Fund raising: Open petition to INEC chairman

Fund raising: Open petition to INEC chairman

Frankly Speaking Nov 14, 2010 By Dele Sobowale
“You cannot adopt politics as a profession and remain honest”.
Louis McHenry Howe, 1871-1936.
(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p. 192).
This petition would not have become necessary if the President of Nigeria, who is a candidate, and you, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had not vowed to conduct a free and fair election.
You have also on several occasions insisted, quite rightly, that INEC alone cannot guarantee the desired result. You have solicited for the assistance of civil society groups and individuals in the quest for national redemption.
This petition is only the first in the series of interventions I intend to make to ensure that all parties to the election play by the rules and NOBODY will be allowed to circumvent them. Let me therefore draw your attention to the Fund Raising ceremony organized by the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation on Friday, October 29, 2010 during which one Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, as the Chief launcher, donated N1million in his own right. That was perfectly legitimate and in line with established Electoral Act.
Questions arose when the same Alhaji Rabiu further announced that he was donating N250 million on behalf of “a list of 250 family members and friends”. To the best of my knowledge, none of the 250 people was present at the fund raiser and until now, the list of “donors” called “family and friends” has not been made public.
Therein lies the first public attempt to circumvent the law. We are left to either believe Alhaji Rabiu or disbelieve him. I don’t believe him.So, acting on my doubts, and wanting to be convinced, I am appealing to you to use your good office to request the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation to send to me, at VANGUARD NEWSPAPERS LIMITED, P.M.B. 1007, APAPA, within 14 days, the list and addresses of the 250 people on whose behalf Alhaji Rabiu made the donations.
Failing to do this, I will be compelled to join INEC with Alhaji Rabiu and the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign Organisation in a civil suit to ensure compliance with the law. Let me hasten to add that the same fate awaits any political party or candidate wanting to circumvent the law on campaign donations in any way they might device.
We shall match their tricks with scientific investigations aimed at unraveling the truth. And I mean all of them. The only reason the Jonathan/Sambo fundraiser came first is because fish starts rotting from the head. Once this organization is effectively checked, the President will ensure that his competitors are checked.
On receipt of the list, we shall verify at least three things. The authenticity of the names and addresses; the status of the individuals who donated these colossal sums (i.e have they demonstrated sufficient wealth to be able to make such donations); were the donations made available to Alhaji Rabiu in cash or cheque or bank draft?
Finally, we should want to know what businesses they engage in – if any. That is not the exhaustive list of inquiries, as you can imagine. The truth is; Nigerians are sick and tired of politicians and their falsehoods; we must start somewhere to tackle them. Any names found to have been fraudulently inserted in the list will be reported to INEC for prosecution of the offender(s). The nonsense must stop.
Yours sincerely,
Dele Sobowale.
IS IT IMO SWINDLE? – 1.
“It was beautiful and simple as all truly great swindles are”.
O. Henry, 1862-1910.
(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p.239).
One frequent reader from Imo State sent me a text message which was inadvertently deleted. I sincerely apologise because it would have made interesting reading in the original. But, permit me to summarise what I think was the message.
According to the sender “my man Governor Ohakim” after inviting the 19,000 youths who paid N10,000 each for jobs with Imo State to come for their employment letters instead issued them T-shirts, caps and flags to wave at his declaration for second term. I quickly made a call to Owerri to an Area Boy, and patriotic scout, to find out if there was an iota of truth to the allegation.
He confirmed the story and added another dimension of his own. I might have to go to Owerri for further investigation. Meanwhile, let me start by apologizing to the people of Imo State for the error of acting in the age long belief that “Morning shows the day”.
When Governor Ohakim first assumed office, he started at a blistering good pace offering promises of exemplary governance centred around the Green and Clean campaign. Within weeks, Owerri’s Douglas Road which was close to a pig-sty had been cleaned up; clean buses and taxis replaced decrepit old bangers and okadas were restricted to side roads. A broad development plan was announced, and seemingly embarked upon, giving hope for a sustainable future.
My private visits to Imo State prompted me to tag the new governor THE NAPOLEON OF IMO on account of his small stature and apparent brave heart. When we finally met, after listening to “songs of praise” by his staff, some of whom were former colleagues in the media, the governor proceeded to denounce his predecessor in office in the strongest possible terms. He had the most unkind words for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which he claimed will ruin Nigeria unless the people rally round new politicians like himself – elected on the platform of the PPA.
I danced without music believing the future was here in 2007. I was wrong. It didn’t take long before the truth started to emerge in seemingly unrelated incidents as the governor came out in his true colours. By 2008, he had stopped being anyone that could be called “my man”. The employment episode was only the latest…….
YOU DROPPED THE WRONG TITLE, MR PRESIDENT.
“Nothing is more wasteful than doing with great efficiency that which should not be done”.
Theodore Levitt, 1993.
(VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS  p 270).
President Jonathan recently announced or was said to have said
that he no longer wanted to be addressed as Commander In Chief of the armed forces. That is a title recognized by the Constitution. The one he and governors should drop is EXCELLENCY. Nowhere else in the world, except banana and banga soup republics, are Presidents and governors addressed that way; not US, not France, not even North Korea.