New PDP Alleges Presidency Crack Down on Its Leadership …..Baraje Direct Members to Write Will

The New PDP chaired by Alhaji Baraje said it has received intelligence reports that the Presidency was putting finishing touches to what it calls “Operation Total Crackdown on G7 and their allies in the New PDP”, which is allegedly aimed at to arrest and incarcerate its leadership without charge.

The factional PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka said, “The reality, however, dawned on us after we read the interview of our friend and brother, Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, in the PREMIUM TIMES of 26th September, 2013, confirming that President Goodluck Jonathan is under pressure to arrest former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar without any further delay. The sin of these two distinguished Nigerian statesmen, according to those plotting their “demystification”, is their alleged support for the New PDP, including the G7 Governors. That this evil plot is being conceived by the Presidency confirms that the Abacha days are truly here again with us”.   

The factional group explained that in view of the seriousness of the plot to crack down on them in disregard of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the National Chairman of the new PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, summoned an emergency meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to brainstorm on how best to respond to the situation.

According to the statement, the splinter PDP resolved at the end of the meeting that they would not be intimidated for any reason, even if it means death, as they are fighting a just cause of “reclaiming, recovering and establishing our party based on the vision of its founding fathers as the party is currently usurped by some members who do not know how it was formed”.

The statement stated further that, “Baraje, knowing how dirty some of the hawks in the Presidency can fight when pushed to the wall, directed NWC members to write their wills immediately after the meeting as we have entered the stage of no retreat and no surrender – fully determined to reclaim what rightly belongs to us”.

The NWC urge also the G7 Governors that on no account should they be intimidated or frightened by any tactics or strategy employed by State Forces to coerce them to forgo any of the issues they have been asked to present before President Jonathan during the October 7th meeting.

The rest of the statement reads:

“Though it is sad that instead of employing diplomacy to attend to the issues that brought this conflict to bear the Presidency prefers to use force but we are not disturbed as we are ready for any of its tactics. In this regard, we wish to urge both the Presidency and those detailed to attack us not to waste further time or wait till October 7th to start arresting us as there are thousands of Nigerians ready to step into our shoes and fight this cause to its conclusion.

“We are convinced that at the appropriate time; Asari Dokubo will join us when he is convinced as a Social Crusader the injustice we have been subjected to in PDP all these years so we are not threatened by his outbursts.

“Our stand is the same as that of late President of USA, Theodore Roosevelt, who once stated: “Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”

“On a final note, we do not know why General Olusegun Obasanjo is being linked with the New PDP. Let us state unequivocally that this foremost nationalist has not in any way – either directly or by proxy – had anything to do with our existence and operations. Ridiculing and plotting the arrest of such a distinguished personality that fought to keep this nation as one entity and contributed immensely in making PDP the most vibrant, virile, versatile and biggest political party in Africa as a nobody is not the best strategy to use to fight the cause of President Jonathan, who knows what Chief Obasanjo did to make him President in the first place”.

Prince Tonye Princewill Breaks his Silence on Amaechi and Jonathan’s Political Entanglement

Prince Tonye Princewill Breaks his Silence on Amaechi and Jonathan’s Political Entanglement

Prince Tonye T.J.T Princewill is a member of the PDP and a key player in the politics of Rivers State. After a long period of silence, the young man who quite easily has one of the most respected voices in not only Rivers state but the Niger Delta Spoke on his relationship with president Jonathan and Amaechi, his view on the battle between them, the 2015 governorship race and a plethora of other issues that affect our region. Excerpts

You’ve been silent for a while. Why?
Sometimes in life we need to listen more than we talk. As you rightly observed, I have been doing a lot more listening lately. My political career is just beginning and so I have a lot to learn. I have seen a lot of mistakes that I Tonye Princewill cannot afford to make. And it is only by watching the people dancing in the town square that I have been able to see their backs. I have resisted the temptation to join them because neither side are short of sycophants. There are no vacancies in that department. And since I am not a sycophant, I want to continue look either of them in the eye and tell them the truth.
And what is this truth? None of them are saints. All of us are sinners. So we all need peace. I am an advocate for peace, but in the meantime I am taking a lesson in how not to play politics.

What is your position on the Amaechi /Jonathan saga? Whose side are you on?
I am not taking sides. If all of us take sides, who will work for peace? There is still plenty of time to make peace between now and 2015 so allow me to preach my peace and avoid trying to make me a warrior. When the time to fight comes, if it does, we will see who the true warriors are. 2007 is still fresh in our memories. I laugh at those people who are looking for Amaechi or Mr President to make them Governor or Minister or LGA chairmen and whatever. Their hope is that their side will win and that since in PDP politics it is the winner who takes all, they will decide who gets what, where and when. This time they will be in for a big shock. Neither of them alone will produce the next Governor. God will do that and he will use people who do not have big names, so blind loyalty which hides the truth is a recipe for disaster. Count me out of that. They must work together.
They have both made mistakes and are still making them. My responsibility as a son of the soil is to tell them the truth and find
a way out of the mess. Since I am fortunate enough to have their ear, I tell them what they don’t want to hear. I blame my friend and brother Amaechi for this mess but where Amaechi erred, the President should have called him aside and told him so and as an older brother he should have forgiven him. Do you know what Amaechi has done for this President when nobody gave him any notice? And on the other side, do we know what Wike has done for this Governor? They have all at one time or the other conspired against me and many others. Now they want me to fight their war? I won’t. They should go and settle or else, God will settle them.
In 2008, Amaechi and Wike conspired against me for the Local government elections, the LGA structure we see today was “engineered” into place by these same people fighting each other today. In 2011, Amaechi refused to work with Atiku but went to work for Goodluck against my friendly advice. When he won and Jonathan won, did they look in my direction? Please let me have peace. Amaechi won the Governor's forum election, intimidating him is unnecessary and counter productive even if he is not totally innocent. The sacking of the Obio Akpor council was wrong as was the refusal to recognise the Felix Obuah led PDP in the state. What goes around comes around. I have told Amaechi this. What happened when a parallel PDP was formed in Rivers state?
To be fair, both Amaechi and Atiku have listened to me when I have given advice. They were both ready to work with Jonathan even when it appeared that he was not willing to work with them. At first when I sat with the President, he acknowledged the need to build bridges with them. I can only think that there are people around him who saw advice like mine through a jaundiced lense and proceeded to act counter to it. Go to the streets of Port Harcourt and ask people. They will say Amaechi and Tonye are twins. How? Why? Go today and ask people they will say Atiku is my father. I will follow him to the grave. How? Why?
My loyalty is to the people. The poorer they are, the more loyal I am. What will benefit them is what I will advocate for.
In 2011, I advocated Atiku. For now, we watch but I refuse to fight Jonathan so Sule Lamido can be my President. Is Lamido a better option for my people? Currently peace between these children of God (Amaechi and Mr President) is what will benefit my people. I will work for peace. Not take sides and call one side a saint and the other side a sinner. People don’t like to look well before they talk. I do. Man no be God is what I will say. 2015 is not by power, it is by faith. The child that does not want his mother to sleep will not sleep either. We abused Obasanjo, God gave us Yaradua, we cried and lamented, he died on us and along came Jonathan. Some of us including those who voted for him only two years ago are abusing him too. Ask yourselves, who next? Sule Lamido? No way.
Our leaders should quickly move away from the current politics towards the politics of persuasion before they make enemies out of potential friends. Re 2015, Amaechi is not Mr President's problem or vice versa.
Fighting each other will not work. Nobody should underestimate anybody. Even Atiku. If you can't even attempt to win my vote by simple persuasion, how can you lead me?

Are you going to run in 2015?
Yes. It appears I will. Things have to be done right but it appears that all I need, to do what has to be done, is either in place or will be. Initially I was concerned about the moral and financial support but that is no longer a concern for me. The next step is to consult more widely, identify real leaders old and new and engage our youth even more. Unless they are central to what I am doing, I will not succeed. People who know me know that I have a passion for youths and women, especially rural women. Orphans and disabled people will also enjoy my government too but my focus will be JOBS, JOBS, JOBS. That affects every household.

If Ikwerre and Ogonis have the population, how will you win?
That is the same question my Governor asked me on January 6th, 2012.
"By the hand of God" is my answer. It will take a miracle for me to win and that is why I have to contest. Rivers state needs a miracle. I expect Ogonis and Ikwerres will not look at me just as a Kalabari man but more as a people’s man just the same way I look at all of us as Rivers people. We need people who can bring us together not pull us apart. Just the other day, I heard someone say that I will make history as the first Kalabari Governor. I said to the person while that may be true, I prefer to make history because of where I will take Rivers state and not because of where I come from within it.
To win we must reach out to all, majorities and minorities. In the end we must bring out our best. Many people will agree that they have had sons and daughters representing them before now and yet crises and poverty have not gone away, it has even increased. So Rivers people know who cares about them even when there is no election and who opens their door when there is nothing to gain. They will not forget. They know who has the ideas and who represents change you can trust because they know the Prince will and that the Prince means well. I don’t have the political baggage of the others, I have no cult affiliations and have never had I have done all I have done from my own pocket without even a political office. They know what I will do if I do attain more.
My message to my Kalabari brothers and sisters is that they should talk to their neighbours and make them see what they see. Politics should be about persuasion not power. Numbers are irrelevant in the eyes of God, otherwise Odili would never have been Governor. Our upland brothers know fairness when they see it but if you try to dictate fairness its name changes to intimidation and nobody will be intimidated in 2015. The state belongs to all of us.

You have been outside PH quite a lot, is that how you will rule Rivers state?
No. Like I said it is deliberate. Since you have asked so bluntly let me open up to you. 95% of my income does not come from Rivers state.
Amaechi my friend knows that I do not disturb him for money and that I go about my business irrespective of what is going on. Schools and hospitals were given to political friends and enemies to execute all over the state, he didn’t  give me any, refused to give my political allies and in the end all I had to boast of was the single contract I did in 2007 finished in 2008 and didn’t get paid for till 2011. This contract was given to all governorship candidates in 2007 that decided to work with Amaechi at the time even though I probably spent more on the 2007 election than all of them put together. I am a net looser so far in this government and I doubt anyone in my position has brought more into this state and taken less out. That comes with its
consequences. But I am not bitter. My time will come. To keep afloat I have to keep my businesses afloat and since many of them are outside the state, I have to be outside the state.
Also and more importantly, I wanted to improve my relationship with God and so I took time out to fellowship with him and get to know him one on one. This has involved a rigorous fasting and prayer routine which sometimes made me think I was going to die but now I am stronger than I have ever been and physically much more fit. So my reason for my absence is not as a habit but for a purpose. It has also shown me who can survive without me and yet still stay focused. So all in all it has been a revelation.

What of the political structure needed to win elections?
Only a greedy man wants to rely on himself alone for victory maybe because he wants to chop alone. I cannot do this alone. Government is big. I can only occupy one position so we need a team. My job is to find that team. The structure that will win the election will respect local interests, community interests and state dynamics. Let us not sit down in one place and write a new story for each community where one already exists.  My job is not to build a structure from scratch but to bring together other structures into one big one. Political structures, religious bodies, youth groups, women groups, the disabled, market women, unemployed graduates, community organisations, etc. I will lead but I cannot do it alone. A leader needs generals and
that is what I am busy looking for now. Politics is too important to be left to politicians alone. Our structure will make politicians of non politicians. It is never too late to learn something new. I entered politics in 2006 and ran for Governor in 2007. What structure did I use to defeat Sgt Awuse and shake PDP? What structure did Fashola use to win Lagos and what structure did Goodluck Jonathan use to win the Presidency? God gives structures.

Has Jonathan done well?
Yes. In certain areas he has, but in certain areas he needs a lot more work. I think as far as recent Presidents go, he is better than both Yar Adua and Obasanjo and IBB and Abacha but for this time, this is not good enough. He can do better. Especially in the politics. Where we are today could have been avoided. I wouldn’t want to say more than that for now. The President knows my views on this. Judgement will come at the end of the tenure so he still has his destiny in his hands.

Has Amaechi done well?
Same difference. He is the best since Diete Spiff without a doubt in my mind but he has not done well in some areas. Especially in the politics. Before the political space became heated I felt he was drifting a little but now it is clear to me that governance has been sacrificed at the altar of politics. This is typical politics and so I predicted it. It could have been avoided but the Governor was the Chairman of the forum and that tied his hands. If he hadn’t been, maybe we wouldn’t be here today. But he is so here we are. Let us see what happens before full time. This is only the beginning of the second half and just like the President, Amaechi is a child of God so anything can happen.

What do you think of Wike?
I think he is the best politician amongst them. He is less interested in what you think about him and more interested in getting results. He is an asset to any team and right now the President is using it to his advantage just as Amaechi has used it to his benefit in the past. He has served others in the past and may harbour ambitions for others to serve him in the future. You can’t deny him that. My job is to make
sure that when the dust settles, we are not fighting each other. Wike is somebody I will not fight unless I have to. I begged the Governor to settle with him when this first started but I do not believe that he exhausted the options for peace. Maybe he felt that there was no point. I disagree.

Tell us about PDM
PDM is the mother of PDP and to cut a long story short because I know where you are going, it decided recently at a meeting of its national executive management committee to move away from remaining a movement to becoming a party for two main reasons: 1. PDP was drifting and needed to be reminded that people had options and 2. We heard that some unscrupulous elements were planning to do likewise and register the party so we the custodians decided to beat them to it.
Even though we have given PDM life, some of us have remained inside the PDP because becoming a political party in Nigeria is not going to be business as usual just because you have a certificate. It needs to have a clearly defined position on major issues, tell Nigerians how it will be different and show the youths how much better it is than PDP or APC. Also I believe that it should concentrate on grassroots politics for now and remove its eyes from a Presidential election till 2019. It can fight for elections at state and local levels but support any of the other two at Presidential level if they set a people’s agenda PDM can subscribe to. These are the tasks and considerations before the new leadership of the PDM.
We await their final position but I remain inclined to a PDM/PDP alliance than a PDM/APC one. But you never know. Registration has commenced online at www.pdm.ng . The first political party in Nigeria to do so exactly one month after INEC registered it. Amazing. Manual registration commences shortly. No more hoarding of party cards as is currently the case. PDP and others need to take note.

If you become Governor, what will you do different?
I will never underestimate anybody, I will find peace wherever it hides for the sake of my people’s development and I will learn from others who came before me. Odili, Omehia and Amaechi have a lot to teach me about what not to do and I will be willing to learn a lot from their examples

President Jonathan Don’t Seek Reelection – Factional PDP

President Jonathan Don’t Seek Reelection – Factional PDP

The factional Peoples Democratic Party spearheaded by Alhaji Baraje, a frontline politician of nPDP has advised the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr. Goodluck Jonathan to forgo his 2015 presidential ambition as it is not in the “best interest of the country”.

The splinter PDP made its position known in a statement issued and signed by Mr Eze Chukwuemeka Eze.

According to the statement, “as a patriotic group that cares about the present and future of our great country, and that wants President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to succeed, the Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after reviewing the state of the nation and the pulse of Nigerians, wishes to advise President Jonathan to abandon his plan to seek re-election in 2015 as this ambition of his is not in the best interest of the country. 

Continuing, the faction said though Mr. President is yet to categorically declare his intention to run, he has given enough clue that he is working towards doing so. “The latest of such clues came on Sunday in New York, USA. Speaking at a luncheon with Nigerian professionals in the United States, President Jonathan insisted that he is eligible to contest in 2015 as we have a constitution that makes a provision for a maximum of eight years for anyone who wants to become a president or a governor.”  

The breakaway PDP said it is worried that Mr. President is intent on running despite his earlier promise not to do so and in spite of the wise counsel of well-meaning Nigerians, including respected elder statesmen. 

The rest of the statement reads:

“In February, 2011 while interacting with Nigerians and diplomats working in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union (AU) in Ankara, Turkey, President Jonathan clearly stated: “I would have loved that the Nigerians in Diaspora vote this year (2011) but to be frank with you, that is going to be difficult now. Presently, the law does not allow the voting outside Nigeria and so this year Nigerians in Diaspora will not vote but I will work towards it by 2015 even though I will not be running for election.” Mr. President went ahead to add: “Four years is enough for anyone in power to make significant improvement and if I can’t improve on power within this period, it then means I cannot do anything even if I am there for the next four years.”  

“This is a historical fact which Mr. President himself cannot deny now since he had two years to deny that statement but never did so. How does Mr. President want Nigerians and the entire world to see him for this volte face? Why can he not keep his words as a man of honour instead of allowing himself to be misled by selfish advisers to go back on his words, thereby overheating the polity?

“Mr. President should heed the advice of well-meaning distinguished personalities such as constitutional law guru, Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN) and Archbishop Emeritus of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, all of whom have advised him to correctly read the handwriting on the wall and stay away from the 2015 presidential race.

“By 2015, President Jonathan would have served our nation for six solid years. This, surely, is enough time for him to achieve whatever he is capable of doing for Nigeria. What else is he looking for that is making him desperate to participate in the 2015 presidential election despite warnings that doing so may spark a chain of events capable of culminating into the country’s disintegration thereby bringing to pass the predictions of Lord Lugard that Nigeria as a nation by 2014 maybe history, which was later confirmed by the USA Think-Tank that Nigeria may disintegrate by 2015. Apart from all these, should President Jonathan contest and win by 2015 it means he would have spent ten years in office and will be sworn in three times as the President of Nigeria against the Provisions of the country’s constitution.

“We wish to appeal to Mr. President to abandon this ill-advised move and save our nation from catastrophe. God has been merciful to you, Mr. President, lifting you from being a university teacher to President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in so short a time is something you should be grateful and be contented with. We urge you Mr. President to listen to the voice of reason and avoid overstretching your good luck. A word is enough for the wise”.

New PDP Warns Against Plot to Remove David Mark and Aminu Tambuwal

New PDP Warns Against Plot to Remove David Mark and Aminu Tambuwal

The Baraje led- New PDP says it has learnt of the plan to impeach the headships of the National Assembly headed by Senator David Mark and Speaker Aminu Tambuwal.

The splinter PDP made this Known in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze and sent to Ngorokpalaresearcher .

According to Chief Eze, “We have learnt of the sinister plot to impeach the Senate President, Senator David Mark, and Speaker Aminu Tambuwal in connection with the visit of the progressive Governors and the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the National Assembly on Tuesday, September 17, 2013”.

The nPDP said “the plot by the hawks in the Presidency is politics taken too far and illustrates the extent to which they are prepared to go in their determination to plunge this country into chaos. We wish to warn those who are planning this coup to desist forthwith as such a misadventure is capable of plunging this nation into a crisis of monumental proportions. These undemocratic elements should stop overheating the polity just because of their selfish ambitions. Those who feel that politics is better practised by way of threats and the unseating of those who do not share their unprogressive thoughts should know that there is a limit to how far they can push us”. 

The statement commended David Mark and Speaker Aminu Tambuwal for ushering in what it called “a unique style of leadership” which has resulted to the sanity, brotherhood, unity being witnessed in the National Assembly since they came on board and any negative attempt on them will be resisted considering that we now have the majority in the Assembly. In this regard, we wish to advise the leadership of the National Assembly not to lose sleep over this evil plot as it is destined to fail. They did nothing wrong by warmly welcoming the progressive Governors and the NWC of PDP to the National Assembly. The visit was well-intentioned and part of the nation-wide consultations being undertaken by our people in our efforts to correct the evils being perpetrated by the undemocratic leadership of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and his cohorts.

The rest of the release reads:

“For the avoidance of doubt, the progressive Governors have for the past three months been visiting past Heads of State and some other great minds in their search for a peaceful way out of the logjam in the PDP orchestrated by the failed Tukur leadership of the party. Their visit to the National Assembly was just in continuation of their nationwide tour. The aim was to brief and rub minds with members of the National Assembly in view of their position as leaders of the party on how to reposition our great party to be united and face other parties by 2015. Any other motive imputed into the visit is not only mischievous but also a product of the devilish imaginations of those reaching such conclusions. 

“We wish to commend both the leadership and the members of the National Assembly for the great reception accorded our team during our visit even as we condemn the failed attempt by certain desperate and undemocratic elements to sabotage the visit by engineering a rowdy scene during our delegation’s meeting with members of the House of Representatives.

“We sincerely thank the Senate President, Distinguished Senator David Mark for his great counsel that no member of the National Assembly will be unseated for any reason based on the present wrangling within the party contrary to the threat by Tukur and his misguided group that members of the National Assembly supporting our move to restore sanity to our party will have their seats declared vacant not minding the limit of their powers in this regard though unconstitutional acts are what they are well noted for. A word is enough for the wise”, the nPDP warned.