreign companies in the oil and gas sector.”

He said it would be wrong to say that the party created corruption, adding that because of its believe that corruption should be stamped out of the country, the party, through the Presidents it had produced, fought the menace with vigour.

He said this was the reason why anti-corruption agencies like the Economic and Financial Crime Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission were created.

He said, “Was corruption part of our achievements, no. In fact, anti-corruption was part of our achievements because we formed and created EFCC and the ICPC.

“These agencies were created with strict establishing and operation laws to ensure effectiveness and immunity from executive interferences.”

He added that down the years, SERVICOM desks were opened in ministries and agencies to further ensure ethical standards in government businesses.

Metuh added that as a result of this deliberate policies, human right and business friendly environment were created and it saw to the massive return of Nigerians in the Diaspora and the influx of direct foreign investments into the country.

Saraki, Saudi envoy seek closer economic ties

Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Nigeria, Fahad Sefyan, have pledged to work towards deepening the economic ties between both countries.

Saraki and Sefyan stated this when the ambassador visited the senate president in his office, according to a statement by the Saraki’s Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, on Monday.

The statement explained that the senate president while welcoming the envoy, noted the existing “very good relationship” between Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.

He said the existing cordial relationship is being strengthened by Nigeria whose citizens yearly embark on business and religious trips to the Middle East country.

He said, “This is based on culture, religion and many things and I think we want to continue building on that relationship. We continue to treasure this beneficial exchange.

“What remains is for us to have robust, thriving mutually beneficial business and investment-related exchange.”

He said that the desire to improve on the relationship has become necessary in view of the election of President Muhammadu Buhari and emergence of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as leaders of Nigeria and Saudi Arabia respectively.

He said  both Buhari and King Al Saud have great desire to improve economic relationship between both countries.

He said, “I want to assure you on behalf of the senate and the senators here that Nigeria highly appreciates the relationship with the Kingdom and also to urge you to pass our best wishes to King Salman.

“I want to assure you that we will continue to build on the strong points of the existing relationship between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.”

He listed oil and gas, infrastructure development and agriculture as areas of the Nigerian economy where Saudi Arabia investors could utilize.

Saraki added,  “I know when I was a Governor, I visited the Kingdom to look at its milk production and to see how the experience can be brought to Nigeria to help us.

“There are a lot of opportunities I see there and I believe once we can develop a more robust relationship, a lot of things will happen.”

Sefyan said he was in Nigeria to further enhance the relationship between both countries and that the Nigerian government and people can count on Saudi Arabia to partner with them in rebuilding the economy of the country.

A’court reserves ruling on Wike’s suit against Peterside

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgment in three separate appeals filed by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, with respect to the ongoing proceedings of the state’s Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja.

The All Progressives Congress and its candidate in the April 11, 2015 governorship election in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, are challenging the victory of Wike in the poll.

The Justice Abubakar Yahaya-led Court of Appeal on Monday heard the three appeals by Wike and the PDP, all of which emanated from their disagreement with the two rulings of the tribunal and the constitution of its panel of judges.

One of the appeals challenged the June 11, 2015, ruling of the Justice Mu’azu Pindiga-led tribunal granting the petitioners permission to inspect the polling materials used for the conduct of the election.

Another one challenged the ruling of the tribunal affirming the propriety of sitting in Abuja instead of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Wike, in the third appeal, contended that the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, did not properly constitute the three-man panel of the tribunal.

Arguing the appeals, Wike’s counsel, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), and that of the PDP, Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), asked the appellate court to put aside the rulings of the tribunal.

They asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the permission granted the APC and Peterside to inspect the electoral materials used for the election.

Ukala argued that it was wrong in granting permission to inspect election materials without given them adequate notice.

He insisted that the tribunal had no power to relocate its sitting from Rivers State where the disputed election was conducted to Abuja.

But Dakuku’s counsel, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), urged the appellate court to dismiss the appeals on the ground that they lacked merit.

Olujinmi insisted that the tribunal was right in sitting in Abuja for security reasons.

He also defended order of the tribunal granting permission to the petitioners to inspect all the materials used for the disputed election.

He also contended that the tribunal, headed by Muazu Pindiga, was properly constituted in line with the provisions of the law.

The Justice Yahaya-led appellate court, after hearing the appeals, reserved for ruling.

Saraki congratulates D’Tigers

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Monday congratulated Nigeria’s senior basketball team, D’Tigers, for emerging as African Champions for the first time in the history of the continental tournament.

Saraki, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, said it was fulfilling that the Nigerian team finally broke the jinx and made the nation proud at the 2015 African Basketball Championship held in Tunisia.

He said D’Tigers’ victory has rekindled the nation’s hope and confidence in the team, adding that, “beating Angola at the finals of the 2015 Afro-basket Tournament with 74-65 was a superb performance and we are very happy for our team that they have attained this feat.”

The senate president said the players had written their names in the sands of time just as he challenged the team and their technical crew to redouble their efforts so as to be victorious in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil.

Saraki also assured Nigerians of the Senate’s commitment to the development of sports through relevant legislation and appropriate budgetary allocations in order to further enhance the nation’s sporting prowess across the globe.

New Ebola case in Sierra Leone sets back efforts to beat epidemic

A woman who died last week in northern Sierra Leone tested positive for Ebola, the National Ebola Response Centre (NERC) said Monday, in a setback for the country’s bid to gain Ebola-free status.

There had been celebratory scenes last week when the country’s last known Ebola patient was released from hospital in the central city of Makeni after being cured of the virus, raising hopes the west African nation may finally have beaten the devastating epidemic.

Sources contacted by AFP confirmed that the woman was in her mid-60s and lived in Sella Kafta village in Kambia District.

The swab taken after her death last Friday confirmed she had contracted Ebola.

She had not travelled to either Liberia or Guinea, two other countries also blindsided by the worst outbreak of Ebola in history, which has killed some 11,300 people since first emerging in December 2013 in Guinea.

“We have sent a team from here to Sella Kafta village and we have already identified ten high-risk contacts that we are focusing on to stem any possible transmission,” the NERC’s communication director Sidi Yahya Tunis said in an interview with a local radio station.

“We have already isolated the high-risk contacts and are assessing whether the village will be isolated if need be,” he added.

Tunis also said that a World Health Organization team which successfully tested an Ebola vaccine in Guinea that has been billed as possibly marking “the beginning of the end” of the virus would join NERC in Kambia to vaccinate contacts of the latest victim to “stop any possible train of transmission”.

Tunis said people should “remain calm and not be frustrated over the development”.

Africa’s richest man Dangote plans Zimbabwe investments

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, said Monday that he planned mining and power generation projects in investment-starved Zimbabwe as well as to set up a large cement factory.

Dangote met with President Robert Mugabe in Harare in a rare sign of possible foreign investment for Zimbabwe, which has been in economic decline for more than a decade.

Aliko Dangote

“We had a very, very good meeting with the president and I told him that we have already decided to invest in three areas, one is power, second one is cement and third one is coal,” Dangote told journalists.

“We have already made up our minds to invest and so we are here and we will invest.”

The Nigerian billionaire said he would spend close to $400 million on the cement plant, which will produce a million and half tonnes of cement a year, making it the biggest in country.

He said the investment package would create jobs and “to help Zimbabwe to develop their own economy.”

Dangote is the head and founder of multi-billion dollar Dangote Group which has interests including cement production in several African countries.

The company also has major oil, gas, food and real estate investments across the continent.

Zimbabwe’s economy has collapsed since Mugabe’s land reforms of 2002, which broke the country’s agricultural backbone.

Laws which require locals to hold majority stakes in all firms are also blamed for scaring off foreign investors.

Many companies have closed, downsized or relocated.

The International Monetary Fund said this year Zimbabwe’s economic prospects looked “difficult”, with growth falling again after a brief improvement.

Food shortages, rampant inflation, economic sanctions and disputed elections have added to the country’s woes in recent years.

Five dead in explosion at Spain fireworks factory

At least five people died and another six were injured on Monday in an explosion at a fireworks factory in northeastern Spain, local authorities said.

Two of the injured in the blast at the factory on the outskirts of Zaragoza near the city’s airport are in intensive care, the regional government of Aragon said in a statement.

The cause of the explosion was unknown.

Emergency services warned local residents to stay away from the area.

“It is still dangerous to approach the area because there are still remains of fireworks that can explode,” a spokesman for the fire service said.

Spanish television images showed plumes of black smoke rising from warehouses.

The regional government of Aragon declared a day of mourning.

Founded in 1860, the Pirotecnia Zaragozana company employs over 40 people and exports fireworks mostly to Europe and Canada, according to its website.

August is a busy time for fireworks factories in Spain as many small towns celebrate religious festivals at this time of year with fireworks shows.

Prioritize electricity to help artisans, Achie Abia tasks Buhari

One of the household names and self made artist from Eket in Akwa Ibom State, Achie Abia, has called on the new government of President Muhammadu Buhari to  consider electricity as a priority for Nigerian economy to have a facelift. Achie,  who can be regarded as an exponent of bone art said that irregular power supply to run business in Nigeria has forced many entreprenuers to seek other menial means of survival or even indulge in crime.

One of the works by Achie Abia titled, ‘Broad Street’

The artist who have garnered massive publicity in Nigerian media far back 1995 till date stemming from his effort in creative bone works, made the call during a chat with Sunday Arts.

Speaking on how animal horns from rhino, elephant and lately cow, used for crafted ornaments and decoration inspired his imagination considering its durability, he creatively re-engineered this somewhat animal waste, Cow precisely, to an art piece that has become his unique signature.

However, considering how critics generously evaluated the bone works aesthetically, and having basked in the euphoria of that visibility, Achie  expressed displeasures on the infrastructural challenges in Nigeria such as irregular power supply that has put the bone work on hold, paving way for other creative experimentations like mixed media painting.

“I picked interest in bone works because I recycle waste. Yet I still recycle waste in my new found medium which is painting and mixed media. The inspiration came in a dream many years ago and when I shared it, I was told it was what God put in my heart to do. Through the revelation, I started practicing art fully with bone works as my first art experiment.

It was a success story then, however, delving into painting and mixed media works has reduced my bone art practice, caused by inconsistency in power supply as the small generator machine cannot effectively power the heavy duty drilling machines. It was difficult meeting clients’ target because of the exigency of the demand coupled with the amount of time put to produce a masterpiece bone work.

I believe with the current wind of change being felt in some sectors of the economy by the new President Buhari administration, things could change for better. Meanwhile, I would appeal to government to seriously consider electricity as a priority for Nigerian economy to have a facelift. This will also help young entrepreneurs to be actively relevant to themselves and Nigeria in general.”

Achie who never had a formal art training, but was inspired by artists friends like Ini Brown and others, said he experiments in saw dust, sand, paper and other materials to produce mixed media paintings, installation works and metal sculptures. The artist can also boast of some commissioned works of paintings at Covenant University guest house, Nigeria Ports Authority gate at Apapa and numerous giant metal sculptural works adorning both private and public buildings in Nigeria to his credit.

“I don’t just do works for aesthetic sake. I do works that carry messages. Most of my work evokes feelings of crisis in Africa and a need for government to do something.   Globally, Africa has the most internal crises. I use my works to reawake the spirit of Africanism and also evoke the consciousness of peace and unity bind in our national anthem.”

Masquerades invade church, flog pastors, worshipers

A Church service was reportedly disrupted by four masquerades who flogged the pastors and the worshipers in Epinmi Akoko area of Ondo state.

One of the masquerades, Tunde Arohunmolase was however arrested while others fled after flogging the pastors and the worshipers.

Police source said that the masquerades invade the Christ Apostolic Church in the town while the service was on-going and abruptly ended it.

Two of the Pastors were reportedly injured by the time the masquerades left the church premises.

Vanguard learnt that when the masquerades arrived the church premises they were challenged by some of the church workers.

But they reportedly ‎overpowered them and went straight for their target.

While other worshipers fled leaving the Pastors , their attackers reportedly had a field day dealing with them.

Vanguard leant that the matter ‎was later reported at the police station and one of the suspect was apprehended.

Police detectives are probing the reason for the attack of the church by the masqueraders during the service.

When contacted the police Image Maker, Wole Ogodo, confirmed that two Pastors were wounded during the attack and have been treated.
He gave the names of the Pastors as Jacob Ogunmola and Kehinde Ilori.

The Police Spokesman added that one of the suspect- Tunde Arohunmolase is in Police custody and has made useful statement.

Ogodo assured that the fleeing masqueraders would soon be arrested from their hideouts.

Ohanaeze appeals to Ndigbo for calm over skewed appointments

Following the outrageous outcries that have greeted the recent appointments made by President Muhammad Buhari, Secretary General,apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Joe Nwaorgu, has called on Ndigbo to remain calm in the present circumstance of unexplainable and skewed pattern of appointments which has completely excluded Ndigbo from key strategic positions in the Federal Government.

Speaking with Journalists in Enugu, Monday, against the backdrop of the appointment of principal officers in the presidency and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Dr. Nwaorgu said that the call for Ndigbo to remain calm had become necessary because of the numerous telephone calls from Ndigbo all over Nigeria and in the Diaspora expressing shock and disbelief at the appointments.

He said that some Ndigbo who have telephoned on the issue had queried “whether Ndigbo are still regarded as part of Nigeria.”

(FILES)- A March 2, 2012 file photo shows an Ohafia cultural troupe entertaining bystanders during the burial of Nigeria’s secessionist leader Odumegwu Ojukwu at his native Nnewi country home, in Anambra State eastern Nigeria. Odumegwu Ojukwu, who championed the campaign for an independent Republic of Biafra in eastern Nigeria in the 1960s culminating in a 30-month civil war which left more than a million dead was buried at his Nnewi family home in Anambra State. Its name is synonomous with the declaration of independence and updates on the brutal conflict that followed, but nearly 50 years after Nigeria’s civil war, Radio Biafra is again making headlines. AFP PHOTO

The Ohanaeze Secretary General requested Ndigbo not to overreact either by word or otherwise to this ugly situation of total exclusion.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo urges Ndigbo to continue to be nation builders anywhere they are and not to be downcast by what has happened.

“Ohanaeze strongly believes that a President of Nigeria is the president for all Nigerians and that equity and fair-play for all Nigerians will be respected,” Nwaorgu said.

Also speaking in the same vein on telephone from Abuja, Monday, a former Minister of Health, Professor A.B.C Nwosu said that he was not surprised that the appointments excluded Ndigbo.

According to him, “many Ndigbo expected this to be so even during the campaigns and that was why they voted the way they did.”
He stated that “Ndigbo should not be troubled by this development because they have seen and survived worse situations in Nigeria and there is no cause for mourning the present development.

“Ndigbo should continue to be strong and committed to nation building and await the envisaged remedial action as stated by the presidency even though, personally, I do not see any position that will equal the position of the Secretary to Government of the Federation and its centrality in the exercise of federal power in Nigeria.”

Prof. Nwosu advised that upon conclusion of major appointments, Ohanaeze Ndigbo in consultation with Igbo organizations like Aka Ikenga, Ndigbo Lagos, World Igbo Congress, Igbo World Assembly, Izu Umunna, Igbo Leaders of Thought and so on should summon a meeting of Igbo leaders and elders to review the situation.

Old wine in new bottle: New thinking in PDP

In a bid to bolster itself against difficult tides, the former ruling party resurrects the online registration of members project. It is a scheme that would inevitably strip the party’s governors of direct control of the party. Will it fly?

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

It was in admission of the tight grip its governors hold on the party, that the acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Prince Uche Secondus said last Wednesday that the e-registration of party members would open the party to all Nigerians.

Even more remarkable, Secondus said that all members would through the process have equal rights. That is, ordinary party members would have a say contrary to the present situation where the powerful governors dominate.

“This party belongs to all. They will have equal rights to vote and to be voted for. Nobody will be excluded,” Secondus said at the inauguration of the committee to enforce the project. The committee is headed by media mogul, Chief Raymond Dokpesi.

The chairman’s claim that the party would be opened to all was reflective of the fact that the self acclaimed biggest political party in Africa had reached its tethers and needed to reinvent itself.

File: President Goodluck Jonathan

It was especially so after the election drubbing in the hands of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Secondus became the third party chair to project the e-registration exercise after previous attempts by first Dr. Okwezileze Nwodo in 2010 and Alhaji Bamanaga Tukur in 2012/13 were aborted.

Dr. Nwodo was the first to conceive the idea of e-registration even before he became the national chairman.

Party insiders say that he had met President Goodluck Jonathan during the latter’s first official trip to the United States in 2010 and reportedly advised him on how he could take away the party from the governors almost all of who had opposed his emergence as acting president during the crisis that shadowed the illness of President Umaru Yar‘Adua.

Ticket of the party

Jonathan apparently eager to sidestep the governors in his bid to win the 2011 presidential ticket of the party had bought the idea with aplomb and had as such supported Nwodo’s return to the PDP national secretariat as national chairman.

Nwodo was the second national secretary of the party and had exited the party during the troubles that characterised the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Nwodo’s submission, it was learned, was that opening the party through the e-registration of members would not just open the party, but give the ordinary members a voice in the emergence of candidates.

Jonathan interestingly flagged off the e-membership registration exercise on August 10, 2010 when he was registered at the PDP national secretariat.

He was registered in the presence of Nwodo, the then Senate President, Senator David Mark, the then national secretary, Prince Uche Secondus among others. He praised the party leadership to high heaven for the initiative which he said would also generate the funds needed to run the party.

Uche Secondus

The president had described as “the best thing to have happened to party membership registration in Nigeria , in the 21st Century.”

The online registration exercise according to the party was expected to register at least six million persons as members of the party.
However, the exercise was not long after upturned when PDP governors mobilised to truncate it. Their grouse was that Nwodo was conniving with Jonathan to lessen the influence of the governors on the party.

The main thrust of having registered members was to ensure that only registered members were able to vote and contribute to the funding of the party. Until then, the party was almost wholly funded by the governors.

The governors saw through the alleged aims of Nwodo and the president and forced the president to call the party leadership to order and not too long after, the exercise was aborted.

The bad blood flowing from the aborted exercise culminated partly in the machination that led to the exit of Nwodo as national chairman. Jonathan apparently desperate to win the party’s ticket caved in to the pressure of the governors and sacrificed Nwodo and that became the end of the online registration exercise.

Tukur who came into office in 2012 also revived the e-membership registration project and it was not surprising that for most of his time in office he was in battle with the governors.

Internal retreat

Tukur was won over to the scheme after an internal retreat for party executives in Uyo in December 2012.
At that retreat where his predecessor, Nwodo delivered a lecture titled

“Deepening Democracy through Internal Party Democracy: Strategies for conducting credible, free and fair party congresses and primaries,” the former party chairman had urged the party to revisit the online registration project as a means of boosting party membership and funds.

“We all know that he who plays the piper dictates the tune. There are known ways enshrined in the constitution of the party by which the party is funded. “What we are not used to in Nigeria are innovative ways of utilising these avenues. I have consistently advocated e-registration as a way of raising funds for the party. “By this module, nobody is disenfranchised from registering in the party. The registration fees and annual dues go straight to the coffers of the party.”

Wrath of the governors

Following the retreat, Tukur commenced moves to revive the online registration and by that inevitably incurred the wrath of the governors, and not surprisingly, a year later, he was forced out of office.

Nwodo…

Remarkably, the present National Working Committee, NWC which is a carryover of the Tukur leadership has now pledged to forge ahead with the project, albeit reluctantly.

Giving the determination of the NWC to forge ahead with the project, the NWC in a statement last Sunday said:

“The National Working Committee (NWC), after very wide consultations with critical stakeholders, and in line with the wishes and aspirations of our teeming supporters across the country, has approved the resuscitation of the e-registration project.

“This project, which was initially presented in the 52nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of our great party on August 12, 2010, is aimed, among other things, at harmonizing our membership data, returning ownership of the party to the people and strengthening our various structures at all levels across the country.

“The NWC believes that the e-registration is indeed a decisive step towards enthroning internal democracy and giving every member a voice in the party.

“While details of the process will be transmitted to our various structures across the nation, the NWC announces that Edo state would be used as a pilot for the exercise. Consequently, the earlier scheduled Edo state congresses are by this announcement, deferred until the completion of the pilot e-registration exercise in the state.

“The national leadership, by this, charges all members in Edo state to make themselves available for the e-registration as well as work hard to win new members and more supporters for the party in the state. Remarkably, Senator Godswill Akpabio who as governor was believed to be in the forefront against the e-registration exercise was named in the Raymond Dokpesi led committee to supervise the project. Akpabio was not present at the inauguration of the committee last Wednesday and no reason was given. It is doubtful that the former governor has been won over to the project especially given his own leadership of the party in his native Akwa Ibom State.

Tight grip of the party

Given the sensitivities about the scheme it was also not surprising that the party chose to kick off the project from Edo State, the only state where elections are expected to hold soon that is without a sitting PDP governor.

It is believed that no sitting PDP governor would have allowed the scheme to hold in his state as doing so would immediately deprive the governor of his tight grip on the party.

However, as the pressure on the party continues, it is difficult to see the party refusing to reinvent itself and its strategies.

As Chief Olisa Metuh, the spokesman of the party said in the statement last Sunday, the project is aimed at returning the party to the control of the people. “Finally, the NWC reaffirms its irrevocable commitment towards ensuring that the control of the party is returned to the people, in line with the ideals of the founding fathers, while urging all members to remain focused and continue to work together in furthering the rebuilding effort.” Perhaps, the PDP could again return to the roots.

Old wine in new bottle: New thinking in PDP

In a bid to bolster itself against difficult tides, the former ruling party resurrects the online registration of members project. It is a scheme that would inevitably strip the party’s governors of direct control of the party. Will it fly?

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

It was in admission of the tight grip its governors hold on the party, that the acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Prince Uche Secondus said last Wednesday that the e-registration of party members would open the party to all Nigerians.

Even more remarkable, Secondus said that all members would through the process have equal rights. That is, ordinary party members would have a say contrary to the present situation where the powerful governors dominate.

“This party belongs to all. They will have equal rights to vote and to be voted for. Nobody will be excluded,” Secondus said at the inauguration of the committee to enforce the project. The committee is headed by media mogul, Chief Raymond Dokpesi.

The chairman’s claim that the party would be opened to all was reflective of the fact that the self acclaimed biggest political party in Africa had reached its tethers and needed to reinvent itself.

File: President Goodluck Jonathan

It was especially so after the election drubbing in the hands of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Secondus became the third party chair to project the e-registration exercise after previous attempts by first Dr. Okwezileze Nwodo in 2010 and Alhaji Bamanaga Tukur in 2012/13 were aborted.

Dr. Nwodo was the first to conceive the idea of e-registration even before he became the national chairman.

Party insiders say that he had met President Goodluck Jonathan during the latter’s first official trip to the United States in 2010 and reportedly advised him on how he could take away the party from the governors almost all of who had opposed his emergence as acting president during the crisis that shadowed the illness of President Umaru Yar‘Adua.

Ticket of the party

Jonathan apparently eager to sidestep the governors in his bid to win the 2011 presidential ticket of the party had bought the idea with aplomb and had as such supported Nwodo’s return to the PDP national secretariat as national chairman.

Nwodo was the second national secretary of the party and had exited the party during the troubles that characterised the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Nwodo’s submission, it was learned, was that opening the party through the e-registration of members would not just open the party, but give the ordinary members a voice in the emergence of candidates.

Jonathan interestingly flagged off the e-membership registration exercise on August 10, 2010 when he was registered at the PDP national secretariat.

He was registered in the presence of Nwodo, the then Senate President, Senator David Mark, the then national secretary, Prince Uche Secondus among others. He praised the party leadership to high heaven for the initiative which he said would also generate the funds needed to run the party.

Uche Secondus

The president had described as “the best thing to have happened to party membership registration in Nigeria , in the 21st Century.”

The online registration exercise according to the party was expected to register at least six million persons as members of the party.
However, the exercise was not long after upturned when PDP governors mobilised to truncate it. Their grouse was that Nwodo was conniving with Jonathan to lessen the influence of the governors on the party.

The main thrust of having registered members was to ensure that only registered members were able to vote and contribute to the funding of the party. Until then, the party was almost wholly funded by the governors.

The governors saw through the alleged aims of Nwodo and the president and forced the president to call the party leadership to order and not too long after, the exercise was aborted.

The bad blood flowing from the aborted exercise culminated partly in the machination that led to the exit of Nwodo as national chairman. Jonathan apparently desperate to win the party’s ticket caved in to the pressure of the governors and sacrificed Nwodo and that became the end of the online registration exercise.

Tukur who came into office in 2012 also revived the e-membership registration project and it was not surprising that for most of his time in office he was in battle with the governors.

Internal retreat

Tukur was won over to the scheme after an internal retreat for party executives in Uyo in December 2012.
At that retreat where his predecessor, Nwodo delivered a lecture titled

“Deepening Democracy through Internal Party Democracy: Strategies for conducting credible, free and fair party congresses and primaries,” the former party chairman had urged the party to revisit the online registration project as a means of boosting party membership and funds.

“We all know that he who plays the piper dictates the tune. There are known ways enshrined in the constitution of the party by which the party is funded. “What we are not used to in Nigeria are innovative ways of utilising these avenues. I have consistently advocated e-registration as a way of raising funds for the party. “By this module, nobody is disenfranchised from registering in the party. The registration fees and annual dues go straight to the coffers of the party.”

Wrath of the governors

Following the retreat, Tukur commenced moves to revive the online registration and by that inevitably incurred the wrath of the governors, and not surprisingly, a year later, he was forced out of office.

Nwodo…

Remarkably, the present National Working Committee, NWC which is a carryover of the Tukur leadership has now pledged to forge ahead with the project, albeit reluctantly.

Giving the determination of the NWC to forge ahead with the project, the NWC in a statement last Sunday said:

“The National Working Committee (NWC), after very wide consultations with critical stakeholders, and in line with the wishes and aspirations of our teeming supporters across the country, has approved the resuscitation of the e-registration project.

“This project, which was initially presented in the 52nd National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of our great party on August 12, 2010, is aimed, among other things, at harmonizing our membership data, returning ownership of the party to the people and strengthening our various structures at all levels across the country.

“The NWC believes that the e-registration is indeed a decisive step towards enthroning internal democracy and giving every member a voice in the party.

“While details of the process will be transmitted to our various structures across the nation, the NWC announces that Edo state would be used as a pilot for the exercise. Consequently, the earlier scheduled Edo state congresses are by this announcement, deferred until the completion of the pilot e-registration exercise in the state.

“The national leadership, by this, charges all members in Edo state to make themselves available for the e-registration as well as work hard to win new members and more supporters for the party in the state. Remarkably, Senator Godswill Akpabio who as governor was believed to be in the forefront against the e-registration exercise was named in the Raymond Dokpesi led committee to supervise the project. Akpabio was not present at the inauguration of the committee last Wednesday and no reason was given. It is doubtful that the former governor has been won over to the project especially given his own leadership of the party in his native Akwa Ibom State.

Tight grip of the party

Given the sensitivities about the scheme it was also not surprising that the party chose to kick off the project from Edo State, the only state where elections are expected to hold soon that is without a sitting PDP governor.

It is believed that no sitting PDP governor would have allowed the scheme to hold in his state as doing so would immediately deprive the governor of his tight grip on the party.

However, as the pressure on the party continues, it is difficult to see the party refusing to reinvent itself and its strategies.

As Chief Olisa Metuh, the spokesman of the party said in the statement last Sunday, the project is aimed at returning the party to the control of the people. “Finally, the NWC reaffirms its irrevocable commitment towards ensuring that the control of the party is returned to the people, in line with the ideals of the founding fathers, while urging all members to remain focused and continue to work together in furthering the rebuilding effort.” Perhaps, the PDP could again return to the roots.