Television Nigerian

Adulterated fuel: Demand for compensation heightens as Nigerians count losses

News

coic

-

February 14, 2022

Adulterated fuel: Demand for compensation heightens as Nigerians count losses

Following the importation of adulterated fuel into the country, which has resulted in severe shortages of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, in many cities, some stakeholders have called on the federal government to shoulder the blame by compensating those whose vehicles, generators, and other valuables were damaged.

Over 100 million liters of fuel recently imported into the country were said to be adulterated, with high methanol levels exceeding Nigeria’s specifications.

Long lines formed at gas stations in major cities across the country as a result of the development. President Muhammadu Buhari has demanded a full investigation into the matter in order to identify those who were involved in the importation.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, and other related agencies had blamed the unfortunate development on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

Meanwhile, the NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari shifted the blame on four oil companies: MRS, Emadeb, Brittania-U, Oando and Duke Oil.

However, with the exception of Duke Oil, the other three accused companies have all in writing, denied the allegation, thus creating more confusion in the drive to unmask shippers of the bad fuel.

It was revealed that some vehicles, particularly in the nation’s capital are already parking up following the effects of the substandard imported fuel.

A taxi driver, Mr Andrew Nwoye, who spoke to our correspondent, said the fuel pump of his car got damaged two days ago after the vehicle consumed much of the toxic fuel.

“I just woke up on Thursday and discovered that my car could not start. I did everything I could in my own little knowledge but it was still not responding until I called an expert who informed me that my fuel pump has issues.

Read Also: FAAN remits 16.7 billion FG, proposes budget of N188 billion for 2022.

“This government has killed us. I’m sure that if not for their bad fuel, my vehicle would have been intact. Apart from the fuel pump, I have spent a lot of money on fixing the car, including my generator”.

A tricycle (Keke napep) driver, Mr Ayuba also said himself and others have been servicing their vehicles more frequently than before since the fuel issues began.

“I just noticed recently that my ‘Keke’ does not sound very well like before; I was advised to service it two days ago and the same thing has started again,” he lamented.

Another commercial driver, Amos Akogwu told our correspondent that he has abandoned his vehicle which he referred to as his only source of income in a mechanic village due to several faults emanating from the adulterated fuel.

On Sunday, some stakeholders said the Federal Government should compensate Nigerians for the harm caused by the bad fuel.

The National Coordinator of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko said there is need for the oil importers to enter into “constructive dialogues with government and the victims of their bad fuel on issues of compensations to stave off huge legal damages that may come up if the victims are forced to go to court”.

He called on the Federal Government, to as a matter of importance, work out and enforce systematic compensations of damages currently resulting from the use of the toxic fuel by Nigerians, adding that “the defaulting companies should be dragged to court by the government if they fail to compensate their victims”.

In a similar vein, Goodluck Egwu Ibem, President General of the Coalition of Southern and Middle Belt Youth Leaders Assembly, COSMBYLA, stated that the Federal Government must be held accountable for the damages caused by the tainted fuel.

Ibem, who said the government should either pay for the fixing of the damaged vehicles or replace them with new ones, said those involved in the importation of the substandard fuel must be arrested and prosecuted.

He said, “The Federal Government must take full responsibility for the damages being caused by the bad fuel. They can’t blame anybody because it is their duty to import the product.

“The Federal Government, through the NNPC, must pay damages for the havoc their actions caused Nigerians; the government officials must be forced to pay the amount Nigerians used to fix their vehicles, or better still, the FG should replace those vehicles to alleviate the suffering imposed on the owners.

Read Also: Stakeholders kick as N’Assembly delays NGEagle’s takeoff due to Arik’s N10.8 billion debt.

“We also want those involved in these criminal activities to be arrested and prosecuted, while those that need to be sacked or suspended should be given appropriate punishment for their actions”.

Attempts to reach Kyari, the NNPC boss, for comment on the development were unsuccessful yesterday, despite Mike Mukwuzi, the NNPC media unit’s inability to take his calls.

Stakeholders kick as N’Assembly delays NGEagle’s takeoff due to Arik’s N10.8 billion debt.

Nigeria

coic

-

February 14, 2022

0

Stakeholders kick as N’Assembly delays NGEagle’s takeoff due to Arik’s N10.8 billion debt.

The National Assembly has stated that NGEagle, a new start-up airline, will not see the light of day until Arik Air pays off a debt of N10.8 billion.

At a joint oversight function at Lagos Airport over the weekend, lawmakers said the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), which owns both airlines, should demonstrate a stronger commitment to asset recovery and offset outstanding debts to aviation agencies and taxpayers.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will continue to hold NGEagle’s Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) until the debt is paid, according to the lawmakers.
In a related development, Senate’s Public Accounts Committee said it has summoned officials of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to appear before it on Wednesday to answer questions over an alleged N100 billion scandal.

This was as the House of Representatives commenced investigation into circumstances surrounding spending of about N1.93 billion by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on charter service without documentation.

Aviation stakeholders, meanwhile, faulted the National Assembly’s meddling in strict regulatory affairs, describing it as a dangerous violation of international civil aviation rules.

They said summoning an autonomous NCAA to a meeting and issuing orders to withhold an airline’s AOC, a core technical affair, was undue interference that has implications for safe operations.

Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), a think-tank group of local aviation, said the development amounts to interloping in regulatory affairs of aviation.

Read Also: Group urges political parties to field Abia North indigenes for governorship

President of the group, Gabriel Olowo, said it is not the responsibility of the Assembly to direct the NCAA to issue or not to issue AOC to an airline.

“It is established in International Civil Aviation (ICAO) regulations that no matter how powerful the ministry is, which is the political arm of government, it can only wield influence but not dictate to the NCAA,” Olowo said.

He insisted that the criteria of awarding AOCs are the exclusive preserve of NCAA.

“That is the agency that has the right to issue a licence. The NCAA is recognised internationally as an institution to regulate civil aviation. The autonomy of the NCAA is not negotiable. We will be killing the NCAA, if we allow such interferences over its activities.

“This is an aspect of unnecessary political interference we’ve been addressing over the years in NCAA autonomy. This will not help the sector. If care is not taken, we will begin to see such interferences on safety issues: which airline is to be grounded or not despite safety violations and so on. Standard ICAO regulation on issuance of AOC should be followed,” Olowo said.

AMCON, the special debt recovery vehicle of the Federal Government, took over Arik Air in February 2017, as part of measures to save the airline from “imminent collapse”. It had cited gross mismanagement by the owners of Arik and debt in excess of N300 billion.

Inherited in the lot is the sum of N9.6 billion and $2.3 million (totalling N10.85 billion), being five per cent ticket and cargo sales charge that Arik Air owed aviation agencies before AMCON took over, and which stands unpaid till date.

Five years down the line, it was learnt that Arik airline remains a hard sell, given the level of rot, debt and hard-to-recover liquidity pumped in to keep it on life support. As an alternative, the Federal Government, through AMCON, decided on a new carrier, NG Eagle, from some viable assets of Arik Air. At least, three Boeing 737 airplanes that once belonged to Arik have been stripped and rebranded into NGEagle’s livery.

Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Hamisu Yadudu, told the lawmakers that the agency faces huge challenges in infrastructural development, and is largely constrained by economic challenges affecting revenue generation, accumulated debts, rising operating and maintenance cost, among others.

Yadudu said recovering the outstanding debts of Arik would help FAAN turn the corner in airport administration.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Smart Adeyemi, in his response, said they were not unaware of the tango on Arik’ debt and “that has delayed NGEagle’s taking off. AMCON is a responsible government agency that has a duty to recover outstanding debt. Let them (AMCON) find the means to pay this debt, otherwise, NGEagle will not take off,” Adeyemi said.

Read Also: ASUU threatened another strike

House of Representatives member, Kabir Idris, said the indebtedness is not exclusive to Arik but involves other airlines that owe FAAN and other regulatory agencies.

Idris, however, expressed displeasure on the laid back attitude of aviation agencies that indulged airlines into accumulating debt over a five to 10-year period, without raising the alarm.

This came as the Senate’s Public Accounts Committee said it has summoned officials of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to appear before it on Wednesday to answer questions over an alleged N100 billion scandal.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Matthew Urhoghide, yesterday, said it was painful that the huge sum was spent of contracts without justification.

He said: “We have invited NDDC to come. They don’t have records of financial transaction. They will appear before us on Wednesday. They have 47 audit queries and we are going to look at the issues one after the other from one to 47, and we are going to personalise any refund.

“We equally invite them for status enquiry on all revenue into their accounts. We are waiting for the NDDC. If they don’t come, we’ll take necessary action against them.”

Urhoghide added: “It was observed that so many contractors were paid mobilisation fees to enable them commence execution of projects awarded to them. Contrary to the terms and agreement, some of the contractors bolted away after collecting the fees.

Read Also: House of Reps summon NNPC GMD over N1.93bn charter contract

“The surprising aspect of it was that this practice involved 626 contractors in which the sum of N61.4 billion was lost to fraudulent practices.”

In addition, the House of Representatives has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) expenditure of N1.93 billion on charter service without documentation.

This was contained in the 2019 report of the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF) currently being investigated by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House, chaired by Oluwole Oke.

The report stated that NNPC, now NNPC Limited, spent the said amount on 17 charter hire services without payment vouchers and adequate supporting documents to back up the expenditure.

It also said that there was no supporting document like evidence of vessels transshipment of products, clearance certificates from appropriate inspection agencies, among others, to show that the payments were valid and charged against public funds.

The AuGF report indicted the management of the NNPC for what it called weakness in the internal control system at the corporation, adding that this could have led to illegitimate payment and payment for services not rendered.

Read Also: FAAN remits 16.7 billion FG, proposes budget of N188 billion for 2022.

According to the report, the management of the NNPC failed to provide any response to the audit query issued. It demanded that the Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, be asked to provide reasons why payments were made without supporting documents. Besides, the corporation is to account for N1.93 billion paid to 17 contractors for the charter hire.

FAAN remits 16.7 billion FG, proposes budget of N188 billion for 2022.

Business

coic

-

February 14, 2022

0

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has deposited N16.7 billion into the Federation Account’s consolidated revenue fund for the year 2021, according to the authority.

FAAN’s Managing Director, Capt Rabiu Yadudu, stated that this was accomplished despite the pandemic’s effects between 2020 and 2021.

During an oversight visit to the FAAN headquarters in Lagos, he spoke to members of the Senate and House of Representatives committees on aviation.

The contribution is the 25% remittance FAAN is required to make to the Federation Account from its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) each year.

Read Also: Group urges political parties to field Abia North indigenes for the governorship

FAAN has been pushing for the suspension of the remittance to enable it redirect the fund into airport infrastructure in line with the ICAO requirements even though there are moves to increase the remittance to 40 per cent by the federal government.

Capt Yadudu decried the level of infrastructural gaps in the country’s aviation sector, saying agencies urgently needed intervention funds from the federal government to address infrastructural gaps and position the industry for better service delivery and contribution to the national economy.

He also disclosed that the authority was proposing a revenue budget of N188bn for the year 2022 as against N125.4bn approved for the year 2021, which gives an increase of 50.4 percent.

Read Also: ASUU threatened another strike

Yadudu added that “The authority has shifted focus from the aeronautical sources of revenue to the non-aeronautical so as to further improve the revenue performance.”

ASUU threatened another strike

Editors' Pick

coic

-

February 14, 2022

0

The threat of another strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is both unfortunate and unwelcome. In a recent statement, ASUU claimed that the government had been a serial defaulter in honoring agreements reached with it since 2009. As a result, the union’s various branches declared work-free days for members to mobilize and educate the public about the strike’s justification.

ASUU has had squabbles with the federal government since before 2009. The data from the last 20 years or more is not encouraging. Its most recent strike, which took place in 2020, lasted nine months and caused great distress to students and their parents. In November 2021, the union, again, gave the Federal Government three weeks to address its demands. It suspended the planned strike only when the government paid N22.1 billion earned academic allowances and released N30 billion of the N220 billion tranche of the 2009 revitalization fund to the universities.

Read Also: Ekiti APC, Electorate Won’t Regret Electing Me as Governor, says Oyebanji

The major issues have always revolved around the welfare of academic staff and better funding of public universities. Most universities, for instance, do not have video conferencing facilities, interactive boards, and well equipped, modern libraries and laboratories. Hostel facilities and lecture halls are grossly inadequate and the available ones are dilapidated. In some of the hostels, over 10 students squat in one room.
On welfare, ASUU had asked for the restructuring of the salary structure of lecturers and settling arrears of salaries. It also asked for the non-implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS). It has an alternative which it calls University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS). We had expected that after the long strike of 2020, the Federal Government would quickly attend to the demands of the union. It is most unfortunate that the government and ASUU have continued to go back and forth on these issues of concern.

Read Also: PDP raises alarm over alleged plot to arrest, link Ebonyi chieftains to crimes

The danger we have here is dealing with a system that thrives on trust deficit. Judging from the past breaches of its agreement with ASUU, the Federal Government has lost the confidence of the academic staff. This is lack of good faith. Government should be an institution that should be trusted. Absence of this trust is what has resulted in the threats of strike.

Obviously, we don’t pay adequate attention to education and the bulk of blame is on the government. We wouldn’t want another round of strike this period. We are going into an election year and any year leading to a general election is very crucial. We have to be very careful. The worst is that government doesn’t communicate effectively with ASUU. If it is facing challenges in fulfilling the agreement it reached with the union, it should be bold enough to communicate with it. The future of our youths is uncertain. During the long strike in 2020, some students became so frustrated that they joined criminal gangs to cause havoc in the society. The escalation of the EndSARS protests of that year was largely because of the involvement of students who were at home then. Some of them, especially the females, suffered domestic violence and even rape.

Already, the standard of education in Nigeria is low. We should not allow it to go lower. Incessant strikes also contribute to the low ranking of our universities in the world. This is partly why wealthy parents send their children to schools abroad and to private universities in Nigeria. Government should dialogue with ASUU and fulfill its own side of the bargain to avoid another strike. Any disruption now will expose these children to a lot of problems. It is always better to dialogue than to fight. The two parties must show some restraint. You win some, you lose some. Good enough, the Federal Government appears to be showing some concern now. The President has reportedly mandated the Chief of Staff, the Minister of Education and the Ministry of Labour and Employment to step in with a view to resolving the issues at stake.

Also, President Muhammadu Buhari was said to have promised that his government remained committed to fulfilling the promises made to the union. He said so when some members of the Nigeria Inter-religious Council visited him in Abuja recently. The Council was led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar III, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr. Samson Ayokunle.

Read Also: House of Reps summon NNPC GMD over N1.93bn charter contract

We implore ASUU to still give the government more time and ask the government not to take ASUU for a ride. We must place education first before any other thing. If there are certain things ASUU can forgo to achieve peace and stability, let it do so. Government must do something now to avert another disruption in the varsity system. It is about time Nigerian patriots or statesmen intervened to resolve the lingering issues. Let all the parties concerned bear in mind that our universities cannot grow without stability.

Group urges political parties to field Abia North indigenes for governorship

Politics

coic

-

February 14, 2022

0

Group urges political parties to field Abia North indigenes for governorship

The Abia Civil Society Network on Equity and Justice (ACSNEJ) has urged political parties to run only Abia North Senatorial District residents for governor in the 2023 election.

The group argued that the move would ensure that politicians continue to rotate power among the state’s three senatorial zones, as they had done since 1999, ahead of the governorship election in 2023.

It made the decision following a meeting in Umuahia, the state capital, convened by Comrades Diaman Ogudike, Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, Darlington Onuoha Kalu, Goodluck Ibem, and Nnamdi Elekwachi. They stated that it would amount to injustice if the rotation of the governorship position was jettisoned in 2023 after each of the Senatorial zones had taken their turns and that the second round of rotation should go back to Abia North in 2023.

Read Also: National Convention: Group uncovers Baduru, Bagudu behind fake excos list before Buhari

Specifically, the group urged Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to ensure that the state governorship returns to Abia North in 2023 to begin the second round of rotation and reminded him (Ikpeazu) that it was on the basis of rotation that he came into office.

ACSNEJ also argued that returning power to Abia North in 2023 after it had rotated among the three Senatorial zones beginning with the North, Central and South was in compliance with the Abia Charter of Equity.

The group recalled that power rotation was the idea of the founding fathers of Abia State in their quest for its creation to give every section an equal sense of belonging and right to partake in the governance by producing the governor in turns.

Read Also: Mu’azu Magaji Meets Shekarau Two Days After Bail, Says ‘Struggle Continues’

But speaking on behalf of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), Goodluck Ibem, faulted proponents of rotation on Old Aba and Old Bende provinces basis instead of the three senatorial zones, describing it as mischievous since the provinces no longer existed.

Ibem said the proponents of old provinces want to silence the Ukwa people politically and by so doing deprive them of the opportunity of electing their kin as the governor in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) has stated that despite their determination to conduct scientific research, they have been hampered by a lack of funds.

They therefore, called on governments and local and foreign corporate bodies to address the scenario and provide scholarships to vulnerable women and indigent girls who are desirous of education.

Coordinator of the Umudike Branch in Abia State, Dr. Mabel Ifeoma Onwuka, who spoke at an event to mark the 2022 International Day for Women and Girls in Science in Umuahia, said that the OWSD was mentoring and encouraging vulnerable girls to compete with their male counterparts and excel in the study of sciences.

Speaking, Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Transport, Mrs. Clara Ijeoma Okere, commended OWSD for reaching out to the girl child, who she described as the most vulnerable in society despite that they are the future of the country.

Read Also: House of Reps summon NNPC GMD over N1.93bn charter contract

While pledging continuous partnership with the group to champion the rights of the girl child in the society, Principal of the Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Umuahia, Mrs. Idika Kalu Ngozi, commended OWSD for championing the course of women and the girl child stressing that training a girl child was crucial to nation building.

House of Reps summon NNPC GMD over N1.93bn charter contract

News

coic

-

February 14, 2022

0

House of Reps summon NNPC GMD over N1.93bn charter contract

Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, has been summoned by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts to explain the payment of N1.93 billion to contractors for charter services.

This was based on the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation’s 2019 audit query report.

Read Also: Sylvester Oromoni died as result of his parents, school’s negligence, says pathologists

The committee said the report showed that the defunct NNPC, now NNPC Limited, allegedly spent the funds on 17 charter services without payment vouchers or other supporting documents, during its investigative hearing over the weekend.

It also said there was no evidence of vessels trans-shipment of products, clearance certificates from inspection agencies to show that the payments were valid and charged against public funds.

The AuGF report said the NNPC had a weak internal control system that could have enabled illegal payments or payments for services not rendered.

Read Also: Mu’azu Magaji Meets Shekarau Two Days After Bail, Says ‘Struggle Continues’

The chairman of the committee, Wole Oke, directed that Kyari appear before the committee to provide the list of all the 17 contractors who benefited from the contract, their legal status and contract documents.

Buni committee praised by group for uniting Enugu APC

Politics

coic

-

February 14, 2022

0

Buni committee praised by group for uniting Enugu APC

The Zikist-Buhari-Movement (ZBM) in Enugu State has praised the All Progressives Congress (APCMai )’s Mala Buni-led Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) for uniting the party’s factions in the state.

It also praised the committee for withholding the state chapter’s Certificate of Return. Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, who claimed to have emerged from the party’s state congress last year, had gone out to collect the certificate, but he was stopped by the party’s national leadership.

Read Also: Private sector alliance raises N100bn to fight against insecurity

In a statement issued by the state Publicity Secretary of ZBM, Victor Nwankwo, the group described the CECPC’s action as a milestone in uniting APC in Enugu State and stopping alleged imposition by Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma.

It, therefore, appealed to Buni and the CECPC not to succumb to Uzodimma’s lobbying to impose Agballah on the state chapter of the party.

Read aLso: Mu’azu Magaji Meets Shekarau Two Days After Bail, Says ‘Struggle Continues’

Meanwhile, the forum of the APC chairmanship candidates for the Enugu State 2022 council election had in a letter to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Alkali Usman Baba, accused Agballah of forging documents of his membership of the party.

Sylvester Oromoni died as result of his parents, school’s negligence, says pathologists

News

coic

-

February 14, 2022

0

Sylvester Oromoni died as result of his parents, school’s negligence, says pathologists

Both the school and the parents, according to a Lagos-based medical practitioner who requested anonymity, failed to provide the late Sylvester Oromoni (Jr) with the medical attention he deserved.

When the deceased made his dying declaration, he could have been disoriented and hallucinating, according to him.

Read Also: National Convention: Group uncovers Baduru, Bagudu behind fake excos list before Buhari

“The black substance found in the boy’s stomach could be as a result of the ‘trado-medical’ medicines prepared for him in church,” the radiology and pathology expert speculated. “The parents bear a greater share of responsibility for their son’s death.”

Corroborating the above analysis, a medical consultant, Dr. Hameed Adediran, said the pathologist that revealed that the boy died of sepsis was more painstaking in his submission. He also said the parents could have saved the life of their child if they didn’t treat the case mildly.

Dr. Sunday Soyemi, a consultant pathologist, who has conducted over 500 autopsies, blamed the parents of the deceased for negligence, saying sepsis, which led to the boy’s death, could have been treated with “massive doses of intravenous antibiotic, intravenous fluid, and blood transfusion.”

Read Also: Private sector alliance raises N100bn to fight against insecurity

The pathologist insisted that the first pathologist, who conducted the initial autopsy on the deceased failed to cut some organs that would have revealed whether the late Sylvester died of ingestion of the poisonous substance.

Mu’azu Magaji Meets Shekarau Two Days After Bail, Says ‘Struggle Continues’

Politics

coic

-

February 14, 2022

0

Mu’azu Magaji Meets Shekarau Two Days After Bail, Says ‘Struggle Continues’

Muazu Magaji, the embattled Kano State governor’s critic who has been in prison for alleged defamation of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has formally expressed his full loyalty to Senator Ibrahim Shekarau’s G-7 faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, just two days after being granted bail.

Magaji met with Shekarau and other key leaders of his faction, including Sha’aban Sharada, Danzago, and many other party loyalists, in his Kano residence yesterday.

Read Also: FG plans to use technology for 2022 population census

Magaji said in a statement yesterday that he was completely loyal to the Shekarau APC faction and that they care about Kano.
The Kano State chapter of the APC is still in crisis as the peace move which was being brokered by the national leadership of the party has collapsed following the disagreement between Ganduje and the Shekarau-led factions on terms.

Read Also: Senate summons NDDC Mgt over N100b contracts awarded to 626 companies

He said, “God has brought us from our political journey which in any historical perspective is basically strengthening the idea of struggle. We have been to the court and the judge has bailed us out with a condition not to comment on the specifics of the case.

“We will stay true to that court ruling because we are law-abiding citizens. We are in the home of our leader, Shekarau. The G-7 Movement has taken a new dimension which led to possession of the control of the APC in Kano both at legal and political levels.

“We will continue to advocate the right thing, to tell the truth and to stand by the truth. What we will do going forward is to actively strengthen our team based on our win-win Kano ‘sabuwa’ as we came to get the blessing of our leader.

“Our agenda is based on mobilising the young people of Kano and indeed the whole country to create an opportunity for generational leadership change.

Read Also: Private sector alliance raises N100bn to fight against insecurity

“Truly, there’s no sacrifice, no price without sacrifice; no sacrifice is too much when you are out to ensure that the right thing is done.”

Buni: The miracle man who revived APC

admin

-

February 14, 2022

0

By Philip Agbese

As the election year approaches, political parties are at their best to reposition for electoral success. However, we must not fail to remember that it hasn’t been all rosy for the country’s two main political parties: The All Progressive Congress and the People’s Democratic Party. It is instructive to state that both parties have had their fair share of political fortunes and misfortunes.

The APC, as it were, was the most hit since it wrestled power from the PDP after 16 years on the throne of governance in the country. It was thus expected that there would be issues regarding appeasing the various interests that brought about the party’s electoral success at the 2015 general elections. And this almost disintegrated the party but for the intervention of a few individuals, who, in my opinion, were divinely placed to rescue the party from the road to Golgotha.

One of such individuals is the governor of Yobe state, Mai Mala Buni, who assumed the position of Caretaker Committee Chairman of the party in June of 2020 in the heat of the leadership crisis that threw the party off the radar completely. I recall that the crisis in the APC at the time had defied all interventions so much that it was concluded that the end had indeed come for the party.

The public space was awash with different analyses on how the APC got it wrong from the onset and how the party would fade into oblivion way before the 2023 elections. All of these postulations were strong because of the facts before us and coupled with the fact that the party’s previous leadership got many things wrong in the buildup and after the 2019 elections, where accusations flew rapidly in the air with regards to the manner members of the party were supposedly treated.

Surprisingly, all of that is now history that I marvelled at what magic wand Governor Mai Mala Buni used in addressing the rancour in the party. Not only that, I also marvelled at how he was able to bring the warring factions to the table to preach the unity of purpose towards charting a new and credible cause for the party’s future.

Today, what has become of the APC is commendable, which I call the Mai Mala Buni magic. If this is not magic, I wonder what to call it. Though funny, it was as if he cast a spell on the teeming party members and stakeholders to sheathe their swords. Whatever be the case, he succeeded, and the party is better for it without any element of doubt.

I believe that one of the things Governor Mai Mala Buni did was to appeal to the party stakeholders’ conscience to see what is at risk if the party does not put its house in order. I suppose he also applied some of the principles of emotional intelligence that occasioned his public conduct and strategic engagements in steering the APC ship out of stormy waters. If not for anything, his conduct since 2020 has been exceptional and must be commended. However, credit must also be given to the members of the caretaker committee, who worked tirelessly in various ways.

The APC should remain eternally grateful to Governor Mai Mala Buni for his leadership strides in turning the party’s fortunes around in record time. It is also to his credit that the party welcomed some governors and other big wigs from the opposition PDP into the APC fold. This is no mean feat and a reason why the APC must not hurry to do away with his counsel even after the party convention slated for some time in February.

It is no mistake to state that it has been daunting for Governor Mai Mala Buni to combine his position as Governor of Yobe State and the caretaker chairman of the APC. I can count the number of persons that could do much in this country. This is also a demonstration of his leadership acumen and unalloyed commitment to the party. Whether we like it or yes, Governor Mai Mala Buni has written his name in gold, and posterity would be kind to him.

The various stakeholders must do good to imbibe lessons learnt from the APC since 2020. I am sure that many APC members had lost hope in the party bouncing back and consequently made plan b towards actualizing their various political ambitions. The PDP wasn’t left out too. They must have also been praying that the crisis persists to their advantage. But Governor Mai Mala Buni disappointed them.

As a stakeholder of the party in my own right, I can feel the exhaustion in Governor Mai Mala Buni; I could also feel his desire to ensure the party remains united as we march towards the 2023 general elections. And if wishes were horses, I would wish that he continues till after the general elections in 2023, which in my opinion, would be a guaranteed electoral success for the party. However, the decision is not mine but that of the party.

The APC owes Governor Mai Mala Buni a great deal of appreciation for his leadership strides in the party that repositioned it and placed it in good stead to go into the elections as a united and formidable political party. This is no less cheering news for the APC. It behoves party members to sustain the tempo even after the party convention.

Those who once lost hope in the party are now very hopeful; those with ulterior motives have repented and returned to the APC fold with renewed vigour toward ensuring the party’s electoral success. That is the new spirit in the APC of today, thanks to the Mai Mala Buni Magic.

I can go on non-stop, but I will instead use this medium to appeal to the teeming APC members to use the occasion of the forthcoming party convention to display their appreciation of the efforts so far in repositioning the party. We must desire that the party comes out stronger after the party convention. We must make a firm commitment towards working for the party’s success at the general elections.

While I also urge Governor Mai Mala Buni not to relent until he delivers a peaceful and rancour-free convention to the party, I wish to remind him that his services are invaluable and most appreciated. And he remains an icon of the APC of all times.

My last word for the APC is to keep Mai Mala Buni very close should anything unexpected happen during or after the convention. Every political party in Nigeria needs the Buni magic in their hour of need.

Agbese is a public affairs analyst and strategist based in the United Kingdom.