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A former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Deputy National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, in Kaduna on Friday said the withdrawal of the security details of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, was a plot by the Federal Government to eliminate him(Speaker).

The former Minister, who accused President Goodluck Jonathan of masterminding the withdrawal of Tambuwal security aides, alleged that the Speaker was one of the targets of snipers being purportedly groomed by agents of the government.

Ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo had in his open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan last year alleged that agents of the Federal Government was grooming snipers that would target some prominent Nigerians.

Speaking to newsmen after picking his expression of interest and nomination forms as an All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant in Kaduna on Friday, the former minister claimed that the Speaker was one of the targets of the killer squad.

That was why the Inspector-General of Police, on the order of Jonathan(president), withdrew the Speaker security aides, he added.

Warning that no harm must befall the Speaker, the former minister noted that it was irresponsible on the part of the Inspector-General of Police and the Federal Government to have withdrawn the Speakers security details.

The APC chief explained that the withdrawal was done deliberately so as to pave the way for the killer squad to eliminate the Speaker for defecting to the APC.

According to el-Rufai, the removal of the Speakers security is part of the continuation of the Jonathan-led governments penchant for impunity.

The former Minister, however, reminded the Jonathan government that impunity had limitations, saying that the Nigeria government should learn from Burkina Faso when the people were fed up with the government.

El-Rufai said, The withdrawal of Tambuwals security aides is on the order of the President Goodluck Jonathan. The IG doesnt act that way. The president ordered the IG to order the removal. Its just the continuation of the Jonathanian impunity.

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El-Rufai accuses FG of plot to kill Tambuwal

Let's own up to it -- there's something wrong with progressives in the Catholic church. It's the same malady that plagues progressives in national politics -- we just don't get angry enough. We don't scream and yell. The fire and brimstone script is not our thing.

We seek a "middle way." Call it the wimp factor.

For proof, look no further than the hellfire and damnation that has followed in the wake of the extraordinary synod on the family. Pope Francis, apparently under the delusion that he was head of the church and could set its direction, sought to shift (to what degree it is unclear) the Catholic dialogue on a host of family issues -- and was greeted with head-on challenges from the right wing that would be considered blasphemy if progressives has directed them toward Popes John Paul II or Benedict XVI.

The latest example comes in the most recent New York Times column from Ross Douthat. Quick confession here: though he leans right, Douthat is my favorite Times columnist -- he is always thought-provoking and rarely an ideologue. He strikes a reasoned and reasonable tone that makes his arguments worth examining and respecting.

Not so much this time.

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Just so you are forewarned, his column is headlined "The Pope And The Precipice." The precipice of the title is the cliff over which Francis is pushing the church as he nudges it towards some bit of reform. For added measure, Douthat begins his column with an examination of papal infallibility, informing readers that -- really -- the whole thing wasn't meant to be taken all that seriously.

This is an argument I had not seen him make under previous (traditionalist) popes.

But the stage is now set for the rest of his argument, which is, essentially: hey, it's okay to push back against Francis, it's okay to fight him, ignore him, pillory him. Okay for the right-wing, that is.

He ends his column with a rallying cry for strong dissent:

Originally posted here:
The wimp factor

The All Progressives Congress has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to show better understanding of democracy by immediately restoring the police security details the Inspector General of Police withdrew from the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal.

In a statement in Abuja on Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party described the withdrawal of the Speakers security details by the IGP as a usurpation of the role of the Judiciary by the Inspector General of Police especially bearing in mind that the question of the interpretation of Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution on which the Inspector General of Police anchored his illegal act is currently before the courts for resolution.

The party said the position, including the manner a person becomes the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was to be found in the Constitution, arguing that no constitutional provision or legislation says membership of the ruling or dominant party in the House is a pre-requisite.

The party added, Furthermore, as the number four citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the security details and apparatus attached to the person of the Speaker are not based on his lineage, person and or political leaning. It is on account of the position and the protection required for that position and in Nigerias best interest.

This unfortunate use and deployment of Nigerias security forces in a partisan and political way portends danger and further weakens important institutions of governance and jeopardises national security. Under President Jonathan, we now have a Police Force that is monitoring and making conclusions with respect to party membership and qualification of an otherwise elected official. This is unheard of in any decent democracy.

It is unfortunate that President Jonathan, who had been a successive long term and unique beneficiary of our democracy and Constitution, is now demonstrating the greatest disregard for the laws that govern and guide us as a people. President Jonathan, who is the only individual who benefited from the same Constitution to become a Governor from a Deputy Governor without an election and from a Vice President to President in similar legal circumstances, now desecrates the same Constitution.

The All Progressives Congress rejects this challenge to democracy and modern society. We reject President Jonathans illegality and call for respect and compliance with the law. We reject this meddling in the affairs of the Legislature, especially given the resolution of President Jonathan and his close advisers yesterday at their meeting to ask the Deputy Speaker Mr Emeka Ihedioha to unlawfully reconvene the House before the adjourned date.

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APC asks Jonathan to restore Tambuwal security details

Rob Ford was elected mayor four years ago on a promise to take a sledgehammer to city council, its transit plans, and its budget. Immediately after he won, councils left wing began trying to figure out how to thwart his agenda.

John Tory was elected mayor Monday on a promise to bring council together. He will get a grace period.

Tory, a moderate conservative, will be granted an opportunity to be the consensus-building pragmatist he said he would be, progressive councillors said in interviews Wednesday.

We have to give him a chance. We have to give his staff a chance, said Paula Fletcher (Ward 30, Toronto-Danforth). I think council has proved that it wants a balanced approach in the city of Toronto. A steady, balanced approach. And Ill certainly give him a chance to make sure that thats what hes going to do. Thats just what I think people want in the city.

Tory did not release a formal platform, and several of his promises were unspecific. One progressive councillor, who asked for anonymity to candidly discuss strategy, said Tory has such a vague mandate Im not Rob Ford, well all get along, Im not going to increases taxes past inflation, and Im going to build SmartTrack someday that he has left an awful lot of room for conversation with the left.

Its Torys move, the councillor said. By the end of January, it should be clear what kind of administration he wants to run. And well govern ourselves accordingly.

Torys honeymoon may not be mere post-election courtesy. Maria Augimeri, a suburban progressive Tory supported in the election, said he will receive more votes on some issues from progressives than from conservatives.

This is a pro-housing guy. This is a pro-transit guy, said Augimeri (Ward 9, York Centre).

Augimeri said she expects Tory to operate in the inclusive manner of Mel Lastman, to whom he was an informal advisor. Lastman, another conservative, created positions to suit the passions of several progressives: Jack Layton was made homelessness advocate, Olivia Chow childrens advocate, Joe Pantalone tree advocate.

Every progressive had a leadership role. I envision that John Torys administration would be similar to that, Augimeri said.

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Its Torys move: Council's left to give Torontos new mayor a chance

The All Progressives Congress said on Thursday that the usage of card readers by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2015 general election remained one of the best ways to guarantee free and fair poll.

National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun, stated this in Abuja when he received the ECOWAS Fact Finding team to Nigeria led by former Ghanaian President, John Kuffour, in his office.

He said the INEC had no excuse not to deploy the technology because some countries in West Africa with lesser population and human resources, were already using it.

He said, We are hoping that INEC will do their best. Good as the chairman is, he does not know the reality of what is on ground under him.

Our prayer as far as INEC is concerned is that they use card readers in the election so that we can be sure of cleaner process. It is a no go area and a must that card reader has to be used.

The Peoples Democratic Party is doing everything within its power to convince the world that we are not ready for it. But if countries like Ghana, India and the rest of them are able to deploy this technology, I cannot see why we cannot use it in Nigeria.

The APC chairman also said there should be no militalisation of the electoral process like what was witnessed in the recent polls conducted in Ekiti and Osun states.

He said, It was alright they tried it in Ekiti. But in Osun State, we had to convince them that if they try what they did in Ekiti, then, it will be a mutually destructive process.

I think that at the very last minute, they tried to announce some fake results but at that time, we had gotten the results of every process and they knew that if they did anything contrary, they would have plunged that state into total anarchy.

Our prayer is that they dont try to replicate that at the national level.

The rest is here:
INEC must use card readers for 2015 polls APC