30012018 - 2019: No alternative to Buhari, says el-Rufai

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32—VANGUARD, TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Kwankwaso bows to pressure,
cancels Kano rally
•As Presidency summons Ganduje, Kwankwaso
By AbdulSalam
Muhammad
K ANO—THE
l a w m a k e r
representing Kano Central
senatorial district, Senator
Rabiu Kwankwaso, has
shelved his visit to Kano
State.
Both Kwankwaso and
Ganduje had fixed their
rallies for today.
Kwankwaso’s change of
mind came on a day the
Presidency summoned him
and Governor Ganduje over
the tense political
atmosphere in the state.
Speaking through Rabi’u
Sulaiman Bchi, a former
Secretary to the State
Government, in Kano,
yesterday, Kwankwaso
announced the cancellation,
saying it followed a series
of consultations.
He said: “I have shelved
my visit to Kano to avoid
political clash in the state,
following series of advice I
have received from wellmeaning
Nigerians home
and abroad.
“In view of this and after
lengthy consultations with
well-meaning Nigerians
home and abroad, we
painfully have decided to
shelve the scheduled visit
at the moment."
Meanwhile, the
Presidency, yesterday,
summoned Governor
Abdullahi Ganduje and the
senator to avert a
breakdown of law and
order in Kano State.
The governor,
accompanied by two
serving senators and two
members of the House of
Representatives from the
state, met with Chief of Staff
to the President, Malam
Abba Kyari, at the
Presidential Villa.
Ganduje, however,
declined to speak to State
House correspondents after
the closed door meeting.
Sen. Kwankwaso also met
with Vice-President Yemi
Osinbajo at the Presidential
Villa on the matter,
yesterday.
Kano State Police
Command had advised
Kwankwaso against
embarking on the visit, due
to the tension it had
generated, which may lead
to breakdown of law and
order.
The State Police
Commissioner, Rabiu Yusuf,
had on January 27, advised
Kwankwaso to shelve the
visit as security report had
indicated that the
controversial visit might
lead to political unrest.
CLOSING GONG: From left, Head of Corporate Services Division, Nigeria Stock
Exchange, Mr. Bola Adeeko; United States Consulate Public Affairs Officer, Ms. Darcy
Zotter; Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyeama; United
States Consul General, F. John Bray; United States Consulate Political and Economic
Section Chief, Mr. Tat Osman, and Head of Human Resources, Nigeria Stock Exchange,
Ms. Pai Gamde, during the United States Consul General’s participation in the Closing
Gong ceremony at the Stock Exchange House, in Lagos, yesterday.
Political parties often lie to gain power— Dogara
•Says 68 political parties weak, lacking in internal democracy
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA— SPEAKER of
House
of
Representatives, Mr
Yakubu Dogara, has
lamented the growing
resort of political parties to
lie their way to power.
According to him, it is
“political malpractice” for
any government to
administer the country
without making references
to its political party
manifesto.
This was as he regretted
the lack of capacity among
Nigeria’s 68 registered
political parties, describing
them as weak, unstable
and lacking functional
party apparatus, while
suffering from low
organisational capacity and
internal democracy.
“In Africa and Nigeria in
particular, political parties
are weak, lacking not only
a stable and functioning
party apparatus, but also a
clear programmatic appeal.
They also suffer from low
organisational capacity and
a lack of internal
democracy,” he said.
Parties lie to
get to power
“It is worthy to mention
that in an attempt to either
capture or hold on to power,
some political parties have
sometimes embellished
their manifestos with
unrealistic promises.
“It is political malpractice
for an elected government
to govern without referring
to the manifesto that was
placed before the voters,
which essentially formed
the basis of their election.
Political parties must
ensure that they relate their
manifestos to a strategic
framework which carry the
development vision of the
entire nation.”
Dogara spoke, yesterday,
in Abuja at the opening of
a two-day retreat on ‘’The
Dynamics of Managing
Political Parties
Professionally," organised
by Political Parties
Leadership and Policy
Development Centre of the
National Institute for Policy
and Strategic Studies,
Kuru.
Represented by Minority
Whip of the House,
Yakubu Umar Barde, the
speaker said: “For political
parties to effectively play
the central role in a
democratic representation,
they must be managed
and operated in such a
manner as to establish
trust among the electorate.
“Weak political parties
cannot support democracy
as parties are expected to
serve many important
functions, including citizen
mobilisation, interest
aggregation, public policy
formulation, leadership
recruitment and
government organisation.”
On his part, Senate
President, Dr Bukola
Saraki, advocated
inclusiveness in the
management of political
parties in the country.
Represented by
Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Media and
Public Affairs, Senator
Abdullahi Sabi, the Senate
President said: “We must
appreciate and
understand the roles of
political parties in a
democratic society like
Nigeria.
“Many have argued that
the parties have adopted an
elite structure aimed at
checkmating the influence
of the masses. I cannot say
this is further from the truth.
This is because participation
is the key ingredient for
acknowledgement or
acceptance."
Money laundering charge: Judge returns
Lamido’s casefile to CJ
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
A BUJA—TRIAL
Justice Babatunde
Quadri of the Federal
High Court, yesterday, in
Abuja remitted the casefile
of money laundering
charge against former
Governor of Jigawa State,
Sule Lamido, to the Chief
Judge “for further
directive.”
Justice Quadri said he
could not proceed with the
matter in view of a recent
judgment of the Court of
Appeal.
The appellate court had
N120bn bribery allegation: FG
re-arraigns Misau, seeks to
tender video evidence
By Ikechukwu
Nnochiri
ABUJA — THE Federal
Government, yesterday,
re-arraigned Senator Isah
Misau before an Abuja High
Court at Maitama over
corruption allegations he
levelled against the Inspector
General of Police, IGP, Mr.
Ibrahim Idris.
Misau, who is representing
Bauchi Central Senatorial
District, pleaded not guilty to
an amended seven-count
charge.
The charge marked FCT/
HC/CR/345/2017, was a
direct fallout of allegations
Misau, who himself is a
retired Deputy
Superintendent of Police,
raised against the IGP.
The Federal Government
accused the lawmaker of
making “injurious
falsehood” against the IGP.
It listed some of the
“injurious falsehood” the
defendant made, to include
allegations that police officers
paid as much as N2.5 million
directed that Lamido, who
is facing trial alongside
his two sons, Aminu and
Mustapha, should be
tried before Justice
Adeniyi Ademola.
It upheld an appeal
Lamido and his sons
lodged against the reassignment
of their case
to a new trial Judge.
The CJ had in exercise
of his administrative
powers, transferred the
case-file to Justice Quadri
after Justice Ademola was
arrested
and
subsequently prosecuted
by the Federal
to get special promotion and
posting through the Police
Service Commission.
Misau was charged for
alleging that the police boss
diverted money meant for the
purchase of Armoured
Personnel Carriers, Sport
Utility Vehicles and other
exotic cars, among other
allegations
Meanwhile, after he
entered his plea, the Chief
Judge of the high court,
Justice Ishaq Bello, allowed
Misau to go home on
previous bail conditions that
were handed to him by the
court.
The court had on October
19, 2017, granted the
defendant bail to the tune
of N5 million.
Before Justice Bello
adjourned the case till
February 22 for hearing, the
prosecution counsel, Dr.
Alex Iziyon, SAN, notified
the court of Federal
Government’s decision to
compel Channels
Television to produce some
of the evidence it would rely
upon during the trial.
NNPC being owed N171bn
subsidy claims — Baru
By Michael Eboh
ABUJA—
THE
Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation,
NNPC, yesterday, said it
was being owed N170.6
billion outstanding subsidy
claims by the country.
The NNPC in a statement
in Abuja quoted its Group
Managing Director, Mr.
Maikanti Baru, as stating
that the claims were for
payments due it from
January 2006 to December,
2015.
According to the
statement, Baru led a team
of top management of the
NNPC to the ongoing
investigative hearing on N5
trillion subsidy payments
from 2006 to 2016.
He said the figure was
arrived at after deduction
of N4.95 trillion received as
payments from the N5.121
trillion approved subsidy
claims of the corporation
from January 2006 to
December 2015.
Providing details of the
accruals, Chief Financial
Officer of the NNPC, Mr.
Isiaka AbdulRazaq, traced
the advent of the subsidy
regime to October 2003,
when NNPC was directed
by government to
commence the purchase of
domestic crude oil at
international market price
without a corresponding
liberalization of the
regulated price of
petroleum products.
Government on
corruption charges.
Meanwhile, shortly after
the appellate court’s
judgment, before Justice
Ademola could resume
hearing on the case, he
was compulsorily retired
by the NJC.
Consequently, when the
matter came up for
hearing, yesterday,
counsel to the
defendants, Mr. Kanu
Agabi, SAN, said there
was need for Justice
Quadri to hand-off the
matter as he was directed
to do by the apellate court.