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In this piece, UMAR MOHAMMED analyses the chances of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party in the countdown to the 2015 governorship election in Nasarawa State

Last weeks decision by a former Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Labaran Maku, to ease himself out of the federal cabinet and join the race to govern his state of origin, Nasarawa, did not come as a surprise.

Having served as deputy governor of the state before his appointment as minister, close associates argue that he had always nursed the ambition of becoming governor.

He is not alone. Maku is only one of several chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party who are plotting to oust the incumbent Governor, Tanko Al-Makura, of the All Progressives Congress.

While Al-Makura is likely to enjoy a smooth sail by clinching his partys ticket, the same cannot be said about the PDP where the struggle for the ticket is expected to be fierce.

Nasarawa, like most states of the federation, is not immune to the intrigues which have come to characterise Nigerian politics.

The state chapter of the PDP parades three power brokers who individually command the popularity which could earn them considerable support. Their failure to reach a consensus on who should represent the party at the election is likely to have telling consequences on the electoral fortunes of the party.

Political pundits resident in the state are of the opinion that the PDP would have an uphill task putting its house in order to mount a serious challenge to the APC if the events of 2011 are anything to go by.

Some have also argued that although the PDP has dominated the political scene in the state since 1999, none of its victories can be considered a landslide. Most of the election results have been subjected to litigations. It will be recalled that the Congress for Progressive Change, which has fused with other opposition political parties to form the APC, beat the PDP with a little over 3,000 votes during the 2011 governorship election.

It is a generally held belief that the then ruling PDP lost to the CPC largely due to the internal squabbles within the PDP. Analysts are of the opinion that the then governor, Alhaji Aliyu Akwe-Doma, had difficulties rallying party faithful into a force that could retain power.

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2015: Battle for Nasarawa Govt House intensifies

DENVER A Project Veritas undercover video released Wednesday shows pro-Democrat field workers in Colorado discussing ways to commit voter fraud under the states new all-mail election system.

Project Veritas Action founder James O'Keefe is shown having discussions with staffers from Work for Progress, Greenpeace and a Democratic state legislative campaign about pilfering mail-in ballots from trash cans or double-registering with another state.

Critics countered that the video doesnt show anyone actually engaging in voter fraud and accused Mr. O'Keefe heavily baiting his targets into making incriminating statements.

At one point in the nearly eight-minute video, the 30-year-old Mr. O'Keefe, wearing a disguise to make him look older, tells Work for Progress state director Meredith Hicks that they should use discarded ballots to vote.

I mean, they cheat and lie and steal all the time. They do, Mr. O'Keefe tells Ms. Hicks in the undercover video.

She replies: I mean, thats not even lying or stealing. If someone throws out a ballot, if you want to fill it out, you should do it. It doesnt have anyones name on it yet.

Work for Progress, which is providing field troops to help re-elect Democratic Sen. Mark Udall, did not immediately return a phone call asking for comment. Mr. Udall is locked in a tough re-election battle with Republican Rep. Cory Gardner.

On Twitter, David Corn, a liberal columnist and Mother Jones editor, accused Mr. O'Keefe of selective editing, saying, James, wheres the video of the Democratic staffers who said what you and your crew proposed to do would be wrong?

The video also shows a Greenpeace staffer recommends searching for discarded ballots in apartment buildings in north Aurora, which she calls ghetto Aurora.

South [Aurora] is like Yuppieville, she says. But north Aurora is a lot of people who, I hate to put in clichs, but people dont care. They just, kind of like the lower class, they just dont really [inaudible].

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Undercover video shows progressives condoning voter fraud in Colorado

National Chairman, All Progressives Congress, Chief John Oyegun

Plateau state chapter of the All Progressives Congress has expressed its willingness to receive members of the Peoples Democratic Party who were rejected by their party.

The PDP had asked some of its members eyeing the office of the governor to stop parading themselves as members of the party and to stop using the partys platform to boost their aspirations.

The members include former governors Joshua Dariye and Fidelis Tapgun, Mr. John Alkali, Mr. Jimmy Cheto and Mr. Jonathan Sheni.

An APC chief, Gen. John Shagaya (retd.), told our correspondent in an interview in Jos on Wednesday that the party would joyously receive them with open arms.

He said We are optimistic that the aggrieved members of the PDP would defect to the APC as the crisis in the ruling party deepens. On our own, we are set to ensure victory for our party in the general election come 2015. We are happy about the mistakes the ruling party in the state is doing.

What is happening now was bound to happen and our party could provide an alternative for disgruntled members, who are unhappy with the way they have been treated in PDP.

Shagaya, who represented Plateau-South in the Senate, also disclosed that he would be seeking re-election into the Senate in the forthcoming elections.

The PDP had asked four of its governorship aspirants and the immediate past governor of the state, Chief Joshua Dariye, to stop using the partys logo for their campaign materials.

Cheto, Tapgun, Sheni, and Alkali, who the party reprimanded for identifying with it, have their posters in parts of the state announcing their intention to vie for the governorship ticket of the party.

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Plateau APC woos rejected PDP members

Six candidates for Surrey Board of Education (clockwise from top) Rayman Bhuller, Patricia Enair, Niovi Patsicakis, Charlene Dobie, Sara Sharma and Kirsty Peterson have formed a coalition called Surrey Progressives.

image credit: Submitted

A group of six independent candidates for Surrey school trustee have joined forces in hopes of bringing a "new and progressive" voice to the board table.

The so-called Surrey Progressives includes incumbent Trustee Charlene Dobie, as well as hopefuls Rayman Bhuller, Patricia Enair, Kirsty Peterson, Sara Sharma and Niovi Patsicakis.

The group says though it's not an official electoral organization or party, the candidates have "a common vision for public education in Surrey."

Dobie hopes to retain her seat of the Surrey Board of Education after first being elected in 2011 as part of the now-dissolved Surrey Civic Coalition.

Patsicakis is a retired (LST) Learning Support Teacher, Enair was co-chair of Surrey's District Parent Advisory Council for eight years, Peterson is Chapter Development Officer for Canadian Parents for French B.C. & Yukon branch, and Sharma and Bhuller are both real estate agents.

Surrey Progressives will be holding an open house Oct. 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 8097 134 St. For more information, check http://www.surreyprogressives.ca

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Election 2014: Surrey school trustee candidates unite

The All Progressives Congress on Tuesday wrote a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan alleging threats against its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed by the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari.

In the letter which was signed by its National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, the APC said Asaris threat, was contained in an interview granted to the online newspaper Premium Timeson Friday, Oct. 17th 2014.

According to the party, the threat was sequel to a press statement which was issued on behalf of the party by Mohammed on Oct. 8th 2014, asking the Federal Government to explain the reported presence of Mr. Asari Dokubo on the plane that transported US$9.3 million cash to South Africa In the interview, Mr. Asari Dokubo said while he would adopt a civilised response to Mr. Mohammed by first suing the APC spokesperson for his remarks, he (Asari Dokubo) warned that should the courts fail to deliver justice, he will resort to self-help by using his hands and any other means to deal with Mr. Mohammed.

The party said we find this threat totally abhorring, dangerous, unacceptable and uncivilized, and therefore wish to request that you call Mr. Asari Dokubo to order and invite him to explain what he meant by his threat to resort to self help.

We have attached a copy of the said interview to this petition.

We take the unwarranted threat very seriously, in view of the antecedents of Mr. Asari Dokubo and his propensity to violence, and will definitely hold him personally responsible if anything untoward happens to our National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

The party noted that since ours is a country that operates under the rule of law rather than the laws of the jungle, it believes anyone who is aggrieved over any issue should resort to the courts to seek redress.

It explained that where aggrieved persons decide to take the laws into their own hands, as Mr. Asari Dokubo has threatened, it is an invitation to anarchy.

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APC writes Jonathan over Asaris alleged threat