Corruption is taking centre stage in the run-up to Nigeria’s presidential elections, with the incumbent accused of failing to tackle the scourge of graft and his challenger facing claims about his past.

Muhammadu Buhari, an austere and pious former general, will take on wealthy former vice-president Atiku Abubakar at the polls on February 16.

Both are ethnic Hausas, Muslims from the country’s north. Buhari, who rose to power in 2015 on a promise to eradicate the “cancer” of graft gnawing at Africa’s most populous nation, has cultivated an image of blamelessness.

Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s political “godfather” closely allied with Buhari, earlier this month described him as “a straight and honest man”.

“Leave a naira (local currency) on the table with Buhari in the room. You will find the naira on the table when you return,” he said, in a thinly veiled criticism of Abubakar.

For his part, Abubakar is alleged to have amassed several hundred million dollars by misusing public funds as vice-president under Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007 — yet he has never been investigated in his own country.

“On the issue of corruption, I have challenged anyone, anywhere, who has any evidence of corruption against me to come forward,” Abubakar has said.

“I will shock everyone because I believe that I will fight corruption like never before.” But in the United States, Abubakar’s name has popped up in a Senate investigation into money laundering.

It charged in a 2010 report that US national Jennifer Douglas, Abubakar’s fourth wife, “helped her husband bring over $40 million (35 million euros) in suspect funds into the United States through wire transfers sent by offshore corporations to US bank accounts.”

The couple are also accused of having received more than two million dollars in commissions for a contract with German industrial giant Siemens, which has since pleaded guilty in the case.

– Two essential reforms –

But this week Abubakar put paid to rumours that he was subject to a visa ban and unable to travel to the US by jetting to Washington for meetings with American counterparts. Abubakar told AFP last year he would retain no stakes in his various companies if he is elected president.

His sprawling business empire includes interests in telecommunications, transport, real estate, agriculture, import/export and healthcare.

Verifying his pledge to stand aside will be difficult in the opaque economic system in Nigeria, which global watchdog Transparency International ranked in the 148th place of a total 180 countries for corruption in 2017.

Buhari stands in stark contrast to his flamboyant fellow northerner’s private jet, Rolex watches and luxury cars.

His spokesman in 2015 said the president had “an austere and spartan lifestyle”, unlike other Nigerian politicians who have amassed wealth during their careers.

But Buhari, who vowed to usher in more transparent and accountable government, has come under harsh criticism for an apparent lack of progress in the fight against graft.

Steps in the right direction have included two essential reforms — a single Treasury account for all government revenue and the introduction of a biometric identification system in banks to better trace clients and transfers of funds.

“Those are the two areas I commend the government,” said Saadatu Falila Hamu, a specialist anti-corruption lawyer based in Abuja.

“But despite this, the government has focused their fight against corruption on people of the opposing political parties.” Hamu also faulted Nigeria’s main anti-corruption body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for “inefficiency”.

– Oil contracts –

In November, EFCC director Ibrahim Magu boasted having seized the equivalent of $2.3 billion as well as sumptuous villas, jewellery, and cars — but often outside legal procedures.

Buhari has pledged to review all oil exploitation contracts to be renewed after this year. Such an electoral promise “can either lead to total chaos in the industry or lead to sanity”, said analyst Soji Apampa.

Nigeria depends on oil sales for 70 percent of its revenues. In 2013 under president Goodluck Jonathan, the head of the central bank reported a $20 billion shortfall in revenue — a scandal that helped bring about Jonathan’s fall and Buhari’s election in 2015.

Nevertheless, the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, considered a slush fund for successive governments, remains notoriously opaque and Buhari — who is also oil minister — named a close associate to head it.

“Imagine a broken pipeline with all of Nigeria’s resources flowing through it. Instead of fixing the hole, you bring a man with a whip” to deter people from stealing, Apampa said. “We haven’t seen a government with an elaborate plan” to repair the pipeline, he added.

 AFP

Nigeria’s main opposition candidate did not attend an event on Tuesday to sign an election agreement stating a commitment to hold a peaceful election early next year, and his party attributed his absence to a “communication lapse.”

The opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) confirmed in an emailed statement that its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had not participated in the signing ahead of February’s election. President Muhammadu Buhari attended the event in the capital, Abuja. 

The peace accord ceremony was held days after the PDP said authorities had frozen the bank accounts of its vice presidential candidate, Peter Obi. 

Elections to choose the leader of Africa’s most populous country — the continent’s top oil producer and by many measures its largest economy — have in the past been marred by violence, vote-rigging and voter intimidation. 

The ceremony was an attempt to mirror the signing of an acclaimed deal ahead of voting in 2015, when Buhari came to power. It was credited with helping prevent a repeat of violence in the wake of the 2011 election, which Human Rights Watch said killed 800 people and displaced 65,000. 

The accord aims to ensure that the 2019 elections are “free, fair and credible,” the document said. Signatories pledged that their campaigns would refrain from “religious incitement” and “ethnic or tribal profiling,” and that they would not incite violence, according to the document. 

The PDP said it was investigating the circumstances behind the “unfortunate communication lapse” between party officials and the National Peace Committee (NPC), the nongovernmental organization that arranged the event, which resulted in Abubakar’s absence. 

“Our presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and the party are fully committed to a peaceful electoral process and elections in 2019,” said PDP spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan in an emailed statement. 

He said the PDP would visit the NPC office to “fulfill all necessary obligations towards the peace accord ahead of the 2019 general elections.” 

The NPC earlier said it had sent invitations for the event to all 91 registered parties and the 73 presidential candidates. 

Independent observers for the 2015 race, the first time the agreement was signed, have since praised the accord for helping Nigeria pull off its first-ever peaceful transition from the ruling party to the opposition. Buhari defeated the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan.

VOA

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday for the fourth time, rejected assent to the Electoral Bill which was passed to him to sign into law by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. President Buhari who has written to the lower and Upper chamber said that he could not sign the Electoral Bill into law at this time that the country was preparing for the 2019 Presidential and general elections, adding that he could only assent to it after next year’s elections.

He said that if it was done now, it would endup causing uncertainty and crisis in the land. Meanwhile, the PeoplesDemocratic Party Presidential Campaign Organization, PPCO, has charged membersof  the National Assembly to save thenation’s democracy by immediately overriding President Muhammadu Buhari’srefusal to sign the amendment of the Electoral Act.

Signing amended Electoral Act for 2019 elections will create uncertainty, crisis – Buhari

 In the letter dated 6th December, 2018 and addressed to both the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara which was received yesterday, President Buhari said that he would only sign the bill after the elections, just as he identified some aspects of the bill that should be corrected by the lawmakers.

President Buhari’s letter  read, “Pursuant to Section 58(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ( 1999 as amended), I hereby convey to the Senate my decision on 6th December, 2018 to decline assent to the Electoral( Amendment) Bill, 2018 recently passed by the National Assembly. “I am declining assent to the bill principally because I am concerned that passing a new electoral bill this far into the electoral process for the 2019 general elections which commenced under the 2015 electoral act, could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process. Any real or apparent change to the rules this close to the election may provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process.  “This leads me to believe that it is in the best interest of the country and our democracy for the national assembly to specifically state in the bill that the electoral act will come into effect and be applicable to elections commencing after the 2019 elections .

 President pushing Nigeria to the brink—PDP

 In its reaction, the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in a statement by the Director,  Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan on Friday  said the legislative action has become imperative as the President’s decision is “a calculated attempt to hold the nation to ransom, inject crisis into the electoral process and ultimately scuttle the conduct of the 2019 general elections.” The statement read in part: “President Buhari’s repeated refusal to sign amendments passed to check rigging of  election, raises issues of his sincerity of purpose and has the capacity to trigger political unrest and violence, which can, in turn, truncate our hard-earned democracy. “The PPCO invites Nigerians to note that this is the fourth time President Buhari is withholding assent on the amendment, without any cogent reason following his rejection by Nigerians. “Nigerians can recall how the Presidency plotted to plunge the 2019 elections into a needless controversy by delaying the submission of the election budget to the National Assembly, presenting it at the time the legislators were commencing their annual vacation and asking for virement of funds already approved for development projects, instead of sending a fresh supplementary budget for the election. “It is unfortunate that Mr. President, in his desperation to hold on to power, has resorted to taking steps that are capable of destabilizing our nation, just because the people are resolute in voting him out of office democratically. “It is also instructive to note that President Buhari is mortally afraid of the amendments because they essentially checked the All Progressives Congress, APC, rigging plans, including the use of underage and alien voters, vote-buying, alteration of results and manipulation of voter register”.

www.vanguardngr.com

Presidential campaigns are heating up in Nigeria ahead of elections slated for February 2019. The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, kicked off their activities in the north.

Flag bearer Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president was in Sokoto where the PDP campaign officially kicked off earlier this week. His last stop as at Thursday was in the north central Kwara State.

Along with PDP Chairman Uche Secondus and other top party officials, Atiku addressed thousands of party faithful stressing his message of getting Nigeria to work again.

Whiles in Kwara, home state of the Senate President, Atiku also threw jabs at the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, led by incumbent Muhammadu Buhari.

“Today we have listened to the failures of the APC government since 2015 till today. There is nothing they have not promised us, they promised us security, jobs and better economy, they failed. Whatever they promised, they failed.

“It is time to return Nigeria to PDP, because the best years of this country was when the PDP was governing our country from 1999-2015.

“In terms of corruption, Nigeria is worse of today than we were in 2014. In terms of economy, we are the poorest country in the world today. In terms of insecurity, we are most insecure than at any other time in our history.”

Whiles Buhari has officially yet to hit the campaign trail, his vice Yemi Osinbajo has been busy in the southern part of the country with house to house engagements in the federal capital territory.

Osinbajo who has been leading the federal government’s social intervention program, Trader Moni, has stressed that the government will continue to guard the public purse and ensure that the ultimate beneficiaries are the people.

“Improving the lives of every Nigerian matters to us. It is why President Muhammadu Buhari and I are committed to working day and night for the majority of Nigerians. We will not rest till majority of Nigerians benefit from the resources of their own nation,” Osinbajo said in a tweet.

Buhari returned to the country from Poland where he attended a climate change summit. He will lead a special session of cabinet on Friday to deal with the 2019 budget for onward transmission to the National Assembly, a special aide said on Thursday.

Source: Africa News

Nigeria’s former vice-president Atiku Abubakar will be facing Muhammadu Buhari in presidential polls slated for February 2019.

Atiku on Sunday clinched the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, ticket at a congress held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

He beat off competition from Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, Senate President Bukola Saraki and others. Atiku polled over 1,500 votes as against closest contender Tambuwal who got 693 votes.

The top five candidates were as follows: Atiku 1,532 votes, Tambuwal 693, Saraki 317, Kwankwaso: 158 and Ahmed Dankwambo 111.

“PDP, thank you for choosing me. This is a victory for all of us. The task to get Nigeria working again starts now,” said in a tweet shortly after he was declared winner.

Source: Africa News

Nigeria’s main opposition party will have its unity tested in the aftermath of this weekend’s primaries for the presidential flag-bearer, which is being contested by several political heavyweights in the party.

Both the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will hold primary elections this weekend to select their nominees for presidential polls scheduled for February 2019.

While President Muhammadu Buhari is likely to be unanimously endorsed to contest a second term at the APC convention in Abuja, the opposition PDP which was in office from 1999 until 2015 has a tighter race in the southern city of Port Harcourt.

PDP’s candidates

The leading contenders in the race to be PDP presidential flag-bearer are former allies of Buhari, who fell out with his administration, and defected to the opposition.

But since then, Buhari’s party has seen a wave of defections in protest at his leadership style and a surge in PDP contenders that could give it momentum as the vote approaches.

Perennial presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, a 71-year-old former vice-president from the northeastern state of Adamawa, was the one of the first big names to throw his hat in the ring.

Then, after lawmakers crossed the floor in July, former Kano state governor Rabiu Kwankwaso emerged as a leading opposition candidate, promising he can secure the key northern state.

Sokoto state governor Aminu Tambuwal joined the PDP defectors and declared his candidacy to pry northern voters away from Buhari, who enjoys mass support across the north.

Finally, the ambitious Senate leader Bukola Saraki, a former Kwara state governor who is seen as the shepherd of the defectors, announced he would campaign for the top job.

The likely chosen candidate is expected to come from the Muslim-majotity North, following an unwritten rule in Nigeria that the presidency should alternate every two terms between a candidate from the north and south.

Unity beyond primaries?

Rising tensions and divisions have been reflected in hotly contested local party primaries, said Idayat Hassan, director of the Centre for Democracy and Development in Abuja.

“These primaries have been fractious,” she said. “It’s one of the most contentious in a long time.”

After the PDP officially chooses its presidential candidate, the party will select a running mate, who will likely come from the largely Christian south.

“What we’re waiting to see is if the (PDP) will be able to continue as one,” said Hassan. “Now they are putting up a united front — but will that continue?”

AFP

Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki has described Nigeria under the control of President Muhammadu Buhari as a divided nation, where citizens don’t have a sense of belonging. The 2019 presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said this in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Monday while meeting with PDP delegates in Ogun State.

Saraki who was accompanied by a leader of R-APC Kawu Baraje , ex-governor of Kogi state Idris Wada his Director -General of Abubakar Bukola Saraki Campaign Organisation , Muhammad Wakil and a Senator representing Kogi West , Senator Dino Melaye said Nigeria doesn’t need a sectional leader exemplified by the Buhari-led administration.

According to Saraki countries all over the world now vote healthy and capable leaders who can unite their nations. He urged Nigerians to follow suit by voting a visionary and energetic leader as her next president.

“Today in Nigeria, we are here at the crossroads. The country is divided and to unite the country, we need someone who will make everybody feel a sense of belonging. Today, there is no sense belonging in some parts of the country. “We need a president that rules and represents Nigeria. We want a president where everybody will say they belong here. Where there is no unity, there can never be progress. After unity, we can talk about development and progress. “A lot of our people are suffering because you cannot give what you don’t have. We need a visionary leader. It is time for us in Nigeria to have a visionary leader. We need a man that has the ability and that can perform. “Today, there is a new order over the world, we have seen it in Asia, America, and Europe. We are seeing people bringing in new, dynamic and energetic presidents and more importantly, digital presidents. “Out of the aspirants that have come out, I believe that my track records have shown that I have the ability and capacity to stand for what is right. When we talk about insecurity, it takes a courageous leader to say this is right and this is wrong, this is fair and this is unfair. “It is time we have a leader that will stand for justice, to do things the way it needs to be done. We should stop saying presidents can only come from one part of the country. We should start asking who is more capable, who is ready to carry the people along?” Saraki added.

www.vanguardngr.com

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has submitted party nomination forms seeking as he officially kick starts a bid to secure a second and final term in charge of Africa’s most-populous nation.

Buhari was at the Abuja headquarters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to file his nomination papers. The party has yet to slate a date for the contest to become flag-bearer even though Buhari is expected to be retained unopposed.

The septuagenarian in 2015 became the first opposition candidate in Nigerian history to defeat a current president. Buhari beat the then incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in his fourth shot at the presidency.

He had on Tuesday received nomination forms which were bought for him by some benevolent Nigerians. He tasked the APC members to eschew complacency and do all it takes to retain power come February 2019.

“Today I put my name forward to my party, the All Progressives Congress, seeking nomination to contest the Presidential Elections next year. I assure party members and all Nigerians that, if nominated and if elected, I shall continue to serve you to the best of my ability.

“Let me today appeal to party members not to be complacent but to prepare, strategize and win in 2019 elections. We must not allow those who brought the country to its knees from 1999 to 2015 to come and take us back,” he wrote on Twitter.

Buhari was elected on a promise to defeat Boko Haram, resuscitate a slumping economy and fight corruption.

His scorecard remains mixed as security continues to be a headache especially against insurgent group Boko Haram. A mid-year spate of communal killings have also all but subsided.

A proportion of Nigerians still suffering from the repercussions of the 2015 economic recession remain disenchanted. His first term was also marked by a serious illness, not revealed to the general public, which forced him to spend months in London for treatment.

His opponents accuse him of having autocratic tendencies.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Senate Leader Bukola Saraki who both defected from the APC to the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have declared interest to unseat Buhari.

Source: Africa News

Supporters of a former state governor in Nigeria have mocked incumbent Muhammadu Buhari stating that as old as he was, Buhari was unfit to govern Nigeria.

Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a one-time governor of Kano State located in north-central Nigeria also leads Kwankwasiyya Movement – which has a trademark of followers wearing red caps and veils.

A former ally of Buhari, Kwankwaso, currently serving as senator, declared his intention to contest for the presidential slot of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of 2019 general elections.

The BBC Hausa service shared a video of Kwankwaso supporters busy with anti-Buhari chants in the streets of the capital Abuja. The supporters clad in red caps and veils are heard singing: “old man, he is incapable” – insinuating that Buhari had to leave office.

He was also one of the candidates who contested the APC primaries in 2015 but lost to Muhammadu Buhari who eventually beat the PDP candidate and then president Goodluck Jonathan.

With the PDP set to hand their presidential ticket to a Muslim northerner, Kwankwaso will likely come up against ex-veep Atiku Abubakar, Senate president Bukola Saraki (yet to declare his candidacy) and others.

Source: Africa News