No More Football for Nigeria

FIFA has banned Nigeria! “As a result of this decision, no team from Nigeria of any sort (including clubs) can have any international sporting contact (art. 14 par. 3 of the FIFA Statutes).”

————————————————–

The world football governing body, FIFA, has suspended the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, with immediate effect.

Chibok girls rescued

It has been reported that a set of hunter rescue chibok girls! Details to follow

NO BE Rice O O O!

The Ekiti Election has come and gone and it has now be confirmed that by Oct 16 exactly 8 years after he was assumed to have sneak out of the government office,

Segun Oni in Darkness

It has come to the notice of your dependable magazine, that the former governor of Ekiti Engr. Segun Oni has been without electricity for over two month now in his hometown where he now resides.

Politician Turns Thief in Ekiti State

The Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force, Adeniji-Adele Street, Lagos, on Monday paraded a chief of the All Progressives
Congress in Ekiti State, Itunnu Odeyemi, and eight others, saying they were notorious for snatching exotic cars in the country.

Fayemi! You Are a LIAR-------- M.O.B

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, Opeyemi Bamidele, has cautioned the outgoing Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to stop blaming his loss at the June 21 governorship election on his refusal to distribute money and bags of rice to the electorate.

Go and Sin No More

The Ekiti State Chief Judge, Ayodeji Daramola, has ordered the unconditional release of 24 awaiting trial inmates, including four women from the Ado Ekiti Prisons.

Daramola, who also granted bail to three other inmates during a routine visit to the Ado Ekiti prisons, explained that he exercised the prerogative of mercy following diligent investigation as well as advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the Nigerian Police.

According to him, some of the inmates were also released due to lack of diligent prosecution and want of evidence.

The CJ commended the office of the DPP and the police for their efficiency, noting that the case files of detainees were properly updated, which, he said, assisted in decongesting the prisons and ensuring justice without undue delay.

He also lauded the efforts of the officials of the prisons for the general sanitation of the prisons, which he described as satisfactory.

we dont want it from you--------- Ikoro to Fayemi

The people of Ikoro-Ekiti in Ijero Local Government Area of Ekiti State have faulted the newly created 18 local council development areas.

The people are aggrieved that the community, which they claimed is the second largest in the local government, was not considered in the creation of the LCDA.

Fayemi Honour by National Conferences delegate

Shagari, Ekwueme, Fayemi, Others Bag Democrats Award
It was a night of honour for former President Shehu Shagari, his vice, Dr. Alex Ekwueme and the acclaimed winner of 1993 presidential election, late Chief MKO Abiola and the out- going governor of Ekiti state, Dr.

Congratulations to the AFE E LOYE 1 of Ekiti.

we notice that we have not congratulate the governor Elect in Ekiti State (Prof of Politics) Mr. Ayo Fayose.Therefore we have decided to generate one hundred congratulatory message to congratulate him. This message will be forwarded to him immediately the comment reaches 100. please, let us all visit this blog write our congratulatory message there for our governor elect.

It is still hurting me ------------- APC Chieftaincy

A notable chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in one of the communities in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Ekiti State, synonymous with rice cultivation, tells his story of the June 21 governorship election:

This is Abnormal yet it is our wish ---------- Ekiti pEOPLE

The dust is yet to settle on the unexpected turn the recent Ekiti governorship election took whereby an otherwise most unlikely challenger with an image as sordid as they come trounced the incumbent with an image as clean as a whistle.

The upset is made more significant (and rare in these parts) by the general contention that the election was — barring the over-militarisation and uneven-handedness of pre-election security forces — relatively free, fair,

Ekiti PDP chief urges new minister to sustain link with grassroots

By Yaqoub Popoola Correspondent,Ado-Ekiti

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Opeyemi Falegan, has urged newly appointed minister from Ekiti State, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, to sustain his relationship with the people at the grassroots.

FAYOSE: I DID NOT SAY THAT (there is God oooooooo)

There was news circulating around the globe yesterday that the newly elected governor in addressing the issues affecting the ruling party PDP said that every one who is playing politics with the party including the

B-O-M-B-S-H-E-L-L!!!: Fayose/PDP to suspend OBASANJO

"If Obasanjo continues with his anti party activities, we will suspend him. - Ayo Fayose, Ekiti Governor Elect.
"It does not matter whether you are a former president or Governor, if you disparage the party again, we will take you out.

Fayose to Fashola: Shot Up Your Mouth

The Governor-elect of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, in this interview with NIYI ODEBODE and ADELANI ADEPEGBA, comments on the controversy over his victory and politics in the South-West

Many people were shocked by the result of the Ekiti governorship election. Were you also shocked?

No, we know the facts on ground. We live by realities, not propaganda. There are no Nigerian politicians, serious politicians, irrespective of their political parties, that do not know that Fayose is on the ground and

Fayose: I will Give Ekiti a New Look

The thunderous joy witnessed when the results of 21, June, 2014 Governorship Election in Ekiti were announced gives credence to Fayose populist style of politics, not populist programmes that would put money in the pockets of the electorates in the immediate at the expense of their future but populist programmes that will empower the people especially people in rural areas through agriculture, that would put food on their table.

Ekiti Election: 1st Free and Fair Election in Nigeria

It is with gratitude to God and everyone that joined us to pray for peace and success in Ekiti election that we announced that God answered our prayers. To those who may not believe that God answers prayers, ours is the proof that it’s a success because we prayed and He answered. If not for our prayers, Ekiti election would not end the way it did. After all, had election ended this way before? This is the first time a sitting governor will concede a defeat in an election in Nigeria. Election victories in the past are always challenged in the court of law, many for the duration of the winner before the Supreme Court finally stops the looser because that is the last place they could appeal. If Nigerian politicians could appeal to God they would.

We wont allow you to create problem for FAYOSE

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ekiti State has dragged the All Progressives Congress APC state government to court over planned creation of additional 18 Local Government Development Areas LCDAs, in the state, alleging violation of the provisions of the 1999 constitution.

The party is asking the court to compel the state House of Assembly to stop any further action on the issue.

REVEALATION: Lessons From the Ekiti Election

On 21 June 2013, voters in Ekiti State trooped out in the midst of tight security to vote in an election that turned out to be an upset. In that election, the incumbent Governor Kayode Fayemi failed to secure a mandate for a second term. His opponent, Ayodele Fayose, won the election in all local government areas of the state. Mr Fayose was the former Governor of Ekiti who was impeached from office in very controversial circumstances midway into his tenure and had been under a protracted investigation and prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) since then.

Ousted RTEAN leader plans to set Ekiti on fire – Adebayo

Aderiye Adebayo (alias Ojugo) is the Caretaker Committee chairman of the Ekiti State chapter of the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN). In this interview with Correspondent Yaqoub Popoola in Ado-Ekiti, the leader of the drivers ‘ union raised alarm over an alleged activities of the ousted chairman of the association, Rotimi Olanbiwoninu, who wants to stage a come back to office. He, therefore, urges government as well as security agents to stop him before he unleashed terror on the state. Excerpts.

Could please tell what is happening in your union?

Fashola Fails this Time

LAGOS Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, made an interesting foray into column writing last Monday (June 30, 2014) on the back page of THISDAY newspaper as a guest columnist with an article entitled: “Ekiti Poll: My Take Away”.

In his revision of the recently concluded electoral exercise, he deployed gritty logic and arcane reasoning to turn out a fine, readable piece befitting of a lawyer who became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) before he was elected in 2007. But going through it, Fashola came across as a deft political ball juggler evocative of his famous talents as a skillful footballer.

It was a thoroughbred political article created to question the popular conventional wisdom that emerged from a cross section of opinion writers and commentators describing the poll as a true reflection of the political will of the Ekiti people. He questioned the notion that incumbent Governor John Kayode Fayemi lost to former Governor Ayo Peter Fayose despite Fayemi’s performance.

He insinuated that Fayose’s vaunted connection to the grassroots owed to his use of some of the said “missing” federal funds to buy the vote. Fashola floated generally down the lane of the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, afterthought of disputing the Ekiti polls, even after the contestant himself, Governor Fayemi, had graciously conceded defeat and gained for himself overwhelming applause as a true democrat and statesman.

It was not really Fashola’s denunciation of the Ekiti vote, and his remonstration of the choice the Ekiti people made that brought me to this topic.

The truth is that Ekiti people had a credible background experience based on which they made their choice. Fayose was an elected governor of the state for nearly four years until he and his deputy were impeached by the State House of Assembly. Fayemi was also in office for nearly four years before the June 21, 2014 election. They knew what both men were capable of doing, and made their choice. They must now live with the choice they made.

I do not believe that “rice” and money decided the poll. Both sides spent money. It is futile to pretend otherwise. Every Nigerian incumbent politician does. That is what people refer to as the power of incumbency in Nigerian politics. That one party was able to manipulate their power of incumbency to win an election cannot make the loser a saint. There is no difference between the tricks that PDP marshals to win an election and the ones that other political parties, including the APC, deploy.

The truth is that the APC has so far failed on many fronts to show it is different from the PDP. The APC has not lived up to the clamour for an opposition party that is DIFFERENT and BETTER than the PDP.

The only thing we see is that the APC is sworn to use every trick at its disposal to snatch power at the federal level from the PDP and become the new dominant party. It is a legitimate aspiration, but the party has failed to adopt clear-cut strategies to portray itself as the credible alternative to the PDP. If anything, it has tended to mimic the ruling party, rather than make a difference.

For instance, the PDP’s cardinal principle of power sharing is through the zoning arrangement. Principal offices are shared among the geo-political zones of the country, starting from the office of the president. Even though zoning is not poignantly spelt out in the APC charter, it was the arrangement they adopted in the recent election of their party’s national executive.

Why did the APC fail to make a difference by, for instance, throwing the party positions open for THE MOST QUALIFIED individuals, thus putting emphasis on MERIT rather than the PDP’s QUOTA SYSTEM? It is clear that they have already decided to zone the presidency of the party to the North. Why not throw it open to the best and most electable candidate from its ranks to be different from PDP?

Also, the PDP is often known for “adoption” of candidates through “consensus”, a ploy by which the leaders impose candidates on members, which often leads disgruntled members to look for alternative platforms to pursue their ambitions.

Atiku Abubakar is a living example of this in APC ranks. Why doesn’t the APC make the difference by adopting TRUE DEMOCRACY, giving power to its members to elect candidates of their choice? Why did it use the PDP’s “consensus” method to produce the new National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun? That is why Chief Tom Ikimi is disgruntled and might move over to another party.

Again, the PDP is known as the party of the Democrats, while the APC is the party of the Progressives. What, in their processes portray them respectively as such except in name only? The PDP heavily subscribes to the economic blueprint and strategies of the Bretton-Wood institutions – the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Bank.

They believe in the privatisation of public commercial ventures and the use of the Private, Public Participation, PPP, system of infrastructural delivery. Their economic model is primed primarily for the rich. As the economy grows, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Fashola Fails this Time

LAGOS Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, made an interesting foray into column writing last Monday (June 30, 2014) on the back page of THISDAY newspaper as a guest columnist with an article entitled: “Ekiti Poll: My Take Away”.

In his revision of the recently concluded electoral exercise, he deployed gritty logic and arcane reasoning to turn out a fine, readable piece befitting of a lawyer who became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) before he was elected in 2007. But going through it, Fashola came across as a deft political ball juggler evocative of his famous talents as a skillful footballer.

It was a thoroughbred political article created to question the popular conventional wisdom that emerged from a cross section of opinion writers and commentators describing the poll as a true reflection of the political will of the Ekiti people. He questioned the notion that incumbent Governor John Kayode Fayemi lost to former Governor Ayo Peter Fayose despite Fayemi’s performance.

He insinuated that Fayose’s vaunted connection to the grassroots owed to his use of some of the said “missing” federal funds to buy the vote. Fashola floated generally down the lane of the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, afterthought of disputing the Ekiti polls, even after the contestant himself, Governor Fayemi, had graciously conceded defeat and gained for himself overwhelming applause as a true democrat and statesman.

It was not really Fashola’s denunciation of the Ekiti vote, and his remonstration of the choice the Ekiti people made that brought me to this topic.

The truth is that Ekiti people had a credible background experience based on which they made their choice. Fayose was an elected governor of the state for nearly four years until he and his deputy were impeached by the State House of Assembly. Fayemi was also in office for nearly four years before the June 21, 2014 election. They knew what both men were capable of doing, and made their choice. They must now live with the choice they made.

I do not believe that “rice” and money decided the poll. Both sides spent money. It is futile to pretend otherwise. Every Nigerian incumbent politician does. That is what people refer to as the power of incumbency in Nigerian politics. That one party was able to manipulate their power of incumbency to win an election cannot make the loser a saint. There is no difference between the tricks that PDP marshals to win an election and the ones that other political parties, including the APC, deploy.

The truth is that the APC has so far failed on many fronts to show it is different from the PDP. The APC has not lived up to the clamour for an opposition party that is DIFFERENT and BETTER than the PDP.

The only thing we see is that the APC is sworn to use every trick at its disposal to snatch power at the federal level from the PDP and become the new dominant party. It is a legitimate aspiration, but the party has failed to adopt clear-cut strategies to portray itself as the credible alternative to the PDP. If anything, it has tended to mimic the ruling party, rather than make a difference.

For instance, the PDP’s cardinal principle of power sharing is through the zoning arrangement. Principal offices are shared among the geo-political zones of the country, starting from the office of the president. Even though zoning is not poignantly spelt out in the APC charter, it was the arrangement they adopted in the recent election of their party’s national executive.

Why did the APC fail to make a difference by, for instance, throwing the party positions open for THE MOST QUALIFIED individuals, thus putting emphasis on MERIT rather than the PDP’s QUOTA SYSTEM? It is clear that they have already decided to zone the presidency of the party to the North. Why not throw it open to the best and most electable candidate from its ranks to be different from PDP?

Also, the PDP is often known for “adoption” of candidates through “consensus”, a ploy by which the leaders impose candidates on members, which often leads disgruntled members to look for alternative platforms to pursue their ambitions.

Atiku Abubakar is a living example of this in APC ranks. Why doesn’t the APC make the difference by adopting TRUE DEMOCRACY, giving power to its members to elect candidates of their choice? Why did it use the PDP’s “consensus” method to produce the new National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun? That is why Chief Tom Ikimi is disgruntled and might move over to another party.

Again, the PDP is known as the party of the Democrats, while the APC is the party of the Progressives. What, in their processes portray them respectively as such except in name only? The PDP heavily subscribes to the economic blueprint and strategies of the Bretton-Wood institutions – the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Bank.

They believe in the privatisation of public commercial ventures and the use of the Private, Public Participation, PPP, system of infrastructural delivery. Their economic model is primed primarily for the rich. As the economy grows, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Fashola Fails this Time

LAGOS Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, made an interesting foray into column writing last Monday (June 30, 2014) on the back page of THISDAY newspaper as a guest columnist with an article entitled: “Ekiti Poll: My Take Away”.

In his revision of the recently concluded electoral exercise, he deployed gritty logic and arcane reasoning to turn out a fine, readable piece befitting of a lawyer who became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) before he was elected in 2007. But going through it, Fashola came across as a deft political ball juggler evocative of his famous talents as a skillful footballer.

It was a thoroughbred political article created to question the popular conventional wisdom that emerged from a cross section of opinion writers and commentators describing the poll as a true reflection of the political will of the Ekiti people. He questioned the notion that incumbent Governor John Kayode Fayemi lost to former Governor Ayo Peter Fayose despite Fayemi’s performance.

He insinuated that Fayose’s vaunted connection to the grassroots owed to his use of some of the said “missing” federal funds to buy the vote. Fashola floated generally down the lane of the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, afterthought of disputing the Ekiti polls, even after the contestant himself, Governor Fayemi, had graciously conceded defeat and gained for himself overwhelming applause as a true democrat and statesman.

It was not really Fashola’s denunciation of the Ekiti vote, and his remonstration of the choice the Ekiti people made that brought me to this topic.

The truth is that Ekiti people had a credible background experience based on which they made their choice. Fayose was an elected governor of the state for nearly four years until he and his deputy were impeached by the State House of Assembly. Fayemi was also in office for nearly four years before the June 21, 2014 election. They knew what both men were capable of doing, and made their choice. They must now live with the choice they made.

I do not believe that “rice” and money decided the poll. Both sides spent money. It is futile to pretend otherwise. Every Nigerian incumbent politician does. That is what people refer to as the power of incumbency in Nigerian politics. That one party was able to manipulate their power of incumbency to win an election cannot make the loser a saint. There is no difference between the tricks that PDP marshals to win an election and the ones that other political parties, including the APC, deploy.

The truth is that the APC has so far failed on many fronts to show it is different from the PDP. The APC has not lived up to the clamour for an opposition party that is DIFFERENT and BETTER than the PDP.

The only thing we see is that the APC is sworn to use every trick at its disposal to snatch power at the federal level from the PDP and become the new dominant party. It is a legitimate aspiration, but the party has failed to adopt clear-cut strategies to portray itself as the credible alternative to the PDP. If anything, it has tended to mimic the ruling party, rather than make a difference.

For instance, the PDP’s cardinal principle of power sharing is through the zoning arrangement. Principal offices are shared among the geo-political zones of the country, starting from the office of the president. Even though zoning is not poignantly spelt out in the APC charter, it was the arrangement they adopted in the recent election of their party’s national executive.

Why did the APC fail to make a difference by, for instance, throwing the party positions open for THE MOST QUALIFIED individuals, thus putting emphasis on MERIT rather than the PDP’s QUOTA SYSTEM? It is clear that they have already decided to zone the presidency of the party to the North. Why not throw it open to the best and most electable candidate from its ranks to be different from PDP?

Also, the PDP is often known for “adoption” of candidates through “consensus”, a ploy by which the leaders impose candidates on members, which often leads disgruntled members to look for alternative platforms to pursue their ambitions.

Atiku Abubakar is a living example of this in APC ranks. Why doesn’t the APC make the difference by adopting TRUE DEMOCRACY, giving power to its members to elect candidates of their choice? Why did it use the PDP’s “consensus” method to produce the new National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun? That is why Chief Tom Ikimi is disgruntled and might move over to another party.

Again, the PDP is known as the party of the Democrats, while the APC is the party of the Progressives. What, in their processes portray them respectively as such except in name only? The PDP heavily subscribes to the economic blueprint and strategies of the Bretton-Wood institutions – the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Bank.

They believe in the privatisation of public commercial ventures and the use of the Private, Public Participation, PPP, system of infrastructural delivery. Their economic model is primed primarily for the rich. As the economy grows, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Fashola Fails this Time

LAGOS Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, made an interesting foray into column writing last Monday (June 30, 2014) on the back page of THISDAY newspaper as a guest columnist with an article entitled: “Ekiti Poll: My Take Away”.

In his revision of the recently concluded electoral exercise, he deployed gritty logic and arcane reasoning to turn out a fine, readable piece befitting of a lawyer who became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) before he was elected in 2007. But going through it, Fashola came across as a deft political ball juggler evocative of his famous talents as a skillful footballer.

It was a thoroughbred political article created to question the popular conventional wisdom that emerged from a cross section of opinion writers and commentators describing the poll as a true reflection of the political will of the Ekiti people. He questioned the notion that incumbent Governor John Kayode Fayemi lost to former Governor Ayo Peter Fayose despite Fayemi’s performance.

He insinuated that Fayose’s vaunted connection to the grassroots owed to his use of some of the said “missing” federal funds to buy the vote. Fashola floated generally down the lane of the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, afterthought of disputing the Ekiti polls, even after the contestant himself, Governor Fayemi, had graciously conceded defeat and gained for himself overwhelming applause as a true democrat and statesman.

It was not really Fashola’s denunciation of the Ekiti vote, and his remonstration of the choice the Ekiti people made that brought me to this topic.

The truth is that Ekiti people had a credible background experience based on which they made their choice. Fayose was an elected governor of the state for nearly four years until he and his deputy were impeached by the State House of Assembly. Fayemi was also in office for nearly four years before the June 21, 2014 election. They knew what both men were capable of doing, and made their choice. They must now live with the choice they made.

I do not believe that “rice” and money decided the poll. Both sides spent money. It is futile to pretend otherwise. Every Nigerian incumbent politician does. That is what people refer to as the power of incumbency in Nigerian politics. That one party was able to manipulate their power of incumbency to win an election cannot make the loser a saint. There is no difference between the tricks that PDP marshals to win an election and the ones that other political parties, including the APC, deploy.

The truth is that the APC has so far failed on many fronts to show it is different from the PDP. The APC has not lived up to the clamour for an opposition party that is DIFFERENT and BETTER than the PDP.

The only thing we see is that the APC is sworn to use every trick at its disposal to snatch power at the federal level from the PDP and become the new dominant party. It is a legitimate aspiration, but the party has failed to adopt clear-cut strategies to portray itself as the credible alternative to the PDP. If anything, it has tended to mimic the ruling party, rather than make a difference.

For instance, the PDP’s cardinal principle of power sharing is through the zoning arrangement. Principal offices are shared among the geo-political zones of the country, starting from the office of the president. Even though zoning is not poignantly spelt out in the APC charter, it was the arrangement they adopted in the recent election of their party’s national executive.

Why did the APC fail to make a difference by, for instance, throwing the party positions open for THE MOST QUALIFIED individuals, thus putting emphasis on MERIT rather than the PDP’s QUOTA SYSTEM? It is clear that they have already decided to zone the presidency of the party to the North. Why not throw it open to the best and most electable candidate from its ranks to be different from PDP?

Also, the PDP is often known for “adoption” of candidates through “consensus”, a ploy by which the leaders impose candidates on members, which often leads disgruntled members to look for alternative platforms to pursue their ambitions.

Atiku Abubakar is a living example of this in APC ranks. Why doesn’t the APC make the difference by adopting TRUE DEMOCRACY, giving power to its members to elect candidates of their choice? Why did it use the PDP’s “consensus” method to produce the new National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun? That is why Chief Tom Ikimi is disgruntled and might move over to another party.

Again, the PDP is known as the party of the Democrats, while the APC is the party of the Progressives. What, in their processes portray them respectively as such except in name only? The PDP heavily subscribes to the economic blueprint and strategies of the Bretton-Wood institutions – the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Bank.

They believe in the privatisation of public commercial ventures and the use of the Private, Public Participation, PPP, system of infrastructural delivery. Their economic model is primed primarily for the rich. As the economy grows, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Fashola Fails this Time

LAGOS Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, made an interesting foray into column writing last Monday (June 30, 2014) on the back page of THISDAY newspaper as a guest columnist with an article entitled: “Ekiti Poll: My Take Away”.

In his revision of the recently concluded electoral exercise, he deployed gritty logic and arcane reasoning to turn out a fine, readable piece befitting of a lawyer who became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) before he was elected in 2007. But going through it, Fashola came across as a deft political ball juggler evocative of his famous talents as a skillful footballer.

It was a thoroughbred political article created to question the popular conventional wisdom that emerged from a cross section of opinion writers and commentators describing the poll as a true reflection of the political will of the Ekiti people. He questioned the notion that incumbent Governor John Kayode Fayemi lost to former Governor Ayo Peter Fayose despite Fayemi’s performance.

He insinuated that Fayose’s vaunted connection to the grassroots owed to his use of some of the said “missing” federal funds to buy the vote. Fashola floated generally down the lane of the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, afterthought of disputing the Ekiti polls, even after the contestant himself, Governor Fayemi, had graciously conceded defeat and gained for himself overwhelming applause as a true democrat and statesman.

It was not really Fashola’s denunciation of the Ekiti vote, and his remonstration of the choice the Ekiti people made that brought me to this topic.

The truth is that Ekiti people had a credible background experience based on which they made their choice. Fayose was an elected governor of the state for nearly four years until he and his deputy were impeached by the State House of Assembly. Fayemi was also in office for nearly four years before the June 21, 2014 election. They knew what both men were capable of doing, and made their choice. They must now live with the choice they made.

I do not believe that “rice” and money decided the poll. Both sides spent money. It is futile to pretend otherwise. Every Nigerian incumbent politician does. That is what people refer to as the power of incumbency in Nigerian politics. That one party was able to manipulate their power of incumbency to win an election cannot make the loser a saint. There is no difference between the tricks that PDP marshals to win an election and the ones that other political parties, including the APC, deploy.

The truth is that the APC has so far failed on many fronts to show it is different from the PDP. The APC has not lived up to the clamour for an opposition party that is DIFFERENT and BETTER than the PDP.

The only thing we see is that the APC is sworn to use every trick at its disposal to snatch power at the federal level from the PDP and become the new dominant party. It is a legitimate aspiration, but the party has failed to adopt clear-cut strategies to portray itself as the credible alternative to the PDP. If anything, it has tended to mimic the ruling party, rather than make a difference.

For instance, the PDP’s cardinal principle of power sharing is through the zoning arrangement. Principal offices are shared among the geo-political zones of the country, starting from the office of the president. Even though zoning is not poignantly spelt out in the APC charter, it was the arrangement they adopted in the recent election of their party’s national executive.

Why did the APC fail to make a difference by, for instance, throwing the party positions open for THE MOST QUALIFIED individuals, thus putting emphasis on MERIT rather than the PDP’s QUOTA SYSTEM? It is clear that they have already decided to zone the presidency of the party to the North. Why not throw it open to the best and most electable candidate from its ranks to be different from PDP?

Also, the PDP is often known for “adoption” of candidates through “consensus”, a ploy by which the leaders impose candidates on members, which often leads disgruntled members to look for alternative platforms to pursue their ambitions.

Atiku Abubakar is a living example of this in APC ranks. Why doesn’t the APC make the difference by adopting TRUE DEMOCRACY, giving power to its members to elect candidates of their choice? Why did it use the PDP’s “consensus” method to produce the new National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun? That is why Chief Tom Ikimi is disgruntled and might move over to another party.

Again, the PDP is known as the party of the Democrats, while the APC is the party of the Progressives. What, in their processes portray them respectively as such except in name only? The PDP heavily subscribes to the economic blueprint and strategies of the Bretton-Wood institutions – the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Bank.

They believe in the privatisation of public commercial ventures and the use of the Private, Public Participation, PPP, system of infrastructural delivery. Their economic model is primed primarily for the rich. As the economy grows, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Fashola Fails this Time

LAGOS Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, made an interesting foray into column writing last Monday (June 30, 2014) on the back page of THISDAY newspaper as a guest columnist with an article entitled: “Ekiti Poll: My Take Away”.

In his revision of the recently concluded electoral exercise, he deployed gritty logic and arcane reasoning to turn out a fine, readable piece befitting of a lawyer who became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) before he was elected in 2007. But going through it, Fashola came across as a deft political ball juggler evocative of his famous talents as a skillful footballer.

It was a thoroughbred political article created to question the popular conventional wisdom that emerged from a cross section of opinion writers and commentators describing the poll as a true reflection of the political will of the Ekiti people. He questioned the notion that incumbent Governor John Kayode Fayemi lost to former Governor Ayo Peter Fayose despite Fayemi’s performance.

He insinuated that Fayose’s vaunted connection to the grassroots owed to his use of some of the said “missing” federal funds to buy the vote. Fashola floated generally down the lane of the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, afterthought of disputing the Ekiti polls, even after the contestant himself, Governor Fayemi, had graciously conceded defeat and gained for himself overwhelming applause as a true democrat and statesman.

It was not really Fashola’s denunciation of the Ekiti vote, and his remonstration of the choice the Ekiti people made that brought me to this topic.

The truth is that Ekiti people had a credible background experience based on which they made their choice. Fayose was an elected governor of the state for nearly four years until he and his deputy were impeached by the State House of Assembly. Fayemi was also in office for nearly four years before the June 21, 2014 election. They knew what both men were capable of doing, and made their choice. They must now live with the choice they made.

I do not believe that “rice” and money decided the poll. Both sides spent money. It is futile to pretend otherwise. Every Nigerian incumbent politician does. That is what people refer to as the power of incumbency in Nigerian politics. That one party was able to manipulate their power of incumbency to win an election cannot make the loser a saint. There is no difference between the tricks that PDP marshals to win an election and the ones that other political parties, including the APC, deploy.

The truth is that the APC has so far failed on many fronts to show it is different from the PDP. The APC has not lived up to the clamour for an opposition party that is DIFFERENT and BETTER than the PDP.

The only thing we see is that the APC is sworn to use every trick at its disposal to snatch power at the federal level from the PDP and become the new dominant party. It is a legitimate aspiration, but the party has failed to adopt clear-cut strategies to portray itself as the credible alternative to the PDP. If anything, it has tended to mimic the ruling party, rather than make a difference.

For instance, the PDP’s cardinal principle of power sharing is through the zoning arrangement. Principal offices are shared among the geo-political zones of the country, starting from the office of the president. Even though zoning is not poignantly spelt out in the APC charter, it was the arrangement they adopted in the recent election of their party’s national executive.

Why did the APC fail to make a difference by, for instance, throwing the party positions open for THE MOST QUALIFIED individuals, thus putting emphasis on MERIT rather than the PDP’s QUOTA SYSTEM? It is clear that they have already decided to zone the presidency of the party to the North. Why not throw it open to the best and most electable candidate from its ranks to be different from PDP?

Also, the PDP is often known for “adoption” of candidates through “consensus”, a ploy by which the leaders impose candidates on members, which often leads disgruntled members to look for alternative platforms to pursue their ambitions.

Atiku Abubakar is a living example of this in APC ranks. Why doesn’t the APC make the difference by adopting TRUE DEMOCRACY, giving power to its members to elect candidates of their choice? Why did it use the PDP’s “consensus” method to produce the new National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun? That is why Chief Tom Ikimi is disgruntled and might move over to another party.

Again, the PDP is known as the party of the Democrats, while the APC is the party of the Progressives. What, in their processes portray them respectively as such except in name only? The PDP heavily subscribes to the economic blueprint and strategies of the Bretton-Wood institutions – the International Monetary Fund, IMF and the World Bank.

They believe in the privatisation of public commercial ventures and the use of the Private, Public Participation, PPP, system of infrastructural delivery. Their economic model is primed primarily for the rich. As the economy grows, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Crisis engulfs Ekiti TUC

Ado Ekiti—The crisis rocking the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, Ekiti State Chapter has taken a new dimension as two members of the union are claiming head ship of the body.

A faction led by one Mr. Ayodeji Ladeji, has sent a congratulatory message to the governor-elect, Mr

The Sacrificie(s) for Fayose Election

TRibute to the bLOOdS that was Sacrifice for Fayose Election
Ten days just after the gubernatorial election of Saturday
June 21, 2014 took place in Ekiti State and a winner
emerged, it is pertinent that we spare a thought for the
tragic heroes and heroines of the exercise. Most importantly,
those consumed by pre-election violence and premeditated
attacks on innocent souls. Though an exercise which has
put Ekiti on a national pedestal as society which needed a