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Saturday, MARCH 22, 2014 Vol. 1 No. 32
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mudi: king of the casual stuff p.13
ABIOLA IGE SPEAKS ON STEAMY PHOTO p.20
ACF: Why we’re opposed to single term for president and governors l Says it's an incentive for corruption
Lateef Ibrahim Abuja
T
he Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has voiced its opposition to single term for the nation’s president and governors, warning that adopting such will serve as an incentive for leaders to steal public funds.
Rather, the Forum expressed its support for multiple terms for the offices of the president and governors because it was likely to create room for motivation and reward. This position emerged from the ACF’s one-day retreat for northern delegates to the national conference held Thursday night in
Abuja. The ACF, in the position paper jointly signed by former inspector-general of police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie, and ex-minister of information, Professor Jerry Gana, warned that the issues of rotation of the nation’s presidency and politics of zoning should never be made a constitutional matter, but that it should
be left for political parties to decide. The Forum noted that the apparent failure of leadership in the country had more to do with the operators than it did with the system of government. According to the ACF: “What Nigeria needs is purposeful leadership and the best in every one
which are needed for the rewiring of the politics, reengineering of our sense of justice for making mercy smarter and hope more strategic for those who believe their empowerment, their opportunity and their future have been stolen by the predator leaders.” On the issue of the tenure of president and gover-
nors, the forum said, “ACF prefers multiple tenure for president and governors because such system makes allowance for motivation and reward. But in the case of single term the good and the fearless are grouped together. As a result, the only incentive for leaders is abilCONTINUED ON PAGE 2
OUR STORIES OF SORROW, TEARS AND BLOOD, BY IMMIGRATION JOB SEEKERS p.52
FA C E O F F
p.48 Al-Makura squares up against
deputy in today’s council election ® I left APC because of its ‘lies and falsehood’ – Barau Ndubuisi Ugah
N Abayomi
N’Conference is illegitimate – Tunji Abayomi
Ozekhome
It’s in accordance with the law – Ozekhome
asarawa State Deputy Governor, Mr. Damishi Luka Barau, has said the popularity and political will of his principal, Governor Tanko Al-Makura, will be put to test today, during the conduct of the local government election in the state. There has been no love lost between Al-Makura and his deputy since the latter defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the ruling All Progressives Congress
(APC) in the state, deeply polarising the government and creating an interesting political scenario ahead next year’s general elections. Speaking with New Telegraph in Lafia, Barau said it was logically incorrect for anybody to insinuate that his political base was weak, given his enormous contributions to the present administration. “On my political base, I believe in God because for anybody to come and say my political base is weak, I don’t know where the person is coming
from in the first place. Saturday is coming; we have local government election. That will be the practical aspect to test my political worth. I am ready and on Saturday (today) we will prove it,” he said. The deputy governor, who reiterated that he had never had cause to disrespect Al-Makura, explained that “everyone that needs respect must first respect himself ”. According to him, “If the governor whom I respect up CONTINUED ON PAGE 2