President Goodluck Jonathan visited the
Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade; Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola
Adeyemi III; and Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwanu Babatunde Akiolu I,
yesterday, in apparent attempts to make inroads into the South-west
ahead of the 2015 presidential election.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Goje for alleged misappropriation of over N70 billion while he was governor of Gombe State between 2003 and 2011.
The PDP national chairman is also said to have reached agreements with PDP stakeholders in Zamfara State. With the coming on board of General Mohammed Gusau, who is currently a ministerial nominee from the state, PDP may concede the governorship ticket to Hon. Ibrahim Gusau, who defected to PDP from APC last week.
Also, the Goodluck Support Group, an organisation dedicated to marketing the Jonathan administration, has started a nation-wide campaign for his re-election in 2015.
Other participants include the Solicitor General of the Federation, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the Nigeria Police and the EFCC.
This was as the national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji
Adamu Muazu, continued moves aimed at bringing about a rapprochement
with aggrieved chieftains of the party. Muazu, it was learnt, was giving
special concessions to some PDP members who had defected to the All
Progressives Congress (APC) and reaching strategic agreements with them
deliberately to persuade them to return to PDP.
The president was billed to also visit the Oba of Badagry, Mhenu Toyi Akran, but the visit was shifted to tomorrow.
Before the visits to the South-west monarchs, Jonathan had paid a
courtesy call on the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, who promised that
the emirate would work with other traditional institutions in the
country to sustain Nigeria’s peace and unity.
A scheduled official
reception for former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, by the
president and PDP, which was actually the main purpose of Jonathan’s
visit to the state, was suspended due to a procession by the Kadiryya
Islamic Movement.
Of the six geopolitical zones of the country, the South-west has the
second highest voting strength after North-west, and both zones between
them account for about 49 per cent of the country’s total voting
population.
The South-west and North-west are, thus, strategic electoral
zones in the calculations of anyone aspiring to be Nigeria’s president.
The visits by Jonathan to the Obas of the South-west were, apparently,
part of efforts to build some influence in the territory currently
controlled by APC. Though, he had garnered huge votes from the
South-west in 2011, the president may not repeat such feat in 2015, as
most prominent politicians in the zone now belong to APC.
The president held a private meeting with the Ooni at his palace in Ife
after arriving there about 3pm, accompanied by the Minister of State
for Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, and other
government functionaries and politicians.
The Osun State Deputy
Governor, Otunba Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, and a ministerial nominee from
the state, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan, were among the dignitaries that
received Jonathan at the Ooni's palace.
Sources at the palace said the meeting centred on modalities for
securing the backing of the Yoruba in the next general elections. Oba
Sijuwade, a prominent traditional ruler in Yoruba land and president of
the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs, is a major
factor in Yoruba politics.
The president left the Ooni’s palace about 3.45pm for Oyo State, where
he met with the Alaafin of Oyo at his palace.
Jonathan, who said he had
gone there on a private visit, implored the South-west traditional
rulers to support his administration.
The president told a crowd of
residents at a reception in his honour that he had come to thank the
people of the South-west for the support they gave him during the 2011
presidential election.
But Oba Adeyemi refrained from ascribing any political meaning to the
visit. He said the president had come to appreciate the peace in the
state and wanted the monarchs to continue to maintain peace in their
domains.
The president was accompanied to the ancient Oyo Palace by the Governor
of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, and Akinjide, among other government
functionaries and politicians.
Former Governor of the state, Omololu Olunloyo, who was part of the
entourage of Mr. President, told journalists after a closed-door meeting
with the Alaafin that the president was doing the right thing by his
visits to the monarch.
From Oyo State, the president came to Lagos. He arrived at Iga Idunganran, Akiolu’s palace, at about 8pm.
Before coming to the South-west, inside sources said protocols had been
completed for the president and the National Working Committee of PDP
to receive Shekarau in Kano before the plan was thwarted by the
procession by the Kadiriyya sect. It was an annual event of the
Kadiriyya Movement, popularly known in Hausa as "Waliyyai", led by Shiek
Karibullah Nasiru Kabara.
But THISDAY gathered that Mu’azu had sealed a number of deals that may
affect the shape of politics in at least three states, namely, Gombe,
Zamfara and Adamawa. In Gombe State, the former governor of the state,
Senator Danjuma Goje, who is among the 11 senators that defected from
PDP to APC recently, is said to be considering a return to PDP based on
the discussions with Mu’azu.
Two offers, allegedly, made to Goje, according to sources privy to the
meetings, are the discontinuation of the corruption case against him and
the equal sharing of the right to nominate PDP state officials between
him and the state Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Goje for alleged misappropriation of over N70 billion while he was governor of Gombe State between 2003 and 2011.
In Adamawa State, Mu'azu was said to have offered an automatic PDP
governorship ticket to Engr. Marcus Gundiri of the APC. Gundiri had run
against Governor Murtala Nyako in 2011 and made a good impression by
losing narrowly to the incumbent.
Gundiri is currently a member of APC and if the deal with Mu’azu sails
through, he may defect to PDP, where the 2016 governorship ticket for
the party would be given to him.
The PDP national chairman is also said to have reached agreements with PDP stakeholders in Zamfara State. With the coming on board of General Mohammed Gusau, who is currently a ministerial nominee from the state, PDP may concede the governorship ticket to Hon. Ibrahim Gusau, who defected to PDP from APC last week.
Also, the Goodluck Support Group, an organisation dedicated to marketing the Jonathan administration, has started a nation-wide campaign for his re-election in 2015.
The group disclosed this at the weekend in Abuja during a Valentine’s
Day event organised at Unity Fountain to appreciate Nigerians for
supporting the Jonathan administration.
Deputy Coordinator of GSG, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, said Jonathan had through
his Transformation Agenda proven to be a capable hand qualified for a
second term. Olafeso noted that the agenda had yielded results in
several areas, including power, agriculture, and aviation.
The group's Director of Logistics, Yeye Bola Dare said: "We have so
many programmes lined up, about 200 activities starting from next week
to tour all over the country.
We want to say that the train is moving,
people should come join the train, even Mr. President is joining and we
have kick-started."
Meanwhile, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda
Thomas Greenfield, has arrived the country to attend a workshop on
strategies for 2015 general election.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to the US, Professor Ade Adefuye, who spoke to
THISDAY yesterday said the meeting put together by the Nigeria-US
Bi-National Commission will be discussing issues bordering on Good
Governance, Transparency and Integrity.
He said all the major stakeholders, including the INEC Chairman, Prof.
Attahiru Jega, would be discussing the challenges, prospects, and
preparations for the 2015 elections.
Other participants include the Solicitor General of the Federation, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the Nigeria Police and the EFCC.
At the commission’s workshop holding tomorrow and Tuesday, Hon Jerry
Manwe, Chairman House committee on Electoral Reforms, will be discussing
issues on the implementation of electoral reforms and the role of
security forces in facilitating credible elections.
Greenfield is being supported by the USAID, the International
Democratic Institute and the Republican Institute all of who will
present papers on Governance, Transparency and Integrity.
Apart from focusing its concern now on 2015, the commission has been
able to bring to the fore of the US government, the need to assist the
Nigerian government on combating terrorist organizations especially Boko
Haram through weapon support and military training and logisitics.
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