Is President Olusegun Obasanjo's proposed National Dialogue the way forward for Nigeria?
I Never Admitted Losing Anambra Polls – Ngige
Etiebet, CNPP call for fresh elections 12.14.2004
Anambra State governor, Dr. Chris Ngige, yesterday dismissed claims by President Olusegun Obasanjo that he once admitted to Chief Chris Uba's assertion that he (Ngige) as Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate did not win the April 19, 2003 governorship elections in the state. Ngige in a reaction to Obasanjo's claim contained in a letter to the PDP National Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, weekend said that "he did not and has never admitted to have lost the elections." In another reaction to the exchange of letters between Obasanjo and Ogbeh, the PDP has scheduled two separate meetings of its national caucus and the National Executive Committee for this night to deliberate on the issues arising from the correspondence. Also, leaders of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Conference of Nigeria Political Party (CNPP) have asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to invalidate the results of the polls and conduct a fresh one. Ngige who reacted through a press statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media Affairs, Mr. Fred Chukwuloebe, stated that he won the election and that his victory "has been attested to by the INEC which is the organ statutorily charged with conducting elections in the country and which duely declared him winner upon which he was duely sworn in on May 29, 2003." According to Ngige, "for the avoidance of doubt and the interest of the public, Chief Chris Uba who is said to have told the President that Governor Ngige did not win the election is an aggrieved party and should be treated as such." "This is not the first time he (Uba) is making such unsubstantial allegations. It will not be the last. Having tried all that he possibly could to illegally remove the governor from office, Chief Uba has become desperate and can go to any length to impugn the governor's character, no matter how odd the method may be. "But Governor Ngige is not perturbed and remains resolute. The governor participated and contributed enormously to the victory of the PDP in Anambra State both in the governorship and presidential elections," Ngige stated. He further urged those who have facts to the contrary to appeal to the election petition tribunals and the courts which have the responsibility for adjudicating on election disputes. While stating that he has no intention to join issues with Obasanjo, the Anambra governor stated that "the state government notes with delight that the President prays for the state and hereby assures him that the government will continue to consult him and brief him on its programmes and projects." The two meetings fixed by the PDP to discuss the Ogbeh/Obasanjo feud are at the instance of the chairman. While the caucus meets today, the NEC will meet on Thursday. The NEC is the highest decision making body of the party subject to the National Convention. Section 14 of the PDP constitution states that the National Caucus of which Ogbeh is the chairman shall have the duty of coordinating relations between the party, the executive, and the legislative arms of government. It consists of the President, Vice President, Senate President and his deputy, House of Representatives Speaker and his deputy, PDP national chairman, the National Secretary, Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, and the two deputy national chairmen. However, some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party may be pushing for Ogbeh's resignation as the national chairman because his loyalty is in doubt. Some of the NWC members also called on Obasanjo to sack Ogbeh as his special adviser on agriculture, should he fail to resign. According to a member of the NWC who spoke to THISDAY on conditions of anonymity "the national chairman did not consult any member of the NWC before writing this letter to the President who is a member of the party. We read the letter in the first place like any other Nigerian. "I think the letter is in a bad taste because we are not expected to be washing our dirty clothes in the street. Definitely, PDP will not be the same again." But another member of NWC who also does not want to be quoted told our reporter that Ogbeh is right in writing the letter to the President. "As the chief executive of the party, Ogbeh is right, because after President Obasanjo's tenure, he will go and the party stays. The party is supreme. What is happening in government is not to the credit of the party. The party is not even aware of most of the policies of government. "Key ministers of government like the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Minister of Finance, Central Bank Governor and other major ministries are manned by non-members of the party. Most of government reforms are not discussed at party level before they are carried out." The source further stated "the way things are going, it is better we tell ourselves the home truth and safeguard the interest of the party for the future. Things cannot just go on like this." While calling on INEC to nullify the last governorship elections in Anambra State, ANPP national chairman, Chief Don Etiebet said "what is INEC waiting for, the cat has been let out of the bag. The President has said it clearly that Chris Ngige did not win the governorship elections. He has confirmed what all Nigerians knew since the elections were conducted." "So the best path of honour for Ngige is to resign, because he did not win any election in the first place. He is a fake. He has no moral standing to stay in that office for the next second. He should tender his resignation letter. "Then thereafter INEC should conduct a free and fair elections to enable the people of Anambra State elect a governor of their choice. "After going through the letter from the President to Ogbeh, it is clear that the people of Anambra State have been ripped off. So, the best alternative is for Ngige to take the path of honour and resign. "When he resigns, INEC should conduct another election, because everything about the election is fake," he said. CNPP however berated the exchange of letters containing bitter words between Obasanjo and Ogbeh. Reacting on behalf of CNPP, its General Secretary, Maxi Okwu said, "at last the hen has come home to roost. The thieves are quarrelling over their spoils." Okwu described Ogbeh as a "democrat, whose credentials are never in doubt. He was a star performer in the second republic, but it is unfortunate that he is found within vipers and men without honour. The way he spoke out has stood him out as a concerned Nigerian." Okwu said for democracy to succeed in the country "then PDP will implode and collapse, because it is a party without any ideology, but a group of men who hurriedly come to gather to take power from retiring military men." On Anambra, the CNPP scribe said, "the truth has been told. We only hope that the members of the governorship election tribunal in Anambra State are listening. President Obasanjo should be invited as a star witness." "As for Ngige, he knows that he is holding a stolen mandate. He should take the path of honour and resign. The matter has come too clear for truth to emerge. The President has confirmed that the Anambra State governorship seat is a stolen mandate," he said. Meanwhile, a PDP member, Alhaji Nuhu Ibrahim has called on Ogbeh to resign his post as the national chairman. He also called on Ogbeh to resign as a Special Adviser to the President on Agriculture, because if the President has failed, he has equally failed. Ibrahim in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday said if Ogbeh fails to resign, all stakeholders in the party should not hesitate to force him out of office in the overall interest of the party. He also wants the chairman to face the party's disciplinary committee. Ibrahim stated that as a founding member of the party, he could not fold his arms and watch PDP being rubbished by the person piloting its affairs. Ibrahim called on the Board of Trustees of the party to immediately swing into action and save PDP from collapse. He however appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, and the Director General, State Security Services (SSS) to quiz Ogbeh over his outburst that a repeat of the fate that befell the Second Republic was imminent in the present democracy. He described Ogbeh's statement as incitement against constituted authority adding that the National Chairman must be made to clarify his statement. He blamed Ogbeh for the crises rocking PDP in Kogi, Plateau, Taraba, Ekiti, Cross River, Oyo, Edo, and Lagos States. Ogbeh had in a December 6 letter to Obasanjo urged the President to intervene in the Anambra crisis and bring to book those involved in criminal activities, adding that the nation was drifting dangerously. Obasanjo had in his December 9 reply accused Ogbeh of baying for a military coup, adding that the PDP national Chairman did not do enough to resolve the political differences between the combatant in the Anambra crisies.
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