On The Yar’Adua Family’s Defection From PDP: People Losing Confidence - Shekarau for Nigeria Campaign Organisation

28 January 2011

By Alhaji Khaleel Bolaji

NEWS RELEASE: ON THE YAR'ADUA FAMILY'S DEFECTION FROM PDP 

The Shekarau For Nigeria (SFN) Organisation received the news yesterday of the defection of the family of late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with much happiness. It is indeed a welcome development and a vital sign that democracy is really taking roots in Nigeria despite the desperate anti-democratic antics of the ruling party. It also shows that there are politicians across party lines who believe in playing the politics of principles rather than that of the private pocket.
 
The Shekarau For Nigeria (SFN) Organisation hereby congratulates Mallam Abdul-Aziz Yar'Adua and the entire family for the bold and courageous step they have taken to dissociate themselves from the chicanery, mistrust and misrule that characterise the present-day PDP. We also wish them total fulfillment and a fruitful outing in their new party even though we believe the late President Umaru Yar'Adua would have settled for the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), going by his antecedents as member of the radical People’s Redemption Party (PRP) and the left-of-centre Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the second and third republics respectively. These three parties would always remain in the minds of Nigerians as standing for good governance and social justice for which Nigerians are yearning more than ever before.

Of course, the Yar'Adua's were not the first notable politicians to dump the PDP in recent times. It has recently become very fashionable for former governors, senators, ministers, local government council chairmen and other top ranking party members to denounce the party mostly on the grounds of its un-democratic practices. Perhaps, the most dramatic recent incidence was the resignation of the sitting chairman of Anka Local Government Area Council of Zamfara State, Alhaji Ahmad Sharu and his defection to the ANPP.

During popular protests against its presidential primaries earlier in the month, hundreds of members in Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue and Nasarawa States publicly burnt their PDP membership cards. Yet even in such a scenario, party officials such as a top level one in Katsina State would declare that the defections were "a welcome development."

This arrogant attitude merely confirms that the party is more of a corrupt cult that depends on sinister rites than a popular democratic movement that draws its strength from supporters. We may also recall that a couple of years ago, it was the same party which swore to remain in power for at least the next six decades, presumably with or without the free will of the electorates.
 
It is high time for all Nigerians to come out in the defense of democracy by promoting parties for their ideological orientation and supporting them on the basis of programmes for the rapid development of our nation. The PDP is a self-acclaimed congregation of strange bedfellows brought together by a desire to replace military dictatorship with a civilian one. Now that this task has been completed, thanks to the determination of Nigerians, the ruling party has been running round in circles without a single clue about what constitutes service to the country and its increasingly impoverished people.
 
We cannot over-emphasise the importance of the need for all adult Nigerians to register so as to be able to vote and throw out the PDP from the precincts of power in the April elections. Even though many opposition strongholds continue to be denied the voters' registration equipment more than 10 days after the start of the exercise, we urge all compatriots to empower themselves during the additional registration period extended by the House of Representatives Tuesday. Come April, let us vote the ANPP in, and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau for President, because Nigeria must be great.

Signed By Alhaji Khaleel Bolaji, mni - Director General, Shekarau for Nigeria Campaign Organisation (SfN) 0803 618 9067/0802 721 9449/kbolaji1@yahoo.com

NEWS RELEASE: PEOPLE ARE LOSING CONFIDENCE IN THE FORTHCOMING POLLS

The Shekarau For Nigeria (SFN) Organisation wishes to state that as the April general elections approach, Nigerians are fast losing confidence in the entire process. From programmed primaries to a wobbling voters' registration exercise, the steps leading to the actual balloting are less than inspiring. Even worse, the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) seems incapable or unwilling to take corrective measures. 

The SFN is worried that, to date, the widespread media reports of payment of inducement in foreign currency to delegates at the PDP presidential primaries have not even generated the slightest interest of the nation's anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offenses Commission (ICPC), even though no tangible denial has ever emanated from the accused camps. 

Similarly, the widespread hitches experienced from the faulty Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines and accessories have been traced to the supply of alleged substandard equipment by contractors at heavily inflated costs. In fact, some centres are yet to receive any DDC machines as at today, with just four days to close shop. Some of the affected areas include many wards in Anambra and Nasarawa States, as reported by the media. Elsewhere, there are reports of corps members absconding from their units in protest against non-payment of their allowances by INEC, an agency of the PDP Federal Government. According to an estimate, INEC may not be able to register more than 30 per cent of voters unless the period is extended beyond the 29th of January. 

With the election time-table already overstretched, the likelihood is that millions of voters would be disenfranchised from the onset and the resultant voters' register would be as contentious as the previous document discarded by the new leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Already, millions of potential voters speaking through opinion polls in the media have become pessimistic and even apathetic. Many claim that they would not go through such rigors to be registered because there are no signs to show that things have changed and that their votes would truly count for a change. 

Now, the latest media report from one PDP-controlled state states that the government is paying out N50,000 to each of the 1,872 voters' registration centers across the state. Even though the Speaker of the State House of Assembly who made the pronouncement did not state the reason for the move, it is clear that the party is trying to influence the conduct of the registration exercise by bribing the INEC staff. We sincerely hope that the next thing is not for the compromised electoral officials to be invited to write election results from inside Government House. 

The Shekarau For Nigeria (SFN) Organisation feels that the best interest of the nation would be served by replacing the ruling party at all levels of government in the April elections. The PDP, going by the previous elections conducted under its watch, and by its recent presidential primaries which was more a coronation rather than a contest, may not give Nigeria genuine democracy because it lacks internal democracy.  

Nigerians' hope for change, as championed by the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) and its presidential candidate Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, must not be dashed even before the journey starts. We appeal to all stakeholders in the country's democratisation process to put everything in place to ensure that the coming elections are not marred by booby-traps of any sort. Let us persevere by registering as voters and trooping out to cast the votes for a change in the sorry state of our nation. Nigeria will be great!

Signed By Alhaji Khaleel Bolaji, mni - Director General, Shekarau for Nigeria Campaign Organisation (SfN) 0803 618 9067/0802 721 9449/kbolaji1@yahoo.com

SIGNED:
Alhaji Khaleel Bolaji, mni
Director General,
Shekarau for Nigeria Campaign Organisation

Alhaji Khaleel Bolaji, mni is the Director General for Shekarau for Nigeria Campaign Organisation. Upon his written correspondence to EsinIslam as supported by both Bala Muhammad and Emu Brown of the campaign organization, this news/press release has been made available. More stories about the Nigerian 2011 General Elections and the Shekarau for Nigeria Campaign Organisation have been posted on EsinIslam by Nigeria’s prominent international writers including Saka Raji Audu.  To Read more about Mallam Shekarau - the Nigerian Presidential Hopeful, his achievements and visions visit Writer Homepage Of Saka Raji Audu at:

http://www.esinislam.com/Articles_Index/Saka_Raji_Audu_Index.htm

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