The Federal Government is making progress on the establishment of modular refineries with the arrival of one set of package shipment already in the country and undergoing Customs clearance.

The Niger Delta Inter-Ministerial Committee, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, informed members at its presentation meeting in Abuja that the refinery would be installed in Delta.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President on Saturday indicated that another set of refinery equipment would arrive the country in April and would be installed in Rivers.

The operation of the modular refineries would include the involvement of communities where they are located.

Osinbajo said this would ensure that communities benefit directly from the refineries which would help create jobs and engage youths in the region.

NAN recalls that in December 2017, the Inter-Ministerial Committee received a report that 38 licensed privately-financed greenfield and mini-modular refineries’ investors had so far indicated interests in the establishment of refineries in the region.

At that event, no fewer than 10 of the licensed investors were at an advanced stage of development.

Also, the NDDC reported at the meeting its progress in the implementation of its projects in the region.

It stated that in 2017, a total of 372 projects covering roads, bridges, electricity, water, amongst others, were completed by the commission.

The development projects include the 25.7 km Nembe-Ogbia road, which would be inaugurated soon; the construction of Otueke Internal roads in Ogbia LGA, Bayelsa; Kira Dere Mogho road and Bridge in Gokana LGA, Rivers.

It also includes the construction of Iselu-Okaigben-Idung-Boko-Onicha Ugbo road, in Edo/Delta States; the Orie Ukwu Amaoji market road, Isiala Ngwa North LGA, Abia State and the Ashikem-Ufono-Betwaswan road in Obudu, Cross River.

The Commission is also working with all related parties, including AMCON, to ensure the establishment of 6,000 barrels per day Amakpe modular refinery to be installed in Eket, Akwa Ibom State.

The NDDC said it had established Job Placement centres expected to engage about 208,000 youths in the Niger Delta.

To help reduce unemployment and youth restiveness in the region, the NDDC centres would match existing vacancies with available skills within the region.

On the progress of Ogoni clean-up, the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) under the Ministry of Environment, is set to commence the procurement process for contracting experts for the remediation and clean-up of impacted sites.

This process is open to competent national and international companies involved in environment, water and livelihood projects.

The final draft of the Strategic Implementation Work Plan (SIWP), which provides a framework for the development of the Niger Delta, was also submitted to the committee.

Meamwhile, the Nigerian Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta, is set to admit students into the institution for the 2017/2018 academic year, and start lectures in April.

A total of 196 students have so far been accepted into the University while 76 applications were pending.

President Muhammadu Buhari had approved an increase in the take-off grant allocated to the University from the N2 billion earlier announced to N5 billion

This sum was included in the 2018 budget presented to the National Assembly in November 2017.

Similarly, an additional N1 billion was approved by the President to support essential infrastructure works and staff recruitment in the University in November 2017.

The Delta State Government has also donated two 500KVA generators to the University.

The Maritime University was granted approval in January by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to commence undergraduate degree programmes in three faculties namely: Transport, Engineering and Environmental Management, beginning with 13 departments from the 2017/2018 academic session.

In attendance at the meeting were the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Uguru Usani; Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jubril; and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Nsima Ekere.

Also in attendance were the Director-General, Nigeria Maritime Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside; and the Special Adviser to the President on the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd).

Others include the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Adamu A. Rasheed; the Vice-Chancellor of the Maritime University, Prof. Mrs. Ongoebi Etebu; and representatives of other relevant MDAs.

NAN

Shortly after his appointment to reconcile all the crises among members of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) was announced early February, former Lagos state governor, Bola Tinubu, hit the ground running by holding a series of meetings with several conflicting groups.

He first held a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari before visiting the national secretariat of the party for the first time since 2015.

He also met with some party stalwarts individually and in groups in Abuja.

Chief among the party members he met with were the Senate President Bukola Saraki and former Kano state governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, now a Senator representing Kano Central.

Mr. Tinubu was also in some states considered the hotbed of APC crisis such as Kano and Kaduna.

His team also went to Sokoto where he met with party leaders in the state including Governor Aminu Tambuwal, his predecessor, Aliyu Wamakko, and the national vice chairman (North-West) Inuwa Abdulkadir.

In all the visits, it was clear that the former Lagos state Governor was relishing his new assignment and was determined to succeed.

However, few days after his visit to the APC secretariat and meeting with the leadership of the party, where he reportedly got their assurances of support in his assignment, Mr. Tinubu wrote a damning letter to the APC’s national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, accusing him of sabotaging his “presidential assignment”.

In the letter, which was also copied to President Buhari, his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo and the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Tinubu told Mr. Oyegun that “disappointment greeted me when I discovered that you had swiftly acted in contravention of the spirit of our discussions”.

He also wrote that “Instead of being a bulwark of support as promised, you positioned yourself in active opposition to the goal of resuscitating the progressive and democratic nature of APC.”

He said Mr. Oyegun mentioned Kogi, Kano, Adamawa and Kaduna States as the worst crisis-hit chapters, but regretted: “You have taken it as your own personal ambition to thwart my presidential assignment in these key states.”

Since that open altercation and the decision by the APC to extend the tenure of the Oyegun-led National Working Committee (NWC) and states executives, the enthusiasm with which Mr. Tinubu began his assignment appears to have diminished.

The reconciliation team he led is yet to meet with any known party unit involved in crisis since after the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC which held last Tuesday.

APC got its highest number of votes in 2015 presidential election in the North-west but the zone is today experiencing what appears to be the worst form of crisis in the party.

As things stand, there appears to be a number of APC crises Mr. Tinubu would not be able to resolve.

Kano

In Kano, the immediate past governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, is locked in a serious battle with his predecessor and long-time political benefactor, Abdullahi Ganduje.

Both men have made it clear that they would never work again politically. In fact the feud between the two leaders have transcended the political to personal.

Since he left office in 2015, Mr. Kwankwaso went to Kano only once, and that was to commiserate with Mr. Ganduje on the death of his mother.

His second attempt to return to the state where he was Governor twice was aborted by Mr. Ganduje.

The current occupant of the Government House also gave out his daughter in marriage to the son of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state last weekend and Mr. Kwankwaso was conspicuously absent.

The marriage ceremony was attended by President Buhari and 22 state governors among others. On the same day of the wedding, Mr. Kwankwaso held a political meeting in nearby Kaduna where he told his supporters that he was surprised “people wasted their time to attend the wedding of a divorcee”.

At the level things have gone, it will take the unthinkable to reconcile these two anytime soon.

Kaduna

The crisis in Kaduna state APC is one that can be said to be nearly impossible for Mr. Tinubu to resolve.

Even as Mr. Tinubu was busy holding meetings towards reconciliation, a faction of the APC in the state led by a serving Senator, Suleiman Hunkuyi, issued a query and subsequently suspended Governor Nasir El-Rufai.

The faction also suspended his political adviser, Uba Sani, the commissioner for finance, Abdu Kwari, and the acting state secretary of the party, Yahaya Pate.

Mr. El-Rufai responded swiftly as the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KAPSUDA) demolished the secretariat building of the faction which ordered the suspension of the governor.

KASUPDA later claimed the demolition was part of operations the agency was undertaking across Kaduna metropolis in compliance with its mandate.

Kaduna APC is currently divided into three factions: the ‘Restoration APC,’ led by Tijjani Ramallan, a media mogul and Suleiman Hunkuyi, a senator; the ‘APC Akida,’ led by Senator Shehu Sani, also a senator and the Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Hakeem Ahmed; and then the ‘APC Government House,’ led by the governor and his deputy.

Another major problem for Mr. Tinubu in Kaduna is the feud between Governor El Rufai and Senator Shehu Sani. Mr. Sani is currently the biggest critic of the Kaduna governor.

Zamfara

In Zamfara state, the battle is between Governor Abdulaziz Yari and Senator Kabiru Marafa.

The bone of contention between Mr. Marafa, who represents Zamfara Central in the Senate and Mr. Yari could be traced to the nomination last year of Ahmed Mahmoud to represent the state as a Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).

Mr. Yari strongly opposed the nomination of Mr. Mahmoud on the grounds that he was not Zamfara state. He subsequently wrote a protest letter to the president of the Senate which eventually led to the dropping of the nominee.

Since then, the feud between the two APC stalwarts have degenerated and is causing serious disaffection among party faithful in the state.

Sokoto

In Sokoto state, the APC does not appear to have a major crisis requiring the attention of Mr. Tinubu, although, a chieftain of the party, Muhammad Bashar accuses Governor Aminu Tambuwal of side-lining Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) elements in the state.

The CPC was founded by President Buhari and was one of the legacy parties that dissolved to form the APC.

The trip by Mr. Tinubu to the state was actually to find a way of resolving the conflict between National Vice Chairman, Inuwa Abdulkadir, and Governor El Rufai.

The political differences between Mr. El Rufai and Mr. Abdulkadir had led to the demolition of the house of the APC leader in Kaduna in April last year.

The house, located at Yakubu Avenue, Kaduna, was pulled down by officials of KASUPDA while he was in Abuja for a party meeting.

Mr. Abdulkadir, who expressed shock over the development, wondered why the government carried out the demolition when the matter was before a court.

“The demolition of my house is a personal threat by the governor. We are in court over the issue. The matter is still in court. They should have waited for the court to decide,” he said.

Mr. Abdulkadir also told The Herald newspaper that “It is personal because of our differences in political views and opinions. He wants to intimidate me because of political issues, but I will not be intimidated, I am not a bootlicker.

“We are in the same party, I am the leader of the party, my role is to ensure fairness and equal treatment of all party members.

“If he thinks he can fight me by attacking my property, so be it! That will not make me change my position”.

Kogi

Kogi state is another major battle ground in the APC. The crisis involves one between the Governor Yahaya Bello and the party executives on one hand as well as between the governor and another serving Senator, Dino Melaye.

A faction of the party believed to be loyal to Governor Bello last week, announced the sack of the chairman of the State chapter of APC, Hadi Ametuo, and other members of his executive committee.

The purported sack was announced by Ibrahim Ahovi, who said he was the acting state chairman of the party.

However, the National Secretariat of the party issued a statement on Saturday saying that neither the state nor zonal executives constituted in whatever name nor form can expel anyone from the party, adding that only a convention of the party can do so.

The statement issued by APC spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi said “we restate that the State Working Committee of APC in Kogi State led by the Chairman, Alhaji Haddy Ametuo remains the only recognised executive committee of the party in the State.

“Any disciplinary action being contemplated must be referred to the Party’s National Working Committee (NWC). That is the position of the constitution,” he said.

The feud between Governor Bello and the Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, appears to be unsolvable.

Matters got to a head when a recall process was initiated against Mr. Melaye reportedly on the prompting of the governor.

The Senator also survived an assassination attempt in his constituency and he promptly accused the Chief of Staff to the governor of being the plot.

The Federal Government is currently prosecuting Mr. Melaye for making that “false” allegation.

Governor Bello is also engaged in another fierce battle with the Senator representing Kogi Central district.

Mr. Ogembe within the week reported the governor at the floor of the Nigerian Senate, accusing him of sponsoring thugs to attack his supporters after a failed attempt to disrupt an empowerment programme he organised for his constituents.

Senators took turns to rebuke Mr. Bello and expressed worry over the “undemocratic” conduct.

The lawmakers subsequently set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the governor’s latest action.

Adamawa

Another major APC crisis is the one in Adamawa state which pitches two factions led by former Governor Murtala Nyako and current Governor Mohammed Jibrilla against each other.

An additional crisis requiring the attention of Mr. Tinubu is one involving the Senate President Bukola Saraki and the NWC, Speaker Dogara and other National Assembly members against Bauchi governor, Mohammed Abubakar.

Others are the feud in Borno state between Governor Kashim Shettima and Senator Abubakar Kyari, Senators David Umaru (Niger East), Aliyu Abdullahi (Niger South) and Governor Sani Bello, Magnus Abe and Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; as well as the intractable battle between National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun and Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Timi Frank.

PT

The wedding reception of Fatima and Idris, the daughter and son of Governors Abdullahi Ganduje and Abiola Ajimobi held today in Ibadan.

In attendance were former head of state, Yakubu Gowon, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, First Lady Aisha Buhari, APC national leader, Bola Tinubu, Govenors, politicians, business moguls among many other prominent Nigerians.

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called on leaders to work closely together to tackle the incessant violent clashes between farmers and herdsmen across the country.

Obasanjo made the call in Makurdi on Saturday when he visited the graves and laid a wreath at the graveyard of the 73 victims of herdsmen attack.

He said the continued violence and insurgency required collaboration and collective urgent attention, stressing that tackling security challenges must begin from the roots to secure a permanent solution.

”If the issue is tackled right from the roots there will be no room for assumptions. We must collectively find solutions,” he said.

Obasanjo said that he laid the wreath to sufficiently express his sorrow, empathy and sympathy to the families that lost their loved ones, the governor and people of the state and Nigerians.

He disclosed that he had attended the Zero Hunger meeting which Gov. Samuel Ortom could not attend because of the incessant attacks on his subjects by herdsmen.

The former president said that he was shocked to hear that after the mass burial of 73 persons, 83 more persons were killed.

He regretted that the investment and development cannot take place in a chaotic atmosphere because investors would be unwilling to invest in such places.

Obasanjo called for an end to the incessant attacks on farmers by the herdsmen while appealing the governor not to give up because “there would surely be light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

NAN

Romania’s ruling Social Democrats (PSD), in power for a year, voted at an extraordinary congress on Saturday to back a 2024 target date to adopt the euro currency.

PSD leader Liviu Dragnea told a 4,000-strong gathering that joining the euro zone was a mandatory and natural step for Romania - one the fastest growing economies in the European Union but still one of its poorest and most corrupt members.

“We have to look with courage and understand this is a mandatory step and the only chance for Romania to sit at the table of the rich in Europe,” Dragnea said. “This is a project of national solidarity.”

Romania, a country of about 21 million, had originally set a 2014 target to adopt the single currency, later pushed to 2019. But these dates proved unrealistic given scant progress meeting EU targets for its economy and institutions to catch up with those of richer countries.

Its economy has grown robustly in recent years, expanding by 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter, with domestic consumption jumping by 9.3 percent, boosted by wage and pension hikes.

Dragnea, who retains a tight grip over the party and is seen as effectively in charge of the government, said the cabinet will approve “a national commission to substantiate the euro adoption plan later in March,” and that nationwide debates on it are expected to begin next month.

“I want to offer the entire society political consensus on December 1 to set the timetable for joining the eurozone,” he said.

Infrastructure would be a top priority, he added, with motorways set to connect Romania to the capitals of all neighbouring states.

Dragnea has been barred from becoming prime minister despite the party’s sweeping election win in December 2016 because of a prior conviction in a vote-rigging case.

He is also on trial in an abuse of office case and faces a separate inquiry on suspicion of forming a criminal group to siphon off cash from state projects. He has denied all charges.

The congress was also expected to vote to name Prime Minister Viorica Dancila - a close ally of Dragnea - the second-ranking party official.

Reuters

Hundreds of women took to the streets in the Tunisian capital on Saturday to demand equal inheritance rights as men, a subject often seen as taboo in the Arab world.

But the protestors marching to the parliament building in Tunis on Saturday said they wanted to be compared with European women and to be entitled to the same inheritance rights.

“It is true that Tunisian women have more rights compared to other Arab women but we want to be compared with European women,” said Kaouther Boulila, an activist.

“We just want our rights.”

In August, President Beji Caid Essbsi, a secular politician, set up a committee to draft proposals to advance women’s rights.

Economic growth has been disappointing, however, with high unemployment driving many young Tunisians who had joined the uprising, abroad.

Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson canceled scheduled events on Saturday on the second day of a visit to Kenya because he had been feeling unwell, a State Department spokesman said, adding that he would resume his program on Sunday.

“The secretary is not feeling well after a long couple days working on major issues back home such as North Korea and has canceled his events for the day,” spokesman Steve Goldstein told reporters traveling with Tillerson.

“Some events will go ahead without him, while they are looking at the possibility of rescheduling others,” said Goldstein, under-secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs at the State Department.

Goldstein later said the secretary’s health had improved. “The Secretary is feeling better and will resume his normal schedule tomorrow,” he said.

Tillerson, 65, is four days into his first diplomatic trip to Africa, where he has visited Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya, and is scheduled to go on to Nigeria and Chad.

During the trip he has also been involved behind the scenes in discussions within the administration on a possible meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

A U.S. embassy official in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, said U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Bob Godec and Kenyan Health Minister Sicily Kariuki would attend events on Saturday morning.

Tillerson had been scheduled to lay a wreath at the site of the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, in which more than 200 people were killed, and attend an event to highlight U.S. health assistance in Africa.

Reuters

Russian state television has warned “traitors” and Kremlin critics that they should not settle in England because of an increased risk of dying in mysterious circumstances.

“Don’t choose England as a place to live. Whatever the reasons, whether you’re a professional traitor to the motherland or you just hate your country in your spare time, I repeat, no matter, don’t move to England,” the presenter Kirill Kleymenov said during a news programme on Channel One, state TV’s flagship station.

“Something is not right there. Maybe it’s the climate. But in recent years there have been too many strange incidents with a grave outcome. People get hanged, poisoned, they die in helicopter crashes and fall out of windows in industrial quantities,” Kleymenov said.

The stark warning comes as the former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, remain critically ill in hospital after being poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury. Moscow has labelled speculation that they were targeted by the Kremlin security services as an “anti-Russian campaign”.

A number of Kremlin critics have met grisly ends in Britain in recent years. Boris Berezovsky, an oligarch turned government critic, was found hanged at his home in Berkshire in March 2013. The coroner delivered an open verdict. Alexander Litvinenko, a former FSB security service officer, died in 2006 after being poisoned with polonium-210 in the lobby of a Mayfair hotel, allegedly by Russian hitmen. Vladimir Putin dismissed accusations of Russian involvement.

In 2012, Alexander Perepilichnyy, a former banker who was helping Swiss prosecutors investigate a Russian-linked money-laundering scheme, died after collapsing in Surrey. A pre-inquest hearing heard that traces of a chemical that can be found in the poisonous plant gelsemium were later found in his stomach. The inquest is due to resume next month.

Stephen Curtis, a millionaire lawyer with close ties to the exiled Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, died when his helicopter crashed close to Bournemouth airport in 2004. Curtis is reported to have told a close relative that if he were to die, it would not be an accident. One of Curtis’s associates, Scot Young, who had business links to Berezovsky, was found impaled on railings after falling from his apartment in Marylebone, central London, in 2014. The coroner found insufficient evidence to rule it a suicide, and his family suspect he was murdered.

The Guardian

Happy to be alive when President Muhammadu Buhari is the sitting democratically elected President of Nigeria, the world most populous black nation. The upright and integrity man of his people.

He was the leader and presidential hopeful of a leading opposition party, (All Progressives Congress) when Chibok girls were abducted in 2014. The cry then was to high heavens, the #BringBackOurGirls campaign resonated across the globe to the extent that notable world figures like Michelle Obama, Alicia Keys also joined in a campaign well-coordinated by former World Bank vice president and former education minister, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili for the release of the innocent girls and this mounted unquantifiable measure of pressure on the then President Goodluck Jonathan.

Mr. Buhari promised to help regain the freedom of the abducted school girls within six months if elected president.

Alas, 33 months down the line, rather than witnessing the release of the Chibok school girls, President Buhari cluelessly and carelessly allowed another abduction of Dapchi school girls in Yobe state through the back door withdrawal of the military checkpoint as confirmed by the Yobe state governor.

The simple truth is, what is not good for Nigeria in 1984, can't be manageable in 2015. This government is a big disaster brought upon us by misinformed and impatient  10million grown up Nigerians(+ estimated over 2million under age voters in the north) who truly desired a change without the rightful alternative.

Meanwhile, rather than utilize the Peace Corps Bill to fulfil part of the 3 million yearly jobs your party promised during the campaign, Mr. President rejected it, citing funding as an excuse. A government that budgeted over a billion naira for the renovation of the SGF's building can't afford to take over 200,000 young Nigerians off the streets and give them a sense of belonging.

Anyway, Mr. President feels no pressure since it's not of any benefit to the sons and daughters of his cabal and extended relatives (not CBN, NNPC or FIRS jobs).

Mr. President, please note that what makes you an authority over the rest of us is majorly your position as the C-in-C of this country, saddled with the responsibilities to protect and utilize the available resources accordingly as stipulated in the constitution which is supreme. In view of your continuous failure in these critical areas of governance (economy, and anti-graft inclusive), I humbly advise you to take a path of honor.

Time has clearly shown that the known devil is far manageable than a strange angel whose hidden agenda is unknown. And in terms of performance through visible achievements, you have nothing to showcase other than the usual lies, deceit and propaganda.

The recently released Corruption Perception Index(CPI) by Transparency International, where Nigeria scored 27 points is a reflection of your selective fight against corruption. Indeed, I have stories to tell the unborn generation, of how snake and monkey swallowed money, how a government official used 200million naira to cut grasses, how your administration embraced and promoted corruption through Abdulrasheed Maina.

It's crystal clear you've not only failed but also running a failed government.

I take a breath with this statement credited to an elder statesman, Chief Ayo Adebanjo who said and I quote; "I am disappointed that Buhari has not disappointed me."

That statement describes my stand because sincerely speaking, there's nothing disappointing about your government’s show of shame and display of nepotism as your style of governance, except that you've failed to prove me wrong for not believing in your abilities and capabilities to move this country forward prior to the last general election.

 Oguntosin (Follow on @coguntosin)

Prof. Tunde Adeniran is a former Minister of Education, one-time Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, and a founding member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who contested for the chairmanship of the party in December 2017 but lost to Prince Uche Secondus.  Adeniran alongside another founding member, Professor Jerry Gana and others last week defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). In this interview, he gives reasons why they opted for the SDP. Excerpts:

Daily Trust: You recently left the PDP. Why did you opt for the SDP?

Prof. Tunde Adeniran: We are being guided by a definite philosophy called orientation. We are social democrats, we believe in the welfare and wellbeing of the people. We believe that there are certain irreducible minimums an average Nigerian is entitled to. We believe for instance, that education is the key to the future. Without education, we are nobody. We believe that education should be made free and compulsory for every Nigerian up to secondary school level. The second area is health. Before you can become anything in terms of growth and development, you have to be healthy.  That is why we believe that health issues should not be played with. The healthcare delivery system has to be overhauled in such a way that people will have access to basic healthcare facilities. Health insurance is one of the things we believe in very much. You see, Nigerians of old age can no longer afford drugs, they can no longer take care of themselves. 

I have visited virtually all continents of the world, I also had the privilege of visiting about 56 countries. I do not know of any that is as blessed as Nigeria in terms of both human and material resources. Our vegetation, you look at it and ask, ‘why should Nigerians be hungry?’ There should be no hunger in this country for goodness sake. And that is why we believe that agriculture will be handled in such a way that hunger will be pushed out. Nigeria does not have reason to be hungry. As social democrats, these are some of the things that prompted us to go to the SDP.

Apart from the core values that we share with that party, we asked our team to go round. We also went round when it became apparent that the present party (APC) and the PDP can no longer divorce themselves. They seem to have a covenant with impunity and imposition. So I feel that an alternative has to be considered. In the consideration of an alternative, the APC is a no go area because the damage that it has done to this country within a short time shows that we cannot entrust this country to the care of the APC with just one additional year after 2019. It will be a greater disaster because we are already in a disastrous situation. During the consultations, people felt these values that are entrenched in the programme and philosophy of this party (SDP), we share them because we could have gone ahead and registered a new party. But what we are looking for is already on ground, we can build on it, we can remodel it, we can reposition it the more.

Then of course, when you are coming up with new parties, there is the tendency to have as it is inherent in party formation some elements of what you can call possibility for crisis. So you do not have a perfect situation in an arrangement, whether it is a family you are putting together or a political party. In the history of the SDP, you can see that relatively, it has been crisis-free. It is also national and not driven by primordial, parochial or sectional tendencies and they have not deviated from that. We did a thorough survey, it didn’t just come from the blues. So we are thinking of making a more people-oriented party.

DT: In 2015, the SDP fielded candidates but didn’t do well at the polls. What gives you the courage that it will win elections in 2019?

Prof. Adeniran: Yes, it fielded candidates but it was a small party then, it didn’t attract large followership. But now that we are coming in, it is going to become the biggest party because of the potentials, because of the attraction to the younger generation. It will be dominated by the youths, so, some of us who are the older generation will just be there to mentor, to make sure that we add value to whatever they have to offer Nigerians then we take the backseat.

DT: Don’t you think the PDP will feel betrayed about your exit? 

Prof. Adeniran: No, it is the other way round. It is the PDP that has betrayed some of us. The PDP has betrayed us because what we all subscribe to, when you go back and read the preambles of the PDP, you will know that the party has betrayed many of us.  We started this party and when you see the mission and vision of the party being aborted, you see so many things happening. If you use me as a reference point, in the past, I had the mandate to go to the Senate, it was taken away from me, given to someone who did not even contest, who was not even a member of our party. I didn’t leave the party because I felt we needed to work, the answer was not to leave. On two or three different occasions, other parties had attracted me because of some of the things that I went through but I said no, I am not an opportunist. I didn’t come into politics to seek positions and then if I am not given I leave the party, no, that was not the motive.

There is the need to serve the people but when it starts getting to a situation where that opportunity to serve the people could no longer be there, there will no longer be justice, it is bad. If some other people are elected through a fair, credible process, I will work. I have done it in the past. I will work with them. But the principle involved is that you cannot continue to do things the wrong way, you are destroying the future. When you go against the principles, policies, programmes and vision of anybody, it is sabotage. So the people behind it are people who have betrayed the trust. Sometimes when I look back and I think through, those who have gone, founders of this party like Rimi, Ekwueme, Solomon Lar, I feel they would be shaking in their graves to see what is happening. Those who are still around, why would someone for instance, Jerry Gana who was spending like 18 hours per day since the formative years of this party, leave such a party. He was involved at every critical stage of the formation of the PDP but he decided to leave. So it is a painful situation.

DT: Is the movement of aggrieved chieftains of various political parties to the SDP and especially some former ministers who served under President Obasanjo a fulfillment of his recent proclamation?

Prof. Adeniran: The way I look at it is that former president Obasanjo is a very passionate person when it comes to the issue of Nigeria and Africa. And what I see in this regard is the meeting of minds and God is also at work. While we were thinking about how to rescue this country, I have seen this as a decisive action. We have to change the narrative, we can’t afford to leave this country the way it is. I believe that when we were thinking about how to rescue this country, he too was preoccupied as an elder statesman, what could be done to redeem the nation, to rescue the situation.   

What he is coming up with, the Coalition for Nigeria, is in tune with what we are doing and what we also believe in. There should be a third force, the coming together of people who are determined to rescue this country. At the time he was raising the issues, of course, all the issues he raised, many people felt the same way but they were not as courageous as he had been.  We share views and we also believe that people who also believe in this will join us to work together.

DT: Did you meet with Obasanjo before your defection to the SDP?

Prof. Adeniran: We always have the opportunity of meeting the former president. He is a very active person and where there are issues being discussed about Nigeria, Africa and even the world, you will always find him there. So we interact with him from time to time and as far as this party is concerned, he is not going to be a partisan person and I believe he said it himself. He is an elder statesman but he will not shy away from encouraging a movement that will salvage this country.

Daily Trust